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No, I don’t want to wear a pumpkin on my head. No. Never. What? What’s that? You’ll let me eat chicken if I wear it? Hmm… What? You’ll hand feed it to me? As much as I want? Gimme that pumpkin hat!
This cat is named Jumbo Pillow. Isn’t that perfect? The food is boiled chicken dipped in pumpkin. (via Cynical-C)
Admit it, you’ve experienced this scenario yourself at one time or another, haven’t you? From the webcomic Loading Artist by Gregor Czaykowski. Link -via The Daily What
This house better stock up on Halloween candy, because they’re guaranteed to have a flood of trick or treaters this year! The brilliant light show changes with the music, and animated pumpkin faces sing along. I wonder what these people are going to do to their house for Christmas?
–via Ology
We’ve featured a bunch of pumpkin carvings for Halloween so far, but Flavorwire’s literary collection definitely has some of the most highbrow jack-o-lantern designs we’ve seen so far.
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If you’re going to let someone make the world’s largest pumpkin carving, you might as well make sure he’s an amazing artist. That’s why it’s so great that Artist Ray Villafane was given the honor of carving the record breaking pumpkin this year. Enjoy more pics at the link.
Link Via The Daily What
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Feast your eyes on these creative jack-o-lanterns designed to display your favorite video games! Ranker listed 35 of them -not 35 jack-o-lanterns; there are way more than that, but 35 video games that have been carved on pumpkins. From Oregon Trail to Halo, from Tetris to Doom, you’ll see them all, and get some great ideas for your own jack-o-lantern! Link -Thanks, Brian!
Halloween is a time for silly costumes, and some use it as an excuse to drag out every racial and cultural stereotype they can think of for a silly costume. That’s not cool. Students Teaching Against Racism (STARS) is an organization at Ohio University that put out a series of posters to “educate and create dialog” and to ask people to think before they select an insensitive Halloween costume. See the rest of the posters at Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Link -via I Am Bored
If
a girl wants to dress like a boy this Halloween, that seems like a good
lesson in busting gender stereotypes learned. But what if your boy wants
to dress up as a princess?
That's the dilemma facing one family in Glendora, California, this Halloween:
"My first reaction was 'He wants to be a princess? We're there!' " said mama Anna. But almost everybody she talked with about Luc's intention told her, "Whoa; that's a bad, bad, bad idea."
For a girl who grew up wanting to dress like a boy, Luc's choice felt like a blow against stereotyping. "But I'm trying to leave my inner activist at home," she said, "and just do what's best for my son.
"It's one thing to say 'Son, you can be anything you want. Our society needs to be less uptight.' "
It's another thing entirely to consider how a boy in a princess dress will be treated when all the other boys are trick-or-treating in Superman or Power Rangers costumes.
"I want to encourage him to stand up and be himself," she said. "But my 4-year-old is too little and too fragile to know where the social boundaries are. And I don't want his feelings hurt on what should be one of his happiest nights."
Oh, did I mention that the parents are two gay moms?
Sandy Banks of The Los Angeles Times has the story: Link (Photo: Gina Ferazzi/LA Times)Anna and Louisa remember the sea of "Yes on 8" signs that sprouted around them in 2008, when the measure banning gay marriage was on the ballot. Gay marriage was rejected that year by voters, just months after the couple officially wed on June 17, the first day gay marriage was legal in California.
Now, Anna envisions those folks snubbing her trick-or-treating princess-boy.
"I imagine that when those Glendorans shut their doors, they're going to say 'See, that's why lesbians shouldn't raise children.' "
I’ve never bothered carving mini pumpkins because the process seems so unrewarding compared to carving a regular pumpkin. That being said, I might just change my mind after seeing these adorable string lights created by Evil Mad Scientist Labs.
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These specimens in jars look pretty nasty, and the labels make them seem even worse. But believe it or not, they are all not only edible, but tasty! They contain unfamiliar fruits, or foods cut into odd shapes. Your Halloween guests will be delighted, if they can get over the willies and try them out. Get the recipes at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. Link -via Buzzfeed
If you absolutely adore Disney’s Haunted Mansion, then why not incorporate your own version of the ride’s classic Grim Grinning Ghosts for your Halloween decor this year? Instructables has all the directions you need to get your ghosts socializing.
Link Via Laughing Squid
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If you’ve managed to put together a great steampunk version of a pop culture costume, but just can’t seem to find the right helmet, Etsy user Kyobb just might have what you’re looking for. Of course, even if they don’t work for your costume, they are simply stunning to look at and would make great home decor.
Link Via Geeks Are Sexy
Don’t make any sudden movements around this jack-o-lantern -unless you happen to have a sonic screwdriver on hand that is. Have any of you ever made pumpkins dedicated to your favorite geeky tv show?
Redbox, the movie rental kiosk, has an interesting thing going on. Apparently a few people planning to dress up as the ubiquitous red boxes caught the attention of the company, who decided to give their fans a hand.
A few weeks ago, we started noticing that a lot of people were planning to dress up as redbox kiosks for Halloween. Some of the costumes are simple, and some are elaborate, but they are all amazing. So we decided to help out. No gimmicks, no strings, no costs. Just simple fun.
Broseph featured above hand-drew his letters, but if you too would like to be a certain fiery-hued DVD rental box for Halloween, head over to DressLikeRedbox and get some downloadable costume assistance, including printable stickers and templates. Link
Thanks, Michael!
Image: Nashville Metromix
If you’re the kind of person who finds commercial haunted houses boring and instead loves traveling to macabre places, then you’d better start booking your tickets because we’ve compiled some of the creepiest and scariest places on earth. Of course, if you’re squeamish and don’t like to read about death or look at pictures of long-dead bodies, then you should probably skip ahead because this article just isn’t for you.
At first glance, the Aokigahara Forest near Mount Fuji is an ideal nature destination, filled with stunning trees growing on hard volcanic rock, and icy, rocky caverns. But the forest has a much darker side, one that was popularized with the 1960 novel Nami no T?, where the main characters end up committing suicide in the area. While Aokigahara was always a destination for the forlorn to end their lives, Nami no T? made the idea much more popular and since the book was released, an average of 30 people kill themselves in the area every year, with a record-setting body count of 108 deaths in 2004.
The government has put out a number of signs in both Japanese and English urging people to reconsider their decision and seek psychiatric help. Once a year, a group of volunteers patrols the forest looking for bodies. These body hunters mark off the areas they are exploring with plastic tape that is never removed. Thus, even if you never see a dead body or ghost roaming the forest, you are still bound to see signs of the forest’s secrets wherever you happen to go.
Image Via Al Kaiser [Flickr]
Unless you already have a doll phobia, the idea of an island filled with dolls doesn’t sound all that creepy at first. It’s once you learn that the dolls are mutilated and left hung in trees while they rot away, all in honor of a drowned little girl that you start to realize just how creepy this macabre tourist destination really is.
It all started over fifty years ago, when the island’s only resident, Don Julian Santana found the body of a dead little girl in the canal where the island sits. He was haunted by her memory and soon started hanging dolls in the trees to appease the girl’s spirits and to ward off evil spirits from entering the island. Doll heads, arms, legs, etc. are sprawled out across the island in a strange sacrifice to prevent further evil. Strangely though, in 2001, Don Julian suffered the same fate as the little girl, drowning in the canal beside his home. Some people believe this was the work of the dolls who have since become inhabited by evil spirits. These days, the dolls remain the sole occupants of one of Mexico’s darkest tourist attractions.
Image Via SkilliShots [Flickr]
The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo started when the local monastery outgrew its original cemetery, so the monks decided to mummify one of their recently deceased brothers before placing him in their newly opened catacombs. The process seemed to work well, so the monks began mummifying all of their fallen comrades and placing them in the catacombs. After a few centuries, word spread about the monk’s unique burial methods and it soon began to be a status symbol for rich people to be entombed in the catacombs buried in their finest clothing. Some people even left wills requesting that their clothing be changed by their family members at regular intervals.
The last friar was buried in the catacombs in 1871, but famous people from the area continued to be interred up until the 1920s. There are now about 8000 mummies lining the walls of the many hallways, which have been organized into categories: men, women, virgins, children, priests, monks and professionals. Some of the bodies are even set in poses, including the bodies of two children who sit together in a rocking chair.
Anton Semenov is an artist at an advertising agency by day, but at night, his digital paintings take a turn for the dark and become much more interesting. While most people probably wouldn’t feel comfortable having his art plastered up in their bedrooms, it certainly demonstrates a lot of talent and is great to look at around Halloween.
Link Via Ratamatata
If you wear a costume that illustrates an internet meme, you might find yourself explaining it over and over, but when someone “in the know” sees you and gives a thumbs up, it’s all worth it! Still, this Old Spice Guy shown here will probably be recognized by everyone. Our own Jill Harness put together a list of the hottest meme Halloween costumes for this year in a list at Oddee. Link
BuzzFeed has a collection of 5 Star Wars pumpkins, but most of them are just death star pumpkins, which have been done over and over. On the other hand, this pumpkin Yoda is definitely worth a closer look. The artist, Joseph Y., even offers some advice on how he was made:
“Three pumpkins were used. One for the head, one for the body and one for the ears and hands. Attached parts with barbecue skewers and floral pins. Added plastic eyes and some old burlap for the robe. I used clay-sculpting tools and an X-Acto blade.”
Would you ever try your hand at something like this? Personally, I’m lucky if I can carve a scary face on my Jack-o-lanterns.
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Is it bad to be born on Halloween? After all, the holiday - which has been traced to have Pagan roots - is all about death and horror.
So what's a pregnant woman who's due to give birth on October 31st to do? She defies biology, that's what! Here's what Yale researchers found by analyzing the birth statistics in the past 11 years:
All types of births — natural, C-section, induced — decreased significantly on All Hallows’ Eve. Overall, a whopping 11.3% decrease in births was seen on this day across the years. That’s a pretty clear indicator that women don’t want their babies associated with hauntings and horror.
Okay, so the numbers are definitive. But how could women exert control over when they give birth?! The short answer is that no one has any idea. The closest that these authors come to suggesting a psychophysiological mechanism is to say that wanting to give birth on Valentine’s Day and resisting giving birth on Halloween could, for a short time, alter the hormonal mechanisms responsible for determining birth timing.
Link - via This isn't happiness
Last week, I told you about 10 Things You Can Do With Your Ashes, but if you want to read about some really creepy postmortem activities, be sure to check out Mental Floss’ great article about 10 Things Your Body Can Do After You Die, including getting married and standing trial.
On Halloween, we get the chance to involve our sweet little children in our geekiest cosplay fantasies. Or we can just enjoy other people’s children, dressed in the geekiest trick-or-treat costumes ever! See dozens of the most adorable geek baby Halloween costumes at NeatoBambino. This child may not have even been born when the movie Nacho Libre came out, but he’s carrying on the tradition! Link
Don’t have a lot of money but still want to have a fearsome Halloween costume? If you have the art skills you can always try making your own skull face painting like this one by Redditor Fakeproject.
Link Via BoingBoing
Some of the most popular Halloween costumes are monsters and flappers, so if you are a female that already is a monster, a flapper is a natural costume choice. Artist Jeffery Thomas has a great collection of a variety of monster gals glammed up as flappers and the artwork is simply fantastic.
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With Halloween coming up, you can dec-horror-ate your haunted house with easy, do-it-yourself paper silhouettes! Craft magazine has instructions and PDFs available so you can sketch out the shapes or take them to a print shop.
Link -via Boing Boing
I can’t think of a single costume that works nearly as well for a one-legged woman (or that’s so sexy) as this Christmas Story lamp costume.
Link Via BoingBoing
Halloween Mini Microbe Box – $24.95
Forget ghouls and goblins! Nothing screams happy Halloween like a Jack o’ Lantern shaped box filled with scary microbes from the NeatoShop. The Halloween Mini Microbe Box contains 5 fabulously costumed mini microbe plush toys:
Limited supply available. Get your Halloween Mini Microbe Box today.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Giant Microbe or Halloween fun!
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Meaghan Mountford shows you step-by-step how to make your own frightening Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops for a ghoulishly glorious Halloween treat! Any recipe that calls for “candy eyes” is alright by me. Can you get those at the corner market? Link -via Laughing Squid
Spooky
Corks (Set of 3) - $24.95
Here are the perfect Halloween item for your favorite wine lover: the Spooky Corks wine bottle stoppers exclusively from the NeatoShop. The handmade wine corks feature a pumpkin, a tombstone, and a witch's hat. They're handmade and handpainted by local indie artists here in California (made in USA - yay!) and are unfrighteningly priced at just $9.95 a piece (save $5 when you buy all three)
Link | More fun Halloween stuff
Comments Off If these short animations don’t put you in the mood for Halloween, I don’t know what will. Michel Gagné originally made these for Halloween Weekend on Nickelodeon in 2005, but some of them proved to be just a little too disturbing for kids and never aired. There’s nothing explicit… they’re just a little… well… you’ll see. The series was recently spun into an XBox game called Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet.
Link via Laughing Squid
If you’re looking to plan a creepy vacation for Halloween time, the BBC has you covered with this wonderful article documenting some of the scariest spots on earth. Pictured is the Island of the Dolls.
Lying off the canals of La Xochimilco, in Mexico, is a chinampa (floating garden) covered with the hundreds of dolls. Gathered by Don Julian Santana Barrera who scrounged rubbish piles, the dolls were hung from trees to keep away evil spirits and remember the drowning death of a young girl. According to Barrera, the dolls he planted and hung around the chinampa were still alive, but forgotten by their owners. While alive, Barrera would move the dolls around the island from different trees, creating a chilling sight. The chinampa is accessible by boat and the dolls are still around, despite Barrera’s death in 1992.
Personally, I’d love to visit any of these spots, but I’m a bit morbid.
Link Image Via SkilliShots [Flickr]
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