Get Ready for Spooky Season with this Boo-tiful Wicker Bat Purse
Spooky season is almost upon us, and ghoul-friend, I have just the thing for you. Us Halloweenies always have some bats in our belfry, but now you can have one on your arm too. With our wicker bat purse, you will be an absolute Hallow-QUEEN.
There is something just so magical about Halloween. While Halloween is squarely set in Spring here in Australia, and we don’t celebrate nearly as hard as our friends across the pond, I still like to partake in the spooky festivities.
And, to be honest, I felt we were really lacking in spooky wicker purses here at Wicker Darling - and IT NEEDED TO BE REMEDIED.
Now, of course, Fortuna the Black Cat mini coin purse was a start, but I really felt we needed a wicker handbag that could creep it real with us. And what better way to celebrate spooky season than a bat purse!?
Just like black cats, bats are Halloween icons. But how did they get that way?
Let’s go back to where it all began, so we can understand where our love of Halloween and all things spooky comes from before we give you a formal introduction to our wondrous wicker bat.
How it all started: the origins of Halloween
What is now a $6-billion dollar industry was once a way to mark the Celtic equinox.
This festival, known as Samhain, marked the end of summer and the transition into harvest time in the UK and Ireland. It was believed that this was a time of transition for more than just seasons, and that the veil between our realm and the spirit realm was weakest on this day.
As such, people would light bonfires and wear scary disguises to ward off spirits, and leave offerings to appease them.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III decided to make the Celtic celebration a Christian one. He designated November 1 as a time to honour saints, and named it “Alholowmesse”, which means “All Saints’ Day” in Middle English.
This eventually evolved into “All Hallow’s Eve” and then “Halloween.”
Instead of leaving offerings for the spirits, people were now meant to go door-to-door asking for food in exchange for prayers for the dead.
It wasn’t until the Irish Potato Famine that Halloween became popular. More than 2 million people immigrated to the USA from Ireland, and brought their Halloween traditions with them.
The rest was history, and over time, Halloween has evolved into a holiday we obsess over.
Why we love Halloween so much
While other people are checking their list of Christmas movies to watch come year-end, I’m here lining up my horror film marathon for spooky season.
I’m sure you can relate.
There is something so special about spooky season. The decorations, the costumes, the CREEP FACTOR.
Halloween gives me that all-powerful riding-a-roller-coaster feeling. Because when you know the scary thing is not an actual threat, then it just becomes EXCITING.
The adrenaline rush I get from horror movies and haunted houses makes me feel the most alive, and it’s a high I ride all season long. And I must admit that SOME of my love of Halloween has something to do with the fact that I can’t resist an occasion to dress up.
Okay, more than some. Halloween is THE BEST DRESS UP DAY.
You can literally be anything you want.
You can be silly or sexy or spooky. You can let out your inner prankster, and show off your individualism and artistry. Because some of these costumes are freaking ART!
And don’t even get me started on these haunted houses. We may slack off in other areas of our lives, but come Halloween, we will spend copious amounts of time perfecting our haunted house schematics, costumes, and decorations.
And all these spooky, creepy things just give me LIFE. Which is why I thought it very important to celebrate this special time, with a very special wicker purse.
A bat purse. Because bats are fang-tastic little critters, and I’ll tell you why.
Fun facts about Earth’s only flying mammal
Bats are truly incredible creatures - despite their sometimes undesirable reputation. So let’s set the record straight.
We depend on bats to eat. That’s because over 300 types of fruit rely on bats for pollination (including many other plants). Just think what it would do to the food chain if bats weren’t around - not to mention having to say goodbye to mangoes and bananas. What a world!
Bats also help to keep us safe. A single bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes or other undesirable insects in an hour. That means they help keep pest populations under control, and reduce the instances of mosquito-spread disease.
Now you might be thinking: “But Jas, don’t bats spread disease too!?”
This is both a valid question and a misconception.
A misunderstood creature
Bats have the MOST remarkable health. They have incredible longevity, don’t get cancer or diabetes, and are rarely affected by infections. They usually just refuse to die, or even get sick.
Which makes them the perfect host for viruses.
There are many viruses incubating in little batty bodies. But, with the exception of rabies (which can be passed to you from ANY rabid animal), the viruses in bats don’t usually leap to humans.
Also, a little fun fact about our winged mammalian friends for you...
Their you-know-what literally sparkles!
This is because of all the beetles they eat. Depending on how many glistening beetle shells a bat has digested, their guano can be moderately shiny to FULL-ON GLITTERY. Which makes bats a sort of flying Goth unicorn if you ask me.
But more than just being pretty poop, bat guano is the ultimate fertilizer.
So while bats present the potential for infection, they also give us many agricultural benefits, as well as the potential for medical breakthroughs by studying their incredible immune systems.
Loveable little lumps
Bats are adorable.
They are also very clean.
In fact, bats spend much of their day grooming and cleaning themselves - just like cats do. And if our wicker cat purses are a testament to anything, it’s our love of felines.
They also share another similarity to a much-loved pet: bat babies are called PUPS.
And these flying puppers come in many shapes and sizes, from the teeny-tiny Bumblebee Bat that weighs less than a 1 cent coin (making it the world’s smallest mammal) to the massive Flying Fox - which has a wingspan of over 180 centimeters (6ft).
A bat’s wings are actually their hands - with webbing in between their fingers. This is why bats belong to the order “Chiroptera” which means “hand wing.” It’s really quite amazing that they can swim through the air with these finger flappers.
Bats are also very social animals, chatting, sharing food and even looking after the young or others who get lost.
So why do bats cause such fear? And why are they associated with vampires?
How bats became a Halloween symbol
Bats were first observed ingesting the blood of cattle in Central and South America, where they were given the label of “murciélago vampiro” or “vampire bats.”
But only 3 of the more than 1,300 bat species actually drink blood. The rest eat insects and fruit. They also don’t target humans - they vastly prefer livestock and birds.
The fear and vampiric association really stuck when Bram Stoker’s Dracula depicted vampires shapeshifting into bats.
This was not helped by the fact that bats had long been associated with witchcraft in North America and Europe. They were seen not only as familiars and possible spies for witches, but also as common ingredients for medicine and potions.
And, since vampires, witches and all things that go bump in the night are associated with Halloween - the bat became an icon.
With this bat purse, you’ll have Halloween in the bag
Meet the battiest bat of them all.
Our wicker bat purse has a black wicker body, and a black fabric interior as dark as night itself.
She has glistening gem eyes, faceted to fascinate every passerby, and a fun gold clasp closure on the top of her head. This means that the bat purse hinges open at the tail, but you don’t have to worry about her hanging all the way upside down.
While that would work wonderfully for a real bat, in a bat purse it would be quite hazardous for your cell phone. As such, we’ve inserted some strips of fabric to prevent your bat purse from flopping all the way open. She will open just enough for you to access all your important things.
This wicker bat purse is also easy to flit about with. She comes with a crossbody strap that attaches to her wings - which will keep her from flying off at inopportune moments.
Your bat purse would be the absolute perfect match for your vampire costume on Halloween. She could be your pet, or even your relative in bat form! (You never do know with bat purses I suppose.)
A bat purse could also be a fabulous accessory for a witch costume - so long as you promise not to put her in a soup.
You see, while real bats are fabulous swimmers (you wouldn’t know it to look at them) a bat purse is not. Your wicker bat purse simply cannot abide by water. Please keep her dry.
Rock that bat at all hours
It is true that we sometimes base how we pick our wicker purse designs around the seasons, but I don’t want to pigeon-hole this bat purse into being just a Halloween handbag.
Really, she would love to go out with you in any season - and it doesn’t even need to be night time, she’s flexible like that.
I really think this wicker bat purse is the perfect accessory for the young and young at heart, as well as any rockabilly, goth, or dark pinup look. She will look equally fabulous in summer as she does in spooky season. Throw on a black corset and petticoat, or even some black skinny jeans and a green or red satin top.
Any Elvira-esque or mid-century Halloween pinup look with some Betty bangs would be particularly on point. Or perhaps a batwing shirt or cape dress for some extra vampy flare.
Really, you can wear whatever you want. I’m not the boss of you!
And you don’t need to wear your wicker bat somewhere spooky either. There are all SORTS of places you’ll discover when you search for where to wear quirky purses, but the zoo and the carnival seem like good choices straight off the bat. (You see what I did there?)
Let’s get batty
Ready for the best bit of news in this blog post? Our wicker bat purses are ON THEIR WAY.
And by on their way, I mean somewhere. On a boat. In the middle of the ocean. But most definitely en route to our Wicker Darling headquarters! Until they arrive, enjoy these preview photos of our bat purse beauties. Our first iteration was actually grey, but your Halloween arrivals will be dark as night and ready for a grand appearance this spooky season.
It is true, the pre-order for this lovely lump is currently closed, but if you want to be the first to know if other bats come flying onto our shelves (or about our other wicker creatures that will make you swoon), make sure you are on our mailing list.
