It’s time for another bunch of random stuff I want to share but can’t hang a whole post on. Some 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.)

	Tarot Card Collar This is another custom job by Nez of Darkspectre Custom Couture, featuring real tarot cards.
	Coffin Bookcase Found via Jes, this was originally posted on Imgur. MAKE has instructions for building a coffin bookcase, if you’re feeling ambitious and want to try something similar.
	“Time Flies” Clock This awesome wall decoration is by Mr. Kate, and there’s even a tutorial. I love the black butterflies, but this would look great with bats, too.
	Spooky Signpost This would be a neat outdoor Halloween decoration. I can’t find the source for this one, but there are easy directions for a somewhat similar one here. You could also make a lightweight prop version with insulating foam (the sort used for prop tombstones) and a long piece of PVC pipe.
	Sealed with a Spider This is attributed to the Zakka Life blog, but I can’t actually find it on that site. It’s certainly easy enough to DIY; just drip some sealing wax on an envelope and press in a fake spider before it cools. These are obviously too fragile to go through the mail, but they’d be a neat touch on hand-delivered party invitations.
	Obi Wine Kenobi This isn’t goth, it just made me laugh. The little glowstick lightsaber is the perfect finishing touch.
	Halloween “Wreath” This was made using an old picture frame and some dollar-store decorations. The netting appears to be cheesecloth.
	Halloween Lamp Similar idea to the frame above, and using the same gauzy fabric. This is a five-minute way to add a little Halloween ambiance to a room.
	Baby “Allo! Worm” This was made by Wa’Ou Creations, and there’s even a video tutorial. This is so stinkin’ cute.
	Bottle of Boos This appears to be an empty bottle turned into a light, but it would also be fun to paint on a bottle of wine or other spirit before giving as a gift.
	Lace Doily Spiderwebs Here’s another super-simple decorating idea, turning inexpensive crocheted doilies into elegant spiderwebs. Instructions are at What a Bloom.
	Dark Angels I always enjoy seeing twee little figurines get a gothy makeover. There’s a tutorial at The Anticraft.

“An undaunted Sheriff’s Deputy sets out on a solo mission to find a missing girl in the eerie backwoods of East Texas.”

This creepy short by 3rd Identity is particularly noteworthy for having been shot in 24 hours.

Intrepid commenter Cookie recently emailed me this:

Maybe because I’m getting older or I’ve been watching too many zombie/apocalypse shows but I’m getting awfully tired of future fashion consisting of leather, combat, goggles, gears, guns, etc. in some or other combination. With the economy looking bleaker and bleaker and just about everything else circling the crapper why should our fashions be dreary too? Other periods of history were just as bad or worse yet they went through it with a bit of flair; think 18th century France. Too colorful? How about pre soviet Russia; late 19th/early 20th century kulak? Good peasant functional ethnic look. Looking for something a little closer to home? Why not ’20’s – 30’s American depression era? Think Waltons and Bonney and Clyde. I never thought that I would say this but I’m kinda getting sick of black. How are the other shadow folk thinking? What do they want to look like standing in the bread line?

Although I can think of exceptions (the Hunger Games comes to mind), it’s true that a lot of post-apocalyptic clothing is mighty boring. That’s often explained away as survivors wearing whatever they could scavenge from the rubble of civilization, but it’s suspicious that nobody ever seems to scavenge Elton John’s closet.

So what do you think, oh commentariat? When civilization falls will we all be wearing black leather, or will “peasant style” become a thing again?

No, not the figurative ones.

I had no idea this thing existed. Following the wildly-successful “Thriller” video, Michael Jackson teamed up with Stephen King to create a music video for Jackson’s song “Is It Scary.” The project eventually bloated into a 40-minute film which tanked hard.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, the whole disaster is available to watch on YouTube.

This music video, done by Oh Yeah Wow, was painted on glass and animated frame by frame. A witch burning doesn’t turn out exactly as planned.

(via BoingBoing)

Our seventh Secret Santa Can Suck It pretend-gift exchange was heaps of fun, and even though we had a small turnout, everybody’s imaginary gifts were great.

Here’s a list of all the participants. Follow each link below to see what they chose for their giftees!

• Cobwebs (Recipient: Shellhawk)
• ShellHawk (Recipient: Pixel Pixie)
• Pixel Pixie (Recipient: Cobwebs)

The matches for our Secret Santa Can Suck It exchange have been made and sent to their assignees. After everyone posts about their “gift,” I’ll list all of the entries to peruse. To kick things off, here’s mine.

My giftee is Shellhawk, who makes all sorts of lovely ceramics. She’s mentioned that she’s always on the lookout for new ways to expand her skills, so we’ll give her some different avenues to explore.

	First, she’ll need a fancy kiln. The Janus Dragon is a dual-media unit that will let her experiment with firing both ceramics and glass. If she’s new to working with glass, the Corning Museum of Glass offers classes to help get her up to speed (obviously, the gift will include travel expenses to New York so she can attend).
	Since there’s no such thing as having too many books, we’ll also expand her library with all kinds of texts on glazing techniques, the history of pottery, unusual methods of producing ceramics, and various pottery bibles.
	There might be certain tools or other equipment she’s been dying for, so we’ll give her a shopping spree at her favorite supplier and let her pick up anything she’s lacking.
	Finally, for additional inspiration, we’ll send her on a world tour of pottery-related destinations. A cruise on the Yangtze river with a stop in Jingdezhen (the ancestral home of porcelain production); a survey of Europe to spend time in Meissen (the German city where the first European porcelain was developed), Majorca (the Spanish island which gives its name to majolica ceramics), and Faenza (the Italian town famous for faience); plus additional stops in Greece, Egypt, Japan, and India to tour museums full of ancient pottery.

Happy holidays, Shellhawk! I hope you like my “gift!”

This neat mini-documentary by the Morbid Anatomy Museum features collector Brandon Hodge, who has the largest collection of ouija board planchettes in the world, plus lots of other devices for talking with the dead.

(via BoingBoing)

It’s time for another bunch of random stuff I want to share but can’t hang a whole post on. Some 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.)

	“Bloody Good” Cheesecake This chocolate cheesecake with “bloody” topping is from sugardish. The presentation is nice, but I’m horrified at the idea of using red gel frosting for the blood. Instead, put 1/2 C raspberry jam and 2 T brandy in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the jam melts. Strain through a sieve to remove seeds and pour over cake.
	Reindeer Bun Unsettle your co-workers with this festive hairstyle. Given the new craze for “man buns,” fellas can get into the act too. There’s a video tutorial here.
	Professor Alexander’s Botanical Vasculum Etsy shop SteamedGlass specializes in these steampunky moss terrariums. They’re currently closed with no re-open date, but this might be useful as inspiration for a DIY version.
	Corgi Swarm The “spell failure” caption on the photo has been floating around for a while (and it makes me laugh every single time I see it), but somebody actually went ahead and formalized the conjuration and its effects. Next time I run a D&D campaign, this sucker’s going in there.
	Halloween Headbands These headbands/fascinators are by Grandin Road (motto: “Marking up cheap crap by 10,000% since 1991”), but something similar would be reasonably easy to DIY. The spider, in particular, appears to be just a styrofoam ball and pipe cleaners.
	Trick Candy This is diabolical. (via pdq) And here’s another, related, idea.
	Scary Wreath I gave up on finding an original source for this; it’s all over the place on link aggregators, with and without the caption. It seems to be patterned after the Evil Wreath in NMBC, and would be easy enough to DIY. The eyes appear to be yellow Christmas lightbulbs with pupils drawn on, and the teeth look like craft foam. Bonus links: When I was trying to track down the source for this, I uncovered a few other neat wreaths: Game of Thrones, Zombie, and Cthulhumas.
	Bat Stencils The tutorial for this project, including a downloadable pattern, is from Design*Sponge (the instructions are halfway down the page, under the wall o’ unrelated links). The bats are made of craft foam and are intended as temporary decorations, but you could also use the pattern as a stencil and paint them on permanently.
	Eye Tie A friend took this photo at the SOFA exhibit in Chicago. The eyes appear to be the flat-backed acrylic eyes used to make dolls and teddy bears, and the beads are probably plastic pearls. It’d be possible to just hot-glue them to a thrifted necktie for short-term use, but if you wanted something a little more long-wearing you’d have to bite the bullet and sew them on. The eyeballs would look pretty good on a hat or clutch, too.
	Vincent Price This is here because everyone should be reminded occasionally that young Vincent Price was smokin’ hot.

Long-time blog readers will remember the Secret Santa Can Suck It virtual fake gift swap from years past, and darned if we aren’t going to do it again.

It’s fun, easy, and completely free to participate: Between now and December 10, leave a comment on this post or email me saying that you want to be part of the swap. On the 11th I’ll tell you who your assigned “giftee” is, and some time before December 23 you post on your blog about what you would have gotten that person if you had money and, y’know, cared. Send me the link or, if you don’t have a blog, let me know and you can arrange to have your “gift” posted here.

On December 24 I’ll post a list of everybody’s entries so we can all marvel at each other’s good taste. It’s a silly, fun way to take a short break from holiday stress, plus we can all discover new blogs we might not otherwise find. The more people who participate the more entertaining the gift list will be, so put your inner Scrooge in a corner and join in!

(Image from now-defunct business Jingle Balls)