A Haunted House Vending Machine, "Golden Ghouls", & Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Roly-Poly Fish Heads

I joined a Halloween Decorations group on Facebook last month, and the folks over there are giving me LIFE, laughs, and tons of inspiration:

(Posted by Joseph L.)

Goals for next year, John? (Look at the projected Slimer in the window!)

This Hogwarts castle is so incredible I thought it was Photoshop 'til I saw the build photos:

See the house behind it? That's how big this thing is!

And it lights up?!

If you're as instantly obsessed as I am, good news: you can find all the details (there are so many more!) and geek out over the build photos on their Facebook page, Diagon Alley Austin Halloween House.

John's going to have to stage an intervention, because I am getting IDEAS.

They're not all enormous and epic builds, though; sometimes we get delightfully silly fandom nods, like The Golden Ghouls:

That's a cheesecake in the middle, covered with plastic spiders. :D

The outfits are spot-on, right?

::snerk::

Go see all the detail pics on Hill Wk's original post.

*****

In the same spooky spirit I must show you this Dr. Demento hilarity posted by Michaela over on Weird Secondhand Finds : 

In reality it's a pricey piece of Victorian history - which elicits a few questions on my end - but all I can think when I see it is:

"Fish head, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads!
Fish head, fish heads, eat them up, YUM."

If you don't get the reference I'll assume you're under 40. Also if you want to hear chipmunks singing about taking fish heads to the movies, here ya go.

*****

We definitely need an eye candy chaser after that, so here are some adorable marshmallow Stay Puft-lings by Kim-Joy:

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A post shared by Kim-Joy (@kimjoy)

Well, adorable and mildly disturbing while they're being torched and smooshed. o.0

Ok, here's one that's JUST adorable, though still food-based:

Squeeeee!

Oh Candy Store is completely addicting and you will want to buy everything they make, btw, sorry about that.

*****

Brandon Hardy is my new favorite follow on both TikTok & Instagram; he's a professional prop builder sharing tons of DIY tips and jaw-dropping Halloween builds, like these dancing chicken-wire ghosts:

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A post shared by Brandon Hardy | Theatre Artist (@brandon.hardy.art)

This is another one I thought was photoshop (I know, I'm so cynical these days), 'til he explained they're suspended from the trees and twirling in the wind. Brandon has a full tutorial here, plus so many more cool builds, like his Sandworm candy slide that made John and I throw up our hands in an irrationally-angry-because-it's-so-darn-good kind of way:

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A post shared by Brandon Hardy | Theatre Artist (@brandon.hardy.art)

OH COME ON

Dang that's good.

And finally, here's a Haunted House Vending Machine(?) Automaton thing that is 1000% worth the 3 minute reveal. I was laughing in sheer delight and awe, I promise you many grins if you stick around 'til the very end:

Seriously, how cool is this?! (Make sure your sound is on - did you catch the Wilhelm scream? :D) It took Kieron nearly a year to build, all from scratch. I can't imagine working on anything for more than a month or two, so I have mad respect for big passion projects like this.

Well, my boo-tiful bots, I hope these made you smile, and reminded you to enjoy the spooky season while it lasts!

Which reminds me, I have a PSA for those of you in the Fans of Epbot group on Facebook: today is the last day to sign up for the secret Santa gift exchange!

This is a fan-run event where the organizers match you with another FoE based on your common interests/fandoms, and then you make or buy each other gifts! This has been a huge hit the last several years, so I don't want you to miss out. Check out the details here (you must be an existing member of FoE to participate), and then you can sign up on Google Docs here.

Again, FoE Secret Santa is fan-run, not me-run, so if you have questions message one of the Santa Squad over on FB. I'm just helping get the word out since the algorithm has been squashing their posts, and I know how much y'all love this event. :)


Last thing, in case no one's told you today: you deserve to be heard, to be loved, and to have proper rest. If you're not feeling that right now, just know that I love you, and I'm so glad you're here. Soak that up, and when you're ready, pass it on.

::squeezy, seasonally-appropriate ghost hugs::