Interview with Beckie-Ann Galentine: Vintage Curator & Picture Witch
Beckie-Ann Galentine
Known mostly for her TikTok (@mybloodygalentine) where she tells fast-paced-everything-Halloween histories on her “365 days of Galloween”-themed platform, Beckie-Ann Galentine is more than just a successful social media icon; she also happens to be one of my best friends. A graduate from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, Beckie recently moved from the city to West Hartford, Connecticut, where she is currently working as an apprentice embalmer. In addition to making short films, preparing the deceased, and restoring unique vintage items with spellbinding taste for her vintage Etsy shop Bruised Black Vintage, Beckie is also an established photographer who focuses mostly on portraits.
When I first met Beckie, we were just kids stumbling through college in Indiana, Pennsylvania. While we had many mutual friends, I was almost instantly drawn to her dark and artistic personality. For us, daily hangouts often involved roaming a local cemetery, spontaneous photoshoots, or weekend punk shows. However, when we were just sitting around her apartment, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a museum. From her collection of vintage clothes, Beckie also had an extensive collection of My Little Pony, various taxidermy, animal skulls, antiques, and one of my favorites: her collection of Ouija boards. Although she has never been able to keep a thorough count, Beckie reports that she’d often find the boards in unexpected places—like in drawers or rooms—with some of her oldest boards being standalone planchettes.
In her latest endeavors, Beckie has taken on the task of rebranding her Instagram focus and started tackling the tech-trending platform among all ages, TikTok. What started off as a fun experiment using big-hit sound bites, trending challenges, and Bruised Black Vintage pieces, soon found its identity in exposing fond, and sometimes forgotten, Halloween-, witch- and cemeterial-based histories.
In wanting to know more about Beckie’s success in educating over 180,000 in followers and receiving over 3,000,000 likes on TikTok, I asked for a friendly sit down to discuss her work.
We’re curious. What does the term “Galloween” mean to you?
I wanted my bio to encompass more than just the specific topics that I covered, and I thought Galloween would be a fun way to include everything that my followers liked about my page. It's a collection of fun things that I want to share with people who love Halloween as much as I do, and my last name is Galentine, so I went for it.
Where did your interest in the supernatural, antiques and peculiar arts begin?
I grew up in an antique store that was once a rickety old barn; my brother and I would play "Dead Man in the Graveyard" to get a little spooked and I had so much fun. As I grew older, I craved that rush of "flirting" at the fringe of the veil. After my first paranormal encounter, I was hooked; I saw something in a graveyard when I was eighteen and consistently sought more evidence. I couldn't have enough. As someone with a science background, I want as much solid proof as I can gather.
In regard to your Ouija board collection, what is the oldest/most interesting board you have?
The oldest board I have is from 1890 and known as the first "Ouija'' brand board that had the Ouija name on it, by the Kennard Novelty Company. There was actually a long dispute about who patented the first Ouija. When it reached the 1940s, toy companies were exploding with spinoffs including We-Ja Girl, Swami Talking Board, and many, countless others. It's nearly impossible to get one example of every board. One of the people credited with the earliest boards is William Fuld—he's the one who ended up selling the copyright to Parker Brothers, which later was absorbed by Hasbro. The interesting thing here is that Ouija ultimately ended up killing Fuld! He was working on supervising a flagpole installation at the factory that he manufactured boards in and fell to his death. Pretty wild, but that's why I love the Ouija history.
Are there any particular books, movies, or memories that led you to the spooky culture? Any in particular that pushed you to create content?
Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree (1993) film adaptation moved me. I was obsessed with it—it tells the tale of friends who were going trick-or-treating only to find that their friend, Pip, had died of appendicitis and became a ghost. I won't spoil it, but they cover the deep history behind today's Halloween and the fragility of the barrier between life and death. As Simple As Snow (by Gregory Galloway) needs to be included, too. It's a young adult novel I read from cover to cover probably a hundred times. It's sort of a romantic tale, but she goes missing. It contains themes of magic and the paranormal, and it inspired a ton of curiosity in me.
In the majority of your TikTok videos, you visit a lot of historical cemeteries and locations believed to be haunted or that simply represent ageless folktales, all while providing carefully crafted and quick mini-histories. Has there been a particular space where you felt the most energy, or maybe one you simply enjoyed the most? Why?
Spider Gates* is easily my favorite—it's not just the cemetery that is interesting. It has a short trail leading to it surrounded by tall trees full of stories and nature. It's one of those pretty places you need to see for yourself to truly understand.
How do you decide on what information is most compelling for a mini-history?
I have to pick the pieces that stand out to me without adding all of the debunking or investigative details from paranormal investigators. A lot of times when you research places, they're packed full of every encounter someone had, and I try to pull the "marrow" of the story and juiciest bits. Sometimes that makes people feel like I skipped pieces, but it's hard enough to get views on a single video, let alone a series of three or four.
What does a typical day in your week look like?
Spider Gates (janhatesmarcia, CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
I am constantly cramming in adventure as much as possible. I am 9 to 5 p.m. at the funeral home every day except two days a week—so Tuesday and Wednesday are reserved for adventure. If I can fit an adventure in before sundown on a weekday (like Spider Gates), I consider it a massive success. Sometimes the daylight beats me. My TikTok followers see my adventures almost immediately; I leave the location and share from the parking lot because I get so excited. People think I have a ton of free time to go on excursions, but I am really racing the clock most days. Some days I have to accept defeat and make quick videos of my talking board collection and save places for a rainy day.
Who or what do you believe most influences you in your growth and production decisions?
My followers are always sending me places; they are molding me and letting me know what they want to see more of and I am trying to make it happen (safely). I also realize with my platform comes responsibility; I try to only include locations and instructions on things that can be done legally and safely. If there is danger, I've been more conscious of adding that in the video.
Recently, you stayed at the house which inspired The Conjuring movies. How was the experience? Do you have your eyes set on another possible location?
I think that the Conjuring house* was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; I still can't believe I was able to visit. So many cool haunted spots are closed to the public or private residences, so it was a rare opportunity inside a place that felt so familiar. The home is filled with period-accurate colonial and primitive decor, which really sets the scene. There were areas where I began to feel dizzy or get goosebumps. I actually had to sleep with the doors closed because I was so frightened of something walking in if it were wide open. It really is unsettling. I would take any opportunity to go back.
I have a few bucket list locations to visit, but I have to keep pretty private about them, so shhhh! I promise I have tons in store for the Samhain season.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
*Spider Gates: A small Quaker Cemetery located in Leicester, Massachusetts, the Spider Gates Cemetery (also known as Friends Cemetery) is rumored to be the eighth gate to Hell. In the 1730s, the cemetery was created by a group of Quakers who believed the land had special powers. In 1943, tragedy struck the grounds when a young boy committed suicide on the grounds. By the 1950s, the spider web-looking gates were built out of respect for the incident, and are reported to be designed after an ancient Greek story signifying life after death.
*The Conjuring House: is an 18th-century farmhouse formally known as the Old Arnold Estate, located in Rhode Island. While its stories have been most commonly used in The Conjuring franchise, its story originates with the Perron family. As the tale goes, the family of seven was haunted by a spirit known as Bathsheba, who in the mid-1800s was believed to have practiced witchcraft and went as far as killing an infant during a Satanic ritual.
Interview by Destiny Johnson
Destiny writes about true crime and thrillers. She likes movies and stories that make you question the world around you, more so than what makes you jump.
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