The Art of Darkness

Beauty and the Link Dump

March 31st, 2017 by Cobwebs

Something in the Blood – A new biography of Bram Stoker.

Spider Lamp – I’m annoyed to have to post a Facebook link, but this piece doesn’t appear on the artist’s site or Etsy shop. This steampunky nightlight is lovely.

You’ll Be Safe Here – A lovely image which pays tribute to all of geekdom.

My Backyard Monsters – Weird little crocheted things, many with free patterns. Who doesn’t need a miniature Kodama or a taxidermy deer butt?

Medieval Weapons Ice Tray – I’m not sure how practical these would be for keeping drinks cold, but they’re pretty neat anyway.

Dragons Like You Don’t Usually See Them – Some adorable dragon illustrations.

Road Sign Tarot – An amusing Tumblr exchange. I’d like to see somebody do a real tarot deck like this.

Nautilidae – Knitting pattern for an awesome chambered nautilus.

Bride of Frankenstein Doll – Artist Suzanne Forbes made a dynamite “gothic burlesque” costume for a poseable Bride doll. This would be a great Halloween costume.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas – Ursula K. Le Guin’s beautifully depressing classic short story.

Posted in Link Dump | 3 Comments »

Dr. Link Dump and Mr. Hyde

March 24th, 2017 by Cobwebs

Fireproof Faux Human Skulls – Pile a bunch of these in your fireplace to make houseguests nervous. Also available in white.

Fiber – Short story by Seanan McGuire, narrated by a teenage former zombie.

Longswords Are Not “Manly” – An interesting dissection of various types of swords.

Agents of Sin – Some interesting concept art for soldiers paired with various Deadly Sins. Reminds me a bit of Jim Butcher’s Denarians.

Call of Cthulhu Metal Dice Set – Kickstarter for some amazingly intricate dice, complete with teensy tentacles.

Etiquette & superstition: voluntary and involuntary surrender of cream – Instructions on how to pass the cream and also how to steal it if you’re a witch. (Hat tip to pdq)

All the Bats – Amusing ‘toon. I like Steve.

Crying Unicorn Candle – Light the candle, and the ceramic unicorn weeps rainbow-colored tears out of its empty eyesockets like it’s just looked at the Ark of the Covenant.

Tamberlane – Sweet webcomic about a clumsy bat who takes in a baby. There’s a Kickstarter for a print run.

Everything That Will Kill You, from A to Z – A marvelously Gorey-esque video. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

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The Link Dump Resists

March 17th, 2017 by Cobwebs

Obsolete Scientific Theories – …that would make good heavy metal band names. Heh.

Hidden Hearts – Winsomely creepy hollowed-out dolls with dioramas inside.

Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain – The first in a series of YA novels about a normal middle-schooler who happens to be a supervillain.

The Chronic Argonauts – H.G. Wells book free online at Project Gutenberg. (Hat tip to DeVries)

10 Best ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Episodes of All Time – A roundup over which to quibble.

Lorica Leggings – There’s a Kickstarter for historically-accurate Medieval armor leggings.

Stay Safe – An amusing comic by Iguanamouth. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Superman vs. Clark Kent – This isn’t really goth but I like it because it makes so much sense.

The Yorick Project – Build notes for hacking Amazon Alexa to speak out of an animated skull.

my dude looks like the babadook – This epic, epic (over 100 tweets so far) thread by Goth Ms. Frizzle is sublime.

Posted in Link Dump | 1 Comment »

Seen Online

March 14th, 2017 by Cobwebs

Cactus are the most antisocial plant, they grow in the middle of the desert and still like, “Don’t fucking come near me”. #Showerthoughts
rShowerThoughts

Always a bridesmaid, never the voice that mysteriously bleeds from the corner of your bedroom wall.
gothicaseas

Hodor and Groot on a date trying to order food
biorhythmist

I fry all my mythological creatures in gargoyle.
Yeah yeah, I’m leaving.
E_lok44

me: [flashlight under chin] they say a witch cursed this house 100 years ago today!
[100 years ago]
witch: fuck this house
malt_skull

Hobbit cozy mysteries could actually be a thing.
LOBELIA GETS THE SACK
MURDER IN THE MATHOM-HOUSE
A SHORTCUT TO MUSHROOM POISONING
scottlynch78

Archaeologists, 300 years from now, excavating my skeleton:
“what’s that thing that she’s holding?”
“That, I believe, is a grudge”
kchurchie

you find a mad libs book on the ground and find that it’s filled completely with proper, sensible words for the situation at hand. a small child in a perfectly tailored gray suit tugs on your shirt with ice-cold hands and politely asks for it back
korolevx

why do i have to be asleep to eat spiders
painted_eel

Horror movies should include bloopers, so after watching the main film you’ll be able to sleep #Showerthoughts
rShowerThoughts

Posted in Funny Peculiar | 1 Comment »

A Link Dump’s Purpose

March 10th, 2017 by Cobwebs

Spring Fever – This Hot Topic ad and the accompanying commentary are heartwarming.

The Order of the Thinned Veil – A “society of like-minded individuals who choose to live our lives steeped in the legends, lore and customs of Halloween.” In other words, our kind of people.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter – io9 reviews a promising-sounding horror movie.

CollectedEdition – Etsy shop specializing in lovely 3D-printed metal jewelry, including thorns and insects.

Steampunk Astrolabe Table – Astonishingly, this gorgeous thing is 3D artwork rather than a physical device. I want a real one.

Xenomorph Tiki Mugs – “In space, no one can hear you drink.”

Horrors Beyond Belief! – A reading guide for Emily Carroll’s horror comics.

Help Transcribe Phyllis Diller Jokes – The Smithsonian is crowdsourcing help for transcribing Diller’s enormous card catalogue of over 52,000 jokes. (You need a goth connection? Diller voiced “The Monster’s Mate” in the classic Mad Monster Party.)

Western – Artist Roman Chaliy mixes old-West iconography with the undead, resulting in skeletal gunslingers and other neat images.

Writing Prompt – Most likely based on this legendary Tumblr post, a recent Reddit prompt was, “In the canine world, humans are celestial beings who live for more than 500 years at a time. The caretaker of you and the past seven generations of your family will die soon.” Beware the onion-chopping ninjas infesting the thread. (Hat tip to xJane)

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MicroSFF: Monsters Under the Bed

March 7th, 2017 by Cobwebs

The @MicroSFF Twitter feed is a trove of wonderful, tiny stories.

The author recently said that he was thinking about this tweet:

…and followed up with this marvelous thread:

On a similar note, and not-coincidentally, right after the U.S. election, the account tweeted these gems:

queenofthedorks liked that one so much that she illustrated it.

What I’m saying is that @MicroSFF does monsters-under-the-bed right and you should totally follow them.

Posted in Whatever | 1 Comment »

Killer Link Dumps From Outer Space

March 3rd, 2017 by Cobwebs

The Widow’s Jar – Amazingly detailed automaton by Thomas Kuntz. Slightly NSFW. (via Poopisan)

I Love Bat Cookies – Adorable bat-themed cookies, with some proceeds going to help bat conservation.

Vlad – This made me laugh entirely too hard.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Merchandise – To celebrate the upcoming 20th(!!!) anniversary of Buffy, YahooTV has a look at some clothing and other merch. (Oh god I feel old.)

Aethiocarenus burmanicus – This Cretaceous insect is described by Gizmodo as “Quite Possibly the Ugliest Bug Ever Found Trapped in Amber.” I think it looks more like it was drawn by Edward Gorey.

The Tea Dragon Society – A sweet, serene little webcomic about tea dragons. (Which makes sense in context I swear.)

Each night Father fills me with dread – I don’t know where this poem/illustration is from, but I dig it.

Felted Anatomical Specimens – Artist Lana Crooks makes amazingly-detailed anatomical specimens out of silk and wool. (Hat tip to pdq)

Pojo’s Pure Vermont Soap – They sell “normal” soap like goat milk and honey…and also Garlic & Holy Water Vampire Repelling Soap, Silver & Holy Water Werewolf Repelling Soap, zombie-themed SOAPOCALYPSE and some other weird stuff. The vampire soap comes with a money-back guarantee if you’re attacked by a vampire, so there’s that.

The Big Scary Show – Podcast for fans of the “big three ‘H’s (Halloween, Horror, and Haunted Houses).”

Posted in Link Dump | 7 Comments »