I would swear I’d linked to this before, but a look through my archive comes up empty so I blame the elves.

This short film illustrates the truism that most horror movies would be about five minutes long if all of the characters behaved sensibly.

Mirror World – Tumblr of weird vintage images.

Lady Hellraiser – Detailed Cenobite cosplay, slightly NSFW. I am mildly disturbed by the lack of nipples where you’d expect them to be, due to the implied doublestick tape and discomfort.

Overcast With A Chance Of DOOM! – Webcomic about a goth girl who moves into a haunted house.

Sky Dust – Set of five star-shaped pins and four linking chains that allow you to put customized constellations on your clothing. This would be super-easy to DIY with craft-store jewelry findings.

Hanzi Smatter – Blog dedicated to “the misuse of Chinese characters in Western culture.” (He appears to do Japanese too.) The blogger helpfully translates pictograms sent to him so you can discover whether the tattoo you thought meant “god will judge me” actually means “the great emperor’s tailor.”

Harry Potter Nail Art – A roundup of amazingly-detailed manicures.

Cosplay by McCalls – McCall Patterns has released three designs to make cosplay a little easier.

Yowie Mob – Googly eyes make everything better. (Hat tip to xJane)

BlackGloveKiller – Peter Murphy and Nivek Ogre will be starring in a horror movie.

Spiderweb Potholders – Tutorial for making hexagon potholders that suggest webbiness.

I have a fabric-hoarding problem, and sadly there is no 12-step program to help. I just can’t quite bring myself to part with that last six inches of cute fabric, even though there are only so many patchwork quilts a person can make. Rag rugs to the rescue! They’re perfect for using up small scraps, they’re supposed to look “rustic” (which is code for “you can claim all those mistakes you made were intentional”), and when you run out of friends and family to gift them to you can donate them to your local animal shelter; they’re great for insulating the bottom of pet beds in cold weather.

Rag rugs can be knitted, crocheted, woven, braided, or hooked, so you can use your favorite construction method. The easiest way to make the “yarn” for your rug is to tear the fabric into strips more or less the same width (precision doesn’t matter too much), then knot them end to end. This is handy because you can knot as you go along and don’t have to worry about long tangled strips. You can also make yarn with less-obvious joins using this technique.

The simplest tutorials for knitted rugs pretty much consist of “use big needles and just go for it:” crazy mom quilts and She Who Measures have some tips for that method. Cocoknits has free patterns for a rag doily rug and rag bath mat which are a little more structured-looking.

For crocheted rugs, wikiHow has instructions for a simple round rug; sustainable baby steps has a nice in-depth tutorial which includes advice for dyeing your fabric, and About has a roundup of patterns.

A Beautiful Mess and Craft Passion have tutorials for making woven rugs. For braided rugs, inhabitat and Little House Living both have good instructions with lots of pictures; the latter joins the braids with machine-sewing instead of by hand, which would work okay for the thin fabric she uses but might be kind of a strain with thicker wools.

To make a hooked rug you can use rug canvas and a latch hook as described at Craftster, or hessian fabric and a crochet hook as in this tutorial at Creative Living. There’s also a sort of cheat-y rag rug made by knotting fabric through a non-slip rug pad; My Love of Style has instructions for that (although I’d ignore the part about buying fabric specifically for the project and use scraps).

If, like me, half of your fabric stash is Halloween-themed, it’s easy to make a rug in spooky colors and feel virtuous about using up your scraps.

(Image from JoAnn, where there’s also a brief tutorial)

All humans born in the future already exist, it’s just that the matter they’re made from is dispersed.
— xeLnitraM

There are different versions of you living within the minds of others. I wonder how different they all are.
— doubledoorsd4

how fucked up would it be if an astronaut was coming back to earth and everybody hid for a bit
— dajo42

Guy in heaven: Impossible, I died in 1890
Me: But I’m SURE I know you
G: ……Fine.*sigh* I’m told I’m in something called the “Cheers credits”
— KenJennings

Since bat wings are just skin stretched between elongated finger bones, bats fly through the power of jazz hands.
— thatmeddlingkid7

vampires always like “i could kill you if I wanted” like? yeah? so could another human being. so could a dog. so could a dedicated duck. you arent special
— glassraptor

My doctor won’t go away. I know what you’re thinking but he has been eating small pieces of apple over many decades to build up an immunity.
— TheToddWilliams

“I’ll take movies for $500 Alex”
Tim Burton directed this dark tale starring Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter
“You gotta be kidding me”
— SteveSuckington

My imaginary friend has a real friend.
— Elijah6053

[in this tweet I’m the janitor who works in the nightclub from the beginning of the movie Blade, arriving to work]: oh god dammit
— iscoff

You guys! I don’t usually share region-specific attractions but the Bronx Zoo in NY has a Bug Carousel and it is the best thing ever.

The “first and only entirely insect carousel” is adjacent to the zoo’s butterfly exhibit, and you can ride on the back of a praying mantis, ladybug, grasshopper, and several other lifelike giant insects. The carousel also has two stationary “chariot” seats, one of which is utterly brilliant.

The Carousel Works site has some additional information, and if you search Google Images for bug carousel there are loads of photos.

I’ve occasionally seen kits and DIY projects for making miniature carousel toys. It’d be fun to replace the horses with insects (or arachnids; a spider, scorpion, tick, and mite merry-go-round would be entertaining), particularly if it was tucked in a normal-seeming train layout or diorama.

(via Bill)

In this neat short horror film by Toby Meakins, a collector repairing a vintage camera gets more than he bargained for. It’s amazing how intense a three-minute film can be.

Like sands through the hourglass, so goes another week of link dumps. Regular posting (and once-a-week dumps) return on Monday.

The Holy Order of the Sasquatch – This “Bigfoot cult that rocks” describes itself as “a sacred Knighthood of creative warriors who make and do cool things, a DIY spirituality that exalts the imagination in order to make the world a better place.”

How to Deal with Trick or Treaters – Classic sketch from A Bit of Fry & Laurie.

Dracula from Nebraska – Podcast exploring an unusual theory about the inspiration for the character of Dracula. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Halloween Wedding – Some interesting decoration and reception ideas.

Dan Sperry – Magician who bills himself as the “Anti-Conjurer.” You can see some of his work on his YouTube channel.

Anything Could Be a Spider – I rather like this idea.

Ship Your Enemies Glitter – A company that will do just what they advertise. This should qualify as some kind of terrorism.

Van Helsing Robot – A ‘toon just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The Transitive Vampire – “A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed.” A style guide full of black humor, which understands the Oxford comma.

Aleister Crowley’s Rice Recipe – Make curried rice like Mr. Golden Dawn himself. (I keep getting distracted by his inability to spell “colander.”)

Dragon Blanket – Crochet pattern for a cute blanket that appears to be eating its wearer.

Bat Tattoos – A roundup of “badass and adorable” bat-themed tattoos.

Grim Grinning Ghosts – The projection used for the singing busts in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.

Closed on Account of Rabies – Peculiar album featuring works by Edgar Allan Poe interpreted by artists like Marianne Faithfull, Iggy Pop, Christopher Walken, Debbie Harry, and many others.

Mandrake Root Bouquet – EPBOT has an easy tutorial for making a Harry Potter-inspired mandrake root with a bouquet of flowers growing out of its head.

Burgess Shale Boogie – Custom fabric pattern featuring some of the awesome fossils from the Burgess Shale.

Fated – I’d swear I just saw a Reddit thread with the same topic as this ‘toon, but I can’t find it so I may be hallucinating. Anyway, funny.

Elven Silverware – This 3D-printed silver flatware design is actually called “Setae” and doesn’t seem to have actually been inspired by Elves, but I agree with Geeks are Sexy that this looks like something you’d find in Rivendell. Where they hand-wash everything.

Monsterism – Etsy shop featuring illustrations of oddly charming monsters.

Random Useful Websites – This isn’t goth, it’s just really neat. Click the button to be taken to a random useful site; my first three clicks took me to Forvo, What Should I Read Next?, and PDFEscape, all of which are indeed useful. (Hat tip to Empress Pam)

Dem Bones – Sells skull-shaped sugar cubes (including a large apothecary jar full), soap, and other skully goodies.

Critter Compendium – “Daily drawings of creatures, cryptids, yokai and other miscellaneous monsters,” along with a short description of their characteristics.

Things you should know about the original Dracula – Helpful bulletpoints.

What if Tim Burton directed all Disney classic movies? – Artist Andrew Tarusov has done a series of illustrations depicting classic animated Disney films in the style of Tim Burton. I’d watch the hell out of these.

Kiva Ford – Glass artist who creates unusual sculptures, many with a gothy bent. I particularly like Memento Mori, and the miniature body parts under glass (like eyes and hearts). There’s also an Etsy shop.

SM Dad – This amused me mightily.

Black Heart Soap – Tutorial for making Joan Jett-inspired melt-and-pour soap.

Octopus Stuffies Flickr Pool – Several years ago futuregirl created a cute felted octopus pattern (which inspired one of the most wonderful Christmas trees ever). This is a set of photos uploaded by people who made the pattern, and there are some neat variant ideas: A coin purse, bride and groom cake toppers, and cat toys. There’s some nicely Cthulhoid inspiration to be had.

Swingin’ at the Seance – Interesting Halloween-themed album featuring spooky songs from the 1920s – 1940s. Might be fun to have for a retro party.

Harry Clarke Illustrations – 50 Watts has good-quality scans of Clarke’s illustrations for Faust, the works of Poe, and several others.

Bonelab – 3D-printed skeleton model kits. The vampire bat and rattlesnake are particularly lovely. (Hat tip to Fiend4Halloween)

M is for Monocle – A “Victorian Alphabet” picture book, with lovely illustrations.

Tattoos for Knitting & Crochet Lovers – The knuckle tats cracked me up.

Turkey Merck – Sculptor who offers disgustingly realistic limited-edition “slow zombie” mugs.

Disneyland Candles – Anthology Candles has released a line of candles with Disneyland-inspired scents, including one themed for the Haunted Mansion.

50 Fresh Flicks – A look at digital art by Christophe Huet. Notable particularly for these two NSFW images of human-arachnid couplings.

How to Make Paper Out of Lint – Tutorial for making attractive handmade paper from dryer lint.

My Jello Americans – Blog devoted entirely to jello shot recipes. It doesn’t look like it’s been updated in a while but there are plenty of spooky suggestions in the archives, like the cappucino skulls in Catacombs and absinthe-flavored Van Gogh ears.

Frankensteinia – Site devoted to all things Frankensteinian.

How to Make Sugar Skulls – A small terrycloth monkey walks you through the process of making sugar skulls.

Mummy – The University of Chicago has an interactive tutorial which explains the ancient Egyptian practice of mummification. Help Anubis use a hook to remove the brain through the nose, place the internal organs in canopic jars, and wrap the body in linen. Fun for the whole family!