In 1891, Samuel Riley created the first tattoo machine by adding an ink chamber and a needle to Thomas Edison’s original design for the electric pen, which was used to create stencils to duplicate drawings and handwritten documents. In 1929, Percy Waters modified the pen further, adding an on/off switch, a spark shield, and a needle that could cut plastic stencils. Today’s devices can be adjusted for different depths, pressure, and needle speeds, allowing the artist finer control over the final artwork.
Other than certain technological and hygienic advances (antiseptics, disposable needles and inkpots, use of an autoclave to sterilize equipment), the actual tattooing process hasn’t really changed that much. Puncturing the dermis with a needle, the artist leaves behind a small dot of insoluble ink. That process, repeated over and over, forms the tattoo. People describe the pain in varying ways, from a pinprick to an intense sunburn. As the skin over the tattoo heals it goes through a molting process, which requires some care to keep the mark from becoming infected. Once healed, depending on its location and its exposure to sunlight and wear, it should remain intact for the remainder of the owner’s life.
Though body art was once confined to certain subcultures (gangs, bikers, sailors, circus performers, and other social rebels), it has branched out into the entertainment industry (Angelina Jolie, Cher, and David Beckham, to name a few actors who proudly sport ink). Now going mainstream, one of the fastest-rowing segments of the tattoo industry is suburban, middle-class women. And according to a Pew Research Center survey, over a third of eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds have at least one tattoo. Between the ages of twenty-six and forty? Forty percent.
Though much about tattoos has changed over the years, some aspects have remained constant. Over the ages skin art has been employed as a form of protection, to ensure health, to commemorate a special event, as an indication of rank or status, as a social statement, or as a declaration of religious faith.
Which brings us to the tattoos in the House of Night series.
Skin as Canvas
What compels a tattoo artist to choose skin as her medium? Jenny Bunny Bunns, who blogs about her life as a tattoo artist on her website TheInkBunnyDiaries.com, says, “On the creative side, this medium fascinated me because it’s art on living skin. Instead of a two-dimensional paper or canvas, I’m working with something that breathes, talks, sweats, stinks (or smells good), moves, etc. It’s a challenge in and of itself!” She adds, “My art becomes a part of a living, thinking, feeling being with a life of his/her own. Perhaps on a spiritual level, there is some kind of bond between client and artist.” Nyx would approve!
VAMPS HAVE IT THEIR OWN WAY
Unlike Zoey and her fellow fledglings, we make a conscious decision to be tattooed, even if that decision is made under the influence of fermented beverages. We choose the tattoo’s content and placement, as well as when and how we receive it. But in other ways the vampyre tattoos of the House of Night series are very much like ours and serve many of the same functions as they have in the human community, but with a few twists all their own.
In the House of Night series, the tattoo-like Marks are a natural part of becoming a vampyre and appear to be biological in nature. According to Dick Cast (P.C.’s father, who taught high school biology and helped develop the scientific reasoning behind the vampyres’ Change), rampant hormonal changes trigger a recessive gene in certain teenagers’ bodies. That gene sets in motion a cascade effect of physical symptoms, including increased T-cell production, which in turn destroys the host’s capillaries, causing lethal respiratory complications. The series does not explain why the Mark appears in reaction to this biological change, so we are left to speculate on that matter. Is it purely biological? Or is it also mystical, a gift from Nyx?
Vampyre tattoos, unlike ours, aren’t static. When a vampyre completes the Change, additional designs are added to the original crescent moon of the Mark. Marks occasionally disappear, reappear, or are altered during the course of the series, but always for compelling reasons. When Stevie Ray rejects the Change in Betrayed and dies, she returns to life as something entirely different. When she regains her humanity in Chosen and Changes into an adult vampyre, her tattoo becomes something different, as well. Her Mark is described as a “beautiful pattern of tattoos made of swirling flowers with long, graceful stems all twined together . . .” which might signify her affinity for Earth. While that is what one would expect for an adult vampyre, the other change is not: those Marks are the “brilliant scarlet of new blood.” The rest of the undead fledglings’ Marks, they discover, have changed color, as well.
After her soul is shattered in Tempted, Zoey is caught halfway between life and death. To signify that disconnection, her vivid tattoos vanish and she is left with the same crescent moon outline you would expect to find on any other fledgling. Only when she acknowledges every element of her innermost self—A-ya the Cherokee maiden, Brighid, and young Zoey—does she become whole again; her soul reunites with her body, and her special Marks return. That’s a powerful statement about Z’s journey, and it suggests that while the initial crescent moon Mark itself might be biological, its embellishments are tied to a vampyre’s spirit, not his or her body.
Despite those particular differences, the Marks in the House of Night share similarities to their real-world counterparts. Let’s explore a few of those commonalities next.
RITES OF PASSAGE
The Mark first appears at a particular time in life: puberty. Puberty has always been an important milestone in a young male or female’s life and is often celebrated by the society in which he or she was raised. The demarcation between a girl and a woman, the onset of menarche, is clearly defined, but not so with a young male. Exactly when a boy becomes a man is difficult to pinpoint, so specific rituals were developed to denote the transition from child to adult.
Tattooing can serve as a test of an individual’s fortitude, or identify who has achieved adulthood in the eyes of his/her peers. Some cultures believed that if a boy could not tolerate the pain of tattooing he would not be a fearsome warrior. In other cultures, the marks would not be added to a boy’s skin until he had passed some specific test of manhood—in the case of the Ngaju Dayak in Borneo, single-handedly killing a monkey or boar in the jungle using only primitive weapons.
As time passed a young man might continue to have tattoos added to recount important battles, until, when he was quite old, he might have no flesh canvas left to mark. According to an account written in the mid–eighteenth century, one Iroquois chief had sixty tattoos, one for each enemy he’d killed in battle. His skin acted as a walking résumé for anyone able to decipher the symbols. (Zoey’s ever-expanding Mark works in a similar way—additional designs form whenever she performs a particularly awesome deed, and her unprecedented lacelike, curling design with “mysterious letter-like symbols” that trails down her shoulders and back adds to her reputation and mystique.)
Marking the Moment
Skin art is also used to commemorate special events, such as falling in love or having a baby. The inscription of a lover’s or child’s name or image on a bicep or chest is a powerful statement that that person has changed the wearer’s life and will not be forgotten as long as the bearer is alive. It has been estimated that over three-quarters of the soldiers in the early twentieth century tattooed the names of their fallen comrades on their bodies. Often the mark may be nothing more than a date that holds special significance, such as the memorial tattoos that were prevalent after 9/11.
From the moment fledging vampyres are Marked they follow a classic path: they are removed from their ordinary life, go through a period of training, and finally take their place in adult society. The crescent tattoo serves as an initiation into a new world, one rife with emotional turmoil, betrayal, and intrigue. In other words, high school on steroids. Zoey must leave behind her old existence and the majority of her friendships in the human world. She even takes a new name—Zoey Redbird. This is the first rebirth, and t
he Mark serves as evidence of that moment.
Should the fledgling survive their second, extremely painful rebirth (if Erik’s Change in Chosen is any indicator) and become an adult vampyre, the crescent moon is filled in and additional tattoos form, trailing down the face. That completed Mark is a badge of honor, signifying that the wearer has endured the rite of passage and lived to tell about it.
RANK AND STATUS
The completed Mark also serves as notice to the world that this is an adult vampyre, one who has been bound to the Goddess Nyx—in a way, it announces the vampyre’s rank, no longer a fledgling but a full-fledged member of society.
Tribes have often used tattoos as an indicator of rank within their community, establishing the pecking order, if you will. The chief might be designated by a series of elaborate marks that signified his place as their leader and perhaps recounted some of the battles that had earned him that position. The upper caste Maori of New Zealand were recognizable through an intricate tattooing procedure called moko. Using a small chisel, the tattoo artist carved a series of parallel grooves into the face and body and introduced pigment into them. Highly regarded Maori tattoo artists were paid handsomely in goods—something lower-class individuals couldn’t afford.
Women also employed tattoos, often to indicate mating status. When Tahitian girls reached the age of sexual maturity, a black solid mark would be tattooed across their entire buttocks. Until they received the tattoo they were not allowed to engage in sex. To let a young Tahitian male know she was interested, the girl would raise her skirts and display the tattoos. (Christian missionaries, not surprisingly, were shocked by this display of blatant femininity.)
When Zoey enters the House of Night with her Mark filled in, it is an indication of Nyx’s favor that everyone recognizes the instant they meet her. Her status as Nyx’s Chosen manifests in other ways, such as through her affinity for the elements, but her tattoo makes sure everyone knows who is watching her back.
The color of the red fledglings’ Marks also communicates a kind of status. Though the crescent moon on their foreheads indicates their membership in the vampyre community, the color marks them as “other.” Blue vamps versus red vamps. The established order versus the outcasts. Or from a human perspective: the scary outcasts versus the really scary outcasts.
In our own past, Ancient Rome marked their slaves and criminals so that they might be easily identified and to alert others to the slave’s place in the pecking order. If a slave tried to escape, or was caught stealing or lying, certain brands were seared into the forehead so that all might know of the transgression. Though it’s tempting to consider that an archaic application, during World War II the Nazis used forearm tattoos to identify their “subhuman” slaves in concentration camps.
Seeing Red
The color of the red fledglings’ Marks deserves special consideration. The authors could easily have allowed Stevie Rae and the others to retain their original sapphire blue Marks and indicate their new Vampyre 2.0 status in other ways. Instead, they chose to change the color of the tattoo. Sapphire blue is calming, a color associated more with melancholy than a feral urge to kill. Red is a powerful color, traditionally used to symbolize blood, violence, and wrath (one of the Seven Deadly Sins), and the change in the red fledglings’ Marks sends a clear message that these vampyres are a potential danger to everyone, even their own kind.
SOCIAL STATEMENTS
The moment you place a mark on your body you acknowledge yourself as a member of one tribe and an outsider to others—you are making a social statement about who you are and where you belong.
Members of street and prison gangs use certain colors of clothing or styles of graffiti when marking their territory to set themselves apart. Gang tattoos transmit similar visual signals to their members and to those who would oppose them. But it’s not just their rivals they’re sending a message to. According to GangInk.com, an online resource for gang tattoos, “gang members in particular take pride in branding themselves as outside of the boundaries of conventional society.”
Going Bold
Now that tattooing has gone mainstream, those seeking to make a bolder social statement often turn to scarification. This process (branding, cutting, or slicing patterns into the upper levels of the skin to cause extensive scarring) is not for the faint of heart. In the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, for example, young males are sliced on their backs, chest, and buttocks with a sharpened piece of bamboo, an excruciatingly lengthy and painful process. The resulting pattern represents the teeth marks of a crocodile, who the tribesmen believed created humans—their way of paying homage to the divine.
Most often seen in the sub-Saharan African cultures because the high melanin content of the skin makes tattooing difficult, scarification has crossed over the oceans to Europe and America. Gays and lesbians in San Francisco in the 1980s were early adopters, and the art form spread across the country in the 1990s.
No matter the reason you choose to have skin art (or in the case of vampyres, whether you choose it at all), a tattoo sets you apart—and that can have very real social consequences. Employers (Starbucks, for instance) may hire someone with ink, but require that it be covered so as not to offend their customers. What is a statement of belonging in one context can be evidence of difference—and an excuse for discrimination—in another.
Belonging to the vampyre community makes you special; fledglings join a culture with a rich history they can be proud of. Still, a Mark comes with immediate social consequences. After Zoey’s encounter with the Tracker, her best friend, Kayla, reacts to her first Mark with horror and disgust, as if Zoey has suddenly become a different person. In the eyes of the humans, that analogy isn’t far wrong. In a sense the old Zoey is no more; she’s now a creature of the night. And superstitions, like vampyres, are hard to kill.
Zoey’s new Mark brands her as a symbol of evil in her parents’ eyes. Her stepfather sees it and immediately proclaims her Satan. That isn’t literary license on the part of the authors: some fundamentalist churches believe that tattoos in any form are the mark of hell, that tattoo studios are demonic, and that only the ungodly would wear such things on their skin (though these hard-line views have been countered by other Christians who feel that tattoos are no more inherently evil than other forms of body decoration).
RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
Tattooing for a spiritual purpose is as old as religion itself. For early humans, tattoos involved fire, blood, and physical discomfort, all of which invoke strong spiritual and sacrificial themes, potent elements in which to catch the attention of the gods. If the deities were pleased, you would thrive. If not, maybe you needed another tattoo.
Tattoos could also help you after death, as well. In Sioux culture, it was believed that upon a warrior’s demise he would mount a ghost horse and ride toward the land of “Many Lodges.” During that journey he would encounter an old woman who would bar his way. If he could not show her certain tattoos, the warrior would be returned to this world to wander as a ghost for eternity.
A Tattoo a Day
Tattoos weren’t just good for your spiritual health. Some researchers believe the tattoos might have had a therapeutic purpose—that they may have been a primitive version of over-the-counter medications. The mummy of Ötzi the Iceman mentioned earlier had over fifty separate tattoos. Of particular significance is where they were located: along the lumbar spine and knee and ankle joints. This placement perhaps indicates an effort to combat arthritis or other joint ailments. Ojibwa Indians here in North America who suffered from headaches or toothaches would inscribe permanent marks on the cheeks, temples, and forehead to try to counteract their pain.
Some cultures believed that you could invoke the protection of a particular animal by marking its image into the flesh, an important survival tactic in a world where humans were considered tasty two-legged meals. Tattooing the image of an animal on your skin acted as a talisman of sorts, or might even permit you to take on that
animal’s attributes, melding them with your own. A fox tattoo, for instance, would instill that beast’s supposed cunning in the recipient, an owl its wisdom or a lion its strength. According to Cherokee tradition, painting or tattooing an eagle’s eyes around your own would gift you with that raptor’s keen eyesight.
Even Christianity used to look favorably on tattoos. After completing the arduous journey to the Holy Land, early believers would acquire a tattoo on their hands or face to commemorate their pilgrimage and to actively display their piety to the world. The practice fell out of favor during Emperor Constantine’s reign (a.d. 306-337). No doubt drawing on the injunction against marks as mentioned in Leviticus 19:28, the emperor felt such tattoos disfigured “that made in God’s image.” By a.d. 787, tattoos had been banned in England, and during the Dark and Middle Ages those with marks were viewed as outsiders, and, in some cases, evil incarnate.
Some of today’s Christians display their faith through marks, and it is not uncommon to find figures of Jesus, Mary, the fish symbol, crosses, angels, and Bible verses tattooed on the observant. Jews display their faith by inscribing verses in Hebrew, the Magen David (Star of David), or scenes from the Old Testament on their flesh (though traditionally, having a tattoo means you cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery). Despite Islam’s prohibition against marks, some Muslims have tattooed passages from the Koran, the Crescent Star, and the Hand of Fatima, which is supposed to ward off the evil eye. For Pagans, you’ll find a vast array of ink art: deities, Celtic knots, Odin’s triple horns, lunar crescents, and an astonishing selection of animals, both real and mythical.
The House of Night’s tattoos obviously have a spiritual tie; however, the vampyres’ Marks don’t just reflect their devotion to Nyx but are directly connected to the Goddess herself. Nyx serves as a divine tattoo artist, shaping the raw clay of the fledgling, marking the body both physically and spiritually, and preparing him or her for a life in Nyx’s service.
Nyx in the House of Night Page 5