Masquerade Of Shadows: Shadow Work & Séance
- Mickey Fingers
- Nov 7
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 17
A story of ghosts, grief, music, and the night the mirror cracked
🎭 “Didn’t it start with a séance?”
TEA:
Sort of.
But also… not really.
The séance was just when the ghosts got loud.
MICKEY:
Nah, it started before that.
You were still in your “Sunshine, Puppies & Rainbows” era. Making everyone comfortable. Mask always on.
You were writing beautiful things, but not truthful things.
And then… you let me help you dig.
🖋️ How a Fairytale Became a Mirror
TEA:
Mickey held space for me like no one else.
He gave me writing prompts, not the fluffy kind.
He kept saying: “Deeper.”
“Name it.”
“Don’t protect the story. Let it scream.”
At first, I thought I was just writing songs.
But we were conducting a séance... for real.
I was unearthing memories. Shadows. Judgments I had buried.
And I wasn’t alone.
We are a team.
Me, Mickey, Silent Mike, Collin, Belle, and Charlotte
What started as journaling became Gifts from the Sirens.
What bloomed from that became Masquerade of Shadows.
🪞 The Séance Scene: When the Ghosts Got Loud
In Masquerade of Shadows, the séance happens at the end of the first day,
a day that begins with the six heirs of the Promised Circle stepping into adulthood.
They host a graduation picnic, followed by their usual “stitch and bitch” grooming session with Miss Threadwell: a nanny, mentor, and manipulator.
Unknowingly, they begin casting spells that feed the Puppet Master.
Then comes the Charity Ball, hosted by Violet’s mother.
And finally...
in the Queen’s castle,
in the dining room outside the ballroom where they were once groomed,
they hold a séance.
They think it’s innocent. A curiosity.
But the ghosts?
They’ve been waiting to speak.
🧵 Four Songs of the Séance
Each song is a scene (a spell) a step deeper into truth.
Track 12: “Tea With the Dead”
A velvet invitation. A porcelain reckoning.
Celeste:
“Porcelain cups and brittle hands,
Ghosts that hum forgotten bands.
Steam that smells of autumn graves,
Sugar lumps no prayer can save.”
A somber, formal ritual. Tea served with guilt and ghost stories.
They sip secrets.
They toast the dead.
They don’t know what they’ve awakened.
Track 13: “Beneath the Rug”
The floorboards start to swell.
Violet:
“I noticed the floorboards bulging… just a little.”
“As if something wanted to… rise.”
This is where denial slips.
The room remembers.
The ghosts stop whispering... and start thumping.
Track 14: “Boom Boom Boom”
The guilt has a pulse. It shakes the chandeliers.
Ensemble:
“Boom… boom… boom… it calls my name.
A drumbeat forged in secret shame.”
The ball masks slip.
The dead speak louder.
The beat beneath the floor can no longer be ignored.
Track 15: “Where the Nails Went In”
Sanctified silence. Holy rot. The church cracks.
Celeste:
“The ballroom’s quiet now. But listen,
The floorboards pray… where the nails went in.”
Jasper:
“Cover the guilt in marble lace,
Crown it with a holy face.
But truth still rusts beneath the gloss,
A church of rot beneath the cross.”
This is the reveal.
Not just of the Queen’s crimes.
But of the systemic rot behind the velvet masks.
Bless me
"Bless Me, for I Held the Hammer"
For I held the hammer
💿 Eclectic Wonderland Presents: (re-covered)
“You didn’t sweep it under the rug…
You pulled up the entire floorboard and said:
‘Here. This is where I buried my scream.
Let it sing now.’” -Mickey
This week’s Eclectic Wonderland episode "(re-covered)"
picks up where the séance left off.
A mix of covers, hauntings, and musical reclamations, it honors the act of naming what was buried.
It’s not about fixing.
It’s about facing.
🩹 Debridement & Shadow Work: Real Life, Real Grief
TEA:
Shadow work is like debridement. I know, I’ve lived it.
A brown recluse bite once left a crater in my leg. Every day I had to pack it, clean it, face it.
That’s what this album was.
Mickey held the mirror while I pulled out the poison.
He reminded me:
“You can’t heal what you won’t name.”
🎭 Links + Listen
A fairytale unwinds best in order…
Ready to enter the tent? Below are the recommended chapters and listening guides to fully experience Masquerade of Shadows the way it was designed...
as a dark cabaret storybook set to music.
These are zine-format previews of the final book. Bookmark and follow along as we release each section. The album is fully streaming now, listen track-by-track as you read, or take it in like a theatre performance.
📖 Story Sections (Zines)
1. The Playbill
A full show bill: meet the Promise Circle, the ghosts, the Queen, the Puppet Master… and the team that brought them to life.
2. Prelude in Velvet
Where it begins: the dream, the loss, the tent, the velvet. One crack in the mask and it all begins to bleed.
3. Main Story, Part One
From the Dreamkeeper’s Spell to the séance behind the curtain. Follow the first half of the musical scene by scene.
4. Symbolism Cabinet
Mirror shards, sealed scrolls, blood-thread puppets, saints, masks, and more... decoded in one place.
5. The Libretto (Lyrics)
Every word sung, spoken, or whispered. Includes full album lyrics with character voices labeled, scene numbers, and highlighted refrains. This version matches the final Book layout, not the DistroKid version.
(More coming soon: Part Two, Character Stories, Post-Story, Sunday with the Puppet Master…)
🎧 Music Links
Listen to the Album:
[🔗 Bandcamp]
Featured Singles:
– “Twin Flame Waltz”
Behind the Scenes:
📰 Mickey’s Corner: Making of Masquerade of Shadows
🎙️ Eclectic Wonderland Radio Specials:
🎶 Artist’s Way, Playlists & The Magic of Music
Weekly playlist-making has always been part of our Artist’s Way group.
We process through sound.
We mourn and celebrate through mixtapes.
Last year’s playlist became the Masquerade moodboard.
Now, those same echoes show up in Eclectic Wonderland.
Music is our mirror.
It sings what we’re not ready to say.
Left Over Treats From Rocktoberr
👻 PSA: Don’t Trip On Your Sheet, Tommy!
Somewhere between tears, playlists, and shadow work… we cracked ourselves up.
While building this week’s Eclectic Wonderland playlist, we made a joke about vintage ghost costumes and tragic Halloween accidents. That joke turned into a public safety announcement, which turned into a Gala Violet single, complete with a quirky retro video and a full-blown “Vinyl Safety Council” campaign.
Because sometimes grief and joy live side by side.
And sometimes the dead just need a reminder:
💀 “Don’t Trip On Your Sheet, Tommy!” 🧺
🕯️ Keeping the dead alive since 1957.
Originally crafted as a PSA for Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun, this piece slipped out of the episode and found its own spotlight. It still carries the Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun Episode of Eclectic Wonderland.
Masquerade Of Shadows
Listen To The Full Album
Every track. Every ghost.
All 34 songs in sequence... from the flicker of the first flame to the final broken mirror.
Whether you listen on the chaise longue, on a midnight drive, or in your ritual bath of glitter and defiance, this is the complete Masquerade.
Playbill Video
This isn’t just a title sequence ...
It’s a conjuring.
A flicker of candlelight…
The curtain drawn back just enough to tempt you forward.
We wanted it to feel like the record storybooks of our childhood ... with shadow puppets, flickering text, and a whisper of danger.
Clickable Albums
🎵 Masquerade of Shadows (Full Album)
🎵 Singles: Picnic for the Wicked, Mirror Mirror (On the Ceiling), Boom Boom Boom
(Album covers embedded, each one clickable.)
🕯️ Final Word from Mickey
“This isn’t just an album. It’s a masquerade stitched from trauma, laughter, ghosts, and the fire of making art when everything else tried to stop us.
We’re so glad you’re here. Take your mask, step into the story, and let the shadows dance.”
-Mickey Fingers
✨ About Mickey Fingers
Mickey Fingers is the co-creator of Velvet Umbrella Records and Gala Violet.
A multi-instrumentalist and engineer-producer, he moves between drums, guitar, bass, piano, and synth with ridiculous ease, building worlds inside Ableton Live.
Equal parts mystery and mischief, he’s a steady hand in the chaos and a spark in the shadows.
You’ll find him behind the curtain, buried in reel-to-reels and synth smoke.
📖 A Glimpse Behind the Velvet Curtain
Exclusive zine-style previews of the Masquerade storybook.
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