I’m sorry I missed this prior to Halloween. Neil Gaiman posted A Modest Proposal (that doesn’t actually involve eating anyone), a suggestion that everyone inaugurate a tradition of giving scary books to one another on Halloween.

I propose that, on Hallowe’en or during the week of Hallowe’en, we give each other scary books. Give children scary books they’ll like and can handle. Give adults scary books they’ll enjoy.

I propose that stories by authors like John Bellairs and Stephen King and Arthur Machen and Ramsey Campbell and M R James and Lisa Tuttle and Peter Straub and Daphne Du Maurier and Clive Barker and a hundred hundred others change hands — new books or old or second-hand, beloved books or unknown. Give someone a scary book for Hallowe’en. Make their flesh creep…

I think that’s brilliant, and will definitely be revisiting the idea next October.

For kids, I think I’d choose The House with a Clock in Its Walls or possibly The Secret of the Seven Crows. For adults, I’d probably go old school with The Turn of the Screw, a collection of Shirley Jackson, or maybe some Poe.

What scary books would you gift to someone?

When Frodo was saved by giant eagles after walking all the way to Mt. Doom, I bet he was all “WE HAVE GIANT EAGLES?!?!?!”
— badbanana

Home is where the heart is. Specifically, beneath the floorboards in my bedroom. Why won’t it stop beating?!?!
— StephenAtHome

Support your local medical examiner. Die strangely.
— Nikki Gustas

List of things that fold, in order of difficulty: 1. Maps 2. Bed sheets 3. Puppies
— thedayhascome

There’s no way Kat Von D knows when she’s done showering.
— kellyoxford

Whenever I get mad at the rowdy people next door, I remind myself that serial killers are often the quietest neighbors of all.
— goldengateblond

At a cemetery, looking for my name on tombstones. This is the Goth version of Googling yourself.
— toddlevin

I think people would stop telling me I need to smile more if they knew the fucked up shit I find amusing.
— Miss_Cook

I’m wearing this hipster’s carcass ironically.
— luckyshirt

I was feeling pretty good about myself and then I imagined Grover in a gimp suit.
— sween

One of the links I featured in a link dump a while back was to this xkcd cartoon, which noted that poems in ballad meter can be sung to the tune of “Gilligan’s Island.” That sparked a flurry of comments, all suggesting creative ways to completely ruin poetry.

And then pdq dug up this:

I’m…going to go sit in a corner and whimper now.

Come, Little Children
(Sarah Enchants the Children)

Come, little children
I’ll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment.

Come, little children
The time’s come to play
Here in my garden of magic.

Follow sweet children
I’ll show thee the way
Through all the pain and the sorrows.

Weep not poor children
For life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions.

Hush now dear children
It must be this way
Too weary of life and deceptions.

Rest now my children
For soon we’ll away
Into the calm and the quiet.

Come, little children
I’ll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment.

Come, little children
The time’s come to play
Here in my garden of shadows.

— John Debney (No, not Poe. Yes, really.)

(No prizes, but if you can answer them all without googling you get bragging rights.)

1. This author seems to have an October fixation, giving us such books as The Halloween Tree, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The October Country. Name him.
2. In this Star Trek episode written by Robert Bloch, the Enterprise encounters aliens Korob and Sylvia, who menance the crew with the trappings of Earth’s Halloween.
3. The vampire novella Carmilla, first published in 1872, is now considered a highly-influential literary classic. Who wrote it?
4. This 1997 movie starring Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill tells of an experimental spaceship which has literally gone to Hell and back.
5. Which of these creatures is not one of H.P. Lovecraft’s creations the creatures in the Cthulhu mythos?
   A) Tsathoggua
   B) Mi-Go
   C) Nyarlathotep
   D) Yog-Sothoth
   E) Sotsugyou
6. This scary novel by Elizabeth Hand tells of the Benandanti, who for millennia have guarded against the return of their ancient foe, Othiym Lunarsa. Name it.
7. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gave us one of the most enduring monsters in literature. But “Frankenstein” is the name of the doctor. What was the name of the creature?
8. Born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati, Ohio, this silent movie starlet was nicknamed “The Vamp” and had a stage name that was an anagram for “Arab Death.” Name her.
9. This episode of The Twilight Zone, whose most famous line is, “It’s a cookbook!” is referenced in The Simpsons Halloween “Treehouse of Horror” special. Name the episode.
10. The Addams Family’s friendly little disembodied hand was named Thing. What was the name of Thing’s girlfriend?

(Answers below the fold)

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Skeleton Dress – Gorgeous knit dress. A bit expensive, but it might be possible to DIY something similar, either with knit or applique.

Patience Worth: Author From the Great Beyond – Interesting article about a “ghost” who wrote literature via ouija board.

Even Monsters Need Haircuts – Cute kids’ book about a little boy who uses his dad’s barbershop at night to help monsters with their grooming needs.

“This Body Will Be a Corpse” – Unusually forthright T-shirt with a message that is either soothingly Zen or sort of creepy.

Teen Pregnancy at Hogwarts – This made me giggle inappropriately.

Dioramas! – Tumblr blog in the “Fuck Yeah X” vein. A few interesting spooky ones.

The October Game – Creepy short story by Ray Bradbury.

Spiderpodium – Dock for cellphones, iPods, and other electronic devices. Shaped like a spider with poseable legs.

Tentacle Pot Pies – Ridiculously cute individual pot pies. (Hat tip to Skye)

Miss Havisham Cake – Marvelous, faux-vermin-infested show cake. It was disqualified for being “in poor taste,” which is just ridiculous.

This is one of those things that I never really considered, but once I heard about am somehow unsurprised that it exists. Amused, but unsurprised.

The Cabinet of Carnal Curiosities* is a site which offers steampunk sex toys, custom-made by one Lady Clankington.

Due to her voracious desire for endless…adventure, her husband (an industrialist of some note) expired from exhaustion long ago. In a fit of frustration, Lady Clankington employed the genius of one Dr. Visbaun to create a cadre of strapping automatons that would finally grant her the only company able to keep up with her unending desire…for adventure. … Each design has been well tested by the lady, herself.

Right now her “infernal devices” consist of the Little Death Ray, but the Butt Rogers Uranium Pistol is coming soon. Just right for playing “stern Victorian explorer and naughty Morlock.”

(Hat tip to Charity)

*I’d add the NSFW tag but c’mon: It’s a site that peddles sex toys. Do you really need the tag?

These are hilarious. Etsy seller swelser creates custom save-the-date/wedding invitations that look like the covers of vintage comic books. The illustrations are based on photos of the couple, and they can supply personalized cover blurbs as well. In addition to full-color digital files, the seller also provides the original black-and-white drawing for framing and display.

These would be great if you and your intended are comics fans, or as a tie-in to a themed wedding or reception. I can think of a few classic horror comics like Tomb of Dracula that would be fantastic for this.

(via Neatorama)

It’s stuff like this that really makes me wish I were better at crochet. Crafty Lady Abby makes scarves with spiders, skulls, bats, orange-and-black stripes, and all manner of other loveliness. I really like the subtlety of the spooky patterns; they just look like straightforward scarves until you spot the design.

The post doesn’t offer tutorials, but she points to a pattern for one design and her photos are clear enough that someone familiar with crochet could probably figure out how to do something similar.

It’s definitely scarf weather (at least, in this hemisphere), so this should be excellent inspiration to run up an eerie accessory for yourself or as a gift.

Bonus: Be sure to check out the tutorials she did for Skull-A-Day. I especially love this fan.

(via Creepy Cupcakes)

The Utah State University Extension’s YouTube channel features informational videos on subjects like planting strawberries and pruning shrubs.

And occasionally they get a little giddy.

(via The Haunted Gardens)

p.s. – I’ll be participating in the still-failing-to-roll-trippingly-off-the-tongue NaBloPoMo again this year, so there will be a post every day of November, including weekends. Can you hardly wait? I thought so.