For the spooky-curious, September brings a full weekend of temptation.
Heretic, a three-day convergence of witchcraft, visual art, ritual, drag, dance, experimental sound, oddities, and nightlife, will take over the Ellis in Newburgh September 25–27. Produced by Amy C. Wilson and her Beacon-based Moon, Serpent & Bone Oddities and Curiosities Market, the event expands Wilson’s familiar market format into something closer to an occult arts festival.
Moon, Serpent & Bone began eight years ago as an immersive night market for “fringe folk.” Its first edition drew roughly 700 people when Wilson had hoped for 100. Since then, she says, the project has become more deeply embedded in alternative spirituality while embracing performance, sound, and participatory art.
Heretic makes full use of The Ellis, a former church whose cathedral-like rooms reminded Wilson of Limelight, the Manhattan nightclub she frequented in the 1990s. She had planned to produce a single market there. Discussions with the venue escalated. “That’s how it spiraled out of control,” Wilson says, “and now I’m producing a three-day event.”
Friday opens with the Moon, Serpent & Bone market and “Sacred & Profane,” a group exhibition devoted to esoteric traditions, folklore, witchcraft, and unconventional spiritual practices. Diiiotima Arts follows with “The Shadow Liturgy,” an immersive performance combining ritual, movement, and masked imagery. At 9:30pm, DJ Midna Mayhem presides over the Black Mass Masquerade, with guests encouraged to arrive in occult, Victorian mourning, dark-fantasy, or clerical finery. Friday’s events begin at 6pm.
Saturday adds workshops in perfume alchemy, candle magic, Ogham divination, intention oils, and fetish-themed figure drawing. Experimental sound artist Craig Chin’s Errant Space project will fill the church with site-responsive ambient compositions throughout the afternoon. The evening brings “The Unholy Convergence,” featuring “Dragula” performers Violencia! and Severity Stone, DJ Isis Vermouth, and the VVitches Ball, followed by a late-night dance party with DJ DentalWork. The market runs from noon to 8pm; performances continue into the night.
Sunday turns toward history, paranormal investigation, and embodied practice. Workshops include belly dance, ritual movement with live snakes, and Extreme Majick Yoga. A panel of regional practitioners and shop owners will discuss preserving the history of witchcraft and modern Pagan traditions in the Hudson Valley, while Full Moon Paranormal will examine the equipment, research, and competing currents of belief and skepticism involved in investigating allegedly haunted places. Sunday’s market runs from noon to 6pm.
Wilson, a magical practitioner for 33 years and the founder of Otherworldly Waxes, personally selects Heretic’s artists and vendors. Her criteria include skill, artistry, and ethics. As oddities markets have proliferated across the region, she says, some have become “giant cash grabs.” She wants Heretic to feel intimate and intentional.
The common thread running through its sprawling program is an appetite for what Wilson calls “the weird and absurd”—and the need for spaces where unconventional forms of spirituality and expression can flourish without apology. Visitors needn’t practice witchcraft or subscribe to any particular belief.
“Just come and dress up and dance,” Wilson says. “It’s all about community building and connecting people.”
Heretic takes place September 25–27 at the Ellis, 60 Dubois Street, Newburgh. General admission includes the market, art exhibition, performances, dance parties, panels, and paranormal presentation; workshops require separate tickets. Tickets and the complete schedule are available from Moon, Serpent & Bone.
