The Burning Times are NOT over!

An Act of Christian Charity

"Get over it, "witches", Salem was 300 years ago!" You would think, from all the whining that some people do, that we still live in the Dark Ages, burning witches and torturing heretics.

Even some witches, eager to have Wicca recognized as a mainstream religion, advocate a break with the unpleasant past: "The Burning Times are over!"

I respectfully disagree.

Human nature just seems to perpetually contain a certain amount of hatred and fear. And although we live in the 21st century, the Burning Times are very much with us.

And you don't even have to be a witch to qualify!

This story is about Mark Cline, who just happens to be a man with a dream - a man who wanted to bring some happiness and thrills to a lot of people. Think of him as the poor man's Walt Disney.

Mark spent 19 years building a business, providing entertaining facades and statues to the amusement industry. If you needed a giant statue of a laughing hippo, Mark's Enchanted Castle Studio was the place to go. Need a fiberglass skull ten feet tall? Mark could make it for you. How about a life-size gingerbread house? Go see Mark!

Some people wanted to look around the studio where the magic happened, and Mark eventually built a little amusement park next to his shop. Mark Cline was no longer simply in the business of wholesaling fun - he was suddenly bringing joy straight to the masses. So what if it didn't make much money?

But not everybody loved Mark Cline and his business. The Clines started getting nasty letters, tracts, and threatening notes. It seems that some folks consider giant skulls, fiberglass devil's heads, and plastic dinosaurs to be "Devil Worship".

Charges of devil worship came as a surprise to Mark and Sherry Cline. Oh, they might not go to your church every Sunday, but they are good people, who believe in God, shun evil, and try to do good. So they ignored the series of hate-mail, as the work of harmless cranks.

At 2 a.m. on the morning of 9 April 2001, Enchanted Castle Studios burned down under suspicious circumstances. Six emergency crews responded to the conflagration. They saved the amusement area, but the shop area where the Clines gave birth to their fantastic creations and actually made their living, was a total loss.

One might write this off as an industrial accident, spontaneous combustion, or plain bad luck. But a couple of days before, the Clines had received yet another threatening note. It said that, since their prayers had not worked for Cline, they would have to take action. The note was entitled "A Ticket to Hell", and was burned around the edges.

Still think the Burning Times are over? Welcome to the 21st century. Oh, there might not be crowds in the streets with flaming torches, but all it takes is one.

There are other places on the web where you can learn more about the fire at Enchanted Castle Studios:

Jim Kadel's notes on the atrocity [I borrowed some of Jim's pictures.]
Glasgow Life Saving and First Aid Crew scrapbook [I borrowed some of their pictures, too.]
Haunters Helping Haunters, raising funds to rebuild

If you would like to help the Clines rebuild, or just offer them a note of encouragement:

Mark Cline
4942 S. Lee Highway
Natural Bridge, Virginia, 24578

And, now, because I'm just too angry to form coherent words, I'll let the pictures take over... [photo]

[photo]

The Burning Times are not over!

And all of us - Pagans, Wiccans, Halloween-lovers, and Christians of good will - must be ever vigilant against violent acts of hatred. Children of God, no matter what their denomination, should love one another - and all of humanity. But if you can't love one another, kindly refain from assault, battery, torture, murder, ... and arson.

Afterwards

You Can't Keep A Good Man Down

It had been a couple of years since the 2001 arson fire that destroyed Mark Cline's Enchanted Castle Studio. A lot can happen in three years.
You could get tired.
You could get bitter.
You could get selfish.
If so, you aren't Mark Cline.

On April 1, 2004, almost precisely 3 years since the fire, Mark started erecting a new project just outside of Natural Bridge, Virginia. It is a full-size recreation of what the ancient temple of Stonehenge looked like four thousand years ago.

With classic Cline wit, he dubbed the foam plastic replica "Foamhenge". With classic Cline generosity, anybody can visit it for free.

[photo]

For pictures of Foamhenge, please see:

And Mark Cline's Enchanted Castle Studio has also risen from the ashes. You can read about it at http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/VANATenchantedcastle.html

Thank you for visiting. Your comments are welcome.
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