Prompt #9: Expression/Obsession
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October’s “13 Days of Dark & Weird” Challenge
our second all-weekend prompt:
We are all haunted.
The tortured. The superstitious or spiritual. Obsessive personalities. Anxiety-ridden. Empathic or hyper-compassionate. The hopeful; overworked; bored; mentally ill; substance-addicted. The staggeringly rich. The unbelievably lonely. Insignificant — and wanting so badly to matter.
This weekend we’re taking a look at legendary obsessions and lasting expressions:
Individuals who may have been trying to live according to special law or calling. Perhaps, attempting to fill a void in their lives. Or who were hoping to be remembered long after they had left this Earth. Those who were trying to fend off that final departure by abiding demons who cursed them or gods who’d reward them.
Below, you’ll find stories and facts about people ‘haunted’ by the desperate need for expression or hopeless prison of obsession. May their legends and lifestyles infect you with endless inspiration…
Veijo Ronkkonen — a reclusive millworker’s obsession in sculpture (some have real human teeth, which apparently you can just buy online?):
Sarah Winchester — a lonely, widow, heiress uses her fortune to build a mansion, non-stop, for 40+ years, possibly to appease spirits:
Ferdinand Cheval — a postman who stumbled over a stone then spent 33-years building a palace out of tripping hazards:
John B. Maclemore — an antique clock repairer living in a small town, making interesting music, using dangerous techniques to restore old clocks, and building a maze in his backyard. (Subject of the S-Town Podcast — spoilers if you haven’t listened):
Marc Quinn — a British artist who might be said to go to obsessive extremes in portraiture made from flesh and blood:
An island caretaker, haunted by the spirit of a drowned girl he could not save, hung dolls from the trees to appease her spirit. He came to believe that the spirits of dead girls inhabited the dolls. You can see the dolls in their hundreds, hanging, often maimed or dismembered, disturbing, with sightless eyes at Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls)
Charlotte Salomon — painted over 1,000 autobiographical works in less than two years, depicting major events in her life including the suicide of her mother, depression, sexual abuse, etc. A once lover of hers shared that she was quiet, locked inside walls she had built, and art was one of her only expressions. Charlotte died at Auschwitz at the age of 26.
Other tidbits:
- Charles Dickens carried a compass and slept each night, with his head pointed North.
- Pablo Picasso feared he might lose his essence if any part of him were discarded — thus, he saved his nail & hair trimmings & even old clothes.
- Mary Shelley’s favoured writing companion was her pet boa constrictor, working in perfect harmony the snake would let her know when to take a break by squeezing a little bit tighter (she wore it round her neck).
- Sartre believed crabs were his constant companions, no doubt clicking at his heels: “They followed me in the streets, into class. I got used to them. I would wake up in the morning and say, ‘Good morning, my little ones, how did you sleep?’ I would talk to them all the time.”
- Andy Warhol collected over 600 boxes (time capsules) of random objects — the extent of which was not realized until after his death. The boxes filled his four-story home and a storage unit. By the end he felt overwhelmed by “stuff” and could not entertain in his home as only two rooms were accessible.
Be sure to use our Submission Form when sending in stories for the 13 Days…Challenge.
Check out the 13 Days of Dark and Weird Challenge Letter for more details:
Enjoying these prompts? Clap for us & Follow The Mad River and 13 Days… to read all the fabulous stories we’ve received this month! Challenge submissions will be published starting October 19th, 2018.
Thanks to Julia Kantic at The Mad River for inspiration, editing, and general weirdness in this month’s prompts!
