Bad News from the Past – A blog that reproduces late 19th/early 20th century bad news reports from various American newspapers, with a bit of commentary at the end. I like that hit-and-run drivers used to be called “vampire autos.”
Death Metal Parrot – (It’s actually a cockatoo.) This reminds me a lot of a guy I dated once.
Cemetery Cat Designs – Etsy seller specializes in unusual jewelry, including some which incorporate nazars (evil eye protection).
FMyLife – Schadenfreude, now in handy list format. ((hat tip to Empress Pam)
Zombie Attack Poster – This was drawn as a special for Museum of Comic and Cartoon Arts Festival, but the artist is going to make prints available. It has a whimsical, “Where’s Waldo” feel to it that appeals to me.
Back to the Future Wedding Cake – Amazing cake made to look like the town square in Back to the Future. I’d love to see a haunted version of this.
Harry Clarke Illustrations – Scans from a 1923 Edgar Allen Poe collection done by Harry Clarke. These are awesome.
Remote Control Tarantula – Shadowboy recently got one of these as a treat (he had a choice of the spider, a skunk, or a dragon, and he chose the spider “Because Mommy would like that one best.” Aaaaawwww….), and it is really quite awesome. It’s about three times the size of a real tarantula, very realistic-looking, and its legs move as it rolls across the floor.
Calling themselves “your tour guide to the dark corners of the globe,” Dark Destinations maintains a database of macabre locations around the world.
They’re apparently very gung-ho about the concept of “market penetration,” since in addition to their blog they also have a Livejournal site, a Myspace page, a Twitter feed, and another Web presence. (That last site also includes a “Dark Traveler Library” which lists books and DVDs useful in planning trips to spooky places.)
They list everything from haunted buildings to torture chambers, and the blog offers interesting historical tidbits about a variety of unfortunate happenings.
Want to play a game with a few like-minded individuals, but don’t want to devote six hours to a round of Vampire: The Masquerade? Here are a few suggestions for card- and board games with zombie, ghost, or vampire themes.
Zombie Fluxx – A riff on the popular Fluxx card game, but with zombies. Their expansion pack includes a flamethrower, plus new art of zombies like a ballerina and a boy scout.
Dia de Los Muertos – A trick-taking card game in which you send animals, then children, then adults on to the afterlife.
Dracula – A two-player board game in which Dracula looks for victims, van Helsing is looking for vampire coffins, and each must battle the minions of the other.
Zombiegeddon – Armageddon starts tonight. Spend the first half of the game trying to gather supplies, and the second half trying to survive the zombies.
Ghost Chase – Ghost hunters explore a haunted mansion, trying to find the ghost. The hunters can collaborate if they wish, but only one can win by capturing the ghost.
Dawn Under – This is a memory-type game in which vampires search for vacant graves to occupy before the sun rises. If they open a tomb which already has an occupant or contains garlic, they are penalized.
Last Night on Earth – A fast-paced game with a B-movie feel where some players are Heroes, some are Zombies, and they fight tooth, nail, and shotgun in the heart of a small town.
Ghost for Sale – Compete with others to purchase old castles and mansions. A resident ghost or two will add cachet; too many will terrorize visitors.
Designer Chantal Thomass, perhaps best known for her lingerie, recently released a line of glasses. The collection includes 13 glasses frames and 11 sunglasses, each in two colors. You can see a couple of them at her site (borderline NSFW, as her models are also wearing her lingerie), and they’re apparently available from Opticiens REV. I say “apparently” because the site has a Flash interface and is all in French, either one of which is likely to make me despair of ever navigating anywhere.
Still, if you have a higher tolerance for Flash and/or French than I do, it might be worth digging around to find a source. I love the little wrought iron-looking details on the earpiece of this one.
Infrared Fun – Gibberish posted a pretty infrared photo taken in a cemetery. I didn’t realize how neat and ghostly this photography technique makes everything look. Wikipedia has an overview of how to do it.
A post series from Associated Content (I’m posting each section because their TOC scheme is very strange): How to Decorate with a Goth Theme – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
Skeleton Finger – Possibly NSFW, I guess, if your workplace is unfriendly to obscene skeletal gestures. I have no idea where this came from; I found it on my hard drive under “embroidery.” It would make an amusing stitched detail on a tote bag or piece of clothing.
Create Your Own Ring – Amazon has just launched a neat interactive feature that lets you design your own diamond ring.
Columbine Cross Stitch – An amazingly intricate and thought-provoking piece by Noelle Mason.
Bubble Wrapping Death Masks – One of the guest bloggers over at BoingBoing talks about his collection of death masks. A display like his would be an awesome focal point for a room.
You Know…for Christmas – The Bloggess routinely makes me shoot coffee out my nose. This is no exception. (Hat tip to xJane for the suggestion)
Zabet over at the Anticraft blog recently joined Kiva, a site which makes microloans to disadvantaged businesspeople who couldn’t qualify for a loan otherwise. She posted about the lady she’s sponsoring here, and said:
Would anyone be interested in having an Angstylvanian lending team?
“Because the best way to fix a problem is to throw money at it.” –Svetlana Vyalostova, Team Angstylvania Olympic coach
Who could refuse that?
I joined, and my first loan has gone to a lady in Azerbaijan who raises cows. (Shadow Jack steadfastly refuses to let me raise livestock, so now I can do it vicariously.) You’re not on the hook for a large amount: They have a $25 minimum, but you can add small amounts to your account over time until you have enough to lend.
I sort of love the idea of an entire team of goths on the same community-service bandwagon, so if you’d like to play along register at Kiva and then go join Team Angstylvania.
I recently ran across the Romanti-Goth Coloring Book (A is for Absinthe, F is for Fishnets…) and Baby’s First Mythos and was inspired to put together a list of amusingly gothy books that might appeal to children. (I can vouch for most of these personally, as they’ve already been run past the Shadowspawn.)
For very young kids, try:
Halloween Countdown – A great way to teach small children their numbers: A boy with a houseful of whimsical ghosts counts them down from 10 to 1.
Mommy? – A little boy wanders through a haunted house, looking for his mommy. Rather than being frightened by the monsters he encounters, he bests them all in amusing ways.
Bats at the Beach and its sequel Bats at the Library – Cute little bats cavort in the moonlight and engage in human activities that will tickle small kids.
Beneath the Ghost Moon – A beautifully illustrated poem by SF/fantasy author Jane Yolen about mice whose costume ball is disrupted by “Crawlies.”
Goodnight Goon – A parody of the old standard “Goodnight Moon,” this involves a little werewolf getting ready for bed in his haunted castle.
There’s a Nightmare in my Closet – A little boy decides to stand up to the thing in his closet, which turns out to be frightened of him.
Bunnicula – Slightly longer than the ones mentioned above (and a proper story instead of a picture book), this classic involves a dog and cat’s quest to unmask the family’s new pet bunny as a vampire.
You will pardon me whilst I pick my jaw up off the ground. Etsy seller VonErickson offers this unbelievably gorgeous velvet-upholstered sofa in red, black, or purple. The lid even closes.
It’s $3,500 plus a variable (and presumably fairly large) amount of shipping. Sure, that’s more expensive than Ikea, but the Swedes know nothing about this kind of awesome stylishness. I’d love to make this the focal point of a dark living room.
Calling themselves “your tour guide to the dark corners of the globe,” Dark Destinations maintains a database of macabre locations around the world.
Want to play a game with a few like-minded individuals, but don’t want to devote six hours to a round of Vampire: The Masquerade? Here are a few suggestions for card- and board games with zombie, ghost, or vampire themes.
Designer Chantal Thomass, perhaps best known for her lingerie, recently released a line of glasses. The collection includes 13 glasses frames and 11 sunglasses, each in two colors. You can see a couple of them at 
I recently ran across the 
You will pardon me whilst I pick my jaw up off the ground. Etsy seller VonErickson offers this unbelievably gorgeous velvet-upholstered sofa in red, black, or purple. The lid even closes.