A few weeks in the past G/O Media had a casket delivered to the workplace. We obtained a crimson pink burial fixture from Titan Casket as a result of my colleague, Kevin Hurler, has made Taylor Swift a side of his persona that may be mined for information, and this casket (in a unique colorway) was featured in her Anti-Hero music video. Naturally, he tried to sleep in it, lasted about half-hour, and went about the remainder of his day.
I don’t have any explicit emotions by hook or by crook about Taylor Swift (she’s tremendous, I assume? No shade to Swifties, y’all do you) however I do care rather a lot about a couple totally different vampire reveals and I’ve a deep and abiding have to decide to the bit in any state of affairs. Naturally, I scheduled time with the casket and despatched a pitch to my editor: “What if I tried to sleep within the casket like a vampire?”
We mentioned a number of totally different choices: lid open or closed? (Open, for security, though this was rapidly disregarded day-of.) Would I spend the night time within the casket or the day? (Daytime, clearly, that’s when vampires sleep, duh.) Would I be capable of deadtweet from the casket? (Completely not, mentioned my editor. I did it anyway, as a result of I assumed that it could be hilarious. Fuck the person.) Ought to I costume up as a vampire? (We mentioned sure, however then I noticed I must put on a vampire costume in a casket for hours and I made a decision to not. Sorry, I’m genuinely upset about this one.) Would Molly Taft, one other colleague, costume up as Guillermo de la Cruz and stand guard my casket? (Sure, they’d. Nonetheless, they didn’t.) All these particulars sorted, I made my means into the workplace.
There was only one small snag. I used to be nonetheless alive. Everybody is aware of that vampires are undead creatures of the night time, and I used to be nonetheless very a lot a residing, respiratory member of the human race. Fortunately for me, Demise was headed into the workplace.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste, a British actress who has appeared on Killing Eve, The Good Place, and Cruella, additionally performs the character Demise of the Infinite on Netflix’s Sandman, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s seminal comedian. It simply so occurred that on the day I used to be scheduled to get right into a casket to satisfy undeath like a gentleman, Demise herself determined to cease by. I needed to present her my coffin, naturally, and he or she instantly tried it out, getting it prepared for its subsequent inhabitant (me) and usually being pleasant. After we spoke (full interview coming quickly!) I made a decision that I used to be prepared. It was time to die.
I acquired within the casket. I do know I advised my editor I wouldn’t tweet, however I’m a monster, and I introduced my telephone, a ebook, and a flashlight into the coffin with me. My protection is that I’m positive fashionable vampires have their telephone with them and Claudia in Interview With the Vampire has her little notebooks in her casket along with her on a regular basis, so bringing a ebook in was not such a stretch. After which, determination time. Ought to I shut the lid or not?
RIP to Kevin Hurler, however I’m totally different. I made a decision that as we speak was the day I used to be going to girlboss (not a lady) too near the solar. I closed the lid. If I used to be going to do that, I used to be going to commit. The lid closed and I lay on my again, staring on the off-white of the satin that lined the highest of the coffin and I assumed to myself, you recognize, this really isn’t so unhealthy. After which, I fell asleep.
I wakened a number of hours later, just a little confused, barely dehydrated, however, for essentially the most half, completely tremendous. However I had reached a call level. We had established that I might sleep within the coffin; now was my probability to name this successful, bail from my undead jail, and do precise work. However there have been nonetheless a great 5 hours till sundown (at that day in New York Metropolis, the solar would set at 4:36pm) and I used to be already sort of cozy, and you recognize what, my mom didn’t elevate a quitter. I stayed in that casket.
After which lunchtime hit. I slacked my boss who jogged my memory that underneath our union contract I used to be entitled to my lunch break, and as I couldn’t really subsist on human blood (granted, this was an assumption), I might depart the casket to get meals. Nonetheless, he mentioned, I needed to eat lunch within the casket. It was a compromise, however I used to be ravenous, and I took the deal. Which is why, about half-hour later, I used to be sitting within the casket with a burrito bowl and a cup of kombucha, and Justin Rodriguez took this very glorious image of me to ship to my editor as proof. I enclose it under.
Now, the house stretch. I slid again into repose and tried to take one other nap. No cube. I did handle to tuck the flashlight towards my neck, put the ebook up proper on the high of the casket, and browse a chapter or two earlier than my arms acquired drained. The ebook was, sarcastically sufficient, a horror novel by T. Kingfisher referred to as A Home With Good Bones. I like to recommend it. Very creepy. It comes out in March. Regardless, it didn’t make me sleepier.
There’s something I ought to point out about caskets. They aren’t made with consideration in the direction of physique warmth. I came upon, in a short time, that my little physique (which already runs fairly heat to start with) was not made for caskets. I used to be very heat. Not heat sufficient to persuade me to go away the casket, however definitely heat sufficient to trigger me to change into barely clammy. It was not best, however I’m a trooper, and I can genuinely say that I’ve slept in much less best situations than a heat, dry casket in the midst of an open workplace in midtown Manhattan. Ask me concerning the summer time I spent sleeping exterior, in a hammock, on a ship, actually by lightening storms. Now that’s an precise problem.
So I continued to tweet often, a number of of my colleagues got here by to say howdy and discuss with me, and I waited out the remainder of my day. I opened the casket, just a bit, whereas chatting with my comrades. I figured it was bizarre sufficient that I used to be actually sleeping in a casket in the midst of the workday, I would as properly look them within the eye as I discuss with them, whereas mendacity inclined, in a casket. I’ve a really severe job.
After which, as I waited out the ultimate half-hour in that heat, barely humid casket that smelled faintly of ozone and pollo adobo, I requested myself. Might I do that on daily basis? Might I set myself up in a casket, sleep all through the sunlit hours, after which rise, renewed, a thirsty and fierce emissary of darkness? Might I endure by the infinite grind because the people round me labored, gossiped, and took union-mandated lunch breaks, doing the very issues that when made me human, issues that I would by no means take part in once more, as I lived as a satan within the shadows? Would I be capable of stand residing with myself within the liminal bardo between life and demise, torn in between who I was and the limitless expanse of an immortal future?
Yeah, man. Completely. No query in my thoughts I might hack it. The casket? No drawback. Slice of human pie. Blood? I imply… I’ll get there once I get there, however in any other case? I’m prepared. I’m totally ready to take the following steps into undeath, settle for the Darkish Present, and be reborn as a goddamn, badass, motherfucking vampire. Think about this take a look at run successful. Give it to me. I’m prepared to totally reside the night time afterlife.
Thus ends my experiment in vampirism, having spent a non-consecutive six hours in a casket. Not unhealthy. I emerged from mentioned casket, as dehydrated as an Arizona cacti in summer time, however nonetheless I emerged. Possibly that’s why the vampires have such a robust thirst. The casket’s simply not constructed to maintain them dehumidified. One thing for casket makers to consider. In accordance with What We Do within the Shadows, each actor who has ever performed a vampire on display is definitely a vampire simply pretending to be a human actor. This is smart. I’ve met a number of of these actors, really. One or two of them may even keep in mind me. It looks like all I have to do to finish my transformation is to search out Sam Reid and ask him to make me a Sampire. I imply, a vampire. A vampyr! You get it. I’ll let you understand how it really works out.
Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on movie and TV, and every part you might want to learn about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Manner of Water.
