Overdue Books Discovery

Ever wonder what happens to forgotten books from the library? Well last year I ventured to the Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philly and stumbled upon Overdue Industries, who create journals from recycled books, most include the original stamped library card and the original pages are spotted throughout making each journal one of a kind. At the time I was so overwhelmed with happiness, because I wanted to buy so many of my childhood favorites. I ended buying only one, called Rip Van Winkle & the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I bought it for one reason, an illustration of a man wearing a pumpkin as a head. This drawing is going to be the an inspiration for a new tattoo, I've always wanted something related to Halloween, due to the fact I was born on mischief night and drawn to the dark and dreary. With added touches of skeleton hands, glowing lantern and webbing, this will make the perfect piece.

Trick 'r Treat

My favorite scene from the movie, I just love the vintage handmade masks, so creepy, reminds me a little of John Carpenters' Halloween.

This past weekend I was truly reminded of being a kid again during the Halloween night prowl for candy and mischief. A couple of friends and I sat back Saturday night during the snow storm and watched the film Trick 'r Treat, written and directed by Michael Dougherty, based on his short animated film Season's Greetings <---click for trailer.

It is said that Halloween is the night when the dead rise to walk among us and other unspeakable things roam free. The rituals of All Hallows Eve were written to protect us from the evil that lurks. This horror anthology weaves together four tales on Halloween night, it is a mixture between Creepshow, the whimsy of Hocus Pocus and R.L. Stine's stories from Goosebumps. One thing that ties the stories together is the presence of Sam, a mysterious pint-sized trick-or-treater who wears worn orange onesies with a burlap sack over his head, he is quite charming and creepy all at once. He makes an appearance in all the stories as a friendly reminder to those who break the Halloween traditions; such traditions as to never blowing out a jack-o-lantern and always checking your candy before you take a bite. This whimsical mixture of goons, werewolves, witches and more will be making Dr. Zemo's 31 Days this year; I can't wait to watch it again, I will have to bust out my scizzors and glue for this one.

F O U R   S T O R I E S : a high-school principal who moonlights as a vicious serial killer, a young virgin whose quest for that special someone takes a gruesome turn, a group of teens who carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences and a cantankerous old man who battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon.

~ I'm loving Sam's costume, handmade like it should always be.

~ I want to live here!

Zemoween Weekend!

Halloween or Zemoween as we like to call it was wonderful this year, to start things off, Friday I celebrated my 28th birthday with dinner and pumpkin ale with my best buds. Saturday we took it easy carving pumpkins and watching some horror flicks. Later that night, we got all dolled up as Rocky and Adrian and went to our tattoo artist's house for a costume party, which was a riot with Bruce's funky dance moves. Some of the best costumes of the night were the Bride of Frankenstein and Michael Phelps and with his side kick girlfriend who was dressed as his bong. We finished the night by heading to Home Grown Cafe, best costume there was Bret Michaels. The whole night we were hearing, “Yo Rocky" and “Yo Adrian!”

October was splendid month and I must say 31 Part Two: Zemo's Revenge was absolutely awesome. Some of my favorite films we watched were The Exorcist, Near Dark, Hellraiser, The Fly, Rosemary's Baby and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; I'm really looking forward to next year especially since we will have plenty of room to spook up our new house.

Here is the complete list:

10/01 The Exorcist (1973)

10/02 The Vampire Lovers (1970)

10/03 Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

10/04 The Orphanage (2007)

10/05 Son of Frankenstein (1939)

10/06 The Unborn (2009)

10/07 House on Haunted Hill (1959)

10/08 Creepshow (1982)

10/09 The Mist (2007)

10/10 The Shining (1980)

10/11 Salem's Lot (1979)

10/12 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

10/13 A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

10/14 The Brides of Dracula (1960)

10/15 The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

10/16 The Body Snatcher (1945)

10/17 Dawn of the Dead (2004)
10/18 I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
10/19 Carnival of Souls (1962)
10/20 The Fly (1986)
10/21 Rosemary's Baby (1968)
10/22 White Zombie (1932)
10/23 Hellraiser (1987)
10/24 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
10/25 Black Sunday (1960)
10/26 The Mummy (1932)
10/27 Near Dark (1987)
10/28 28 Days Later (2002)
10/29 The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
10/30 30 Days of Night (2007)
10/31 Halloween II (1981)

Trick & Treats: Halloween Ideas

Halloween is my all time most cherished season of the year, I'm feeling a little bummed this year because I can't decorate my house due to packing and mayhem. Every year we usually throw a Halloween costume but this year we are heading over to our friends house for an awesome time, I actually lending some of my paintings for the haunting decor. Bruce and I are being a little creative again this year, but not saying who were are going to be, but check out these sweet vintage cat eye glasses that I got for my costume!

Even though there is no sign of halloween at my house, I still love looking at all the lovely decorating ideas from Martha Stewart and who cannot forget fabulous treats that would make snacks for any party. There is always next year I guess!

~ TRULY TO DIE FOR! Martha Stewart Halloween Wine Labels, perfect to transform ordinary wines and sodas into something sweet and poisonous.

Halloween Glitter Wine Labels in Black

Set of Twelve Mad Scientist Wine Labels

~ Staircase Silhouette, a menacing shadow climbs the stairs. Decorating with paper silhouettes are an inexpensive way to add some mystery and whimsy to any room.

~ Creepy and cookie! Chocolate and Pretzel Witch Fingers ready to creep and crawl across any party table, and delicious looking too!

~ Elaborate Bird Masks from Martha Stewart, step by step stencils to create a woodland mask ready for a Halloween day at the office or school day. Check out the Owl or Black Cat masks as well.

~ The grandest house on the block, carve your very own Haunted Manor Pumpkin Mansion, with a step by step tutorial to create rickety shutters and boarded-up doors and windows.

~ A couple years back I stumbled upon Vintage by Crystal and just fell in love! She created a custom wedding wreath of my husband and I in a haunted love scene. I just covet all of her hand spun cotton figurines for every season. I really love her Halloween collection, including this Orange and Black Bat Girl Figure.

~ How about a spook with this original handcrafted Crocheted Junior Skull, ready to place as a centerpiece on a table or scare all the kids on the school bus!

~ Add some spooky fun with Printable Bat Garland, ready to add whimsy and ghoulish decor to any party.

Skeleton Krew no.0026 Harvest Witch

Here are the lovely images of my newest painting from my Skeleton Krew collection, Harvest Witch. I can imagine this woodland woman roaming the barren woods looking for herbs and poisons. The original photograph was given to me by the lovely Jess from Bloodmilk, and I thought I'd share the odd woman behind the paint. I love watching the face change as strokes are applied and darkness is added. She now looks much older and more organic, featuring a white streak and twigs growing from her hair. I have much more to do, including detailing on the face, hair and a little bone cameo hanging on her neck. Hopefully I will keep in this direction, and continue painting away.

31 Days of Zemo's Horror Fest

Halloween has officialy come to an end and so has the 31 Days of Zemo's Horror Fest. Lots of classic and originals, two of my favorites were The Phantom of the Opera and the remake of the Omen. Halloween went off well this year for the Marvel's. We had a Halloween costume party, and tomorrow Bruce and I are heading up to Salem, MA for our anniversary trip. I hope to find some creepy places including the Salem Inn, where we are staying, I hear it is haunted. I will come equipped with my camera and camcorder just in case. Here are a couple pics from our spooky fun Halloween night.

Me as a witch, original costume idea was Elvira, but my wig couldn't compete with Elvira's 80s hair.

Bruce was the Red Death from the original Phantom of the Opera. Costume was handmade, except the mask and hat.

Group Shot (from left): Hollywood Diva, me, orgasm doctor, red death, , frankenstein, snow white, the joker, tyler durden

10/1/08 Nosferatu(1922)
10/2/08 Dracula(1931)
10/3/08 Last man on Earth(1964)
10/4/08 bed riddin with illness.
10/5/08 Frankenstein(1931)
10/6/08 Interview with the Vampire(1994)
10/7/08 Phantom of the Opera(1925)
10/8/08 An American Werewolf in London(1981)
10/9/08 Horror Hotel(1960)
10/10/08 John Carpenter's The Thing(1982)
10/11/08 Mark of the Vampire(1935)
10/12/08 The Evil Dead(1981)
10/13/08 Friday the 13th(1980)
10/14/08 Night of the Living Dead(1968)
10/15/08 Dawn of the Dead(1978)
10/16/08 The Omen(2006)
10/17/08 The Wolfman(1941)
10/18/08 Them!(1954)
10/19/08 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)
10/20/08 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1920)
10/21/08 House of Wax(1953)
10/22/08 Silver Bullet (1985)
10/23/08 Poltergeist (1982)
10/24/08 The Strangers (2008)
10/25/08 Horror of Dracula (1958)
10/26/08 Black Sabbath (1963)
10/27/08 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
10/28/08 House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
10/29/08 Psycho (1960)
10/30/08 Monster Squad 1987
10/31/08 Halloween 1978

31 Days of Zemo's Halloween Movie Fest

Keeping with the ghoulish season here is the latest breakdown of the 31 Days of Zemo's Halloween Movie Fest. Bruce has almost accomplished his goal of watching a movie everyday for the whole month of October. Two more days to go, saving the best horror movie for last, can you guess what it is?

The other night, we watched Silver Bullet (1985) , a classic werewolf movie with a little bit of cheesy goodness, from one liners to creepy music to brutal killings. The film chronicles how a werewolf has been killing off certain people in a small town. A young boy played by Corey Haim is wheelchair bound and discovers the identity of the werewolf. He has to convince his sister and crazy dead beat uncle, played by Gary Busey, that the werewolf will strike again when the moon is full Halloween evening. Corey Haim plays his character well as he rides up and down the streets in his souped-up wheelchair called Silver Bullet. The film is a twist on the classic werewolf film even though you will know who the wolfman is long before it is shown.

I think tonight we are going to watch Poltergeist, one of my favorites; great I'm going to be freaked out again when I go to sleep!

10/1/08 Nosferatu(1922)
10/2/08 Dracula(1931)
10/3/08 Last man on Earth(1964)
10/4/08 bed riddin with illness.
10/5/08 Frankenstein(1931)
10/6/08 Interview with the Vampire(1994)
10/7/08 Phantom of the Opera(1925)
10/8/08 An American Werewolf in London(1981)
10/9/08 Horror Hotel(1960)
10/10/08 John Carpenter's The Thing(1982)
10/11/08 Mark of the Vampire(1935)
10/12/08 The Evil Dead(1981)
10/13/08 Friday the 13th(1980)
10/14/08 Night of the Living Dead(1968)
10/15/08 Dawn of the Dead(1978)
10/16/08 The Omen(2006)
10/17/08 The Wolfman(1941)
10/18/08 Them!(1954)
10/19/08 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)
10/20/08 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1920)
10/21/08 House of Wax(1953)
10/22/08 Silver Bullet (1985)

10/23/08 Poltergeist (1982)

10/24/08 The Strangers (2008)

10/25/08 Horror of Dracula (1958)

10/26/08 Black Sabbath (1963)

10/27/08 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

10/28/08 House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

10/29/08 Psycho (1960)

The Heart Chronicles

Dear Cult Followers,

There is a new season approaching and new plans for The Red Heart Cult. We are starting a monthly newsletter called The Heart Chronicles®. It is your ticket to updated news from RHC, including featured artists from RHC Findings, new collections and the latest jewelry designs and relics from our etsy shop, Red Heart 13.

We are still in the works for developing the details, but if you would like to subscribe to it, please contact me with your email address. Our first newsletter will probably be created with a pdf so viewing should be simple to start out. Our plans for the end of the year is to develop it into an email blast if possible. We hope you look forward to next coming haunting months. 

Speaking of ghouls and witchery, I am in the creation process of my "haunting" plaques. Get ready for ghouls, bats and the macabre. The one featured below is of death and misery; it has a paper coffin that sits on a dark wooden plaque with angry trees filled with bats and blood red brush. The plaque can be hung on a wall or added to your personal cabinet of curiosities. Also stayed tuned for a collaborative plaque made from darkness created from Gregory's writing from The Method Learned. You can find the below featured plaque at redheart13.etsy.com 

Ghouls and Coffin Plaque ©Leila Marvel 2008.