[For those who are searching for unique horror items, one can’t beat Etsy.com. Each Tuesday, Gravedigger’s Local 16 aims to highlight one seller. If you’re looking to spruce up your look, redecorate your sanctorum or get a gift for that special something in your life, Etsy.com is your place for spooky econo.]
Clara Boo’s Curioddities
http://www.etsy.com/shop/curioddities
Sew Couture Caduceus Pocket Mirror
Creepiness is an art. In order to really creep someone out, it doesn’t take much if you do it properly. There is a lot you can do just by playing with tactile sensations. There’s some truth in that slumber party game of making your friends close their eyes before you slide their hands into cold spaghetti noodles, lying to them about how these are veins taken from a murder victim’s body.
Creepy is a clever art form. You can’t creep someone out if you go about it dumbly, with no finesse or any kind of panache. It’s hard to do when you overplay your hand or go for the bombastic approach, as many people do. Creepy is very subtle, very slithering. When you creep someone out, it also has to come off as a natural action for you, even if the action itself is unnatural. You can’t do something that immediately reveals itself a charade, or else you’ll come off as comical or, at worst, a farce.
We think that one of the charming traits of Clara Boo’s Currioddities is how they manage to be naturally creepy without showing much effort. They also do it in a manner that it doesn’t ward off anyone from buying their products. It’s a very accessible level of creepiness and we applaud their work.
Bat Girl Womens Medium T Shirt Last One
Glancing at this women’s t-shirt, your eyes are drawn to the comely figure whose shape is accentuated by the cape of spider-webs. Above, a well enamored moon looks down, almost gleeful in its voyeuristic delight. Though pornographic by no means, the undercurrent of sex here is undeniable, made not so much creepy but somewhat subversive by the fact that this woman’s elongated neck implies what her true intentions are. Even more so, when she reveals them, people will be watching.
Penny Farthing Pocket mirror
The actual mirror is a handy tool and should be on hand in case of any last minute touch-ups or in need to measure the strength of a body’s breath. The image on the back shows an ecstatic child-thing riding the penny farthing, a trio of bat shapes gliding behind it on attached strings. Are the bats dead or fake? And the ever visible seam in the child-thing’s head, does that imply that it wears a protective shell? What grim visage lies underneath that permanently grinning face?
Skeleton and a Vampire
Clara Boo’s Curioddities offers a very extensive range of products, from wearables to displayables to sendables, like this card here. One of a series displaying festive costumes on children in the custom of trick-or-treating, the bit of creepiness is not in the visibles. In fact, it’s quite charming. Clara Boo is able to capture her two-dimensional style in a very third dimension, providing a wonderful card to send at the appropriate time. No, what’s utterly creepy about this is the sound that these things, these children, might make if they were real and standing on your desk.
Nostalgia 2 Blank Card
Nostalgia is, in itself, a horrible affliction that renders a lot of the living into ghastly bits of death, floating around while dressed in antiquated modes of fashion, profounding the truths of long, outdated technologies and thoughts. It’s a horrible curse and so it’s questionable as to why this high fashion darling is called such. The colors allusion to sorry, the pose one of coyness and possible regret? The nearly exposed breast leading to imagine this a woman once comfortable with having a life separate from sex but now? Very peculiar.
Penny Black With Radio Blank Greetings Card.
How horrible it must be to be so proficient with your hands to expertly capture the expression of depression and utter despair on the face of an inanimate (?) object. The doll, though complete in construction, looks broke in spirit. The position next to the antique radio, the objects from a prior time, only aid in the melancholy. How wonderful. How creepy.
Do be a doll yourself and go to these pages – Clara Boo on Twitter, on Facebook here and also on Facebook there. If you aren’t feeling terribly social, avoid the social networks and go straight to the official page. Don’t forget to visit her Etsy store and purchase what have you.
