The Mummified Fairy Hoax is being turned into a book and you can be part of it!

The time has finally come to for me to start writing my account of the mummified fairy hoax.  2017 will be 10th anniversary of the event that changed my life in ways I could have never imagined.  The folly of the mummified fairy may have destroyed my professional career but the opportunities and adventures that ensued have ironically turned the curse into a gift of new life and discovery.

The project will be hosted through Patreon, which for those who are unaware, is a way for creators to fund their work through subscription payments from their fans.  As I am primarily a prop artist I can offer more rewards to my supporters than just written work.  I plan to illustrate my own work and create limited edition fairy sculptures for the top level subscribers.  It’s a great opportunity for you to get a piece of my work at a fraction of the cost AND get all of the written material & additional art as a bonus. 

The story goes far beyond everything I have ever revealed in my lectures.  I give a hint at the end of my presentation about a mysterious letter received from one of the UK's highest security mental institutions, but the story is far from over.  There's Nazi cults, secret tunnels, derelict WWII military installations, arcane secrets and close encounters with the security services.

How does all of this relate to the original mummified fairy hoax?  Well, you'll have to become a patron to find out.

In a creative kick start to 2017 the project launched today so if you’d like to join me on my unexpected journey and pledge your support it will be an honour to have you aboard. 

You can find out more information and support the project here.

The Mummified Fairy Workshop Review

The past weekend will remain memorable for two momentous reasons.  I will always remember that when the UK decided to leave the EU I was in Germany giving my first overseas workshop.

I can honestly say that it is quite difficult to convey my disappointment at leaving the EU.  Although my political stance has always dressed to the right I voted to remain as I was thinking about the impact of leaving for the future generations, namely my children.  It was a sad day but I have optimism in my heart and the room I was given at Hotel zum Zauberkabinett in Bad Heilbrunn echoed my positivity.

All of the rooms at the hotel were themed on tarot cards from the major arcana and I had been given The Sun.  This card symbolises finding sense behind chaos, attaining a new levels of insight, having an intellectual breakthrough and getting to the heart of the matter.  Ultimately all the things I hope to do in the coming months and years in the shadow of Brexit.  But most of all the card represents the most positive oracle in the tarot deck and I took this as a good omen of the times ahead.

After a delayed flight due the closure of Belgian airspace, Alex Roemer, long time friend and proprietor of Hotel zum Zauberkabinett took me for a much welcomed beer and Bavarian meal in the scorching sun.  Many ideas were hatched and secrets exchanged before we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the forthcoming weekend. This was to be my first Mummified Fairy Workshop for a foreign audience.

The motley crew of attendees started to arrive on Friday afternoon.  A teacher, a larper, two magicians and Switzerland's top Jack Jersey impersonator (yes, I wondered who he was also!) arrived for what sounded like the start of a bad joke.  After a wonderful meal on the terrace set in the wooded hills I started with an introduction and my lecture on the mummified fairy hoax.  

Saturday started bright and breezy with an early breakfast and straight to the studio.  Being creative can be surprisingly tiring if you're not used to it so I decided to crack on early to maximise my time with the group.  I was told that everyone had some form of artistic ability and we made a great start.

The schedule roughly followed the DVD workshop I had produced a few years earlier with the help of Kickstarter and a few hundred loyal backers.  The obvious benefit of this more personal workshop was the one-to-one tuition and the fact you didn't have to watch my hands for 3 hours, unlike the DVD. As all of the group had some form of interest in magic it's not surprising that by early afternoon the fairies had ended up with magnets implanted into their rib cages.  The table was alive with jumping and spinning reanimated fairy corpses.  After nearly seven hours of melting, painting and sticking we placed the fairies in the drying room and retired for a rest before the evening activities.  Felix thrashed me thrice at Carcassonne so I decided to head to my room and drown my sorrows in even more post referendum pessimism.   

Most Saturday nights Alex hosts a dinner and evening of magical entertainment.  This has been running for 19 years and many of his 50000 plus audience members keep returning for more.  The dinner takes place in his impressive magic room crammed with strange artefacts, antique illusions and a mirror where you may see the grim reaper materialise during the evening.  Although the whole performance was in German I understood what was happening and after a few beers it didn't really matter anyway!  

Sunday morning was spent adding the finishing touches to our desiccated monsters.  Hair, wings and eyes added 'life' to the dead fairies and just before lunch we arranged our creations for their first group photo.  The artistic talents of the group really shone through and Andreas created possibly the deadest looking dead fairy I had ever seen.  The group exhibited excellent effort all round and I'm hoping that everyone who attended had a rewarding and memorable experience.   

For an experimental first the workshop was a great success and everyone walked away with something horrific to perplex their family and friends.  Due to the success, on the way to the airport Alex and I started our plans for another possible workshop in 2017 so if you're interested in taking part please e-mail me for details.

Thanks once again to Alex for being such an accommodating host and of course a personal thank you goes to Felix, Roman, Manuela, Andreas and Stefan for attending the weekend course.

Fairies, demons, and ghosts: Shakespeare’s fascination with the supernatural

Although there was hostility towards witchcraft and sorcery well before the 16th century, it is in this time period where we see religious and legal punishment juxtaposed with the increasing use and enjoyment of special effects in plays to convey magic and the supernatural. Laws and statues against witchcraft were passed, the popularity of witch trials was beginning to rise, yet such an atmosphere did not discourage Shakespeare and other playwrights from incorporating otherworldly elements in their works. Early modern drama involved Fairy Kings and Queens, devils and demons, human magicians, minor fairies and sprites, and ghosts and apparitions, all with different levels of power. Depending on the play, a being might have a number of abilities and serve a number of different purposes — be it corrupting humans, serving masters, prophesying, or casting spells. Discover more about Shakespeare and the supernatural via the graphic below.

Source - Oxford University Press' Academic Insights for the Thinking World.

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A Field Guide to Fairy Trolls

It's ironic that fairies should attract trolls.  They seems to be the perfect bait to lure the creatures from their caves and beneath their bridges.  André Øvredal, director of 'Troll Hunter' should take note if he ever plans on making a sequel – fairies can certainly bring out the worst trolls imaginable!

When the hoax first emerged back in 2007 I received thousands of e-mails from around the world, a quarter of which were from various species of 'Fairy Troll' (although the term 'Internet Troll' did not exist then as far as I know).  I should also point out that unlike other breeds of Internet Troll, Fairy Trolls are always female and borderline illiterate.  I've come to the conclusion that this might not always be due to low IQ (although Trolls are renown for being dumb, ask any D&D player) but partially due to fat fingers mashing other letters and cats wandering across the keyboard.  Ok, I admit that in my mind's eye I imagine the authors of these e-mails to be rosy and plump wearing clip-on butterfly wings, surrounded by a chorus of cats and knee deep in empty chocolate wrappers and Disney DVDs.  Of course, I'm probably wrong, right?   

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The Common Telling-Off Troll

The mildest form of Fairy Troll,  this non-confrontational breed is the literary equivalent of someone shaking their fist at you from across a couple of garden fences.  They rarely use foul language and are the most articulate when it comes to dishing out a rollocking.  I imagine the 'Common Telling-Off Troll' to be better at male interaction with a lower appetite for cake and cats.  Here's an example (nothing has been edited from these original e-mails) -

-13-07-2010-

I must admit, I did not find it funny. lolz Though I'm sure alot of people around the globe must have been quite miscellaneous with your prank. Especially those that love their fantasy+probably hope/believe in fairies/fantasy creatures. awww hahaha+you're right. It will be one thing you won't forget in a heartbeat. Maybe something you will always remember. ? ;-)

Be careful with your creations. You might see a goblin or a leprachaun one day. Maybe evena mermaid or a unicorn in your garden. Hahaha ? :-0

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The Catty Ranter Troll

This slightly larger Troll blurts out angry paragraphs laden with phrases designed to evoke a sense of guilt within the reader.  Catty Ranters believe in glittery flower fairies and are commonly found nailing fairy doors to trees in parks and leaving acorn cups full of raspberry lemonade outside.  They will also usually own a minimum of ten cats and have some mild form of diabetes.  Example -  

-02-10-2014-

You sir are an asshole. Purposely revieling fake remains and playing on the thoughts of other people just to observe what happens for your sick and twisted "experiment" is morally wrong and indecent! I happen to believe in magical things and to prey on innocent people who hope for something more in life is just sick and wrong. I truely don't know how you live with yourself. If someone found a real magical being now who would believe it even if it was real?! You have singlehandedly wrung the hopes and dreams out of people I know and love and because of your damn HOAX they decided not to believe or have hope anymore. How dare you! I hope somone really does find something amazing and you never hear or see of it! That way you are denied the fullfillment of your hopes and dreams like all of the vicitms of your fucking prank!!!

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The Death Threat Troll

Finally, the 'Death Threat Troll'.  Dark, brooding and nasty, this troll will pull every trick in the book to break you.  They usually hold you responsible for the death of someone or something and then direct the same fate at you (but in a more brutal and sometimes bloody way).  These trolls can be found under bridges in the grounds of high security mental facilities.  Internet access is still allowed but limited hence the hastily typed splurge of vitriol devoid of punctuation.  They would own cats if pets were allowed and chocolate is only available on visiting days hence their physical health is generally better than other Troll species.  Glittery lace and wire butterfly wings are also replaced with crayon coloured paper thus removing sharp objects and the ability for them to be weaponised...

-24-02-2009-

You derserve to die you fucking shatterer of dreams my 6yo daughter is terminally ill and the photos of a real fairy gaveher the hope to fight the illness but now you have said it is a hoax she has lost all hoep and is slipping away because of YOU you have ruined our life you BASTARD I hope the same happens to you FAIRIES are real and you have destoyed the hoopes and dreams of millions you have upset them and they WILL KILL YOU I hope they cut the breaks on your car and you crash and DIE you FUCKER my daughter has hours left so I must go and be by her side DESTROYER OF DREAMS DIE!

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I originally had hundreds of Fairy Troll e-mails which had been sent to my lebanoncircle@gawab.com address.  Gawab was a free e-mail service based in the middle east that I had used for a number of years however, 5 months after the hoax they deleted my account.  I lost every piece of correspondence regarding the fairy hoax and although I requested a log of my e-mails my requests went unanswered.    The messages used in the examples above were received via Facebook and they still keep coming through much to my amusement.  

I now consider myself an authority on 'Fairy Trolls' as well as 'Mummified Fairies'.  New species are being discovered daily and knowing that my art has touched so many nerves with such negative results makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Keep them coming!