Sinister Saturdays – Vampire Chocolate Mousse Parfait

Vampires. Creatures of the night. Tortured souls doomed to walk the earth for eternity. No other archetype in horror has captured our fantasy like the powerful vampire, with that insatiable hunger that drives the frenzied brain in search of prey. From the dark corners of alleys, all the way to highest chambers of royal castles, bloodlust is their curse, and to that, I say… too bad, so sad, more chocolate for us!

The mighty hunter, the Vintage Kitchen Chef has created a decadent dessert worthy of eternal worship, Vampire Chocolate Mousse Parfaits.

Vampire-Chcoclate.jmousse1 — Photos ©The Vintage Kitchen

Ingredients:

For The Mousse:

4 oz Chocolate Baking Bar, White Chocolate; broken into pieces (or any high quality white baking chocolate)
4 oz. Chocolate Baking Bar, Semi-Sweet Chocolate; broken into pieces (or any high quality semi-sweet baking chocolate)
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
2 eggs, separated
Black food coloring
Wilton rose icing decorations; optional

For The Edible Blood:

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1-2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 tsp. cocoa
Red food coloring

For full recipe and instructions, please go here:
https://www.thevintagekitchenchef.com/vampire-chocolate-mousse-parfaits/

Photos ©The Vintage Kitchen

Like a stake through the heart, this recipe might be the death of you. But, that’s okay, because you’ll have a smile on your face when you go.

Friday Fright Nightcaps – The Walking Dead Cocktail

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, The Walking Dead returned this past week for its tenth season. The Walking Dead comics, once considered too complicated for mainstream television, now inspire pop culture in ways, we haven’t seen since the Romero’s horror hit masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead.

Last season divided fans, but with a new spin-off show in the works, in addition to the already popular, Fear the Walking Dead, there’s no denying that we like zombie TV. So, grab your cocktail shaker and let’s celebrate with Kat Balog’s crazy take on an old classic cocktail, The Walking Dead Cocktail.

walking-dead-zombie-cocktail- — Photo ©Kat Balog

Ingredients:

1-1/2 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua
2 oz cream
1 tbsp caramel topping
1 tbsp. fudge topping
Ice

Blood:
– 3 tbsp Simple syrup
– 2 drops Red food coloring

For mixing instructions, please go here: https://katbalogger.com/the-walking-dead-zombie-cocktail

Vintage Halloween Collectibles Wish List

Do you love Halloween Memorabilia? Do you wish all the money in the world belonged to you so you could buy Halloween collectibles? Join the club!

I adore the vintage Halloween style. I especially love old Halloween antiques, but true Halloween collectibles are pricey, leaving many of us out in the cold. Interest in Halloween yesteryears has spawned a growing sidearm in the Halloween retail industry, replica vintage Halloween décor. Beistle Company, which started out in 1900 making paper products, was one of the very first companies to make Halloween decorations and party goods. Today, they make replica items of their very own designs! Pretty genius.

There is one downside however, and that’s if you’re a serious collector who wants real vintage merchandise, you might have a tougher time finding authentic vintage memorabilia. Those who wish to get into collecting vintage Halloween items, you need to do your homework. Learn the business, the items, the creators, the prices, even the people who deal in collectible market. Many of them are quite nice and always willing to answer questions or help out with their vast knowledge of Halloween history.

There are tons of guides out there. Two of my favorite comprehensive guides are Vintage Halloween Collectibles, 3^rd Edition by Mark B. Ledenbach, and the newly published, Vintage Hallowe’en: Tricks, Treats & Traditions authored and created Robert S. Pandis and Heidi Pandis.

Halloween Collectibles, 3rd Edition-Mark B. Ledenbach

Vintage Hallowe’en: Tricks, Treats & Traditions-Robert S. and Heidi Pandis

Everyone has different preferences in the type of Halloween collectibles, they’d like to own. Below is my own personal wish list. Feel free to chime in on the comments below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram and let me know what’s on your list.

Vintage Postcards, 1910s
($5-$100) **

Vintage postcards and other ephemera can be found at paper shows and antique shops. Prices vary based on condition and rarity of the piece.

Beistle Embossed Die Cut – Black Cats and Moon,
($20-$100) **

Authentic Halloween Die Cuts are usually thick cardboard and embossed, always check the back. Prices vary based on condition and rarity of the piece.

Gurley Novelty Co. Halloween Candles, 1950s
($15-$80) **

I posted a pic on Instagram on October 8, 2019 that shows the solo black cat below, but in really bad shape. I’d love to get another one and more like it.

Dennison’s Bogie Book, 1920
($30-$150) **

This is a pic of the original Hallowe’en, Harvest and Thanksgiving party planning guide. There are many Bogie Books from Dennison’s floating around. The 1920 version is supposedly in public domain, which means anyone can copy, reprint and sell them. If you just want the information, cool, but understand, you’re not buying an antique. I’ve seen authentic originals sell upwards of $150.

Anton Reiche Dresden Witch or Pumpkin Chocolate Molds, 1930s
($25-$350) **

If you’re a chocolate lover, you might enjoy checking out this history of chocolate molds from Germany, at http://www.chocolatemoldsmuseum.com/history/chocolate-molds/ Friedrich Anton Reiche from Dresden made lots of chocolate molds for several holidays, including these two below for Halloween.

Rosbro Halloween Snowman Candy Container, 1950s
($75-$250) **

There are hundreds of collectible Halloween candy containers from either Rosen/Rosbro or Kokomold to search out if you’re looking to get into collecting those (I hear the Kokomold witch rocket on wheels are extremely rare and valuable), but I particularly adore these Halloween Snowmen.

Vintage Horror Movie Posters, 1930s
($1500-$435,500) **

According to this Guardian article from 2012, The Mummy film poster from 1932 comes in as the second most expensive film poster of all-time, behind the Sci-fi thriller, Metropolis from 1927, which recently auctioned off for $1.2 million, along with other memorabilia in a bankruptcy deal.

**All prices are only estimates from the lowest to highest auctions that I’ve seen.

Wicked Art Wednesdays – Drew Rausch

Artist and comic creator Drew Rausch is our go-to guy for all things spooky AND weird. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times at horror shows and in addition to being uber-talented and crazy busy, he’s super nice and funny. Drew is co-creator of the webcomic My Blacks don’t match, with Jocelyn Gajeway, Eldritch! with Aaron Alexovich, and the subculture comic Sullengray, also co-written with Jocelyn Gajeway. His work can be seen in Boom Studios’ Cthulhu and Zombie Tales, SLG’s Haunted Mansion, IDW’s Edwards Scissorhands, and many more.

DrewRausch CampfireGhostStory — ©Drew Rausch

Artist: Drew Rausch
Where to Purchase Goods: Online store, Comic and horror conventions, gallery shows, and special events
Website: https://drewrausch.com or https://drewrausch.bigcartel.com/
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/drewrausch

Why we love them: Based on my few convos with him, Drew is just like any of us, a big ‘ole Halloweenophile, comics fan, music lover, classic horror movie buff and lover of all things spooky and weird. Whether he’s drawing webcomics or creating cool pins of offbeat characters he’s dreamt up, one can clearly see the influences of comics, monsters, and classic horror movies in his artwork. Plus, he still takes commissions from time to time, when he’s not busy (which is almost never, so be patient, but his art is totally worth the wait.)

©Drew Rausch

Tuesday Terror – The Black Cat

The Black Cat (1932)
“Did you ever hear of Satanism, the worship of the devil, of evil?”

theblackcat6

Today’s black and white classic is the horror-thriller The Black Cat from Universal Pictures. Horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff square off for the first time in a movie about a traumatized doctor with a cat phobia named Werdegast and an American newlywed couple, who seek medical aid at the home of the doctor’s nemesis, Hjalmar Poelzig, the dark high priest of a devil-worshipping cult. The doctor’s original plans of revenge on Poelzig are changed when it is revealed the priest plans to sacrifice the young bride at the dark of the moon.

the black cat2

Produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr., the young studio head believed in director Edgar G. Ulmer’s vision enough so the man had free rein over the pic. Although presumed to be loosely based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe, there are not too many similarities here. It’s a bit strange really because the movie is good enough to stand on its own merits. This perhaps one of my favorite classic films. The story is excellent, with strong performances from the entire cast. David Manners and Julie Bishop pile on the melodrama with their romance, which is now part of the charm in some of these old films, but let’s be honest, they weren’t who we’re here to see anyway. Lugosi playing the tortured Werdegast against Karloff’s evil Poelzig in a battle for screen supremacy is one of the best horror face-offs ever found in horror. I’d say Lugosi is the clear winner, due to a more fully fleshed-out character and more dialogue to offer, but Karloff does manage to say quite a lot with just a creepy stare. Madness and secret motivations are the whole reason why this film is so scary. Clearly, something evil has hold of these men.

the black cat1

The film escaped the Pre-code guidelines but Ulmer’s first cut of the film, which included several scenes of satanic worship and skinning alive of Herr Poelzig, was deemed too dark and violent for the Laemmles (father and son). Between that and Bela Lugosi’s complaints that he appeared to be too villainous, Ulmer reshot several scenes, downplaying the gruesome last scene, and added some sprinkling of humanity in the tragic Dr. Werdegast. In a touch of irony, while cleaning up the film’s ending, Ulmer snuck in some extra shots of Poelzig’s necrophilic menagerie. Already heavy with a dark look and satanic theme, studio execs managed to miss The Black’s Cat’s seriously taboo subject matter, or perhaps they ignored it.

theblackcat5

The eerie movie score runs 80 minutes contains many classical selections, including the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, only the second time a horror film featured the now cliched song. The set of Poelzig’s mansion is considered somewhat of a masterpiece in the industry, part art deco, part haunted house. In contrast to The Old Dark House, this film is well-lit, casting defined shadows in a way that you’re unsure if you’re watching a horror film at all.

theblackcat2

The Black Cat is considered to be the first movie to use psychological horror, capitalizing on public interest in psychiatry at that time. Despite the audience’s distaste for the dark subject matter, it was the biggest box office hit for Universal that year, due in part to the popularity of its stars. What didn’t work then is exactly why it works now. The Black Cat is creepy, scary, and a masterclass in great classic horror.

Haiku of the Week – Inspired by The Black Cat

screeching cat
death is no cure for madness
mourning

Poe_black_cat_byam_shaw — The Black Cat ©Byam Shaw

Poe Sundays

ALONE
by EDGAR ALLAN POE

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then — in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life — was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Sinister Saturdays – Halloween Inspired Toxic Mac n Cheese

Welcome food sinners, to the church of decadent delights! For the next four Saturdays, we’re going to sway your taste buds to the dark side of the kitchen. Have no fear, these recipes won’t kill you right away, I don’t think…maybe don’t eat them every day, just, once a year.

Our recipe for today is Halloween Inspired Toxic Mac n Cheese from Jacqueline over at The Seaside Baker via sofabfood. There are a couple of different toxic mac-n-cheese recipes out there, I chose this one for its kid-friendly simple bliss. It is Halloween after all, we need quick and easy dinners so we can get right to the festivities!

Ingredients

1 lb uncooked shell pasta
1/2 tsp salt
5 drops neon green food dye
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
3 cup milk
2 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

For complete cooking instructions, please go here:
https://sofabfood.com/halloween-inspired-toxic-mac-n-cheese/

If only all our toxic waste looked so good. If you’re going green for Halloween, remember, homemade pasta is healthier for you and the environment.

Amen!

Happy Caturday!

Don’t tell Disney Sr. Designer Caley Hicks that Halloween can’t be cute because there will be cute! If you’re looking for new wallpaper or love to sew, you’re gonna fall in love with Caley Hick’s designs. Personally, I’m waiting for the day that she turns her boo-tiful art into wrapping paper!

To view more of Caley Hick’s art, please visit her website here: https://caleyhicks.myportfolio.com/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThereWillBeCute?

Friday Fright Nightcaps – Purple People Eater Cocktail

Friday Friday Nightcaps returns for 2019 Halloween season! For the next four Fridays, I’ll be posting recipes for my favorite adult Halloween beverages.

♦♦♦♦♦

Today is National Vodka Day and after a monstrous week of dealing with weirdos and mean people, I have found the perfect beverage to honor today, from the good people of Homemade Hooplah aptly named the Purple People Eater Cocktail.