Midnight at the Mausoleum

By Erika Pitera

It was a dark and stormy night… Well, actually, it was a day in late September, and one of the most dangerous storms in recent history was headed our way. In an effort to keep myself busy and somewhat distracted from Hurricane Ian barreling towards us, I decided that my ghost girl (purchased earlier this year from artist, author and musician Slade Templeton) needed a place to haunt. I had purchased the metal cemetery tray from Michaels when their Halloween merch first arrived in hopes of eventually making a graveyard scene. It seemed my ghost girl was destined to haunt a graveyard, and so Midnight at the Mausoleum was born. In a haze of hurricane-induced anxiety (we were beyond fortunate to avoid damage, just lots of rain and wind), I scratch built the entire mausoleum in a day and a half and then proceeded to create the rest of the scene around it.

Miniature graveyard diorama by Erika Pitera, The Petite Provisions Co.

I created everything, with the exception of the shovel, the tray itself, and the ghost, from scratch. For the stained glass windows, I used Gallery Glass paint on acetate. Flickering lights inside the mausoleum added a lot to the overall ambiance and highlighted the dirty, dusty windows in a creepy way.

The tree is a wire armature covered with paper clay. The ravens are sculpted from polymer clay, then flocked and feathered. The mausoleum and headstones are all made from foamcore. I used an assortment of products from Woodland Scenics and AK Interactive for the terrain and weathering effects, respectively.

I really hope you enjoy my spooky little scene! Don’t miss the video below – and be sure to turn the volume up, because the sound effects and music are half the fun!