Since it’s a new year tomorrow I was thinking I needed a calendar. So, Scary Hubby and I went to Borders yesterday and I bought one for my office. Scary calendars are not always easy to find, but I did find a Black Cats Calendar that I loved. It made me think of my little Agatha who is going through the last stages of kidney failure. Scary Hubby said it made him too sad to have it in the house, but I said that it was in honor of her and we do have 2 other black cats in the house. Now I know there are people out there that get nervous around black cats especially if they cross their path, but I like to think of them as good luck. Our three black cats have brought us nothing but happiness and love. Anyway, it’s very rare to have an entirely black cat. Most of them have at least one white hair somewhere. So, if you are superstitious about it, just tell yourself that it’s probably not a solid black cat next time one crosses your path. Unless of course you are going under a ladder at the same time, then all bets are off.

The victorians really knew how to design things. They really had a taste for the gothic. I have often thought that I was born during the wrong time, but then I think of not having movies/TV, indoor plumbing and many other every day conveniences and I rethink that. Anyway, I really like the style from that period. I don’t like plain things. I like things with character like little hidden faces carved into the arm of a chair. Those little things make me happy just like this Spiderweb necklace and earrings make me happy. Can’t you just picture yourself (or the woman in your life) in a long black velvet dress with this beautiful choker around her neck? Pale pasty white skin is a must to pull it off of course.

In honor of my sweet little black kitty, Agatha, who is passing away from kidney failure I thought I’d hunt down a black cat t-shirt. I always loved the Edgar Allan Poe story The Black Cat, but I am also a huge fan of The Black Cat (included in the Tales of Terror) movie with Vincent Price. Of course what happens to the cat in that story I do not wish for my girl. I found this great t-shirt based on The Black Cat story on a British site. I can’t seem to find it on this side of the pond, but I really like it and I might just order it. For those of you who can’t make out what the t-shirt reads, it’s a quote from the book: “I had walled the monster up within the tomb”/The Black Cat/Edgar Allan Poe. Very creepy, I must say.

I got this great book from a friend and just have to share. It’s called Grimmer Tales: A Wicked Collection of Happily Never After Stories. It’s brilliantly written and illustrated by Erik Bergstrom. Grimmer Tales is basically a collection of all of your favorite sappy fairy tales and nursery rhymes, but with the sick twist that they all desperately needed. This book will show you what really happened when Jack ate the magic beans and when a giant found the shoe that the old woman and her kids lived in. Prepare to laugh your ass off or, if you’re uptight, to be apalled.

Well, Christmas is officially over so I thought I’d leave it with one last image. I saw this picture quite a while ago and never got around to using it. It made me crack up when I saw it, so here it is for you as well. Can you imagine these guys showing up at your door to sing Christmas carols? I needed a little laugh today anyway. I was told by the vet today that one of my cats, Agatha, is dying from kidney failure. So forgive me if my posts lack a little something this week, but I’ll do my best.

As I have stated before, I am not a fan of wallpaper. Wallpaper is a PAIN to remove when you get tired of it, so I swore off wallpaper years ago. Of course ever since I said that I keep finding more and more wallpaper that I want. Must control myself and not get any…ever. Well maybe this one. Camille Rose Garcia is an amazing artist that creates the most visually creepy and amazing images. Ms. Garcia creates everything from paintings to dolls to books. She has fans out there that are devoted to her unusual art and create amazing tattoos from it. She even created the cool wallpaper on the left, but at about $200 a roll maybe I will have to settle for one of her prints…or not. They start at $400. Maybe she makes coasters?

Make your Christmas a Skull Christmas with these Skull Utensils. Actually that would be a pretty expensive set to buy considering it’s $25 for one knife, one fork and one spoon! Plus they are just made of plastic! Who would buy that? They are totally cool and would look awesome on my table tomorrow, but not at that price. They also come in orange and white. Not sure why you would want them in orange. Well, I guess for Halloween. Anyway they are on sale for this price, so move quickly or someone might actually pony up the money for these.

Are you having a party on Christmas Eve? If you are then you need a Christmas album that will really set the mood. A Scary Little Christmas CD would even work well for a last minute stocking stuffer. When Grandma opens this up she’ll want to play it right away. You know how the older generation love their holiday classics. Unfortunately it might end up putting more of a chill in the air on an already cold day. Why wouldn’t you want to listen to a lovely Christmas album? Especially if it’s one that has a nice gothic twist. With songs like Frosty Gets a Tan, Wreck the Halls and Scare-ol of the Bells you know it will add that perfect scaryness to your holiday.

I know it’s T-Shirt Tuesday, but considering that it’s the holiday season I’m going to show you something different. Every year the women in my family pull out their holiday sweaters for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Every year I get more and more frightened. I live in absolute terror that Scary daughter will one day pick up on this tradition and declare she wants one. So far so good, but she’s only seven and Grandmas have a way of getting what they want. I have obviously resisted this horrible tradition and am constantly told that I have no holiday spirit. In my world wearing a sweater with a jumbo rudolph that has a red cottonball for a nose on it means you are insane, not that you have holiday spirit. This year I thought I’d pin a picture of some ugly sweater to my shirt and maybe that would make them happy. Here is the Christmas Sweater I decided on. You can actually buy this for the low cost of $69.00. It’s just not Christmas without sequins, fur and jewels on your clothing.

OMG! A reader sent this short video to me today and I just had to post it immediately. It is so dark and disturbing yet amazingly well done. I’m not sure what else I can say about it, but you have to watch it. Beyond cool. Enjoy…or not.

“Luis is the 2nd short video of the series “Lucía, Luis y el lobo” (”Lucía, Luis and the Wolf”), it is a follow-up to the short video Lucía. The video was shot frame by frame with a digital photo camera. Materials: charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard.”

*Thanks The Beautiful Kind for sending this to me.

LUIS from diluvio on Vimeo.