As in previous editions, here’s a bunch of images I’ve run across which I want to share but might not be able to hang a whole post on. Several of them have no attribution, so if you happen to know the source for any of these please leave a note in the comments. (Click to view larger.)

	Bat Ouija Board This appears to be hand-stenciled, but I can’t find a source. I love that the planchette also features a hanging bat.
	Get Out Next time I do any home renovations, I’m gonna be awful tempted to try something similar.
	Gorgon Chandelier The photo is all over the place, but I can’t find any attribution. Apparently this hangs in a courthouse somewhere in Europe. Which would make showing up for a criminal trial sort of intense.
	Coin Purse Sculpture by surrealist artist Nancy Fouts. It’d be interesting to see if a real coin purse could be made in a similar way, using a set of false teeth.
	Spine Dress Here’s another one that’s all over Pinterest, with nary a source to be found. This is entirely awesome and would be an interesting embroidery/fabric paint project if you had sufficient time and ambition.
	Painted Rock Snarky folk art amuses me.
	Halloween Cake I love this mosaic sculpture. It’s by Michelle Legler; there are more photos here.
	Street Art This is apparently in Hamburg somewhere.
	Spiderweb Sofa Special commission by Jimmie Martin. The site has lots of other lovely pieces, too.
	Steampug This just makes me ridiculously happy. It’s available as a print or T-shirt here.

Evan Viera’s short film Caldera uses the viewpoint of a young girl suffering fron mental illness, where it “glimpses into a world of psychosis and explores a world of ambiguous reality and the nature of life and death.” Its inspiration was his father’s own mental illness.

CALDERA is inspired by my father’s struggle with schizoaffective disorder. In states of delusion, my father has danced on the rings of Saturn, spoken with angels, and fled from his demons. He has lived both a fantastical and haunting life, but one that’s invisible to the most of us. In our differing understanding of reality, we blindly mandate his medication, assimilate him to our marginalizing culture, and entirely misinterpret him for all he is worth. CALDERA aims to not only venerate my father, but all brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis.

(via BoingBoing)

French photographer Thierry Cohen is concerned that city dwellers never experience the starry sky visible in truly dark conditions, so he’s done a photo series to show people what they’re missing. His technique is interesting: He takes photos of cityscapes, carefully records the time, angle, latitude and longitude of each shot, then goes to remote areas at corresponding latitudes and takes nighttime photos of the sky. He superimposes the images to show what the cities would see if all of their lights went out.

The photos are supposed to be a commentary on light pollution, but I find them surreal and haunting in a way that has nothing to do with astronomy. There’s a post-apocalyptic, “not even any humans to build campfires” quality to them that’s really rather eerie.

Smithsonian Magazine has an article about the project with more photos, and there are additional photos here.

This sweet little animated short by Vincent Marcone of My Pet Skeleton is narrated by Peter Murphy for extra gothiness.

Just look at this gorgeous thing. It’s called a Metallic Tarantula, and is found in only a small area of India. The species is highly prized by collectors, and it’s easy to see why.

The photo is from the blog Kodune eksootika, which Google Translate is telling me is Estonian for either “homemade exotics” or “exotics at home” (that latter seems slightly more likely). From what I can gather, it’s following the blogger’s excursion into tarantula ownership. There are only a few posts, but they contain loads of gorgeous photos.

Tarantulas make lovely, low-maintenance pets. They’re quiet, clean, and don’t take up much space. New World species (such as the Chilean Rose and Mexican Redleg) are docile enough to be handled, and they’re all fascinating to watch. A couple of drawbacks are that they are wild animals and can tend to be, y’know, bitey; many species throw tiny irritating hairs when they feel threatened; and some can live up to 30 years so there’s definitely a time commitment involved.

There are plenty of resources to help you explore whether tarantula ownership is right for you: Cornell University’s Spider Outreach program has some good tips (plus dynamite commentary like, “This is only a species to get if you feel calm about dealing with a fast spider that will eventually run up your arm.”), and tarantulas.com and Tarantula Guide are sites dedicated to tarantulas as pets.

Sure, dogs can do tricks and cats are snugglier, but neither of them have electric-blue fur and you never have to change a tarantula’s litterbox, take it for a walk in the rain, listen to it bark all night, or worry about it scratching the furniture. If you’re ready to care for a live thing only slightly more complicated than a houseplant, tarantulas are an excellent option.

Oh. Wow. This dress with added spidery goodness is amazing.

The mechanical dress prototype was featured at EU Robotics Week in Prague last year. It’s described (sadly, rather vaguely), as “sensoric, servo controlled, mechanic, microcontroller based.” Which means that, despite its apparent intricacy, if you know your way around a servo motor you could probably do something similar.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories should have the necessary supplies. Programming the “legs” to do some sort of complicated routine might be tough, but having them periodically stretch out and then curl back up should be fairly straightforward. (It’d also be lots of fun to do this as a hat.)

(Hat tip to xJane)

From animator Cyriak, “the endless universe of spiders.”

(via BoingBoing)

Video titles don’t lie, you guys.

This is, according to the upload description, a “Kenyan species of false-vampire bat,” which I expect makes it a Yellow-winged Bat. This one has a case of the yawns.

If you can watch this and not be seized with an overpowering desire to snorgle its tummy, I don’t want to know you.

The anthology Zombie Apocalypse! Fightback (which, incidentally, appears to be a sequel to Zombie Apocalypse!) contains a short story by Neil Gaiman. UK publisher Constable & Robinson has an exclusive animated short film of the story:

(via The Bloggess)

As in previous editions, here’s a bunch of images I’ve run across which don’t quite warrant a post of their own (click to view larger). Several of them have no attribution, so if you happen to know the source for any of these please leave a note in the comments.

	Bat Vase Gorgeous vintage vase. According to this site, it was made by Amphora Bohemia circa 1905.
	Frankenstein Chest of Drawers This is pretty clearly from Spitfire Interiors, a site which is definitely up our collective alley. They have a similar piece on the site with awesome spider drawer pulls.
	Chocolate Gems Great idea from p.s. I made this for making faux gemstones from chocolate and edible glitter.
	Spiderweb Makeup Lovely effect done by Malicious Makeup on deviantART. The same artist has lots of other interesting designs too.
	Spooky Christmas Tree This thing is all over Pinterest and Tumblr but I can’t find an original source anywhere. It’d be pretty easy to DIY; it appears to mostly be cheesecloth, possibly with some tulle used for the arms and hood. The face is one of those plastic masks from Scream.* Drape it over a white Christmas tree and add plastic prop manacles.
	Ghostly Lantern I was hoping this was actually a Halloween decoration, but instead it’s a digital image. However, it might be possible to do something fairly similar by cutting the little hands out of black craft acetate. It’d be a wonderfully subtle decoration.
	Ouija Table I not only found the source for this, it even includes a tutorial complete with pattern. The pattern could obviously be resized to fit something smaller like a side table.
	Raven Ring This is part of a collection called “Mysteries of the Forest” by Bjorg Jewelry. Their shop doesn’t seem to list it right now, although there’s a three-ring version.
	Wire Spiderweb This cute little corner web is offered on Etsy by The Dusty Raven (who also makes lots of other interesting wire sculptures). It’s made from twisted barbed wire, but something similar might by DIY’d using floral wire.
	Skull Tea Set The only thing I could find about about this is that it’s made in Germany and was sold by WickedLiquid.com, but that domain is currently parked and probably defunct. Phooey.

*Funny story, apropos of nothing: When I first married Shadow Jack I moved into his condo, and late one evening I was unpacking boxes. He was working late, so I was alone. I was listening to a documentary about forensic pathology, and they were recounting a rather gruesome murder. A couple of books fell behind a desk, I reached back blindly to retrieve them, felt something soft, and pulled out…the mask from Scream. His nephew had been the Scream guy a couple of Halloweens previously, and at some point the mask and some other random Halloween faff had fallen down behind the desk. Where I, alone in a dark house and listening to murder details, found it. Had it been broad daylight I assume I would have said something more coherent than, “Guk.” As it was I nearly pissed myself.