The Gathering of American Gods

Photo by 8 Eyes Photography

Joy.

See Neil’s expression? I love it. That is the kind of unrestrained smile that one gets when given the chance to ride the World’s Largest Carousel for the first time.

The Gathering of American Gods at The House on the Rock was full of those moments of almost childlike joy and wonder. Halloween is like that to begin with: a time to try on a new persona or tap into a secret one, a time to shed expectations and restraints, a time to allow ourselves to believe in magic and myth and things that go bump in the night, a time to be Gods.

Listening to Little Red Wolf perform. Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

Last weekend (Oct. 29-31), the House on the Rock in Wisconsin hosted the mother of all Halloween costume parties based around Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (because of the significance of this roadside attraction in the bestselling novel). Neil had agreed to participate in the weekend and judge the costume contest that would award winners with a carousel ride.

Shadow & the World Tree. Photo by Carl Hertz.

When I first heard about the event, I rallied friends into participating, and we reserved a house in Bear Valley, Wisconsin. Last weekend, we carpooled and met up on Friday afternoon. Our house was darling, if only a little too far from the event, and what a wonderful way to spend the weekend: hanging out, drinking wine, eating cheese, listening to music, dressing up as Gods.

Divine Comedy. Photo by Carl Hertz.

When we checked in at the house on the Rock, we were informed that nearly 1000 people has registered to participate. 1000 people! No wonder the inn and resort packages had sold out so quickly. Friday evening, we lined up outside the tent on the grounds and waited to take our seats for the reading and Q&A.

Q&A. Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

Even with the gusts of cold Wisconsin wind rushing through the tent, the audience was cheerful and enthusiastic; and Neil was charming and engaging. He read from American Gods and two eerie poems, “My Last Landlady” and “In Relig Oran” (one of my favorites), followed by a question and answer session moderated by Steve Paulson of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

Before and during the reading, people could brave the cold to visit the bars in the Welcome Center and return with wine or beer or coffee. Some people had their designated book signing slot with Neil following the Q&A, but ours was for the next day, so we returned the house.

As the mother of three young children, my usual routine is to write until 2am and wake up with the kids at 6am. It felt like a decadent and wonderful treat to wake up at 9am to the smell of freshly brewed gingerbread coffee and frying onions and potatoes.

After breakfast, we departed for House on the Rock. Some chose to explore, others waited in line to have things signed.

Infinity Room. Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.
Photo by Mark Lupescu

I ran into my friends Angie and Drake of Earth Traditions, who were waiting to get their books signed and to gift Neil with a gorgeous bust of Odin.

Photo by Angie Buchanan.

It was nice to see Neil again so soon after running into him at A.R.T. Cabaret in Boston, also to see Cat, and finally meet the Fabulous Lorraine. I managed to pick up one of the final eight signed prints of Neil’s poem, “The Day The Saucers Came,” illustrated by Jouni Koponen who was there visiting from Finland (and another sweetheart).

Neil was gracious, as always, and I gave him a hardcover edition of The Silence of Trees. It makes me happy to think of my book nestled in among the others in his collection.

Following the signing, we headed back to the house to begin our transformation into gods. Some folks in attendance at the party opted to dress as other Neil Gaiman-inspired characters, but our group chose to stay true to the American Gods theme. After costuming, makeup, and hair dye, the seven friends to leave the house were: Mama-Ji, Anubis, Hubur, Morrigan, Zorya Polunochnaya, and two of the “new” Gods.

New Gods in the house. Photo by Carl Hertz.

In American Gods, there is a section where Wednesday connects American roadside attractions to more traditional sacred spaces:

photo by Carl Hertz

“No, in the USA, people still get the call, or some of them, and they feel themselves being called to from the transcendent void, and they respond to it by building a model out of beer bottles of somewhere they’ve never visited, or by erecting a gigantic bat house in some part of the country that bats have traditionally declined to visit. Roadside Attractions: people feel themselves being pulled to places where, in other parts of the world, they would recognize that part of themselves that is truly transcendent, and buy a hot dog and walk around, feeling satisfied on a level they cannot truly describe, and profoundly dissatisfied on a level beneath that.”

Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

After waiting in the icy Wisconsin cold to enter the tent and be judged by Neil, we watched as finalists were selected. We then made our way to the House for food and drink, and to explore further this roadside attraction and the gods and characters assembled there.

Photo by Carl Hertz.
Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

I met up with Maura, a friend I had made online and last saw at Kyle Cassidy’s wedding celebration last Autumn.

Photo by Carl Hertz.

The rest of the time we spent meandering through the open rooms, dancing to Little Red Wolf, eating and drinking with new and old friends.

Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

We were so impressed with the freedom we were given to wander in much of the House on the Rock. Drinks in hand, we roamed the halls and furry walls, discovering delights:

Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.
Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.

We occasionally bumped into old friends and made some new ones.

The talented & good-natured magician, performing coin tricks. Photo by 8 Eyes Photography.
Photo by Carl Hertz.
Neil Gaiman and Anubis (Pat Prather).  Photo by Carl Hertz.

Then it was over and time to return to our little house in the woods. Under a sky with so many stars, we drove home swapping stories and impressions of the night. It was a remarkable evening and an unforgettable event, made all the more special because it was shared in the company of such dear friends.

In his book The Sacred and the Profane (1961), Mircea Eliade wrote:

“Man becomes aware of the sacred because it manifests itself, shows itself, as something wholly different from the profane. To designate the act of manifestation of the sacred, we have proposed the term hierophany.”

If the House on the Rock was not a sacred space before this weekend, I believe it is after. To have so many people there celebrating with dancing, sharing food and drink, exchanging stories, finding inspiration that sort of thing is the realm of myth and magic. The Gathering of American Gods revealed the House on the Rock to be something wholly different from the ordinary and the profane. I believe it transformed the place, just as it transformed the people involved.

For more photos from the Gathering of American Gods weekend, please visit:

Eight Eyes Photography: http://8eyesphotography.com/Other/House-on-the-rock-weekend

On the grounds of House on the Rock. Photo by Mark Lupescu.

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

10 thoughts on “The Gathering of American Gods”

  1. Margot says:

    I know not going this past weekend will be one of my regrets in life (although missing a Halloween where my son wanted us here would have been bigger). However, through your words (and the many photos), I feel I was able to be a part of it. Thank you. It looked amazing. And I’m so jealous you got to meet Neil!!

  2. Adrienne says:

    Thanks for sharing! You’ve got some awesome pics there and great ruminations. I, too, was there and share your appreciation of being able to wander freely around the attraction. Staff and attendees were all so awesome, fun, and super-nice!! Wouldn’t have missed this for the world; best Halloween ever!!!

  3. rachat credits says:

    I like browsing your blog for the reason that you can constantly get us fresh and awesome things, I feel that I ought to at least say a thank you for your hard work.

    – Rob

  4. UGG 5819 says:

    what a great post!

  5. Nathalie says:

    An amazing weekend. Thanks for the pictures!

  6. Kamala says:

    Thanks, Valya, for exactly what I was hoping for when I realized this was happening and there was no way I could be there. I adore Neil and think that ‘American Gods’ is one of the best books EVER. Life-changing, really. Now it’s time I go order YOUR book!
    Hugzzzz to you!

  7. ~Angie says:

    What a great blog! It really sums up the experience. I’m glad the one photo I took was useful! LOL! Good to be there, good to share it with you. Next year Rock City????

  8. Katie says:

    I wish I would have been there. I just read American Gods a couple of months ago, and I happened to see the exit for The House on the Rock on my way back to Iowa from a business trip to Wisconsin today and it definitely pulled me in. It was such a fun and almost surreal experience all on my own today; I can only imagine how fun and magical the weekend you’re describing would have been!

  9. gil gonzalez austin says:

    The palest ink lasts longer than the most retentive memory.

  10. jentben says:

    I’m sorry I didn’t discover this until today, and yet the magic lives on through the new gods…

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