Art Notes

“Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” The witch’s hut has been an ongoing fascination in literature and folklore. Whether it is from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth or the Brother’s Grim fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, these dark abodes and their contents truly thrill the imagination. The spells that cast there are drawn from ingredients that would disgust the palette and repel the eye. Wing of bat, throat of frog and coffin’s dust are, but a few of the seasonings used to reach a magical end. Owls, rats, and cats also abound. As supernatural familiars, they stay close to their witch owners, so they may work to help in their master’s dark designs.

And, at the center of it all is the cauldron. This evil urn glows green and lets out orders no human could bear, but which delights the cook of the malignant brew it contains. I had fun exploring my imagination to create this fanciful home to the witches born of stories told on dark nights under a full moon. I hope you enjoy your own Halloween investigations, and thank you for sharing my adventures in art.

Key Points

• Coven Cottage is the fourth release in Zac Kinkade’s Nightmares in Haunted Hallow series. The first three paintings in the collection were A Ghoulish Gathering, A Supernatural Retreat, and Halloween at Horror Harbor.
• There are 53 haunted elements hidden throughout the painting, including classic Halloween characters, spooky spell ingredients, and references to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Can you find them all?
• Can you spot Dracula, Wickerman, Frankenstein, and The Mummy?
• Zac’s beloved Pug, Poe, is hidden in this painting. Can you find him?
• Some of the many spell ingredients in Coven Cottage include Troll Hair, Vampire Fangs, and Ghost Tears.
• In a nod to Macbeth, Zac Kinkade included “Lizard Legs”, “Wool of Bat”, and “Eye of Newt”, which are Ivy, Holly, and Mustard Plant, respectively.