Fashion: DraculaClothing

'Delicacy Underbust Corset' by DraculaClothing

'Gassmask Brooch' by DraculaClothing

Started in 2007 and currently based in the Czech Republic, DraculaClothing is an independent alternative clothing company run by Truls Stokka and Ida W. Thorsen. After a fruitless shopping expedition to Camden, the pair became tired of the many "alternative" clothes produced by companies that charged exorbitant amounts of money for poor quality items and very little choice. So rather than just complaining about it, Truls created DraculaClothing, aiming to provide excellent quality at reasonable prices, with Ida joining the company soon after. It's always a bonus to find that a business has been born from the ideas of people that honestly have a passion for the things that they create or the services that they provide. 

'Spider Web Earrings' by DraculaClothing

Originally, DraculaClothing mainly designed items for themselves and people they knew, but over the years they have grown in popularity immensely and now have customers from all over the globe! When buying online, there is, as always, the dreaded postage costs and goods taxes to consider, which often makes it more expensive to buy internationally, via the internet. However, with free worldwide shipping and the already affordable prices, paying the cost of import duties (outside the EU) is still cheaper than buying overpriced items from other companies. And let's be honest here, how many of us are even able to find a local shop, with this much choice and such beautiful items anyway, regardless of the costs?

'Steampunk Kitty T Shirt' by DraculaClothing

The other appealing thing about DraculaClothing is that, although they do seem to specialise in Steampunk, EGA/EGL and corsetry, they provide a lot of other choices too. The number of items they sell is huge and they are constantly expanding their range. 

Whatever your delightfully dark style may be - from elegant vampire to eccentric Steampunk, from Gothic Lolita to tightlacer - there's almost certainly something to suit your taste. There's even enough bats, skulls, spiders, gas masks, bloody shirts, and coffins to keep you horrific darlings happy! 

Many thanks to DraculaClothing for permission to use the images.


For more information, or to browse the DraculaClothing online store, visit the links below:

• DraculaClothing.com
• DraculaClothing Facebook Page
• DraculaClothing on Twitter

More photos after the cut below:

Contests: Win Your Favourite Items from The Soapy Shop of Horrors!

We know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "I'd really like to win some free stuff!", and so, dear devils and deviant dolls, we've teamed up with The Soapy Shop of Horrors so that you can! The colour / scent of each soap can be customised to suit your taste. So whether you want jasmine-scented pink skulls, chocolate-scented green gargoyles, or just want a surprise, you're sure to find something you love among Suze Laing's horror-themed soaps! 

"We'd really like to win some free stuff!"

We're giving 1 lucky monster the chance to win their favourite 5 soaps, and 2 runners up will receive one each! All you have to do is send us an e-mail in the 'Contact' section or comment on this post telling us which 5 soaps you want to win, and you'll automatically be entered! (Make sure you tell us which colour and scent you want too, unless you want a surprise).

You can find the full selection on The Soapy Shop of Horrors' website.


Closing date: February 1st, 2012

Good luck!

Games: Monstermind

Monstermind on Facebook

'Monstermind' is a Facebook game, in which you try to build a prosperous town while making monsters to attack your friends enemies with, set in 1940's-1960's sci-fi horror movies. Even the music is a gloriously cheesy monster movie score!

MONSTERMIND on Facebook

Your town, which will automatically be called '*your first name*-wood', is pretty empty when you first acquire it, but it doesn't take long to change that! Build houses for population, commerce buildings for money, defence to protect your lovely monsters...or people, and decorations to slow down enemy attacks. You can also change the name of your town, by clicking on it and typing/deleting. Naturally, I chose to call my town 'Horrorwood', since I'm just that original. Heh.

Now, whilst creating a thriving little town, in which you balance the population number with the amount of commerce, is all very fascinating, the best part of 'Monstermind' comes when you get to unleash your mutated creations onto another player's town! Kyahahahaha! You unlock new creature types with each level, from giant apes to giant women, and destructive robots to zombies! The first time you use them, a little information box Every kind of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to experiment to see which ones work well together in the town you're attacking.

For example, zombies might be fashionable horrors right now and you might want to use them, but they cannot take on tanks! Just leave those to the bigger, tougher monsters and let the zombies run shamble in when there's not much defence left. This is important, because you get to keep all of the surviving monsters after each attack. The more creatures you have left, the more you will have to use next time. The key to all the attacks is to take out the Town Hall as quickly as possible, because nothing can function without it!

Initially, you can only attack / be attacked by your friends' towns and Doomsday, but if you hire Eva for 100, you can spread terror and destruction to random player cities too. This makes it much easier to gain experience, collection items, and extra money. Of course, they can then send their monster minions to demolish your town too, so you need to defend it!

There are also quests that appear on the left-hand side of the screen from time to time. When you click them, an old fashioned TV appears and plays a little animated movie telling you what you need to do. Not all of the movies are finished (it simply says "coming soon"), and sometimes it can be difficult to tell what you should be doing, but there is a text summary at the end of the films. Also, the animations remind me of the cartoon 'Dexter's Lab', but I'm not entirely convinced that wasn't intentional.

For all its fun, 'Monstermind' is still a Facebook game, and they can be pretty tedious, and highly frustrating when you get to the point where you suddenly need to spend a stupid amount of real money in order to progress. That's usually the point when I stop playing. However, 'Monstermind' is different, because even though you can buy addons, you don't need to. You can trade in the collections to acquire specific things, such as monsters, buildings, and decorations for free, including some which can only be bought with real money ordinarily. Hopefully they'll keep this feature, as it's something that makes 'Monstermind' much more enjoyable than other games of a similar type.

Overall, 'Monstermind' is an amusing and enjoyable sci-fi horror-themed game that provides procrastinators everywhere with more distractions than usual. It has a cute charm for those who just want to cuddle the monsters, mixed with just enough destruction to keep budding world dominators entertained for hours!

Shopping: The Soapy Shop of Horrors

It's a dark and stormy night; a thick fog rolls in, distorting everything in sight, including your own reflection in the steam-covered mirror in front of you. Everything is silent and still, except for the low gush of flowing water. Suddenly, through the eerie mist, you see zombies, bats, spiders, skulls, brains, and all sorts of horrors in front of you! A shiver of terror creeps down your spine, but, being the knowledgeable spook slayer you are, you know just what to do...dissolve them in your bathwater! For these are no ordinary ghouls, dear devils - oh no! These are the fantastically frightening soaps from The Soapy Shop of Horrors, where "horror isn't just for Halloween...it's for bathtime too!" 

Each of these creepy cleaners are designed and handmade in the UK, by Soapy Shop of Horrors founder Suze Laing. She started the shop after "buying some “Halloween” soap for friends in the U.S.A" and, after finding that the UK selection was somewhat limited, she began to make her own. Following this creative soap crafting, Suze had a breakthrough moment, and realised that "maybe, just maybe, others would want some oddly shaped soaps too, and not just at Halloween!". She was right!

'Bat' by Soapy Shop of Horrors

As well as the products being gory and gorgeous, they're amazingly detailed, and most look like little sculptures rather than soap! This level of detail, together with with the ability of the buyer to choose the colour and scent combination desired, for most of the items on sale, and really affordable prices, make The Soapy Shop of Horrors a very unique and delightfully strange find. Moreover, the little facts about the featured soap horror character, at the bottom of each page, are a great bonus, and make the website interesting and endearing too!

'Skull' by Soapy Shop of Horrors

Many thanks to Suze Laing for permission to use the images and video! 

To find out more, or to buy a Soapy Horror, take a look at the sites below:

The Soapy Shop of Horrors

Twitter

Facebook

Suze Laing's Website

Friday 13th: Jason & His Gingerbread Victims

As you all know by now, today is Friday 13th, and in addition to being a notoriously unlucky day for the superstitious, it is also Fright-day Foods time here on HSL! Today's Creepy "cooking" is:

Jason Voorhees & His Gingerbread Victims

Ridiculously easy how-to guide after the bloody machete cut below↓

Friday 13th: 13 'Friday the 13th'-themed Items

Next up: 13 items featuring the 'Friday the 13th' movie series:

1. Jason Voorhees Goblet

Jason Goblet from Haunt Your Home

It's made of plastic, cheap, and fairly tacky, but I actually really like this! Say what you will about my lack of taste, but I want one :D They're available from Haunt Your Home, along with an array of other Friday the 13th items, including a Freddy Krueger & Jason platter, Friday the 13th bowl, and Jason shot glasses.

2. Friday The 13th Nike Dunk Sneakers

Friday the 13th Nike Dunk Sneakers designed by Mizzee Customs

I'm usually not a fan of sneakers, but even I have to admit that these custom Nike Dunk Sneakers from Mizzee Customs are pretty great. The details - from the "blood splatter" to the picture of Jason and one of his victims to the 'Crystal Lake' writing and red soles - make these unusual and aesthetically pleasing too! They're available on DunkSneaker.com.

3. Jason Voorhees Musical Halloween Lights

I found this video over at I-Mockery.com and, even though the company that made the lights don't seem to know the difference between Friday the 13th and Halloween (listen to the music), I still think these are awesome for two reasons: 1) I'd rather hear the Halloween theme than the annoying echo-ki-ing and ma-ing from Friday the 13th, and 2) These ones look much better than the official ones (below). :D

Official Friday the 13th lights from Entertainment Earth

4.  Jason Voorhees' Dog "Machete" Sculpture by Undead Ed

Sculpture by Undead Ed

Obviously, Jason never really had a dog in the movies, but this is an art piece by Undead Ed, and since I've never seen another one, it's in this post! After all, "Even Jason from Friday the 13th needs a pet...Dogs are a PSYCHO's best friend!". The sculpture was already sold on Undead Ed's Etsy page, but you can still view the listing here.


5. Women's Jason Costume

Women's Jason Costume from HalloweenCostumes.net

I guess if Jason has a dog, he might also want a sexy psycho fangirl girlfriend too? Or maybe this is what Mrs. Voorhees looked like in her younger days? Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? :D

"Horror movies are showing the love to the ladies with this women's Jason Voorhees mask! This sexy horror movie costume features a black, polyester dress with a Jason-mask logo in the front (**note that the logo is purple, not white as pictured)."

The logo is purple? Oh yeah! Remember that time when Jason wore a purple mask? Yeah, me neither. >.> Also, the "mask" she's holding is actually a bag, which is kind of cool I guess. The costume is available at HalloweenCostumes.net and goes with their Men's Jason costume, which I won't even start on.


6. Camp Crystal Lake Sign

Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake

This Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake sign on Entertainment Earth would make a great addition to a horror /  'Friday the 13th' display for those who didn't just want to have Jason figures everywhere.




7. Pop! Jason Bobblehead

Jason Voorhees Bobblehead on NeatoShop

You knew it was going to be somewhere on the list. There's a bobblehead of just about everyone, and Jason Voorhees is no exception. In fact, there are quite a few, but this one is definitely the cutest! It's still listed on NeatoShop, but sadly, I think it's out of stock now.


8. Funko Jason Plushie

Jason Funko Plushie

Another cute addition to the Friday the 13th plethora of merchandise is this adorable little plush toy. As the shop page says, "Jason has never been so cute and cuddly!". I'm pretty sure there's a reason for that. Then again, if he looked as harmless and unassuming as this, it would certainly make catching his victims a lot easier! Another found on NeatoShop.


9. Mezco's Cinema Of Fear Jason Roto Plush

Jason Roto Plush

If you like your horror plushies to look a little more horrific, then this Jason roto plush from Mezco might be more your style. Standing at an appropriate 13" tall, this "cuddly killer" comes with his trusty machte and is dressed in a hockey jersey. I rather like this one; I also rather like that Mezco are trying to draw in as many customers as they can by saying that not only will horror fans appreciate this toy, but "hockey fans that enjoy their team a bit more on the aggressive side" will love it too!


10. Jason Hockey Mask Cap

Hockey Mask Cap

An alternative for those of you that really don't want to wear a mask! It's available from TheMovieShop.com. Unfortunately, instead of looking like a creepy horror icon, you might just end up looking like a 'Mighty Duck'. That's pretty scary too though.


11. Friday the 13th Mouse & Mouse Pad

Blood-filled Mouse Pad and Hockey Mask Mouse

According to Friday the 13th the Film Franchise, this mouse pad / mouse combo pack was given out to some lucky contest winners and select members of the press to promote the release of 'Friday the 13th 2009'. The mouse is a hockey mask and the mouse pad is filled with blood. It doesn't look particularly comfortable to use, but it's still pretty fantastic!


12. Jason Voorhees Mask Cake

Hockey Mask Cake

Horror-themed cakes are always fun! This one was made by Wing-Ding on Cake Central. "Fondant covered and the "blood" is thickened colored piping gel. The cake is red butter cake torted with red vanilla pudding. It also has chocolate buttercream."  Yum!


13. Jason Hockey Mask Ring

Hockey Mask Ring

Released by Gentle Giant, whose name seems completely inappropriate here, this hockey mask ring was sold on Big Bad Toys, and various other outlets. Gentle Giant made a few other Friday the 13th-related items too, but they seem to be sold out now.


What's your favourite 'Friday the 13th' item? Let us know!

Friday 13th: 13 Facts About Friday 13th

Boudi's Lucky 13 Brand Logo

Dear dolls and devils, in honour of today being Friday 13th, today's entries will be filled with suitably themed posts! To start things off, 13 facts about this (un)lucky day:


1. The name for the fear of Friday 13th is paraskavedekatriaphobia (from Greek: Paraskevi = Friday, dekatreis = 13, phobia = fear) or friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga = Norse goddess after whom Friday is named, triskaidekaphobia = fear of the number 13).


2. There are always at least 1 and at most 3 Friday 13ths in each year.


3. Public figures born on Friday 13th include: Fidel Castro (August 1926), Butch Cassidy (April, 1866), Samuel Beckett (April 1906), and Margaret Thatcher (October, 1923) 


4. In some Spanish-speaking countries, and Greece, Tuesday 13th is an unlucky day.


5. In addition to today, there are two more Friday 13ths this year in April and July. 


6. Asteroid 99942 Apophis is expected to make a close approach to Earth on Friday 13th, 2029.


7. The Olympic Games in Athens opened on Friday 13th, August, 2004.


8. The British Medical Journal found that although less people drove on Friday 13th, more accidents and hospital admissions due to vehicular accidents occurred, when compared to other Fridays.


9. Due to the fears of their passengers, some ocean liners will not leave the dock until after midnight on Friday 13th.

10. There are never more than 14 months between each Friday 13th.

11. Four movies in the 'Friday the 13th' franchise ('Part III', 'The Final Chapter', 'Part VII: The New Blood', and 'Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday') were actually released on Friday 13th, as was the 2009 version of 'Friday the 13th'.

12. A year with 3 Friday 13ths occurs only once approximately every 11 years.

13. The superstitions surrounding Friday 13th are thought to exist because of the combination of 13 and Friday, both of which have negative connotations in their own right. However, in the 19th Century, a book called 'Friday the Thirteenth' was released and did much to popularise the bad luck superstitions surrounding this date.

Games & Reviews: The Binding of Isaac

Released on Steam last September, and loosely inspired by the Biblical tale of the same name, 'The Binding of Isaac' is an independent 2D game, designed by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl. A small boy called Isaac lives with his mother on a hill, where they live a simple but happy life. Isaac draws pictures, while his mother watches Christian TV shows. One day, Isaac's mother hears the voice of God, telling her that her son is evil and needs to be cleansed of the corruption around him. So she takes his toys, crayons, and even his clothes away from him in an attempt to purify him. 

However, this is apparently not enough, and she hears the voice of God a second time, telling her that Isaac is still a sinner. This time, Isaac's mother locks him in his room, hoping that this will please her Lord. Unfortunately for Isaac, it doesn't, and his mother once again hears the voice of God. He demands that she sacrifice Isaac in order to prove her love and devotion to him, and she agrees to comply immediately. Isaac hears her conversation though, and escapes into the basement just before his mother reaches him. Sadly for Isaac, the basement happens to be full of monsters!

You go through the game as Isaac (or other unlockable characters), making your way through the many rooms of the impressively vast basement, where he is forced to confront all sorts of horrors, both in the present and from his past. Whilst the plot sounds pretty serious and gloomy, it really isn't and the game is full of surprises, dark humour, and the bizarre. 

The controls are fairly simple and easy to remember, but are written on the floor of the first room in every chapter, just in case you should forget. 

It is honestly an addictive game, especially with the random enemy and terrain generator at work, ensuring that no two play-throughs are the same. Whichever levels you get though, you can be sure that they'll be filled with creepy-crawlies, blood (and other bodily fluids), utterly strange power-ups,  various secrets, and...poop.

Overall, 'The Binding of Isaac' is a fun, quirky game, that doesn't take itself too seriously and provides hours of entertainment. In addition to the gameplay being enjoyable, the music, written by Danny Baranowsky, is also fantastic and sets the mood of each area wonderfully. It's surprising, especially considering that the game only costs  £3.99 (or £4.98 if you buy it together with the soundtrack). Well worth it!

To play the demo, buy the full game, or find out more, check out the links below:

The Binding of Isaac Demo on Newgrounds

The Binding of Isaac Steam Page

The Binding of Isaac Wiki on Wikia

Movies: Warm Bodies

Hello there my spooky kids!

I'm spamming you with movies lately but I just feel there are a bloody great bunch coming out this year!

This time, I'm gonna introduce you to "Warm Bodies".

Being totally honest, this movie first caught my eye because of its main actor, Nicholas Hoult, who stole my little heart in the first season of the TV series "Skins", but after reading the synopsis it's not just him starring in a horror movie what makes this movie appealing for me:

" After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world. "

Romance between a zombie guy and a human girl? It really doesn't sound like the typical zombie film does it?

"Warm Bodies" directed by Jonathan Levine will be released the 10th of August this year.

Movies: The Woman in Black

Hello there my spooky kids!

Here I come with another great movie being released pretty soon.

"The Woman in Black" is based on Susan Hill's novel of the same name and due to release in the USA on 3 February 2012 and in UK cinemas on 10 February 2012.

This movie actually caught my eye first because you will all recognize the main actor: Daniel Radcliffe, better known for his Harry Potter role ;) I think it will be interesting to see him out of Hogwarts, and even more in a Horror thriller!

Here you are the summary of the plot!

"Young lawyer Arthur Kipps leaves his son in London to settle the legal affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. He discovers that a series of inexplicable accidents and suicides have forced the parents of her village to barricade their children indoors, as if protecting them from an unseen foe. When Arthur stays the night all alone at the Drablows' foreboding house, he hears the screams of a drowning child and sees decaying children listlessly wandering the marshes. He will soon discover these haunting figures share the same date of death, and the same killer.

The ghost of a scorned woman, who was unable to save her beloved son Nathaniel from drowning, The Woman In Black, takes on a horrifying form. Set on vengeance, her veil hides gaping sockets eaten away by scavengers and her curse hides an even darker secret - whenever she is seen, a child dies.

In the face of hostility from the local residents, Arthur dredges up Nathaniel’s skeleton and buries it with his mother, hoping the evil spectre will finally rest in peace. In a cruel twist of fate, the Woman In Black turns her claws towards Arthur’s young son. To avoid a fate worse than death, Arthur must now sacrifice everything he holds dear and save his child."

Movies: Tim Burton's Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie

Hello there my spooky kids!

Great news for every Tim Burton fan (and I include myself in there!).

We will get TWO new movies from this horror genius this year;

First one I'm going to talk about: Dark Shadows, and the release date is actually quite close, the 11th of May!

Among the cast, we find the usual names such as Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and other not-so-usual but interesting ones such as Michelle Pfeiffer.

The movie's based on a TV show from the 60s and it's a vampire-related story.

The second one is "Frankenweenie", starring Winona Ryder, which will be released the 5th of October and tells us how Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences. I'm pretty sure you're familiar with this one anyway since it's based on his old shorts... ;)

Don't know about you but I'm bloody excited about this!

Movies: Paranormal Activity 4

Hello there my spooky kids!
How did you all start the new year? I hope in the most spookylicious way possible ;D!

Today I bring you some news you've probably already heard: we're gonna get another Paranormal Activity sequel, coming out this year.
The release date for "Paranormal Activity 4" is set to October 19, 2012 and very little is known about the plot, but we've already watched enough of these movies to have a general idea of what it will be about I think! ;)
I'm not a big fan of these movies, but for those of you who are, hope you enjoy the news!

Art & Dolls: Georgie D'Kay

Hailing from Akron, Ohio, "deviant doll artist" Georgie D'Kay takes unassuming little pretties and transforms them into the brilliantly bizarre beauties known as Little Murderess Dolls and ArachnoKids.  

ArachnoKids

Each serenely scary doll is hand-crafted, meaning every one of them is finished to a high-quality standard and unique. It is unsurprising then that her D'Kay's work has been featured in galleries and collections  including Thirteenth Floor and Oddmall.

Even more impressive than her dolls, are Georgie D'Kay's absolutely gorgeous and amazingly detailed 3D sculptures on canvas, which are both haunting and divine. Particularly wonderful are the macabre "Corpse-Art" pieces 'Red Catrina' and 'Two-Headed Corpse Sculpture', which would make an outstanding adornment to any wall.

To see more delightfully dark artwork, and to keep up to date with Georgie D'Kay's work, be sure to visit the links below:

Georgie D'Kay's Website

Etsy Store

Twitter

Ebay Store

Facebook

Many thanks to Georgie D'Kay for permission to use the images!

Comics & Art: Charles Addams

Charles Addams (1912 - 1988), aged  63 (Photo: Wikipedia)

If you happen to use Google search today, you'll notice that it's taken on a delightfully spooky look. That, dear devils, is because today is the 100th birthday of American artist Charles Addams, the creator of the legendary Addams Family comic strip. Or rather, it would have been, had he not passed away in September 1988. That technicality aside, it's wonderful that we can still all enjoy the fabulously macabre wit that Addams left behind!

Addams Family Google "Doodle", celebrating the 100th anniversary of Charles Addams' birth

Tee & Charles Addams Foundation