Getting All Dolled Up for Halloween... Spooky Illustrations 2025 Continues.
Welcome back, Friends, as Spooky Season continues to unfold. I can't wait to share some of my Autumn and Spooky Season adventures with you all. I have decided to do that in the blog post for the last illustration of this Series for this year. I will be posting that on Halloween Day, fingers crossed lol.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Sabina Music Rich/Unsplash.
Anyway... Spooky Season is here. I love this Season so much. I love Autumn so much as it kicks off Holiday Alley from now until the end of the year. It's such a magical time of year... Apple Picking, the Pumpkin Patch, Apple Cider, Candied Apples, Apple Pie, Apple Crisp, Apple Butter... I'm getting hungry now, lol. I went apple picking this past weekend, so apples are definitely top of mind. Candy Corn, Candy Corn Pumpkins, Making spooky costumes, decorating your house in spooky things, an appreciation for the Macbre, Making Tributes to past ancestors... There are SO MANY WAYS to participate and celebrate in Spooky Season. Take your pick.
As many of you may know, I participated in Inktober last year, and it almost killed me lol. Well almost... Which is appropriate for the season. It's such an intense and dedicated thing to participate in. I've done it twice and, to be honest, I think I'm "done" with that. I've done it and that's enough for me. It was such a grueling art challenge, just thinking about it gives me the "chills."
It made me miss the Good Ole Days of Illustration Friday... I know. I talk about IF ALL THE TIME and whine about its absence from this dark and horrible world we are now living in. However, I really did enjoy those art challenges. A week is a perfect amount of time to develop and complete an Illustration. So, this year, when Inktober was gearing up, I decided that I would do something a little different to participate. I decided I would do weekly Spooky Season-themed illustrations based on one of their daily prompts as if it were Illustration Friday. I would make an illustration, blog about it, and post it.
I have made one additional new discovery regarding Inktober. It's Inktober 52. A weekly drawing challenge that is year-round. I may participate in 2026. As for now, I reviewed their weekly prompt, reviewed 7 of the daily prompts for regular Inktober, and then chose one of those prompts to base an illustration on. Now, I know what you may be thinking... that's cheating... and maybe it is, a little, but it's not like I had anything in my head for any of the prompts as I was reviewing it, then picking the one that closely fit what I already had in mind... I didn't have ANYTHING in mind. I just picked the prompt that most appealed to me, and then I brainstormed illustration ideas for it.
...So, now, Spooky Season Illustrations 2025 continues...
This week's prompt was "Ragged" and I immediately thought of the Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls of my childhood. I'll mention a little bit about my personal connection with those beloved characters later on here. One thing that may come to many people's minds when you are thinking about Raggedy Ann in the context of Spooky Season is that you may immediately think of the Annabelle Doll (which I will touch on later in this post). However, I didn't want to just do an Annabelle-themed illustration for this.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I ABSOLUTELY want to create an Annabelle illustration at some point, and it almost happened this year, but I kind of ran out of time, and these Spooky illustrations sort of took longer than a single week to produce, along with an adequately written blog (lol), etc. For this particular prompt, though, I really wanted to focus on a new idea for both Raggedy Ann AND Andy as they are an inseparable pair. I started brainstorming other ideas that could include them and speak to the Spooky Season. So, I asked myself, "What would Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy go as if they were going to dress up for Halloween? What is sort of the antithesis of their branded characters? My answer...
They would go as Goths. lol. Now, again, don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against Goths or Goth culture or anything of the sort. I have several Goth friends, and they are some of the most lovely people you would ever meet. However, for Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, being goth is definitely not something they would be or likely ever consider... if they were real, of course. They are very conservative, sort of country-clean-cut All-American type dolls. They just wouldn't ever go Goth, which is a shame. Because, as it turns out, they make pretty amazing Goths. I think for a short Season of frivolity and Spooky Good Fun, they'd enjoy playing the tourist in that Goth scene.
But before we dive too deep into that, let's review a few things so we have a bit more context for this illustration. So, Raggedy Anne and Andy are, of course, dolls; very famous and very popular dolls... at least from when I was young. I'm unsure of where they sit on the popularity radar these days.
Humans have had a very interesting relationship with dolls for a VERY long time. What we think of as modern doll culture and how we view dolls and who should have relationships with them is very recent, within the past century. The origin of dolls dates back to ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans. The oldest known dolls were the paddle dolls from ancient Egypt, dating back to around 2000 BC. They were found in graves and likely served a role in religious rituals, or they might have been burial gifts intended for use in the Afterlife. In many ancient cultures, dolls were not toys but were sacred objects that represented deities or ancestors and were often used in rituals to bring good luck. It wasn't until we reached the time of the Greeks and Romans who began to make dolls out of materials such as clay, wood, or ivory. This was the first time in recorded history that we can see the use of dolls as playthings for children.
In medieval times, dolls became a status symbol. Only royalty or the very wealthy could afford them, and the families would place them on display to show their status. Since we are in Spooky Season, it seems fitting that we mention the "Mourning Dolls" of the Victorian Time Period. These dolls were life-sized effigies of deceased children, sometimes made with the child's actual hair. They would either be displayed or they would be "cared for" by the grieving family. If you've ever seen the horror film, The Boy, you would become more familiar with this very strange custom.
It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that we began mass-producing dolls with materials such as plastic or vinyl, and that dolls became more affordable and more common in the everyday household. And this may surprise you, but up until around 1940, dolls were for all genders. They were considered gender neutral, and it might be common to see boys as well as girls both playing with and carrying around dolls. In 1940, toys, in general, began to be gender specific. This was due to how toys began to be marketed to people. Dolls were associated with girls. And boys were meant to play with other, more "male-specific" toys. There was a backlash during the 1970s, when feminist politics were popular, that dolls enjoyed a brief period of gender neutrality again. However, the conservative backlash of the 1980s brought back gender specific ideologies surrounding toys and who should be playing with what. This was the birth of the cleverly marketed "action figure" a doll that was socially acceptable for a boy to play with. However, when I was young, I remember there being a certain age where this divide happens. If you were below that age, it was still permissible for a boy to have and play with dolls.
I remember, very well, my dolls that I had growing up. I was obsessed with my Cabbage Patch Kid Doll, and it seriously went to bed with me and went to kindergarten with me, and went everywhere else in this world with me. I LOVED that doll. It was totally my BFF. His name was Michael and we had many adventures together. I honestly really miss that doll. I wish I still had him.
When I was really young, I was obsessed with dolls and puppets. I also cared nothing about the gender specificity of how certain toys were marketed. Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, and Care Bears were all primarily marketed to girls, but I was so fascinated with the dolls, plushes, and playsets that were being made for these franchises. In the 80s and 90s, it wasn't just "good enough" that you created or developed a toy; you had to create characters and an entire universe for them to exist in. Many of these toys had cartoons and television programs that propelled their popularity. I was also fascinated with franchises that were marketed to boys at that time: Thundercats, Star Wars, Teddy Ruxpin... I LOVED ANYTHING that was imaginative. I spent a lot of time on my own as a child, so I leaned very heavily on my imagination. Each character set and toy franchise opened my eyes to a magical and fascinating new world in which I could dive headfirst in and find adventure.
Raggedy Anne and Andy were all part of this, especially with the musical adaptation of the children's story. In 1977, Famed animation director Richard Williams and his animation studio released Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. I remember being spellbound, captivated, and also terrified of this film when I first saw it as a child. It is an absolute fever dream to watch. You honestly can't tell which way is up and which way is down. And some of the scenes are absolutely terrifying. I remember being very scared of the globular character that was trying to eat Raggedy Ann and Andy. I have since watched this film as an adult, and I can definitely say that aside from the fact that it still holds its charm and captivating nature, it is still a "trippy" movie to watch. It's a very fun adventure... and the music is nice too. I still very much enjoyed it. Unless you read the books, this film gives you a real sense of the Raggedy Ann and Andy characters.
Raggedy Ann and Andy originate from Arcola, Illinois. They were created by an American writer and illustrator named Johnny Gruelle. The story goes that in 1915, his daughter, Marcella, found an old rag doll in her grandmother's attic. The doll itself did not have a face, so Johnny drew one on the doll for her. Thus was Raggedy Ann was born. He patented the doll later that year. The name Raggedy Ann comes from 2 of Gruelle's favorite poems: The Ragged Man and Little Orphan Annie. He introduced the character to the wider public in 1918 with his book Raggedy Ann Stories. Raggedy Andy was introduced in 1920 in the follow-up book Raggedy Andy Stories, which introduced Camel (featured in the 1977 film) as well as other dolls and characters.
Now it wouldn't be Spooky Season if we didn't talk a little bit about the dark side of Ragged Ann's history. There were several claims that Raggedy Ann was created in honor of Gruelle's daughter after her untimely death. She died of a bacterial infection from an unsterilized needle of a smallpox vaccine. It wasn't the vaccine that killed her (so calm down, anti-vaxers.) Anyway, many claim that the dolls are haunted or possessed by the ghost of Marcella Gruelle. However, this is just speculation and rumor, as Marcella did not die until 1921 and the doll was created and patented in 1915... but still, you never know.
There is also the real-life case of the Annabelle Doll. This is probably the most infamous story associated with the Raggedy Ann dolls made famous by the Hollywood adaptation, The Conjuring. In the 1970s, Famous (or infamous) paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated a case where a couple of student nurses claimed that one of the oversized Raggedy Ann dolls was possessed and had been terrorizing them. The Warrens took the doll and placed it in a containment chamber, and have the containment chamber blessed every so often to contain the evil entity that had attached itself to the doll. In the film, Hollywood created its own visual interpretation of the doll, most likely due to copyright laws. I am sure whoever holds the rights to Raggedy Ann would not like the doll associated with demons or the occult.
Now that we have looked at the history of dolls in general, and the origin of Raggedy Ann and Andy specifically, let's talk a little bit about what Goth or being Goth is. The origins of modern Goth culture, as we know it, come from a variety of time periods and cultural sources. Primarily, Goth culture can be traced back to its post-punk roots from the late 1970s to the early 1980s in the UK. It slowly made its way over to America during the 80s New Wave Era. The most attributed bands to pioneer the Goth movement were bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, and Joy Division. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus (1979) is considered the very first "goth rock" song. The popularity of the culture spread with the popularity of the music within London's Underground clubs.
Goth fashion pulls from a few sources. It comes from punk, of course, as well as the styles of the Victorian Time Period. It is usually characterized by dark, often all black color palette. Heavy black eyeliner, dark lipstick, lace, velvet, and fishnets all come together in this subgenre of fashion. Goth culture also pulls from Gothic Literature. Authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelly, and Bram Stoker all shine their dark influences. You could say that it's a bit hodge-podge, but without looking like that. Even with its wide variety of influences, goth culture seems very "together" and solidly unified as a modern subculture.
Now that we have had some context, let's talk about the actual art, shall we...
When I was doing my reference research, I looked at many different images of both Raggedy Ann and Andy, but I stumbled across this one image of both dolls standing together, and I was lik,e "this is the pose I want. They need to look like this." And it became the basis for the sketch that I made.
I looked at a lot of the different styles of goth fashion. There is honestly SO MUCH variety. I am sure most people would think that goth clothing is very limited, and while I would agree that it limits its color palette, it finds variety in so many other places. I ended up borrowing many different elements from many different outfits that I saw. I took a bodice from this outfit and paired it with a skirt from this other one, and maybe the leggings from this other outfit, etc I did the same thing when I was trying to put together Andy's goth outfit. I wanted their outfits to feel as authentic as possible. Like they weren't just parading around in a "costume," that they really had immersed themselves in the culture for a stint of time. I really lost myself in the details of their outfits: the skulls on the hats, the spider shaped brooch, the beetle brooch, the upside down hearts on their cheeks (thanks Drew, for that idea), Changing their hair from red to purple and adding punk-style streaks to it, etc... All of these elements helped contribute to the authenticity of the transformation of these two characters.
As an artist, I was also presented with another challenge: How do I illustrate "goth" without using the color "black?" Using Black in illustrations will often flatten it. I usually like to substitute my blacks with deep purples or dark blues because they do add some dimension to it. I chose to go with Purple for this illustration. I felt like it made more sense. So basically, it is a monochromatic color scheme. So I based my color comprehensive sketch on the idea that I would just use a limited spectrum of Purples.
Since my final illustrations are actually collages of layered textured and colored papers and fabrics from my library, it was a challenge for me to modify the colors of these different papers and fabrics to match them to the color spectrum of purples that I had created in my color comp. I think there were 6 different shades and tints of purple, and some were more red and some were more blue. I had also made a differentiation in texture depending on which part of the illustration I was "coloring." Anything that had to do with the "skin surface" of the dolls or their gloves had a very smooth texture that I used a series of paper for. Other parts of the illustration that were meant to depict clothing, I used actual fabric scans, or I used handmade papers that had more robust textures within them. I feel like this contrast in texture worked quite well, considering that I limited the color palette.
The background is almost completely desaturated because I wanted it to be the closest thing to black in the entire illustration. I really wanted it to kind of sort of imply the "feel" of a rainy day.
This pretty much wraps up what I have to say about this illustration. I hope you like my Goth versions of Raggedy Ann and Andy. I hope they bring up fond memories of the childhood toys you used to play with. I also hope that maybe they inspire you to add a little Goth to your life, perhaps.
Halloween approaches soon. What are you all doing? I would be curious to know. Drop it down in the comments below. Let me know. I am certainly looking forward to enjoying a Spook-filled Halloween, myself. Until then, I leave you all with a song that I think Raggedy Ann and Andy would pick as their favorite, if they were Goth. Until next time, as Elvira (Mistress of the Dark) would say, "Unpleasant Dreams." ;)
Happy Halloween!
Until next time, friends,
Keep dreaming, keep sketching, keep thinking, keep laughing, and most important of all, keep making art.
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