macabre | SheWalksSoftly

Archive for macabre

Halloween Countdown: The Victorian Book of the Dead

Posted in Books, death, halloween, undead with tags Books, death, halloween, macabre, undead, victorian on October 23, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I just added this perfect piece of October reading to my wish list. It looks fantastic!

Chris Woodyard, author of the The Ghosts of the Past series, digs through long-buried newspapers and journals, for this fascinating look at the 19th-century obsession with the culture of death. The Victorian Book of the Dead unearths extraordinary tales of Victorian funeral fads and fancies, ghost stories, bizarre deaths, mourning novelties, gallows humor, premature burial, post-mortem photographs, death omens, and funeral disasters. Resurrected from original sources, these accounts reveal the oddities and eccentricities of Victorian mourning. Packed with macabre anecdotes, this diverting, yet gruesome collection presents tales ranging from the paranormal and shocking to the heartbreaking.

I took the liberty of grabbing screen shots of the table of contents.

Is this something you could see yourself reading?

The Victorian Book of the Dead

2 Comments »

Halloween Countdown: Oriental Trading Co.

Posted in day of the dead, decoration, halloween, macabre, skulls and skeletons, you can't handle the cute with tags clowns, day of the dead, decoration, halloween, macabre, owl, skulls and skeletons, you can't handle the cute on October 20, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I always like to do an Oriental Trading Co. roundup this time of year. Here are my favorite offerings from the 2016 catalogue.

Zombie Garden Gnome Set

Big Top Terror Cardboard Stand-Up

I love all their Day of the Dead offerings. This is the basic design.
Day of the Dead Skull Wall Decoration

I handmade a version of these years ago. Not your grandma’s die-cuts.
Bloody Weapon Cutouts

Halloween Roses with Eyeballs

And if you’re looking for something kid friendly, there are adorable Halloween Owl Favor Boxes

Halloween Countdown: House (Hausu), 1977

Posted in 70's, absurd, film, horror, japan, surreal with tags 70's, absurd, film, horror, japan, macabre, surreal on October 12, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

In the history of this blog, I don’t think I’ve ever had more to say about the topic of a post than I do about about the movie House (Hausu).

The film company approached director Nobuhiko Obayashi about making a film similar to Jaws. And he did…if Jaws were about the horror laden psychedelic journey of 7 giggling Japanese schoolgirls visiting a cannibal recluse and her demonic witch-cat. Did I mention the girls are named Gorgeous, Fantasy, Kung Fu, Melody, Mac, Prof and Sweet?

They proceed to get devoured one by one in the most absurdist fashion imaginable (well, nothing about this movie is actually “imaginable.” It clearly sprang forth from the deepest wellspring of the director’s haunted unconscious). It’s not just as if the movie were made by someone on acid, but as if the movie itself then came alive…and took acid.

I’ll be going back and creating a GIANT album of incredible screen shots from the film (the ones online don’t do any justice), but I needed to share this with you guys immediately.

Believe it or not, I’m put off by a lot of “weird for the sake of weird” films. But this is some next level awesomeness. I hesitate to discuss my favorite scenes because I’m holding each and every one of you accountable for seeing this film, and I don’t want to spoil the fun surprises, which come roughly every 6 seconds.

Yes, that image above is indeed a flying Kung Fu kick from a dismembered lower half of a human body.

Are you running to find this movie yet?

8 Comments »

Halloween Countdown: Undead Teds

Posted in horror, monsters, plush, toys, undead with tags horror, macabre, monsters, plush, toys, undead, undead teds, zombie on October 9, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

It’s pretty easy to find a variety of plush zombie creatures these days, but Undead Teds are a cut above (pun intended).

Watch one in action first:

Each UndeadTed is painstakingly made with individually custom-sculpted parts and hand-painted for a unique, grisly finish.

My favorite part of the descriptive text on the site is the following disclaimer:
Please note this is NOT intended as a toy and as such is NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.

Undead Teds

2 Comments »

Halloween Countdown: Dennis Carlsson

Posted in anatomy, art, halloween, macabre, monsters with tags anatomy, art, cartoon, halloween, horror, macabre, monsters on October 3, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Dennis Carlsson gives beloved pop culture cartoon characters a horror makeover.

I particularly love the way he does teeth and shining viscera.

Which cartoon would you like to see Carlsson reimagine?

Dennis Carlsson

2 Comments »

Desktop Goodies 9/17

Posted in 80's, absurd, anatomy, anthropomorphic, art, comics, creatures, death, ephemera, food, humor, illustration, macabre, meat, postcards, religion, retro, skulls and skeletons, vintage, you can't handle the cute with tags 80's, absurd, anatomy, anthropomorphic, art, comics, creatures, death, ephemera, food, humor, illustration, macabre, meat, postcards, religion, retro, skulls and skeletons, vintage, you can't handle the cute on September 17, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Be warned:

Sometimes I write fictional surrealist resumes in my head just for fun. I’m definitely adding “Can appear as a disembodied head and hypnotize crocodiles” to my skill set.

The daintiest amphibious juggler.

There is something very wrong with this cat’s hind quarters (or maybe very right as far as he’s concerned).

An unlikely friendship, indeed.

There are not nearly enough meat puns in the sentimental postcard industry.

So delightfully subtle…until you step in the wrong spot, that is.

Thank you, Rachel, for these next two. I’ll quote her here: “No means NO, Jesus!”

…but this is a sweater that many can afford. (I’m sure this man’s parrot has become clinically depressed from living with him).

Genuinely creepy. Not sure where this comes from. Hell, presumably.

I was going to write an individual comment for each of these, but they kind of work as a dyad.

I spent a while trying to figure out this “twelfth finger” thing. Does anyone get it?

Now, a giant chicken absconding with a child, anyone can understand.

2 Comments »

Eduard Wiiralt

Posted in art, macabre, monsters with tags art, Eduard Wiiralt, macabre, monsters on July 16, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Quick post…two incredible pieces by Eduard Wiiralt found on Monster Brains.

Ikuma Nao

Posted in art, macabre with tags art, macabre on May 17, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Ikuma Nao’s black and white works are wildly detailed, slightly morbid and jarring…filled with many nooks and crannies for the eyes to fall into.

There is a fascination with life amidst death, growth amidst decay. These opposing forces blend together seamlessly.

Ikuma Nao

2 Comments »

Insta-Goodies

Posted in art, cats, creatures, death, instagoodies, macabre, sea with tags art, cats, creatures, death, instagoodies, macabre, sea on March 24, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Just an Insta-Goodies post today, as I recover from an endoscopy…

Public Signs That Beg the Question “What Happened Here?”

Posted in absurd, humor, macabre, signs with tags absurd, humor, macabre, signs on January 7, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Buzzfeed has a collection of hilarious public signs and notices that leave the viewer wondering what on earth happened to necessitate the explicit clarification of these “rules” (though in many cases, it’s pretty obvious…and unfortunate).