ZOMBIE BABY AWARENESS MONTH

By Alyne A. Pustanio

NOVEMBER:  THE DARK MONTH

There was a Door to which I found no Key:

There was a Veil past which I could not see:

Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee

There seem’d – and then no more of Thee and Me.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 1859

Throughout the folklore traditions of the Northern Hemisphere, the month of November has always been synonymous with death.  Beginning with the great festival of All Hallow’s Eve, or Samhain, and confirmed in the rituals of All Saints’ Day, or the Day of the Dead, in November there is no escaping death and the fundamental symbolism attached to it:  endings and beginnings, dying and rebirth, change and transformation.

“Samhain ushered in November, known in Gaelic as An t-Samhuinn, meaning ‘the month of Samhain’; in Welsh, is was Y Mis Du, or ‘the Black Month.’  The Welsh also knew it as ‘Tachweld,’ the month of slaughtering, and to the Anglo-Saxons as ‘Blotmonath,’ the Month of Blood, for this was the time when animals that could not be overwintered had to be killed.

From The Magickal Year: A Pagan Perspective on the Natural World, by Diana Ferguson

For hundreds of years, the connection of death to November, and to Autumn generally, as a time of the decay of the bright days of summer, of turning inward, has been commemorated and pondered in poetry and verse.

“Far in the forest dim and old

For her may some tall vault unfold,

Which oft hath flung its black

And vampyre-winged panels back,

Flutt’ring triumphant o’er the palls

Of her old family funerals.

Some tomb against whose sounding door she hath thrown

In childhood many an idle stone –

Thrilling to think, poor child of sin,

It was the dead that groaned within”

Edgar Allen Poe

In New Orleans, we know death; we are familiar with the “Dark Night of the Year.”  Here we know how to commemorate the dead as in the rich traditions surrounding All Saints’ Day.  For generations, since the founding of the City, whether it be in simple burying grounds or among the elaborate necropolis of our many Cities of the Dead, New Orleans families have marked the traditional day of Saints and Souls cleaning and renovating the gravesites of loved ones, spending time in sentimental recollection or quiet celebration of the endurance of love and life.

In New Orleans, the jazz funeral is a familiar sight.  Countless numbers of New Orleans’ citizens – the famous and the lesser-known – have been trumpeted and second-lined to their final resting place in a noisy celebration that seems designed to celebrate the life of the departed and also to let the dead know that someone very special is coming to join them.  A jazz funeral is an honor accorded to rich and poor alike, and it is uniquely New Orleans.

In New Orleans, voodoo priestesses, priests, and practitioners regularly commune with the spirits of the ancestors of this City who, with the aid of the Lwa, continue to guide, advise, and protect their loved ones from the other side.  Throughout the days of November, the voodoo community summons, acknowledges and, through rituals and offerings, invite the spirits of the dead – known as The Guede – to come and live again through the community, to enjoy the physical pleasures of this world once again, in the dark night of the year.

New Orleans moves in a rhythm all its own; this is something that makes it unique and draws people here, generation after generation, to move in flow with the spirits who, here at least, walk immediately beside us and surround us every day.

However, fear of death is innate in most people.  So, what better month than November to choose to celebrate those industrious spirits who defy the odds and elude death, and whose presence reminds us constantly – in an admittedly strange way – of our ability to overcome our fears?

ZOMBIE BABIES

In the folklore of New Orleans (as in many other parts of the world), there is a tradition dealing with the subject of infants who were abandoned, aborted, unwanted, or exposed to death.  The reasons for these actions committed against infants are numerous, and to the modern mind, completely unjustifiable.  But to anyone with any experience in the occult or supernatural, sometimes at least there was good reason to want to “get rid” of a baby.  This would be if the baby had been cursed, either in the womb or at birth, by the Evil Eye or the evil, dark workings of a bokor priest or hoodoo man.

Babies who were born already zombified by the evil work of hoodoo or the “overlooking” of a witch were taken unwashed and quickly bound with anything handy – bloody, torn sheets, the remnants of the mother’s nightclothes, table linens, shredded curtains, and finally jute or ropes – all in an effort to contain the baby, whose magic curse gave it incredible powers.  This swaddling or binding was known as “spells and bells” because while the women worked to wrap the zombie baby they would recite spells over it, all the while weaving in blessed crosses, holy medals, strings of rosary beads, or even a blessed Eucharistic wafer, along with numerous bells that jingled as the baby fought the wrapping.

In most instances, to assure secrecy, the bound zombie baby would be carried only as far as the back yard or the alley where a grave was quickly dug out.  Once the baby had been thrust into the wet, moldy New Orleans mud – usually face down – bricks, flagstones, and other heavy objects were piled up on it to ensure it did not escape.  “St. Joe” bricks, placed with the writing face down, were thought particularly effective in containing a zombie baby.  The mother was admonished to listen until the sound of the bells could no longer be heard – sometimes an unbearably long process.  When the sounds stopped and there was no more movement from the dismal little grave, the mother could take some assurance that the zombie baby had finally died.

But if a zombie baby that has been exposed and abandoned is reawakened  by whatever means, and is smart enough, and strong enough, to work itself free of its bondage, this is a very, very bad thing. 

NOVEMBER IS OFFICIALLY ZOMBIE BABY AWARENESS MONTH

Artist-Designer Ricardo Pustanio has put his considerable talents to work to re-create the innocent victims of zombification that fill the dark nightmares of anyone who has studied or read about the subject.

NOW YOU CAN OWN YOUR OWN ZOMBIE BABY!!!!

Pustanio’s ZOMBIE BABIES are original, handmade works of art now available for sale exclusively through this site.  The purchaser will receive the signed, original baby along with a Certificate of Authenticity recording the length, weight, and – where possible – story of origin related to the particular baby.

YOUR PURCHASE CAN HELP RESTORE NEW ORLEANS

Artist Ricardo Pustanio has designated that a portion of all proceeds from Zombie Baby sales will be donated to Manbo Sallie Ann Glassman’s NEW ORLEANS HEALING CENTER / HOPE AND HERITAGE PROJECT which has been helping to rebuild, renew, restore, and recreate the City of New Orleans since the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  In light of the recent BP Oil Spill Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and the impact it has had on the Louisiana economy, the Center’s efforts are equally relevant today as they were immediately after the Katrina catastrophe.

Now is your chance to own an original artwork by Ricardo Pustanio that not only commemorates one of the most fearsome paranormal legends of New Orleans but also gives back to the communities of the Most Haunted City in the World most in need of our aid!

Or if you prefer to give a donation:

A REAL NEW ORLEANS ZOMBIE BABY VISITS DRAGON*CON

VISIT HERE NOW TO SEE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS OF TILLY THE ZOMBIE BABY AT DRAGON CON!

SORRY IF YOU WISH TO VISIT OUR ZOMBIE BABY NURSERY IT IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW!  BUT CHECK BACK SOON. ~ please email here for availiblity ~

REAL ZOMBIE BABIES

Original One of a Kind "Real New Orleans Zombie Baby Dolls" By Mardi Gras Float Artist Ricardo Pustanio.

Original Story By Alyne A. Pustanio

© 2010 All Rights Reserved

“… Slowly, the ghostly infant took on substance and grew tiny legs to propel itself across the ground; tiny arms moved in unison, with chubby claws where little hands should be.  A horrid, hunched back made movement difficult and the head seemed too heavy for its body; it lolled up and down as the ghastly little creature moved inexorably forward.  Unblinking, glowing red eyes were fixed upon its target; ribbons of drool hung from a mouth lined with teeth like a serrated knife’s edge.  Slowly, with the lurching movements of the living dead, the piteous creature crawled up onto its dead mother.  Clutching at her bruised and yellowed legs, it made its way over her distended belly and with little clawed fingers tore at the bodice covering the darkly swollen, decomposing breasts.  Greedy, hungry, with horrible gurgling sounds, the zombie baby began to suckle the putrid milk from its dead mother’s breasts.”           

            -- From an original story, Copyright © 2010 by Alyne A. Pustanio

FROM THE DARKENED CORNER OF A DELAPIDATED NURSERY DEEP IN THE HEART OF THE OLD CARREY COME THE ZOMBIE BABIES OF NEW ORLEANS!

Inspired by old New Orleans folklore and actual gruesome finds, famed Artist and Designer RICARDO PUSTANIO has created a creepy playpen full of ZOMBIE BABIES!

Each baby is a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind artifact that brings to life – or at least some manner of life – many of the infamous little creatures who came back to haunt the mothers who killed them, the families who abandoned them, and the city that forget them!

Now you can own one of these unique and strangely lovable New Orleans ZOMBIE BABIES!

Each baby comes with a certificate of authenticity describing the weight and length of the baby, the baby’s name and story, and the original signature of the artist/creator.

STEP INTO THE NURSERY . . .

MEET THE ZOMBIE BABIES OF NEW ORLEANS!

~ please email here for availiblity ~

Alyne Pustanio is also a one of the fantastic featured contributing writers in Brad Stieger's Number 1 Best Selling Book:

Real Zombies, the Living Dead, and Creatures of the Apocalypse

BUY IT HERE NOW!

Alyne Pustanio told many of the strange horrifying legends and mysterious tales of real New Orleans Zombie Babies at Con Du Lac this past June 2010.

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PAZUZU, “THE BAD WIND BY ITSELF” LEVIATHAN, “DRAGON OF THE WATERY ABYSS” YALTABAOTH, “CELESTIAL ADVERSARY” NEW TALES OF THE REAL GHOSTS THAT HAUNT THE LALAURIE HOUSE “Demon du Jour”   “Demon du Jour” DEAUX   "Demon du Jour" TROIS   CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE REVIEWED   THE BEST HAUNTED GHOST TOURS, CEMETERY TOURS, VOODOO TOURS, HISTORIC AND HISTORY TOURS, CEMTERY TOURS IN NEW ORLEANS   Paranormal Studies Resource Books   The 50 Best Selling Brad Steiger Books to Read   REAL HALLOWEEN HAUNTED SPOOK HOUSES IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA ~ Learn more here now.   alynepustanio.com ~ Exploring real "New Orleans folklore" All Original Articles, Photos, Artwork and Content of this web site are the sole property of Alyne A. Pustanio and cannot be used without expressed written permission this site protected ©2004-2010 alynepustanio.com - All rights reserved Alyne Pustanio's Upcoming Special Events And Personal Appearances, Lecture schedule, latest book news, and other information.   ALYNE PUSTANIO IS ALSO FEATURED IN THE MOST PERFECT ULTIMATE MONSTER COMPANION OF ALL TIMES! Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside by Brad Steiger         "The Legends of Nethiah" www.legendsofnethiah.com/   Where fantasy meets reality...   A young boy whose parents are going through a bitter divorce, is given hope and courage through the powerful stories embellished by his grandfather. The stories give the boy the inner strength and resolve to confront the inevitable challenges which lie ahead.   Starring Robert Picardo, Jared Young, Jeremiah Sayys, John Heard, Theresa Russell, Julie Michaels, Laura Covelli, Jilon Ghai. Produced by Howard Nash. A Russ Emanuel film, Starrunner, LLC & WorldsLastHero Productions, Inc. USA, 2010, HD Digital / 35MM, Color, 91 minutes.     Directed by Russ Emanuel, produced by Howard Nash, and starring Robert Picardo (Wonder Years, Star Trek: Voyager, P.J., Chasing the Green), John Heard (Home Alone, P.J.), Theresa Russell (Spiderman 3), and introducing Jeremiah Sayys, Jared Young, Julie Michaels, Laura Covelli, and Jilon Ghai. Watch the trailer in 5 different resolutions including 1080p HD!     Come and explore The Real Hauntings Of New Orleans Today with one of the best most haunted ghost tour in America! FRENCH QUARTER PHANTOMS THE NUMBER 1# BEST MOST HAUNTED GHOST TOUR IN NEW ORLEANS... 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