Heinous Hats – Blog devoted to “hats with character, as well as the people who wear them.” All kinds of interesting hat designs; I’m rather taken with the spider one here.

Lovely, Beastly Bones – Photogallery of skeletons from the archive of LIFE Magazine. I’d love to have a bunch of these blown up and framed.

Organ Scarf – Cute scarf made with appliqued felt organs. This blogger is doing a “scarf a day” for the month of January, and has several other unique designs, such as the Neck Newt, too.

The Padawan’s Guide – This is more geeky than gothy, but it’s such a nicely-detailed site I wanted to mention it: Everything you wanted to know about making Star Wars costumes.

The Ghosts of Old London – Haunting photographs from the late 1800s.

X-Ray Lampshade – I love this idea.

Deadlicious – Specializes in pastries and other sweets themed like luchadores and calaveras, you guys, I don’t even know. Anyway, some interesting packaging and decorating ideas. (Hat tip to Seigmar S.)

ETOMB – Prototype for a bluetooth-wired headstone. We all know it’s going to happen eventually.

The Bead You Need – Etsy seller specializing in lampwick beads. I especially like the GemBonz.

Hipsterberry Finn – Someone responded to the newly-bowdlerized Huckleberry Finn by replacing the n-word with “hipster.” I think I might like this better than the original.

Jack Pops – These Jack Skellington candy lollipops are beyond adorable. (via Creepy Cupcakes)

The 5 Most Half-Assed Monsters in Movie History – Word.

p.s. – Since they have somehow, slowly, ineluctably, turned into a regular feature on the site, Link Dumps have been broken out into a category of their very own. All of the weirdness the Web has to offer is a mere click away.

Artist Sonja Buehrke created this astonishing lasercut wedding invitation, which is completely inkless.

With the invitation telling the romantic fairy tale story of their wedding, from the proposal to the actual wedding party at a castle with alpine scenery, the folded leporello silhouette landscape card, does not only tell the story, but is unique and a keepsake to always remember the most gorgeous day of their lives. The intricate design and the folded pieces, combined especially with the two-colored paper make this invitation a little piece of art.

It started as a hand cut cutart wedding invitation, but I wanted it to be much more delicate and detailed. So the technique was to be laser cut with a touch of laser engraving. Producing an invitation without ink, it was a challenge to get the typography to be readable. Apart from that, it was also a challenge to not overdue the design, because the lasertime is expensive.

“Expensive” is rather an understatement in this case, as the invitations worked out to $25 each.

If you don’t have that kind of budget (if you do, can I come to your wedding?), the same general idea could be used as inspiration for a hand-cut–or even just printed–foldable stand-up card. If you happen to have access to a laser cutter (some colleges have them), this would be an amazing project.

There are several more detail photos at the FPO site. Go take a look!

(via Super Punch)

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. And good luck trying to make it smoke. So, basically: You can’t make horses party
— DemetriMartin

Tampons are so close to being mouse shaped. If one brand would add tiny soft little ears, I’d be brand loyal for life. LIFE.
— kellyoxford

When she gives me those puppy dog eyes, I just know she’s been mutilating puppies again.
— donni

I bet every so often Tony the Tiger skips the corn flakes and rips open a gazelle.
— JerryThomas

goth clan…it’s like a gang, except when it’s time for them to jump you in, all they do is hold you down & put too much eyeliner on you
-Inox

Kids, don’t be afraid to follow your dreams. But be very afraid if those dreams manifest physical form & start following you. It happens.
— DeathStarPR

My mind is like a steel trap. I don’t know what that means, but I’m afraid there’s a squirrel trapped inside my brain.
— thedayhascome

Geese and swans mate for life. And that explains why it’s very common for geese and swans to fly into jet engines.
— BillMc7

I wasn’t upset about that black cat crossing my path but mouthing “you’re fucked” as he passed was just rude.
— stevetweeters

His sign said “will work for food” so my broccoli hired him.
— rodney

Artist Sean Hartter has created an astonishing collection of posters for “movies from an alternate universe,” featuring popular titles seen through a looking glass.

The vintage-60’s artwork is fantastic, and the posters all hint at storylines that I’m sort of disappointed I’ll never be able to see. Kill Bill starring Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne, an R-rated “cult classic” version of Masters of the Universe, Alfred Hitchcock’s treatment of Halloween, yes please.

11″x17″ prints of the posters are for sale at the site. These would be a fantastic gift for a film buff with an odd sense of humor.

(via BoingBoing)

Well, not me, personally. Daniel Radcliffe is, though.

It’s nice that he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

(via Topless Robot)

Transcending the Human, DIY Style – Short article on a woman who’s taking body modification to the next level by engaging in homebrew “biohacking.”

Audivox Outdoor Speaker – Instead of the ubiquitous rock, this is shaped like a spooky-looking coach lantern. Nicely atmospheric.

Elk Creek Vineyards – I have no idea what the wine tastes like, but the labels for their Bone Dry Red and Ghostly White are dynamite.

The City – Haunting, incredibly detailed dioramas depicting a post-apocalyptic world.

Zoe Williams – Artist specializing in what could best be described as “mounted mutant stuffed animal trophies.”

This is the title of a typical incendiary blog post – It’s funny because it’s true. Be sure to read the comments as well.

Frankensteinia – Site devoted to all things Frankensteinian, including lots of really nice artwork. (Hat tip to Seigmar S.)

Skull Earphones – Ear buds with evil-looking metal skulls on the front.

Patchwork Pattern Maker – Great tool from the Victoria and Albert Museum: Upload a photograph and it converts it into a pattern for a patchwork quilt. You could probably also use it for cross-stitching.

Blood Spatter Coasters – Handspun coasters made for a “Dexter” gift swap. I love the execution (so to speak).

Hauntcast – Podcasts aimed at Halloween fans.

Baby Bats in Blankets – That’s it. I am dead from the cuteness. Also “baby bats in blankets” is a lot fun to say. (Hat tip to Jo Asakura)

Jacob Petersson of Curiomira is a Swedish artist and propmaker who creates ridiculously lovely, evocative stuff. I am a complete sucker for Wunderkammer objects, and I would love to have an entire room decorated with the “trophies” and other display items that he turns out.

Readers of this blog might particularly like his Memento Mori Music Box and Dracula Memorabilia (I’m especially taken with the “memorial altar” for Mrs. Dracula), not to mention the preserved fairy and Redcap relic. I love the “implied backstory” which objects like these suggest.

His photos should provide excellent inspiration for all kinds of Wunderkammer projects. He also does commission work, so if you really love his stuff you might be able to talk him into doing something custom.

Savage Chickens – Now I know how to answer.

The Slightly Vain But Reasonable Queen… – Tom Gauld reimagines Snow White. (You can order the print here.)

The Far Left Side generally tends toward political humor (with a “Far Side” vibe), but this and this are entertaining regardless of political leanings.

Warhol Addams – I’d kind of like a poster of this.

Gary Oldman – Entertaining infographic of Gary Oldman’s roles.

Randall Munro of the always-excellent xkcd recently posted some quick strips he’d drawn as part of a game. I particularly love the “trick or treat” one here and just about all of them here.

Serving the Queen – This makes an excellent point.

Cyanide & Happiness – The last panel hit me just right.

Look at All… – NSFW language. If this were higher-quality I would print it out and hang it in my cubicle.

Wondermark – This sounds like the plot of a bad horror movie.

I’ve been thinking about the wonderful It Gets Better Project which gives encouragement to LGBT kids struggling with bullying and disapproval. It’s intended to help those who are in despair realize that there really is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, and they need to hold on in order to get to it. I think that’s a deeply important lesson which goes well beyond just LGBT issues, and applies to any kid who feels marginalized.

I and many visitors to this blog are what I would categorize as “settled” goths: We’re comfortable with ourselves and our lifestyle, and have moved beyond particularly caring whether the mainstream approves. There’s another strain of the goth community, though, who feel like outcasts and embrace the culture as a sort of defense mechanism: If you look weird and scary, people are more likely to leave you alone.

If any of those kids are amongst my readers, I’d like to extend the same message: I swear to you that it gets better.

A friend of mine once made the extremely insightful observation that young people have a tendency to think that however they’re feeling right now is how they’re going to feel forever. As it turns out, you won’t. If you muddle through, you’ll eventually move on, find your footing, and discover that the situation you were in doesn’t apply any more. (High school, in particular, is not even tangentially related to real life, and even though it all seems terribly important right now in a few years you truly won’t give a damn about what any of those people think.)

It really does get better. Hang in there.

This is sort of a double “squee” for gothy types who also happen to like science fiction: “Q” reads “The Raven.”

It’s apparently part of a new series done by SF replica vendor Quantum Mechanix:

Welcome to the first QMx Masters Series video presentation. Produced by actor/director John De Lancie, Master Series brings you the classics of science fiction, fantasy and horror, performed by some of the best-known names in genre entertainment. In keeping with QMx’s tradition of supporting artisans and their craft, Masters Series distills performance down to its purest form: a single camera, a microphone, the actor and you. It’s an intense, mesmerizing experience you won’t want to miss.

Dude’s got some range.