DIY Bat Invitation Tutorial

When & Where Invitations

These adorable articulated bat invitations from When & Where Invitations have wings that really flap!  Who wouldn't come to this party?  Check out the full tutorial at the link.

Bloody Scar Makeup Tutorial

Pop Stars in Costume

Some pop singers may wear kooky costumes year round, but for others, Halloween provides a rare opportunity to get strange, as it obviously does for Heidi Klum and her husband Seal, above.  If, like me, you enjoy looking at pictures of famous people in weird outfits, you will enjoy this slideshow of celebrities in Halloween costumes.

DIY Duct Tape Topiary

Poppies at Play

I love this sweet, surreal-looking duct tape topiary on Poppies at Play.  Not only would it make a fantastic Halloween centerpiece, but I think that, done in different colors, it would work well for other holidays.  Red for Valentine's Day, perhaps?  See the full tutorial at the link.

Burn Makeup Tips

Whether you're keen on dressing up as Freddy Krueger, or you just want to give someone a terrible fright, Anytime Costumes has some advice on creating burn makeup.  Those of you who are into special effects makeup, take note.

Growing Out of Horror Movies?

Over at the Duquesne Duke, Jess Eagle has a little memoir about falling out of love with horror movies.  I'm not sure I buy the analysis, but it's an interesting perspective.

Absinthe Cookies

a fine kettle of ish

Whether you're looking for a poisonous Halloween treat, or have just always wanted a cookie that would capture the essence of Bohemian turn-of-the-century Paris, you're in luck, because a fine kettle of ish has a recipe for absinthe cookies. 

These sound delicious, but the only kind of spirits we keep in the house are the kind in white sheets, so someone else will make to make them an let me know how they turn out.  [Via The Year of Halloween]

Pumpkin Pancakes With Chocolate Filling

I'm not sure how these pumpkin pancakes qualify as "healthy" when they have chocolate cream cheese filling, but I'm going to take NYMetroParents' word for it.  I certainly know I would've enjoyed eating them as a kid . . . or as an adult, for that matter.

Most Profitable Horror Movies

HorrorMovies.Ca has a list of the 9 most profitable horror movies.  Top honors go to blockbuster indies that filmed with very small budgets, like the Blair Witch Project (below) and Paranormal Activity.

The Creepiest Halloween Costumes Ever

 

Last year, the Huffington Post compiled a slideshow of the creepiest Halloween costumes ever.  

A pretty good showing, I'd say.  Definitely worth sharing, even a year later.

Top 10 Creepy Children in Cinema

Here's a solid list of creepy children in horror movies, which, while comprehensive, seems to leave out quite a lot of them, too.  Seriously, what is it about kids that's so unsettling?  Has anyone ever done a study of this?

Creepy Costumes Through the Ages

I love this list of creepy Halloween costumes over at Fist City Vintage.  And of course many of the worst offenders are clown costumes.  Of course.

DIY Embroidery Hoop Wreath

This delicate wreath, made of miniature embroidery hoops, makes a great Halloween decoration, but could easily be retooled for other holidays.  Christmas isn't that far away, and those spooky cobwebs could easily become pretty snowflakes.  Full tutorial from the Craftzine blog at the link above.

Top 10 Illustrated Horror Movie Posters

The art of hand-drawn movie posters has all but died out (at least here in America -- it's alive and well in places like Ghana and Thailand), but FEARnet has a list of the ten best illustrated horror movie posters to take you back to the good old days of pen-and-ink posters.

Morton Salt Girl

Here's an easy costume suggestion from vivacia on Polyvore: the Morton Salt Girl.  All you need is a little yellow dress, an umbrella, and a canister of salt to complete the look.  As I recall, my friend Jessica did this a few years ago and it was a hit.

Midnight Pastoral

 

"Midnight Pastoral" skeleton toile by Alexander Henry Fabrics, via Old Fashioned Halloween.

Ghost T-shirt

 

"Ghost" T-shirt, by droopbomb, on Threadless

Scorcese's 11 Scariest Movies

Last year, the Daily Beast ran a list of Martin Scorcese's 11 scariest horror movies.

The list is a pretty great one, though it skews pretty heavily towards pre-1970s cinema. I haven't watched my way through the entire list, but those I've seen have been excellent, and Scorcese includes a couple of my favorite ever horror films, including The Innocents and the 1963 version of The Haunting.

Spiderweb Memo Board

 

This spiderweb bulletin board by the Greenbean Crafterole is great because it's more than just a one-time seasonable decoration.  I'm always taping notes up to my window, or pinning them to the wall near my desk, so I'd love to have a board like this up on my wall all year round, to keep me organized and maintain a little Halloween spirit throughout the year.

Twilight Vampire Baby Costume

Just in time for the release of the first installment of Breaking Dawn, here's a super-creepy/brilliant Twilight costume. 

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes terrifying vampire c-section

LIFE Magazine Black Cat Audition

 What are Vincent Price and Peter Lorre doing with those cats, you ask?

They're auditioning them, of course!  What else?

Apparently Price and Lorre were part of a 1961 Hollywood casting session for black cats, presumably for a horror movie.  LIFE Magazine was there to capture the proceedings, and as you can see, the results were fantastic.

What impresses me most is not that some Hollywood executive decided it would be a good idea to have an open casting call for cats, but that so many people managed to wrangle their cats into coming with them.  No matter how lovely I may find my two black cats, I know there's no way they would tolerate being put on a leash and trotted down to a movie studio.  Although, to be fair, the cats at above don't look too happy about it, themselves.

There are a bunch more truly awesome photos from the LIFE Magazine shoot here, and here.  [Via BoingBoing]

Last-Minute Superhero Costumes

Whether you're indulging in Ghostbusters nostalgia or gearing up for the release of Dark Knight Rises, here are some last-minute Halloween superhero costume ideas.

And in case that's not enough, here are 20 last-minute sci-fi costumes for the procrastinating SF fans.

A Plethora Of Pumpkin Recipes

Good Housekeeping has a host of delicious-looking pumpkin recipes, and, pleasantly, they're not just you're run-of-the-mill pumpkin pie recipes.

If you're looking to switch up your Halloween course list, or just looking for something to do with some late autumn gourds from your garden, try some pumpkin creme brulee or pumpkin shortcakes with fruit compote.  Yum!

David Gordon Green on His Suspiria Remake

Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green will be directing a remake of Dario Argento's horror classic Suspiria.  Complex has an interview in which he talks about the project:

With Suspiria specifically, you’ve been trying to get a remake made for years now. What is it about Dario Argento’s original film that keeps you so determined to make a new version?

To me, what I love about it…. I love the original, but the movie that I’ve written based on that is just very much influenced by that. I think the idea of an isolated setting with a young, naïve girl stuck in the isolated setting is just a field day for what I find to be scary. It’s me responding horrifically to that movie; I was really terrified by that movie. My take is somewhat different from what Argento’s movie is, and it’s really me seeing what I have to offer that genre.

It’s the seed that Suspiria planted in my head, rather than a shot-by-shot remake. It takes that tone and goes into a new place with it

Ten Tricks For Surviving A Horror Movie

 Not only is this article on how to survive a horror movie in the Miami New Times full of helpful hints should you fall into a horror movie, it also demonstrates a pretty sharp understanding of the rule-governed nature of the horror genre, and of the concept of genre in general:

​A scary movie is nothing but a pattern; a circumstantial plot that moves from one point to the next,systematically taking its viewers into a familiar world. In one version the chick might be the hero, while in another she's the victim. There are serial killers and ghosts, and there's always some idiot who does the opposite of what the audience is telling him to do.

But the thing is, no matter the premise, horror flicks are adrenaline-based entertainment that drag their audiences through the mud and back again, throwing obstacles at them from all angles without a care in the world about feelings, stress, or any other emotion.

Celebrity Baby Halloween Costumes

Why, yes, that is Paul Rudd, with his son, Jack

I don't know who half these kids are, but there are some hellaciously cute costumes on this slideshow of best celeb baby costumes on Babble.  I think my favorite part (besides the Fanning girls' preternaturally spot-on costumes) is seeing these famous parents being cute with their kids.  So whether you're trying to keep the Halloween spirit alive a little longer, or just exorcise your grandmother instincts, it's worth checking out!

Top 10 80's Horror Movies

Don't go into the light!

Here's a list of the ten best horror movies of the 80's to mull over.  Thoughts?

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

Tintype Witches, 1875

Via Sexy Witch.  Read the whole post here.

Everybody (Backstreet's Back)

Here's an enormously guilty pleasure from my adolescence.  I want to assure you, this was the only Backstreet Boys song I ever liked, and this only because the video is monster movie themed.  It is kind of catchy, though . . .  And very Halloween-appropriate.

How to Compost Your Pumpkin

"Angry old man" by sethtex, via Flickr

It's been a week now since Halloween, and chances are, that once-gorgeous Jack-o-lantern is starting to look more like refuse than decoration.  Loathe as I am to suggest doing anything to dissipate the lingering Halloween spirit, it may, in fact, be time to get rid of your pumpkins.  Luckily, The Daily Green has some useful tips on how to compost pumpkins so that they don't go to waste.

9 Ill-Advised Musical Costumes

Houston Press has a compiled what might be most accurately be called a worst-of, a list of musical couples costumes that would be in bad taste, including this charming couple:

Celebrity Costume Recaps

In case you didn't get your fill of famous people in Halloween costumes, here's a slideshow of some celebrity Halloween twitpics.  I'm not sure what my objection is to celebrities dressing as other celebrities, but it seems to demonstrate a basic lack of perspective.

Halloween TV Specials

If, like me, you're saddened to see your neighbors taking down their decorations and the pumpkins on your front step slowly sinking in on themselves, then one sure-fire way to bolster that Halloween spirit is by rewatching some classic Halloween TV episodes.  I've been thinking of what my list would include (certainly Supernatural's ridiculous razor-blades-in-the-candy opener), and maybe at some point I'll put together a list of my own, by in the meantime, here's a great roundup from Jezebel of Halloween specials from our youths.

There are a lot of clear winners on this list -- the Buffy episode, of course, and every episode ever of The Addams Family - but I think my favorite is the Freaks and Geeks episode.  Bill as The Bionic Woman.  It just kills me every time.

Jezebel's Ghost Stories

Here are those ghost stories Jezebel was looking for.  I think my favorite is "Charlotte," although it's a fun selection generally.

Real Halloween Horrors

Proving that sometimes the real world is scarier than horror stories, there were some sad events this Halloween, including a young woman who has accidentally hanged in a St. Louis haunted house attraction, and at least 6 people who were shot on Halloween night in Washington, DC.  Be careful out there, people!

Happy Halloween!

Today's the day!  Hope you all had a marvelous Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Today's the day!  Hope you all had a marvelous Halloween!

Halloween 2011 Party Playlist

Today is the day of our Halloween party, and here's what we'll be listening to this year.  You can download the entire mix here.

1. Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo
2. Die by the Drop - The Dead Weather
3. Dead Disco - Metric
4. Nail in My Coffin - The Kills
5. Ghost - Little Boots
6. Creeper - Islands
7. Witchy Woman - The Eagles
8. Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones
9. I Feel Evil Creeping In - Islands
10. Pet Sematary - The Ramones
11. I Put A Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
12. Highway to Hell - AC/DC
13. Devil's Triangle - Primitive Radio Gods
14. Full Moon - The Black Ghosts
15. Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) - Concrete Blonde

And if you're still trying to figure out what to put on your Halloween party mix, these lists from Paste and Nerdist may help.  They certainly did me!

It's the Great Pumpkin!

If, like me, you spent all day preparing for Halloween, it's time to unwind a little this evening, and what better way than to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!  Good thing it's on Hulu!

Jezebel Wants Your Ghost Stories

Have you been haunted?  Jezebel is soliciting true ghost stories, to be published on the blog on Halloween.  Short of alerting the Ghostbusters, this seems like as good a forum as any to tell your tales.

Heidi Klum's Halloween

Supermodel/Project Runway host Heidi Klum's Halloween parties seem to be a thing of legend in celebrity circles.  I really respect people who go all out for Halloween, which is why I love this feature on Klum's costumes in the Daily Mail.  The piece includes pictures from several past Halloweens, and pictures of her in-progress costumes for this year, including this gem:

Also, the Weekly World News is claiming the above picture is a Bat Boy costume, which is awesome, but seems a rather poor likeness (shouldn't she have pointed ears?).  [Via Jezebel]

The Science of Screams

io9 had a neat piece last week on the science of screams.  It should come as no surprise that horror movies use screams to elicit particular emotions in viewers, but the neat thing that researchers have found is that, the more irregular they are, the harder screams are to ignore.

This article also alerted me to the existence of Wilhelm scream, a stock Hollywood sound effect scream that's been used on tons of movie since the 1950s.  I'll never be able to listen to another horror movie the same way.  Here's a supercut for your enjoyment.

Halloween Recipe Roundup

Allrecipes has a roundup of Halloween recipes, so if you're still looking for something to serve at a Halloween party this weekend, check it out!  Personally, I'm in search of a good punch recipe, so this looks promising . . .

I Put A Spell On You

For the past two years, I've put together a little ukulele cover of a classic Halloween song for the amusement of my friends and family.  I'm no great musician, but I have fun learning a new song, and my dad always obliges me by cutting together a little video.  So without further ado, here's a ukulele cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You."

Halloween Chalkboard

While browsing my local Jo-Ann Fabric, I came across a cheap wood-framed slate, and I decided to turn it into a cute little Halloween chalkboard.

You Will Need:

Framed slate (about $3 at Jo-Ann Fabric)
Masking tape
Orange acrylic paint
Paint brush
Rubber stamps
Ink pad
Other decorations (I used buttons and some cut-out bats from some Halloween scrapbooking paper)
Glue

Start by blocking off the inside edge of the slate's frame with masking tape, to prevent the paint from running onto the slate.  If you have a very steady hand, maybe you don't need to worry about this, but I'm a sloppy painter, so it helped me.  The good news for us slobs, though, is that if you make a mess, the acrylic paint can easily be cleaned up with a little soapy water.

Paint your frame.  It took several coats before I'd achieved a nice, opaque orange.

Once the paint is dry, remove the tape and block out the words you'd like to stamp onto your frame.  In the interest of keeping things simple, I went for "Happy Halloween," but obviously you can do anything you like.  Be sure to map out the placement of the letters so that you have enough space.  That said, I mapped mine out and still wound up with some crooked, off-kilter words, so to each according to her abilities, I guess.

At this point, you may want to spend some time playing around with the placement of your decorative bits and bobs at this point.  I wound up using two paper bats from a $1 package of Target scrapbooking paper and and three buttons of various sizes.

Once you're happy with the arrangement, glue on decorations.  Let them dry.

Grab some chalk and write a message!

I think this chalkboard would be great to put beside a bowl of candy if you won't be around to hand treats out on Halloween night.  I've been using mine to fill my hankering for a Halloween advent calendar, with a chalked-in countdown -- although I keep forgetting to change the numbers!

2010 Halloween Playlist

A while back, I posted the playlist for last year's Halloween party.  I'm working on this year's playlist, but to tide you over, here's a downloadable zip file of all the songs on last year's playlist.  Enjoy!

Halloween Makeup Tutorials

io9 has a slideshow of Halloween makeup tutorials, including this one for Natalie Portman's Black Swan maquillage.

Do you think I could get away with just wearing this to class?  Maybe if I could use an eyeliner pencil without poking my eye out . . .

Reschedule Halloween? Never!

Some silly politician from Connecticut is proposing to reschedule Halloween.  Says Rep. Tim Larson, D-Conn.:

Halloween is [a] fun night for the whole family, but not so much when you have to race home from work, get the kids ready for trick or treating, welcome the neighborhood children, and then try to get everyone to bed for an early school and work morning.

Obviously, Mr. Larson, you have no sensitivity to the season.  Yes, it's inconvenient, but October 31 is immutable.  What do you think this is, Thanksgiving?  No, thank you.

Our Front Steps

That's Daphne on our front steps, getting ready for Halloween!

Campaign Against Racist Costumes

As part of the ongoing struggle to problematize racist Halloween costumes, members of the group Students Teaching About Racism at Ohio University have started a "We're a Culture, Not a Costume" campaign, juxtapozing images of racist costumes with members of the groups they stereotype.

[Via Jezebel]

The Exorcist on Stage . . . Now With More Teller

Why is possessed Linda Blair so happy?  Because not only is there a stage play of The Exorcist in the works, but now it looked like Teller, of Pen & Teller fame, will be working on the stage effects.  Strange, but true.  [Via The Mary Sue]

On a side note, I'm more freaked out by that photo than I was by the entire film.

Mourir Aupres de Toi

If you're in the mood for some macabre stop-motion animation that isn't The Nightmare Before Christmas, check out this cute animated film directed by Spike Jonze.  There's all sorts of delightful weirdness when the covers of the books at Shakespeare & Co. in Paris come alive!


Spike Jonze: Mourir Auprès de Toi on Nowness.com.

[Via Jezebel]

Mockingjay Pumpkin Template

If you feel the need to alert the neighbors that you not only love Halloween but also adolescent death matches, then check out this awesome Hunger Games-themed jack-o-lantern by So Geek Chic!

[Via The Mary-Sue]

Farber Gravestone Collection

Hope Cemetery, Worcster, MA, 1965 (Farber Gravestone Collection)

If you're itching to do some grave hunting, but are stuck at home this Halloween week, check out the Farber Gravestone Collection, a photogtaphic archive of over 9,000 historical headstones.  The collection is both macabre and beautiful, and, since it's sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society, it's also a great historical resource.  Whether you're just browsing, or looking for references on early American history, it's well worth a look.

One Week Til Halloween!

This is it, folks: we officially have one week left until Halloween! Let the countdown begin!

Halloween Countdown

Leaf Maze

From this weekend's FoxTrot:

Pixar Lamp Costume!

For all you animation nerds out there:

[Via The Mary-Sue]

"Dead End Jobs"

Laura Chase-McGehee, The Capital

My local paper profiled several area haunted house attractions this weekend, including the Psycho Safari at Bowie Baysox Stadium and Heidi's Haunted Hills.  The latter is run by a 16-year-old, whose level of vision is truly enviable.  I wish I'd been running a haunted house out of my back yard when I was sixteen.  Nice to know there are so many creepy attractions close to home.

10 Worst Haunted House Cliches

In honor of the recent release of Dream House, Complex has a list of the ten worst haunted house movie cliches.

In case you ever feel like keeping count, here's a horror cliche bingo card for you, via Sarah Hates Your Movie:

Giving Birth on Halloween

According to io9, a Yale University study that has found women don't want to go into labor on Halloween. I'm not sure why, as that would pretty much be the most awesome thing ever, as far as I'm concerned. Any Halloween babies out there want to weigh in?

Tim Walker for Italian Vogue

I love this wonderfully gothic photo by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia.  The whole photoshoot is eerie and unsettling and also phenomenally beautiful!

You can see scans of the entire editorial here, or click through a slideshow at some of the shots (including some that don't appear in the magazine) on Walker's website here.

8 Alternatives to "Sexy" Costumes

Jezebel today delivered this gem: eight alternatives to "sexy" costumes.  Rosie the Riveter is pretty much to go-to, I think, for liberal, educated woman (am I wrong here?), but I love the idea of Nancy Drew or Annie Hall . . .  Or, even better, some magical hybrid of the two, a lounge-singing sleuth in menswear.

Collaborative Halloween Drawing

I did this with the kids from daycare last week, and it makes me so happy.

Halloween drawing by Carlea, Liam, and Johnny, with help from Mary and Lilly

NPR on the Haunted House Business

djwudi, via Flickr

NPR has a fun behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional haunted houses.  You can listen to the article, or read the transcript, at the link.

It's Decorative Gourd Season

Leave it to McSweeney's to provide some delightfully twisted commentary on the Halloween season.  When it comes to ringing in the season with something strange, Colin Nissan's "It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers" is about as good as it gets:

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on some fucking gourds and arrange them in a horn-shaped basket on my dining room table. That shit is going to look so seasonal. I’m about to head up to the attic right now to find that wicker fucker, dust it off, and jam it with an insanely ornate assortment of shellacked vegetables. When my guests come over it’s gonna be like, BLAMMO! Check out my shellacked decorative vegetables, assholes. Guess what season it is—fucking fall. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of mutant fucking squash.

Oh, yes. This shit just got real.

Black Dog Syndrome

As the owner of two wonderful black cats, it makes me sad to know that people are prejudiced against black animals.  Some shelters, I know, hold special drives to adopt out animals that are considered "unadoptable" because of their unpopular coloring.  [Via Jezebel]

And in case you doubt that black cats can be sweet, here are my two, being as un-evil as possible:

A Guide to Inappropriately "Sexy" Costumes

Jezebel has a slideshow up of bizarre "sexy" Halloween costumes, including a sexy clownfish and a sexy Scrabble board.  Actually, that second one is kind of awesome.  In theory, anyway . . .

Other Uses for Candy Corn

@vonplatypus

You can order a t-shirt of this image by @vonplatypus here.  [Via Jezebel]

Halloween Rock Paintings

Crafting with Kids

 If you're looking for a Halloween project to do with young children this weekend, why not try some Halloween rock painting?  I'm not sure what you'd do with them once you're done, but it would be fun to go out looking for spooky stones.  I love the one that looks like Frankenstein's monster -- such a good fit for its shape!

Bat Drinking a Milkshake

 Here are some photographs of a bat drinking a milkshake.  Enough said.

[Via Jezebel]

The Woman in Black

Oh, hell yes.  [Via io9]

The Gawper

[Via The Mary Sue]

Black & White Pumpkins

Chica and Jo

I've been seeing a lot of beautiful black and white pumpkins recently, such as this awesome zentangle pumpkin by Chica and Jo.

If the crazy zentangle designs are a bit too complex for you, here's a tutorial for cute, simple Missoni-inspired zigzag pumpkins!

It seems that painting the pumpkins white, so to speak, gives decorators a whole new lease on the idea of pumpkin as canvas.  You can go simple, with monochromatic polka-dots or monograms, or you can try a little tromp-l'oeil, or you can create black and white toile patterns using Modge Podge and patterned paper napkins.  All these designs look elegant while still capturing a kind of Tim Burton strangeness that is so essential to Halloween.