Long, long ago, in the early days of the World Wide Web, setting up a website was: a) Difficult and b) Expensive. Today it is neither, and although that means that any tinfoil-hat-wearing yahoo can set up a site claiming that the Royal Family is actually a bunch of lizard people from Zeta Reticuli, it also means that anybody with a silly idea like a dating service for ghosts can run with it. I think the tradeoff is worth it.

Ghost Singles is a site where girl ghosts can meet boy ghosts in hopes of becoming soulmates (:::rimshot:::). And they play it totally straight. From the privacy statement (“We understand that just because you float around in nothing but your nightgown night after night doesn’t mean you want anything less than total privacy.”) to contact information that includes “Gypsy” (“Wispy smoke followed by three swirls (crystal ball), or tea leaves in the shape of a goat”), the site never breaks character. Here’s part of their “Dating Tips” page:

Etiquette

By now you’ve learned that your fellow phantoms come from many eras; some may be hundreds of years old, or more! This means that cultural standards will vary widely; what may have been taboo in your generation might be the norm in the one a few generations from now.

It would be impossible to list the details of every culture throughout all time, but there are some behaviors that are universally approved — and others that are universally disliked. Here’s a quick primer.

• Ask questions. Get to know your date. How did he or she die? What was it like to stand over their own lifeless corpse? Did they see a light at the end of a tunnel, and if so, why didn’t they go towards it? You may find you have a lot in common.
• Compliment your date. Are they looking ghastly? Particularly eldritch? Be sure to let them know!
• Don’t kiss on the first date. Don’t kiss ever, in fact, because your faces just pass through each other, and it’s really weird for both parties.
• Don’t be offended if they suddenly disappear. You should know as well as anyone that existence in this twilight realm can be inconsistent. If your date vanishes, don’t be too quick to judge.

Unlike other parody dating sites which are mainly fronts for real dating services, this is apparently done entirely for the hell of it. (The creator, incidentally, appears to be Randy Tayler, whose site is linked from the bottom of the home page.) It’s nice to see this sort of untrammeled silliness.

(Hat tip to pdq)

Autumn is finally here in the Northern Hemisphere, and chilly evenings are custom-made for warming drinks. Here are a few that have been sitting around in my Drafts folder, just waiting for the proper time to emerge.

Caramel Apple
Serves 4

4 C apple cider (the non-alcoholic, apple-juice sort; thanks, Mim!)
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/2 C caramel vodka,* or more to taste

Put the cider, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, stir in vodka, and pour into mugs.

*You can find caramel-flavored vodka in many liquor stores, but it’s also easy to make your own. For either of these methods, you’ll need a 750ml bottle of vodka (the better the quality of the vodka, the better the final result, so don’t use paint-thinner-grade stuff):

• Pour out 1/2 C of vodka and replace with 1/2 C of caramel sauce. If you want to go the full homemade route, you can make your own sauce; otherwise, the store-bought stuff meant for ice cream topping is fine.
• Pour all of the vodka into another container temporarily, add 20 chopped-up caramel candies to the bottle, and pour as much vodka as will fit back in. Cap the bottle, set aside, and give it a good shake a couple of times a day for around 5 days (the smaller the caramel pieces, the faster it’ll infuse).

For either method, you can optionally strain the finished vodka through a coffee filter to remove any leftover small solids.

Candle in the Window
Serves 1

In a mug combine:

2 tsp. Bourbon
1 tsp. cherry brandy
1 tsp. dark Creme de Cacao
2 oz. light rum

Fill with coffee, top with whipped cream, and dust with cocoa powder.

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Musician Max Ablitzer performs “dark and melancholic” violin pieces. Here’s one track from his album “Dark Violin Songs.” You can listen to the other tracks (and also buy the album) on his site.

Zombie Engagement Shoot – This kind of photoshoot is becoming oddly common, but I like that the rest of the wedding party are zombified by the end of the session. (Hat tip to xJane)

Spiderweb Bra – The price is patently ridiculous, but the design is cute. There are also matching (similarly overpriced) panties

Animated Portraits of Cyborgs – These animated collages by “Sholim” Rajkovic are decidedly unnerving. (via Bonni)

Creepy Doll Mobile – DIY for making a spooky mobile from thrifted dolls. The inspiration was also amusing.

How to Make Halloween Lanterns – Easy instructions for making lovely luminaria-style lanterns out of vellum and picture frames.

Digital Taxidermy – Splendid photoshopped mashups of disparate animals. I especially like the owl spider. (via WitchArachne)

Steampunk PC – Amazingly elaborate casemod.

Poseable Dragon Figurine – These adorable little dragons are all jointed, so they can curl up and nap in your hand. (There’s an English translation near the bottom of the page.)

Skull Half Mask – Protective mask for paintball and similar sports.

Superfight! – Card game which allows you to answer questions like, “Can a Pope who shoots lightning (but can’t see) defeat a chimp who throws grenades (but is handcuffed to a golf cart)?” (Hat tip to Jes)

The Goblin Market posted the photo at left (unattributed, of course) to Facebook the other day and I thought, “Gee, what a unique idea; should be easy to find the artist.” So I started googling and it quickly became clear that elf ear cuffs are definitely a thing and I am just really late to the party.

They’re all over Etsy, in a vast array of styles, from shops including Belethil, MadeByKozee, EluneAraBijoux, ElfinWorks, KunoichiCreations, AltPercept, SalmonNaturals, KimberlyNichole, and ensorceller. (A few more interesting one-off designs from other shops are here, here, here, and here.) The ears from the original photo were apparently made by Starlit Skies.

There’s a tutorial for making your own available for purchase but, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of free instructions as well; there are three here, here, and here, but googling “how to make wire ear cuffs” will turn up plenty more.

Obviously, you needn’t restrict yourself to elf ears; you could bend the wire into bat wings or some other interesting shape. The basic idea doesn’t look terribly difficult, and you can add detail as desired. The results are certainly striking.

Flavorwire has a roundup of classic silent horror movies that are available online for free. Many of these were seminal influences for later works of horror, including the dreamlike The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the not-even-slightly-sparkly Nosferatu:

These would be great to play in the background at a Halloween party, particularly one with a vintage or movie theme.

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

1. The caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, takes his name from the 100-eyed giant in Greek mythology who was charged by Hera to guard whom?
   A) Europa
   B) Ganymede
   C) Callisto
   D) Io
   E) Amalthea
2. The greatest goal of alchemy was to synthesize a substance called the Philosopher’s Stone, sometimes said to be an elixir of life but most commonly believed to have what ability?
3. The soap opera Dark Shadows took place in the fictional town of Collinsport in what U.S. state?
   A) Massachusetts
   B) New Hampshire
   C) Maine
   D) Vermont
   E) Connecticut
4. In Disney’s Haunted Mansion, what is the name of the medium whose head is conducting a séance from within a crystal ball?
5. The phrase, “a rag and a bone and a hank of hair” comes from the poem The Vampire by which author?
   A) Gerard Manley Hopkins
   B) Rudyard Kipling
   C) Robert Browning
   D) John Dryden
   E) Thomas Hardy
6. The term for the employee in a morgue or forensic lab who is responsible for moving, handling, and cleaning the corpse is Diener, which means “servant” in what language?
7. The Japanese Mujina is a magical animal which can shapeshift and particularly likes to prank people by appearing as a faceless human. What kind of animal is it?
   A) Pig
   B) Sparrow
   C) Cat
   D) Badger
   E) Fox
8. Who wrote and performed the Ghostbusters theme song?
9. The Bible’s Book of Revelations specifies “the number of the beast” as being 666; rather than a prophecy, however, most scholars believe this to be a politically-pointed numerological reference to what historical figure?
   A) Diocletian
   B) Julius Caesar
   C) Nero
   D) Constantine
   E) Cicero
10. The third installment in the Halloween movie franchise didn’t feature any elements from the first two films, instead presenting a convoluted plot about sinister Halloween masks. What was this film’s title? (Hint: It’s also the title of a popular song by Donovan.)

(Answers below the fold)

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This A Bit of Fry and Laurie sketch is awesome for a number of reasons, not least because you’ll spend the entire time mentally urging Hugh Laurie to blink.

(Hat tip to pdq)

The Creepiest Photo Album – Collection of creepy photos, sadly without explanation or individual attribution. There are also Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Benito’s Halloween Mixtape – A month-long celebration of Halloweeny music.

Skull Collages – Interesting artwork made from old photos. These would make amazing quilts.

The Dead Celebrity Cookbook – A collection of recipes passed on from now-deceased celebrities. I’m assuming they were alive when they passed them on.

Bang Boom Pow Design – Etsy shop which does unique custom invitations in themes like Jane Austen, Silent Film and 8 Bit.

Skirt 1717 – This black-and-white corset dress is gorgeous.

Vaudevillean Anti-Drinking PSA – Interesting set of snapshots from a 1906 performance of “Death and the Lady.”

Chief Brody and Jaws – This is a hilarious kid’s costume.

Der Golem – Several stills from the 1920 silent movie, suitable for wallpaper or website banners. The golem looks oddly familiar, although I can’t place why.

Dead Sea Salt Chocolate – Appropriately-themed artisanal chocolate. There’s also Bloody Orange flavor. (Hat tip to xJane)

The Secret Pumpkin gift exchange is a long-running tradition amongst the Halloween-L listserv members. It’s similar to a Secret Santa exchange, only it takes place in April (six months in either direction from Halloween) and the gifts are supposed to be spooky in nature.

I’ve been managing it for the group since 2004, and a couple of years ago I finally realized it might be a good idea to mention it here. You can read that post, with more details about the way it works, here.

And now it’s time to open up registration for next April’s exchange! If you’d like to participate, go to the Secret Pumpkin site and:

1) If you did not participate in the last exchange, click the “Join” link and fill out the form.

2) If you DID participate in the last exchange, log in, click the “Update Profile” link and change the “Activate My Membership” option to Yes.

I’d previously suggested that participants should join one of the two mailing lists, but they’ve withered away to the point that it’s now optional; I’ll send occasional reminders directly to the participants instead. All that I ask is please, PLEASE don’t sign up for the exchange unless you’re serious about following through. We occasionally have participants flake out, and their Pumpkins are always sorely disappointed.

The deadline for signups is October 15, and non-US residents are welcome as well. C’mon and join! It’s lots of fun, and getting something unexpectedly Halloweeny in April is a treat.