Every time I think Dracula has been reimagined in every way possible, somebody digs up Vlad’s corpse and does something new with it.

iDrakula is a rather literal “reboot” of the story, a modern retelling done entirely via text messages, browser screenshots, e-mails, and file attachments like photos and PDFs. It’s really rather clever, with lots of detailed touches like pages of bounced emails during Jonathan’s captivity at Dracula’s castle.

The book has also been ported into an iPhone app, which creates an interactive story that includes emails and voicemails sent to your phone.

The first text is, “Renfield had a psychotic break. Carted off to Bellevue. More l8r.” How can you not be amused by that?

At some point artist Christopher Rozzi asked himself what cats, dogs, killer robots, and storm troopers might want to get off their chests and then set about answering that question.

His Tiny Confessions series of paintings feature wistful monsters and household pets, each with a secret shame. If mythical beings used PostSecret, this is probably exactly what it would look like.

He also has prints available on Etsy.

(via io9)

I drooled all over Alpha Stamps’ merchandise a while back, and they recently dropped me a line about a Halloween art contest they’re hosting.

They’re looking for Halloween-themed art which uses at least one Alpha Stamps collage sheet or rubber stamp (you send just a photo, not the actual art). Two winners will receive a rather nice prize package of Halloween goodies.

The full contest details are here. I don’t see anything in the rules about the contest being exclusive to a particular country, so I assume it’s open to all comers.

I’m told that almost no one has entered, so this might be a great opportunity to pick up a nice collection of art supplies. And if you’ve had your eye on any particular Halloween-themed stamp or collage sheet, now you’ve got the perfect excuse to buy it.

Here’s a fashion accessory I’d never really considered: Intricately-cut paper eyelashes.

Paperself is London-based company which offers a variety of designs inspired by traditional Chinese paper-cutting. The (presumably laser-cut) lashes come in both a small corner-of-the-eye size and a dramatic full-lash version.

I can’t seem to find any information about how they’re attached or whether they’re reusable–although for the price I’d certainly hope they are–but they really are quite striking. They rather put me in mind of the velvet “beauty marks” that were popular in the 18th Century.

The lashes are available in the UK from the site and a number of other retailers. There’s also a list of places to purchase them in other countries.

That right there is some Grade-A Nightmare Fuel, y’all.

Artist Tracy Ann Lister creates “Reborns:” Eerily-lifelike dolls that resemble real babies. She’s currently got a whole series of Harry Potter-inspired babies in her eBay store, and although Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all reasonably cute, baby Dobby, Lupin and most particularly Voldemort look like the sort of thing you’d hit with a stick if you found it lurking in the cellar.

They aren’t cheap, but if you simply can’t live without your very own baby Tonks or Snape, now’s your chance.

(via io9)

In my online wanderings I’ve run into a number of Lovecraft-inspired games. If you’ve got a soft spot for shoggoths, here’s a roundup:

The Commonplace Book Project is devoted to creating interactive adventures based on the unfinished story ideas that H.P. Lovecraft collected in his “Commonplace Book”. They’re free for download in exchange for user feedback.

For you whippersnappers who are unfamiliar with the concept of interactive adventures, here’s a Wikipedia entry to help fill you in. Kids today, with your fancy-schmancy graphics and your abundance of CPU cycles. In my day, all we had were a brass lantern and an Elvish sword, and we couldn’t even see them.

Uh, heh. Anyway, Lovecraft.

Another excellent example of this type of horror interactive fiction is Infocom’s wonderful The Lurking Horror, available for download here. (The best part of interactive fiction games is that the text-based play looks entirely innocuous when glanced at by, say, your boss. Try doing that with Portal 2.)

Sort of similar is Skotos’ “prose adventure” Lovecraft Country, which isn’t so much a game as straight-up roleplaying in 1930s Miskatonic University. There isn’t really a point to this one, you just sort of wander around and are vaguely menaced.

For the Xbox, there’s Dark Corners of the Earth, which combines a first-person shooter with mystery and investigation. (It’s also available for PC.)

Shadow of the Comet is a PC-based game which combines Halley’s Comet with eldritch horror.

Alone in the Dark is another PC game (a fairly old one) “inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft.”

Arcane is a Web-based “mystery serial” in which you’re trying to defeat the Ancient Ones and their cultists.

If you prefer board games, check out Arkham Horror, a cooperative game in which you’re part of a small band of investigators trying to stop unnamed monstrosities from taking over the world. Apparently the original module isn’t too hard to defeat, but there are expansion packs like Dunwich Horror that significantly up the difficulty level.

Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is a two-player dueling game which allows players to command both human and monster factions.

The Hills Rise Wild! is a miniatures game in which players vie for control of The Necronomicon.

For sheer weirdness, try Cthulhu 500, which combines the Cthulhu mythos with…stock-car racing. Because, um, why not?

The same game manufacturer (Atlas) also brings us Cults Across America, in which each player commands a separate cult attempting to dominate the U.S.

Chaosium offers the collectible card game Mythos, which includes a starter deck and five booster decks: Expeditions of Miskatonic University, Cthulhu Rising, Legends of the Necronomicon, The Dreamlands, and New Aeon.

:::whew::: That oughta be enough tentacles for anybody.

I blogged about Speleobooks’ bat merchandise a while back, and it appears that when I wasn’t looking they went and got even MOAR bat merchandise.

So much, in fact, that they’ve spun off a whole new site to showcase it. Their “bat friendly and bat positive goods” include clothing, jewelry, toys, home accessories, and lots more. Since bats so often get bad press, it’s nice to see a store that casts them in a positive light.

I also love that they brand themselves as “one source chiroptera shopping;” heaven knows you don’t want to run all over the place to fulfill your chiroptera needs.

Black Phoenix is a purveyor of unique fragrances specifically designed to appeal to the fantasy/horror geek.

They take inspiration from their perfume blends from a wide variety of literature, mythology, historical figures, and folklore, which results in blends like “Jersey Devil” (pitch pine with blackberry leaf, cranberry, cedar wood and tomato leaf) and collections like “Steamworks” (“Aelopile,” “Galvanic Goggles,” “No. 93 Engine,” “Phoenix Steamworks,” “Smokestack,” “The Antikythera Mechanism,” “The Obsidian Widow,” and “The Robotic Scarab”). They also occasionally do limited-edition scent collections based on authors’ works, with proceeds going to charity: One of their current offerings is inspired by Neil Gaiman, with fragrances like “The Macabray” and “Fairy Market.”

Since they’re definitely aiming for “ambiance” over “mass appeal,” their blends don’t work with every skin chemistry, so a thriving community has risen up around trading scents with other fans. The BPAL Swaps LiveJournal page and The Unofficial BPAL Forum are two sources for trading and/or finding discontinued blends, and searching “Black Phoenix Swaps” will turn up plenty of others.

One criticism I’ve seen of their products is that, although the fragrance blends are “logical,” they’re not necessarily what one would expect a particular scent to be. For instance, their “Dracul” is a mixture of black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom. That fits right in with the literary description, from the pine forests in Transylvania to the scents beloved of Victorians. What it doesn’t do is smell much like Dracula.

Nevertheless, if you’re wearing a fragrance called “Wings of Azrael” or “Grand Guignol” you can’t help but feel a little spookier than usual. They’ve got dozens of perfumes to choose from, so you’re bound to find something that appeals.

Bonus Link: BPAL also has a sister site called Twilight Alchemy Labs which produces oils for ritual purposes.

This is absolutely brilliant.

After I posted about vampyre rag dolls a couple of weeks ago, artist Bonni Reid dropped me a line to share one of her designs. Her Mr. and Mrs. Dracula is a topsy-turvy doll, complete with full-length cape and pretty gothic gown. There’s a closer look at their faces here; I just love their expressions.

I’ve run into topsy-turvy dolls of the asleep/awake and fairy-tale variety (which seem to be heavily concentrated toward Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, for some reason), but had never considered turning them to darker ends. These are immensely charming.

Thanks for sharing, Bonni!

Check out these cute little…um…suckers: Vamplets are plush baby vampires with names like “Count Vlad Von Gloom” and “Evilyn Nocturna.” They’re accessorized with gloomy diapers and spooky hair accessories, and there’s even an optional bottle of blood. According to their blog they’ll also be launching a line of Vampets, including a wereroach and a zombie guinea pig, later this year.

The site has an optional “World of the Vamplets” section which will allow you to customize a virtual coffin and tombstone for your new acquisition. It’s all very cute.

One of these would be an adorable gift for a goth mom-to-be. They’re definitely more cute than morbid, so they’d also be great for a child who likes spooky (but not too spooky) things.