This unusual idea for a house address marker (click the image for larger) was part of a BHG “Halloween Outdoor Makeover” slideshow. As if it should be limited to Halloween.

It’s a super-simple project, and the result is really striking. The plates are decoupaged with house numbers and skeleton clip art, then hung outside on a metal plate rack.

You could buy matching plates, or look for interesting mismatched ones in thrift stores. Use vintage-y drawings of human skeletons, or maybe a selection of animal skeletons instead.

Resize them if necessary, then print them and the appropriate house numbers–there are a zillion fonts to choose from, but it’s a good idea to select something easily readable from a distance–and carefully trim away excess paper. (If you use an inkjet printer, test to make sure that the ink won’t run when decoupage medium is applied; if it does, you may need to go to a copy shop and re-print them using ink that isn’t water-soluble.)

Arrange the pieces on the plates until you like the way they look, then decoupage in place.

Instructions for decoupaging a dinner plate are here (and plenty of other places online), but the procedure pretty much amounts to: Make sure the plates are clean and dry. Brush on some decoupage medium such as Mod Podge. Press the printouts down carefully, and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles by pressing gently with your finger. Let dry, then apply a couple of coats of decoupage medium over the top and let dry again.

It’d be a good idea to display these on a covered porch or someplace else where they’re somewhat protected from harsh weather. Much more interesting than plain old house numbers, and you can make visitors vaguely nervous to boot.

It’s time for another round of Death is Not an Option! The rules, as always, are simple: Given the choice of a pair of people, you have to decide which one you’d rather sleep with; choosing death instead is not an option. This time it’s vampires.

The Classic Spooksters Matchup
Dracula – Christopher Lee	vs.	Dracula – Vincent Price

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Matchup
Angel	vs.	Spike

The Barnabas Collins Matchup
Jonathan Frid	vs.	Johnny Depp

The Cuddly Matchup
Count Chocula	vs.	Count von Count

The True Blood Matchup
Pam	vs.	Jessica

The Creepy Matchup
Count Orlok (Nosferatu)	vs.	Marlow (30 Days of Night)

The Interview with the Vampire Matchup
Louis	vs.	Lestat

The Lost Boys Matchup
Michael	vs.	David

The Smouldery (Male) Matchup
Dracula (Bram Stoker’s Dracula)	vs.	Kit (The Forsaken)

The Smouldery (Female) Matchup
Santánico Pandemónium (From Dusk ‘Til Dawn)	vs.	Selene (Underworld)

Leave your choices in the comments. And remember…Death is not an option.

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

If I ever win the lottery I’ve just found the first place I’m going shopping.

Intrepid commenter Fiend4Halloween alerted me to Fabulous & Baroque, a company who creates furniture that would make Morticia Addams’ jaw drop.

Fabulous & Baroque was established in 2010 based on a love and appreciation of the elaborate detail and designs of 17th & 18th century European furniture. Fabulous & Baroque takes a modern approach to the luxurious, hand crafted, French design by using fashion forward colors and concepts. Having emerged as a leading furniture company of Baroque design, we continue to evolve our designs to accommodate client preferences and custom requests. The slogan “If you dream it, we can make it” truly separates us from the competition. Client dreams are transformed into a beautiful piece of artwork for your home.

They are…not cheap. But their stuff is just gorgeous. They’ve got antiqued silver-leaf beds and balloon chairs and mirrored wardrobes and rococo dressing tables and…I think I just furnished the bedroom of my dreams.

As their slogan suggests, they also do custom work. I have no idea what that would cost, but if there’s a piece you’ve always dreamt of having these guys might be the ones to make it for you.

(Thanks, Fiend4Halloween!)

Not in Kansas Anymore – Roundup of interesting Oz-themed art.

Cthulhu Peeps – Various methods for turning marshmallow Peeps into eldritch horrors. If you’ve got some post-Easter Peeps still laying around, now you know what to do with ’em.

50 Most Traumatizing Moments from Kids’ Movies – A roundup.

Ball and Claw Earrings – Neat vintage-y claw earrings (there’s a pendant available too).

Lovecraft – A small Etsy collection. I particularly like the grave rubbing and Lovecraftian Letters.

Fleshlight Freaks – NSFW! NSFW! NSFW! Fleshlight now has a line of monster-themed dildos and male masturbators, including “Frankenstein,” “Cyborg,” and…euuurghhh…”Zombie.”

Rev. Thomas Childe Barker and His Daughter – Bizarrely-posed photograph taken by Lewis Carroll in 1864. I have no idea what’s supposed to be going on here.

Muscle Skinsuit – Anatomical-print workout gear that makes you look like you’ve been flayed. It’s certainly…arresting.

Coloring for Grown-Ups – An “adult activity book.”

If Tim Burton Made Game of Thrones – Gallery of GoT characters drawn in a Burtonesque style.

I occasionally run into a wedding cake that sort of makes me wish I could get married all over again, and this is one of them. Food artist Annabel (“Annabel Lecter”) de Vetten of Conjurer’s Kitchen made this “‘Til Death Do Us Part” cake for a wedding show in Birmingham.

It features solid chocolate skulls of 16 carrion crows, 12 domestic kittens, 3 Vervet monkeys, and 4 barn owls, all of which the artist sculpted by hand. Made from White Chocolate Mudcake, the cake took her over 100 hours to complete in total. There are two options of toppers: a chocolate conjoined kitten skull, or dried flowers from an actual wedding bouquet

This isn’t her first excursion into detailed chocolate skulls; she’s got a Death in Chocolate page which showcases her work with chocolate animal and human skulls, including some painted ones meant to mimic skulls on display at an Austrian Ossuary. I can’t get over how lifelike she’s gotten the “bone” to appear.

Her site has all kinds of other great stuff, too: Creepy Confections has cakes based on 18th-Century anatomical wax models, a bloody heart in a box, and those spooky-ass chocolate baby heads that showed up on Etsy a while back and freaked everybody out. I’m also completely in love with her Beetlejuice-esque Tim Burton cake and the Hitchcock Movies cake.

Even if you aren’t in the U.K. and thus can’t contract her services directly–although it does look like she might ship some small items–the site is a great place to browse just to drool over her creations.

(via BoingBoing)

I bet unscary monsters like to hang out at the back of marathons and imagine all the athletes are running from them.
— rolldiggity

“Oh, no. No, no, no. Are you kidding me?” -First thing I would say if someone raised me from the dead
— bridger_w

When someone looks over my shoulder while I’m on the computer, I open up a new tab and start searching, “HOW TO KILL THE PERSON BEHIND ME.”
— KevinFarzad

< jbms> (btw, I am rather new to this channel, but you have a rather, eh, unusual nickname)
< l0ng_d0ng_s1lv3r> i like it
< l0ng_d0ng_s1lv3r> i have a procedure i follow when i choose a new nickname for the internets
< l0ng_d0ng_s1lv3r> you know that scene in ‘the matrix’ when agent smith is interrogating neo and he says "and in your other life, you go by the hacker alias… neo…"
< l0ng_d0ng_s1lv3r> the purpose is, choose an alias where if you are ever in that situation, no straight laced agent can ever keep a game face while reading your ‘hacker alias’ aloud
— Seen on cmubash

Shoutout to nature for not giving wings to snakes.
— FUCKIPEDIA

“So how are you qualified to administer torture for the CIA?” “I raised 2 girls, & used to brush their hair.” “You’re hired!”
— daemonic3

Pretty psyched that I’d still have two wishes left after giving dogs the ability to roll their eyes.
— GuyEndoreKaiser

“Ugh.” *makes air quotes* “‘Brains’.” – hipster zombie
— sween

“Only one man can defeat the giant monster. Unfortunately, we’re not budgeted for his services.”–And like that my horror movie pitch fails.
— fmarciuliano

Googly eyes don’t taste good, but it’s worth it to get to eat an apple that has fear on its face.
— rolldiggity

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

1. The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels and True Blood, the TV show based on the books, take place primarily in what fictional Louisiana town?
2. The TV show Game of Thrones takes its name from the first book in a fantasy series by George R.R. Martin. What is the collective name for all of the books in that series?
   A) A Clash of Kings
   B) A Storm of Swords
   C) A Song of Ice and Fire
   D) A Dream of Spring
   E) The Winds of Winter
3. In the Harry Potter series, what is the name of the sweet shop in Hogsmeade?
4. In the first season of The Walking Dead, what word is NOT used to refer to the zombies?
   A) Walkers
   B) Geeks
   C) Roamers
   D) Lamebrains
   E) Zombies
5. What is the name of Danny Torrance’s imaginary friend?
6. In American Horror Story: Asylum, this fictional serial killer plays a prominent role.
   A) Bible John
   B) Bloody Face
   C) Toybox Killer
   D) Bayou Strangler
   E) Candy Man
7. Vampire Barnabas Collins was a character in what popular soap opera?
8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place during the rule of which king (who appears briefly in the novel)?
   A) Louis XI
   B) Henry IV
   C) Charles VII
   D) Philip VI
   E) John II
9. In the TV series Pushing Daisies, what is the profession of main character Ned?
10. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what was Angel’s name before he became a vampire?
    A) Padraig
    B) Sean
    C) Liam
    D) Aidan
    E) Niall

(Answers below the fold)

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a little-known fact that Disneyland maintains a private, highly exclusive, club at the park in New Orleans Square. It’s called Club 33 (its “official” address is 33 Royal Street) and amongst many other perks, members are sometimes invited to after-hours special events.

One such event was “The Ghostly Retreat,” honoring Disney animator Marc Davis’ 100th birthday. It was a banquet inside the Haunted Mansion attraction, and all stops were pulled out. Disney food blogger Heather attended, and has posted her photos and description of the evening.

A few of the high points were a banquet table with plates, goblets, and tablecloth replicating the “haunted” one in the attraction’s dining room; some splendidly gothic flower arrangements; a menu themed to the stretching portraits in the entrace area’s elevator; and an insanely over-the-top dessert featuring a clear-sugar “crystal ball” with Madame Leota’s face screened on a piece of chocolate inside (complete with spun-sugar hair).

This is an absolutely splendid source of inspiration for both food and party decorations. Obviously, few of us have the wherewithal to pull off something this elaborate at home (if you do, will you adopt me?) but a lot of the basic ideas could be adapted into something more reasonable. In particular, the menu is as much the description as it is the actual food; one of the courses, for instance, was, “A Tall Tale,” described as, “Constance Hatchaway’s Hatchet Severed Chateaubriand Adoringly Adorned by Desiccated Rose Crystals & Mournfully Accompanied by a Tormented Hightower of Terror All Restlessly Resting on a Bed of Freshly Mortal Morsels.” Which is just a really fancy way of saying, “meat and potatoes.”

And, of course, keep the place settings and flower arrangements in mind in case you’re ever in an antique shop and come across the perfect piece. I’m going to be on the lookout for one of those candelabra/vase things.

(via BoingBoing)

Ingredients
For marinade
1 C apple cider vinegar
1 C red wine
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C finely chopped celery
4 scallions, halved lengthwise
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 dashes of Tabasco
3 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 sprig Italian parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 Tbsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp whole juniper berries

1 3-lb rabbit, cut into 8 pieces

For frying
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
All-purpose flour

Instructions
Bring marinade ingredients to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan; turn off heat and let cool. Place rabbit pieces in a glass baking dish or ziploc bag; pour marinade over. Cover and chill for 48 hours.

Remove rabbit from marinade and pat dry. Strain marinade through a sieve and set aside; discard solids in sieve.

Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot. Dredge rabbit in flour, shaking off excess. Fry rabbit, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side; work in batches if necessary. Transfer rabbit to a plate and discard drippings from pot (leave the crunchy brown bits). Pour reserved marinade into pot and bring to a simmer. Add rabbit pieces, cover, and simmer gently until rabbit is tender, 1 1/2–2 hours. Serve with boiled potatoes or noodles.

(Adapted from Bon Appetit)