Cloak
1.
a loose outer garment, as a cape or coat.
2.
something that covers or conceals; disguise; pretense:
He conducts his affairs under a cloak of secrecy.
3.
to cover with or as if with a cloak:
She arrived at the opera cloaked in green velvet.
4.
to hide; conceal:
The mission was cloaked in mystery.
And let the timer commence…
When I think of cloaks I think of the big dramatic types ones, fur lined and trimmed, heavy duty, to protect against the coldest winds. If truth be told I would love one, I like the idea of it trailing in my wake, blowing out behind me as I hurry through storms, of course the reality is it would be covered in all kinds of shit very quickly and have to go be dry cleaned after every wearing. I do have a cloak, a think black satin job, bought cheap for dressing up at Halloween, and I have a cape/coat, well it is somewhere between the two a cape with armholes if you like, and that has a fur collar but sadly no hood, but is at least of a length that you don’t have to worry what it trails through.
I guess historically cloaks go back to the days when you had no washing machines and the idea was they covered up the more expensive outfits underneath, or when they doubled as an extra blanket or bedding to swaddle yourself in while travelling. And more than that there is of course the mystery, what is hidden beneath that huge hood, only when they chose to lift their head and slide it back a little do they reveal themselves to you, which I guess also appeals to me in terms of my love of horror. You sometimes hear Death referred to as a cloaked figure, though personally I think his are more like hooded robes than a cloak, as quite often they depict him with sleeves, and for me a cloak doesn’t have sleeves.
There is also something quite romantic to me about the idea of the cloak, the figure sweeping across the drive throwing back the hood to reveal Austen-esque, hair and gown, all heads turning to admire the newcomer Cinderella style, I guess Disney still rubs off on the subconscious of even the darkest of minds, though of course there is nothing to say that gorgeous vision may not be a vampire ready to drain the blood of a dozen other ball goers.
I guess that ties in with the other use as well, the cloaked missions, hidden agenda’s and concealment. You never know what lies beneath the surface, it is one of the reasons I like people watching, imagining that person and what their life could be both realistically and outrageously. Think of the film Mr & Mrs smith, or True Lies, films where what seems like boring mundane couples lead secret double lives, I imagine that for the people I watch sometimes. I don’t imagine them all to be spies but there may be a vampire or banshee amongst them, a killer prowling for victims, and always so many victims, so many who put themselves in harms way without a second thought. Yes my mind works in sick and twisted ways at times! The man trying to sign people up for a charity, well he could of course be a fraud, or he might have two lists, one for the genuine subscriptions and one for potential victims that willing hand over their details to save the cute puppies and he is patient he has a nice long list, he can afford to wait months before he visits, it doesn’t matter if one or two have moved and escape, there are plenty more on the list. I joke about how much trouble I would be in if someone based their opinion of me on my google search history, or the books on my books shelf. I love the idea of the hidden self, the alter ego, for good or for bad, the imagination knows no bounds other than the limits of a person creativity.
Okay I am a couple of letters behind and do have other posts I need to to as well so for the next week or so you may find me in your inbox twice a day but I promise no more, and once I am caught up on the A – Z will not let it happen each day lol
Paula Acton 