These are the top 20 entries submitted for Casilda's Hat Contest. The winners were Rena's "Casilda's Hat" in first place and an untitled poem by Mike Kolachny for 2nd. Enjoy! Note: these aren't in any particular order. (more...)

These are the top 20 entries submitted for Casilda's Hat Contest. The winners were Rena's "Casilda's Hat" in first place and an untitled poem by Mike Kolachny for 2nd. Enjoy! Note: these aren't in any particular order. (more...)

The judges for Casilda's Hat Contest have spoken! Casilda's hat has found its master.
To win this toothy hat, many of you submitted excellent stories explaining its origin. I suppose it's a cliche to say that choosing a winner wasn't easy, but it's true all the same: this was a tough one. So tough, in fact, that we've picked a first AND second place winner. "Well, get on with it!" you say. Oh, all right. If you insist.
In 1st place, winning the prized hat: "Casilda's Hat" by Rena
In 2nd place, winning a signed print of the El Despertar poster: An untitled work by Mike Kolachny (who wins bonus points for working in all those Skary references so deftly)
Congratulations, you two! If you haven't already, please send me your mailing addresses. And congratulations to everyone else as well! Each and every entry was wonderful in its own way. We thoroughly enjoyed reading them all! And now the winning entries: (more...)

Casilda's Hat Contest has drawn to a close at last. The entries have been sent to the judges who are busy reading each every one and picking their favorites as I speak (well, maybe not right this very second. They could very well be taking a shower or peeling onions or something). Results should (hopefully!) be posted some time within the next couple of weeks. I won't give you any hints as to who's ahead so far, but I can honestly say that they were all just wonderful and wonderfully creepy to boot! It's obvious that a lot of work went into these. Good work, all of you! This decision will not be easy.
Oh, and look at this! Kim in OK has sent a photo of her Emmeline tattoo, which was done by Brooke Cooke in Conway, AR:
She plans to add the Neighbor Boy soon. I can't wait to see it!
At this rate, I wonder if I'll ever catch up on my inbox, but I suppose I have time to answer one question:
Hey! I love ur videos, yet the creepy part about them is the lingering question, What if that really did happen? Or already did? -C (more...)

Howdy, everypeople. I'm in the middle of drawing some illustrations for some something-or-other, but I wanted to remind you all not to forget Casilda's Hat Contest! I've already received a couple of entries, and they're pretty impressive. You just might have to flex your writing muscles on this one (by the way, I really hate that phrase. Don't make me say it again*). Oh, and speaking of Casilda's hat: No, you can't buy it! I've had a few joking offers but also a couple of serious, not-joking-at-all offers to pay for it and while the offer is lovely, there is only one way to get this hat. You know how.
There's a new crop of fan art on the site! All of it's great, so DO take a glance, especially at this one:
Ashley in Alaska got that in California, which reminds of this one from Chanelle:
Who else has a Skary tatto0? Send pictures!
That's all for now. I've fallen a little behind on my email, but I promise to answer a few more soon!
*I mean, really, what and where is the "writing muscle," anyway? Is it anywhere near the appendix? Because nobody likes the appendix. It smells funny, and it hogs the tetherball pole.

The infamous Casilda hat is complete, teeth and all. Are you its rightful owner? Prove it by telling us the origin of its trophy teeth, and the hat could be yours.
What to do:
Casilda's hat bears three bloodied human teeth as sinister trophies. But whose teeth were they? What terrible thing did Casilda do to acquire them... or was it even Casilda's doing? This is your task - write a short story that answers these questions. If you need a refresher on the original tale, watch the video for El Despertar here.
You win:
A real-life hat just like Casilda's, hand-decorated by yours truly with teeth sculpted from polymer clay and painted with acrylics, bound together by red suede. The hat is sized small-to-medium but is still pretty large and should fit most heads if the winner wishes to wear it. It will be delivered by mail in a lovely scarlet hat box and comes with a signed card.
Rules:
New Deadline: 11:59 PM Pacific, June 24th, 2009. Don't be late!
*If you want to, you can even video yourself reading your story and post it to YouTube. That won't give you any advantage, but it would be pretty cool. If you do this, please post a written version somewhere else, though.
Photos of the prize (there's only one, you know):
