August 19, 2013

New Goth and Zombie Links for August 19, 2013

DARK BLOGS:

Vampyre Fangs

A Jewish Italian public defense lawyer runs this interesting blog about vampires, zombies, goth and steampunk. There's lots of fascinating photos here, and some well-chosen reblogs from other blogs. Check out the recent post on gothic bedroom decor.

http://vampyrefangs.wordpress.com/


DARK BUSINESSES:

Conjurer's Kitchen

This bakery is located in Birmingham in the UK. The cake artist creates incredibly detailed dark and spooky cakes, such as skull cakes, a BDSM wedding cake, and an anatomical head cake. Their dark creations are so cool, unique and innovative!

http://www.conjurerskitchen.com/

Conjurer's Kitchen on Facebook


DARK EVENTS:

Asylum: 2.8 Hours Later

This zombie chase game is sweeping Europe. Not a 5k run, but more of a zombie scavenger hunt and a game. The game starts at sundown and lasts 2.8 hours. At the end, participants join in a bar for much needed alcohol. Current cities the game is available in are Bristol, Edinburgh, and soon, London. What a cool concept!

http://8hourslater.com/

2.8 Hours Later on Facebook

Bram Stoker International Film Festival

This year's festival takes place in Whitby in the UK, from October 24 through 27, 2013.

http://www.bramstokerfilmfestival.com/

Bram Stoker Festival on Facebook

Bram Stoker Festival on Twitter


DARK SHOPS:

Cute & Creepy

This Etsy shop is based in Oakland, California. They sell skull and skeleton-themed hair clips and accessories; blood spatter hair bows; and some hair accessories involving cute stuff like cupcakes.

My favorite thing here is the zombie cupcake hair clip.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cuteandcreepyinc

Exgalabur

This Etsy shop sells cute skeleton dolls, jewelry, hair accessories, and a Day of the Dead altar. The shop is based in Georgia.

My favorite item here is this set of mermaid Siamese twin skeleton dolls.

http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Exgalabur


DARK ZINES:

Sincerely, Boots

Sincerely, Boots is an underground culture web zine covering gothy and geeky topics. It covers fashion and lifestyle topics. Currently their most popular article is 5 Biggest Steampunk Cosplay Fashion Mistakes, followed by How Do You Wear Black Lipstick? I wish they would post a little more often, but it does take time to make quality posts such as they offer here. I think you'll enjoy this zine.

http://www.sincerelyboots.com/

Sincerely, Boots on Facebook

Sincerely, Boots on Twitter


GOTH BLOGS:

Life of Chloe Noir

Chloe lives in Slovakia and loves goth music. She writes in English, and shares outfit posts, pics of her DIY craft projects, and thoughts on being and looking different. Check out her recent beautiful photoshoot.

http://sinister-chloe.blogspot.com/


HORROR GENRE:

Brides of Dracula

A small Facebook page specializing in photos and funny posts about the Brides of Dracula, including Lucy Westenra. They also post lots of things related to Dracula himself. There aren't posts every day, but when they do post, it's multiple posts in the same day. Definitely worth a look and a Like.

Brides of Dracula, on Facebook


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

August 5, 2013

Adorable Vintage Halloween Cartoons from Yesteryear

I'm getting in the Halloween mood, ready to work on various posts for Dark Side of the Net this Halloween season. Tonight I stumbled onto a cool YouTube channel by The ReReRetard, who has uploaded several vintage Halloween or spooky-related vintage cartoons. Happy watching!

Babes in the Woods, 1932

Babes in the Woods 1932

Betty Boop's Halloween Party, 1933

Betty Boop's Halloween Party, 1933

A Famous Fairytale Masquerade Holiday, 1935

A Famous Fairytale Masquerade Holiday, 1935

Felix the Ghost Breaker, 1923

Felix the Cat The Ghost Breaker, 1923

Magic Mummy, 1935

Magic Mummy, 1935

Scrappy's Ghost Story, 1935

Scrappy's Ghost Story, 1935

Silly Symphony Hell's Bells, 1929

Silly Symphony "Hell's Bells," 1929

A Handful of Gothic Regional Resources

Of all the types of links I have added to Dark Side of the Net over the years, I consider the Gothic Regional Resources to be the very most important ones. I love the Internet, but there's nothing like meeting up in real life for face-to-face fun with other dark-minded individuals! These resources especially are important to goths in smaller towns or more isolated communities. Following are some regional resources I was exploring today, curious about what "the scene" is like elsewhere.

Detroit Gothic

This resource for Detroit-area goths and alternative folks has been around since 2001! Their Facebook page isn't active at all, but I'm listing it anyway in case that changes sometime soon. Meanwhile, their forums are active, full of event and club listings, discussions, photos and want ads/classifieds. A really vibrant and useful community!

http://www.detroitgothic.net/

DetroitGothic.net on Facebook

SF Gothic.net

"Your guide to the San Francisco underworld." MisterMephisto's highly organized and updated events calendar for the SF area, including club listings, upcoming concerts, plus some links and resources. Since this is one person's informative web page, not a community, there aren't forums.

http://www.sfgothic.net/

SfGothic.net on Facebook

GoticoDF

A Brazilian goth community, in Portuguese. Besides the event and concert listings, they post the occasional YouTube video of popular goth bands like Sisters of Mercy.

GoticoDF on Facebook

Verve Arcana

A Brazilian goth community started by Conatus. There are event listings and upcoming festivals, but the forums aren't super active.

http://vervearcana.ning.com/

South African Vampyre Community

This community organizes itself around a 225-member Facebook page, a blog and a main information portal. Somebody is working really hard to maintain and promote all of this! Good job.

http://savampyrecommunity.wordpress.com/

http://savampyrenews.wordpress.com/

The South African Vampire Community, on Facebook

Gothic Shanghai

A group of expatriates from various countries organizes events for goths in Shanghai, China. They have a yearly Victorian picnic and other fun sounding events. There appears to be a lot more goth and darkwave music events in China than I had expected, cool!

http://www.gothic-shanghai.com/

Gothic Shanghai on Facebook

Malmo Electrogoth

An events calendar for electro and goth events and club nights in the city of Malmo, Sweden.

Malmo Electrogoth on Facebook

Colorado Gothic & Lolita Society

This community organizes lots of fun events, including an upcoming meetup at the zoo in Colorado Springs. They even did a Lolita Easter egg hunt this year - I bet they had a blast!

Colorado Gothic & Lolita Society, on Facebook

Boston Gothic & Lolita

A closed group on Facebook for local gothic lolitas to organize events and chat about their gothic lolita fashions.

Boston Gothic & Lolita on Facebook

Las Vegas Goths

I'm sure there are other resources for the active, busy goth and industrial scene in Las Vegas. Here's some helpful resources I've been checking out today. I just got back from Vegas and realized I failed to go to any goth clubs or fun events while I was there. Now I'll be better prepared for my next trip, which hopefully will be this fall!

VegasGoths on Facebook

The Las Vegas Goth/Industrial and Fetish Scene, on Facebook

Vegas Goths at Meetup.com


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net goth resources

New Dark Links for August 5, 2013

DARK MUSIC:

Azar Swan

This dark electronic duo from Brooklyn has a female vocalist! The members are Zohra Atash and Joshua Strawn. A couple of their songs on Soundcloud are too close to dubstep for my personal taste, but I LOVE her voice! Check out their "Amrika" video and their Bugatti cover.

http://azarswan.com/

Azar Swan on Facebook

Azar Swan on SoundCloud


DARK RESOURCES:

Death Proof Zombies

The horrific pics posted here aren't limited to just zombies. The curator, João Fialho, finds gory, gross or unusual images, then throws in the occasional interesting cat picture or still photo from a movie. You won't be bored, say 33,000 Facebook fans.

Death Proof Zombies, on Facebook

Horrific Finds

This Facebook page is really cool, I like seeing the horror and spooky finds the admin posts every day. However, I wish they'd more often link to the source of their finds. For example, this morning they posted a really cool skull toaster, but no link to where you could find one. That makes it less useful. Anyway, the page's curator has really good taste and finds super cool stuff to showcase.

Horrific Finds, on Facebook


DARK SHOPS:

Dark Alley

It's nice to see some dark dollies that are this unique and aren't just a regular baby doll spattered in red "blood" paint to look creepy. Right now there aren't any actual dolls for sale in this shop - just giclee prints of the truly frightening looking art dolls. The artist, Veronika, lives in Everett, just a little ways north of me here in Washington state.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkAlley

Hysteria Machine

This shop sells extremely unique headpieces and interesting items to wear in your hair. I'm really impressed with their style!

For example, here's their Cthulhu Starspawn Sea Witch tentacle headdress.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HysteriaMachine


DARK TV:

True Blood Screencaps

Somebody is working incredibly hard to provide so many nice good quality screen caps for all the True Blood episodes. They catch up pretty quickly after new episodes air. Their most recent album is In the Evening (Season 6 episode 7) which contains an astounding 3019 images. Not only is there a lot of eye candy here, but it can also be a good way to review an episode you missed all or parts of!

http://screencapped.net/tv/trueblood/


DARK SIDE OF THE WORLD:

Parco dei Mostri di Bomarzo

Park of the Monsters is a 16th century garden in Italy. It used to be called "Villa of Wonders." There are huge rock sculptures made to look like mythological figures. While most of the statues aren't actually horrific or scary looking, I can only imagine how awe inspiring it is to tour the park.

http://www.parcodeimostri.com/

http://www.bomarzo.net/


STEAMPUNK:

Steampunk Family

The VonHedwig family is a bunch of resourceful DIY steampunk crafters and steampunk fashionistas. Check out their projects here, and read their tales of adventure. They also teach classes, and provide an extensive list of steampunk resources. Great website!

http://www.steampunkfamily.com/

The Steampunk Family on Facebook

Steampunk Family on Twitter


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

www.darklinks.com

August 4, 2013

Upcoming Gothic and Horror Conventions for Summer and Fall 2013

Crypticon Minneapolis

Crypticon horror convention takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota the weekend of September 27-29, 2013. "The Nightmare Before Halloween."

http://www.crypticonminneapolis.com/

Crypticon Minnesota, on Facebook

Crypticon Minnesota, on Twitter

Days of the Dead

This horror festival takes place in multiple cities throughout the year. This time it will be in Chicago, November 15-17, 2013.

http://www.daysofthedead.net/

Days of the Dead: Chicago

Days of the Dead on Facebook

Days of the Dead on Twitter

Eerie Horror Film Festival

Erie, Pennsylvania's horror movie festival takes place October 18, 20, 2013. This year marks their tenth anniversary!

http://www.eeriehorrorfilmfestival.com/

Eerie Horror Film Festival, on Facebook

Horror Realm

Horror Realm takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 20-22, 2013.

http://www.horrorrealmcon.com/

Horror Realm Convention on Facebook

KillerCon

KillerCon is Las Vegas' horror convention, taking place September 19-22, 2013.

http://www.killercon.com/

M'era Luna Festival

Massive music festival. Headliners include Blutengel, Front 242, Frontline Assembly, Apoptygma Berzerk, Haujobb, Kirlian Camera, and so many other important and influential dark bands. It takes place August 10-11, 2013 in Hildesheim, Germany.

http://www.meraluna.de/

M'era Luna Festival on Facebook

Monster-Mania

Monster Mania takes place twice - first in August (the 16th through 18th) in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Then it will happen again, in Hunt Valley, MD, September 27-29.

http://www.monstermania.net/

Monster Mania on Facebook

Parafest 2013

Parafest takes place September 6-8, 2013 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It's a paranormal, horror, cryptozoology and UFO convention.

http://www.parafest2013.com/

Parafest 2013 on Facebook

Rock and Shock

This horror festival happens October 18-20 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

http://rockandshock.com/

Rue Morgue Festival of Fear

This extremely important, influential convention occurs in Toronto, Canada, August 22-25, 2013. It's the Canadian national horror convention.

http://www.rue-morgue.com/events/festival-of-fear

Rue Morgue Festival of Fear, on Facebook

Scare-A-Con

Scare-a-Con is a horror and sci-fi convention, taking place September 12-15 in Syracuse, New York.

http://scareacon.com/

Scare-a-Con on Facebook

Scare-a-Con 2013 on Facebook

ScareFest

ScareFest is a horror and paranormal convention held in Lexington, Kentucky, over the weekend of September 13-15, 2013.

http://thescarefest.com/

The ScareFest, on Facebook

Screamfest

Los Angeles' Screamfest horror convention happens during the week of October 8-17.

http://www.screamfestla.com/

Screamfest on Facebook

ShockaCon

September 20-22, 2013 in Charleston, West Virginia.

http://wvshockacon.com/

Shockacon WV on Facebook

Shriekfest

During the weekend of October 3-6, Los Angeles will host a horror and sci-fi screenplay convention. This year is their 13th anniversary.

http://www.shriekfest.com/

Shriekfest on Facebook

South Texas Horror Con

This horror convention takes place October 25-27, 2013 in McAllen, Texas.

http://southtexashorror.com/

South Texas Horror Con on Facebook

Telluride Horror Show

A three-day horror film festival in Telluride, Colorado, October 11-13, 2013.

http://www.telluridehorrorshow.com/

Telluride Horror Show on Facebook

Triton Festival

September 5-7, 2013 in New York City. This is a goth/industrial music festival, sponsored by VampireFreaks.com. Bands will include The Cruxshadows, Assemblage 23, London After Midnight (!), The Birthday Massacre, and Combichrist.

http://tritonfestival.com/

Triton Festival on Facebook

Twisted Fears Horror Weekend

Twisted Fears will be held in Atlanta during the weekend of September 27-29. It's a convention for horror fans.

http://www.twistedfears.com/

Twisted Fears Horror Weekend, on Facebook

Twisted Fears Horror Weekend, on Twitter

Whitby Goth Weekend

This year's legendary gothic festival will take place November 1-3, 2013 in Whitby, England. How I wish I could go! Bella Morte and Diary of Dreams are headlining.

http://www.whitbygothweekend.com/

Whitby Goth Weekend on Facebook

Whitby Goth Weekend Events Group on Facebook

Whitby Goth Weekend on Twitter


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

The Darklinks goth social network

Dark Side of the Net on Facebook

Dark Side of the Net on Twitter

ShareThis