Creepy Chronicles: Terrifying Tattoos

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind - Most people only dress up for Halloween. But the customers who see Alyson Kaluzny are a little more dedicated. 

Kaluzny is a tattoo artist as Bicycle Tattoo & Piercing in South Bend. Her work specializes in the spooky, giving a macabre makeover to last a lifetime. 

"I like doing anything that's like creepy, nature kind of stuff, body horror," Kaluzny said. "I was just like a really weird, creepy little kid and I have an interest in art. And so, I just kind of wanted to combine those and just specialize in something that was fun and kind of weird."

Kaluzny's tattoos are typically "blackwork", exclusively drawn with black ink. And this time of year, she's busy. 

"Around Halloween time, I feel like everybody else is already in the mood to get some kind of creepy tattoos and like horror imagery. And that's so much fun for me to draw," Kaluzny said. "Anything where I get to be excited about how weird it is, I'm always on board for."

The images may look like they're meant to frighten, but Kaluzny says these images are often sources of confidence. 

"I feel like, for a lot of people... they just want to kind of reclaim their own body," Kaluzny said. "People just trying to kind of say, 'You know what, this is my arm and I decided to make it look cool right there in this spot' and just have full control over their situation." 

But if nothing else, she's fine just helping customers look a little cooler walking out the door than when they walked in. 

Bicycle Tattoo & Piercing is open Monday-Saturday, 11am-7pm, at 117 N Main St, South Bend, IN 46601. 

**This story is part of ABC57's Creepy Chronicles series, airing Mondays in October on ABC57 News NightTeam**