Christie's Vampire Killing Kit

Christie's recently sold a vampire hunting kit.  Nothing unusual there, but the "probably late 19th century" description is a nice bit of plausible denial.  Note, if you will, that the kit once again has stakes and implements made from re-profiled furniture legs.  That's something that's only started to show up in the last few years.  I suspect a single artist or group is producing all of these and using a cooperative dealer to front them to auction  houses.

When anyone claims that a vampire kit is an actual antique, rather than an entertaining example of contemporary assemblage art, they're being dishonest.  If they push the point simply ask for documentation of a single period example.

In Search of Mokele-Mbembe

For centuries natives have told stories of Mokele-Mbembe, a massive river creature that dwelled deep in the jungles of Africa.  Many thought it was just a fairy tale, an old superstition that kept children away from the dangerous creatures to be found in the great waters.  A few believed the stories had a basis in fact and were evidence of a surviving colony of sauropods.

Now we know the truth.

Camille Renversade brings us the fruits of the forgotten 1938 expedition to Cameroon. Given the clear photographic and physical evidence is it any wonder that the expedition's very existence has been suppressed all these years?

An English translation of the original French page is available here. Browse around and you'll find some equally interesting examples of cryptozoological discovery.

Making Monsters

Dan Baines is no stranger to these pages. His Whitby Vampire is something I absolutely adore, a gaff that combines wonderful craftsmanship with an appreciation for the power of a theatrical backstory. And it's just one piece of his extensive portfolio.

His Derbyshire Fairy turned into a classic flim-flam, gaining widespread media attention thanks to it's enigmatic presentation. Now he's launched an unusual Kickstarter project so that anyone can recreate that bit of gaff-making magic.  The project features a kit for crafting your own mummified fairy as well as an instructional DVD explaining the techniques used.


This is something long overdue. Gaff-making is an increasingly popular hobby, but it suffers from a lack of documentation. Almost everyone who gets into it has to re-invent the entire process, climbing a pretty steep learning curve in the process. I and others have worked to flatten out that grade a bit, but having someone like Mr. Baines share his experience is going to be an incredible resource.

The Idol of Shub-Niggurath

Jason McKittrick returns with an idol of Shub-Niggurath inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls".   I really like the way he's applied a Mythos veneer to traditional fertility idols.  The piece is available for a limited time from the Cryptocurium website.

“An idol of Shub-Niggurath, The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young once belonging to the De La Poer Family of Exham, England. According to local legend it was found in a deep subterranean cavern beneath the family’s ancestral home, Exham Priory. Idol was donated to the Miskatonic University Special Collections Department by an unnamed member of the De La Poer family in 1923.”

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Brian Edition.

Brian brings us an interesting take on the traditional Cthulhu idol.  His sculpt really captures that alien, bloated feel.

DIY Stone Tablets

Why use faux materials when crafting an actual stone tablet is relatively easy?

Andrew Wishart brings us the results of his stone carving efforts.  You can't get much more realistic than actually scribing a design into real stone.  Slate is relatively soft and, as he points out, takes well to both manual and rotary carving.

So, the first actual stone item I've made -  done just before the Elder Sign below, since this one didn't actually need the dremel given how soft slate is.  Softer than I remembered actually, I knew you could leave white lines on it easily, didn't realise how easy it was to properly carve into it though.  Neat.  That said the dremel came in useful for the writing/markings on the reverse because the sheer number would have taken much longer than the few minutes it did. 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Wills-Starin Edition.

 Some things were meant to be together.  Apples and cinnamon.  Politicians and corruption.  Peanut butter and chocolate.  The latter despite the disapproving clucks of our overseas cousins at the American love for the goober.

Kimberly Wills-Starin brings us this amazing Cthulhu figure that takes that theme one step further.  Start with "My Little Pony" Cthulhu, one of the eternal stars of the Etsy-verse.  Then add the mind-blasting magic of cuddly plush Cthulhu.  Mix thoroughly and you get Plush My Little Pony Cthulhu!  This is the kind of creativity I'd like to see a lot more of.  If there's one thing the Mythos community needs it's more humorous takes on Cthulhu.