July 28, 2013

11 Interesting and Useful American Horror Story Links

1. American Horror Story: Asylum Official Website

The official FX Network site for American Horror Story. As you'd expect, the site offers cast and crew bios, character info, info on the episodes, a gallery of images, desktop wallpapers, American Horror Story screensavers, Facebook timeline photos, and clips from the show.

http://www.fxnetworks.com/ahs

American Horror Story on Twitter


2. American Horror Housecall

This site offers to let you send in your name, or that of a family member, to volunteer to be pranked by a character from the show. (The promotion is most likely long over by now). I'd bet the videos on the site are actually staged with actors pretending to be scared when the character spooks them, not real people, but I don't know for sure! It's just really entertaining watching the house call videos!

http://americanhorrorhousecall.com/


3. American Horror Story on Facebook

Almost three million fans of the show subscribe to this feed for their American Horror Story news and updates. The show is currently off the air, so I'm impressed how much the moderators find to post about to keep the fans' interest levels up.

American Horror Story on Facebook



4. American Horror Story Wiki

This wiki helps you keep track of everything going on with this complicated show. There are lots of entries on the characters and episode, plus videos, photos, a chat area and forum. A great way to get connected with other passionate fans of the show.

American Horror Story at Wikia.com


5. American Horror Story for Life

This closed Facebook group has almost 300 members. The group seems to do a bit of role playing based on the show.

American Horror Story for Life Group on Facebook


6. American Horror Story Coven

This Facebook group has over 1200 members, many of them from other countries. (The admins insist on posts being written in English). It appears quite active which is a good sign when the show isn't even airing right now.

American Horror Story Coven on Facebook


7. American Horror Story Chat Group

This Facebook group has over 1500 members chatting about the show and their theories on it.

American Horror Story Chat Group on Facebook


8. American Horror Story on Television Without Pity

I really enjoy the Television Without Pity TV forums. The participants are smart, snarky, educated, and passionate about their shows. The moderators do an incredible job of keeping everybody on topic, civil and preventing spam. It's sooo much more fun watching a show when you can immediately run over to these forums and share snarky comments.

Television Without Pity's American Horror Story Forum


9. American Horror Story Screencaps

This resource offers thousands of screencaps from Season 1 and Season 2 of the show. Each episode has its own album and features around 1000 screencaps per episode. Someone worked really hard to create this! It's fun to go revisit episodes via these pics, while waiting for the next season to air.

American Horror Story Screencaps, at Home of the Nutty


10. American Horror Story at Fanfiction.net

The definitive archive of fan fiction based on the show.

FanFiction.net's American Horror Story archive
http://www.fanfiction.net/tv/American-Horror-Story/


11. American Horror Story on Reddit

This subreddit is the best way I can imagine to keep up with interesting news, memes, commentary and images from the show. It's amazing how many new posts there are even today, with the show off the air for so many months.

American Horror Story on Reddit


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Dark Side of the Net goth social network

July 27, 2013

5 Great Goth Shops I'm Excited to Explore With You

Anatomy Boutique

"Unique products with an anatomical twist." The designer ( Emily Evans) has created absolutely gorgeous Day of the Dead skull wallpaper, an anatomical heart necklace, a sugar skull screen print, and some pastel "histology" dinner plates based on closeups of a testicle, a thyroid, an esophagus, and a liver.

The wallpaper is especially stunning, and it's making the rounds on Pinterest quite vigorously this weekend.

http://www.anatomyboutique.com/

Anatomy Boutique on Facebook

Dare to Wear

Dare to Wear isn't specifically a goth shop, but there are a lot of lovely darker things here. This shop specializes in plus-sized fashions. They make mostly tops and dresses. Currently they offer only eight styles of dresses.

My favorite piece here is the Anastasia corset top in black and scarlet.

http://darefashionusa.com/

Dare Fashion on Facebook

DevilNight

This UK-based shop sells some really stunningly beautiful dresses, goth wedding gowns, corsets, punk clothing, medieval clothing, Lolita and Victorian gowns. There's also a bit of men's goth and punk clothing.

It's really hard to pick a favorite here. I suppose it's this brown Romantic Gothic steampunk dress. I'd love to wear it to my fall book club dinner party.

http://www.devilnight.co.uk/

DevilNight on Facebook

Madame Corzettes

This Tampa, Florida based shop sells beautiful corsets, sexy costumes, shoes, hats, fascinators, and some jewelry.

My favorite thing here is this attractive vegan corset.

http://www.madamecorzettes.com/

Madame Corzettes on Facebook

Screaming Matriarch

This London-based store sells dark dollies and toys, such as Little Apple Dolls. The shop is a collective of weird artists (weird in a good way) so not everything here is dark or goth at all. It's just great to know that Little Apple Dolls are being produced again!

"Avia" is the newest Little Apple Doll. She's a limited edition. I love her damask dress!

http://screamingmatriarch.com/

Screaming Matriarch on Facebook


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net goth links

Goth Shopaholic

Halloween Shopaholic

Dark Side of the Net on Pinterest

The Darklinks goth social network

July 20, 2013

July 20's New Gothic and Dark Links

DARK NET RADIO:

Cannibal Roses

Cannibal Roses is a monthly coldwave, dark post-punk radio show that plays on Cathedral 13. The same show is repeated every Saturday throughout the month, so you can catch it again if you've missed it the prior week. Check this blog to see each month's playlist. You're bound to discover a band or two you'd never heard of, too.

http://cannibalrosesradio.blogspot.com/


DARK SHOPS:

Nerd Dollz

This Phoenix-based shop sells darling handmade crocheted geeky amigurumi dolls. There are comic book dolls, Star Trek dolls, zombies (including a My Little Pony zombie doll), and lots of dolls based on gothic and horror movies. (I love this Gary Oldman as Dracula, complete with little blue eyeglasses).

My favorite thing here is probably this Beetlejuice and Lydia set.

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

Jekyll & Hyde Jewelry

This shop, based in Pennsylvania, sells steampunk and Victorian Gothic jewelry pieces. The more interesting pieces here are ear cuffs, bronze "dragon claws," an elven leaf claw armor set worn as rings, and this lovely Summer Spider Key Pendant. Refreshing to see such unusual designs!

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

To Hell in a Handbag

What an odd little shop this is! (That's a compliment!) They sell bizarre pinup head vases, tattoo-related wedding cake toppers, retro hair accessories and some funky home decor type items. The shop is based in California.

My favorite thing here is this The Monster Demands a Mate Frankenstein's bride head-shaped vase.

http://www.hellinahandbag.net/

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


GOTH BLOGS:

Deus Ex Machina

This blogger is a 21 year old goth girl writing from Berlin, Germany. She shares outfit and face posts, plus blogs about goth fashion, her first creative video, and some serious posts such as her thoughts on unawareness of animal cruelty in the goth subculture.

http://nebelviolet.blogspot.com/

If I Only Were a Goth

The "Green Fairy" (Steph) blogs from Australia. She writes about goth fashion, cosmetics and beauty. Check out her pics of her gorgeous green hair as she reviews this hair curler. She also occasionally posts about steampunk, zombies, cthulhu, music and other interesting topics. I love peeking into her life, finding out a bit of what it's like to be a goth in Australia.

http://sydneysomething.blogspot.com/


GOTH COMMUNITIES:

Best Goth

This Facebook page has over 55,000 fans who volunteer to look at beautiful gothic women's photos on here multiple times per day. I have scrolled down super far and I don't think I've seen a single pic of a guy, haha! The pics seem to all be sourced from elsewhere, and sadly, they don't include the original model, photographer, link or source's name.

Best Goth, on Facebook

Clad in Black

This Facebook dark fashion page mostly shares reposts from Dark Style and doesn't usually attribute where the fashion pics are coming from. They just posted a really cool pair of shoes today with no link or info as to which company made them. That's not very useful :( The pics are really cool though.

Clad in Black, on Facebook

Gothic 101

At last - an actual goth community, not just a place to post pictures. "This is a place to learn about the history and wonders of the gothic movement from people with lots of experience." A closed group you'll have to ask permission to join, but they aren't elitist. Looking through the admin and member list, I see a lot of nice people who are very knowledgeable about goth. Currently there are 114 members.

Gothic 101 Group, on Facebook

Swing Goth SF

This looks so fun! This group of people isn't necessarily comprised of goths, and the music isn't always goth. Nor is their style of dance always swing. But still, this group of SF dancers seems to have a great time doing what they do, with occasional swinging and goth mischief thrown in. They appear extremely well organized and offer many ways to keep in touch with what they're doing. Check out the video from their 2009 Bowie Ball.

http://www.swinggoth.com/

Swing Goth on Facebook

Swing Goth's Flickr Photostream

Swing Goth on MySpace

Swing Goth on YouTube

GothTalk

Another small (137 members) closed community that's been quite welcoming to me.

GothTalk Group, on Facebook


GOTH MUSIC:

Blacklist Productions/The Blacklist

The Blacklist is a concerted effort between multiple members of Northwest goth/EBM/darkwave/industrial bands to promote darker music in this grunge-dominated area. This is a really useful resource, with lists of bands, upcoming shows, audio and video clips.

http://theblacklistseattle.com/

Blacklist Productions on Facebook

Out ov the Coffin

This podcast is framed as a specialty radio show, playing dark and goth music. You can stream the episodes on Mixcloud. Each podcast post also includes really interesting news and links, which is really cool. The blogger lives in Tennessee. I really like this podcast!

http://outovthecoffin.blogspot.com/

Out ov the Coffin, on Facebook


HORROR GENRE:

The Horror Cats

I wouldn't have supposed there was quite enough material to fill an entire blog with felines in horror movies, but there apparently is! Recently they're posting about a 2008 horror movie called Colour from the Dark

http://horrorcats.blogspot.com/

Truly Disturbing Horror

A horror news website that's currently featuring lots of recently updated genre news from San Diego Comic-Con. They cover horror books, games, music, and movies. This blog also produces a Disturbing Talks podcast.

http://www.trulydisturbing.com/


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

July 9, 2013

New Dark and Gothic Links for July 9, 2013

DARK ART:

Katarzyna Mikolajczak Photography

This photographer works out of Krakow, Poland. She photographs beautiful long-haired women in flowing gowns, standing around in natural settings. She generally credits the models and makeup artists, which is really nice of her. You'll probably see a lovely image from her a couple times a week if you "Like" this Facebook page.

Katarzyna Mikolajczak, on Facebook

Miette Factory

This is a web gallery for Miette, an artist living in Paris. She draws cute little impish gothic waifs, who usually are depicted with black hair and stitched mouths. She also creates some incredible sculptures.

My favorite painting here is "Infirmiette."

http://www.miette-factory.com/

Miette Factory on Facebook

Elizaveta Porodina

This Russian photographer currently resides and works in Munich, Germany. Her photographs are quite striking. Some are black and white, others use quite shocking amounts of bright colors - to good advantage. Many of the photos have a high fashion feel to them, with artistic clothing. You'll have a lot of beautiful images to look at here!

http://www.porodina.net/

Elizaveta Porodina Photography, on Facebook


DARK AND GOTH BLOGS:

Arsenic and Old Lace

This British blogger writes about beauty, the macabre, Ouija, Tarot, and her interests, such as Game of Thrones. Check out her recent post on artist Nona Limmen.

http://vainglorysinner.blogspot.com/

Shadow Self

This Finnish blogger writes about makeup, fashion, and macabre beauty. I love her blue and white hair in her most recent photos. Check out her amazing pics from a rococo costume party she attended! You might also enjoy her Game of Thrones-inspired Khaleesi photoshoot, though it isn't dark or goth.

http://shadow-selves.blogspot.fi/


DARK PAGES IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

Dark Planet

This Polish blog covers cybergoth, goth music, Gothic Lolita, and vampire topics. It seems (from what I can tell) to have a lot of music and book reviews and local scene news.

http://www.darkplanet.pl/

La Llorona

This webcomic from Mexico is, of course, in Spanish. It's about a dead girl named Ella (a spirit?) La Llorona translates roughly to "The Weeping Woman." The comic is posted about once per week. Use "Anterior" to go back a strip, or "Primer comic" to start at the beginning.

La Llorona.com.mx

Margoth von G

This Polish shop sells Gothic Lolita, pinup, Victorian, retro and rockabilly clothing and jewelry. I'm having a bit of trouble navigating the site, as I don't speak Polish, but eventually clicking on links led me to be able to look at the really beautiful things sold here, which I did find amusing.

http://www.margothvong.pl/

Margoth von G on Facebook

SpookyPortal

A Polish goth blog that also covers steampunk and Gothic Lolita. If you can't read Polish, there are still interesting pictures to peruse here.

http://spookyportal.pl/


DARK SHOPS:

Black Garden

A goth/alternative shop based in Poland. They sell men's and women's clothing, home decor, jewelry, shoes and boots, plus accessories.

http://black-garden.pl/

Black Garden on Facebook

The Realm of Crab Scrambly

Artist Crab Scrambly sells his cool creations here: his books, clothing adorned with his art, amazing Dark Wonderland stationery, plus buttons and patches. There are octopi, Alice in Wonderland themes, the Creepy Key symbol, a creepy puppet, a pirate, and more. I was hoping to see some of his original illustrations or some prints here - maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

http://crabscrambly.com/

Gothic Pandemic

"Infectious goth fashion." The husband and wife team that runs this are from Baghdad, Iraq. The store's contact info is in Maine, so I'm a little confused. I can't imagine they ship items directly from Iraq? Anyway, there is a lot of cool clothing and boots for sale here.

http://www.gothicpandemic.com/

Gothic Pandemic on Facebook

Walking Dead Promotions

This Etsy shop cracks me up. While their name makes you think they have something to do with the immensely popular AMC TV show, they actually sell humorous decals and labels. Huge ones. There's a door-sized "The Shining" themed Here's Johnny decal; a funny Keep Calm and Aim for the Head poster; plus spiders, skulls and tentacles for your toilet, walls, Macbooks or even KitchenAid mixers. Also check out their large selection of Dr. Who/Tardis and Dalek related items. My favorite thing here is the Tentacle Fridge Decor decal.

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


GOTH AND DARK MUSIC:

The Baby Screams

The Baby Screams is an Italian Cure tribute/cover band. I'll probably never see them play live, sigh! They have quite a few upcoming shows in Italy.

https://myspace.com/thescreamcuretribute

The Baby Screams, on Facebook

Con Cura

Another Italian tribute band devoted to The Cure. This one I tend to take more seriously simply because they bothered to register their own domain name, not just relying on Myspace and Facebook. They're playing a few upcoming shows too.

http://www.concura.info/

Con Cura on Facebook

The Industrial Twilight

This is an industrial music blog focusing on Eastern European (especially Hungary and Russia) industrial, underground and punk music scene. The blogger posts often and there's a lot of info here, making this a valuable resource.

http://finstergeist.blogspot.com/

The Late Isabel

This post-punk band is from Manila in the Philippines. They feature a female vocalist. Around since 2000, they're currently "hibernating." Check out their cover of The Sound of Music's My Favorite Things. They also did a "Hong Kong Garden" cover when they played live back in January.

The Late Isabel, on Facebook

Light House

A darkwave band from Portland, Oregon. It consists of two members, Dawn Sharp and Chris Relyea. Check out their Death in June cover on Soundcloud.

Light House, on Facebook

Light House, on Bandcamp

Light House on Soundcloud

Light House, on Tumblr


DARK COMICS:

Devilbear

"The grimoires of Bearalzebub." This webcomic updates on Mondays and on Thursdays. The other characters/cast members in this comic seem to represent the Seven Deadly Sins. There are currently 336 strips - that's a ton of hard work!

http://www.thedevilbear.com/

Devilbear on Facebook

Devilbear on Twitter

Eerie Cuties

A horror comedy webcomic about classic monsters that attend a high school. (Nothing to do with the popular line of toys, btw!) The characters include a few vampires, a succubus, a werecat and a werewolf. The artists are Gisèle Lagacé and Dave Zero1.

http://www.eeriecuties.com/

Eerie Cuties, on Facebook

Riven Sol

The Riven Sol webcomic combines science fiction and Lovecraftian horror, plus some romance. The setting is a space station. This PG-13 comic updates on Mondays, and is currently on Chapter 15.

http://www.rivensol.com/


DARK GAMES:

Puppet Nightmares

This is a free browser-based dark fantasy game. (With four kids keeping me busy, I haven't tried it, so I'm barely recommending it to you.) It's made for adults, not children. The game has been around a couple of years, but the Facebook page has only 493 likes. That might give you some well-deserved pause..

http://www.puppetnightmares.com/

Puppet Nightmares on Facebook


DARK ZINES:

Intravenous Magazine

"Your daily dose of darkness." This slick, professional magazine just launched in early 2013. It's dedicated to covering dark music and dark culture. The magazine reviews music, literature, movies and art "with a dark twist." Currently they're reviewing Al Jourgensen's new book about Ministry and interviewing lots of bands. I'm impressed, and I'll be back daily.

http://www.intravenousmag.co.uk/

Intravenous Magazine on Facebook

Intravenous Magazine on Twitter

Style Noir

"The world's largest dark style magazine." They cover fashion, film noir, beauty, and music. There's a print version you can buy; or tons of interesting fashion news you can read right here on the website. Very slick and professional too. I don't find this particularly goth at all, but I think there's enough dark things here you'll enjoy browsing. The style is a bit inaccessibly high fashion though, I think you'll agree. However, they have tons of interesting and useful posts, such as announcing that the British Film Institute is hosting outdoor screenings of "Dracula" and "The Mummy.".

http://www.stylenoir.co.uk/

Style Noir on Facebook


PARANORMAL:

Ghosts and Ghouls

This paranormal blog features true ghost stories, paranormal links and related writings. The blogger lives in Tampa and is a paranormal examiner. She tries to post a "ghost photo of the day" as often as possible.

http://ghostsnghouls.com/

Ghosts and Ghouls on Facebook

Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State

This blogger is a paranormal investigator and resesarcher in West Virginia. She also works as a tour guide for Haunted and Historic Guyandotte Tours. Recently she's blogging about a phantom lioness at the Cincinatti zoo; as well as posting about The Man Who Ate Paste and zombies vs. Quislings.

http://theresashauntedhistoryofthetri-state.blogspot.com/


--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net - 20 years of Darkness

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