Events: Bizarre Magazine's Summer Ball

Bizarre Magazine's annual Bizarre Ball is once again approaching fast. This year's revelry will take place at The Scala in London, on May 21st and will be hosted by Bizarre's Alix Fox and caberet performer Des O'Connor. It promises to be a strangely wonderful night for those who attend!

The line-up is as follows:

"Featuring...
THE FUTUREHEADS
KUNT AND THE GANG
FLAY and DEVILLES CIRCUS OF MARVELS
BIZARRE 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' WINNER


Plus...
DEE CHRISTOPHER (magic)
CHRIS CROSS (contortionist)
POST MODERN SLEAZE and THE SEDITION GIRLS (suspension artists)

Hosted by...
Bizarre's own ALIX FOX
The legendary DES O'CONNOR

DJs...
MARK JONES
SCARLETT NYMPH
DJ TREBOR
DJ BOD"

Ticket prices:
Standard: £22 (+ booking fee)

Bizarre Magazine Subscribers / Students: £17 (+ booking fee)

Event times:
8pm - 3am
Event location:
The Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, London N1 9NL
Map & Directions


Tickets are on sale now and you can purchase them here:
http://www.bizarremag.com/bizarre-events/bizarre-ball/8413/ball_tickets.html

Events: Classic Horror Campaign Double Feature

"Guys and ghouls, the Classic Horror Campaign has an announcement to make! We are launching the first of a series of Horror Double Bill events this Easter on Good Friday at the Roxy Bar & Screen in London!

Starting at 3pm on April 22nd we are proud to present a screening in the old tradition of the BBC Horror Double Bills of “Night of the Demon” (1957) followed by Hammer’s classic “Vampire Circus” (1972)!

We advise you all to get to the venue early as seating is limited and tickets are only available on the door at £5 per person. However, the Roxy Bar & Screen is renowned for serving excellent food and the kitchen opens at 1 o’clock so why not join us for lunch?

As well as the movie screenings there will be some horror dvd giveaways and the opportunity of appearing on the Classic Horror Campaign website when we post coverage of the event.

More details of The Horror Double Bill event will be posted on the Classic Horror Campaign Facebook page so check it out regularly for updates."

Classic Horror Campaign Website:
http://www.classichorrorcampaign.com/

Art & Toys: Plaseebo / Bob Conge - Contemporary Figurative Modifications 6 Man Group Show

Bob Conge of Plaseebo will once again be exhibiting his monster creations and customisations at the TAG in Hollywood, California. The six man group show will also include work from the other talented modifiers Brent Nolasco, Jim Koch, Leecifer, Taskone and NervisWr3k, and runs from April 2nd - April 30th.

You can see photos of some of the work Plaseebo will exhibit on the Plaseebo website, or after the cut below!↓ Thank you to Bob Conge for letting us use the photos♪

Movies: Suspiria: The Remake

Hello there my spooky kids!

Brief but interesting news I bring you today!

Looks like the famous Dario Argento movie, "Suspiria", will have its remake filmed soon by the director David Gordon Green. According to him, there won't be any key differences but it will be adapted to a girl's boarding school instead of a ballet academy (which, for me, IS a key difference but well, we'll have to wait to see how it might affect the storyline... or not!).

Definitely, great news for us horror fans to see such a classic back onto the big screen!

How-To Guides: Pumpkin Parcels

Today brings another find from an article in a magazine that was kindly given to me. It was in the October 2010 issue of Your Home, which had a section about Halloween crafts. None of them are on the website, so I thought I'd make them and share the guides here.

First up - Pumpkin Parcels! I used orange tissue paper instead of crepe paper and green tissue paper & cellotape instead of green florists tape, but they are essentially the same.

They're really easy to do and, depending on how many you make, only take between 5 minutes and half an hour to produce. You could put little presents or sweets or anything else you want inside and draw jack o' lantern faces on them to make them more individual, so they're also pretty versatile.

My pumkin parcels

You will need:

• Cellotape / double-sided tape
• Scissors
• Green tissue paper (or green florists tape)
• Orange tissue or crepe paper
• A pen
• Something to fill the parcel with
• A dinner plate (to draw around, not pictured)

More pictures and a step by step how-to guide after the cut below↓

Music: The Creepshow Tourdates

The Creepshow

Canadian "country-tinged, psycho punk rock n’ roll" band, The Creepshow, have announced some live shows, with more to be added soon! The dates so far are as follows:

APRIL:
14/04/11 - Mavericks, Ottawa, ON, Canada
15/04/11 - MANSION, Kingston, ON, Canada
16/04/11 - Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, PQ, Canada
22/04/11 - THE BLIND DOG, Windsor, ON, Canada
23/04/11 - Call The Office, London, ON, Canada

JULY:
15/07/11 - Back to the Future Festival, Glaubitz, Germany
17/07/11 - Mighty Sound Festival, Tabor, Czech Republic
19/07/11 - Cafe Central, Weinheim, Germany
20/07/11 - MTC, Köln, Germany
21/07/11 - Musikbunker, Aachen, Germany
22/07/11 - Serengeti Festival, Schloss-Holte, Germany
23/07/11 - Punkaci Detom Festival, Piestany, Slovakia
27/07/11 - Club Vaudeville, Lindau, Germany
28/07/11 - Zwoelfzehn, Stuttgart, Germany
29/07/11 - Rockfest, Schimerikon, Switzerland
30/07/11 - Dynamo, Zurich, Switzerland

AUGUST:
01/08/11 - The Dome, London, England
02/08/11 - The Fleece, Bristol, England
03/08/11 - Face Bar, Reading, England
04/08/11 - The Crown, Middlesbrough, England
05/08/11 - Rebellion Festival, Blackpool, England


For more on The Creepshow, visit the following sites:
Official Website
Twitter
Facebook

Music: Horror song of the day - Puppy Dog Snails

by British band 'Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster'.



Listen: http://bit.ly/g9Sq6V

Lyrics:

He climbed the tallest spire
To see what he could see
Far across the town, they came
One hundred and one and thick as a plank
Onto the teeth and ugly as sin
He called across the town 'Here they come!'

What do we do with a puppy dogs tails?
What do we do with a bucket of snails?
What do we do with a boy like you?
We put them in a pot and we throw them on the fire!

He met them in the meadow
He fought them them tooth and nail
They tried to take him back but they failed
The boy was from the mountain
Made of solid stone
They tried but were defeated
He can't be overthrown

What do we do with a puppy dogs tails?
What do we do with a bucket of snails?
What do we do with a boy like you?
We put them in a pot and we throw them on the fire!

Oh oh oh oh

What do we do with a puppy dogs tails?
What do we do with a bucket of snails?
What do we do with a boy like you?
We put them in a pot and we throw them on the fire!

What do we do with a puppy dogs tails?

Photography: Mariel Clayton's Killer Dolls

Hello there little monsters~!

Today I want to show you an unusual view of the famous Barbie dolls!

"A doll photographer with a subversive sense of humour. I'm not a man-hater, I wasn't abused as a child, I'm not 'dark' or 'disturbed' or 'mentally scarred'... I just find certain things funny."

That's how Mariel Clayton introduces herself, before taking us to a world where the sweet Barbie hides some dirty secrets behind that plastic smile!

I'm particularly fascinated by her photography, so I hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as I do! Though, maybe, you will end up taking your dolls out of the room before sleeping, just in case...

'Ole'

'Two heads are better than one but it takes 4 to reach the cookie jar'

'I told you what would happen if you touched my chocolate'

'F is for Facinorous'

'B is for Brochette'

'Play Nicely With Daddy Part 3 ...now now, you know he doesn't need a delicate cycle'

'She loves dinner parties...the leftovers last for days.

'Failure to Perform'

'Modern Maternity'

If you want to see more of this awesome photographer's pictures, just visit the official website! http://www.thephotographymarielclayton.com/

The Everyday Bizarre: Street Creeps

Hello all! I am Ciel and a new contributor here on HSL. Just wanted to introduce myself, so I hope you will enjoy my posts :)

I'll start off with what I call a 'street creep'. Unusual and creepy scenes from everyday life!

Shot was taken on the bus ride through London. I was still half asleep at the time, so you can imagine the shock I had! XD.

I'll look forward to posting more street creeps, I'm sure I will run into more weirdness on my travels.

Books : The Strain Trilogy, by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Hello there little monsters~!

Since someone on twitter requested book entries, and I had thought about this one for a long time, today I bring you a post about one of the last books I've read and truly enjoyed!

It's been cowritten by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan and its title is The Strain (Nocturna in Spanish) .

This is the first book of a vampire trilogy, that luckily, has nothing to do with these sparkling vampires that people seem to like nowadays...

In fact, the main vampire reminds me of the old ones like Nosferatu; that's what I call a real creature of the night!!!

Personal thoughts aside, I think you should all give it a try!

To sumarize it a little bit, the book begins with a plane landing at the airport but no-one gets out of it, there are no lights inside, and there's not a single noise either coming from the plane. All the doors and windows are locked. Then, the protagonist, Ephrain, goes to the crime scene to investigate the mysterious plane... and if you want to find about the rest, you will have to start reading :P!

To find out more about this trilogy, visit its official website http://www.thestraintrilogy.com/.

There you can also see the second book is already available for pre-order. It'll be released in September this year, and I personally can't wait for it!

If you've been looking for new quality vampire books, I guess this is your chance ;)!

Movies: Book of the 1000 Deaths

Hello there little monsters~!

Today I'm going to talk about an upcoming movie which caught my attention recently!

Its title, "Book of the 1000 deaths", and it's directed by Andretti Dante. It will be released in 2011, but the exact date hasn't been announced yet.

And what is it about?

Well, Lila, the legend teller, will bring us 4 different stories based on urban legends. And, guess what, none of them with a happy ending! These four stories are titled "The Clown Statue", "Kidney Jacking", "Bloody Mary" and finally "The Man, the Myth, the Legend".

Lila The Legend Teller tell these legends while joking around about the victims who lose their lives! Creepy, huh?

If you want to read the full synopsis for this movie, or find more information about the cast and so on, just go to their facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-Of-1000-Deathsk.com/pages/Book-Of-1000-Deaths.

Some legendz will kill you... will you be next?

Photography & Jewellery: Amanda Norman



Amanda Norman



 Amanda Norman is a gothic and horror photographer from the UK, whose macabre lense on the world once again proves that dark and eerie subject matters can also be beautiful. Her specialties include dark portrait photography and graveyard photography, but she also shoots gargoyles, statues, creepy houses, churches, castles and many other spooky places. Often using high contrast black and white photography, Norman manages to capture the darker, stranger sides of her models and unusual views of places that might otherwise seem ordinary.

As well as her work being a product of her talent, Norman also cites inspirations including the classic Universal horror movies and promotional shots, Hammer House of Horror, photographer Simon Marsden's work and, of course, her own creative imagination. The influence of horror film promotional photographs is particularly evident in her portrait work, as rather than hiding and editing out the subjects' 'flaws', Norman accentuates and highlights these features to bring out an otherwise hidden scary and sometimes unattractive aspect of them. If you're a fan of horror however, you might think they look better that way!

Blood Vial Skull Necklace by Amanda Norman

In addition to creating fantastic photographs, Amanda Norman is also a jewellery maker and graphic designer and runs Gothic Jewellery Box and Umee Design. Her jewellery is equally as gorgeous as her photography and each piece is handmade. The metalwork also features superb detailing, such as the beads on the Blood Vial Skull Necklace (right).

To find out more about Amanda Norman and her projects or to buy/see more of her work, take a look at the following websites:

Amanda Norman Photography

Blog

Webshop
Facebook
Twitter

Gothic Jewellery Box

Umee Design

Many thanks to Amanda Norman for giving us permission to use the images!

TV: Frankenstein's Wedding...Live in Leeds on BBC3

I was kindly given this article, which appeared in the Daily Mail, earlier today. It's about 'Frankenstein's Wedding' - a live, musical affair that is inspired by the sparsely detailed event that is Victor and Elizabeth's wedding, in Mary Shelley's gothic horror novel, 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'.

The 'creative director' is Colin Teague (also directed 'Doctor Who' and 'Being Human') and the leads of the production are David Harewood (in the BBC's latest version of Robin Hood, as Friar Tuck) as the Creature, Andrew Gower as Frankenstein and Lacey Turner (ex. Eastenders) as Elizabeth, Frankenstein's fiance. Teague as the director seems like a good choice, but I have to say, I'm not overly enthusiastic about the cast. Who knows though, they might all be fantastic and I may be completely wrong. At least Harewood seems to have actually taken the time to research the character he's playing. (Keep in mind that he said he'll base his portrayal on the novel rather than the movies).

The rest of the cast and performers consist of over 2000 actors/dancers, a choir of 60 and a 12-piece band. the whole lavish affair will take place at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds, requiring the actors to scurry between various parts of it in front of 12,000 audience members as well as those watching at home! That said, isn't that what stage actors have always done? Performed live? Still, it is quite a feat, considering the scale of the Abbey.

Anyway, 'Frankenstein's Wedding' airs live on BBC Three, tomorrow (Saturday, 19th March) at 8pm (GMT). I think it will be worth watching, if only because it's something a little different and because I'm a sucker for anything 'Frankenstein'-inspired. The Abbey backdrop will also be stunning, I'm sure.

For more information, dance moves (yes...learn the choreography, kiddies!), and video diaries, check out the 'Frankenstein's Wedding' page at the BBC Three website!

Events: Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day, little monsters!

Even here in HSL we would like to join and dress green, drink a couple of Guiness, and show you how St Patrick's Day can be spooky too!

And if you don't believe me, ask Mr Jack Skellington, who recently discovered about the greatness of this day...

If drunk Jack isn't enough for you, you can always drink your beer while watching "Leprechaun" (1993).

Here's a little synopsis for you to start with!

In North Dakota, an evil and violent leprechau

n (Warwick Davis) is sealed away in a crate guarded by four four leaf clovers by Daniel O'Grady, who had stolen his bag of one hundred gold coins. Ten years later, J.D. Redding (John Sanderford) and his daughter, Tory Redding (Jennifer Aniston) move into O'Grady's now vacant farmhouse. Three painters also accompany them. One painter, Ozzie, hears the Leprechaun's cries for help in the basement and unknowingly releases him. Later, two of the painters discover the gold coins that O'Grady had taken from the leprechaun and plot to keep the treasure to themselves.

After his release, the leprechaun goes on a killing spree (nearly killing Tory's father) and terrorizes the four friends, trying to get his missing gold coins back.

Cool, huh? What can be cooler on a day like this than psycho-killer leprechauns? ;)

I think you're all ready now to spend this day on your own spooky way! But always with some beer in the mouth :P

Once again,

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

Music: More on Creature Feature's new single - The House of Myth

Hello there little monsters~!

A few posts ago we were talking about Creature Feature's new single.

Well, more information has been revealed~

Its title will be "The House of Myth" and it will be released this Friday (18th of March) at 5:oo pm (Pacific time) on http://creaturefeature.bandcamp.com/ , where you will be able to listen to the song or you can also download it for $1,29.

There's more new interesting information about the band and their future projects on http://villainsandvaudevillians.com/ so please go and check it out!

Let us hear your spooky voices when you listen to the single & tell us what you think about it! :P

Movies: Apollo 18

"What lives on the Moon?"
After the mission of Apollo 17 there was an unrecorded 18th Apollo that landed on the Moon. But the astronauts faced something they were not expecting. In the void of space and the dark of the Moon, a group of astronauts confront a being not of our world.



Website: http://apollo18movie.net/

Movies: Insidious

Growing excitement for the release of Insidious continues to rise. The tale of a boy that by fate ends up unconscious. The family begins to notice certain spooky things happening around the house and around their son. Impossible as it may be, things begin to move and noises are heard everywhere by the parents. Tension grows in the house and they soon found out something evil lurks around their son.

From the creators of Saw and Paranormal Activity, Insidious is out everywhere April 1st.

http://www.insidious-movie.com/

Music: New Creature Feature single

Creature Feature

From the mad vault of Curtis Rx, Creature Feature is preparing to release a new single, possibly in March. The Horror-pop band haven't released anything new together since their first album 'The Greatest Show Unearthed'. Instead, the members have been focusing on individually composing songs and playing lives on the West Coast of the US.

Curtis Rx announced in his blog the break from their horror will soon be over, so stay tune for new maddening melodies from the duo.

Source: http://villainsandvaudevillians.com/

Horror Shock Lolipop: Updates

Hello there dolls & devils!

As you may have noticed, we haven't been posting as many entries lately. This is only temporary and is due to us currently working hard to get 3 new HSL-related projects up and running. We promise everything will be back to normal soon! (~.^)⌒☆

TV: Zombies on 'House'

Hello there little monsters!

Once again, I bring you zombie stuff on unexpected places!

This time, the chosen serie is "House", episode 7x15.

On this week's program, the famous Doctor has a nightmare involving all his assistants turned into flesh-devouring zombies!

A 2-minutes long sketch worth watching.

Here you go!

Games: Big Monster Battle

Do you love monsters? Have you ever had time to kill, but looked at the boring selection of casual, Windows Live Messenger games and been disappointed? Do you ever wish that your love of horror could be incorporated into your IMing world, somehow?  Well! Then 'Big Monster Battle' is the game for you (and a friend, as it's 2 player). BMB is essentially a horror-themed variation on the games 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' and 'Jan Ken Po', but everything you choose is a weird monster fighting move, rather than a hand movement. The backgrounds, characters and music are also all very entertaining. especially as it's only a Windows Live game!

There are five monster characters to choose from:

Krazy Clown

Krazy Clown

"Another in a long line of family clowns, Krazy is the son of famous Rodeo Clown "Mad Man" Clown. At a young age Krazy tried to imitate his father by messing with a full grown bull. The result is evident in the rather stunted speech pattern Krazy displays to this day. While touring with a failing Circus, Krazy did pick up some valuable street fighting tips from The Freaks. (Especially the boy with two heads.)"

Organ Grinder

Organ Grinder

"Grinder had been a cheeky little monkey - greeting all the children who came to the circus with a playful cymbal crash. But when his tail was pulled for the thousandth time, he simply snapped. Grinder became...well, angry and you won't like Grinder when he's angry. Wielding his cymbals with the dexterity of a ninja Grinder can quickly unleash his patented "Organ Grinder" move - which performs exactly as advertised."

Carney Vore

Carney Vore

Unlike most of his furry brethren, Carney Vore eschews the normal greens and carrots for the sweet taste of red meat. An intimidating fact in and of itself, but nothing compared to the knowledge that Carney actually owns several fur coats made from other rabbits! This is no cuddly little, egg hiding bunny - no, no, this is one bad hombre.

Ratputin

Ratputin

"Born and raised on the wharfs of Brooklyn, Raputin learned how to handle himself by taking on entire prides of alley cats at the same time. His teeth and claws have been filed to razor sharp points from gnawing and burrowing through the sides of iron-hulled ships and let's just say a sewage treatment plant has nothing on his deadly breath."

Roadkill Racoon

Roadkill Racoon

"Mowed down by various forms of transportation including an 18-wheeler toting amusement park rides for the circus, Roadkill has bounced back from every life threatening accident you can think of. Sure he may hobble a bit here and there, you may even think you've got the best of him - but beware - this racoon knows how to play 'possum."

Madame Luciel and myself played this for a while (well, half an hour) and it didn't get boring during that time. Usually I can play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'-type games for about 5 minutes before my brain loses the will to think, but BMB was actually quite an interesting diversion. You can also write custom taunts to your opponent, which is fun if you have silly friends or you just like telling everyone how much better than them you are!

Madame Luciel as Organ Grinder, kicking my ass as Roadkill Racoon

If you have the latest version of Windows Live Messenger (and a friend!) you should try it out. However, if you don't, you can try it out on the BMB website in single player mode. You can only choose Krazy Clown and Organ Grinder though.

Big Monster Battle Website

 

More screencaps after the cut below↓

Music: Suberutons

It's not strictly horror, but it is a little bit of strangeness from Japan, featuring three guys dancing around in skeleton suits! Suberutons (スベルトンズ) theme song~!

Thank you to Gabrielle for showing us this video!

For more info on Suberutons you can visit the sites below:
Official Site
Twitter

Toys: Monst☆rs

Photo by Kei

Monstars are the brainchild of the ever creative Kei (yes, that that prefix appears on her birth certificate) from the crafting blog Unfortunately Oh! They are all designed and made by Kei and have their own personalities and little hearts to show you that they're not that scary. Of course, no one knows where those hearts actually came from...so it's probably best to take care of yours if you have one, just in case!

My Monstar, The Polka Dot Terror

I was lucky enough to be given my very own Monstar as a present and he now resides with his fellow horrors (above). He used to have a bow, but it was stolen by Nosferatu the cat. However, he was featured on Unfortunately Oh! along with his siblings recently, so you can see the red dottiness below.

TPDT says hello!

The Monstars come in all colours and shapes and have been shipped off to parts of the UK, Japan, Finland and Canada so far! If you ask Kei very very nicely, you too might be able to have a Monstar friend yourself!

Photo by Kei

For more wonderful craftiness, you should definitely visit Kei's blog:

Unfortunately Oh!

More Monstar photos below!↓

Haunted Places: Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy Castle during my visit in Summer 2010

One of the few things I like about the town I live in, is its close proximity to several interesting, spooky, unusual and beautiful places. The ruins of Berry Pomeroy Castle certainly fit all four of those categories very well. Situated near Totnes in Devon, the castle itself was built in the late 15th Century by the Pomeroys, followed by later buildings erected within the caslte walls by the Seymours during the 16th and 17th Centuries. It's also said to be one of the most haunted places in the UK, so naturally, I had to visit!

Even on a sunny day the exterior of the castle looks quite gloomy and foreboding. The inside is also very dark and claustrophobic, so I can see why some people might feel uneasy - with or without any paranormal happenings! However, there are many of tales of spooky happenings and two ghost stories in particular have been associated with Berry Pomeroy Castle since the early 1900's.

A far off view of the Castle, Summer 2010

The first apparition, known as 'The Blue Lady', is said to be that of the daughter of a Norman lord. After she gave birth to her own father's child, she strangled the baby in one of the tower rooms because she hated it so much. That seems an unlikely source for the ghost, as archeological research has shown that the castle did, in all likelyhood, not exist during Norman times. That said, 'The Blue Lady', whoever she may be, has been seen on numerous occasions, wearing a blue hooded cape, wringing her hands in despair and the cries of a baby are often said to be heard in the tower.

The second famous ghost associated with the castle is 'The White Lady', who is said to be that of Lady Margaret Pomeroy. The story goes that Lady Margaret was imprisioned by her sister, Lady Elanor, because they fell in love with the same man and she was jealous of Lady Margaret's beauty. After being locked in the tower for approximately 20 years, Lady Margaret was finally allowed to die slowly of starvation and now resides in the dungeons, ascending in order to lure people to the more dangerous parts of the castle. Strong feelings of malevolence, fear and hopelessness are also said to accompany her appearances.



A gloomy stairway through
a hole in the wall. Summer 2010 

There are also stories about people who have wanted to take a small rock or shard of brick home as a memento of their visit. They often feel a strong negativity afterwards and feel compelled to return the taken item. After doing so, they report that this negativity disappears completely. (Don't steal, kiddies!)

I have been to Berry Pomeroy Castle twice; once about twelve years ago and once last year. However, I didn't experience anything paranormal, nor did I feel anything particularly unwelcoming about any part of the grounds. In fact, I found it to be a very beautiful area and quite a relaxing location in which to spend time! Of course, that doesn't mean that there's nothing supernatural there; it just means that I didn't experience it personally. Then again, I do like "creepy" places, so it's possible I just didn't notice!

I don't know whether Berry Pomeroy Castle is haunted or not, but it's still a gorgeous place to visit with an interesting history and, if you do decide to visit, who knows what you'll find there...

For more information, visit the English Heritage page:

Berry Pomeroy Castle