Delightfully Dark Finds: Plush Skellies

I discovered these delightfully dark and utterly cute skeleton plushies in Etsy shop, Rocker Bye Baby.

Delightfully Dark Quotes: Bela Lugosi

Brocade and Bat Wings

Just a little more eye candy from the Dracula film. Pictured is Lucy (Kate Nelligan), in a 1913-style evening coat, as she arrives to dine with the Count, and later, under the thrall of Dracula, in a gown with sleeves resembling the wings of a bat.

Candles and Cobwebs

The beautiful photo of a spider's web in my previous post, reminded me of the 1979 film, Dracula, starring Frank Langella. There is a visually stunning aerial shot of a spider crawling over its web as Lucy, beneath, makes her way further into Dracula's snare. 

Personally, although I have always enjoyed the Dracula story, I don't subscribe to the notion of the Count as a romantic hero. He certainly knows how to charm the ladies, but his motives are always completely selfish. Call me crazy, but I just don't find statements like "You shall cross land or sea to do my bidding" particularly alluring. However, I will say that Langella's Dracula certainly knows how to set the scene for a dinner date. The Count transforms the decaying ruins of Carfax into a dark, gothic masterpiece of interior decoration with little more than copious quantities of candles and cobwebs.

The 'Burbs

I laugh a lot. In fact, when I find something really funny, I tend to be a tears-in-the-eyes-falling-off-a-chair sort of laugher. That said, I don't watch many comedies. I tend to like the emotional rollercoaster ride of sandwiching my comedy in between slices of horror and tragedy in the style of shows like Buffy and Supernatural.

One of the notable exceptions to that rule is the movie, The 'Burbs. This is a movie that seems to polarize opinion. Either it is dismissed out of hand, or it is revered as a classic. In my opinion, virtually every line from The 'Burbs is quotable, and indeed, has been quoted by those living under our roof, and amongst close friends. Add to that the neighbourhood haunted house theme, and well... what more could anyone want from a comedy?

Delightfully Dark Finds

Swelser

I knew that doing an Etsy search for The 'Burbs (or as it is known in my household, the funniest film, ever), would glean some great results. I discovered Swelser, a husband and wife team, that designs and sells extremely cool vintage-style film and superhero posters.

You can see more Swelser posters here.

Delightfully Dark Quotes

Some Spooky Sentimentality

My childhood was during the pre-video game period when every household had a large stash of board games to keep the kids busy on a rainy day. I can't say that I was overly enamoured with playing board games as I usually found the subject matter pretty dull (I've never really understood the appeal of Monopoly), but every once in a while a board game would come along that was just my cup of tea. One such game was Milton Bradley's, Which Witch? (also known as Haunted House). Not only was it set in a haunted house plagued by witches, but it was three-dimensional!

The house was constructed from intersecting cardboard walls that created 4 rooms with a central fireplace. If you were unlucky enough to draw the 'Ghoulish Gerty' card, a ball would be dropped down the chimney threatening to knock down the plastic game pieces, which were in the shape of children. One of the many other hazards was having your game piece turned into a plastic mouse and therefore being unable to continue around the board.

The other board game that I remember especially fondly was another Milton Bradley game based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon of The Addams Family. The game was a pretty basic throw the die and move around the board type, but from memory it had the perverse bonus that the last one to finish was actually the winner.

Sadly, I don't know what became of these games as my family moved house a few times when I was a child and my mother probably gave them away. (Sigh!)

Delightfully Dark Art: Gothicrow

Gothicrow

One of my all-time favourite shops on Etsy is Gothicrow. Not only does photographer Donna produce the most beautiful gothic images but she is also such a lovely lady and passionate about animal welfare.

Delightfully Dark Quotes: Oscar Wilde

The Walking Dead

I first read about the AMC series, The Walking Dead, in a British Sci-Fi magazine and was immediately intrigued. Gore, in and of itself, has never been a major factor in attracting me to the horror genre, which might explain why I'm something of a latecomer to the zombie sub-genre, but The Walking Dead has me hooked. I find the characters and the science fiction elements of the viral apocalypse riveting, and every episode is just crammed full of tension.

So, now that I have become a bit of a zombie convert, I can't wait for the second series to start in October and, as is my wont, I already have a theory about the message whispered in Rick's ear.

Phoebe with Mr Pointy

My little cat, Phoebe, with "Mr Pointy", her crocheted vampire stake! For those who don't know, "Mr Pointy" was the name of the stake that Buffy inherited from fellow-slayer, Kendra.