Custom Zombie's Undead Ramblings: Q&A with Raven Young

“Dreadful Things by Raven”….I could not disagree more! Her shop is full of wonderful, beautiful things! You can find jewelry, paintings, spooky home décor, Christmas cards, and taxidermy art amongst other things. It’s definitely worth your time to peruse her wares!

CZ: Tell us a little about yourself!
RY: I have been creating art as long as I can remember but was formally schooled in Anthropology. You can sometimes spot my cultural interests in my pieces. I am a Gemini and with that said am very much into both rural and city life. Weekends I could be dancing like the dead in NYC or hiking along a river, you just never know!

I love snakes, cats, dead things, religious art, horror films, and the occult.

CZ: What type of items do you sell?
RY: I sell everything! Real bone jewelry, creepy home décor, original paintings, Goth Greeting cards, Gothic Christmas decorations, and even handmade corsets from vintage spats.

CZ: What is the inspiration behind your shop and what keeps you motivated?
RY: Much of my artwork is a gothic twist on folk art that I have seen growing up in this area of Pa. I live in Amish country and Hex signs are everywhere on barns. As a kid I was influenced also by Tim Burton, Keith Herring, and Clive Barker.

I never lose my motivation. Creating is something I have to do. It can be a curse at time because I am like a factory of ideas. I can become frustrated because I cannot create my pieces as fast as I envision them in my head.

CZ: What is the greatest compliment you have received about your work?
RY: A few people have said they could never spend the night in my house because my creations scare them. I guess that made me pretty happy..haha.

CZ: When did you first realize that you weren’t “like the other kids”?
RY: My parents really nurtured my creativity and let my interests develop naturally so by the time I was in grade school I noticed other kids say me as “weird”. I had pet reptiles starting at age 6 and would pick up anything creepy crawly. This was not so popular with the girls so I ended up making a lot of male friends early on. This made the girls really hate me later…haha.

CZ: What’s a typical day in the life of this Dark Sider like?
RY: I wake up very early, 530 am and work on art and orders before heading to my mundane day job. After work I am back at the art while taking care of my pet snakes, three cats, and gardens. I try to keep a busy social life as well and head to several goth clubs and events a month in the tri-state area.

CZ: Do you prefer zombies or vampires? RY: Overall … Vampires. They have something to say. Artistically I prefer the zombies though. Painting rotting flesh never gets boring!

CZ: Which horror character do you identify with most and why?
RY: None. Although I do identify with/am influenced by fictional characters such as Dr. Frankenfurter, Jessica Rabbit, and Morticia.

CZ: Which elusive creature do you believe is more likely to be real: El Chupacabra or Sasquatch?
RY: El Chupacabra I suppose could exist. I definitely do not believe that a Sasquatch could exist. It would just be impossible from an evolutionary standpoint.

CZ: Who is more likely to enslave the human race - aliens or robots?
RY: Robots would happen sooner but if there is life from another planet capable of visiting earth we would likely be doomed as well.

CZ: What scares you?
RY: George Bush and hairy centipedes. Everything else is game!