The Art of Darkness

A Link Dump for Algernon

April 5th, 2023 by Cobwebs

“Sea Life” Chess Set – This is pleasantly Lovecraftian.

Modern Mourning – Lovely mourning jewelry, including hairwork. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

I TESTED Corsets vs. Knives (For Science!) – Video demonstrating how well a corset would protect one from knife attack.

Steve Lichman – Entertaining webtoon about a lich hanging out in a dungeon with some of his pals.

The Somnia Tarot – Neat deck with surreal imagery based on dreams.

Carol Kane – Amusing Twitter thread with the premise, “Let’s take a minute to celebrate all the times Carol Kane has looked like a ghost who has returned to give you clues to avenge her.”

Bruce Springsteen or Stephen King? – “You take Mary out for a nice drive. Disaster ensues.”

Silk Coat and Gel Pens – Gorgeous coat illustrated with a skeleton.

Dawson’s Christian – Filksong about a ghostly starship.

Rune Rings – Lovely set of delicate rings shaped like Norse runes.

Posted in Link Dump | 1 Comment »

It’s the Great Link Dump, Charlie Brown

October 31st, 2021 by Cobwebs

I have been terribly remiss in posting link dumps because :::gestures broadly at everything::: Sorry about that.

(Special thanks to Pixel Pixie, who always finds great stuff.)

Haunted Honey – Honey and beeswax removed from hives built in tombs in New Orleans. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Elvira Action Figure – A new 8″ Elvira action figure is being released in 2022.

Southern Gothic Oracle Deck – Tarot deck with gorgeous artwork of various southern gothic tropes. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

The One with the Haunted Friends Episodes – Nicely creepy short story.

Jareth Goblin King Candle – The scent of this Labyrinth-inspired candle made me giggle. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

The Haunting of Hill House – @xoDrVenture, who has read several classic horror novels and hilariously live-tweeted the experience, tackles Shirley Jackson.

Donner Dinner Party – “A rowdy game of frontier cannibalism!” (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Aerial View Embroidery – I really love this idea. You could embroider a view of your favorite cemetery or other spooky landmark.

Minature Pathology Museum – The curator of the Integrated Pathology Learning Centre converted her childhood dollhouse into a pathology museum. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

L’Espirit de L’Escalier – This very cool short story is a modern reimagination of Orpheus and Eurydice, if Orpheus had succeeded.

Posted in Link Dump | 2 Comments »

All the President’s Link Dumps

April 23rd, 2021 by Cobwebs

Guess who’s responsible for half these links again? If you guessed “Pixel Pixie” you’ve been paying attention.

The Deadlands – Kickstarter for a monthly speculative fiction magazine described as “a journal of endings and beginnings.”

Bats and Cats Afghan and Spooky Spider Afghan – Two cute crochet kits. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Bayeaux Tapestry Online – The Bayeaux Museum has a new feature which allows you to explore the entire tapestry online, with high-quality images.

Chris McKay to direct monster movie about Dracula’s buddy Renfield – Sure, why not. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

The Mothman Prank – This is the Platonic ideal of a prank: Nobody gets hurt, and it’s hilarious.

Would You Live in a Former Funeral Home? – Well…yeah. This Victorian mansion is gorgeous. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

You Are Capable of Writing Better Horror Stories – This is targeted at horror-themed video games, but it’s a very good look at how horror works in fiction.

Luna Tarot Deck – Kickstarter for a lovely moon-themed deck. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Good Bad & Undead – Jason Momoa and Peter Dinklage are in talks to play the last descendant of the Van Helsings (Dinklage) and a vampire who’s sworn off killing people (Momoa).

Escape from the Evil Garden – A Edward Gorey-themed board game. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Posted in Link Dump | 2 Comments »

All the Pretty Link Dumps

March 27th, 2021 by Cobwebs

Y’all should be profusely thanking Pixel Pixie because without her you wouldn’t have link dumps nearly so often.

The Waking Dead – Crochet pattern for a sleep mask that is certainly…eye-catching. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Amy’s Baggage – Etsy shop with horror movie and pop culture-themed lanyards, cosmetic bags, and similar items.

Creature Comfort – Kickstarter for a throw blanket with an awesome design. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Open House on Haunted Hill – Sweet little story about a house that aspires to be evil.

Elvira Auction – An auction of “Property from the Collection of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark” will be held on Halloween, 2021. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Sex Appeal Rankings for Supernatural Creatures – A thread of greatness.

Rob Zombie Set to Helm The Munsters Film for Universal – This could either be a lot of fun or Tim-Burton’s-Dark Shadows levels of bad. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

The Ghost Writer’s Antique Bookstore – Cute addition to the Lemax “Spooky Town” collection.

Neglected Murderesses – Norman Reedus is planning to develop the Gorey book into a series for AMC. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Cheshire Cat Tattoo – This black light tattoo is perfect.

Posted in Link Dump | 1 Comment »

All the Small Link Dumps

March 5th, 2021 by Cobwebs

Gratitude to Pixel Pixie for once again supplying half of these links.

Campaigns and Companions – A delightful book of D&D illustrations featuring animals.

The Edible Museum – Anatomically accurate human hearts, brains, and fingers, plus toads and beetles and other delights, all made of chocolate. ((Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Trivial Pursuit: Horror Edition – This version of the game features questions about classic horror movies and books.

MacFizzet Hall – A lovingly-detailed Edward Gorey-themed dollhouse. ((Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Adopte ton Pouple – Etsy shop full of tentacular goodness. I especially love the octopus fishnet stockings.

Escape the Mütter – Virtual escape room inside the Mütter Museum. ((Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

We, the Girls Who Did Not Make It – A ghost story. CW for allusions to torture and rape.

SunSpots by Adria – Etsy shop featuring “strange and unusual” stained glass suncatchers. ((Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Statler the Bat – This 33-year-old fruit bat is living his best life.

Man Builds a Skeleton Guitar Made from the Remains of his Deceased Uncle – Although this is probably a hoax, the guitar is still super cool. A similar one made with a plastic skeleton would be a great prop. ((Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Posted in Link Dump | 3 Comments »

Raiders of the Lost Link Dump

January 29th, 2021 by Cobwebs

(Special thanks to Pixel Pixie for supplying fully half of the links in this list.)

The Addams Family renting out rooms in their huge mansion cheaply to broke college students. – This whole thread is delightful.

Ramses and the Pharaohs Gold – Egypt has approved a Pharaonic exhibition for five cities in the U.S. and Europe. Road trip! (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Ancient Baking – Seamus Blackley posts frequent Twitter threads about baking bread using ancient techniques and period-appropriate ingredients.

Haunted Mansion Snow Village – Department 56 has a lovely miniature house based on the Disneyland mansion as part of its Halloween collection. They also have a neat Addams Family collection. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Virtual Visits – List of museums, historic landmarks, and other places to visit online.

Memento Mori D20 – D20 dice made from real human bone. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Dog Sheet Ghost – This little wooden carving of a Very Good Dead Dog is just adorable.

How Lovecraft Pronounced Cthulhu – An interesting bit of linguistic sleuthing. Also, this is yet another thing that I’m going to blithely ignore Lovecraft about. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Crocheted Isopod – The cuddliest li’l wood louse you ever saw.

MacFizzet Hall – Amazing dollhouse based on works by Edward Gorey. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Posted in Link Dump | 3 Comments »

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Link Dumps

December 25th, 2020 by Cobwebs

Letters to Satan Claus – KBSpangler live-tweeted this completely bonkers send-up of Hallmark Christmas movies.

Bird Lamps – These lamps resembling ravens playing with lightbulbs are great. I believe that there are also mice and other creatures, but the website was apparently designed by a Yorkie on crack and I didn’t hang around to be sure.

Praying Mantis Crochet Pattern – Pattern for a surprisingly detailed mantis.

Rest in Pieces – An “oddity shop,” heavy on the animal bits. This shop was brought to my attention by the inimitable Pixel Pixie, who sent me a link to the buffalo scrotum. (When I asked what I was supposed to do with this information, the response was, “Get two. Make earrings.”)

Nick Cave Says No One Has Bought His Erotic Wallpaper – The fact that this headline doesn’t even break the top 100 weird headlines for the year says a lot about 2020.

Please link me to a SCARY/BATSHIT/WILD long-form article – This thread has some great recommendations.

Little Dragon Puppet – Video tutorial for a cute little dragon which sits on your hand.

Finding Fiends – Entertaining webtoon about a guy who does a YouTube show about cryptids and his roommate, The Mothman. There are additional entries on the artist’s Tumblr, like this one.

Yip Yips – Free crochet and knit patterns for the Yip Yip muppets.

Collector’s Item – Peter Lorre and Vincent Price did a pilot for a TV series about two crime-solving antique dealers. Part 2 | Part 3 (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Posted in Link Dump | 3 Comments »

A Link Dump Sang in Berkeley Square

December 4th, 2020 by Cobwebs

Holiday Mask Caddy – An amusing DIY project, right down to the fabric of the masks.

Gil Wizen – Entomologist who sells gorgeous prints of insects, along with ethical mounts of things like tarantula molts.

Stages of Decomposition Embroidery – Nicely detailed, slightly macabre embroidery.

Ghost Girl Greetings – Cute and spooky wrapping paper and greeting cards. They’re running a promotion for the next couple of days for saving 13% on their website with code ODDHOLIDAY.

Mixtape: Disco Dracula – A rather mindboggling playlist. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Barnhouse Settlement Embroidery – Really neat embroidered representation of an overhead view of the Barnhouse Neolithic settlement in Orkney.

The Repair Shop Gothic – Amusing short story: “What if The Repair Shop was in the business of bringing things back to life…that were better left dead.”

Memento Mori Hair Fork – Gorgeous copper hair accessory featuring a traditional gravestone decoration. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Who is the Sexiest Satan? – A thread of greatness.

Horror Deconstructed – An interesting look at how horror “works,” and how to apply it to your RPGs. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Spider Stitches – Gorgeous embroidered patches of arachnids and other creepy-crawlies.

Posted in Link Dump | 1 Comment »

A Modern Link Dump

November 13th, 2020 by Cobwebs

The Selling – Horror comedy about a real estate agent trying to sell a haunted house. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Mary Wollstonecraft seeing her statue for the first time – Susan Harrison sums it up for everybody.

Terrifying Aliens – Cool SFIA video about aliens who are somewhat less benign than E.T. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Happy – A new song by Danny Elfman. (Warning: There are flashing lights in the video.)

Five Amazing But Sadly Forgotten Animated Halloween Specials! – I remember watching a nonzero number of these, but even I somehow missed the Scrabble one. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Knit a Jackalope – It’d be easy enough to add wings if you wanted a Wolpertinger instead.

Naples’ Cult of the Souls of Purgatory – Neat Atlas Obscura piece about the Cemetery delle Fontanelle. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

1 like = 1 British candy Amusing Twitter thread.

Victorian Farm – MeFi thread about the BBC series Victorian Farm and several similar documentaries about modern people living as though they were in some past historical period, using only the technology and materials which would have been available at the time. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Animal X-rays – The Oregon Zoo did a fun thread of the spooky scary skeletons that live inside some of their animals. Looking at a beaver’s tail, you just know that a lot of dinosaur reconstructions are wrong.

Posted in Link Dump | 5 Comments »

House of Link Dumps

October 30th, 2020 by Cobwebs

Webbed – Indie game in which you play an Australian spider on a quest to save her boyfriend. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Demiurgus Dreams – Etsy shop full of lovely miniature sculptures, including dragons and ghosts.

Remastered Bride of Frankenstein Score – I find it a bit twee that the score is being remastered onto vinyl, but this is still pretty neat. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Eyeball Cake – Cute, easy cake decorated with Oreo eyeballs.

Earn $20K EVERY MONTH by being your own boss – Amusingly creepy short film. (Hat tip to Bruno)

Curbside – There really is an xkcd for everything.

Tim Burton Bringing The Addams Family Back to TV – He’d better not fuck this up. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Resident Alien – Trailer for a new series starring Alan Tudyk.

Monster Swim – Bobby “Boris” Pickett had exactly one (1) hit and rode its coattails for the next 50 years. (Hat tip to Pixel Pixie)

Halloween Projects from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories – A roundup.

Posted in Link Dump | 2 Comments »

« Previous Entries