Trick or teeth!

I was curious: Where did the Tooth Fairy legend come from? I mean, the notion of a magical creature fishing around under our pillows for lost teeth? After extensive research (two whole Google searches), I learned the following: Probably during the Dark or Middle Ages, when faeries and witches and magical folk of all kind had freer reign, primary teeth were thrown into the fire or buried in the ground to prevent witches from snatching them up and thus being able to cast spells on the child. Also, burying or burning the teeth prevented the unlucky soul from wandering the Earth in the Afterlife looking for those darn lost teeth before settling in for a comfy eternal slumber. At some point, the job of looking after these teeth was handed over to a very busy and benevolent fairy. So, you see, the Tooth Fairy legend may have some loose Samhain connection in there. And since Anna is currently walking around with a grill befitting a prize fighter, what could be a more fun Halloween costume this year?

I "got" (read, "took") the Tooth Fairy costume idea from the ever-fabulous Wendy. I really wanted to avoid a Tooth Fairy, because Wendy's Tooth Fairy was perfection. Every stitch. Every detail. The very idea. And likely because it was perfection, I could not and did not resist temptation. I did go in a different direction, however. Wendy's fairy is more princess, mine more pixie; hers is more Neuschwanstein, mine more Harajuku; hers more Disney, mine more animé. I hope. Another aside, I had the costume cut up and ready to stitch, when I discovered that a very popular blogger was using the very same fabric for her girl's costume! Alas, lest I am to be possessed completely by demons of unoriginality and haunted by opinionated blog post ghosts, I did buyeth a different fabric at the last minute. And that is why the bodice is fitting a bit wonky (I switched back and front inadvertently ...).

Jack, well, he is a chauliodus sloani. This is more body puppet than costume, with a long tail that attaches to his hand. Complete with working photosphores and a glowing illicium. Now, your real-life viperfish will not have eyelids, or, uh, feathers, exactly, but we tried to make it as zoologically correct as coat hangers, black nylon, yards and yards of boning and Christmas lights would allow. The chin munches up and down as my darling deep-sea dweller walks. And the costume actually lived through the night! Well, anything that lives 2500 meters below the surface of the ocean can probably survive a nine-year-old's Halloweening.

Trick or teeth!