Frankenstein

Okay, so compared to vampires and werewolves, created creatures of the night like Frankenstein's aren't exactly given much attention. There's no tween romance about a monster getting zapped by lightning and lurching to life, falling in love with a patchwork mate, and I think that's because you just can't romanticise the way these guys are created. Every monster like this is intrinsically linked with death. Vampired can abstain (Black Ribboners), zombies can be cured, and witches usually turn out to be good, but for a monster like this to even exist, several people have to be murdered or maimed, which just isn't going to make 'em that popular. My goodness, it's getting hard to keep a light-hearted tone for these Halloween posts; there are such dark roots to all the stories. Fascinating stuff, I do love this holiday.

Anyway! These nifty gifts are mostly great for accessorising yourself or decorating a room for Halloween. In my search, I found there's not so much for the Frankenstein fans on Folksy, but what there is, is very cool. ^_^

 ~♥~ FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER ~♥~ 

         

 1                                                                            2

Witches

I know this isn't a particularly heavy blog, but I want to make one thing clear. I don't believe in the evil Disney witch stereotype, I have several friends that are spritually-minded, and I myself spent several years studying the subject. The witchy gifts I've picked out here are in no way intended to be offensive to any pagans, wiccans or spiritual people. With that in mind, I've always maintained that if someone external to yourself can upset one of your core beliefs with a joke or a light-hearted attitude, then perhaps you need to rethink that belief, if it can be so easily shaken.

Right! Serious moment over, these gifts are a great collection of witchy bits and pieces. I absolutely love kitchen witchery, so there are a few household decorations here as well as a great variety of witch prints, figures, a great trick or treat bag, and an absurdly cute knitting pattern.

 ~♥~ WITCHES~♥~ 

         

 1                                                   2

Vampires

Let's face it, vampires have been nearly ruined in the last few years. Sparkle, they should not. But there are a great deal of grumpy musings out there ranting on the subject, and I am (for once) not going to start another Twilight vs Every Other Kind Of Vampire debate. I'm a big fan of the old campy vampire movies, as well as more modern stories like Let The Right One In. DO NOT SEE THE RE-MAKE. Seriously. The original is amazing, and although OMG SUBTITLES, as long as you can read, it's still considerably better in every way. I also have a special place in my heart for Mona the Vampire, though I'm really not a fan of teen lovestruck my-vampirism-is-a-metaphor-for-my-awakening-sexuality nonsense. And one of my absolute favourite tv shows is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as I mentioned in the Zombies post. If you haven't given it the time of day because of the stupid name and the things you've heard, I heartily recommend ignoring yourself and giving it a good go.

You might have noticed that there are several plushies and sock toys. ^_^ From spending so much time on folksy, I'm definitely starting to fall in love with all these hand-crafted toys. Plus, I think vampires are a great subject for plushes, with their nommy little teeth and beady eyes, and the range of them here just shows how many ways there are to interpret the vampire look.

 ~♥~ VAMPIRES ~♥~ 

         

1                                                    2

Zombies

This one is for Tom and Lucy, you crazy zombie nuts. :P

I wasn't sure whether to include zombies for my Halloweeny posts, seeing as there really aren't that many things on folksy, but they're such a strong part of my Halloweens past that I really couldn't leave them out. I love zombie movies, from Night of the Living Dead classics to not-really-zombies-but-virus-victims 28 Days Later-style modern movies. Whether zombies are shuffling towards you or suddenly exploding out of a body bag, they're pretty terrifying things, and perfect for Halloween movie fodder.

I think the fear of them, aside from the murdering they do, comes from the fact that we all believe or would like to believe in life after death, and zombies take that but twist it around in a horrible, all-gone-wrong kind of way. Though the zombie thing can be done sensitively too. One of the most haunting moments in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about a zombie. I won't ruin it, for those that haven't seen it, but if you still haven't, I promise it is not as stupid as the title (which is ridiculously tongue-in-cheek), and if you can get past the one monster an episode thing they have going in series one and two, then you'll find a sensitively written, often hilarious, brilliant take on teenage/YA life, through several monstery metaphors. No, really, it is better than I'm making it sound. But I'll keep my rambling love for BTVS for the vampire post.

Though there weren't many zombie bits and pieces on folksy, there was some fantastic creativity going on here. I absolutely love these things ^_^ These gifts have been great in taking a traditionally scary theme and bringing it back down to an acceptable level of spooky. Excellent for Halloween decoration or dress-up! (Do click on the print for much better detail.)

 ~♥~ ZOMBIES ~♥~ 

           

1                                                     2

Ghosts

Ghosts! From Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde to Jacob Marley, ghosts are awesome. If written well, they can give a story great intruigue and depth, allowing us to explore a character and their motives in detail. Or they can flash blue and white and try to eat you before you eat them. Ghosts are varied in their depiction, is what I'm saying. :) And no, I don't believe they exist, but that doesn't mean they don't. There are plenty of things in this world that we don't understand yet, and science has so far given us some crazy and fascinating things to ponder, so maybe I'm wrong...

These ghosts are mostly cute or cartoon ghosts, which is probably more suitable for a Halloween gift than a blood-dripping character from a Japanese horror film, for example. Enjoy!

 ~♥~ GHOSTS ~♥~ 

        

1                                                     2

 

Pumpkins

Well, I've been away for a few days having a birthday and moving house (argh!) but I'm back again, and thought I'd do a bit of a Halloween theme this week. I know the actual day is not for another two weeks, but when better to order your Halloweeny tricks and treats?

I thought I'd start with pumpkins, that very Halloween decoration. I love food with pumpkin in it, in a stew or roasted with parsnips or as a soup or fried in fritters. It's a great vegetable that has a lovely flavour to it, which can stand by itself or as part of a medley. Argh, this is making me hungry. Anyway, I chose these items mostly because they really work with the orange colour of pumpkins, which can sometimes be difficult to work with artistically.

 ~♥~ PUMPKINS ~♥~ 

         

1                                                      2