Dark Side of the Net Goth and Halloween Links

2 Perfect Movies for a Snow Day

2012-01-19T12:26:00.001-08:00

The trees in my backyard, weighed down by heavy snowfall

Snowed in for five days now, we're spending lots of time reading, huddling by the fireplace with hot cocoa, taking long wintry walks through the snow, and watching movies. Today I'm in the mood for these two:

Misery

Stephen King's delightful tale of a writer kidnapped, injured and snowbound by a crazed fan, forced to write her preferred version of his story.

Easy to watch, not too complicated, and nothing that will give one nightmares. Just a good fun light horror/suspense film, perfect with popcorn.

RELATED LINKS:

Misery DVD, on Amazon

Misery (novel) at Stephen King.com

Misery Trailer, on YouTube

Misery, on IMDB

Misery Fan Fiction

Misery (film) on Wikipedia

Misery (novel) on Wikipedia

Misery Transcript, on Script-O-Rama

The Shining

Who can forget the snowy maze scene? The desolation, isolation and creepy long hallways? Perfect for a snowy evening where you're terrified by the film, yet cozily wrapped up in your blankie in front of your cheery fireplace. Good luck getting to sleep after viewing though, no matter how many times you've re-watched this film.

RELATED LINKS:

The Shining Blu-Ray, on Amazon

The Shining, at IMDB

The Making of "The Shining," on YouTube

The Shining Trailer, on Google Video

The Shining (film) at Wikipedia

The Shining (novel) at Wikipedia

The Shining, at The Kubrick FAQ

Redrum/Murder in the Shining (The Fine Art Diner)

The Shining Post-Production Script, at Daily Script

Room 237 Documentary (Talk Stephen King)

The Shining: Analysis of the Kubrick Horror Classic

Shining Fan Fiction

The Stanley Hotel, at Wikipedia

6 Excellent Goth Music Resources

2012-01-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

1. CureFans.com

This is a very active set of forums and a great place to keep up with news on The Cure. Sometimes I think posters here know when The Cure is playing a show before even members of the actual band do! There are subforums for media coverage; Cure trivia; trades; solo projects; and buying/selling.

http://curefans.com/

2. Gods and Alcoves

I've really been enjoying this blog on goth, post-punk and alternative music. The blog covers the formative years, 1979 to 1989. Besides the blog, there's a list of influential bands, a timeline, and recommended listening. The photographs reproduced here are fabulous, too. This is shaping up to be a very very important goth historical resource. Well done.

http://www.godsandalcoves.com/

3. Joy Division Central

Here's an old fashioned site design that's clean, easy to navigate and works with any browser. Great way to showcase the tons of info here. This Day in Joy Division History; plus extensive info on bootlegs, concerts, sessions, places of interest, media coverage, band history, tribute bands, and so much more. Someone has put a ton of work into this site.

http://www.joydiv.org/

4. Cure Connections

Another active and useful Cure fan forum, this one quite slickly designed. Any time I've been looking around here, there have been over a hundred people online busily catching up on news and info on The Cure. It's part of The Cure Community site.

http://www.cureconnections.com/

http://www.thecurecommunity.com/

5. Dark Grave

If you're into goth music, I'll bet you've already been to this site. If not.. here are news, reviews, downloads and info on new goth bands.

http://www.darkgrave.com/

6. Some Dizzy Whore

A Morrissey/Smiths fan blog that someone works hard on - I see something new here frequently. Currently blogging about Morrissey joining the No Cruel Cosmetics campaign and sharing info on his first show in 2012.

http://www.somedizzywhore.com/blog/

Dark Side of the Net

16 Beautiful Dark Things to Look Forward to in 2012

2012-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

1. Closer - a Joy Division Celebration

In April 2012, in Australia, Peter Hook's band Peter Hook and The Light will perform Joy Division's "Closer" album, live and in entirety. They will do so in four cities: Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide. I would love to see this. There's no Australian travel in my immediate future however, sadly!

Closer - A Joy Division Celebration with Peter Hook, on Facebook

Closer - A Joy Division Celebration Ad, on YouTube

2. The Raven Movie Premieres

On March 9, The Raven will hit theaters. Starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, the film is highly fictionalized. Edgar Allan Poe does detective work to find and stop a serial killer in Baltimore.

The Raven Movie (Official)

The Raven 2012 on IMDB

The Raven Movie Trailer, at Apple

3. Dark Shadows Movie Premieres

Tim Burton's long-awaited project premieres May 11, 2012.

Dark Shadows on IMDB

Dark Shadows Fan Site, on Facebook

Dark Shadows News

4. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter Premieres

Starring one of my favorite dark brooding actors (Rufus Sewell), this movie based on a mashup novel comes out on June 22, 2012.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, on IMDB

5. Blade Animated Series

On Friday, January 13th, Marvel's Blade animated series will debut on the G4 network. It's already aired in Japan in 2011. Twelve half-hour episodes will air.

Marvel Anime, on Wikipedia

6. Prometheus Movie Premieres

This film takes place before the events in Alien, but is not a "prequel." You won't see Sigourney Weaver in it, for example. I'm looking forward to the beautifully dark story this will surely tell. The film opens in June.

Prometheus (Official)

Prometheus Movie, on Facebook

Prometheus, on IMDB

Prometheus News from AVP Spectrum.com

Alien Prequel News

7. The Woman in Black Movie Premieres

Daniel Radcliffe experiments with a role in a spooky ghost story. It hits theaters soon - February 3.

Woman in Black (Official)

The Woman in Black Trailer, at Apple

The Woman in Black Movie, on Facebook

The Woman in Black, on IMDB

8. World War Z Movie Premieres

Brad Pitt interviews survivors of the zombie apocalypse. It will premiere just in time for Christmas 2012 - how lovely.

World War Z, at IMDB

World War Z, on Wikipedia

9. Paranorman Movie Premieres

Here's something I'm looking forward to immensely. It's by the same animation company (Laika) that did Coraline.

Paranorman (Official)

Paranorman, on IMDB

Paranorman, on Facebook

Paranorman Trailer, on Apple

10. Convergence

The yearly get-together for denizens of alt.gothic. This year it's on June 15-17, 2012 in Buffalo, NY. Sadly, I don't think I can go this year due to having so many foster kids.

Convergence

11. Southern Gothic Festival

A gothic and industrial music festival held in New Orleans. This year it takes place July 12 - 15.

http://www.southerngothicfestival.com/

12. Midlands Goth Festival

A music festival that takes place February 18, 2012 in Birmingham, UK. Some of the bands appear to be "goth metal" or metal, not goth though.

http://www.midlandsgothfestival.co.uk/

13. Whitby Gothic Weekends

The most important yearly goth event in the world. This year's events take place April 26-30 and Halloween through November 5, 2012.

http://www.whitbygothweekend.co.uk/

14. Wave-Gotik-Treffen

Leipzig, Germany is taken over by gruftis for an entire weekend. This year it takes place May 25-28.

http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/english/

15. Resistanz International Industrial Festival

An industrial music festival, April 7-8 in Sheffield, UK. This year's lineup includes Icon of Coil and Be My Enemy.

http://www.corporation.org.uk/resistanzfestival/

Resistanz Festival, on Facebook

16. World Horror Con 2012

Horror professionals meet up in Salt Lake City March 29 - April 1, 2012. Mike Mignola is the Artist Guest of Honor, and Dacre Stoker appears as a special guest.

http://www.whc2012.org/

--Carrie Carolin

http://www.darklinks.com

Gothic Lolita Links

2011-12-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

ABC Lolita

"American-Born Chinese Lolita" blogs about the tea parties she's attended; the Lolita meetups she's attended; and what she's sewing and wearing lately.

http://abc-lolita.blogspot.com/

Aesthetic Lolita

A lot of beauty reviews, Lolita beauty tips, and tips on fashion.

http://aestheticlolita.blogspot.com/

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright San Francisco Blog

The US flagship store for the brand, located in San Francisco, blogs about their newest offerings. They carry BTSSB as well as the sub-brand Alice and the Pirates. They're currently blogging about an after-Christmas coat sale.

http://baby-aatp.blogspot.com/

Andrea Nicole Baker

Andrea blogs about her love of Gothic and Lolita fashion and the lifestyle. Recently she's been excited about a new DAL doll, and the upcoming Jane by Design TV show (which I think my teenager and I will check out, too!)

http://andreanicolebaker.blogspot.com/

F Yeah Lolita

A Lolita fashion and lifestyle blog that's one of my favorites for keeping up with what's going on. Currently posting about the Lace & Petticoats documentary, the current trend in fawn fur, and reviews of steampunk shops.

http://fyeahlolita.blogspot.com/

Lolita Valentines

A Livejournal community for sending appreciation to your fellow lolis. Pics are hosted on Tinypic. As Valentine's Day is now just a couple months away, the community is gearing up again.

http://loli-valentines.livejournal.com/

Lolita Weekly

This blog features outfit pics, clothing and brand reviews, and news on shops and Loli fashion.

http://loliweeks.blogspot.com/

Makelovely's Blog

She tries to post her outfit every day, and shares info on brands she's discovered.

http://makelovely.wordpress.com/

Midnight Circus

Ria blogs about her Lolita fashions she wears, plus finds, events and fun things.

http://riakoakuma.blogspot.com/

Miss Lumpy

"Beauty & Opulence for Modern Maidens." A Lolita lifestyle and aesthetics blog. Some recent posts of interest include Lolita Beauty Don'ts, photos from a Lolita brunch, and a review of some fabulous paper eyelashes.

http://herlumpiness.blogspot.com/

The Weekend Lolita

Andie's blog features beauty product reviews, interesting Lolita-related things she's found online, plus posts on food, outfits and music.

http://www.weekendlolita.com/

The Fashionate Traveler

This blogger travels to Japan twice a year, and encourages readers to be adventurous and seek out new experiences. Check out the fabulous beaded outfit she wore for Christmas; her gorgeous gothic curly updo for an event; and the neon brights she recently purchased. Lots here to enjoy reading about!

http://thefashionatetraveller.com/blog

Parfait Doll

Victoria Suzanne blogs about her passions: pastels, Pullip dolls, dollhouses, and her teacup Pomeranian. Many recent posts have concerned Christmas gift suggestions for Lolitas, but they weren't affiliate spammy and I expect her blog to continue on posting interesting Lolita finds in the months ahead.

http://www.parfaitdoll.com/

Dark Side of the Net

New Goth Links for December 28, 2011

2011-12-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

DARK ART:

Ray Caesar

A British digital fine artist who draws rather a lot of tentacled women. His work is part of the Pop Surrealism movement. Stop by his blog every now and then to see some of the fascinating things he's currently working on.

Hidden below his "About" page is the gallery of Ray Caesar's works, from 2003 til the present. You can even get a sneak peek at his work for 2012.

My favorite work here is "Silent Partner" from the 2009 gallery. I suspect you'll greatly appreciate it as well.

http://www.raycaesar.com/

Ray Caesar on Facebook

Ray Caesar on MySpace

Bob Lizarraga

Oh, you're going to have fun here! There are portraits based on classic horror; weird dark tiki prints; and fun Hollywood and classic horror-themed caricatures. The artist is obviously a huge fan of monster and horror films, and quite talented at expressing his enjoyment of them.

Bob Lizarraga

Bob Lizarraga's Blog

Mizna Wada

This Japanese artist draws and illustrates adorable gothy little girls - sometimes bleeding; sometimes getting into mischief; and always with a perky, feisty attitude.

Don't miss the adorable Spooky ABC book, and her cute Paper doll, too.

http://www.hihou.net/mizna/

Mizna Wada on Tumblr

Sarah Dolby

Quite possibly my favorite dark artist of all time. (Check out Sophia's Lament). A New Zealander, she works in oil on canvas. I so wish this website were updated for 2011 though.

http://www.sarahdolby.co.nz/

Victoria Frances

An incredibly talented artist from Spain. Her website is frustratingly slow to load, has music you can't turn off, and is a bit difficult to navigate, but the incredible artwork is worth the wait. You can see why she has such passionate fans.

http://www.victoriafrances.es/ (Official)

http://www.victoriafrancesfan.org/

Victoria Frances, on Wikipedia

DARK BLOGS:

Blood Milk Jewelry

An artist's blog that supports and reinforces her etsy shop but is also full of many other interesting things, not just ads for her lovely things. She shares music videos she's currently enjoying, discusses intriguing movies she's seen recently, and points out interesting works by other artists.

http://bloodmilkjewelry.blogspot.com/

Wicked Halo

"Your source for all things wicked and awesome." A fun blog to browse. Tags and subjects include pop surrealism, interior design, fairytales, fashion, music and illustration. You'll find a lot of intriguing, beautiful dark things and artists to discover here.

http://www.wicked-halo.com/

A Zombie Gentleman's Diary

This is actually a Tumblr, not a blog, but with so many interesting dark things to look at, I wanted to share it with you.

http://zombiegentleman.info/

DARK SHOPS:

Cruella

"Fashion for the dead." A Canadian goth/cyberpunk/Lolita web store, quite famous and respected. The site is in both English and French, as you'd expect. They sell clothing for men and women, plus accessories (handbags, fangs, jewelry, etc).

http://www.cruella.ca/

Deadly Grounds Coffee

This coffee company uses a hearse for their company car - and wait til you see the cool packaging on their beans! You can order their coffee on their website, or buy it in a couple retail locations (such as in Hell, Michigan).

http://www.deadlygroundscoffee.com/

Mysterium

An Austin, Texas-based steampunk store. They sell eyewear (including pink goggles!), corsets, flasks, pocket watches, and jewelry. They also sell "steambath" products, but only at their physical store.

http://www.the-mysterium-neovictorian.com/

Sick on Sin

A Canadian store selling horror themed t-shirts for men, women, kids and pets. The infant tees are particularly adorable. There are also accessories on offer, such as buttons, magnets, keychains and pocket mirrors.

http://www.sickonsin.com/

Sweet Heart Sinner Creations

An eBay store selling goth, psychobilly, retro humor, Edgar Allan Poe, and Halloween art. Don't miss the Alice in Wonderland category, too.

http://stores.ebay.com/Sweet-Heart-Sinner-Creations

HORROR AUTHORS:

Gabrielle Faust

Somehow this fabulous vampire author's link never made it into the Darklinks database. She's the author of the popular techno-horror series "Eternal Vigilance." Currently, she'll be appearing at a coffee house in Austin, TX on January 8, 2012.

http://www.gabriellefaust.com/

Gabrielle Faust on Facebook

HORROR BLOGS:

Horrorphilia

This blog features horror movie reviews, book reviews, interviews, and several podcasts.

http://www.horrorphilia.com/

HORROR GENRE:

Cast Macabre

"Bringing fear to your ears." This is a horror fiction podcast. While there hasn't been a new podcast uploaded since September, this site is still worth keeping your eyes (and ears) on.

http://www.castmacabre.org/

From Dusk Till Con

This is an incredibly important resource for those interested in horror and zombie conventions. Besides news on upcoming conventions, guests of honor, and events, there's an active set of forums.

http://www.fromdusktillcon.com/

Dark Side of the Net

4 Cool and Morbid Hearse Clubs

2011-11-16T05:39:00.000-08:00

I think it's pretty cool that owners of classic hearses band together into communities, create events and drive their hearses around in caravans and parades!

Denver Hearse Club

A pretty active hearse club in Colorado.

http://www.hearseclub.com/

NOLA Hearses and Pro Cars

They're proud they've been banned from 6 New Orleans-area cemeteries.

http://nolahearse.com/

Mortis City Hearse Club of Michigan

This Detroit area hearse club features forums, a gallery, mailing list and chat room for area enthusiasts.

http://www.mortiscity.com/

Rain City Hearse Club

A Seattle-Tacoma area club.

Rain City Hearse Club, on Facebook

4 Seemingly Cool Dark and Gothic Restaurants

2011-11-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Tokyo's Alice in Wonderland Restaurant

Extensive photos from this blogger's visit to the themed restaurant in Tokyo. I'm jealous!

Alice in Wonderland Restaurant, at Fubiz.net

Draculas in Australia

This chain of restaurants features burlesque and cabaret dinner theater shows. Dracula's in Queensland is currently featuring "Redrum Cabaret," and in Melbourne they're performing "Sin and Tonic." I definitely hope to check one of these out if my dream comes true and I get to tour Australia in the next couple of years.

http://www.draculas.com.au/

Dracula Dinner

This Dracula-themed dinner show takes place at several different restaurants (often hotel restaurants) in Germany. You can also book a themed show for your office party or private event. The site is in German, of course. You can browse through the photo gallery.

http://www.draculadinner.de/

Pizzeria Dracula

A pizza place in Krakow, Poland. They seem to have a large selection of pizzas, and apparently serve on plates bearing a cute Dracula illustration.

http://www.pizzeriadracula.pl

New Goth Links for November 9, 2011

2011-11-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

DARK ANIMATION:

Dr. Shroud, the Animated Series

A really interesting, morbidly playful web series from 2005. Dr. Shroud is a reformed vampire who is a plastic surgeon and vampire killer. You can watch the episodes on Newgrounds and on YouTube.

http://www.drshroud.com/

Dr. Shroud on Facebook

DARK COMMUNITIES:

The Alterium

A social network for the alternative, goth and fetish lifestyles. It appears to be run on the Ning platform. There are blogs, groups, events and a section for music.

http://thealterium.com/

Vampire Social

A fairly large and active vampire social network that also looks like it's run on Ning. Lots of groups, and very active forums. There's also a bit of a focus on vampire dating here.

http://www.vampiresocial.com/

Werewolf Ball

"Werewolf Ball is the social networking website for Werewolves, Shifters, Therians, and Otherkin. We are a home for real people across the globe." Resources and databases for werewolf-related info.

http://www.werewolfball.com/

DARK MOVIES:

William Castle's Blog

Legendary horror filmmaker of the 1950s and 1960s blogs about his current projects. He recently announced that his daughter Terry is taking over William Castle Productions.

http://williamcastle.com/

Del Toro Films

A fan site for dark director and author Guillermo del Toro. His films include the lavishly dark and beautiful Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade 2, Mimic and several other in the dark and horror genres.

The fan site offers news on everything he's up to (I'm looking forward to his final book in the Strain Trilogy: The Night Eternal), plus an active discussion forum.

http://deltorofilms.com/

DARK SHOPS:

Evil Pawn Jewelry

This shop sells really cool skull cameo designs on rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. They also sell vintage style goth necklaces, elegant hair combs, and unusual skull and pirate engagement rings. Truly gorgeous things here.

http://www.evilpawnjewelry.com/

A shop selling adorably spooky goodies including skull-bedecked baby bibs; Frankenstein aprons; bat and skull kitchen mitts, pot holders and kitchen towels; monster and vampire pillows; tote bags and hats with dark and horror themes.

It makes me nervous that the copyright notice says 2008 though - is this shop still open? I'd suggest using the contact link to verify before purchasing anything.

http://sewscary.com/

Dark Side of the Net

13 Morbidly Cool Dark Etsy Shops

2011-10-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

1. Agorables

Lowbrow art featuring skulls, zombies, Day of the Dead, and monsters. They sell wallets, prints, greeting cards, notepads, and belt buckles.

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

2. Lisa Falzon Art

Lisa Falzon sells her fabulous dark fantasy artwork prints here. She also sells some adorable pocket mirrors featuring her artwork.

My favorite print for sale here is The Dreaming Box.

Her blog is here and she has a Facebook page too.

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

3. Grigio Design

This shop sells jewelry featuring skeletons, Lolita, Day of the Dead, and vampires. I really like the cameo earrings and the fat bat necklace

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

4. Monster of My Heart

This artist has a strange fascination with human teeth. There are huge "human tooth" pendants, as well as loose replicas you can leave around the house to frighten your roommates. I really like the chocolate brown leather bracelet, colorful skull keyrings, and sugar skull brooches. There are a lot of really weird things here you might want to peek at, I can't even describe most of them.

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

5. Pocket Full of Poziez

I've long been a fan of Queeniez' creations. She makes adorable stuffed goth toys, as well as pillows, prints, tote bags and other goth necessities. Her dreadfully cute creations get illegally copied and ripped off a lot, so be sure you are buying straight from their talented creator.

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

http://www.pocketfullofposiez.com/

Pocket Full of Posiez on Facebook

Queenie Posiez, on Twitter

6. Wishing Thorn

This shop sells "peculiarities and vintage goods." Currently stocked with intriguing vials and bottles, toxins and poisons, weird stickers, odd art prints, and eerie vintage photographs.

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

7. Solocosmo

This store purveys the artwork of Jessica Grundy. Her prints are of colorful-haired girls who are slightly, cheerfully goth, but not uber-spooky. There are also magnets, buttons, necklaces and mirrors featuring her art.

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

8. Indigo Chyld Resources

Fabulous dark digital collage supplies. Background sheets, digital scrapbook kits, Halloween images, and other digital artwork to help your crafts projects. Also, she makes really cool paper dolls, including my favorite, the Lizzie Borden paper doll.

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

9. Wool & Water

This shopowner is on vacation until Halloween is over, so you'll have to check back to see the delightful dark goods here.

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

10. HidenSeek

"The art of fairytales, wild bears and dark forest creatures." Art prints, jewelry, postcards, and mirrors featuring lost children, girls who look remarkably like Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. I love fairy tales, so this store is especially tempting to me.

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

11. Sacred Stitches

Nice dreary skeletal artwork on shirts for men and women, plus some prints and pillows featuring similar dark illustrations.

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

12. Cyanide Sweetheart

Cute Alice-in-Wonderland themed jewelry, some skull poison rings, and other gifts. I seem to recall there being a lot more items for sale here when I first started working on this post 2 weeks ago; maybe they were all so cool they sold out right away!

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

13. The Witching Hour

Cool goth jewelry, clothing, purses and accessories. A bit tradgoth, a bit Victorian, and then some disco thrown in for the heck of it.

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

Dark Side of the Net goth and Halloween links

New Goth Links for October 28, 2011

2011-10-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

King Unicorn

"Artist and storyteller who fashions monsters, traffics in strange magic, and wanders the spaces between airy dreamscapes and goblin-infested slums." This artist creates fantabulous dark sculptures, referring to his site as a "Black Market Creatureworks."

You'll enjoy contemplating his portfolio, exploring his creations: Memmio the Free-Changer; Bartley Barnacle; the eerie Plague Doctor; Amon Gallus: The Oracle of Saturn; as well as assorted works and designs.

Link: http://www.kingunicorn.com/

Link: King Unicorn on Twitter

DARK EVENTS:

Bram Stoker Dracula Halloween Horror Festival

Friday October 28 through Halloween 2011 in Clontarf, near Dublin, Ireland. I'm just excited to hear about what actually happens in the "World Championship 5k Vampire Cloak Race." Lol!

Link: http://www.bramstokerdraculahalloweenhorrorfestival.com/

Dracula: The Nouveau Spectacle

This musical spectacle will occur in Paris in January 2012. Then it will go on tour, performing in Belgium, other cities in France, and Switzerland. The site is in French, but you may still enjoy browsing the lavish photos and viewing the sample videos.

Link: http://www.draculalespectacle.com/

DARK LITERATURE:

Hansel & Gretel

Do you like Hansel & Gretel stories? Visit this site to enjoy several themed stories by different authors.

Hansel & Gretel, at Enchanted Conversation Blog

DARK SHOPS:

Etsy's Dark Side Street Team

Etsy's Dark Side Street Team has moved. They're now at http://www.etsydarkteam.com/.

Pat Pruitt's Machined Bracelets

What do you think of these machined bracelets? I'm not much of a jewelry wearer, but I thought these were nicely industrial. You might be intrigued by his other bracelets too.

Link: Pat Pruitt.com/Machined Bracelets

DARK MUSIC:

The Bewitched

This band's genres and influences include sepiachord, steampunk, and cabaret noir. They're giving away their 6-track album as a free download - how irresistible! I'm delighted to stumble across something so wonderfully unusual to listen to.

Link: http://thebewitched.bandcamp.com/

Link: The Bewitched, on Facebook

DARK COMMUNITY:

The Dark Realm Forums

Were I to wear a hat, I would tip it to the admin of this excellent resource. It's a set of very active forums with interesting, intellectual threads; knowledgeable and friendly participants; and not much drama. If you're looking for a new community to call home, this might be a great dark bet. Categories include goth lifestyle; relationships; fashion, beauty & makeup; DIY projects (very active); tattoos (not very active); movies and media; gaming; and of course music. Creep around a little bit and see if you don't get sucked into spending more time exploring than you'd imagined.

Link: http://www.darkrealm13.com/forum

Gothic Forum

This website is in Polish. If you're a Polish goth, this is an incredibly active, useful resource for you. I used to have a "Dark Pages in Other Languages" links list on Dark Side of the Net, "back in the day," but gave up in order to prioritize English speaking sites. This useful resource makes me slap myself for not doing a better job of organizing links to extremely awesome resources for dark people in other countries.

http://gotyk-forum.pl/

HALLOWEEN:

Games for Halloween

This is an amazingly adorable, quaint and useful ebook. Written by Mary Blain in 1912, this features old time Halloween traditions, vintage celebrations, Halloween jokes, riddles, and old-style divinations. Best of all, it's free to read online right now.

http://books.google.com/books?id=EGmK6aGlrO4C

PARANORMAL:

Ghost Theory

A really important paranormal resource. This one speaks with the voice of "A skeptical approach to the unexplained." They cover ghosts and hauntings and other paranormal topics, but a refreshing dearth of UFO crap. Their "Weird News" section is updated amazingly often, well curated and quite interesting.

Their forums are useful but could be a bit more active. They also feature book reviews and some user-submitted stories (higher quality than most of the ilk).

http://www.ghosttheory.com/

DARK BLOGS:

13 Visions

A dark artist, designer and fiction writer shares their visions via this blog. Currently posting about satellite spiders, skulls they see in the wild, and some cool vintage hand painted horror movie posters.

Link: http://www.13visions.com/

Zombies Are Magic

Jen's fun, entertaining zombie, Halloween and horror blog. She has strong opinions and isn't afraid to state them - I like that!

Link: http://zombiesaremagic.blogspot.com/

Dark Side of the Net

Dark, Gothic and Horror Events for Autumn 2011

2011-10-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

Endless Night Vampire Ball

October in New Orleans.

http://www.endlessnight.com/

Killercon

September in Las Vegas.

http://killercon.com/

Spookapalooza

October 22 in Decatur, Illinois.

http://www.americanspookshows.com/spook.html

Lovecraft's Visions at Seattle Art Museum

October 7-9, 2011 in Seattle.

http://www.facebook.com/LovecraftsVisionsSAM

Whitby Gothic Halloween Fringe Festival

October 28-31, 2011 in Whitby.

Whitby Gothic Halloween on Facebook

New Goth Links for September 19, 2011

2011-09-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Ana Bagayan

Here's a dark artist with a subtle touch. You might not think her little girl paintings are all that eerie or morbid. But as you spend more time browsing the galleries and drawings, you're left more and more unsettled. Just the way you like it, I imagine!

http://www.anabagayan.com/

Dark Gift

Julia Alekseeva's beautiful dark CG fantasy art. The site is in Russian, but you can easily navigate around to look at her artwork.

http://www.darkgift.ru/

Lori Nix: The City

I'm pretty sure you've seen this already, as this link went viral on Facebook a few weeks back and the artwork was posted a few years ago. Just in case you haven't - don't miss this series of photographs depicting an abandoned world. They're photographs of excruciatingly tiny dioramas she painstakingly created.

http://www.lorinix.net/the_city/

My Pet Skeleton

Just an update, as I've linked to this fabulous artist before. Stop by his Facebook page to see more artwork and get updates on his work.

DARK BLOGS:

The Haunted Drive-In

This is a horror blog that also has its own YouTube channel (though the channel hasn't been updated since April). Recent posts have included some well-needed bitching about changes to the Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion, an article on Bette Midler's witch character, and a gross forgotten kids' song.

http://thehaunteddrive-in.blogspot.com/

Horror Blogger Alliance

If you write a horror blog, you might want to "join" the Horror Blogger Alliance. You grab one of their banners, put it on your blog, and they'll help you promote your horror blog to a wider audience. There's also a Facebook page.

http://horrorbloggeralliance.blogspot.com/

Literary Mayhem

This blog, run by Peter D. Schwotzer, offers original horror fiction by various authors, magazine reviews, interviews, horror book reviews, and blog posts by guests.

http://literarymayhem.com/

DARK COMICS:

Orneryboy

A webcomic about an angry person named Orneryboy, who lives in a spooky house in the suburbs with his girlfriend Dirtygirl and their cats and pet zombie. The current comic is #487 - whoah! I really like that some of the images here have animated gifs as part of them - and it surprisingly works well and is not annoying. I'm impressed.

http://www.orneryboy.com/

DARK MOVIES:

Bram Stoker's Dracula Screencaps

Keanu and Winona's acting might have been utterly horrid, but this was still a beautiful movie, with fabulous costuming and lovely dark choreography. Revisit your favorite scenes here at this massive screenshots archive.

http://screenmusings.org/Dracula/

Sweeney Todd Screencaps

This archive offers 20 pages of fairly large screencaps from the movie. A great way to figure out how to accomplish any Sweeney Todd Halloween costumes. (I'm tempted to be Mrs. Lovett this year).

http://screenmusings.org/SweeneyTodd/

DARK MUSIC:

Candy Spooky Theater

A visual kei goth band from - where else - Japan. Their website offers news, their tour schedule, discography, and some Tshirts for sale.

http://www.thecandyspookytheater.com/

Candy Spooky Theater on MySpace

Candy Spooky Theater, on Wikipedia

Jack Spooky Official Facebook Page

DARK POETRY:

Have you ever read The Little Ghost by Edna St. Vincent Millay?

I knew her for a little ghost That in my garden walked; The wall is high—higher than most— And the green gate was locked..."

HALLOWEEN BLOGS:

Til the Following Night

Currently exploring a local Spirit Halloween store; sharing a Halloween playlist you can listen to; and showing what's in Target's Halloween section.

http://tillthefollowingnight.blogspot.com/

Vintage Halloween Collector

Posts on interesting vintage finds on eBay and Etsy; plus Joann's Halloween items; a look at past Fall and Halloween Martha Stewart covers; and a look at Kohl's Halloween offerings.

http://vintagehalloweencollector.blogspot.com/

VAMPIRES:

Thousands of Vampire Names

Find a vampiric name for your dog, cat, child, cosplay persona or LARP character. Everything from Abel to Zorak - plus it tells you where the name came from.

Creepy, Spooky Vampire Names

New Goth Links for Late August 2011

2011-08-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Alexsandra Marchoka

Here's the portfolio of a dark erotic illustrator from Poland. Check out her vision of Thumbelina and Persephone with Hades.

http://www.olamarchocka.com/

Dark Forest

Patricio Oliver's exploration of dark character design. Check out the rest of his portfolio here too - amazingly cool dark toys.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/DARK-FOREST/103325

Lex Machina Photography

The gallery of a dark photographer and talented digital artist from Detroit. There are goth fashion, steampunk, and fetish exhibits you can enjoy browsing through here.

http://www.lexmachinaphoto.com/

Lex Machina Photography on Facebook

DARK BLOGS:

The Burtonesque Dolls

"Where freaky meets fun, cute and funky!" This too-colorful blog won't be to everyone's liking here, but I can't resist its Burton fangirl exuberance. These bloggers do lots of graphic art, papercrafting, scrapbooking, and other creative projects based on imagery and tropes from Tim Burton movies. If you can handle cutesiness, you might enjoy looking through here real quickly.

http://theburtonesquedolls.blogspot.com/

Steamed!

This blog's focus is on writing steampunk fiction. Recent posts have included an introduction to steampunk airship troupes, an article on gun modding, and of course several book reviews.

http://ageofsteam.wordpress.com/

The Vault of Horror

A horror blog written by several talented contributors. Refreshingly, this is full of good content, not just movie reviews, trailer links or news repeated from Dread Central. Lots to read here, you'll want to come back every couple days.

http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/

The Vault of Horror, on Facebook

The Vault of Horror, on Twitter

DARK MOVIES:

Dracula: The Vampire and the Voivode

This documentary was produced by the Transylvanian Society of Dracula. It was shot in Whitby, London, and Transylvania. It tells the story of Bram Stoker and his novel Dracula.

http://draculadocumentary.com/

DARK MOVIE TRAILERS:

The Woman in Black

A ghost story, set in England and starring Daniel Radcliffe. The trailer showcases a fabulous creepy house with wonderful set design and costuming, so now I'm more excited about this film. I could do without the stereotypical creepy animatronic monkey, though!

The Woman in Black, at Apple.com

The Woman in Black, on IMDB

DARK SHOPS:

Jiveworks

Fabulous mosaic stained glass Day of the Dead skulls are sold here. Some are plaster, decorated with upcycled wine bottle glass. They're lifesized. I can only imagine how many fabulous compliments I'd get if I had one of these displayed proudly in my curio cabinet.

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

NatashaBlue

Here's an Etsy shop with lots of cool El Dia de Los Muertos art and goodies. There are prints, sugar skull masks, matchbox Day of the Dead shrines, paintings and a few pieces of jewelry.

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

GOTH LIFESTYLE:

Butterfly Absinthe

This company produces absinthe based on a Boston-area absinthe produced in the early 1900s. Historians have carefully researched the antique version to help develop the recipe for this modern distillation. The website includes info on the history of absinthe, plus a blog and cocktail recipes.

http://www.butterflyabsinthe.com/

Butterfly Absinthe on Facebook

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net(tm)

Darklinks on Facebook

Darklinks on Twitter

New Goth Links for August 22, 2011

2011-08-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Aunia Kahn

A figurative artist who creates non-existent places, dreams, illusions, fears and fables. Currently on the website you can tour her following exhibits: Our Human Error, Our Common Silence, Our Forbidden Solitude, Our Intimate Perception, and Our Intrepid Discoveries.

Her work will be exhibited in Canada, Utah, and San Francisco in the month of September.

She's also the co-creator of the stunning, striking Silver Era Tarot deck.

http://www.auniakahn.com/

Aunia Kahn Blog

Aunia Kahn Facebook

Aunia Kahn Twitter

Chet Zar

Chet Zar's gallery of dark, surreal, strange fine art. He's highly influenced by horror movies. (My current favorite is Lilith).

The galleries currently offer his artwork from each year between 2005 and 2010. There's so much to see here; yet I can't wait to see what he's worked on in 2011.

http://www.chetzar.com/

Chet Zar on Facebook

Chet Zar on Twitter

DARK BLOGS:

Paradise of Horror

A horror blog from an aspiring filmmaker. Recent posts have included a comparison of Children of the Corn and Beware... Children at Play; a review of one of my favorite movies ( Night of the Comet); and comments on The Thing prequel.

http://www.paradiseofhorror.com/

Upon a Midnight Dreary

This blog celebrates Halloween year-round. They're currently blogging about some unusual jewelry, ouija boards, perusing villainous pirate costumes, and sharing some papier mache jack-o-lanterns.

http://uponamidnightdreary.com/

The Zed Word

A zombie blog specializing in "the sexy and sleazy side of zombies." Currently participating in a "sexy zombie" photo contest, discussing the 1965 film Orgy of the Dead, and reviewing the Lollipop Chainsaw game.

http://www.zedwordblog.com/

DARK LITERATURE:

Shelley's Ghost

This exhibition is a collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries and the New York Public Library. In the online exhibition, you can peek at the draft of Frankenstein, see a photograph of Mary Shelley's dressing case, listen to podcasts, read letters by the Shelleys, and read biographies of the Shelleys.

http://shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/

DARK MUSIC:

Nox Arcana

Though they may at times appeal to goth metal audiences, this band creates gothic, dark fantasy, medieval, horror and Halloween music. Last year they released the Theater of Illusion CD. You can listen to a few of the tracks here.

http://www.noxarcana.com/

Nox Arcana on Facebook

Nox Arcana on Twitter

Nox Arcana on YouTube

DARK SHOPS:

Atelier Minyon

This New York-based jeweler creates very interesting designs. While not goth, I thought some of you might like to see their jeweled ink, spiders and webs, and skulls collections.

I personally don't care for the gold used on so many pieces here instead of silver or platinum, but these are still lovely. I'm very impressed with how original this jewelry as. As a jewelry buyer for a gift store, I see so much of the same boring crap all the time. This is refreshingly unique.

Also check out their dagger jewelry and unusual bridal collection.

http://www.atelierminyon.com/

Mystic Crypt

A California-based goth shop specializing in plus-sized goth clothes. They also sell some horror toys, goth jewelry, a few Living Dead Dolls, and Bastet2329's creepy horror dolls. A few goth decor items are also available, such as coffin-shaped boxes.

http://www.mysticcrypt.com/

Sigh Co. Graphics

I feel like it's time to revisit one of my all-time favorite shop links. Sigh Co Graphics has been making amazingly cool designs for so many years now. Their store sells gothic, punk, industrial, steampunk, horror, zombie, Lovecraftian, and fetish fashion. Plus there's a whole section devoted to Edgar Allan Poe!

Check out their Zombie vodka t-shirt and steampunk Jolly Roger shirt.

http://stores.ebay.com/Sigh-Co-Graphics

Violent Delights

This eBay store sells goth, cyber and steampunk clothing and accessories. Brands they carry include Lip Service, Hell Bunny Black, Living Dead Souls, Iron Fist, and Tripp NYC.

My favorite item here is this lovely black brocade dress.

http://stores.ebay.com/VIOLENT-DELIGHTS

DARK ZINES:

Deadman's Tome

Deadman's Tome is an online horror magazine intended for fans of the macabre, horror, short stories and dark fantasy. You can download the PDF of the August 2011 edition to read the latest short stories. There's also a podcast you can listen to.

http://www.deadmanstome.com/

The Horror Zine

Horror fiction, poetry, and art. This month they have a special guest, Ramsey Campbell. Read his contribution to the zine here.

http://www.thehorrorzine.com/

Reflections of Darkness

This dark music webzine offers concert reviews, CD reviews, and interviews. A lot of the music here is black metal, but you'll also be able to find a few things of interest on dark electronica and industrial.

http://www.reflectionsofdarkness.com/

GOTH COMMUNITIES:

The Niceboots Marketplace

A Livejournal community for UK-based sales and trades of goth fashion and accessories. A great way to find bargains or unload some lovely goth items you can't use anymore.

http://niceboots.livejournal.com/

Dark Side of the Net

Dark Side of the News for Sunday, August 14

2011-08-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

DARK SIDE OF THE NEWS:

The Dark Shadows Festival takes place next weekend, Friday August 19, in Brooklyn, NY.
The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival takes place twice in September 2011: September 16-17 in Los Angeles and September 30/October 1 in Portland, Oregon.
The Walking Dead season 2 premieres on AMC on Sunday, October 16.
This trailer for a Chinese zombie movie, Zombie 108 is very extremely NSFW (not safe for work).
I'm now updating Goth Almanac again, though I don't have an interesting news entry for every single day. You can also follow it on Twitter and now on Facebook as well.
The Monster Mania convention takes place August 19-21 in Cherry Hill, NJ. Sam Trammel from True Blood will attend.
Another Monster Mania will occur near Baltimore, in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The dates are September 16-18, 2011.
Final Destination 5 is in theaters. Here's the Filmforce review, the official site, the Wikipedia entry, and the Rotten Tomatoes entry.
The third season True Blood soundtrack is out, featuring Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees, plus songs by Nick Cave and Neko Case.
The trailer for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which comes out August 26. It stars Katie Holmes. The screenplay was written by Guillermo del Toro.

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

New Goth Links for May 20, 2011

2011-05-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Mab Graves

This Pop Surrealist painter produces exact type of big-eyed, pouty little dark girls we all love to look at.

She also has a delightful Etsy shop. I've so enjoyed browsing through her gallery this morning. Her works are not uberdark, but I bet you'll like looking through here very much.

http://mabgraves.com/

http://mabgraves.blogspot.com/

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

http://www.facebook.com/mab.graves

Joshua Hoffine

Oh my gosh, I love this horror photography so much. The lighting sets the mood perfectly. I am so excited to be sharing this link with you today! My favorite photo from his portfolio is #14 (the undead spider-covered woman holding a living baby).

http://www.joshuahoffine.com/

Joshua Hoffine on Facebook

DARK BLOGS:

Blood Lines

"All Things Vampire." Currently blogging about The Vampire Diaries, some vampire books they've read recently, and some funny vampire-related Youtube videos.

http://bloodtyping.blogspot.com/

H. P. Lovecraft and His Legacy

A horror writer has chosen to focus on author Howard Phillips Lovecraft. He blogs about Lovecraft's ancestry, his life, his friends, his legacy, and his interpretations. This is a more intellectual blog than I'm used to seeing about this particular author, so I'm glad to have found it.

http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/

Jason Henderson

It's refreshing to see a writer's blog that offers more than just spamming of affiliate links to their own book or thinly veiled affiliate book reviews. Here, the author of Alex van Helsing: Vampire Rising shares interesting thoughts, cool finds, and info on the craft of writing. I especially enjoyed the Time Period Settings post.

http://blogofdracula.blogspot.com/

Vampire Craftin

A fun blog about "fangtastic crafts." They're working on a True Blood Cross Stitch Project, a Twilight shadow box, and sharing a recipe for Vampire popsicles. What a fun blog!

http://vampirecraftin.blogspot.com/

DARK MOVIES:

Blog of Dark Shadows

An excellent, authoritative blog on both the upcoming Dark Shadows movie and the old TV series. They post news and articles frequently, plus the site is well designed and beautiful to look at. Good job!

http://www.blogofdarkshadows.com/

DARK MUSIC:

Life Toward Twilight

A dark ambient band who also describe their sound as "post-industrial." Their albums include "Blood" and "I Swear By All the Flowers."

http://ltt.bottle-imp.com/

Life Toward Twilight, on Facebook

DARK SHOPS:

Babysitter's Nightmare

This Denver-based kids' store specializes in dark stores for the kids of goths, rockers and punks. You can order online or visit the store in person. They sell adorable kids' Doc Martens, baby high heeled shoes from Heelarious, and very cool Frankenstein and pirate shoes from Sourpuss. Their clothing selection includes their own designs, plus Sourpuss, Iron Fist Clothing, Illicit Clothing, and other cool brands. This makes me wish I had a little babybat of my own to dress up!

http://www.babysittersnightmare.com/

DARK WRITING:

Dark Highlands is a "semi-annual collection of artwork, poetry, and short fiction that focuses on darker works in the fairytale fantasy, fable or folk tale genres." They publish PG-13-or-under material. I don't normally link to paper publications that don't offer content on the web, but I mention this today because they're currently seeking submissions, due before September 30, 2011.

Dark Highlands

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net dark links

New Links for May 16, 2011

2011-05-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Anathema Photography

Danielle's photographs capture the world of horror, humour and erotica. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Many of the photographs here are deliciously bloody - you'll love it! You can check out her most recent work on her blog.

http://www.anathemaphotography.com/

Anathema Photography, on Facebook

A doll artist who creates incredibly creepy art dolls. "Crinkles" is really freaking me out right now. She also occasionally features one of her paintings from time to time. Her Etsy shop features her digital prints as well as some of the dolls.

http://www.patriciaanders.com/

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

Lady Symphonia

The art of Nathalia Suellen. Digital artwork from a lady raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My favorite is Kill My Only Enemy.

http://www.ladysymphonia.com/

GOTH CLUBS:

Dorian's Parlor

A monthly club in Philadelphia. The participants are bohemians and socialites interested in "neo-vintage." House DJs include Dave Ghoul and DJ Kiltboy. Besides music, the event features vendors and craftspeople. The club is hosted at the Doubletree Hotel. (Hey, I've stayed there before!) The next event is Saturday, June 4, 2011.

http://www.doriansparlor.com/

Dorian's Parlor on Facebook

DARK COMICS:

Bela Lugosi's Tales From the Grave

This comic is currently on issue #2. Not much here other than a few peeks at the pages and info on where to order it. I don't normally link to commercial pages about comics, so today is an experiment. Check out the blog for more info on this comic.

http://monsterverse.com/

DARK EVENTS:

Draculacon III

This is a small one-day horror event held at the Grand Midway Hotel in Windber, Pennsylvania. $15 gets you in to see Kyra Schon, paranormal expert Rosemary Ellen Guiley, and religious demonologist Adam Blai. There are also several creepy bands playing and other authors in attendance.

Draculacon 2011

DARK GAMES:

City of Eternals

This free-to-play game bills itself as "the world's first MMORPG set in a world of modern Vampires." They've tried to optimize the game for any platform so you can even run it on a cheap $200 netbook. The game has only 4,896 likes on Facebook so it might not be the most addictive game all your friends are playing.. but if you're bored and like vampires, you might enjoy checking it out really quickly.

http://www.cityofeternals.com/

Emerald Chronicles

A live action role-playing improv group in Seattle. They work in the worlds of Changeling: the Dreaming, Mage: The Ascension, Vampire: the Masquerade, and Werewolf: the Apocalypse. It's nice to see a really active group still in existence and having (making!) lots of fun.

http://www.emeraldchronicles.com/

Emerald Chronicles Forums

DARK MUSIC:

Miss FD

A dark electro artist's music. She plays gothic, electro-industrial, synthpop and oontz-inspired music.

http://www.missfd.com/

DARK SHOPS:

Loved to Death

An online shop selling taxidermy mementos, jewelry and art. There are hair accessories, home decor items, and even a few antiques. The brick-and-mortar shop is located in San Francisco. They also sell on Etsy.

http://www.lovedtodeath.net/

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

Loved to Death, on Facebook

Loved to Death, on Twitter

PARANORMAL:

Dead Haunted

A UK-based "paranormal events company." They sell tickets to paranormal investigation events at old halls, abbeys, and places such as Morecambe Winter Gardens. You can also hire them to help you plan private events, such as a paranormal "hen's night," birthday party or group night out.

http://www.deadhaunted.com/

Dark Side of the News for May 16, 2011

2011-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dark Side of the News

DARK MOVIE NEWS:

Cheesy foreign vampire chick film.

We Are the Night Trailer, at Apple

Director Neil Jordan is working on a vampire mother/daughter flick named "Byzantium."

Arterton, Ronan Bite on "Byzantium" (Variety)

COMPANY OF WOLVES' Neil Jordan Brings Us (Hopefully Hot) Mother/Daughter Vampires In BYZANTIUM!! (AICN)

Byzantium Adds Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Atherton (Movieweb)

Universal Studios is balking a bit now on "The Dark Tower."

Universal/NBC’s Sprawling DARK TOWER Project May Not Move Forward After All?? (AICN)

Ron Howard's "The Dark Tower" Trilogy Put on Hiatus (MTV Movies Blog)

Script Rewrites and Lower Budget May Save "The Dark Tower" Yet (Blastr)

Thor's Chris Hemsworth signed on to " Snow White and the Huntsman" today.

Chris Hemsworth Snow White and the Huntsman (MTV Movies Blog)

Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" just got a May 11, 2012 release date.

Dark Shadows Release date (Screenrant)

DARK COMICS:

Hermes Press is reprinting the classic Dark Shadows comic book.

Barnabas Collins Strikes at Hermes Press (Action Figure Hub)

DARK MUSIC:

Dead Can Dance news - this is huge! Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard will be working together again.

Dead Can Dance Announce New Album, Tour for 2012 (Brendan Perry MySpace)

Dead Can Dance Returns (Side-Line Music Magazine)

Peter Murphy is visiting several US cities in May and June to celebrate the release of "Ninth."

Peter Murphy "Ninth" Release Parties, on Facebook

DARK TOYS:

Living Dead Dolls 13th Anniversary Contest

You can win an exclusive Celebrating Sadie 10" doll. View the video on YouTube, then guess how many Living Dead Doll heads are in the jar.

Mezco Announces Fifth Living Dead Dolls 13th Anniversary Contest (Action Figure Insider)

Living Dead Dolls, on Facebook

DARK TV:

NBC will be airing "Grimm" on Friday nights. It's written by former "Buffy" writers. The premise is that a homicide detective learns he’s descended from an elite group of hunters, known as “Grimms”. They “fight to keep the balance of humanity safe from the supernatural creatures of the world.”

http://www.nbc.com/grimm/

A new trailer for True Blood Season 4 was released.

True Blood Season 4 Trailer (NME)

Neil Gaiman discusses his "Doctor Who" episode.

Neil Gaiman "The Doctor's Wife." (The Guardian)

DARK GAMES:

American McGee is back at work.

Tim Burton of Video Games Plans to Bring More Twisted Fairy Tales To a Browser Near You (Games.com)

GOTH PEOPLE:

Laura McCutchan from Morbid Outlook was interviewed here around the 16 minute mark of this blog podcast by Sorceress Cagliastro, The Necromancer.

What was your favorite piece of news today?

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net gothic news

Upcoming Steampunk Events for Summer 2011

2011-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Great New England Steampunk Exhibition

September 16 - 18, 2011 at the Courtyard Marriott/Central MA Expo Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

http://www.thegreatnewenglandsteampunkexhibition.com/

The Asylum Steampunk Convivial

September 9-11, 2011 in Lincoln in the UK.

http://steampunk.synthasite.com/

Neo Victorian Fete

June 10-12, 2011 in Templecombe, Somerset, Great Britain. Steampunk croquet, egg and spoon race, and other outdoor activities.

http://www.olde-england.co.uk/

World Steam Expo

May 27-30 in Dearborn, Michigan. Abney Park will perform. Events include Victorian Morning Calisthenics, lots of interesting panels, a charity masquerade ball, and a high tea luncheon.

http://www.worldsteamexpo.com/

World Steam Expo Group on Facebook

World Steam Expo on Twitter

The Steampunk Worlds Fair

May 20-22, 2011 in Somerset, New Jersey. Musical performers include Left Outlet, Katie Kat, Battle Circus, Bury Me Standing, and Ego Likeness. There are also featured artists, literary guests, plus circus and sideshow guests. Of course there will be a large Merchants' Bazaar as well.

The Steampunk Worlds Fair

The Steampunk Worlds Fair, on Facebook

The Steampunk Worlds Fair, on Twitter

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Gothic and Dark Events Summer 2011

2011-05-16T08:56:00.001-07:00

Blackfield Festival - June 25-26, 2011 in Germany. Diary of Dreams, And One, Apoptygma Berzerk, Combichrist and other bands will play.

Blackfield Festival

Labyrinth Masquerade, July 1-2 2011

http://www.labyrinthmasquerade.com/

Castle Party - July 21-24 in Poland at Bolkow Castle.

http://castleparty.com/

DV8 Fest - July 21-24 in York, UK.

http://www.dv8fest.com/

Dark Shadows Festival - August 19, 20 and 21 in New York City

Dark Shadows Festival.com

M'era Luna festival, August 13-14

M'era Luna

Monster Mania: August 19-21 in Cherry Hill, NJ and sept 16 -18 in Hunt Valley, MD

Monster Mania.net

New Goth Links for January 4, 2011

2011-01-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

DARK ART:

Lisa K. Weber

This gallery features illustration, fine art, and textiles. This artist did the artwork for the Darkside Zodiac calendar. My favorite of her fine art is "The Princess and the Crow." The artist also has an interesting but infrequently updated blog.

http://www.lisakweber.com/

Ken Wong

Ken Wong's illustration and design portfolio. My favorite is "Alice Vs. the Matrix," shown above. I also am intrigued by Sanctuary. Check out his character design for Red Riding Hood.

http://kenart.net/

KriSoft

Clever art dolls made of paper. I get a kick out of Carpathian matryoshka nesting dolls. This artist's blog is in French.

http://krisoft.canalblog.com/

Mademoiselle Ombr'elle

A French artist's gallery of sculptures (art dolls). I like the sculptures, but wish the photography was better lit.

http://mademoiselle-ombrelle.com/

DARK LITERATURE:

Grim Reviews

This blog specializes in H.P. Lovecraft, weird fiction, and dark phenomena. I'm so glad I found this blog. Recent posts include a nice overview of H.P. Lovecraft biography covers, info on the Last Lovecraft movie premiering in February, and a review of the best weird horror of 2010.

http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/

Sunset

An online serial vampire novel that appears to have been published in 2008. I'm impressed that the author actually finished this - I've seen so many online novels fizzle and die out after three or four well-intentioned chapters. Some nice dark reading here for a cold winter's night.

http://sunsetvampirenovel.wordpress.com/

DARK MOVIES:

TerrorFeed

Horror movie trailers, clips, and shorts. Currently featuring lots of clips from The Walking Dead.

http://www.terrorfeed.com/

DARK TOYS:

Cheery About Agnes Dreary

A Yahoo! group for fans of the Agnes Dreary collector dolls. Most months seem to have over 300 posts, so this is a fairly active fan group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cheeryaboutagnesdreary/

DARK TV:

The Buffyverse Addict

Once upon a time, there were countless thousands of Buffy fan websites, most of them disappointing. Fortunately now we have blogs instead of Geocities websites, and casual Buffy fandom has disappeared. Now we have well-done blogs like this one, a good way to keep up with what's going on in Buffy fandom. This blogger has been writing away steadily since 2008 and posts frequently.

http://thebuffyverseaddict.blogspot.com/

HORROR:

Blood Sprayer

A really nicely designed horror website. It features news, columns, horror art, event coverage, and reviews. Definitely worth a look if you're a horror fan.

http://www.bloodsprayer.com/

Ghouls on Film

A spunky horror movie blog. I love the "Dear Ripley" advice column!

http://ghoulsonfilm.net/

Dark Side of the News for January 3, 2011

2011-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

Dark Side of the News

I'm extremely excited about John Cusack's role as Edgar Allan Poe.

I'm curious (but also annoyed, as a fan of the original BBC show) to see SyFy's premiere of "Being Human." It airs Monday January 17.

Christian Science Monitor just published an article on Steampunk: The New Goth.

Ghost Hunters International kicks off Season Two with a visit to Hamlet's Castle.

Blastr's Image of the Day is Zombies vs. Supermodels.

Javier Bardem or Viggo Mortenson might take the lead role as Roland in "The Dark Tower," the Stephen King fantasy movie adaptation.

The Macomb Daily's review of Anne Rice's "Of Love and Evil," the second book in her "Songs of the Seraphim" series. Anne will be doing a book signing January 8 for this book, at California's historic Mission Inn hotel (my favorite place to stay when I'm visiting family in Riverside).

Clive Barker is returning to "Hellraiser" with a new comic book series.

"Insidious," a haunted house film, will be released on April Fool's Day 2011.

"Cthulhu Saves the World" premiered for the Xbox 360.

AICN's Pic of the Day is Giger on the set of "Alien."

Fangoria has a clip of the Buffy motion comic that will be released tomorrow.

"The Wolfman" made IGN's list of 2010's most disappointing movies.

Sandman Creator Neil Gaiman Recreates "Labyrinth" for Christmas." With sock puppets.

Bergdorf Goodman Brings Post Steampunk to Its Windows (Style Bistro). Wow.

I don't really enjoy comics, but I was interested to check out the preview of Stephen King's "Little Sisters of Eluria" as that's my favorite short story by him.

A Clive Barker art exhibit opens in LA on January 12.

Top 10 Best and Worst Horror Films of 2010, by Horror Yearbook.

New Goth Links for January 3, 2011

2011-01-01T06:23:00.000-08:00

DARK GAMES:

Gretel and Hansel

This is just a cool little diverting Shockwave game. Hansel & Gretel is one of my favorite fairytales, so I enjoyed playing with this for a little while (until I got stumped and gave up!)

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/515322

DARK EVENTS:

Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire

I would so go to this event if I lived on the East coast! It sounds fabulously fun. This year's theme is "Fairy Tales Gone Awry." It takes place the weekend of February 18-20 in Somerset, New Jersey.

http://www.wickedfaire.com/

Wicked Faire 2011 on Facebook

Wicked Faire, on Livejournal

The Wicked Faire Social Network

DARK MOVIES: SHORT FILMS

The Captured Bird

"The Captured Bird is a short film written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic. It is inspired in part by a childhood nightmare, by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, the fables of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen as well as the paranormal phenomenon known as The Shadow People." It's being screened at several film fests this year. Check out the beautiful concept art for this six minute film. I can't seem to find a brief trailer for the film though, and I'd like to.

http://www.thecapturedbird.com/

The Captured Bird, on Facebook

The Captured Bird, on Twitter

Jovanka Vuckovic, on Twitter

DARK MOVIES:

Phantasm Archives

A fan blog for the "Phantasm" films. Not updated often, but it's a good way for casual fans of the film to keep up with new developments. The Facebook community is also a good resource.

http://www.phantasmarchives.net/

The Phantasm Community, on Facebook

DARK PAGES IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

Gauewthickueu

A Polish goth's blog. Like me, you probably can't read much here, but you'll probably enjoy the pictures and Youtube video links they share.

http://gauewthickueu.blogspot.com/

DARK SHOPS:

Crimson Casket

A goth eBay shop selling cool clothing and accessories. Themes include Lovecraft, goth, vampires, the film Nosferatu, Frankenstein, skulls and more.

http://stores.ebay.com/Crimson-Casket

Forbidden Boudoir

An Etsy shop selling gorgeous clothing and jewelry in the style of the Belle Epoque, Twenties, Regency, Gypsy, and dark fashion.

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

Hiroko's Boutique

This eBay store ships from Hong Kong, selling Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, punk, and goth clothing and shoes. They have over 400 styles of Lolita shoes, just for starters.

http://stores.ebay.com/hirokos-Boutique

GOTH AND HORROR BLOGS:

Creepy Kitch

A blog run by two girls who describe themselves as "We're creepy and we're kitchy, mischievous and bitchy." They worship Vincent Price (as we all should), write about cool old horror movies, and share their creepy finds.

http://creepykitch.blogspot.com/

Hexotica

A blog on dark glamour, goth fashion, burlesque, travel and more interesting topics.

http://gothicburlesque.blogspot.com/

ShellHawk's Nest

Mistress Mayhem's blog on Halloween, home haunting and Hauntcast.

http://shellhawksnest.blogspot.com/

This is CorpGoth

You probably remember Trystan from alt.gothic.fashion and the much loved Gothic Martha Stewart pages. "This is CorpGoth" is her newest blog, where she features her fabulous clothing she wears to work. She also shares some of her recent shopping trips, and musings on fashion. If you enjoy fashion, you'll definitely want to check in here often.

http://corpgoth.blogspot.com/

HORROR:

Dollar Bin Horror

Rhonda loves to save money while indulging her love of horror movies. So she shares reviews of horror flicks she's bought in the dollar bins of her nearby stores. Her most current reviews include New Year's Evil, Don't Go in the House, and The Whorehouse of Horror. (Not sure I'll be renting that last one any time soon!) There's a hysterically funny fan art section of her blog, too.

http://dollarbinhorror.blogspot.com/

Horror Film History

This website presents a decade-by-decade guide to the horror movie genre. Select your decade, then choose a movie to learn more about. It's a nice overview and I look forward to seeing more entries.

http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/

PARANORMAL:

Queen Mary Shadows

Not a Halloween haunt site, this website focuses on the paranormal rumours surrounding the Queen Mary ship, currently docked as a hotel in Long Beach, CA. The talking ghost child video is freaky. Besides the history of the ship's hauntings and info on the spirits, there are a forum and an events list. I find this topic pretty fascinating, so I'll be sure to visit this site every month.

http://www.queenmaryshadows.com/

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

New Goth Links for December 31

2010-12-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

DARK ART:

Ana Camamiel

Here you can view Ana Camamiel's sketches, illustrations, comic, and handmade dolls. The dolls are cute, not too spooky, and there's even a line of pirate dolls. The artist runs an Etsy shop to sell some of her pieces.

http://www.camamiel.com/

Krista Huot

I absolutely love this Canadian artist's style. Despite a really busy afternoon today, I stopped and took time to look at every painting featured here. More than a few of these works are based on fairytales (Snow White, Red Riding Hood, etc) and many feature woodland creatures. Some of my favorite pieces here are "La Fee Verte," "The Poisoned Apple," and "Hemlock." I'd love to see a Tarot deck by her!

http://www.kristahuot.com/

Krista Huot Etsy shop

Krista Huot Art on Facebook

Krista Huot on Twitter

Keith Thompson

His illustrations are fantastic, surreal, and steampunkish. With of course, a dark touch. Some of my favorite color illustrations are Saint of Parasites,, Halfling Executors of Megalys,, and Scribe. You might enjoy his black and white illustration and his concept art as well. I spent quite a lot of time browsing through this gallery today and I don't regret it!

http://www.keiththompsonart.com/

Keith Thompson Art Group, on Facebook

Swan Bones Theater: The Art of Kelly Louise Judd

Beautifully dark surreal paintings and illustrations, plus hauntingly beautiful dark art dolls. I chuckled when I saw A Disappearance, and I love the imagery in Above and Below II. So much interesting work to see here!

http://www.swanbones.com/

Swan Bones Shop on Etsy

Swan Bones on Twitter

DARK MOVIES:

Beastly

I know my sister is going to drag me to this "Beauty and the Beast" retelling. I'm already rolling my eyes at the plot: Goth classmate Kendra "casts a spell" on the male protagonist. At least the imagery in the trailers looks visually interesting.

Beastly Trailer, at Apple

http://www.beastlythemovie.com/

Beastly, at IMDB

Vanishing on 7th Street

What I'm looking forward to much more is Vanishing on 7th Street. I love post-apocalyptic tropes, and I always enjoy Thandie Newton's performances.

Vanishing on 7th Street Trailer (Apple)

Vanishing on 7th Street (Official)

Vanishing on 7th Street (IMDB)

Vanishing on 7th Street (Wikipedia)

And now we come to The Rite, which will surely be cheesy and shlocky, but can you really pass up another creepy Anthony Hopkins performance? This probably is a "renter," but I bet I'll make time to see it in the theater.

The Rite (IMDB)

The Rite (Apple)

DARK MOVIES: ABOUT THE GENRE

Horrortheque

Here someone has done us the kindness of hunting down links to cool old horror movies that you can watch online - not just on Hulu, but also on YouTube and other sites. Each movie is nicely categorized and has a small description to help you decide if you want to watch it, plus a link to its IMDB entry. Currently featuring films including Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, Atom Age Vampire, and Carnival of Souls.

http://www.horrortheque.com/

28 Days Later Analysis

Formerly a 28 Days Later fan page, this blog has evolved into a general horror site. It features horror film news, articles, analyses, reviews, and the occasional interview.

http://www.28dayslateranalysis.com/

DARK SHOPS:

Blood Energy Potion

I know you've all seen this link long before now. Just putting it here to make sure it gets into my archival database.

http://www.livingwithbloodlust.com/

Gothic Beagle

This Etsy shop sells dark fashions and accessories for pets. Currently selling bat wings, dog capes, squeaky toys, and dog dresses.

Gothic Beagle, on Etsy

Gothic Beagle on Facebook

Olivia's Oubliette

This tiny Etsy shop only offers a handful of jewelry pieces right now, but I thought some of you would enjoy looking at them. Her style is "The Victorian naturalist," so you'll find a intriguing mixture of metal keys, agate, bone, beads, beetle wings, and more in these pieces.

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

Raven Blackwood

A huge eBay store selling goth, medieval and Renaissance clothing, accessories and jewelry. They also sell some pagan accoutrements such as chalices, daggers, and crystal balls.

http://stores.ebay.com/Raven-Blackwood

Teatime, Inc.

An Etsy shop selling gothic, Lolita and steampunk attire and jewelry. I like the steampunk crown, I haven't seen anything like that in my web travels yet.

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

GOTH HISTORY AND LIFESTYLE:

The Gothic Tea Society

This is rapidly developing into a very important goth lifestyle resource. Wendy does an amazing job of social networking and finding interesting links to post and fascinating discussions to start with her page followers. I always enjoy seeing what she posts every day on her Facebook page.

The Gothic Tea Society Blog

The Gothic Tea Society, on Facebook

STEAMPUNK:

Neo Steam

This is a free-to-play steampunk fantasy MMORPG. I haven't made time to try it yet, I'll leave that up to you! The client download is almost a gig in size.

http://neosteam.atlusonline.com/

Riese

Keep up-to-date with Riese, the steampunk web series recently acquired by SciFi, here on this Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/riesetheseries

The Steampunk Home

This steampunk home decor blog hasn't been updated since November. I really really hope they keep posting to this blog. It always featured fascinating posts and pictures.

http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com/

The Steampunk Scholar

A scholarly and intellectual approach to steampunk culture. Recent posts have included Steampunk Reads of the Year, a steampunk Star Wars article, and a review of James Blaylock's The Idol's Eye. Definitely a blog you'll want to bookmark if you're interested in steampunk.

http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/

HORROR LITERATURE RESOURCES:

The Vampire Chronicles Art Gallery

Absolutely fantastic Anne Ricean fan art. I cannot believe the amount of time the artists put into these images. This gallery also features works by Durer and other master artists that were either mentioned in the books or seem to fit in with the themes.

http://tvcartgallery.blogspot.com/

Vampire Genre

I don't have anything against affiliate bookshops, so long as they provide value and interesting content. This one does - check out Vicky London's reviews of recent vampire books as well as news on upcoming releases. I enjoy the occasional vampire book, but don't read widely enough in the genre to personally keep up with what's going on. So when I'm in the mood for a little bloodthirsty reading, this affiliate shop helps me quickly catch up on new interesting books that have come out recently.

http://www.vampiregenre.com/

DARK ONLINE MAGAZINES:

Horror Bound

An online literary magazine for horror fiction. There's also a bit of noir, speculative fiction, poetry, art and photography. Not updated recently, I'm hoping to see more here in 2011.

http://www.horrorbound.com/

The Unclean

"The Unclean delivers timely and creative content on a collection of subculture related topics. Industrial music, horror movies & comics, special events, galleries of art & fashion." This place really needs a logo. Other than that, I'm very enthused about this resource. The last update was December first though as far as I can tell.

The Unclean

GOTH AND HORROR BLOGS:

And Now the Screaming Starts

A horror movie blog. You'll also find value in the interesting horror blog links on the right hand side.

http://and-now-the-screaming-starts.blogspot.com/

Breakfast in the Ruins

A well-written horror movie blog focusing on older horror films. I enjoy the writing style here.

http://breakfastintheruins.blogspot.com/

Thoughts From An Electic Goth Mind

Lady Euphoria Deathwatch's blog on her life and current musings.

http://ladyeuphoriadeathwatch.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year's Eve!

-Carrie

Dark Side of the Net

Regional Halloween Haunted House Directories

2010-10-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. Just some sites I dragged out of my old database or wandered around and found tonight. Meanwhile my puppies are being hyper so I have to stop working and put them to bed in their crates!

California Haunted Houses - Commercial haunts, as well as spook walks and hay rides, etc.

DFW Haunted Houses.com - Dallas, Fort Worth haunted houses, including haunt reviews.

Florida Haunted Houses.com - A cookie cutter website, but has good info nonetheless on Halloween 2010 attractions all over the state of Florida.

Haunted Bay - Bay Area Halloween concerts, haunted houses, Halloween events, and some downloads and forums.

Haunted Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio haunt reviews and news.

Haunted Denver.com - Denver haunted houses, and the haunted history of the city of Denver. Also the October Lounge forum, which isn't very active, sadly.

Haunted Denver on Facebook

Haunted Denver on MySpace

Haunted Denver on Twitter

Haunted Duluth - Duluth, Minnesota Halloween haunts.

Haunted Happenings - Salem, Massachusetts ("The Witch City") Halloween activities.

Haunted House Chicago - Haunted house reviews and ratings, haunt voting, and the Top Ten project.

Haunted Hudson Valley - New York State's Hudson Valley region Halloween and haunted activities.

Haunted Illinois.com - Illinois haunt listings.

Haunted Illinois, on LiveJournal

Haunted Mid South - Memphis, Florida area Halloween haunts, home haunts, and haunted trails.

Haunted Night.com - Haunted house listings for Seattle, Portland, Boise, and Vancouver Canada.

Haunted Night on Facebook

Haunted Night on MySpace

Haunted Night on Twitter

Haunted Wisconsin - Haunt and pumpkin patch listings, plus a neighborhood trick-or-treat list.

Haunted Wisconsin, on Facebook

Haunted Wisconsin, on Twitter

Hollywood Gothique - Los Angeles area Halloween, horror, and sci-fi events and activities.

Horror in the Hammer - Hamilton, Ontario horror, Halloween and zombie events.

Horror in the Hammer on Facebook

Horror in the Hammer on MySpace

Long Island Haunted Houses - Plus hayrides, corn mazes, spook walks, home haunts and events.

Nola.Com - New Orleans haunted Halloween happenings, news and blog posts.

Ohio's Haunted.com - They also cover Kentucky and Indiana.

Ohio Valley Haunts - Haunt reviews, not just listings.

Scared.com - Denver, Colorado area haunted houses and Halloween events. Plus some info on zombie crawls.

Scary Ohio - Ohio's haunted houses, Halloween attractions and events.

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

2 Best Haunted House and Attraction Online Directories

2010-10-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

I no longer offer my list of hundreds of haunted house links online. Those links were the most often stolen part of my database - probably because the Halloween niche is valuable to advertisers and those links are difficult to maintain. If you're actually trying to run a useful directory, you want to be extremely sure the haunt is still up, running, active and interesting before you send people to the haunts. That takes a lot of time. Easier to steal the info than to spend hundreds of hours actually doing the research and upkeep work that I did on Dark Side of the Net for years.

Instead of posting my own links this year, I want to point you towards the two best, most updated, well maintained lists of Halloween haunts, attractions, hayrides, cornfields, and activities on the Web. Their maintainers are extremely dedicated, do their own research and don't steal other people's links, and their sites are easy to navigate and VERY up to date.

They are so up-to-date that I get discouraged whenever I find a new (to me) link to a haunted house, only to do a quick Google check and realize these sites already know about them!

1. Haunted House Online

Affiliated with HauntWorld Magazine, this site lists attractions by state, plus Canada and international haunts. They also list corn mazes, pumpkin patches, Halloween hayrides, and attractions. The site also offers videos, photos, links, haunt forums, and free pumpkin patterns. Lots of great stuff here, I am very impressed!

http://www.hauntedhouseonline.com/

2. Haunted House.com

I'm not a big fan of sites that claim to be "The #1 Halloween Website." I don't like the bragging, and there are tons of fantastic Halloween sites out there. However, they do have an excellent directory of haunted houses and Halloween attractions. (Their Halloween-related links directory leaves something to be desired - most categories have at most 5 links.)

Their blog hasn't been updated since January 2010, so that makes me a bit nervous about how updated their links are. But in clicking around their site, I haven't found a dead link yet.

Stick with the well-researched haunted attraction links, and enjoy the clean site design and cool graphics. You're sure to find a haunt in your area you might want to check out over the weekend!

http://www.hauntedhouse.com/

Happy Halloween!

--Carrie

http://www.darklinks.com/

Goth and Horror Cocktails for Halloween

2010-10-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

1. Black Widow

This cocktail uses 42 Below vodka, but you can of course substitute your favorite.

Black Widow, at Drink of the Week

2. Vampire's Punch

Yum, cherry vodka.

Vampire's Punch, at Food & Beverage World

3. Wicked Witch Apple Punch

Wow, I don't even want to know the calorie count on this drink. It has so many different fruit juices in it.

Wicked Witch Apple Punch, by Skyy

4. 8 Sexy Halloween Cocktails

Instructions for making a Bobbing for Apples & Thyme martini, Vampire's Blood tequila cocktail, a Blood-Red Lime Rickey, a Candy Corn cordial, and more.

8 Sexy Halloween Cocktails, at Food2.com

5. Bar None Drinks' Halloween Drinks

Everything from Bayou Slime to Skeletons In Your Closet.

Halloween Drinks, at Bar None

6. Haunting Halloween Cocktails

About.com's excellent list of creative cocktails for Halloween parties, including the Green Ghoul, Halloween Harvest Punch, Jack-o-Lantern, Sour Witch and Spider's Kiss.

Halloween Cocktails, at About.com

7. Midori Halloween Punch

I love the way the blood oranges (if you can find them this time of year) look in the punch. The melon balls are ingenious, I wouldn't have thought to do that.

Midori Halloween Punch, at Party Blu Prints

8. Bloody Eyeball Martini

This recipe uses a radish to maximize the gross-out factor.

Bloody Eyeball Martini, at The Nibble

9. Witch's Brew Punch

An ingenious method of using gloves to freeze your hand prints, then floating them in the punchbowl.

Witch's Brew Punch, at Pillsbury

10. Dark and Spooky

Claire Robinson's recipe includes a terrifyingly realistic gummy spider you tuck into the glass.

Dark and Spooky, at Food Network

11. Spooky Halloween Spirits

Martha Stewart's delightful twists on a screwdriver and berry martini.

Spooky Halloween Spirits, at MarthaStewart.com

12. Ghoul-Aid

Hostess with the Mostess always has the coolest ideas!

Ghoul-Aid, at Hostess with the Mostess

13. TruBlood Cocktails

I love this! The fans over at True-Blood.net came up with these cocktails that use HBO's branded TruBlood beverage in them. Haha.

True Blood Halloween Drinks

Happy sipping!

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net Halloween links

13 More Cool Halloween Blogs

2010-10-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

1. Redecorating Middle-Earth in Early Lovecraft

The tagline is "Always Halloween and never Thanksgiving." This is author Amy H. Sturgis' blog with lots of links and resources on Halloween, Lovecraft, vampires, classic horror literature, and more fascinating topics. If you follow the frequently-posted links here, you'll have plenty of things to keep you busy on cold autumn nights.

http://eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com/

2. CreepyLA

Tons of cool Halloween-related happenings in the LA area are posted on this blog. For example, the El Capitan's yearly showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas is going to be in 4-D this year. Yes, you heard me right! They'll use some sort of in-theater effects like fog and wind. That is so awesome.

http://creepyla.com/blog/

3. Ghoul Friday

A blog for Halloween artists and enthusiasts. Currently posting about Fright Dome at Circus Circus, an impressive bottle of Crystal Head vodka, and incredibly cool photos of the Bellagio Halloween garden decorations in Vegas.

http://www.ghoulfriday.com/

4. Halloween Addict

A Halloween fan's blog with to-do tips, movie lists, Halloween countdowns, interesting things they've found online, and a post on The Spirit Store's attempt to move the date of Halloween.

http://halloweenaddict.com/

5. Halloween Alchemy

A folk artist's Halloween blog, showcasing her creations.

http://halloweenalchemy.blogspot.com/

6. Haunt Style

Tips and ideas for people who want to incorporate Halloween into their year-round decor. Currently posting about an amazing skeleton art car, haunted buildings, and getting married in a haunted chapel.

http://hauntstyle.blogspot.com/

7. HoHo Halloween

The artwork of Jorge de Rojas. There are lots of interesting, picture-heavy posts on recent cool spooky crafts shows he's attended.

http://hohohalloween.blogspot.com/

8. Melissa Valeriote's Halloween Folk Art

Another talented Halloween artist's blog. She likes to incorporate a bit of whimsy or silliness into her pieces. My favorite post here is the one where she lets us peek into her home studio.

http://theholidayqueen.blogspot.com/

9. PumpkinBrain

The blog of a father who creates cool papier-mache jack-o-lanterns and shares his cool Halloween links and finds.

http://pumpkinbrain.blogspot.com/

10. The Raven's Barrow

I've thoroughly been enjoying reading this blog on Halloween, horror and fantasy in modern culture. Today is the author Derek's birthday, which he shares with Bela Lugosi.

http://www.ravensbarrow.com/

11. Raven Fae's Creations

This artist makes creepy, cute Halloween creations. She also finds really cool vintage images to post.

http://ravenfaescreations.blogspot.com/

12. Scotty Art

A Halloween artist who enjoys working with paper mache. Browse through his posts to see what he's working on currently.

http://stolloween.blogspot.com/

13. Season of Shadows

A Halloween yard haunter's blog, with cool posts on Goblin Nog, pumpkins, Halloween events and trips to the Spirit Halloween store.

http://seasonofshadows.com/blog/

Happy haunting,

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net Halloween links

13 Haunting Gothy Videos for Halloween

2010-10-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Following is a list of videos I'm enjoying watching and listening to while I'm working on Dark Side of the Net in another window. It's not meant to be a comprehensive "list of Goth Halloween songs," nor is it good to use as a Halloween party playlist. The tempos are too varied - some songs are loud, hard and fast, others are dreamy, slow and soft.

Just wanted to share some things I'm enjoying listening to this month of October while I wait eagerly for Halloween to arrive.

1. Ministry - Every Day is Halloween

It's not really Halloween until you've danced around to this song!

2. Marilyn Manson - This Is Halloween (Cover)

OK, try not to freak out that I included a Manson song! 13 million people have viewed this video so there's obviously something cool about it. Intercut with scenes from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

3. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Halloween - Live in 1981

Oh to have been there to see this performance live! Let's see, in 1981 I was in sixth grade.. probably not able to sneak on an airplane and go see this show. Hehe.

4. This is Halloween

Now it's time to revisit the original version!

5. The Cure - Burn

From The Crow soundtrack in 1994.

6. Stephen Lynch - Halloween

A catchy little ditty about a murderous neighbor. Try not to get it stuck in your head!

7. Lil' Red Riding Hood

A slow moving, dreamy cover song that's not too folksy. The vocalist reminds me of Hope Sandoval in a good way. Not too spooky, but something about version this really draws me in.

8. Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead

The song isn't about Halloween, of course, but you really can't celebrate Halloween fully until you've listened to this song at least twice a day for a couple weeks preceding!

9. Graeme Revell - Bells, Books and Candles

From The Craft soundtrack. Haunting vocals.

10. Waltham - Dead Man's Party

I don't usually like hard rock/metal bands like this, but I enjoy this energetic cover of Oingo Boingo's popular Halloween party song. It's a bit more evil than the original, which is a good thing! Also, you might like to check out this Dead Man's Party cover by Scarlet Letters. Horrible video quality, as it was filmed at a party, but I like the chick's vocals.

11. The Comateens - Munsters Theme

Embedding disabled.. sigh.. The Munsters Theme Cover by Comateens. This just makes me giggle. Such a fun listen!

12. The Gothic Archies - Scream and Run Away

The song is illustrated by clips from the Lemony Snicket movie.

13. Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls

NiN covering Joy Division for the Crow soundtrack. Also see them play it live at Woodstock 94.

Runner Up:

Love Song for a Vampire, by Annie Lennox. The song itself is sort of boring, though I'm a big fan of hers. But the stunning video won me over. Embedding is disabled on this video, which pisses me off.

Happy Halloween season!

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net Halloween links

New Goth Links for October 13

2010-10-13T22:45:00.001-07:00

DARK ART:

Miranda Adria

She creates photomanipulations, digital paintings (my favorite is "Torn Apart"), photography, self-portraits, and also works in mixed media. The art is lovely, goth, and not gory.

http://www.mirandaadria.com/

Miranda Adria at Deviant Art

Benjamin Lacombe

A French artist's gallery displaying old-fashioned freakshow artwork and creepy children's book illustrations he's been commissioned to do. I really love the artwork here, and spent more time tonight looking this over than I'd expected to.

Check out the mindblowingly cool trailer for his Alice in Wonderland pop-up book.

http://www.benjaminlacombe.com/

Benjamin Lacombe Fan page on Facebook

DARK AND HORROR AUTHORS:

John Everson

John Everson has published four short story collections (the latest being "Creeptych") and four horror novels. He won the 2005 Bram Stoker Award for First Novel, for "Covenant." You can sign up for his newsletter to get updates and, occasionally, free fiction.

http://www.johneverson.com/

John Everson on Facebook

John Everson on Twitter

DARK NET RADIO:

Radio Black Light

I'm excited to share this cool Seattle-based goth/industrial radio station with you. It plays 24 hours a day - we needed another station like this! It's run by a lady named Bianca, and somehow Radio Black Light is affiliated with Carpe Nocturne Magazine.

Right now it's playing KMFDM's "Strut," the Disco Balls mix, and that's making me giggle. Ooh, now it's switched to Siouxsie's "Peekaboo."

Tomorrow night (Thursday), my friend DJ Daemon Chadeau will be spinning live from 7pm to 10pm Pacific. I'll be listening while I'm working on more blog posts for you all!

http://radioblacklight.com/

Radio Black Light on Facebook

VAMPIRES:

Vampire News

This blog is updated multiple times per day with vampire entertainment related news. It's hand selected news, not automated. Currently posting about Vampire Diaries, Lost Boys: The Thirst, and Breaking Dawn. A fast way to keep yourself updated every day, if you're interested in vampires in popular media.

http://www.vampirenews.com/

New Goth Links for 10/10/10

2010-10-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Anne-Julie Aubry

This French artist's dark art illustrations are of lovely dark-haired waifs and forlorn looking ladies wearing long dresses. There are also some fairytale illustrations here (Snow White and Rose Red; Little Red and the Wolf). My favorite is "My Only Friend," shown above. She also has a Whimsical Art gallery of girls in gossamer gowns, and her illustrations adorn some jewelry as well.

http://www.annejulie-art.com/

Damned III

A dark art show in Detroit, October 28-30 2010. "An exhibition of enlightened darkness." Artists include Chad Michael Ward, John U Abrahamson, Leonard Nimoy (yes you heard me right!) and Aunia Kahn. There will also be a masquerade, music performances, a dinner, and an absinthe tasting. This sounds incredibly cool, I would totally go if I lived within a couple hours drive.

http://thatdamnedshow.com/

Anne Sudworth

This is a different style of art than I usually share with you guys, and I almost didn't link it here. It's fabulous, but not spooky or goth. There are mystical forests, goblins, twisted trees, Druids, and fairies.

When I saw "Whitby Abbey" (shown above) I was convinced you will enjoy what you'll see here. Check out the artist's photo, probably the most stylish, fashionable artist photograph I've seen on a bio page yet!

http://www.annesudworth.co.uk

Julien Martinez

A French artist's gallery of dark, creepy artist dolls. My favorite is the ghostly, ethereal "Ophélien" shown above.

http://www.ozzdollsfactory.com/

DARK MAGAZINES:

Dark Beauty

This is an incredible new magazine that you can buy online. Download the digital copy, or order a print copy mailed to you. I am so impressed by the high quality photography and stylized design here. I'm definitely ordering a print copy to keep in my archives, at least of the October issue for starters. Their blog (which you of course can read for free) is updated often and has very interesting things to show you. I haven't been this impressed with a new magazine in a long time. This reminds me exactly why I enjoy doing what I do here at Dark Side of the Net.

http://www.darkbeautymag.com/

http://www.darkbeautymag.com/updates/

DARK MOVIES:

Horrortheque

This site posts links to public domain horror movies that are hosted elsewhere (Google Video, etc). If you're bored while working in another window, this is a great way to quickly find something interesting and horrific to watch, without having to take time to explore the video sites for yourself. They do a good job of keeping the links up to date, too.

http://www.horrortheque.com/

DARK MUSIC:

Saints of Ruin

Goth rockers from California. The guitars are a bit too noisy and metal-y for my personal tastes, but they're getting good press and being booked for cool gigs including the Vampire's Ball. My favorite song of theirs on MySpace is "End of Days."

http://saintsofruin.com/

Saints of Ruin on Facebook

Saints of Ruin, on MySpace

The Strand

An industrial rock/EBM band based in Chandler, AZ. They've performed at Convergence, and at the SLC Dark Arts Festival. They also play at steampunk conventions. I'm listening to "Haunted" on MySpace right now and really enjoying having it in the background while I work on this blog post today.

http://www.strandland.com/

The Strand on Facebook

DARK MUSIC GENRE:

Sepiachord

You already know about this important steampunk music resource, with news, event listings, articles, interviews and resources. I didn't have it in the Darklinks database for some reason, so making sure I get it in now.

http://www.sepiachord.com/

The Strand on MySpace

The Strand on Twitter

DARK NET RADIO:

Xiled Radio

This radio show is posted weekly on Thursdays. You can download it or play the recorded stream in your browser. The show plays powernoise, dark ambient, noise, and industrial music. They've posted 51 shows so far - that is incredible dedication!

http://www.xiledradio.com/

Xiled Radio on Facebook

Xiled Radio on Twitter

DARK SHOPS:

All Saints

This store confuses me, but also intrigues me. It's like a cross between Hot Topic, The Gap and Ralph Lauren. There's boring beige scarves and gray cardigans, but you can also pick up a Lady Death t-shirt for your little girl. The shop sells men's, women's, children's, jewelry and home items. The color palette is mostly gray, black, and cream. Definitely enough pieces here you could pick up some basics or things to layer with your existing fashion-maven-goth look. I probably won't be compelled to buy anything here personally, but it was quite interesting browsing around and I was surprised how much time elapsed before I was done looking. The shop is UK-based but has a web shop for the US.

http://www.allsaints.com/

http://www.us.allsaints.com/

Antoinette's Atelier

There are some really incredibly beautiful things here. Check out the 18th-century inspired black-and-white gown and this red rococo historical wig. The shop sells Marie-Antoinette and 18th-century France-inspired jewelry, wigs, costumes, and accessories - with a dark touch.

http://www.antoinettesatelier.com/

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

Antoinette's Atelier, on Facebook

An Etsy shop selling cute and spooky jewelry and hair accessories. There are also some steampunk items, like a pocket watch and a cyborg steampunk heart.

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

Velvet Mechanism

An Etsy store selling lovely steampunk jewelry. They also sell steampunk corsets, harnesses, cufflinks, and goggles.

http://www.velvetmechanism.com/

Velvet Mechanism on Facebook

October and November 2010 Dark, Goth and Horror Events

2010-10-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Abertoir Horror Festival

The National Horror Fest of Wales takes place November 10-14, 2010 at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre. The Damned will play, as will Zombina and the Skeletones.

http://www.abertoir.co.uk/

Abertoir Fest on Facebook

Abertoir Fest on Twitter

Buffalo Screams

Buffalo Screams Horror Festival takes place October 21-24, 2010 in Buffalo, NY.

http://www.buffaloscreams.com/

Crypticon

November 5-7, 2010 in Minneapolis. A "Mad Monster Party." Guests include William B. Davis ("Cigarette Smoking Man" from X-Files), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) and lots of props and special effects masters.

http://www.crypticonminneapolis.com/

Crypticon on Facebook

Crypticon on Twitter

Chiller Theatre Expo

October 29-31, 2010 in Parsippany, New Jersey. It's a toy, model and film expo. It's not limited to the horror genre - there are also guests (including Larry Hagman, Bill daily and Barbara Eden) from "I Dream of Jeannie," "Star Trek: TNG" (LeVar Burton) and non-genre movies. Very cool guests from the genre include John Astin from The Addams Family, Linda Blair from The Exorcist, Kyron Schon from Night of the Living Dead, and Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris.

http://www.chillertheatre.com/

Chiller Theatre on Facebook

Dead by Dawn

A horror film festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Saturday, October 9, 2010.

http://www.deadbydawn.co.uk/

Dracula's Ball

The legendary ball, held October 30, 2010 this year in Philadelphia. Seraphim Shock will play.

http://www.draculasball.com/

Dracula's Ball on Facebook

Dracula's Ball on MySpace

Eerie Horror Film Festival

October 7-10 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

http://www.eeriehorrorfilmfestival.com/

Eerie Horror Film Festival on Facebook

Eerie Horror Film Festival on MySpace

Festival of the Dead

Throughout October 2010, Salem, Massachusetts will host many Halloween and witch-themed events. Their most famous event is the Official Salem Witches' Halloween Ball.

http://www.festivalofthedead.com/

Festival of the Dead, on Facebook

Festival of the Dead, on MySpace

Freak Show Horror Film Festival

October 8-10, 2010 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida.

http://www.freakshowfilmfest.com/

Grimm Up North

A horror and fantasy film festival in Manchester, England, October 28-31 2010.

http://www.grimmfest.com/

Grimm Up North Group on Facebook

Grimm Up North Page on Facebook

Grimm up North, on Twitter

Horrorhound Weekend

November 12-14, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Malcolm McDowell will be there to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of "A Clockwork Orange," and Jeffrey Combs will help celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Re-Animator." Damn, I feel old now. Also, Julian Sands (from "Warlock," "Gothic," and "Naked Lunch") will attend.

http://www.horrorhoundweekend.com/

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and Cthulhu Con

This just took place October 1-3, 2010 in Portland, Oregon. Wish I could have made it! I hope to next year.

http://hplfilmfestival.com/

New York City Horror Film Festival

This is the ninth year of the NYC Horror Film Festival. It's held at various venues throughout New York City for the week of the festival, November 10-14, 2010.

http://nychorrorfest.com/

NYC Horror Festival on Facebook

NYC Horror Fest on Twitter

Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival

October 21-24, 2010 in Providence, RI.

Rhode Island International Horror Fest

Rock and Shock 2010

A horror movie and rock music festival in Worcester, MA. October 15-17, 2010. Guests include director George Romero, actress Adrienne Barbeau ("The Fog"), Alex Winter ("Lost Boys") and Doug Bradley (Pinhead in "Hellraiser").

http://www.rockandshock.com/

Rock and Shock Festival on Facebook

Sacramento Horror Film Fest

October 21-24, 2010 at the Historic Colonial Theatre in Sacramento, CA.

http://www.sachorrorfilmfest.com/

Sacramento Horror Film Fest, on Twitter

The Scarefest Horror and Paranormal Convention

November 5-7, 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky.

http://scarefestcon.com/

Scarefest on MySpace

Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend

October 8-10 in Orlando, Florida at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. Same time as the Freak Show Horror Film Festival.

http://spookyempire.com/

Spooky Empire on Facebook

Starfury Presents The Vampire Ball

A three day convention celebrating vampires in the media. November 26-28, 2010 in London.

Starfury Presents - Vampire the Ball

Starfury: The Vampire Ball on Facebook

Steamcon

"The Weird Weird West." A steampunk convention right here in my hometown of Seattle, November 19-21, 2010. So big, it's at two hotels: the Marriott and Hilton at SeaTac.

http://www.steamcon.org/

Steamcon Group on Facebook

Steamcon on Twitter

Bram Stoker International Film Festival

October 14-17, 2010 in Whitby, UK.

http://www.bramstokerfilmfestival.com/

Bram Stoker Fest on Twitter

TeslaCon 2010

A Steampunk convention in Madison, Wisconsin, November 5-7 2010.

http://www.teslacon.org/

TeslaCon, on Facebook

Weekend of Horrors

A Creation Entertainment horror convention in Los Angeles. It takes place October 15-17, 2010 at the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel. Bruce Campbell is the guest star, along with Clive Barker and "True Blood's" Kristin Bauer.

Weekend of Horrors

Whitby Gothic Weekend

October 28-31, 2010 in Whitby, UK.

http://wgw.topmum.co.uk/

Whitby Gothic Weekend on Facebook

Whitby Gothic Weekend on Wikipedia

ZomBcon

Seattle's zombie festival, October 28-31 2010 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

http://www.zombcon.com/

ZomBcon on Facebook

ZomBcon on Twitter

13 Haunting Halloween Blogs

2010-09-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

1. Bliss Massacre

A prop creator's blog, currently featuring gorgeous photographs of pumpkin fields. I can't wait to see what they post about as the month of October continues.

http://www.blissmassacre.com/

2. Haunted Mansion Northside

The blog of an animator who's worked for Disney on and off for the past 15 years. He's currently helping some friends design a haunted attraction in Burbank, CA.

http://hauntedmansion-northside.blogspot.com/

3. So Cal Halloween

The home haunter in California who is seeking donations to help him build a steampunk drilling machine for his yard haunt this year.

http://www.socalhalloween.com/

4. Halloween Artists

This blog describes itself as "An online magazine and marketplace for Halloween artists, folk art collectors and holiday enthusiasts." Currently posting about a Halloween fairy, a Halloween clown, and a creepy witch prop that sits in a chair.

http://halloweenartists.blogspot.com/

5. Creepy Cupcakes

A blog focusing on creepy crafts, cooking, and Halloween homemaking. Currently posting about decorative skull plates, pumpkin pie, gorgeous decoupage pumpkins, and a DIY standing candelabra. I love visiting this blog!

http://creepycupcakes.blogspot.com/

6. Artistic Halloween Queens

I was trying to avoid listing any blogs that seem to exist merely for the purpose of sending people to eBay and etsy auctions for Halloween items. But this lady's stuff is so cute, I really like visiting her blog to see what she's created. So I'm throwing this link in anyways.

http://artisticthalloweenqueens.blogspot.com/

7. Kat the Hat Lady

A UK-based crafter who creates miniature Halloween scenes, dollhouse miniatures, and shares pictures of her Halloween shopping trips and cool finds.

http://katthehatlady.blogspot.com/

8. The Shadow Farm

Dave's fabulous Halloween creations, which he builds to incorporate into his yard haunt every year. If you're interested in the subject of professional-caliber Halloween props, you'll probably love this photo-rich blog.

http://theshadowfarm.blogspot.com/

9. Boo Spooky

A Halloween enthusiast who lives in Alaska. They post about creating Halloween art and building Halloween props. They also provide a curated list of Halloween eBay and etsy shops.

http://www.boo-spooky.com/

10. Grim Hollow Haunt

Currently posting about a visit to a local cemetery, Spiderfest, a dancing skeleton puppet, and the new Nightmare on Elm Street soundtrack.

http://grimhollowhaunt.blogspot.com/

11. Orange and Black: The Spirit of Halloween

A Halloween lover shares their thoughts on Halloween movies, decorations, the disappointing Martha Stewart magazine this year, and shows off her creepy withered coneflower. This is a very active blogger, so you'll always have something new to check out in the autumn months ahead.

http://spiritofhalloween.blogspot.com/

12. A Nostalgic Halloween

A scrapbooker/paper artist's blog on Halloween, decorating, and traditions. Check out her cool Marie Antoinette-themed Halloween banner.

http://anostalgichalloween.blogspot.com/

13. Witch Hollow Primitives

A primitive artist's blog, showcasing her current works but also presenting articles such as this one on witchy brooms. She also shows off her latest Halloween finds, including these German glass glittered skulls. I expect this blog to have a lot more for you to read as October advances.

http://witchhollowprimitives.blogspot.com/

Which one of these blogs was your favorite to visit tonight?

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net Halloween links

5 of My Favorite Halloween Sites

2010-09-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

1. Eyes of Halloween

These people do an incredible job of documenting 2010's USA haunted attractions. (Without stealing other people's links and research, too! Yay for them!) Not only do they list the haunt's website address, but also an email contact if possible, and - get this - expected opening date! That's a huge amount of work to develop and maintain.

Besides the haunt listings, they some helpful Halloween articles and how-tos.

http://www.eyesofhalloween.com/

2. Fantasy Pumpkins

Year after year, I enjoy coming back to this site to see all the amazing pumpkis. Not only does the site show off nice photos of the pumpkins, but there's often a free pattern you can download in case you dare to attempt one of these complicated designs.

http://www.fantasypumpkins.com/

3. Halloween is Here

A fun website with rancid recipes, Halloween party games, a haunted art gallery, Halloween crafts, costume ideas, and graveyard links. The website is clean and easy to navigate, doesn't take itself too seriously, and doesn't pepper the website with ads.

http://www.halloweenishere.com/

4. Ghost Droppings

An active, interesting forum for Halloween enthusiasts. Whether you're a professional yard haunter, just looking for costume ideas, or you need tips for a Halloween party, you'll probably be glad you came here.

http://www.ghostdroppings.com/

5. The Monster List of Halloween Projects

This incredible resource currently offers 808 links to serious Halloween projects (not crafts for kids). The projects include special effects, props and decorations. There's everything from a $20 fogger to a blinking talking skull and a dangling crank spider. A fabulous website from a very dedicated webmaster. I'm impressed!

http://www.halloweenmonsterlist.info/

Interesting Dark People to Follow on Twitter

2010-09-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

There are well-known people that you and I and all the readers of Darklinks are already following: Neil Gaiman and Anne Rice, for example. I hardly need to tell you about those folks.

But the following is my list of interesting goth, dark or horror-ific people you might not have heard of, who tweet unusual things, not just what they had for lunch or what movie they're watching right now. They tweet often, and I tried to avoid news sites or people just retweeting other people's sayings.

Disclaimer:

I don't personally know any of the people here, I just find them interesting. I find many other people interesting, too, but I only have time to mention 13 in this post today! The people featured here didn't ask to be mentioned, and I didn't give them a heads up that I was going to talk about them. Just wanted to make sure I'm not opening myself up for a can of wormy "Hey! You forgot to mention ME!!" or "please mention my Twitter feed next time!" or "how much did those people pay you?" type emails!

1. Jovanka Vukovic

This is a filmmaker. She's currently working on filming The Captured Bird, which is being produced by Guillermo del Toro. You'll find out what she's currently reading, articles she's been interviewed in lately, and videos she's posted of herself interviewing horror greats like George Romero. If you like horror films, you won't be bored by this Twitter stream.

Jovanka Vuckovic

2. Chad Savage

You've probably seen and enjoyed many of Chad's graphics, advertising banners, logos, and websites. A huge chunk of the professional haunt industry uses his services to design cool ads and logos. Meanwhile, Chad posts about cool Halloween, horror and goth related things he finds, shares what it's like to work with difficult clients (no names!), and shares what he's reading, watching and listening to. On my daily quick scan of my Twitter streams, I definitely make a point to stop and see what Chad's posting about.

Chad Savage

3. GhoulFriday

This girl "finds bliss in all things delightfully dark." She runs a really cool website for Halloween artists, and Tweets about fascinating things she finds in her explorations.

GhoulFriday

4. HouseMorbid

You can tell this person has an awesome personality. They tweet about horror, steampunk, art and writing.

HouseMorbid

5. Jhonen Vasquez

The creator of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. His tweets sometimes make me laugh. He tweets about things he's reading and watching, but also gives updates on new things he's working on.

Jhonen Vasquez

6. Kambriel

You can follow the progress of talented goth clothing designer Kambriel. I like peering into someone's life as they work on their business but also retweet interesting links they've come across.

Kambriel Design

7. KerryKate

The owner of October Effigies, creator of fabulous goth and horror art dolls, and contributor to the Obscure Hollow blog. Find out what she's working on, reading, and listening to. I like that she points out neat stuff she finds on Etsy that isn't necessarily hers or her friends - just cool stuff she thinks her followers would like to see.

KerryKate

8. Raven1967

Heidi is an urban fantasy and paranormal romance writer. I like reading Twitter feeds about books, writing, writers and music.

Raven 1967

9. Robyn Warne Designs

An artist who creates cute hand painted ornaments, but whose tastes in books and movies and whatnot run dark. I find out about a lot of interesting other Twitter people and links through her person's stream, as she's constantly involved in discussions with people. Snoop through and see if you enjoy reading this as much as I do. She points out interesting things on Etsy, but not in a spammy way.

Robyn Warne Designs

10. Kim Richards

Kim Richards is owner of Damnation Books, as well as a horror and sci-fi author. She doesn't post often - I'd like to hear more from her when she gets back from haunted writer's retreats and passes along interesting author interviews.

Kim Richards

11. The Shadow Farm

I'm fascinated to watch the progress of Dave's haunted yard and I love seeing the new creepy things he's creating.

The Shadow Farm

12. Boo Spooky

A Halloween crafter's feed, with back-and-forth conversations with other crafters that you can eavesdrop on.

Boo Spooky

13. Staci Wilson

A journalist who writes for horror.com and Syfy. She posts about horror and dark TV and films, and occasionally shares what she's doing on her many travels.

Staci Wilson

-Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net goth and Halloween links

13 Halloween Jack O' Lantern Sites

2010-09-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

1. History of the Jack O' Lantern

History.com's retelling of the Irish legend about Jack of the Lantern.

History.com

2. Stingy Jack

A melodramatic reading of the story of the Jack O' Lantern, with nice background images of lit pumpkins.

Stingy Jack, on YouTube

4. Stingy Jack

Haunted Bay's history of the Jack O' Lantern customs.

Stingy Jack, at Haunted Bay

5. Carving Pumpkins.com

Free patterns you can download. New for 2010 - Sissy Spacek as "Carrie," The Green Man, a leafy skull, and a creepy Frankenstein.

http://www.carvingpumpkins.com/

6. True Blood Jack-O-Lantern Templates

I absolutely worship Camp Blood for offering these. Very cool!

Camp Blood's True Blood Templates

7. The Pumpkin Lady Store

Templates for sale, for simple, spooky pumpkins. Download them online after paying.

http://www.pumpkinlady.com/

8. Pumpkin Nook

Info on growing pumpkins, carving them, submitting them to contests, and a community forum.

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/

9. Stoneykins

A shop selling amazingly cool Halloween pumpkin stencils. They also offer 100 free patterns as well. Cool new patterns for 2010 include Christian Bale from "American Psycho," an Art Nouveau woman (beautiful, but not creepy), Cthulhu, Gothic Tinkerbell, and many more incredible designs.

http://www.stoneykins.com

10. Ultimate Pumpkin Stencils

I didn't want to link to very many commercial pumpkin stencil websites. But this one won me over when I saw their Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland stencils. After you purchase the pattern online, it will be emailed to you. Print it out, and start carving!

http://www.ultimate-pumpkin-stencils.com/

11. 44 Spooky Cat Carving Stencils

Someone went to a lot of work to compile this list of 44 free pumpkin stencils.

Band of Cats.com

12. Pumpkin Carving 101

A nice quick read for pumpkin carving beginners. There are helpful tips like rubbing the pumpkin with flour to make your dots easier to see when you start carving. I also recommend the Better Homes & Gardens how-to video.

Pumpkin Carving 101, at She Knows

Pumpkin Carving 101, at BHG

13. Zombie Pumpkins

This site offers all sorts of pumpkin carving patterns you can print out, not just zombies. You do have to join the site in order to download the patterns, but they're free. New additions for 2010 include the Wicked Witch of the West, Jason Voorhees, and a creepy leprechaun. The galleries are quite fascinating to browse through.

http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/

Zombie Pumpkins on Facebook

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

New Goth Links for September 19

2010-09-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

DARK ART:

Amarilli

Amarilli is an Italian painter and portraitist. She describes her style as Magic Realism expressed through faery, mythology, fantasy & gothic subjects. Her recent 2010 galleries include Dark Angels, Tuscan Dream, and Nudes.

Amarilliart.com

Clementine Chabaneix

Not the darkest work you'll see me feature, but there is a whimsical quality about these resin sculptures that I really enjoyed. The artist also has a small illustration gallery. Her site is in French, but it's easy to navigate as you're snooping around.

Clementine Chabaneix

Jess Iglehart

An illustrator with definite goth style tendencies. He gets inspiration from Japanese ghost stories, Victorian windows, art nouveau and silent films. I really enjoyed looking through the illustration gallery and sketches here.

Jess Iglehart

The Monster Engine

Dave Devries' art project that explores what children's drawings would look like if they were painted realistically. There are definitely a lot of monsters here, but there are also superheroes. Dave's illustrations have been made into a book and have traveled as part of various art shows.

The Monster Engine

DARK BLOGS:

Black Eyed Suzie Art Dolls

A doll creator's journal, where she shares works in progress and shows off recently completed dolls. It's amazing how much work goes into these lovely, haunting dolls.

Black Eyed Suzie Art Dolls

Skull-A-Day

I love popping in here every couple of days to see what new skulls have been sighted. Today is skull-shaped cereal, yesterday was skulls painted on a skateboard deck, and the day before featured a skull ring on a woman's hand.

Skull-A-Day

Skulls and Bacon

Another find-of-the-day type blog, but not just devoted to skulls. Besides bacon posts, there are occasional anime-related finds as well. Yesterday showed the really cool new skull-themed kitchen implements from Sur la Table.

Skulls and Bacon

24 Hour Pouty People

A "weekly goth blog" featuring the blogger's interesting comic strips. They're high quality, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep to his planned weekly posting schedule. I hope so!

24 Hour Pouty People

DARK COMMUNITIES:

Elders of Goth

The creator of Morticia's Morgue created this Facebook group for goths 30 and over. They discuss the lifestyle, music, and fashion. So far there are 1500 members and lots of ongoing discussions. Cool, I may have to join up.

Elders of Goth, on Facebook

DARK SHOPS:

Black Chandelier

The sconces and chandeliers here are stunning. It gives me pause to recommend this site when the "lamps" link is obviously broken and the copyright notice says 2009 not 2010. I hope this isn't an abandoned store, because their products are beautiful.

Black Chandelier.com

Dreadful Things

An Etsy shop selling taxidermy jewelry, goth/Victorian jewelry, Halloween decor, original paintings, and gothic Christmas cards.

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

Dottie Grim

This boutique sells "spooky, weird, and avant garde gifts." There's no copyright or date on the site, so I'm not 100% sure it is still attended and running. There is a lot of cool Day of the Dead stuff here, plus candles, purses, parasols, and T-shirts.

Dottie Grim Designs

Stubbs & Wootton

This is a mainstream high-end shoe company with extremely expensive products. I'm just showcasing it because so many of the shoes have quirky or dark elements to them, such as the skull-and-crossbones shoe shown above. Check out the devil slipper in the gentlemen's section!

Stubbs & Wootton

GOTH WEBZINES:

Razorblade Society

You can download PDF issues of this magazine to read right away. It covers goth, industrial, electro, noise and experimental music.

Razorblade Society Gothic Industrial Blog and Magazine

SNM Horror Magazine

This horror fiction magazine publishes every month on the 1st. You can read each issue online. You have to scroll far down the page to read as each issue is all published on one page, but that isn't necessarily detrimental here. They also have a fun Goth Covergirls section.

SNM Horror Magazine

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

New Goth Links for September 15

2010-09-14T19:03:00.001-07:00

DARK ART:

William Basso

This artist previously worked on special effects for films including Edward Scissorhands, Terminator 2, Batman Returns, and Interview with the Vampire. This is his gallery of disturbing (I mean that in a good way!) mixed media collages.

The artist writes, "The characters in my work exist in a distant, half-remembered, autumnal place where even Halloween can last forever."

The Art of William Basso

The Black Plague Art Exhibition

The Black Plague Art Show is taking place right now on Melrose in Los Angeles. The Congregation Gallery presents this curated set of macabre artworks. Artists include Jason Soles, Cam Rackam, Lacey Bryant, and Kelley Vetter. Even if you can't go see the show in person, the gallery website generously presents many images from the exhibition. My favorite is La Bella Morte Nera by Dan Harding.

Black Plague Art Show

The Lowbrow Tarot Project

23 artists use their unique style to illustrate one card from the Major Arcana (plus the card back). The project will be turned into a book and a deck of Tarot cards. While not every card is dark, I found myself utterly fascinated by each individual artist's interpretation of the cards. My favorite is Cate Rangel's "The Empress." I hadn't heard of most of these artists, so I have a lot of exploring to do in this page's links section!

Lowbrow Tarot

Joe Vaux

An animator's gallery of fantastical art, featuring monsters and strange creatures. The combination of viewing the art while creepy embedded music plays on the page was too much, and I ended up having to turn my speaker's volume down. There's a lot of interesting things to see here. The detail on each painting is utterly amazing.

Joe Vaux

Joe Vaux on MySpace

DARK GAMES:

Exorcists Vs. Demons

Sometimes you need a little dark diversion from the typical Farmville Facebook game. Choose to play an exorcist or a demon. The game is by Dark Roast Media.

Exorcists Vs. Demons

DARK LITERATURE:

Araminta Spook

A series of children's books. The main character, Araminta, lives in Spook House with her aunt and uncle. Her parents have been missing after their trip to Transylvania to hunt vampires. Araminta's dream in life is to see an actual ghost. The website features info on the author and the series, plus some downloads (a poster, a bookmark and two coloring sheets).

Araminta Spook

DARK MOVIES:

Wrong Side of the Art

This website features high resolution posters from horror, sci-fi, exploitation, cult and B-movies. Very fun to look through their newest presentations every few days or so.

Wrong Side of the Art

DARK MUSIC:

Ending the Vicious Cycle

A post-punk darkwave band from Texas. I like them enough to mention them here (Dark Side of the Net only features things I like!) but I really wish they'd post higher quality songs with better mixing and more attention to the vocals, which can sound blurry and muddy in their MySpace and Last.fm uploads.

Ending the Vicious Cycle, on Facebook

Ending the Vicious Cycle at Last.fm

Ending the Vicious Cycle, on MySpace

The Funeral and the Twilight

They describe their sound as "creepy and depressing rock and roll."

The Funeral and the Twilight, on Facebook

The Funeral and the Twilight, on MySpace

Juan Prophet Organization

I saw them play live last October in Portland, Oregon while waiting for my cousin's band to go on. I was blown away - what a fun band and a really energetic performance. Each band member is talented on multiple instruments. I heard a violin, a piano, an accordion, a trumpet, and even a glockenspiel. Their music is described as "vaudeville rock" or burlesque.

They really sold me with their "Spanish Inquisition" song, and another about the apocalypse. Be sure to listen to their "Birthday Dirge" on MySpace. If you're looking for something dark to listen to, this isn't the band for you - their music is cheerful, silly, and fun, but with a dark edge at times. I'd definitely drive a few hours to hear them play live again.

Juan Prophet Organization

Juan Prophet Organization at CD Baby

Juan Prophet Organization on Facebook

Juan Prophet Organization, on MySpace

GOTH COMMUNITIES:

Pray Silence

A very active, well-maintained community for goth, industrial, darkwave and dark alternative music fans. It's run on the Ning network, so there are all the usual options: videos, forums, blogs, and events listings. Somehow affiliated with The Church of Nightbreed. They're also organizing a music festival in 2011. Exciting!

Pray Silence

Pray Silence, on Facebook

Pray Silence Festival

GOTH NIGHTCLUBS:

Darq Salem

Somehow this club never made it into my listings, though I knew about it. Duh! Anyway, it's a goth/industrial club two Saturdays a month in Salem, Massachusetts. Lots of cool events are coming up, including the Purgatory Ball on October 9, the Darque Gathering's 10th anniversary on October 22, and Darq Gala 3.0 on October 23rd.

Darq Salem

http://www.myspace.com/darqsalem

DARK SHOPS:

Blacklilypie

An Etsy shop selling art prints, buttons, cute plush toys, felt dolls like this Bat in the Cemetery, and adorable little pins.

Blacklilypie

Figurines by Ingrid

An Etsy shop selling cute Coraline plush dolls. I guess this is trademark infringement though, so I sort of feel bad linking to this.

Figurines by Ingrid

The Oculatum

This store's candles were based on research from Medieval-era documents. The store writes, "A series of candles has been created from ancient apothecary aromatics that bring illumination to the present." Their collections include The Vestments, The Hours, and The Vessels. Not very goth, but I was intrigued by the concept and wanted to show it to you.

The Oculatum

Persephenie

A wholesale perfumery located in Los Angeles. They specialize in natural botanical scents. I love, love, love the packaging. I've only smelled the "Linden Blossom" and definitely liked it, but don't know what the other scents smell like. Besides the perfumes and body products, they sell essential oils and offer a really cool section of perfume lab equipment.

http://www.persephenie.com/

Scraplands

Not sure what the actual name of this shop is, their store says one thing but has Sludgefaktory in their logos and icons. They sell men's and women's clothing, straitjackets, and T-shirts.

Scraplands/Sludgefaktory

Did you enjoy this post? Let me know in comments or by clicking the Like button. Your input helps guide me in future Dark Side of the Net posts.

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Spider Cupcakes for Halloween

2010-09-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

1. Not-So-Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

These decorations are made with red gumballs for the spider's body, and licorice for the legs.

Spider Cupcakes, at Smell & Taste Are My Memory

2. White Spiders

An interesting twist - white frosting spiders. Great for a black-and-white themed Halloween party, especially.

Chocolate Spider Cupcakes, at Fun & Food

3. Purple Spider Cupcakes

This one isn't a recipe, just an idea for decorating using a gumdrop and candy eyes (if you can find them). I like the color combo of orange and black and purple on this one. Plus having the icing web sit under the spider is a cool idea, too.

Purple Spider Cupcakes, at Easy Cupcakes

4. Spider Web Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with a simple white icing web. Classic.

Spider Web Cupcakes, at Amazing Moms

5. Candy Corn Spider Cupcakes

A simple cupcake that uses candy corns to give a spider spooky fangs, and Red Hots for beady little evil eyes.

Candy Corn Spider Cupcakes, at Purple Kitty Yarns

6. Spider Cakes

Not a recipe, just a series of photos showing how Megan decorated cupcakes with Pocky. A nice variation on the spider cupcake theme!

Spider Cakes, at Not Martha

Happy baking!

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

7 Incredible Goth Houses to Buy if You Win the Lottery

2010-09-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

1. Gothic Revival Castle in San Francisco

For a smidge less than $8 mil, you could traipse around your own gothic castle late at night, sipping port wine in your library, bathing in one of your two Roman baths, or playing dressup in your cavernous walk-in closet. The photos of this house are jaw-dropping, but it's a bit painful for me to see the modern furnishings the castle is currently decorated with for staging.

The house was converted from a former church. It's massive, but doesn't seem to have proper bedrooms - the beds, for now, are just set in the middle of some of the monstrously huge common rooms.

Hey, is this neighborhood zoned for mixed use? This would make an *amazing* nightclub. And since you won the lottery, you could afford to heat and staff it, while still charging just a modest cover charge!

http://www.601dolores.com/

601 Dolores, on Realtor.com

2. French Gothic Chateau in Seattle

For a mere $11 million, you could have the opportunity to "gothify" this lovely turreted home. A few gargoyles added to the gate and roof, a proper labyrinth designed in the garden, heavy window coverings to block out the light, and you're good to go.

1900 Shenandoah Dr, on Yahoo! Real Estate

1900 Shenandoah on Homes.com

3. Balcastle, in the Hamptons

Take just 5 million of your lottery winnings to treat yourself to a "summer cottage" in the Hamptons. This is a 1911 Gothic Revival castle. I love the gazebo!

Balcastle, at BHS Hamptons

Balcastle, at Trulia

Balcastle, at Wikipedia

4. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

The interior and exterior of the Mercer house were used in the filming of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. (Pardon me for a moment while I mentally drool over John Cusack). Definitely a creepy house! Whoops, it's actually not for sale, being a historic mansion and all.. but with your lottery winnings, money talks, and I bet you could get it for $8 mil.

http://www.mercerhouse.com/

429 Bull Street, on Zillow

"Midnight in the Garden's" Effect on Savannah

The Mercer House

5. Anne Rice in New Orleans

Anne Rice's former home in NOLA is still up for sale. It was the setting for "The Witching Hour."

1239 1st St, on Yahoo!

The Brevard House, at Victoriana.com

1239 First Street, at Anne Rice.com

Rosegate, at Noteworthy in NOLA

6. Amityville Horror House

The house where the Lutz family had paranormal experiences, based on the Amityville murders. Merely $1.1 million gets you the chance to experience freaky shit for yourself after you move in.

Amityville House, on Yahoo!

Amityville House, on Zillow

7. Benjamin Stanley Freeman House, Massachusetts

Gorgeous Victorian, lovingly restored by the Modvic.com people (who created the amazing Steampunk home).

Benjamin Stanley Freeman House at Online Property Showcase

390 Mount Hope, at Homes.com

So which one would you buy first?

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

7 Halloween Spider Crafts for Kindergoths

2010-09-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

1. Pompom Spider

A simple pipecleaner craft for little kids.

Activity Village's Pompom Spider

2. Handprint Spider Craft

Another simple craft for toddlers or slightly older kids.

Handprint Spider, at Activity Village

3. Light-Up Egg Carton Spider

There are dozens of egg-carton spider craft ideas all over the Web, but this one adds an extra touch: You use a battery powered tea light to light up the spider's eyes. I'm not sure where battery operated tea lights are sold, perhaps Michael's or Joann Fabrics.

Family Fun's Light Up Spider

4. Halloween Spider Ornament

I don't put up a Halloween tree, so if I made this ornament, I'd just use it to decorate the top of a bookshelf or something. Supplies needed for this craft include a glass ornament and a glue gun.

5. Paper Plate Spider Candy Holder

This paper plate spider holds just a bit of candy. I bet most kids already have plastic Halloween treat buckets from Target or whatnot, but this might be fun for littler kids to make for themselves.

Paper Pate Spider Candy Holder

6. Paper Plate Spider Hats

These paper plate spider hats can be worn by little bitty goth kids. Kids over age six might feel too silly wearing one.

Super Silly Spider Hats, at Make and Takes

7. Spider Pumpkin

It's easy to dress up a pumpkin with a few pipecleaners and some paper or felt eyes and mouth cutouts.

Spider Pumpkin, at Easy Halloween Ideas

Happy crafting!

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

13 Fun Fonts for Halloween

2010-09-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

1. Norfok's Fonts

Free fonts at Norfok include Friday 13, Nusgoth ("the font of the Necronomicon,") Hellbound, Hellraiser, Scream Real, and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. Cool stuff here!

http://www.norfok.com/

2. A Lolita Scorned

A Lolita Scorned, at Dafont.com

3. Dungeon

Dungeon Font, at Dafont.com

4. Blood of Dracula

A blood-dripping font.

Blood of Dracula, at About.com

5. Skulz

A Wingdings type font, but with cool skulls.

Skulz, at About.com

6. Wild Wood

Wild Wood is for personal, non-commercial use only. I think it would be great for a country Halloween party invitation, or a personal primitive Halloween crafts or witchy blog.

Wild Wood, at Fontspace

7. Evilz

Another Wingdings font, this one with cute skulls, coffins, a spider, a bat, and other cool gothy symbols.

Evilz, at Fontspace

8. Ghoulish

A nicely creepy font by Sinister Fonts.

Ghoulish, at Fontspace

9. Sinister Fonts

Several incredibly cool Halloween and horror freeware fonts. Such an awesome resource, you'll definitely want to bookmark it. The newest font is "Spiderfingers."

http://www.sinisterfonts.com/

10. Vampire Fonts

Fonts suggested for vampire-themed uses, but I think you might want to use them for various Halloween projects too. The fonts offered here include Cabaletta, Castellar, DeRoos, Malkavian, Mordred, and Werewolf. The fonts are TTF, but are stored in rar format instead of zip like most font archives I've seen. Be sure you have a way to unrar.

Vampire Fonts at Kismet's World of Darkness

11. Nightmare Before Christmas

I can only imagine several emergencies you might run into where you'd need a nice Nightmare Before Christmas-themed font!

Nightmare Before Christmas Font, at Fontspace

12. Haunted

A great font for party invitations or announcing your haunted yard or haunted house.

Haunted Font, at DaFont.com

13. Nosferatu

The classic, infamous Nosferatu font. I used to see it on so many Geocities vampire pages back in the day, so I'm including it here for nostalgia.

Nosferatu, at Urban Fonts

Happy typing!

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

13 Hot Halloween Soup Recipes

2010-09-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

1. Bat Wing Soup

This soup is accentuated with toasted "bat wings" that you cut out of white bread.

Bat Wing Soup at Taste of Home

2. Eye Popping Soup

This recipe is found in Martha Stewart Living. It's a simple homemade tomato soup garnished with olives made to look like eyeballs and a creepy crawlie.

Eye Popping Soup, at Martha Stewart

3. Worm Soup with Bat Wings

One of the simpler soups to make, since you're just basically opening up a jar of soup, heating it and decorating it with chips.

Worm Soup, at Campbell's Kitchen

4. Witch's Hat Soup

Another Taste of Home recipe. You make the witch's hat from tortillas that you shape into cones. You then decorate them with Cheese Whiz.

Witch's Hat Soup, at Taste of Home

5. Spiderweb Soup Topping

Instructions for how to pipe a decorative spiderweb on top of soup.

Spiderweb Soup Topping, from Better Homes & Gardens

6. Boil and Bubble Soup Cauldron

Not very Halloween-y in particular, unless you serve it in a cute skillet with bread pumpkins as shown.

Boil and Bubble Soup Cauldron, from Sunset

7. Green Gruel with Eyeballs

A more gourmet soup idea involving broccoli. It's then decorated with hardboiled eggs and black olives.

Green Gruel with Eyeballs, at Epicurious

8. Bloody Soup Shots

Making the soup is the easy part of this recipe: sourcing the perfect little jars and serving pieces for the soup shots is the hard part.

Bloody Soup Shots, from Woman's Day

9. Vampire Blood Tomato Soup Shots

Another recipe where it's crucial to find an awesome way to serve and display the soup.

Food Network's Vampire Blood Tomato Soup

10. Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Sour Cream Ghosts

Unfortunately the "how to make the ghost" part of this recipe is incomplete, but I bet you can figure it out just from the cute picture. The soup sounds so yummy, my mouth is watering right now. And I don't even particularly like squash!

Butternut Squash Soup, at Cooking by the Seat of My Pants

11. Curried Cauliflower Soup with Bat Quesadillas

For a soup that's a bit spicier than those above, try this one. It calls for coconut milk, cayenne, and cumin seeds.

Curried Cauliflower Soup, at Tribeca Yummy Mummy

12. Cauldron Curry

Another Martha Stewart recipe. This definitely looks like something green and ghoulish that a witch would be simmering all day long in her witchy kitchen!

Cauldron Curry, at Martha Stewart.com

13. Pumpkin Puree with Spider Web

The really cool spider web in this pic is made from a reduction of sugar and black beer.

Pumpkin Puree Soup, at Recipes Pic by Pic

Happy haunted cooking!

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Awesome Goth Clothing Shops

2010-08-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

It was really, really difficult only picking 13 fabulous goth clothing shops. I probably should have done 2 or 3 different posts on the topic. But I'm a bit eager to put "Best of the Dark Side" behind me, so I promise to revisit all the goth clothing sites I know about in the future and mention them again in some way.

1. Arsenic Fashions

A Salt Lake City, Utah-based shop selling things for ladies and gents. Corsets, dresses, gloves, armwarmers, shoes and stockings. The brands carried include Darque, Lip Service, Leg Avenue, and Shrine.

http://www.arsenicfashions.com/

2. Ashes Gothic Clothing

This UK-based shop makes and sells gothic gowns, velvet and lace chokers, jackets, coats, hair accessories, bustiers, and more. I love the look of the clothing here.

http://www.ashesclothing.co.uk/

3. Bats Meow

They sell alternative and goth fashion for alternative kids. They offer T-shirts and onesies, blankets, christening gowns, crocheted sweaters, dresses, and even bowling shirts for little ones.

http://www.batsmeow.com/

4. Delicious Corsets

Besides the lovely aforementioned corsets, they sell men's jackets and pants, women's clothing, and some bridal wear. Not a goth site, but they have some nice things that would work well into your wardrobe if you can shell out the bucks to pay for them here.

http://www.deliciousboutique.com/

5. Drac-In-A-Box

This UK purveyor of goth clothes has been around since the dawn of grime. Besides goth, they sell cyber and industrial styled clothes and accessories. They also carry makeup and jewelry.

http://www.dracinabox.com/

6. Gloomth and the Cult of Melancholy

Original clothing and accessories. Skirts, tops, dresses, coats, men's and accessories. I like their corset skirts! Orders currently take 2 weeks to process, understandably.

http://www.gloomth.com/

7. Heavy Red

A large variety of gothic clothing. Capes, dresses, shirts, menswear, and even bathing suits! They also sell hosiery, jewelry, hats, gloves, and other accessories.

http://heavyred.com/

8. Inkubus Haberdashery

Clothing for men, women and children, plus accessories (hair color, cosmetics, chokers, belts and hosiery). Under the "Stuff" category they sell paper goods, sugar skull making supplies, and some off-topic cocktail accessories. A lot of the clothing here is vintage or thrift store prom dress looking at first glance, but when you take a closer look and see how morbid the fabric is, it makes more sense.

http://inkubus.com/

9. Spooky Boutique

Established long ago, and highly respected shop. Here's where you can find fishnet stockings, goth and punk boots, Tim Burton and Edward Gorey T-shirts, cool purses, and hair dye. Plus jewelry and fun accessories.

http://www.spookyboutique.com/

10. Kambriel

"Clothing and Accessories for Femme Fatales and Decadent Gentlemen." Extremely beautiful gowns, plus hats and veils, jackets and capes. The menswear section offers jackets, cassocks, capes, shirts and vests. The photography and webdesign here make browsing very enjoyable, almost dreamy. There's also a home decor section with pillows and coverlets.

http://www.kambriel.com/

11. GoodGoth.com

Excellent store that's been around since 1996, back when they were The Cornerstone. So many cool things here I can't begin to list them, go check it out for yourself. Not just clothing and jewelry, but also Halloween. Mostly importantly (to me), they sell vegan combat boots.

http://www.goodgoth.com/

12. The Twilight Parlour

Nothing to do with the "Twilight" craze! This is Azrael's Accomplice/Azac Designs. Absolutely gorgeous gowns here, plus beautiful corsets. There's also a section of stunning bridal gowns.

http://azacclothingcouture.com/

13. Rose Mortem

The clothing here is splendid. So many skirts and dresses I want for myself, like this Colchique dress. Items are custom made, so custom sizing is possible. There's also an ethereal bridal gown section that makes me want to get married again just to wear one!

http://www.rosemortem.com/

--Carrie Carolin

http://www.darklinks.com/

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Fun Goth and Horror Toy Shops

2010-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

1. Autopsy Babies

Really gory custom autopsy baby dolls for sale. There are also some cool T-shirts.

http://www.autopsybabies.com/

2. Little Apple Dolls

I love these! If I were going to start collecting goth dolls again, I think I would start here. So eerie! "Irae" is my favorite.

http://www.littleappledolls.com/

3. Panik's Toy Box

Lots of off-topic stuff sold here, but also Cinema of Fear figures, Alien vs. Predator, Movie Maniacs, and Nightmare Before Christmas.

http://www.panikstoybox.com/

4. Bleeding Edge Goths

12 inch fashion dolls, soft plush dolls, plus 7 inch action figures. They also sell BeGoths related books, T-shirts and accessories. I didn't used to like this line at all, I thought they were posers or exploiting the scene. But when I read more about the company that created these, and how carefully they researched everything, I feel more respect for them. Still, I prefer the original goth dolls, Living Dead Dolls for my own collection personally. But I have to admit I like the looks of Greta Vendetta.

http://www.begoths.com/

Bleeding Edge Goths Group on Facebook

5. DarkFigures.com

They sell fun toys based on Shaun of the Dead, Hellboy, Friday the 13th, Chucky, Terminator, and other horror movies. They also sell Living Dead dolls, zombie toys, Tonner dolls and NECA toys.

http://www.darkfigures.com/

6. Dream of Doll

This Korean company makes beautifully ethereal collector dolls, many with elfin ears, most with unusually colored eyes and hair. I can't afford to collect them, so I just have to visit this website to drool from time to time.

http://www.dreamofdoll.com/

7. Headless Historicals

"Because history is violent." These custom dolls are "reworked dolls that were inspired by people throughout history who died in rather horrible ways." Currently running a sale on "The Tudors" series.

http://www.headlesshistoricals.com/

8. Living Dead Dolls

For a while I was obsessed with collecting the minis. I thought I was going to make time in my life to craft little dollhouses and creepy miniatures for them. I've since set them aside, but I can't bear to sell or give away the cute little dollies.

http://www.livingdeaddolls.com/

http://www.livingdeaddolls.net/

Living Dead Dolls Fan Page, on Facebook

Living Dead Dolls, at Livejournal

Living Dead Dolls on MySpace

9. Monsters in Motion

A toys/collectibles shop selling sci-fi, fantasy and horror related products. They also sell some harder-to-find horror movie DVDs.

http://www.monstersinmotion.com/

10. Sideshow Collectibles

Makers of fabulous busts, figures, toys and dolls. Their products are based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, monsters, horror, Aliens and Predators, Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and comic books. Lots of fun things to see here and put on your wishlist for Satan. Er, I mean Santa.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/

11. Skelanimals

All sorts of branded and licensed items with creepily cute little critters. Am I correct in remembering that Target's Halloween line was based on them last year? The toys sold here are plush and vinyl.

http://skelanimals.com/

12. TeddyScares

Malevolent, bloody little teddy bears. There's also a line of zombie toys called Tofu.

http://teddyscares.com/

13. Uglyart

UglyShyla's famously cool fine art dolls. I've been watching this site for years - fabulous! There's also some jewelry and a couple interesting sculptures for sale.

http://www.uglyart.net/

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Eerie eBay Shops

2010-08-31T01:39:00.000-07:00

I knew eBay has lost a lot of stores, with their fee changes and difficult new changes to rules for sellers. I closed my own Darklinks store down too. But I wasn't prepared for about 96% of my goth eBay store links to have died in the last 12 months. Sooo many goth stores have closed down entirely or just moved over to etsy.

Here are a few cool shops that remain:

1. Apocalypse Lounge

A mega-store selling Nightmare Before Christmas, Emily Strange, Ruby Gloom, Lip Service, Invader Zim, and lots of off-topic metal stuff.

http://stores.ebay.com/APOCALYPSE-LOUNGE

2. The Black Cat Closet

They sell Alchemy Gothic jewelry, makeup, wigs, goth jewelry, goth home decor, pin-up fashion, Gothic home decor, and Halloween items.

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Black-Cat-Closet

3. Bone Diva's Closet

Surreal art paintings, monsters, fantasy, and other art pieces.

http://stores.ebay.com/Bone-Divas-Closet

4. Crimson Moon Demon Babies

This shop sells OOAK altered zombie dolls.

http://stores.ebay.com/Crimson-Moon-Demon-Babies

5. Dark Creations

D.L. Marian's uber-creepy spooky art dolls.

http://stores.ebay.com/DARK-CREATIONS

6. Darkwear

Right now, mostly selling beautiful lace parasols and some T-shirts.

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=darklysewn

7. Dedgothgirl

Wow, this seller has over 14,000 feedback! Selling Lip Service, plus goth shirts, clothes, accessories, and hoodies.

http://stores.ebay.com/dedgothgirl

8. Fatal Impact

They sell Halloween items, tons of Manic Panic, Demonia, collars and cuffs, Shrine clothing, jewelry, parasol, purses, and other cool items.

http://stores.ebay.com/Fatal-Impact

9. Gothic Revival

A UK store selling corsets, goth skirts, jackets, dresses, and other clothing. Also some Victorian style jewelry.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Gothic-Revival

10. Strange Assortments

I really like the looks of the jewelry at this UK ebay shop. One of the celtic cross pendants is tempting me!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Strange-assortments

11. KittyCat Black

Truly adorable cat-themed red and black jewelry.

http://stores.ebay.com/Kittycat-Black

12. Redemption Clothing

Huge store with over 4000 items, including Lip Service, Darque, corsets, Halloween costumes, and legwear.

http://stores.ebay.com/Redemption-Klothing

13. Silver Spider 2000

Lots of goth jewelry here, plus lacy black gloves, chokers, and gauntlets.

http://stores.ebay.com/SilverSpider2000

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Scintillating Goth Communities

2010-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

At over 450 links, the Dark Communities page used to be my largest. I stopped listing any more Yahoo! groups when in general they became havens for spammers. Many moderators stopped moderating and cleaning their groups. This makes me sad, I loved this resource. It was great for sending out one-way mailing lists (in which people couldn't respond) like newsletters - I used to send out Dark Side of the Net news that way.

Now, I'm focusing mostly on Livejournals since Facebook groups exist and have tons of members but don't seem to be posted to or interacted with as much as one would think.

1. BatLady

This is actually a one-way mailing list/newsletter, not a community. But I love the concept so much, I have to add it in here. Forgive me? She riffs on the popular housekeeping-reminder site "FlyLady" but tweaks it with a gothic flavor. Daily reminders, tips, and homemaking advice.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BatLady/

2. FogeyGoff

An LJ community for "First Generation Goths, Ur-goths, Ex-Goths, Batcavers & Deathrockers." Surprised that this isn't just a bunch of fashion or event ads. There's actual news and interesting things posted here by eldergoths. I'd like to see a few more posts here.. but then I should get off my butt and share something here myself!

http://community.livejournal.com/fogeygoff/

3. Goth Housing

What a brilliant idea! This is a community where you can post to find roommates of a goth persuasion. I'd definitely prefer to live with another goth if I ever had to rent out a room in my house. Then I could borrow her black lipstick if I misplaced mine! Most of the posts are London-based, but maybe the group will be used by a wider group of goths in the future.

http://community.livejournal.com/gothhousing/

4. Goth Trademarket

A very busy LJ community for posting goth items for sale. The ads here are really interesting, and I'd much rather see them here in a community asking for the ads to be posted, than spammed in other communities that would rather have actual content posted. This community is a great way to blow your spending money on beautiful things you probably don't need but really would enjoy owning!

http://community.livejournal.com/gothtrademarket/

5. Gothic Babe of the Week

Still going strong after all these many long years. Ladies post beautiful pictures of themselves, and the commenters are amazingly kind and supportive. Tatyana still keeps it nicely moderated so you don't have to see spam or off topic posts. Visit every day to see more gorgeous goth girls.

http://community.livejournal.com/gothic_babes/

6. Gothic Decor

Wow, this Yahoo! group is still on topic, and someone cares enough to moderate the spam out of it. The group has been around since 2000, practically the "Dark Ages." There haven't been any posts in the last couple months, but I hope it will pick up. Goth home decor is an important topic, and something a lot of people get excited about.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothicdecor/

7. Gothic Dollies

An LJ community for actual dolls (not girls who like to pretend they are dolls) made by goths or featuring goth and horror themes. Some posts are showcasing the dolls just for fun, others attempt to sell the dolls. Either way, this community is really interesting to browse through.

http://community.livejournal.com/gothicdollies/

8. Memento Mori

An LJ community for all things death. Funerals, cemeteries, memento mori, mourning jewelry, near death experiences, and more.

http://community.livejournal.com/hour_of_death

9. Ocular Xs

This community is full of awesome art! It specializes in Big sad eyes; characters with eyes overtaking their heads; spooky paintings of eyes that follow you; creepy dolls with enormously wide eyes; and sinister little children with big glistening eyes.

http://community.livejournal.com/ocularxs/

10. Real Vampires

A Yahoo! group. The Real-Vampires Community Alliance. I really respect what their charter states, so I'm reproducing it here for you: "Whatever your reasons for joining, we welcome you but we expect you to be your real self. Leave your "vampire persona" at the door. We are not role players. We seek to combat mainstream society's prejudice and discrimination by dispelling the myths and misconceptions surrounding our community. While you may use an alias to protect your identity, claims of immortality, shapeshifting, or other fictional abilities are not welcome."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/real-vampires/

11. Deathly Decayed

A community for people who enjoy photographing cemeteries and tombstones.

http://community.livejournal.com/deathly_decayed

12. Deathrock

A community for discussing deathrock, batcave, and gothic rock music. I appreciate that this community is moderated to remove for-sale posts, and they limit club events to 2 posts per month. This way you can see more news and album announcements and major events that are upcoming.

http://community.livejournal.com/deathrock/

13. Spooky Style Guide

This community discusses dark and spooky decorating, designing, entertaining, and crafting year-round, not just at Halloween time.

http://community.livejournal.com/spookystyle/

--Carrie Carolin

www.darklinks.com

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Dark Art and Spooky Book Shops

2010-08-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

1. Arkham House

Publisher of books by J.G. Ballard, Ramsey Campbell, August Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, and most famously, H.P. Lovecraft. You can buy books online here through their catalog.

http://www.arkhamhouse.com/

2. Black Death Books

They sell horror, dark fantasy, and pulp fiction through their blog. They do take credit cards.

http://khpindustries.com/

3. Chaosium

Publisher of books and games, with a heavy concentration on Cthulhu and HP Lovecraft-related.

http://www.chaosium.com/

4. Creepy Little Stories

Tiny books of bedtime stories you can buy for your kids. The newest book is "Tales of the Truly Grotesque."

http://www.creepylittlestories.com/

5. The Enchanted Art of Jessica Galbraith

Jessica Galbraith's fabulous dark and goth fairy art. She sells original art, prints, books, collectible figurines, stationery and calendars. My favorite original painting here is "Moonlight Masquerade."

http://www.enchanted-art.com/

6. Alan M. Clark

A sci-fi and horror fan and illustrator's art gallery. I'm a fan of his work. Long ago, he did the original logo for the Cabinet of Dr. Casey horror site - it was so awesome. You can buy his original paintings, or just prints here.

My favorite original painting for sale here is the gloomy Forgotten.

http://www.ifdpublishing.com/

7. Morbidly Adorable Creations

Misty Benson's cute fairy art, gothic lolita art, and Day of the Dead art. She sells prints, a charming Tarot deck, original paintings, and even perfume oils.

http://www.mistybenson.com/

8. Morpheus Gallery

They sell contemporary fantastic art by artists including H.R. Giger, Zdzislaw Beksinski (my personal favorite from this group), Jacek Yerka, De Es Schwertberger, Wayne D. Barlowe, and Gerard Di-Maccio.

http://morpheusgallery.com/

9. Drive-Thru Horror

A store selling downloadable electronic editions of books. They sell titles from Random House, White Wolf, Monolith Graphics, and other publishers.

http://horror.drivethrustuff.com/

10. The Overlook Connection

A horror press and bookstore. They sell Peter Straub limited editions, Stephen King, magazines, and books by other horror authors.

http://overlookconnection.com/catalog/

11. New Age Dolls

Jade Perez's wonderfully creepy art dolls.

http://www.newagedolls.com/

12. Naoto Hattori

Limited edition prints from this talented surrealist artist. Not everything here is "dark" but it's definitely surreal.

http://www.naotohattori.com/

13. Subterranean Press

A publisher that sells books in the horror, suspense, and dark mystery genres.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Fabulous Goth Accessory Shops

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

1. BlueLips.com

They sell Day of the Dead, death and cemetery related books, videos, goth T-shirts, novelty pens, pirate items, casket furniture, mugs, boxes, and more.

2. Gorey Details

Besides being the best place to buy Edward Gorey merchandise (calendars, journals, books, jewelry, notecards and stationery) you can find Halloween-related items, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Ryden, horror, zombies, and more cool things. And it's run by an experienced, professional, fast-shipping seller.

http://www.goreydetails.net/

3. Madame Talbot's Victorian Lowbrow

Coolest. Shop. Ever! They sell memento mori, T-shirts, dolls, vintage items, original artwork, ephemera, circus-themed items, books, and more. Browse around here, you'll have so much fun!

http://www.madametalbot.com/

4. Mordaunte's Coffin-Shaped Gems

Gems and jewelry with an unusual morbid shape. Awesome.

http://www.coffingems.com/

5. Pan's House of Horns

Devil horns, puck horns, wicked horns, satyr horns, wizard horns and other costume items.

http://www.pansdevilhorns.com/

6. Pushin Daisies

A mortuary novelty shop. They sell greeting cards, dead roses, candy, miniatures, books and CDs, gift bags and boxes, and Halloween supplies.

http://www.pushindaisies.com/

7. RavenEve Jewelry

This store got its start in 1999. Their jewelry is separated into categories including Dream Jewelry, Gothic Jewelry, Amulet Jewelry, Immortel Jewelry, and Ghost Jewelry.

http://www.raveneve.com/

8. Shadowsphere Designs

An Australian jewelry shop selling sterling silver jewelry. Not everything here is goth or dark, but much here is pretty enough you'll want to take the time to look closely.

http://www.shadowsphere.com.au/

9. Skulls Unlimited

I sort of hate to list "skulls" and "osteological specimens" in a category I describe as "gifts." But special people out there would actually appreciate getting some of these as a surprise. Besides the skulls and educational materials, there are some mugs, critter necklaces, T-shirts and hats.

http://www.skullsunlimited.com/

10. Sugar Hiccup

I love these cute-little-evil-girl stickers! They also sell pins and buttons.

Sugar Hiccup, at Sticker Giant

11. Sunspot Designs

"Jewelry and gifts that celebrate the beauty of the shadows!" Besides jewelry, they sell ritual tools.

http://www.sunspotdesigns.com/

12. Twilight Alchemy Lab

I always feel the need, when blogging about websites with the word "Twilight" in their name, to point out that this has nothing to do with the current sparkle-crazed vampire fan trend. This is the sister site to Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. These particular oils are inspired by the theory and practice of alchemy, the Hermetic Sciences, the art of rootwork and aromatherapy as it pertains to ritual, spirituality and low magick.

http://www.twilightalchemylab.com/

13. Veil of Visions

A UK-based shop selling collars and chokers, hats, hairclips and veils, gloves and armbands, masks and eyepatches, as well as jewelry. There are also some pieces of clothing here (coats, dresses, etc).

http://www.veilofvisions.com/

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Seriously Cool Steampunk Links

2010-08-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

In 2009 I added the Steampunk subcategory. Steampunk in and of itself isn't goth, but a lot of goths are interested in it, and there's a lot of crossovers between the genres. Steampunk doesn't have to be dark though. Anyway, not knowing much about steampunk before I dove in, I found it quite interesting and challenging to explore the online steampunk community and its wealth of resources.

1. Brass Goggles

This blog and its related forum is the epicenter of the online steampunk scene. They focus on "the lighter side of steampunk," and ask that posts with partial nudity be clearly marked as NSFW (not safe for work). The forums are nicely categorized into different sections for costuming, writing/literature, food and drink, music/film/TV and games, propmaking/crafts, etc. You could really get sucked into spending lots of time here every day if you weren't careful!

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/blog/

Brass Goggles group on Facebook

2. Steampunk Empire

A well-organized Ning social network. The forums include Literature & Language; Film; Food & Libation; Music; Fashion; Events; Games; Marketplace; and Maker. There are also several Groups, including The Steampunk Star Wars Society; The Aether Guild of Writers; Bay Area Steampunk Society; French Steampunk; and The Imagineer Guild.

http://steampunk.ning.com/

3. Clockwork Cabaret

http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/

A weekly radio show. It's on the air on Mondays in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC, but you can also listen to it online.

http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/

The Clockwork Cabaret, on Facebook

Clockwork Cabaret, at Livejournal

4. TeslaCon

While there are many great steampunk conventions (including Steamcon right here in Seattle), the website design here is so good at transporting you into the theme, I wanted to mention this one. November 5-7, 2010, in Madison, Wisconsin.

http://www.teslacon.org/

Teslacon, on Facebook

5. Steampunk Workshop

"Serving the backyard industrialist since aught six." A blog with Steampunk projects including a cool Victorian steampunk style computer and keyboard. Recently posting about the US Steam Land Speed Record Attempt, artwork by the artwork of James Ng, and open source jewelry.

http://www.steampunkworkshop.com/

6. The Steampunk Librarian

A steampunk news blog. A good way to quickly check up on what's going on in the community.

http://steampunklib.vox.com/

7. SepiaChord

A website chronicling "sepiachord" music - influenced by steampunk, Neo-Victorians, etc. "SepiaChord hosts a lifestyle for a past that never was, and for a future that never will be." Reviews, info on upcoming events, and news.

http://www.sepiachord.com/

SepiaChord on MySpace

SepiaChord on Twitter

8. Datamancer

Richard Nagy's website showcasing technical art and steampunk contraptions, including the infamous steampunk laptop. He's currently working on some really cool keyboards.

http://www.datamancer.net/

9. Steampunk Lolita

I love crossovers, and I'm delighted to see the different ways enthusiasts interpret a juxtaposition of steampunk and Gothic Lolita. This livejournal community has around 1000 members. There are a lot of for-sale posts here, but also photos and event announcements.

http://community.livejournal.com/steampunklolita/

10. The Steampunk Home

Home decor holds a lot of fascination for me, so I absolutely adore this blog. Current posts are talking about the use of globes in office decor; gas-style industrial lights; an acupuncturist's beautiful office; and leather flooring.

http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com/

11. Steampunk on Facebook

This Facebook group has 17,000 members. With 100 officers, it's well moderated so you'll usually only see on-topic posts.

Steampunk on Facebook

12. The Clockworkers Guild

A Livejournal community for steampunks. Rather than being full of sale posts, which I dislike in communities, the posts here are showing interesting things people found online, or advertising upcoming events

http://community.livejournal.com/anachrotech

13. Antipodean Steampunk Adventures

An Australian steampunk gadget inventor's blog. "Follow the adventures of the maduncle as he builds strange new devices in his attempts to contact the steampunk engineers in the mother country." He's currently working on a prosthetic peg leg.

http://www.austeampunk.blogspot.com/

--Carrie Carolin

Dark Side of the Net

Best of the Dark Side: 13 Fabulous Goth Webzines

2010-08-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

The "Dark Zines" page was intended to only list magazines which actually offered a substantial portion of their content online. They needed to offer lots of stuff to read for free, online and easily, without having to subscribe or send an email address. This part wasn't very clear to many paper zine publishers, who sent me countless emails trying to get the magazines they charged money for linked. So I sort of dreaded opening my email box on some days.

1. The AntiCraft

Sinister crafters present us with a delightful blog and zine. Currently demonstrating how to make black-and-white with red paper flowers that look like they're decaying; a paper shuriken; and a paper raven-shaped writing table.

http://www.theanticraft.com/

2. BlueBlood.Net

Highly recommended! The paper magazine is legendary, and its amazing companion website is worth visiting every day for Amelia's well-written, fascinating blog posts. Besides the excellent articles, there are photos on punk and goth fashion, music, and literature. There's also a community, videos, and galleries.

http://www.axwoundzine.com/

3. Chaos Control Digizine

A music zine that's been around since the 1990s. Currently featuring interviews with Rasputina, Front Line Assembly, and Amanda Palmer. Not updated very often (June 14 is the last post) but worth the wait every time.

http://www.chaoscontrol.com/

4. Cherry Bleeds A well done literary zine featuring art and words by suicidal writers. "Published with blood since 2000." Essays, poetry and stories. Sadly, the April 2010 issue is their last, they are closing shop.

http://www.cherrybleeds.com/

5. Cinefantastique

The cult magazine's website, with news and articles on sci-fi, fantasy, horror and bizarre films. Mostly sci-fi, but you'll likely see a lot of interest to you here.

http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/

6. Coilhouse

"COILHOUSE is a love letter to alternative culture, written in an era when alternative culture no longer exists." Everywhere I look, people are raving about this magazine/blog. The buzz surrounding it is incredible. I tried to buy the gorgeously designed, glossy paper magazine at Borders, but the paper smelled really bad on all the copies. Plasticky. I'll try again next issue. They cover art, fashion, technology, music, and film. So many beautiful things to see here.

http://coilhouse.net/

Coilhouse Group on Facebook

7. Creep Machine

A webzine covering alternative, underground, outsider, lowbrow or pop surrealism art. Much of the art here is quite dark. Interviews, articles, featured artists, and a gallery.

http://www.creepmachine.com/

8. Fangoria

The website for the legendary, extremely awesome horror magazine. News, reviews, articles, blogs, a community, and exclusive interviews.

http://www.fangoria.com/

9. Fears Magazine

Science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Movie reviews, book, game and music reviews; art and comics; a pod cast; contests; a monthly scary radio show; and an artwork gallery.

http://fearsmag.com/

10. Flames Rising

A horror webzine for fans of horror and dark fantasy entertainment. Interviews, reviews, articles, blog entries and fiction. There is a lot of high quality stuff here.

http://www.flamesrising.com/

11. Morbid Outlook

This excellent goth magazine is currently on hiatus. I do hope it comes back - this probably is my favorite gothic zine! Meanwhile, there is still an archive of articles on music, fashion, lifestyle, fiction and nonfiction.

http://www.morbidoutlook.com/

12. Moving Hands

A very cool zine covering ebm, industrial, goth, alternative, folk, and industrial music. News, over 1100 music reviews, a music release calendar, and photo gallery.

http://www.movinghands.net/

13. ReGen Magazine

A webzine with news and articles on industrial, synthpop, electronic, and alternative music. Lots going on here, many updates, and knowledgeable writers.

http://www.regenmag.com/

--Carrie Carolin

http://www.darklinks.com/