Printable Air Mail Labels

The wonderful folks at WorldLabel consistently impress me.  This time around they bring us a collection of vintage-style airmail labels perfect for postal props.  The printable PDFs feature fill-in-the-blank form fields and customizable fonts. 

Book of Shadows

This stunning Book of Shadows comes to us from AlexLibris999.  Hand tooled leather with brass and steel hardware.

Crafting Quills

StJost brings us a detailed tutorial on turning feathers into functional writing quills.  These are great props for both live action and tabletop games.  Via Eric Hart's Prop Agenda.

The Horror in Clay

Russian artist Girhash Angbandskaya brings us this recreation of the bas-relief from "The Call of Cthulhu".  I believe the original sculpt was for a prop featured in an amateur film, but the language barrier makes it difficult to say that for sure. 

The Amulets

Phil Bolton shares a few of his protective amulets with us.  Supernatural creatures aren't big believers in diversity.  If you don't have a culturally appropriate defensive artifact they'll just sneer at your naivety while munching your juicy bits.

Castings of Cthulhu

Please join me in welcoming "Castings of Cthulhu" as a sponsor to Propnomicon.   David Kirkby's work has been featured here repeatedly over the years, which is just one of the reasons I'm so pleased to have him on board.  He's also offering Propnomicon readers a 10% discount.  Just enter code "PROP2015" while checking out.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Henderson Edition.

Fox Henderson returns to our pages with this faux-bronze Cthulhu idol patterned after a traditional Buddha icon. He's not the first to take a trip down that stylistic road, but it's one of the best.

Fallout Posters

MattTheKid brings us close to a dozen posters from the Fallout universe.  A few are based on in-game images, but the majority are well thought out conjectural pieces. 

Words cannot describe how much anticipation I have for the rumored announcement of Fallout 4 next month.  Since downloading "Fallout: New Vegas" during Christmas vacation last year I've become a fan of open world games, but I keep coming back to Vegas as the high-water mark of the genre.  In a perfect world Bethesda would release a game that combines the history and lore of Fallout with the environmental mayhem of something like "Just Cause 2" or "Grand Theft Auto V".

Protectors of the Gateway

The gateway to your refrigerator, that is.  Jason McKittrick has another pair of limited edition magnets available this weekend- the Necronomicon, and a Mi-Go.  They're each $15 plus shipping, and only 25 are available. 

Mummified Fairy

Mummified fairies are one of the most popular amateur gaffs.  Basic versions are easy to craft from the plethora of toy skeletons that flood stores around Halloween, while the sky is the limit for more skilled artists.  Remiel brings us a nice example of the latter, complete with a plethora of work-in-progress shots.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Levus3D Edition.

Levus3D shares a work-in-progress shot of his new Cthulhu bust.  The texture work is shaping up quite nicely.

The Lady of Innsmouth

Noadi brings us "The Lady of Innsmouth".  Most depictions of the Deep Ones are appropriately grotesque, but I think Lovecraft was pretty clear that hybrids appeared normal, if not downright alluring, until the change started to manifest in middle age.  The "Laundry" novels from Charles Stross touch on this a bit, and I've read a few short stories that explore hybrid culture from a sympathetic viewpoint.

Cthulhu Mask

REbirth MxD, a makeup and design company, brings us this full head Cthulhu mask.  It's a very nice sculpt, but it's the color scheme that really stands out.  For reasons unknown most depictions of Cthulhu are green.  Going against the grain with a vibrant red take is particularly eye catching.

Pendant of Shub-Niggurath

I'm somewhat concerned by the recent popularity of Shub-Niggurath worship.  Copper Centipede embraces the Black Goat of the Woods with this carved soapstone pendant.  Just the thing for those neighborhood fertility rite....er, block parties.

High Stakes

I'm in the process of doing a bigger, better version of the mummified vampire heart from a few years ago.  Here's what the original looked like: 

For the new version I want the display to look a little more vampire huntery, if you will.   That means a more stylized stake instead of the World War 1 era tent peg used in the original.  Here's the new stake, all fresh and shiny.  It's turned from oak and measures approximately 14" in length.

As with the original it's a narrow shape designed to slip between the ribs, but the profile is longer and slightly wider.  That means some tweaks to the original mummfied heart.  The general shape and surface texture is fine, but I'll have to reshape the channel where the stake pierces through the tissue. Once I know the new stake will nestle inside that opening I can finish the surface treatment.  That involves a layer of schmutz and some mild bloodstains along the section imbedded in the heart.

Launching the Freya 7

Christian Matzke is looking to finish his "Alien" fan film "Last Flight of the Freya 7". I would really like to see that happen, for a couple of different reasons. First, take a look at his pitch video.


"Alien" is my absolute favorite film. I've seen it hundreds of times, from when it was initially released in theaters, through the days of VHS videotapes, and now in digital form. It's a masterpiece, and the most successful Lovecraftian film ever made. Mr. Matzke obviously loves it just as much as I do. Just look at those props! Taking the time to recreate things like the Rescue Helmet and Gateway shuttle demonstrates not only his attention to detail, but his commitment to getting it right. Browse the project's Facebook page and you'll see more examples like that. Sweet Fancy Moses, he even duplicated the Nostromo's galley!

Beyond his skill as a propmaker, Mr. Matzke also has a track record of actually making movies. As someone peripherally involved in the industry I can't emphasize how important that is. There are a lot of people who want to make films, but actually putting in the work to see a project to completion is all too rare. Given his track record I'm confident "Freya" won't be vaporware.

Last of all, I owe a personal debt to Mr. Matzke.  His "Propping Up the Mythos" site was the direct inspiration for Propnomicon.  Long before I was doing this he was there, offering tutorials and highlighting the work of propmakers and fans.  You wouldn't be reading this if it wasn't for him.

I just finished tossing in a few shekels to the IndieGoGo fundraiser.   If you could help him reach his goal I would appreciate it.  If you can push him past it, I would be ecstatic.

Elder Thing Magnet

Jason McKittrick has a limited run of Elder Thing refrigerator magnets available this weekend.  Just the thing to remind you how important it is to discipline your children.  Let 'em misbehave without a time out and next thing you know they're amorphous, shapeshifting monsters trying to bite your head off.  Ungrateful brats.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Professor Pickman Edition.

Professor Pickman of Pickman's Vinyls brings us this unusual Cthulhu depiction.  Clear idols are few and far between, and this one also has a core of glow in the dark tinted resin inside the transparent body. 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Broers Edition.

The talented Joe Broers returns to our pages with this intriguing piece.  Sadly, its historical significance has been tainted by the infamous "Piltdown Man" hoax.

Initially declared a great ‘archeological discovery’ the Piltdown Man, ‘found’ in 1912 in East Sussex County, England, turned out to be one of the greatest scientific hoaxes in history. Proclaimed to be the long anticipated ‘Missing Link’, it was ultimately revealed to be nothing more than a clever mixing of human and orangutan skull and jaw pieces.  Ironically, a real discovery, made in the same area only months later, was that of what is now known as the ‘Piltdown Cthulhu’. This small stone figurine, was unearthed by a laborer, James Simmons, at the gravel pits not far from where the ‘Piltdown Man’ had allegedly been discovered.  While the Piltdown Man hoax was sustained for over forty years, poor Mr. Simmons’ discovery was dismissed almost immediately as a fraud, considered to have been perpetrated by him in an attempt to cash in on then rampant ‘Piltdown mania’. Fortunately, a newspaper account published at the time eventually came to the attention of Sir Albert Arnold Mill, archeologist and authority on the Great Old Ones, and on Cthulhu, in particular. Mill met with Simmons, who had fortunately retained possession of the artifact, and established the authenticity of the man’s find. 

Cthulhu Pendant

James Morgan brings us a nicely done Cthulhu pendant created on a 3D printer. The amount of detail is just stunning.

Just My Type

One of the blessings of desktop publishing is how easy it is to create convincing paper props.  That applies not only to the technical process, but the imagery of documents.  At this point in time there are...what...two generations that have never used a typewriter as anything other than an affectation?  That makes any typewritten document "vintage" and considerably simplifies the suspension of disbelief needed to make a prop convincing.

For those particular projects you should check out Kingthings Trypwriter, a mildly distressed typewriter font that features a full character set and a free license.

The Black Goat of the Woods

A delayed celebration of Mother's Day today, with this very nice idol of Shub-Niggurath from Eolith Designs. 

June Parcel of Terror

Jason McKittrick's "Parcel of Terror" has been hugely successful.  When he first launched the idea there was some grumbling about him moving away from his Lovecraftian roots, and I have to admit I had my own misgivings.  Part of that was pure selfishness.  Mainstream horror is a much larger audience than our little Mythos niche, and I worried that we'd lose a fantastic talent.  Thankfully, that isn't the case.  If anything I think the success of the Parcels is freeing him up to tackle some really interesting props.

The latest Parcel of Terror features a classic "Dracula" sticker, "Chucky" refrigerator magnet, a gruesome trophy from the Jigsaw Killer, a page from the spellbook of Winifred Sanderson, a surprise Mystery Item, and a fragment from my beloved "At the Mountains of Madness".

The fragment is up to the usual high standards, but it's also one half of a larger piece that will be completed with the July Parcel.   That's a great concept that I don't think we've ever seen used in Mythos items before.  Admittedly, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.  Assembling an artifact from multiple pieces is a trope that intensely appeals to my obsessive-compulsive nature.

The monthly parcel is just $35, including shipping.  That's an absolute steal for what you're getting.  I also wanted to mention how much I like the packaging it comes in.  That may seem minor, but the theming of the box and wrapping, not to mention the packaging stamps, really kicks the whole thing up a notch. 

And We're Back.

I wanted to thank you all for the positive thoughts and support over the last month.  At the same time, I have to apologize for dropping off the face of the earth.  I've been so overwhelmed that I haven't had a chance to respond to any of your emails, and I ask your indulgence as I wade through the backlog of messages. 

On the bright side, I suspect I'll have more time to actually work on projects moving forward.  Onward we go!