Isn’t this gorgeous? It’s the Old Brompton Cemetery in London, all ready for autumn.

The image is Creative Commons licensed, so you could use it as computer wallpaper. The photographer also sells prints of the photo, although apparently only in 4″x6″ size. That’s unfortunate; I’d love a big framed blowup of this.

Check out her gallery for other pretty stuff.

(via Baxter King)

Zombie Attack – Roundup of zombie-themed craft ideas.

Steampunk Haunted House – Gallery of photos from Pittsburgh’s ScareHouse, where they’ve gone clockwork this year.

Family Photo – I found this oddly unsettling.

Pleasantville – Miniature vignettes featuring people being axe-murdered in the woods or having furtive sex in the park. Some amusing ideas for decorating a terrarium, if nothing else.

Hitchcock Halloween Décor – ThreadBanger video with suggestions for Hitchcockian decorating ideas.

Wickedminky – Etsy seller who specializes in hand-painted tattoo jewelry. (Hat tip to Empress Pam)

Papercraft Halloween Invitations – These are just lovely.

Harry Potter Concept Art – Stuff from Half-Blood Prince that didn’t make the movie. Some really neat images.

Zombies: A Field Guide to the Walking Dead – Interesting book that examines various cultures’ ideas about the walking dead, from Haitian zombies to Scandinavian draugr.

Regretsy – Exploring the worst and weirdest that Etsy has to offer. Some items are NSFW, so beware.

The Drama Button – It’s…just what it says it is.

Halloween Party Decor – Dabbled has a nice roundup of links, many of which would work year-round.

Nerdcore does a pinup calendar every year with scantily-clad models dressed as science fiction characters or superheroines or whatever makes the geeky heart go pit-a-pat. Their theme for 2010 is horror movies, featuring scenes from Carrie, The Shining, Psycho, and other genre classics.

Destructoid has the first nine images and Shock Till You Drop has the last three. Even with Nerdcore “modesty glasses” covering up the especially nekkid bits the images are pretty NSFW, so be warned.

The calendars are available for pre-order at the Nerdcore site. This would certainly be an…arresting gift for the horror movie aficionado.

(via io9)

You are welcome.

San Francisco artist Jeanie M hand-makes* each topper by stuffing the mice and then posing them in detailed little costumes. I’m assuming she’s also the person behind the skunk in Edwardian costume and the other mouse specimens on the same site.

These are kind of adorable, and would certainly be a unique cake topper. The mice make it appropriately gothy, but I can see it working especially well for a fairy-tale themed wedding.

(via Dabbled)

*This is probably unnecessary to say. I can’t imagine there’d be a machine for making them.

Our favorite vampire was born on this date in 1882. I think it’s pretty safe to say that his middle name was “Typecast.”

Still, his portrayal of The Count helped to revolutionize the image of vampires, changing them from stinking, blood-clotted apparitions to suave and alluring Renaissance men. The massive explosion of vampires in pop culture can be laid at his and Bram Stoker’s feet. Which technically means that they’re also indirectly responsible for Twilight, but let’s choose to ignore that.

So, happy birthday, Bela, and…uh…fangs for the memories.*

(The photo on his Wikipedia page amuses me; he looks young and eager and friendly and…there’s still something about him which hints that walking down a dark alley with him might not be the best decision.)

*Oh, like you weren’t thinking it.

We had 13 different commenters on posts last week (how lucky is that?), and the great oracle at random.org spat back number 3 when queried.

That means JoAsakura wins! Wheee! (Jo, please e-mail me with your mailing address.)

Thanks to everyone who commented last week!

ThreadBanger has posted this video tutorial for a costume based on Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter.

There’s still time before Halloween! Hurry!

(via CRAFT)

Cthulhu PSA – The more you know!

Crafts for Wiccans – Samhain project roundup from Craftster.

The Bone Room – Curious Expeditions visits an amazing store in Berkeley.

Historical Tweets – This one made me giggle.

The Most Creepy Stuff on the Web – Highly debatable. Still, there’s probably one or two things on this list that everyone should find pretty spooky.

Halloween Cross Stitch Kit – New kit from Subversive Cross Stitch with four patterns and glow-in-the-dark floss. (Some patterns contain naughty words, so potentially NSFW, I guess.)

8 Real-Life Themed Weddings – The Clown one is just creepy.

The Last Ride – Lie down in a coffin for a simulated ride to the graveyard, complete with burial. You never see this kind of thing at Disneyland.

Zombies for Zombies – Ghoul Friday reviews this book.

Tim Burton’s Tricks & Treats – Haute Macabre has a photo shoot from Harper’s Bazaar which includes models dressed as some of Burton’s most famous characters.

Knit Alien Facehugger – Complete with pattern!

Two from Dave Lowe:
Halloween How-tos – A roundup of his tutorials
Haunted Horseshoe – I love how simple yet effective this decoration is.

I mentioned the Dead Fairy Hoax a while back, opining that something similar might be made using a miniature skeleton as a base. I finally decided to take a crack at making one, and I have to say that I’m rather pleased at how it turned out.

The project was much less difficult than I’d feared; there are a fair number of steps, but each individual one is pretty easy. (Also, it’s supposed to be a half-rotted corpse; if you mess something up, how would anybody know?)

If you’d like to try your hand at something similar, I’ve posted a tutorial here.

Jones Soda has long amused me for their limited-edition flavors: They’re the ones who produce candy corn soda for Halloween and a turkey-and-gravy-flavored one for Thanksgiving (this has always left me speechless).

They currently have a couple of limited-edition variety packs based on Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, so you can offer your guests Illithid Brain Juice, Eldrich Blast, or Necromancer’s Tonic.

Even if you don’t play the games, the artwork is lovely and would be a great addition to a Halloween party.

Jones also allows you, incidentally, to personalize soda labels with an uploaded photo, making it an interesting possibility for weddings or parties.