Duct Tape Roses

Can't find that perfect balance between romantigoth and industrial goth? Try looking at this site which gives instructions for making realistic roses out of duct tape. Just use black tape instead of red for that real "goffick" tackiness. You will need both green and black duct tape for the project.

Stereotypical Goth Portrait

While trying to create some promo materials for my eBook "The Gibson Girl's Guide to Make-Up" I accidentally created the following Stereotypical Goth Portrait.

Here's how to make stereotypical Goth portrait like the one above:

1. Don't smile.
2. Wear dark lipstick.
3. Wear dark eyeliner.
4. If your hair isn't messy to start with, mess it up.
5. Try to look either sad or pissed off.
6. Wear black.
7. Tilt head slightly downward OR hold camera over your head but still look straight forward.

Aka Manto: The Ghost With the Red Cape

We seem to be developing a series of posts about Japanese ghosts! After the previous one about Slit-Mouth Woman, I was looking into some more data about the ghosts of Japan and came onto Aka Manto, or Red Cape.

Red Cape is reportedly a handsome man wearing a red cape: however, he wears a white mask to disguise his good looks, as they had brought him problems in life. Presumably this is the cause of the unhappiness which turned him to a malicious spirit. He usually only is said to haunt girl's bathrooms, and especially inclines to the final stall or the fourth stall (four is an unlucky number in Japan as it is a homophone to the word for Death.)

An experience with Red Cape finds one sitting on the toilet. A man's voice appears mysteriously, asking: "Do you want a red cape or a blue cape?" To answer with a preference for either results in one's own grisly murder: asking for red will find Red Cape appearing and cutting you to shreds or beheading you so that your blood will resemble a cape, asking for blue brings him to appear and strangle you or else drain the blood from your body so that your skin turns blue.

Also, Red Cape is not so easily fooled as Slit-Mouth Woman. While giving her an alternate answer to her pre-set questions can confuse her into leaving you be, Red Cape responds to any requests for alternate colors of cape by simply dragging you away to Hell -- or, some say that if you ask for yellow, he will end his mischief at merely dunking your head into the toilet. The most effective way to avoid Red Cape's wrath, however, is to refuse any of his offerings.