Halloween issue

Our Halloween issue takes inspiration from Hawthorne's Gothic short-story Rappaccini's Daughter. Set in Padua, Italy - eminent botanist Dr. Giacomo Rappaccini has a secret garden of poisonous plants tended by his beautiful daughter Beatrice, who has become toxic herself... Escape with us to a real live Poison Garden you can visit in the UK and a poison cabinet inside of a Poetry Pharmacy in London - plus our Scene & Seen of Halloween Happenings and more botanical delights.

Karte Blanche & Co Living Well Luxury, Travel and Lifestyle October 2024 SOJOURN Halloween issue

RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER

THE INSPIRATION

The 1844 Botanical Gothic short story of RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story set in Padua, Italy - in a distant and unspecified past where a young student Giovanni Guasconti arrives from Naples to study at the University of Padua. From his quarters, he looks upon the mysterious gardens of Botanist Dr. Giacomo Rappaccini, where he finds Beatrice - Rappaccini's beautiful daughter confined to the lush and locked gardens which are filled with exotic poisonous plants grown by her father. Giovanni becomes enamored and enters the garden to secretly meet with Beatrice noticing her strangely intimate relationship with the plants as well as the withering of fresh flowers and the death of an insect when it's closely exposed to her. Beatrice urges Giovanni to look past her poisonous exterior and see her for her pure and innocent essence...

SEASONAL GIFTBOX

LIMITED EDITION October Giftbox - inspired by the 1844 Botanical Gothic short story of RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Our seasonal postcard pop-up SOJOURNS encapsulate a journey to destinations within a custom curated giftbox of treasures that bring the essence of enchantment and wanderlust to your doorstep. Escape with us to Padua, Italy to discover our custom curated Beatrice Box filled with botanical whimsy and unexpected delights in a ready-to-give beautifully designed giftbox or to unwrap your own secret escape into a botanical garden of mystery. Giftbox details LINK HERE

THE POISON GARDEN

Alnwick Garden

THE ALNWICK GARDEN

Denwick Lane, Alnwick, United Kingdom

The Alnwick Garden plays host to a deadly poison garden filled exclusively with around 100 intoxicating, dangerously toxic and narcotic plants. The boundaries of the poison garden are kept behind black iron gates, only open on guided tours. Visitors are strictly prohibited from smelling, touching, or tasting any plants, although some people still occasionally faint from inhaling toxic fumes while walking in the garden. A combination of dark, ivy-covered tunnels and flame-shaped beds creates an educational garden full of interest and intrigue where the most dangerous plants are kept within giant cages.

Some of the most dangerous to look (but not touch) out for on your tour: Laburnum, Atropa Belladonna, Helleborus Odorus, Monkshood, Ricinus Communis, Giant Hogweed, Opium Poppy, Gympie- Gympie

. . . and hundreds more. During Halloween season they also offer a potion-making class and a Haunted Walkthrough with classic horror characters. Poison Garden tours every 30 minutes during open hours.

photos courtesy Alnwick Garden

The Poison Garden

Alnwick Gin

The unique process of making this 40% proof gin starts with harvesting the Medlar fruits from The Poison Garden when they are overly ripe-almost to a point of being rotten. The stage of over-ripeness allows for the complex amalgamation of acids, tannins, and sugars within the fruit to produce a unique flavour that gin-lovers will savour. The fruit is then mashed into a pulp, and the essence is distilled. The gin's floral notes balanced with woodier undertones are best served with a high-quality tonic water to allow the spirit’s unique flavours to shine. This hand-crafted gin is completely safe to drink!

Poetry Pharmacy

Poison Cabinet

POETRY PHARMACY

175 Oxford St, London

"Here, instead of sleeping pills and multivitamins, customers will be offered prescriptions of Derek Walcott and Elizabeth Bishop", The Poetry Pharmacy has found a new home in London on the first floor of Lush's Oxford Street Spa - an emporium of bookish delights, literary gifts, and poetical remedies for the restoration of self along with a Dispensary Coffee Shop by roasters Hundred House Coffee plus a range of teas from the Good and Proper Tea Company - and of course its prescription home-made Poetry Pills. Including a cabinet of Poetical Poisons - distilled from the finest lyrical toxins available from Revenge, Vice, Curses & Maledictions to Darknesse, Shakespearean Curses & Humbug. A selection of very bitter pills with guaranteed adverse reactions, not to be swallowed (except metaphorically). Glass pill bottles contain a curated fill of capsules, each containing a poetic extract on paper, handmade in their Bishops Castle store in Shropshire. On October 6th back by popular demand, Liz Ison leads a poetry walk around Marylebone and Soho - In Search of London's Tortured Poets. To explore the literary landmarks and poetic stories of London neighborhoods with tales about Lord Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Katherine Mansfield, Dylan Thomas, William Blake, Shakespeare, Shelley, Oscar Wilde - and a few connections between some of the writers and Taylor Swift (you don’t need to be a Swiftie to enjoy this). The walk will finish at the Poetry Pharmacy for coffee, cake and a bag of bookish goodies - bottle of Tortured Poets Pills and artwork print. Meeting point: Hanover Square corner of Tenterden Street at 10am.

photos courtesy Poetry Pharmacy

Karte Blanche & Co Scene & Seen October 2024 SOJOURN Halloween issue

BLACK LAGOON POP UP - an immersive, creepy-as-heck cocktail experience that pays homage to the macabre and throws in a splash of goth and metal for good measure. POPPING UP all over the USA, Canada and Mexico during the month of October. Wear your costume to these dark dungeons of drink and enjoy deliciously spooky cocktails.

WITCHERY AT EDGE, NYC - a spellbinding Halloween floral experience featuring floor-to-ceiling floral installations and photo moments that will transform New York City’s highest indoor/outdoor sky deck into a ‘witchy’ wonderland. WITCHERY will also be home to 10-foot-tall floral-clad mannequins inspired by some of the most beloved witches from popular culture.

The experience begins on Level 4 at the entrance to Edge in The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. Access to Witchery is included with all Edge tickets from October 4 through October 31st.

ARTECHOUSE DC Twilight Zone: Hidden Wonders of the Ocean, Washington DC - an immersive exhibition that plunges audiences into the very mysterious depths of the ocean’s twilight zone. Developed in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), this exhibition fosters a deep emotional connection with the ocean's most enigmatic realm and inspires efforts to protect our planet. Use code AS10 to save 10% off visits Monday - Friday.

GROTESQUERIE - premiered September 25th on Hulu, in anticipation of the debut @fxnetworks composed the first-ever “Symphony of Screams,” harvesting screams from fans anxiously awaiting the new 10-part series from executive producer Ryan Murphy. Additionally, an immersive dining event “The Feast” was hosted in Los Angeles at The Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Blvd, enticing fans to feed into the series’ dark cravings and playing the screams in spaces engineered to capture the vision. Upon entering, guests had to become detectives and find their way out of an escape room, and then grazed on the horrific delights that await this season with an exclusive tasting menu prepared by chef Tim Hollingsworth.

CAVA Restaurant Hocus Pocus Rooftop Southington, CT - Hocus Pocus inspired Halloween rooftop dinner and a spell.

FLEURS DE VILLES ARTISTE AT HUDSON YARDS, NYC - Global flower show sensation Fleurs de Villes returns to Hudson Yards this year with ARTISTE, a floral series paying homage to remarkable artists spanning various disciplines featuring 15 fresh floral mannequins, each created by a different florist and inspired by accomplished artists from art forms such as ballet, impressionist painting, literature and so much more. Enjoy Pommery champagne and floral cocktails at Queensyard in the Rose Room or at the bar during Fleurs de Villes ARTISTE and a spectacular selfie moment with the 7-foot-high floral Pommery bottle as you enter the restaurant. October 4 through October 13 - this event is free and open to the public.

SVETA

Botanical Delight

SVETA WEST VILLAGE

64 CARMINE ST. New York

SVETA located in the heart of New York City's West Village is an exotic taste of contemporary European fusion cuisine served with heartwarming hospitality. True-to-roots Delights from indulgent bottomless brunches to signature craft cocktails made with an ever-updating selection of ingredients and playfully reinvented classic European dishes, turn comforting cuisine into something creative and colourful. Now serving some of the most enchanting Halloween cocktails of the season in a magical botanical setting.