What happens after medicine finds a way to fight the zombie outbreak?

David Freyne’s The First Wave is the prequel to feature film The Third Wave, currently in development. It explores the deep psychological trauma that a zombie apocalypse would inflict survivors.

Following the outbreak of an aggressive virus, a young woman awakes in a hospital bed. As the horrifying events that led her there are revealed, it becomes clear that the cure is just the beginning.

Red Wedding Cake – Mind-blowingly detailed Game of Thrones-themed cake.

Michael Keaton Confirms Beetlejuice 2 – Awww yeah.

Forensic Scientists Create the Face of Crystal Skull Vodka – A forensic artist with a sense of whimsy decided to do a facial reconstruction on a Crystal Skull Vodka decanter. The result is uncomfortably Gollum-y.

Baby Bats Playing – Orphaned baby bats play in the sun. I am dead from the cute. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Red Light Properties – Overview and excerpt of an indie comic about realtors who specialize in exorcising haunted houses and then re-selling them.

Snow Queen Cosplay – This rhinestone-laden costume, loosely based on Elsa from Frozen, is just stunning. Be sure to check out the rest of the artist’s cosplay costumes too.

Human Type – Creepily realistic letters with eyeballs and beard stubble.

Strange Dolls – Short documentary on artist Beth Robinson’s Strange Dolls. (Hat tip to Cat)

True Blood Forsaken – A True Blood-themed lipstick/nail polish duo. There’s also a Bad Things nail polish set.

Rosa Corazón – A great sugar skull repaint of a My Little Pony doll by Daisy Church. (Hat tip to Burning Prairie)

Clear your schedule before clicking any of these links, because you’re going to be browsing for a while.

I discovered Semi Sweet Designs a couple of days before Valentine’s Day, when ThinkGeek pointed to these awesome Star Trek Valentine Cookies. It turns out that those were just the tip of the frosting-covered iceberg.

The site is the brainchild of Mike, an aerospace engineer who discovered cookie art a couple of years ago when he was looking for a unique gift idea for a friend. He notes that he is, “constantly imaging ways to turn my love of TV, Sci-Fi movies, and pop culture into cookie form,” and from the stuff he’s created I’d say he’s succeeding admirably: When he isn’t making Game of Thrones-inspired dragon eggs, he’s ringing in the new year with steampunk gauges.

There are loads of Halloweeny projects, from elegant fall leaf cupcake toppers to spooky skulls-with-candles sugar cookies. He includes plenty of recipes and step-by-step instructions, plus great tips like adding ghosts to any cookie.

Some of the designs are (obviously) detailed and time-consuming, which makes me wonder about the possibility of making them from polymer clay and turning them into pendants, brooches, or even Christmas tree ornaments. Faux sugar cookies seem to be a fairly widespread thing, and there are plenty of tutorials which provide tips on materials and techniques.

Do check out the site; his enthusiasm is infectious, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself surrounded by sugar cookies in the near future.

This isn’t precisely goth, but it’s such a brilliant idea that I have no choice but to share it. Over at She Knows there’s a splendid tutorial for making a mailable slice of cake.

It’s a wonderful trompe-l’oeil whose main ingredients are a sponge and some caulk. The result is apparently quite durable and is certainly a memorable way to send a postcard. There’s a related pumpkin pie postcard tutorial which could also be repurposed as a cheesecake.

Either of these would be a really unique party or wedding invitation. You could up the Goth Quotient a little by making the cake “red velvet” with black icing; since caulk is usually available in only a few colors you could either carefully tape the “cake” and paint the “icing” after it’s applied and dried or custom-color it before application.

If you aren’t feeling up to making these yourself, there’s an Etsy shop which sells them pre-made. A bit pricey if you want to send a lot of them, but reasonable for a one-off where you really want to make a splash.

Mixologist “Cody” of has created a collection of Disney character-themed cocktails: Several princesses and heroes, sure, but also plenty of villains. There are photos of many of his concoctions, along with their inspiration, at Incredible Things and more on his Facebook page.

I love how well he’s matched the colors and garnishes to the characters: The “Hades Hatred” is black, blue, and on fire; the “Grand Vizier” is crowned with a piece of orange peel reminiscent of Jafar’s staff; and the “Sea Witch,” well, just look at it.

He’s working with Tipsy Bartender to create how-to videos of each of the drinks, but until then the ingredients listed on each cocktail should be enough to get you started.

These could be the basis of a fun themed cocktail party; you could also make “virgin” versions using fruit juice or food coloring for a kid’s party.

Lonesome Wyatt describes himself as “the Ambrose Bierce of underground country,” playing “the kind of music you’d hear while walking down a dirt road headed deep into the woods weaving your way through haints and shadows.” He tours solo and also has a side project as “Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks,” which specializes in murder ballads, ghost stories, and other fun stuff.

Here’s “Dream of You,” which is rather pretty; their most recent release is Halloween is Here, whose title track rather puts me in mind of Spike Jones.

Steampunk Cthulhu Wall Lamp – This sculptural lamp by Karl Dupere-Richer is just astonishing.

Painted Ants on Porcelain – Artist Evelyn Bracklow paints realistic ants crawling all over vintage porcelain dishes. The results are rather skin-crawly.

LampaDani – Italian artist who makes gorgeous glass lamps. I love this fantastical tree.

Haunted Mansion Valentines – The “Wanna Corrupt My Mortal State?” one made me giggle.

Wax Harryhausen – Since the skeletal warriors from Jason and the Argonauts are my all-time favorite Harryhausen creatures, I find this sculpture particularly marvelous.

Literary Fun Fact – This SMBC strip explains a lot.

Rise of the Werewolf Cats – New boutique breed of cats that resemble werewolves. (via Beans)

Rosemary’s Baby Gets TV Reboot – It’s going to be a miniseries starring Zoe Saldana. Huh. (This article technically contains spoilers, but the movie is over 30 years old so I think the statute of limitations has run out. Also Darth Vader is Luke’s father.)

Chewie and Han – Characters drawn in the style of Tim Burton.

18 Terrifying Old Costumes – These vintage costumes are certainly…arresting.

I shared a recipe for sugar scrub recently, but there’s another variation on the theme which takes only a little more time and effort: Sugar scrub cubes.

Their qualities are slightly different: Regular sugar scrub is made with oil, so it’s great for dry, chapped skin. The cubes are made with a soap base, providing the same exfoliating sugar without being quite as, y’know…oily. They’re molded into little single-serving chunks, making them easy to use (and easy to package as a gift); they can also be molded into other shapes for visual interest.

There are two main methods for making the cubes, one with a melt-and-pour soap base (available at many craft stores, online soap-supply retailers, or Amazon) and one using a grated bar of soap. The latter method uses only materials you probably already have around the house, but the former doesn’t require you to grate a bar of soap, so use whichever strikes you as easiest.

Method 1

• 1/4 C mild, skin-safe oil: Olive, almond, avocado, grapeseed, jojoba, coconut, etc. You can also use cocoa butter if you prefer, although it’ll give the finished product a slight chocolate scent so bear that in mind if you decide to add scented essential oil.
• 1/2 C shredded or grated soap (plain, unscented soap like Ivory will give the most uniform results)
• A few drops of skin-safe essential oil (optional)
• 1-2 drops Vitamin E oil (optional)
• 3/4 C sugar: Granulated sugar, raw sugar, or a combination.

Mix the oil and soap in a glass bowl and microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between, until the soap is melted and everything is thoroughly combined. You can also do this in a double boiler if you prefer. Stir in a few drops of essential oil and Vitamin E oil, if using. Add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour into molds (see below) and cool. Note that the mixture will set up very quickly once the sugar is added, so be sure your molds are ready in advance.

Method 2

• 6 oz melt-and-pour soap base
• 4 oz mild, skin-safe oil
• A few drops of skin-safe essential oil (optional)
• 1-2 drops Vitamin E oil (optional)
• 18 oz sugar

Cut the soap base into small chunks and melt according to manufacturer directions. Stir in the oil, essential oil, and Vitamin E oil if using. Add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour into molds (see below) and cool.

A mold can be as simple as a metal baking pan lined with plastic wrap: Once cool, turn the block of scrub out and cut into cubes of the desired size. You can also use ice cube trays: Either spray them with cooking spray or use a silicon mold to ensure they’re easy to turn out.

You can also get a little more creative and use candy molds. The texture of the scrub is a little too rough to show fine detail, but bats, pumpkins, or maybe even spiders

There’s a lot of room for variation in both of these methods: You can add a few tablespoons of dried herbs like mint or lavender for both scent and visual interest. You can use colored soap (especially easy with melt-and-pour) and match the color to the scent: Scarlet with a rose scent or orange with a spicy cinnamon-vanilla fragrance–especially nice in a pumpkin-shaped mold. If you’re really feeling fancy, you can pour the scrub in layers and use a different color for each; this is easiest to do in a large mold and then cut into individual cubes later.

To give as a gift, pile several in a pretty box, tin, or jar. Include instructions to not let the cubes get too warm (lest they melt); they should last up to a year.

(Photo from Rustic Escentuals)

If you fall in the forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, then what just pushed you? You aren’t alone in the forest. Run, if you can.
— WstonesOxfordSt

I get the feeling Helena Bonham Carter travels by bursting into a thousand crows when she doesn’t feel like walking.
— SamGrittner

endless breadsticks. bottomless fries. yawning abyss of onion rings. HOWLING DESOLATE CHASM OF POTATO SKINS
— nice_mustard

Joseph’s head broke off my Nativity figurine. Gave me a nice feel for what the Bible as written by George RR Martin would be like.
— Aimee_B_Loved

Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Give a man a radioactive fish that bites, HE BECOMES FISHMAN!
— sucittaM

I like how the kids in E.T. keep pedaling the whole time they’re on the flying bikes. Just in case.
— KenJennings

Home is where the heart is. We found it one day in the sink. It hums things late at night, but they are not songs.
— NightValeRadio

Damn gurl stop undressing me with ur eyes haha wait no stop ARGGHHHHH HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THAT WITH YOUR EYEBALLS HELP OH GOD HELP
— Fred_Delicious

I bet owls love Sympathy for the Devil.
— thesulk

It’s probably good Mythbusters isn’t literal. “Could Zeus *really* have impregnated Leda in the form of a swan? Adam’s gonna try!”
— sween

A couple of summers ago the Shadow family vacationed at the beach, and one day we wandered into the year-’round Christmas shop that all beach towns are apparently required by law to have.* The store had a small Halloween section which I automatically gravitated toward, and one of the display items was a little bendable fabric-wrapped mummy…for $45.

I thought, “That appears to be a wire armature covered with muslin, which is about $2 worth of materials. I bet I could make that.” And the other day I finally got around to it. So this is my cheap knockoff version (hence his name).

	You only need two materials: Bendy wire and fabric. (Click the thumbnails for larger images.) I had some plastic-coated wire left over from another project; it was a bit thin so I doubled it. If you have a thicker-gauge wire, you can just use one strand. Bend a long piece of wire in half; this is the head, body and one leg. Wrap the middle of a shorter length around the “body” up near the head for arms. Wrap one end of a second piece a bit lower for the second leg. Bend the tips of the arms and legs at a 90-ish degree angle for hands and feet.
	Cut or tear some fabric into thin strips. I used some plain white cotton that I had lying around, which tears nice and straight; just make little cuts along the edge and then tear from that point. The strips I used were around 1/2″, but you can use larger or smaller depending upon the size of your finished mummy. Tie the end of one strip to the wire armature somewhere and start wrapping. When you get to the end of one strip, knot on another one and wrap over the knotted spot.
	When done, stick the final loose end under the wrapping. If desired, secure it with a touch of fabric glue. That’s all there is to it. I made the torso on mine a trifle long, but since these take around 20 minutes to put together (and you can always unwrap it if you really hate it), it’s easy to experiment.
	Since they’re bendy, you can change their pose as the mood strikes you.

Fun! Super-easy! Make a whole army of these guys and let them lurk around the house. They’re also a really great make-your-own favor project for kids’ parties, and since they can be bent to hold signs they’d be a fun placecard at dinner parties.

*No, really. There is some bizarre symbiotic relationship between beach tourist destinations and Christmas shops. I have yet to encounter one without the other.