After the last ritual in Mexico in March 2020, Ghost suddenly posted a photo on their social media accounts, which showed, on the one hand, the new mitre of Papa IV and two mysterious books. After many rumors have swirled around these books, it’s time to tell the story behind them.

Sarah, Manon and Evy – thank you for taking the time and being willing to talk about your unique project.

First of all, it would be nice if you could briefly introduce yourselves. It would also be interesting to know how you became aware of Ghost and what the band means to you.

Sarah: I’m Sarah, I’m a sculptor/costume maker in the UK and I’ve been a Ghost fan since 2018. I’m always a sucker for a band in masks/spooky costumes, so when I first saw Ghost taking it to the Nth degree I was sold immediately. Aside from being ridiculously fun and entertaining, they’re just absolutely uniquely fascinating.  I think the interesting thing about Ghost is that so many people who are deeply engaged with them are often SO creative and talented and kind; I’ve met so many glorious people through Ghost who I might never have known otherwise, so I definitely owe them that. 

Manon: Is it my turn? Okay, great! My name is Manon and I’m from the Netherlands. I became a fan of Ghost in 2018 as well. My cousin was going to Dynamo fest and told me I should check out the headlining band; Ghost. So I did, Square Hammer popped up on YouTube and I gave it a listen was like „okay, okay. I like this“ and went on to listen to more and really liked it. But the actual moment of „okay this is it; I’m hooked. I’m in love“ came after seeing Ghost live in 2019 in Amsterdam. I felt so much happiness and joy in a way I never felt before. Rituals became my happy place and the music became a form of therapy for me. Because of Ghost I also met so many amazing people including my best friend Evy. Ghost really made a big change in my life and I’ll be forever grateful for that!

Evy: So, I’m Evy and I live in Belgium. I’ve been a ghost fan since 2018 also. I was at a festival and since the bands I came for weren’t playing I decided to check out the mainstage. I arrived just as ashes was playing and I was so intrigued! I stayed for the whole performance and I after that I immediately bought all the CDs I could find. Ghost became more than a band to me; it became my safe haven. The music itself is also my favorite way to escape for a while. Even when I’m down, Ghost always makes me feel happy again. Even if it’s just for a little while. I met the most amazing people because of them. After being lost for so many years, they made me find myself again. And for that I will never be able to thank them enough.

Scrapbooking is the process of embellishing and capturing favourite memories in the form of photos with other craft supplies and embellishments together in a craft book (scrapbook) in a photo book or photo album.

How did you come up with the idea to start the project and create scrapbooks for the band? What exactly was your goal?

Evy: I messaged Manon saying I wanted to make a scrapbook for Ghost. We’d been following the European tour for a couple dates and as our last ritual was coming up, I felt like we had to say thank you for all the wonderful rituals.  It’s a privilege to be able to express your emotions towards a band/ artist and them acknowledging it. Whether it’s during a m&g, screaming during a concert, giving them a present before or after the show, …  Knowing that not everyone has that privilege, I wanted to give them the opportunity to be able to do so.

Manon: We wanted the books to look satanic on the outside and when you opened the book it’s full of glitter, stickers and sparkles. We felt like it represented Ghost pretty good.

Who was involved in the books and who had which task?

Evy: Sarah, Manon, Maxi and myself. Sarah made the covers of the book. She wanted to make the covers and knowing how talented she is, I couldn’t refuse. Manon and Maxi were the biggest help getting everything into the book.

Manon: We did most of the work while we were in Mexico. Even some of the details were done in the queue at 7 am because we just didn’t have enough time. ☺

Evy: I made sure to answer all the questions people had about the books. I tried to reach as many fans on different social media platforms to send in their art/letters/ …

I remember making the banner for the announcement at the time. How many entries did you receive?

Manon: Oh man, I don’t remember the exact number, but t think it was something around 160 in the end.

Without going into detail, what did people send in? Letters, drawings, photos?

Evy: There were no rules as long as it wasn’t too big or too insulting for any reason. Fan art, Pictures taken at rituals, m&g stories, letters about how Ghost made their life better, tattoos, thank you notes, …

How did the fans submit their entries?

Evy: Through E-mail. I made a mail address (SecretRatsProject@gmail.com) Since that was the easiest way of dividing everything into different folders so I could print everything in order. But I had a couple of people who wanted me to put the original art in the book so I gave them my address so they could send it to me.

The books appear to have been made in the style of historical books with noble ornamentation on the cover. Whose idea was the design of the books?

Sarah: Myself and Evy had really similar ideas from the get go, Evy’s starting point was ‘old rustic satanic bible’ and mine was a grimoire, so we definitely had a similar vibe. I designed them based on suggestions from Evy: I did a bunch of sketches and research (by research I mean spent hours on Pinterest), and we were always bouncing ideas off each other. So, it was definitely a collaboration!

Evy: It definitely was! We were on the same page right away which is always nice. I felt like it had to look like books that could come from the clergy library and I think we managed to do that. 

How were the books created? What material and colours were used?

Sarah: The books were just plain sketchbooks with the covers redone.  I made the front plate and all the detailing in sculpey, sculpted it how we wanted it, heat set and painted it.

The paint job is always the most fun part of making for me as it brings it to life: it’s an easy enough technique, just a black base coat with dry brushed acrylic, but it really picks out all the details and makes it look a bit worn and well-loved. Once that was done, it was attached to the books and voila, spooky Ghost grimoires!

Can you describe what exactly is shown on the covers?

Sarah: For the red book we took lots of inspiration from Ghost iconography: the crucifix logo being the one seen on Copia’s costumes. The corner details are little plague doctors, another image that popped up regularly on this album cycle. And of course, the book itself is red as a reference to Copia’s cassock.

The silver book was a little harder as the Ghouls themselves have a lot less detail in their costumes. We decided on a Ghoul & Ghoulette mask first, but then added in some symbols: each ghoul’s alchemical symbol, plus two roses for the Ghoulettes: I’d have liked to have put something in for each Ghoulette, but I don’t think they have any element specifically attached to them yet! The roses were a nice compromise as they gave out roses each night of the tour, so we thought it was perfect.

What does the Latin inscription on the book mean?

Sarah: This was Evy’s GENIUS idea. The Latin reads ‘Cardinalis Infernum, Primum de nomine eius, secundo molestie mensis’, which translates out to ‘Hellish Cardinal, First of his name, Second most employee of the month’.  We thought it was pretty funny, and considering Ghost’s habit of hiding silliness in Latin, it was pretty fitting, and a little nod to the Prequelle Chapters.

Why did you decide to do two books? What is the difference?

Manon: Because we felt that the ghouls and Copia deserved their own book. The original idea was to make one for each ghoul as well.

Evy: Yeah it would’ve been really cool to make one for each of them. Sadly, we didn’t have time on our side, as we started working on the books mid-January. The Mexico gig was in March, so I should’ve started sooner!

How many pages did the final books have?

Evy: The books both have 62 pages I believe?

Manon: Yes, 62 is correct. With Copia we did back and front and for the ghouls we just used one side.

How long did it take to create the design? How long did it take to realize the complete project?

Sarah: From my end it took a few weeks, in and around uni work

Evy: I think we announced this project in mid-January. It took some time for everyone to create their art, and I couldn’t start before I had the books, obviously. So, From the first announcement until the books were done, I think 2 months.

What did you enjoy most about the project? Were there perhaps funny anecdotes?

Sarah: Just the fact that we were able to help get so many peoples’ messages across, which is a really lovely thing to know. Having Ghost share the image not once but twice – the second time being with a message from ‘A Nameless Ghoul’ – was unreal and it felt really special to be a part of something even a wee bit significant.

Manon: Being together was the best part for me. I always enjoy spending time with friends and creating something so beautiful is just amazing. Also, the fact that we had so much fun makes it a moment to never forget.

Evy: The best part for me was brainstorming with Sarah. She truly is the most talented person I know and being able to create something so special with her was a privilege. Obviously working on the inside of the book with Maxi and Manon was a hoot. Being able to use sparkles, rainbows, etc. was pretty funny to do.

Were there any problems you had to solve and did some things perhaps not work out as you had imagined?

Sarah: Trying to figure out which symbol for which Ghoul was more of a pain than I thought it would be!!

Evy: The biggest problem was in Mexico itself. It was very hot, and the books couldn’t really stand the heat. We tried to keep them in the shadow as much as we could so the covers wouldn’t break. There were some small cracks in the book but overall it wasn’t too bad.

When and where did you hand over the books to the band and did you have help with this?

Evy: Maxi asked Jason if he would have a moment to give the books to the band. So, we gave the books when we moved from the queue outside into the next queue inside the venue

How did you feel when Ghost posted your books on their social media accounts and explicitly thanked you for the gifts?

Sarah: Immediately burst into tears. That’s all I have to say!

Manon: After the ritual, Maxi and I were in our room. Just chilling and talking about everything. Evy was sleeping in the room next to us. All of the sudden I got a notification on my phone that Ghost posted something on Instagram. We wanted to see if there were pictures with us in it, since we were front row there was a possibility. But then I saw that they posted our books and my heart skipped a beat. Maxi and I were screaming and ran to Evy’s room and we started screaming that ghost posted our books. Evy woke up and almost got a panic attack. Her eyes were wide open and she was so confused.

Evy: I swear the way Manon and Maxi came into my room screaming, I was terrified. I really thought someone broke into our apartment. But after I calmed down, I was so grateful. I also felt like weight dropped of my shoulders because I really hoped they all liked the books and that we didn’t do anything that would insult any of them. I was also happy that all the people who made something for the book, also knew that Papa and the Ghouls appreciated them. 

Would you do such a project again? Do you already have new ideas?

Sarah: I’d be 100% up for it, especially now we have new masks, costumes and ghouls!

Manon: I mean.. maybe if we find new ideas, I would be up for it. It was a lot of fun to work on a project like this and if I get the chance to work with these amazing ladies, I would definitely do it again.

Evy: If the time is right, sure! Maybe if we start planning something on time, we could do something even better! No ideas yet, but I’m sure if the opportunity comes, we’ll be there to make it happen. 

Finally, would you like to thank people who were involved in the development of the books and supported you?

Sarah: The biggest thanks need to go to Evy, Maxi and Manon, the true masterminds of the thing. None of it would have happened without them putting in the hours that they did!

Manon: Definitely all the people who reached out to us to help. Without them there wouldn’t have been anything to put inside the books!

Evy: Obviously, I want to thank Maxi, Sarah and Manon for helping me creating the books. I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own. To all the amazing people who sent in their entries, from amazing artwork to the most beautiful and emotional stories of how Ghost saved them. I’m also grateful to all the people who helped financially. To Jason for taking the time to give the books to the band.

Thank you to each and every one who helped in any way, it meant a lot getting so much support.

Please have a look at their social media accounts:

Sarah:

• Twitter: @SawneyBeanes
• Instagram: @sawyliecreations

Manon:

• Twitter: @FireGhoulFloozy
• Instragram: @sacredgrucifix

Evy:

• Twitter: @AetherAerobics
• Instagram: @DeathxKnell_

Maxi:

• Instagram: @twiggybraindead