Creepin’ It Real

With Philadelphia’s colonial past and centuries-old buildings, we’re a city that appreciates a good ghost story. You can find hauntings throughout the city from the Laurel Hill Cemetery, where they celebrate the dearly departed year-round, to Eastern State Penitentiary, with a past so rife with ghostly sightings that it’s been featured on both the Travel Channel and SyFy’s Ghost Hunters. Even tourism hot spots like Independence Hall are suspected to be stalked by the spirits of America’s past. Rather than shying away from the supernatural, Philadelphia celebrates it with excellent ghost tours and haunted houses.

We’re in a unique location in Philly. We’re on the northern end of 4th Street’s historic Fabric Row, a block full of tattoo shops and alternative boutiques. Directly across the street from us is Armed & Dangerous, a jewelry store that appears to be decorated for Halloween year-round, filled with silver dragon pendants, crystal amulets and animal bones and skulls for both personal wear and home decor. Just down the street from us is The Strange and Unusual, an oddities parlor whose name says it all. Even our local coffee shop gets into the spirit with Eddie Munster lattes upon request! We are in a neighborhood that celebrates all types of curiosities all year long—so this holiday is extra-special. If you’re on South Street this weekend, you can also check out the annual South Street PumpkinFest, with Halloween movies

This is the reason why we love Halloween so much. It’s a day the represents what we in the body modification industry do for the other 364 days of the year. On Halloween, we are encouraged to dress wildly, to be whoever—or whatever—we want to be, and to be proud of it. Creativity and uniqueness are celebrated and, in the case of costume contests, glorified. Halloween is a day to be weird, to honor the bizarre. To compare it to the piercing industry, whether you take that idea to the extreme or keep it on the subtle subtle side, it’s self-expression through decoration. Body modifications can be a semi-permanent (or sometimes permanent) costume that transforms us into how we see our true selves. What makes us different is not concealed, but honored, and you too can “creep it real” with us every day.