An Alternative Christmas Playlist

Holiday tunes are wonderful for about the first week, and after that I want to claw my ears out. I swear if I hear Michael Buble's 'Santa Buddy' one more time someone is going to suffer. But have no fear! You can always throw a few of these songs in with the classics to break up the monotony. Christmas is well under way for most of us, so time to pop in some tunes and get to the festivities.

London After Midnight- The Christmas Song

The Kinks- Father Christmas

Alien Sex Fiend- Stuff the Turkey

H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society- Do You Fear What I Fear?

The Who- Christmas

This Ascension- Carol of the Bells





Inkubus Sukubus- Hail the Holly King





Faith and The Muse- A Winter Wassail




Cruxshadows- Happy Xmas ( War is Over)





Voltaire- Peace in the Holy Land

Rhea's Obsession- We Three Kings





Dead Rose Symphony- Bell Carol





Nox Arcana- Coventry Carol

Happy Holidays!

7 Dark Christmas Movies/Episodes to Watch

Hello everyone! I've just been dead this month haven't I? Well never fear. I've returned with a holiday inspired post. With Christmas just around the corner sometimes you get the urge to see something a little more festive. But we've all seen the classics, so how about some darker things to watch before the holiday season ends?

Gremlins

I saw this when I was three and subsequently had nightmares for weeks. Nowadays, needless to say it's a lot less scary and more fun to view. Gremlins is one of those ridiculous classics that doesn't get any less entertaining as time goes on and being set during the Christmas season it becomes a great holiday movie.

Batman Returns

This isn't something that comes immediately to mind when you think Christmas movies, but it's certainly a good one. Much darker than it's predecessor, the holiday theme of Batman Returns is a nice contrast to the grim tale. Also, come on, it's Batman. Who needs an excuse to watch that?

Tales From the Crypt: All Through the House

Who remembers this wonderful show? If you're lucky boils and ghouls, you'll be able to find this one on Youtube somewhere. Most episodes from this delightfully cheesy show ere good and this one sports a murdering wife and even more murderous Santa Claus.

Edward Scissorhands

Not quite a Christmas movie, but it's got enough holiday elements to warrant watching it and I don't think most of us would turn down this lovely movie. It's emotional and snow-covered, which is enough to make it count in my book.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

This Finnish horror film cover the gruesome and gory side of Christmas quite well. The Santa unearthed in this film 'punishes' naughty children instead of rewarding the good ones and the results are not pleasant. The Saint Nick here isn't the one we know and love.

 A Very Supernatural Christmas

Supernatural is a great show full of ghost, demons, myths, and one liners. Of course, after nine seasons it's a getting spread a little thin, but I remain a faithful fan. This episode has pagan gods, dark humor, and a creepy-cheerful holiday vibe. It's highly recommended.

 Christmas With The Addams Family

Ok so The Addams Family is always a delight and this Christmas themed episode is as adorable as ever. We should all strive to have a Christmas as unique as theirs

I didn't put The Nightmare Before Christmas or Black Christmas up here because I think they're pretty obvious choices. However, you guys get a bonus if you watch Gingerdead man and let me know how bad it is. Happy holidays!

Fictional Characters Inspire

I'm sure all of us have gotten tuck in a style rut at least once in our life. We get bored with what we're wearing and want to change it up a bit, but aren't sure how. There are only so many real-life examples you can look at before you run out of ideas. When I'm in doubt, and the Trad Goths, or Deathrockers, or beautiful Victorian Goth ladies aren't doing it for me, I turn to the fictional. There's all sort of inspiration to be taken from characters in Movies, TV, comic, or even video games. Here are some of the

Lestat

You could take inspiration from any of the marvelous creatures in Interview with the Vampire. I simply chose the brat prince because he's my favorite. The movie is full of delightful costumes, but I only have to read the book before I'm searching for grey, velvet blazers on Ebay.

 Dorian Gray

I will stand by my previous assessment of the movie. I can't stand it. Not when that book is one of my favorites and I had to watch it's story ripped apart in the film. But that's not to say Ben Barnes isn't a very dapper Dorian. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is even worse as far as movies go, but I loved the Dorian in that and he's got a sense of style.

Clive

I want to steal just about everything Clive wears. Not to mention, he's absolutely adorable. However, Gypsy with her wonderful Stevie Nicks inspired wardrobe is a close contender.

Duckie

Chances are if I'm watching a movie from the 80s then I'll see a million wonderful things to wear. Pretty in Pink is not an exception and I love Duckie's eccentric wardrobe.

Andie

Ok so I'm stealing from the same movie here, but that 80s rule still stands. Change most of her things to black and I'd be a happy camper.

Ingrid Dracula

Young Dracula is a kids' show. I don't care, I love it. Most of Ingrid's outfits (especially in the first couple of seasons) are pretty cheesy, but there are some gems in there. Her father's clothes ain't bad either. Now if we could only get rid of their penchant for cheap capes...

Mona

My Cousin Vinny is a funny movie, but the reason I liked it the first time I saw it was because of Mona's kickass attitude, and the fact that she could rock anything. She sure stood out in that little town.

Lisbeth

I know we're all tired of being compared to her, but that doesn't make her any less awesome, so Lisbeth is going up here. The Swedish version because the Hollywood version is lackluster and Noomi Rapace was a brilliant Lisbeth.

Any others to add? Who do you guys look to for inspiration when the real life examples run dry?

Classical Music for Goths

Classical Music! How I do love thee. Actually, I've found that a lot of Goths seem to have a certain fondness for classical music. It's very Goth-friendly. I'm not particularly well educated when it comes to composers so don't think me an expert by any means. I know my Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, etc. like everyone else, but I don't generally listen to those three unless the mood strikes. I typically have a fondness for Wagner, Strauss, Liszt, and Shostakovitch.

Classical music has had an influence on the Goth scene as well. Some bands involved in the scene rely on strings and the like very heavily. There are unmistakeable uses of orchestral music in Neoclassical Darkwave if we're going to get very specific. Three bands off the top of my head that utilize classical/orchestra type music in their own are Dead Can Dance, Love is Colder than Death and Soper Aeternus. I'm not big on the former, but classical music is what got me started listening to the other two. Then there are groups like Rasputina or Emilie Autumn who rely heavily on strings and they're pretty adored by the Goth scene themselves.

Of course, being a complete band nerd means that I've been exposed to classical music since middle school. It's ridiculous how exited I get over hearing the oboe played in a piece. I jump around like an idiot and go 'That! That's my instrument!'. And I tend to listen to classical while studying so I don't get sidetracked by lyrics.

Below I'm compiling a few videos from my Itunes that that could fall under the classical label and might appeal more to the Gothic crowd.

Danse Macabre- Saint-Säens

Faust Fantasy Op. 13- Sarasate

Waltz No. 2- Shostakovitch

String Quartet No. 8 Op. 110 Mvt. 2- Shostakovitch

Nocturne in B flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1- Chopin

Dance of the Knights- Prokofiev

Lieutenant Kije/Romance- Prokofiev

Moonlight Sonata Mvt. 1- Beethoven

Cello Concerto Mvt. 1- Walton

So this kind of music might not be everyone's cup of tea. But hey sometimes if you feel like enforcing a fun cliche, such as reading a vampire book by candlelight, I figure you might as well have some music to back you up ;)

My Hair Just Keeps Disappearing

Well I've chopped my hair off again! This time I went shorter too. Watch out, I'll have a pixie cut and then a mohawk before you know it. But here! Have some pretentious Facebook photos.

My months seem to be getting busier and busier. I've joined the community orchestra, a club that volunteers around town, and I've started writing book reviews for my library. On top of that, I'm stressing to get back to my cosplay, which I haven't been able to work on since the move (and I've been thinking that my mask is too big. I do hope I won't have to redo it). So I apologize for being so inactive on here. I'm certain things will calm down soon and I'll get back to my normal routine. Today I'll throw some more outfit pictures at you and perhaps next time I'll have something with a bit more substance.

I found this dress while thrifting and couldn't decide if it was weird or cool.
The front is lolita-esque though you can't see it

I keep returning to this jacket because well...it's cold!

Huge, warm, comfortable jackets for the win.