Black Pineapple: Tropigoth Occasions Upon Which to Get Weird
In 1988, dusty old artgrump Tim Burton gave us the gift that is Beetlejuice: the ultimate vehicle for Michael Keaton’s […]
The Ghost in My Fifth Grade Class
Juan Carlos was always sick, but we didn’t know what that meant. He had a special breathing treatment machine in
The Mona Lisa of Death Masks
They call her L’Inconnue de la Seine, and no one knows her name but she left behind one of the
We Need a National Memorial for the Covid Dead
There is only one American memorial to the victims of the Great Influenza epidemic of 1918, the so-called Spanish Flu.
Never Leaving Las Vegas
When my grandmother died, she loved three things: scotch, soap operas, and gambling. It’s hard to write a eulogy for
Put On Your Black Lips and Dance the Blues
There are two kinds of black lipsticks in the world. There’s the kind you buy because it’s Halloween and you’re
How to Do a Cemetery Photoshoot
Winter is the best time to shoot photos in cemeteries. Depending on your luck and your location, you might be
The Sculptor and the Skull – A conversation with Trevor Foster
I caught up with Trevor Foster, naturalist and sculptor, across a 12-hour time difference. The University of Washington graduate lives
The Cremains of the Day
A mausoleum? In this economy? A full-on shrine in my millennial one-bedroom starter apartment/retirement hovel? A pyramid? On my block
Growing Up in the House of Grief
I would never have been born if my older sister hadn’t died. Existence is a joke, and most of us
This Thanksgiving Your Family Should Die Dreaming
Let’s get one thing straight and two things bi: I am not a recipe writer. I’m just a hedonist who
Won’t Move On: Best Songs About Dead Lovers
Today, Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. The song poured out of the FM radio in my mom’s