The Candy Hierarchy

Before you purchase any Swedish Fish for this year's trick-or-treaters, you might want to check out "The Candy Hierarchy".  Created by Ben Cohen (an environmental historian over at the University of Virginia) it sets out to rank candy according to "emotional zeal" or "joy induction."  I always suspected that licorice sucked.  Now I have scientific proof!

(Via Boing Boing)

Driving Miss Corpse-y

"It is hard to shock a seasoned police officer, but police in the Los Angeles area say they have never seen what they found in a woman's car this week. They say a woman was driving around for months with a dead mummified body in the front passenger's seat." (Click here to see a local news report on this incident)

Ghosts are strong!

By artist Reed Barrow

(Via Who Killed Bambi)

Shall I visit Netherworld???

Since my Halloween has been cancelled this year, I'm trying to fill my newly empty social calendar with trips to haunts that I've always wanted to check out.
Last weekend I spent some time at Six Flag's FrightFest.  This weekend I'll be going to experience Haunted Overload in New Hampshire.  What do you think of my spending next weekend at Netherworld in Atlanta?

Have you ever been?  Is it worth checking out?

(Photo courtesy of Deviant Art)

Remote control spiders

The commercial's sort of lame, but this product seems cool.  It can crawl up walls and across the ceiling?  The dark little wheels in my brain are turning...  Friends and neighbors beware!

Nightmare on Elm Street - The Inside Story

In time for Halloween, BIO Channel offers two programs going inside famously scary films. The two-part event Nightmare on Elm Street: The Inside Story Part 1 airs October 20 at 9p and Part 2 on October 21 at 9p; and Halloween: The Inside Story airs October 28 at 9p takes a look at the making of John Carpenter's 1978 horror masterpiece. "The definitive account of what many have called the best, most frightening and imaginative horror franchise in motion picture history. This original 2-part documentary features interviews with directors including Wes Craven, Renny Harlin, Ronny Yu and the stars including John Saxon, Alice Cooper, Monica Keena and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund. This special will also showcase deleted footage, behind-the-scenes clips and rare cast and crew photos."

Napoleon Blownapart? Seriously?

I saw this for sale today at K-Mart.

Update: Skull face tattoo

I wrote about this guy back in 2007. At the time, he only (and I use the word "only" very loosely) had his face tattooed. Well, since then his zombification has continued and that haunted ink has spread over his entire body.

For more photos of Rick the tattooed zombie boy, click here.

Skeleton car

Check out the art of Jitish Kallat. He creates cars out of bones, and transcribes entire speeches by Mahatma Gandhi using bone-shaped letters.

(Via Who Killed Bambi)

Monsterized Mini-Cooper

I wish all cars had grills like this.

Haunted buildings

Dark Passage is a New York-based organization that explores (and photographs) abandoned buildings and derelict sites.

Halloween Express shoplifter punished

This is a great punishment. Very clever.

Get married in a haunted chapel

When I got hitched in Vegas it was at the Graceland Wedding Chapel with young Elvis presiding over the nuptials. (True story). Little did I know that Vegas also offers haunted weddings! For $850, Mandalay Bay will let you get married in their Halloween-themed wedding chapel on October 29, 30 or 31. (Or, if you're willing to wait until next year, I'll use my credentials as a minister in the Universal Life Church to marry you in my spooktacular front yard for FREE!)

(Via Halloween Addict)

Target hates your mom's homemade costumes

I get that they're in the business of selling costumes this time of year, but why did they have to make fun of crafty moms?  That's a pretty awesome looking Iron Man costume. 

Zombie Fest invite

This pillow was the invitation to a 2009 zombie-film festival. In 2010, "an envelope with holes in it was sent out to the members of the festival. Inside the envelope there was a fold-out poster with bullet holes everywhere, except for the head. (The only place where a zombie can be killed)." (Via Ads Of The World)

Making the pilgrimage to Haunted Overload!!

The only good thing about not being able to do my yard haunt this year is that I finally have time to go see those great haunted houses and terror trails that I've been coveting for years. My first stop is the amazing Haunted Overload in Lee, New Hampshire. (I used to think that the giant witch in my yard was big until I saw the monsters that Eric at Haunted Overload mounts onto telephone poles!)

***I need your help! My wife has agreed to make the six hour trek with me to see this haunt as long as I can provide her with a romantic meal and a nice bed & breakfast. Can any of you recommend a nice town near Lee, New Hampshire? Something quaint with nice stores that she can browse. She hates long car rides and isn't nearly as much of a haunt-enthusiast as I am, so I want to make this trip worth her while.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

(By the way, the photo above is from Haunted Overload's 2009 set-up.  I move my props around on a hand truck and they use a pick-up truck.  Amazing!)

Scrapyard skeleton

I found this scrap metal skeleton at the Washington County Fair in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Surprisingly, it was more anatomically acurate than many of the plastic skeletons for sale at Halloween time.

Dracula pinball machine

A friend of mine just purchased this Dracula pinball machine. It's from the late 70's. I can't believe I've never heard of this one before. Have you?

Halloween dog toys

There's a new dog in my family, so of course I had to outfit her with some haunt-worthy chew toys.

Anatomical Oscar Awards

Way back in March, around Oscar time, I discovered this statue while visiting Hollywood. Created by artist D*Face, it featured an Oscar statue, melting to expose muscle and bones. The title of this piece? "Beauty Is Skin Deep".

You can read more about this sculpture and artist here.

Fashionable skeletons

"A photographer will always be in need of his or her muse. During the mid 1990s famed fashion photographer Richard Avedeon shot iconic model Nadja Auermann various times (Versace ads included). The collaboration between the two peaked in 1995 when Avedon shot a 25 pages long spread for The New Yorker of Auermann together with a skeleton, labelling the series In memory of the late Mr. & Mrs. Comfort. Auermann appears in million dollar dresses together with her deceased husband, Mr Comfort. One of the most impressive fashion spreads from that time, Auermann was clad in pieces from Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Lacroix, Comme des Garçons, Manolo Blanik, Thierry Mugler, Versace and Margiela. Smoking, showering and dancing in a ring of fire it’s one of those moments in editorial history that makes you pause, reconsider and whisper 'oh, wow'."

(Via Looklet Magazine)

UPDATED: I Painted My House

Here's an update on my June 2009 post. I've learned that the graffiti artist who painted this house is named Kid-Zoom. Be sure to check out his stuff.

(Via Who Killed Bambi)

Posters by David O'Daniel

These handmade, silkscreen posters were made by David O'Daniel for the Castro Theatre in San Fransisco. (Via SuperPunch)

Werewolf--ish

Found via Ffffound)

The Naked Chef meets Eli Roth???

This photo of Jamie Oliver (the "Naked Chef") looks more like something out of a horror film than a television series advertisement. (By Jim Fiscus)