Hellraiser Glyphs

I've been fiddling around with some of my old Hellraiser designs and came across these glyphs.  They make nice fillers when you need some kind of magical symbol. 

Vintage Burglar's Tools

Cornell University has digitized a huge number of journals and magazines from the late 1800s. One of the more interesting articles to be found in the collection is this look at professional burglary tools from the May, 1874 issue of "Manufacturer and Builder".  It's a fascinating look at just how technically proficient a skilled thief could be.

From a propmaking perspective at least a few of these tools should be included in any vintage vampire hunting kit.  The genre-defining kit carried by Van Helsing was filled with this kind of stuff.

"Then he fumbled in his bag, and taking out a matchbox and a piece of candle, proceeded to make a light."

"Another search in his bag, and he took out a turnscrew."

"He only said, "You shall see,"and again fumbling in his bag took out a tiny fret saw. Striking the turnscrew through the lead with a swift downward stab, which made me wince, he made a small hole, which was, however, big enough to admit the point of the saw."

 "First he took out a soldering iron and some plumbing solder, and then small oil lamp, which gave out, when lit in a corner of the tomb, gas which burned at a fierce heat with a blue flame, then his operating knives, which he placed to hand, and last a round wooden stake, some two and a half or three inches thick and about three feet long. One end of it was hardened by charring in the fire, and was sharpened to a fine point. With this stake came a heavy hammer, such as in households is used in the coal cellar for breaking the lumps."

Part of Stoker's genius is that he realized the hammer and stakes were just one small part of what a vampire hunter would need.  Getting access to the monster, by breaking into a crypt and then a sealed coffin, required careful planning and the appropriate tools.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Laroche Edition.

Laroche brings us this intriguing Cthulhu idol, hand carved from soapstone.

Indy's Whiskey

Toy and Prop Masters brings us this great tableaux featuring a recreation of the "Belle of Lincoln" whiskey bottle from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". 

The Shishkebab

This impressive take on Fallout's Shishkebab comes to us from Ammnra Creations. What really sets this project apart from similar efforts are the extensive electronics. That includes LED lighting for the propane jets and superheated blade, sound effects, and a miniature smoke generator.

The Gate and the Key

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.

—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dunwich Horror"

Jason McKittrick returns with this excellent wall plaque featuring Yog-Sothoth.  I love the detail work of the mountaintop altar.

Pirate Tome

Mille Cuirs returns to our pages with this hand bound pirate tome.  I love the themed background props.