Here’s something that I thought I’d mentioned previously, but my archive search comes up empty so apparently I’m hallucinating. Several years ago, before I had children and could occasionally think straight, a friend and I put together an elaborate Halloween dinner party of the sort where everybody plays a role and they’re supposed to solve a mystery. In this case, it involved a haunted house. I posted details and materials in case anyone else was ever foolish ambitious enough to try something similar.
The premise was fairly straightforward: It’s 1926*, the inheritors of an old house have just re-opened it, and they’re celebrating by throwing a dinner party for the cream of society. During the party, strange things start to happen (disembodied knockings and moanings are heard, a bloody rag is found, objects seem to move). It could be a ghost. However, each of the guests also has a motive for “haunting” the house. Whodunnit?
Logistics
We sent out an initial invitation, explaining a bit about the theme of the party and asking each guest if they planned to attend, whether they were bringing a guest, and what sort of role they and their guest wanted: A major character (someone with gossip and clues), a minor character (playing along, but in a lesser role), or the maid/butler.
Once we had this, we planned the characters and assigned clues. We decided to base each character loosely on real people. The guests then received a second invitation and packet containing:
General information (with slightly different instructions, depending on whether they were a major character or not). This included a page from an “old book” about the house itself
A fact sheet about their character (including two short ones–one of each sex–to accommodate one guest who didn’t know who he was bringing).
Some gossip (everything that others knew about them, plus one or two tidbits about other guests)
Some “clippings,” background information about their character, plus information about a couple of other guests
If you’ve been watching the HBO series True Blood, you may have seen Sookie wearing a T-shirt from the vampire bar Fangtasia. I’m amused to learn that the HBO store sells the Fangtasia T-shirts and quite a lot of other themed merchandise.
They also have Fangtasia pint glasses (unfortunately printed with the HBO logo on the reverse, which kind of, um, sucks), Eric Northman’s eagle claw pendant in copper-plate or sterling silver, and “Merlotte’s” pint glasses and T-shirts.
The pint glasses would make a nice addition to a home bar and the T-shirts would be handy in case you want to play “vampire and helpless barmaid.”
Bad News from the Past – A blog that reproduces late 19th/early 20th century bad news reports from various American newspapers, with a bit of commentary at the end. I like that hit-and-run drivers used to be called “vampire autos.”
Death Metal Parrot – (It’s actually a cockatoo.) This reminds me a lot of a guy I dated once.
Cemetery Cat Designs – Etsy seller specializes in unusual jewelry, including some which incorporate nazars (evil eye protection).
FMyLife – Schadenfreude, now in handy list format. ((hat tip to Empress Pam)
Zombie Attack Poster – This was drawn as a special for Museum of Comic and Cartoon Arts Festival, but the artist is going to make prints available. It has a whimsical, “Where’s Waldo” feel to it that appeals to me.
Back to the Future Wedding Cake – Amazing cake made to look like the town square in Back to the Future. I’d love to see a haunted version of this.
Harry Clarke Illustrations – Scans from a 1923 Edgar Allen Poe collection done by Harry Clarke. These are awesome.
Remote Control Tarantula – Shadowboy recently got one of these as a treat (he had a choice of the spider, a skunk, or a dragon, and he chose the spider “Because Mommy would like that one best.” Aaaaawwww….), and it is really quite awesome. It’s about three times the size of a real tarantula, very realistic-looking, and its legs move as it rolls across the floor.
Calling themselves “your tour guide to the dark corners of the globe,” Dark Destinations maintains a database of macabre locations around the world.
They’re apparently very gung-ho about the concept of “market penetration,” since in addition to their blog they also have a Livejournal site, a Myspace page, a Twitter feed, and another Web presence. (That last site also includes a “Dark Traveler Library” which lists books and DVDs useful in planning trips to spooky places.)
They list everything from haunted buildings to torture chambers, and the blog offers interesting historical tidbits about a variety of unfortunate happenings.
Want to play a game with a few like-minded individuals, but don’t want to devote six hours to a round of Vampire: The Masquerade? Here are a few suggestions for card- and board games with zombie, ghost, or vampire themes.
Zombie Fluxx – A riff on the popular Fluxx card game, but with zombies. Their expansion pack includes a flamethrower, plus new art of zombies like a ballerina and a boy scout.
Dia de Los Muertos – A trick-taking card game in which you send animals, then children, then adults on to the afterlife.
Dracula – A two-player board game in which Dracula looks for victims, van Helsing is looking for vampire coffins, and each must battle the minions of the other.
Zombiegeddon – Armageddon starts tonight. Spend the first half of the game trying to gather supplies, and the second half trying to survive the zombies.
Ghost Chase – Ghost hunters explore a haunted mansion, trying to find the ghost. The hunters can collaborate if they wish, but only one can win by capturing the ghost.
Dawn Under – This is a memory-type game in which vampires search for vacant graves to occupy before the sun rises. If they open a tomb which already has an occupant or contains garlic, they are penalized.
Last Night on Earth – A fast-paced game with a B-movie feel where some players are Heroes, some are Zombies, and they fight tooth, nail, and shotgun in the heart of a small town.
Ghost for Sale – Compete with others to purchase old castles and mansions. A resident ghost or two will add cachet; too many will terrorize visitors.
Designer Chantal Thomass, perhaps best known for her lingerie, recently released a line of glasses. The collection includes 13 glasses frames and 11 sunglasses, each in two colors. You can see a couple of them at her site (borderline NSFW, as her models are also wearing her lingerie), and they’re apparently available from Opticiens REV. I say “apparently” because the site has a Flash interface and is all in French, either one of which is likely to make me despair of ever navigating anywhere.
Still, if you have a higher tolerance for Flash and/or French than I do, it might be worth digging around to find a source. I love the little wrought iron-looking details on the earpiece of this one.
Infrared Fun – Gibberish posted a pretty infrared photo taken in a cemetery. I didn’t realize how neat and ghostly this photography technique makes everything look. Wikipedia has an overview of how to do it.
A post series from Associated Content (I’m posting each section because their TOC scheme is very strange): How to Decorate with a Goth Theme – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
Skeleton Finger – Possibly NSFW, I guess, if your workplace is unfriendly to obscene skeletal gestures. I have no idea where this came from; I found it on my hard drive under “embroidery.” It would make an amusing stitched detail on a tote bag or piece of clothing.
Create Your Own Ring – Amazon has just launched a neat interactive feature that lets you design your own diamond ring.
Columbine Cross Stitch – An amazingly intricate and thought-provoking piece by Noelle Mason.
Bubble Wrapping Death Masks – One of the guest bloggers over at BoingBoing talks about his collection of death masks. A display like his would be an awesome focal point for a room.
You Know…for Christmas – The Bloggess routinely makes me shoot coffee out my nose. This is no exception. (Hat tip to xJane for the suggestion)
Zabet over at the Anticraft blog recently joined Kiva, a site which makes microloans to disadvantaged businesspeople who couldn’t qualify for a loan otherwise. She posted about the lady she’s sponsoring here, and said:
Would anyone be interested in having an Angstylvanian lending team?
“Because the best way to fix a problem is to throw money at it.” –Svetlana Vyalostova, Team Angstylvania Olympic coach
Who could refuse that?
I joined, and my first loan has gone to a lady in Azerbaijan who raises cows. (Shadow Jack steadfastly refuses to let me raise livestock, so now I can do it vicariously.) You’re not on the hook for a large amount: They have a $25 minimum, but you can add small amounts to your account over time until you have enough to lend.
I sort of love the idea of an entire team of goths on the same community-service bandwagon, so if you’d like to play along register at Kiva and then go join Team Angstylvania.
Here’s something that I thought I’d mentioned previously, but my archive search comes up empty so apparently I’m hallucinating. Several years ago, before I had children and could occasionally think straight, a friend and I put together an elaborate Halloween dinner party of the sort where everybody plays a role and they’re supposed to solve a mystery. In this case, it involved a haunted house. I posted details and materials in case anyone else was ever 
If you’ve been watching the HBO series True Blood, you may have seen Sookie wearing a T-shirt from the vampire bar Fangtasia. I’m amused to learn that the HBO store sells the Fangtasia 
Calling themselves “your tour guide to the dark corners of the globe,” Dark Destinations maintains a database of macabre locations around the world.
Want to play a game with a few like-minded individuals, but don’t want to devote six hours to a round of Vampire: The Masquerade? Here are a few suggestions for card- and board games with zombie, ghost, or vampire themes.
Designer Chantal Thomass, perhaps best known for her lingerie, recently released a line of glasses. The collection includes 13 glasses frames and 11 sunglasses, each in two colors. You can see a couple of them at 