Update
The ‘Haunted Maps’ Kickstarter campaign is now LIVE and FULLY FUNDED! It hit it’s funding target in an incredible 33 minutes ????????
More details available at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thisissianellis/haunted-maps-illustrated-maps-of-ghost-stories-and-folklore
New Project
I am super excited to announce a brand new project that I’ve been working on; my Haunted Maps series!
I’ve kept this under my hat for a while now, collecting stories and coming up with the perfect format for this project before sharing it with the world, but it’s finally ready!
The Haunted Maps are a series of illustrated regional maps featuring folklore, hauntings and curious sites. In a nutshell, these maps function as both beautiful wall art and a handy map with which to help you plan your next weird adventure, by showing you which stories and sites are local to eachother. Plus, alongside the release of each illustrated map will be an illustrated zine to tell you a bit more about each story. Think of it as an Alternative Lonely Planet Travel Guide (although each zine will be sure to make for a really interesting folklore read whether you plan to visit the destinations or not!)
The idea for these maps came from my love of folklore and my love of weird days out, bringing them together to create the kind of map that I dream of packing in my suitcase and hanging on my wall. The zines are compendiums of illustrated strange stories, the kind of zine that I’d find impossible to walk past on a shelf in a store. If you also enjoy folklore and visiting weird places, then these maps are totally for you too!
The reason that I’ve chosen to turn to Kickstarter for this project is because the maps will take a lot of work. I know from writing my folklore zine ‘Tell the Bees’ just how much work it takes to research, write and illustrate folklore stories. By launching the project via crowdfunding it will allow me to throw myself into this project and these stories; to pause my commission work and dedicate time to creating these detailed, magical guides. Plus it will generate the funds to print the maps and zines, so that I can send them out to backers and have some to take with me to Christmas markets too. I have two successful previous Kickstarter campaigns under my belt and I just have to have faith that there are enough people out there who would love to see these maps and their accompanying zines come to fruition.
Plus, if you back the zines via Kickstarter there will be all sorts of exclusive goodies up for grabs. Prints based on the map’s stories, stretch goals like bookmarks and stickers, and a chance to have your name forever printed on the map or zine. I’ll also throw in some super limited really special rewards, like the chance to get your hands on a personalised folklore mini map designed just for you.
To be the first to find out when the Kickstarter goes live, join my mailing list (I promise not to spam!) below
I’m really buzzing for you guys to join me in this illustrated journey of the bizarre, and I hope that the idea of holding these maps in your hands is as exciting to you as it is to me!
Stay tuned, wish me luck and tell your most curious friends!