I am flattered by those who wish to become like me and even more amused by those who are only brave enough to costume themselves after my Gothic abundance during the Dia de los Muertos. To dance in orgies of technology while decorating themselves in my humble reflection is a compliment yet an insult. The souls of the departed who are celebrated during the Halloween of modern worlds in an artificial way consisting of debauchery and consumerism and sweet treats for children. My Gothic costume is a year in incubation and during the remembrance of the dead the true Gothics light candles and sing mournful ballads in the cemeteries of our families and feed them with meals and elixirs that were their meager sustenance while they walked this world.

Sugar skulls can be honorable and respectful as they can be turned into a mockery of pop culture symbolism underwritten by profits.. The true profit for my brood and my brethren is the richness in memory of the dearly departed and this is a personal and private ceremony and is humble and decent and heart breaking.

Costume yourself in tribute to my vivacious spirit and to the creatures of the night and the forest dwellers and sea monsters who must hunt and hide and help each other without gain or acknowledgment or award. The vanity and glitter of bloodied and dismembered creatures is a falsification of the meaning of love and nature. Disguise yourself in my honor if you will but understand that a Gothic costume does not make you Gothic any more than wearing the mask of a dog makes you a canine.