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Paper Mache Shrunken Head

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This post should be filed under the “I can’t believe I spent three days making this thing!” category. I don’t really need a shrunken head. But it’s Halloween…

I can remember seeing some real shrunken heads (or fake ones, I hope) when our family visited the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle when I was a kid. I just now checked to see if they’re still open, and yes, they have a website. And shrunken heads must still be a popular item, because they’re featured right on the front page of their site. (They’re now made out of rubber, thankfully!)

While doing the research for this project I learned that there was a brisk trade in these heads of dead people soon after European explorers discovered the Amazonian tribes who made them. Demand soon outstripped supply, so there was only one rational thing to do – to make more shrunken heads you need more dead people, so the new capitalists of the jungle went out and made some more people dead. Gruesome…

Anyway, if you find that you need a shrunken head for your Halloween costume, or if you think it would really freak out your mom if you made a few dozen to decorate your room, the video shows you how to do with paper mache, no murder required.

4 thoughts on “Paper Mache Shrunken Head”

  1. I wanted to make a few of these for a LARP I do and was wondering how you made the face. I know you stated a little about it in the beginning but I would like to see more of that, If you could show it. This looks amazing btw.

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