One of these will be recreated as a high quality soft enamel pin for all you Hellraising pin-heads out there (yup, I collect pins too).

Which do you prefer?   

Thank you! to our friends Lori, Rob, and Lily (not pictured but much appreciated) who helped us keep the booth running smoothly! And thank you as always to people like Thom, Jesse, Mike, and the Comics track who kept us all moving in the right direction. Thank you to Q and Liz of the Alt History track for including Horror In Clay in the 
Museum of Alternate History.

"The Art of the Tiki" panel was standing room only and turning people away. Hopefully that means there will be more tiki programing (maybe a 101 and 201 panels) in the future!  Derek Yaniger, SHAG, Robert Jimenez, Michael Gordon and I were thoroughly entertaining if I do say so my self (but don't take my word for it..there is video. When It surfaces I'll link it here. ETA Mid Sept).

Our Katzen con exclusive glasses were so popular they sold out well before the end of the convention.  They were so popular we are offering them in another colorway (Halloween Orange & 22k Gold and Midnight Black & 22k gold) for Halloween.

We hate missing all the fun and costumery that is DragonCon, so this year we ran a Beachcomber photo scavenger hunt from the booth.  With 10 teams participating and 50 challenges to find, we were constantly thrilled to vicariously experience the show.  


Our winning teams were

1st place: Tasteful Sidecock

2nd place: Bunch of Assholes

3rd place: Hei Tiki. 
All won Fabulous Prizes! (and taught us not to let geeks name things)

Below are some of their pictures. Can you guess what they were looking for?

A larger gallery is here
https://www.facebook.com/pg/HorrorInClay/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1278342218954594

 
It was a thrill to be on a panel with SHAG. If you're are interested in a Horror In Clay tapa print shirt, you can get one here.

If you are interested in making your own shirt or dress out of either our Tropigoth Tapa or Katzen fabric, check out our Spoonflower store here. 

Dragon Con 2017

It was a great night; many many thanks to Jason and Robyn for the excellent drinks and hospitality.  Truly, Jason is a wizard of rum, and we met many many fine collectors. (Folks were waiting at the door prior to opening).

Here are some of the standout images from the evening.

Recipe: 

Frozen Peach Barrel  

• 5 cups frozen fresh peaches
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 cup white rum
   
  Prep: Mix in blender.
• (You may need or wish to add a little additional water or rum to thin the drink to taste).  Enjoy!
  (Thanks Jamie G.!)

Candidate Chillinghast's Dark Lantern Motto "A shiny silver dollar on every eye" Taxonomy undead artifact Alignment Neutral Evil Walls? You have to keep them wet with blood. Benefiting Scares That Care

(For those just joining us, here's the what and why behind the "Lesser Evil" campaign.)

Politics; can't escape em. Frankly, while vitally important, I need a break sometimes. HorrorInClay.com has decided to do some good. $2 from every sale in April will go to charity.  Choose your favorite monster party platform to choose which charity benefits!  Check will be written May 1.  ***UPDATE*** Our friends at Netherworld Haunted House in Atlanta are MATCHING $2 from each Chillinghast Dark Lantern sold in April!

 *Items shown are examples only.            

Strangely, I found a tiki Lelani mug as part of the decor in a "meat and three" restaurant in Columbia, NC called "Crossroads" as soon as I got to the area. Food was fair. Finding that before I even made it onto the islands is what inspired this article (no picture though).

Next tiki sighting was a Wayne Coombs style totem, 5 feet tall, painted in all the primary colours of tiki devolution. It was in the parking lot of a surf shoppe called Secret Spot Surf Shop in Nags Head, NC. I didn't get to go in, initially, but there will be a lot more on this place later.  

There was a place called "The Wrek" tiki bar (http://www.thewreckobx.com/) in a marina near the landing for the Hatteras ferry. It seemed to at least be trying to have a tropical/tiki vibe... the entry was surrounded by cheap wooden masks screwed together to make faux poles.  Sadly, it was only open lunch times and week ends, so we couldn't go inside. Snooping their facebook page on the long drive back to Kitty Hawk shows a fun looking marina bar with music and booze.

As a general note, we loved the look and feel of the small rental town area on Ocracoke island near the lighthouse. We'd love to rent a house with friends and stay there a week. Cars seemed outnumbered by rented bikes and a few golfcarts. It looked like a really chill place to spend a week and enjoy some old relaxed beachtime fun.

On the way back from Hatteras we stopped at the Froggy Dog...a seafood and grill place (http://www.froggydog.com/).  Not tiki in any way, but a good waystop. Food was fair, their Painkiller made an attempt at accuracy, and and their other drinks (like the hurricane) were at least tasty if not accurate. Also, the bar area looked like it had a great selection for a roadhouse or restaurant. Probably a fair place for a normal dive bar evening or as a place to break up a drive to see the Hatteras lighthouse.

Next day we tried a joint we had high hopes for..Mama Kwan's Tiki Bar & Grill. (http://www.mamakwans.com/). Mama did not disappoint! Food and drinks were great! Bac-bac matting, and bamboo trim covered all the walls and ceiling. The menu was filled with Chinese-Hawaiian tiki bar menu standard fare at great prices. The pork plate was savory and delicious! The fried dumplings were extra crispy, and the slaw and the cucumber salad crunchy and good.
(edited to add:  Evidently Mama Kwan's was in the book "Tiki Road Trip" so you know it's legit!)

Not only did they have a good drinks menu for a touristy eatery, the drinks were good, and served in Dynasty Wholesale mugs you got to keep. The joint would actually have a TiPSY (Tikis Per Square Yard) score, as there were totems and masks hanging around. Online reviews suggests the place actually gets hopping with a small dance floor some nights, but we enjoyed a leisurely meal with drinks with no wait.

Our "best cocktails" award (and food so good we went twice) went to the Black Pelican Seafood Company (www.blackpelican.com/). You should go, if you're  ever in the OBX. Don't fear the crowd or a wait (there will probably be one...the food is great) Get a buzzer from the hostess and go get drinks from the upstairs bar, browse the gift shop, or just sit and watch the ocean.  The restaurant is housed in the same life-saving station from which the Wright Brothers sent their historic telegram

"Success four flights thursday morning all against twenty one mile wind started from Level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform Press home Christmas."

Seriously, the food was SO GOOD.

In the outside bar of the Black Pelican, ask for a Pelican Punch.  It's a tasty drink, made with locally distilled "Kill Devil Rum" from Outer Banks Distilling.  The hill at the Wright Brother's State Park is called Kill Devil Hill, reputedly because an old slang name for "Rum", "Rhum", or "Rumbustion" was "Kill Devil".  The hill was so named because barrels of rum would wash up in the Outer Banks amidst wreckage from shipwrecks and be hidden around the area by locals and smugglers and the hill was a popular place to do that. The area of the Outer Banks is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic because there are so many wrecks. (Maybe I can get them to carry some Cask of Amontillado Rum Barrels in the gift shop).

After having the Pelican Punch and learning Kill Devil Rum was local (on Roanoke Island), we HAD to go on the distillery tour (http://outerbanksdistilling.com/). It was very well worth it!  Outer Banks Distilling was the 14th private distillery in North Carolina, started by Adam Ball and Kelly Bray (who worked in local craft breweries) and Matt Newsome and Scott Smith (who have decades of bartending experience between them).  The distillery is very new (at the time of this writing I believe they were on batch 10) but the rum is good, the tour is excellent, and the guys are really nice. (I met Matt and Scot during the tour).  The still is a shiny gorgeous beastie from Germany.  The guys have all kinds of plans (they started a batch of what will be dark rum, and have plans for some very interesting rums in the future), and some excellent relationships with other local businesses.  (For example, contributing to rum balls, contributing fertilizer to a local farmer, etc). 

The guys are locals (a bartender told me 3 of them actually live in Kill Devil Hills) and they are REALLY passionate. Go give 'em a high five! Try their rum. Maybe help ‘em bottle (they sign all their bottles! Pro Tip: Look for the Blackbeard bottle, or the one “signed” in the name of Scott’s dog…I think his name was “Otto”?).

Remember I mentioned the Secret Spot Surf Shop with the painted tiki out front? (http://www.secretspotsurfshop.com/)  When I went closer for my obligatory tiki selfie, I saw that in addition to the one I could see, there were some other, MUCH BETTER natural tikis outside as well (carved with “Kapu Tiki” not sure if that is a carver or company). SO many that I had to go inside and ask about them...where I found something very cool. The owner had, at one point in the distant past, filled his garage with large hand-carved tiki from The Philippines. Like, more than I could take pictures of, and some of them were very interesting.

Massive score in Secret Spot if you are looking for a 3 to 6 foot tiki. Looks like the prices range from about $450 - $600.  It also looks like a great surf and skate shop. (For the surfers, OBX does seem to have reasonable waves for the East Coast, but I don't surf so I can't vouch). Regardless, finding that many carvings to browse was very very cool. The staff was very willing to chat with me about the carvings, and let me see some of the ones not on the floor yet...I highly recommend checking them out (and buying a little something).

Otherwise, I didn't see too much tiki in the Outer Banks (but I did see WAY more than I expected).

Several of the beach shops had the tourist junk tiki masks imported by the caseload from Bali.

If you are collecting tiki-selfies with Tiki carvings in OBX, there was a smoke shop that had a nice looking 5ft black plastic Ku with glowing eyes by the door on the east side of the road and a generic Coombs style guy at a seafood restaurant on the west side of the road...both north of the Wright Bro's park in Kitty Hawk. There are several outside the Secret Spot, and one at the base of Mama Kwan’s sign.  Any shop on the strip sells selfie sticks. (:P)

Edit: Other places I'm told I should investigate next time:
Goombay's - Not really tiki but good caribbean cuisine & serves a drink in a souvenir tiki glass. Rundown cafe - Pacific rim cuisine and a few totems.

Not Tiki, but there are two other things we did on the trip I can’t recommend enough for fans of anachronistic attractions.

First, the Lost Colony production (running on Roanoke Island since 1937!) was wonderful, and if you spring for the VIP back stage tour it is even better (http://www.outerbanks.com/the-lost-colony.html). Cannot recommend enough. Theater in the round, with pyrotechnics. Too cool.

Second, if it isn’t too far out of your way, consider hitting up the gloriously garish treat “Pedro’s South of the Border” (http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com). Stay overnight, even. The rooms are cheap, and you get to see the glorious neon. Seriously, the neon should be a protected American Heritage site. Don’t expect anything top flight, DO pay the $2 to ride to the top of the giant sombrero, and take a look around. Carnival rides are $8 for unlimited rides (and that includes minigolf) and you can get frozen margaritas in the Sombrero Restaurant. (DO get bumperstickers for a dime, DO NOT get the nachos).

SO; do you live in the Outer Banks?  Did I miss a killer tiki spot? Want to tell me how the surfing is, or share pirate stories? A coupon code to the first person who sends me a complete set of the "OBX tiki selfies" listed above.
Track me down at http://www.horrorinclay.com or  @Cthulhumug on Twitter.

Cheers!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter.  

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and YouTube, where you can start seeing video content Oct 2015.

For more from views from the Corner-booth Blog, check out Death to False Grenadine and Horror In Clay Q&A: Jason Alexander.

The Demon in the Dark

(winning cocktail of the Ultimate Kraken Hunter bartending competition)

• Grated cinnamon
• Grated nutmeg
• sugar cubes
• peppermint bitters
• 3oz Kraken Dark spiced rum

At its heart, the drink is a Bumbo, which is then set ablaze: Firstly heat up two tankards boiled water, set those aside to warm. Grate some Cinnamon and Nutmeg into a pewter goblet. Fill a mixing glass with water and place the goblet inside. Place an absinthe spoon above the goblet with two sugar cubes on top. Saturate the cubes with a few drops of Peppermint bitters.

Then comes the fun part: Dump all but around 25ml of the water from the blazer mugs. Add about 3oz of Kraken to one of the mugs and set it on fire. VERY carefully, pour the flaming rum back and forth from mug to mug, each time increasing the distance between the two in order to get that famous blue strand of flame.

After 4 or 5 good pours, pour the rum over sugar cubes. It's essential that you do this whilst the flames are still burning; this allows the sugar to caramelize. After the sugar has been broken down, give it a little stir with the spoon to combine everything fully. Remove the goblet from the mixing glass and enjoy!

Yeah! I took part in the UK’s Ultimate Kraken Hunter competition. Almost a thousand bartenders from all over the UK were whittled to 10 for the semi finals and then 5 for the UK final, in London. My drink was inspired by an old Caribbean/Privateer concoction.

At its heart, the drink is a Bumbo, which is then set ablaze: Firstly heat up two tankards boiled water, set those aside to warm. Grate some Cinnamon and Nutmeg into a pewter goblet. Fill a mixing glass with water and place the goblet inside. Place an absinthe spoon above the goblet with two sugar cubes on top. Saturate the cubes with a few drops of Peppermint bitters.

Then comes the fun part: Dump all but around 25ml of the water from the blazer mugs. Add about 3oz of Kraken to one of the mugs and set it on fire. VERY carefully, pour the flaming rum back and forth from mug to mug, each time increasing the distance between the two in order to get that famous blue strand of flame.

After 4 or 5 good pours, pour the rum over sugar cubes. It's essential that you do this whilst the flames are still burning; this allows the sugar to caramelize. After the sugar has been broken down, give it a little stir with the spoon to combine everything fully. Remove the goblet from the mixing glass and enjoy “The Demon in The Dark”.

I’m from a small fishing town in the far north east of Scotland, so I told the judges about our history, our stories and some of the real exploits of the fishermen I knew back home. To emphasize that I was indeed the UK’s ULTIMATE Kraken Hunter, I showed the crowd a trophy I’d taken from the first Kraken I’d killed: I held aloft the Horror In Clay Tentacle jigger with pride, the only man to have faced the beast and lived…albeit, a baby beast.

 This presentation won me the title and the coveted hunter ring. It’s the only one in the world.

I began learning my craft in Aberdeen (Scotland) so that’ll always have a little place in my heart. I got to stretch my wings a little which is why I’m still bartending. From there, it’s taken me to New York, Manchester, Leeds, Paris, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bordeaux. This business is nuts, but it’s the most fun you’ll ever have in your life and every new city means new friends.

What is the Tiki scene like in Scotland?

Honestly, it can be a hit or a miss. There are few Tiki bars in Scotland, which is a shame. The weather here is generally harsh and cold. We could use a little Polynesian passion sometimes, if only to forget about reality.

Some places hold Tiki events or Tiki nights, ranging from weekly to yearly. Any I’ve been to are, pretty much, the wildest thing you can think of. I accidentally started a weekly Tiki night in my old bar, through sheer laziness: Someone bailed on their shift (tsk tsk tsk) so I was called in to cover at VERY short notice. I spoke to my boss on the phone, saying I’d come in and cover, on the condition that I could host an impromptu Tiki  night and wear a Hawaiian shirt. This was partly due to my obsession with Tiki and partly that this was the only shirt I had clean at the time! Tiki Tuesday was born!

3 years later and my old bar have only JUST stopped doing them (change in management). I’m quite proud of that.

Scotland makes some awesome contributions to Horror movies and stories (“Dog Soldiers”, a highland werewolf story, is one of my favorites). Any guidance on authors or films I should check out?

Dog Soldiers is one of my favourites! Especially the “there is no spoon” line. Kills me that it’s set in Scotland but was actually filmed in Luxembourg – I’m a bit of a film buff. Of course, The Wicker Man. One, I think, you may be interested in is Lord Of Tears. It’s based around a character found in Scot’s pagan lore and when you see it, you can be forgiven for thinking that Lovecraft had a hand in it. Other notables: The 39 steps and Braveheart – the historical inaccuracies of that film will haunt me forever ;-)

Literature-wise: Shelley and Stoker were HUGELY influenced by the Scottish countryside. Victor Frankenstein visits Orkney, in the novel. That’s one you can’t argue with, as being a benchmark for horror literature.  Also, the stories of beasts like the Kelpies and Selkies are legendary, capturing the minds of generations. If you haven’t read it, pick up Muriel Gray’s The Ancient.

Do you have a favorite story by Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe?

I must confess, with Lovecraft’s work, it’s the imagery associated with his work that first captured me. Cthulu, Janai’ngo, and M’basui Gwandu are the things of nightmares. Anyone with an active imagination would find it hard to sleep after reading about them. Poe on the other hand, everyone should have read “The Raven”, but I’m a fan of “The Tell-tale Heart” and his short story “Manuscript Found In A Bottle”.

Do you have a recipe you like to serve in your Cthulhu mug? 

Jody's Bali Bali

• 25ml El Dorado 3yr
• 25ml Gosling’s Black Seal (or Lemon Hart 151 depending on how your day’s gone)
• 25ml Courvoisier
• 25ml Rock Rose gin
• 25ml Lime juice
• 25ml Orange juice
• 25ml Pineapple juice
• 12.5ml homemade Falernum
• 12.5ml Passionfruit syrup (If you can find fresh puree and add a little sugar syrup – more power to ya!)

     As a father, I'm proud to help support Women In Horror Recognition Month. #WIH666 Let's show all the kids of all ages and all genders they can do whatever the hell they want, and let's double emphasize for our girls they can do, like, and say whatever they challenge themselves with. Anyone saying "Girls shouldn't like gross things, horror things, ghastly things" (or anything really) should shut up and get out of the way.

There are many ways to support artists and creators; usually time and treasure goes the furthest, so I spent some time spotlighting some of my favorite women working in the horror field and showing off some projects I support. 

Authors

Anya Martin

First up, I'd like to introduce you to Anya Martin, who I consider a touchstone in the Atlanta horror scene. I first met Anya at the first event I attended as Horror In Clay, the Rockabilly Luau. (Anya was there repping her alt culture project, ATLRetro.com which is my favorite place to check for things to do in Atlanta). Turns out, she is also into horror in a big way (she is the programming director for World Horror Con in Atlanta this year, and is generally present (in spirit at least) at pretty much every nifty horror thing in the city).

She writes: I’m a storyteller in prose, comics and journalism whose passion is delving into the whimsical and bitter truths of reality through the lens of the often but not always dark fantastique. Her most recent work includes the story “Resonator Superstar!” in the anthology Resonator: New Lovecraftian Tales From Beyond edited by Scott R. Jones for Martian Migraine Press. Anya will also have work (the story “Sensoria”) in Giallo Fantastique, an anthology edited by Ross Lockhart for Word Horde Press. AnyaMartin.com

Delilah S. Dawson

Delilah is an acquaintance of mine through PDMI Publishing editor Clay Gilbert who I met Anachrocon last year. She is a highly engaging correspondent through social media, and a fun fan of horror, cosplay, and fiction. I particularly love her blog, WhimsyDark.com.

I'm Delilah S. Dawson, and I'm horrible. Or, at least, I've been a fan of Horror ever since I swiped my mom's copy of Pet Sematary when I was 10. My first YA book, Servants of the Storm, has been labeled Southern Gothic Horror, which pleases my cold, black heart, while my next YA, Hit, is being called a Thriller and focuses on teen assassins in a bank-owned America. In both cases, I love writing about strong women, a high body count, and maybe, just maybe, some kissing. Even my Blud series, billed as Steampunk Romance, has tinges of Horror, including blood-drinking horses. What can I say? Blood's funner than water.  WhimsyDark.com.

 

Tonia Brown

Once upon a time I had the singular experience of being on a horror movie panel where the attendees and panelists were evenly matched. Fortunately one of the other panelists was the wickedly hilarious Tonia Brown. We had a pretty damn good time engaging the audience on such diverse topics as kaiju sex and on who, if stripped of powers and magically made the same size, would win a MMA match between Cthulhu or Godzilla. (I still maintain Cthulhu would take the belt).

Hi! I am Tonia Brown, author, complainer and professional cat petter. I hail from a tiny little town in the back hills of NC where I live with my husband of many, many years as well as an ever fluctuating number of felines. I write in many different genres, including horror. I started reading horror at a young age when I overdosed on fantasy and got tired of it. I began with classics like Poe and worked my way up to Matheson and King, while also watching a fair dose of horror films alongside. When I took up writing in my adult life, I began with romance because I wasn’t certain horror was something I could tackle. It wasn’t that I thought of it as a male job, or that I couldn’t do it because I was a woman. I just didn’t know if I had it in me to scare the pee out of folks the way I was spooked as a kid. Eventually, I decided to try and tap into that same passion that still drove me to watch horror movies and read horror novels, and now it’s one of the many genres I love to explore. I tend to temper my horror with humor such as in the novels Badass Zombie Road Trip or Lucky Stiff, both from Books of the Dead. I also do straight up horror like Devouring Milo or the recently re-released Skin Trade from Permuted Press. www.ToniaBrownAuthor.com

Podcasters/Narrators

 This next bit I’m going to do as a block, since I haven’t yet met most of these women of horror in person. Some of you folks might remember that I occasionally do a bit of podcast narration for Pseudopod.org, the horror fiction podcast. Well, my pals over at Pseudopod Tower have put together an excellent program for Women in Horror Recognition month, so if you like your horror whispered in your ear, in the dark, these ladies have you covered.

Episode 424 - “The Godsmaid Clara And Her Many Smiles” by Sharon Dodge.
Reader: Kim Lakin-Smith

Episode 425 - “Works Of Art” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Reader: the Word Whore

Episode 426 - February 20 – “The Devil Inside” by Shannon Connor Winward
Reader: Tatiana Gomberg

Episode 427 - February 27 – “Carnation, Lily, Rose” by Kelly Link
Reader: Anson Mount

Comedian Melissa Hunter has been cracking me up ever since I discovered her YouTube videos dedicated to Adult Wednesday Addams. 

Artists/Designers/Book Projects

I'd feel bad if I left out the creative ladies behind Littlest Lovecraft, now working on their 3rd childrens' book adapted from Lovecraft.  This time, they're tackling a story after my own heart, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Tro Rex & Eyo Bella have already adapted "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror". 

Littlest Lovecraft

The Littlest Lovecraft Presents: The Shadow Over Innsmouth Tro and Eyo are doing a followup full color, fully illustrated volume, written in verse and lovely. The book should be produced in hard and softcover. Their company website is Littlest Lovecraft (Please note: this is a non Horror In Clay Kickstarter campaign; you will not be charged until the project ends).

Another book project I'm bound to support is Dreams from the Witch House.

In Dreams From the Witch House : Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror the most intuitive dreamers have been assembled to give us glimpses into these ancient terrors and their whispered warnings. Featuring authors Joyce Carol Oates, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Lois Gresh, Gemma Files, Nancy Kilpatrick, Elizabeth Bear, Storm Constantine and others accompanied by the lavish artwork of Daniele Serra, Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror is a representation of some of the finest cosmic horror and weird fiction from female authors in the field today. (Please note: this is a non Horror In Clay Indie-go-go campaign; you will not be charged until the project ends).

That's all for now fright fans.  Check out each and every one of the dynamic dames, and remember; Ghouls just want to have fun.  

Regardless, red is a color of the seasons, and the quickest way to sweeten up and make festive a plain old cocktail is Grenadine.  Sweet, syrupy, and red. This is where people start to go horribly, HORRIBLY wrong.

That half full, stuck shut bottle of Rose's Grenadine you've had sitting since last season?  Kill it with fire. Throw it out.

If you think Rose’s makes Grenadine, you’ve been lied to.
Rose’s makes cherry-flavoured corn syrup. Actually, per Wikipedia "The Mott's brand "Rose's" is by far the most common brand of grenadine sold in the United States^, and is formulated from (in order of concentration): high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, FD&C Red #40, natural and artificial flavors, and FD&C Blue #1.^[4] In Europe, Bols still manufactures grenadine with pomegranate".

Grenadine should be made with pomegranate juice. I have it on good authority that juicing pomegranates is not worth it and that POM or Trader Joe’s pomegranate juice does a better job. The trick is to get 100% pomegranate juice...but don’t worry; making grenadine is easy.

If you have some Rose’s in your bar, never fear...you can improve it immensely by mixing it 50/50 with fresh POM and shaking the hell out of it. Trust me, the difference is night and day.

You can make grenadine using "hot process" (by heating the juice to reduce it and blend in sugar) and by using "cold process" (by shaking the hell out of it to get the same effect).
Hot process is great, and fast, but can scorch if you aren’t careful. Holds up a little better in a multi-ingredient cocktail. I usually go with hot process. Enjoy.

Hot Process
2 Cups POM
1 Cup Sugar
Splash of hi-proof booze (Let's go with Wray and Nephew overproof rum) as a preservative.

Pour two cups of POM into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat until reduced by half. Add one cup of sugar, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool; if desired, add high-proof vodka or grain alcohol as a preservative (it also keeps well, and doesn’t freeze solid, in a plastic container in the freezer).

This process produces a grenadine that has a deeper color and a richer flavor. While the cold process makes a grenadine that is fresh and light, the hot process makes a more intensely flavored end product, with a distinct “cooked” taste. It’s still not as sweet as the commercial versions, so you may need to alter the proportions in your cocktail recipes, but the rich, red color is there.

Imbibe magazine grenadine. (Cold process)
2 cups POM (or Trader Joes) passionfruit juice
1 cup ultra fine sugar
2 tbsp Orange Flower Water #
“Splash” (1 oz) Wray and Nephew overproof (as preservative)- shake
like hell and voila, you got homemade grenadine, no cooking or
reduction involved.

# Orange Flower Water is distilled from orange blossoms, and doesn’t taste like oranges at all. You can find it in better-stocked grocery stores, or specialty food stores, especially those with a good Mediterranean section. If all else fails, there’s Amazon. Monteaux is a good brand.

Happy Solstice!  "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Monster Mixology Monday: In the Court of the Dragon

• Serve in a Cthulhu Tiki mug
• 1/2oz Lemon Juice
• 1oz La Favorite Blanc Rhum
• 1oz Macchu Pisco
• .5oz Forres Park Puncheon Rum
• .25oz Green Chartreuse
• 1oz Fresh Pineapple
• 1oz Fresh Lime
• .5oz Passionfruit Syrup
• barspoon Allspice Dram

*as served at Cane & Table. Photo & recipe by Nick Detrich.  Mug shown is Cthulhu Tiki mug by Horror In Clay.

Monster Mixology Monday: Fiendishly Tropical Typhoon

• 2 Dashes Horror Infused Fiendishly Tropical Bitters
• 1/2oz Lemon Juice
• 1/2oz Grapefruit Juice
• 1/2oz Passion Fruit syrup
• 1/4oz Cinnamon syrup
• 1/4oz Don's Spices #2 (Recipe originally created with B.G. Reynolds)
• 2oz overproof dark rum (Recipe originally created with Lost Spirits Navy Style
  
  
  

*as served at Tacoma Cabana. Photo & recipe by Jason Alexander.  Mug shown is A'A'PO'E from Hale Pale made by Munktiki.

If you are newer to this whole “bitters thing,” you can substitute Fiendishly Tropical Bitters in almost any recipes that call for aromatic bitters. You can also use them:

A)      In any Booze& drink: Captain & Coke, Dark & Stormy, etc.(to taste, maybe 4-7 drops)

B)      In something like a highball that is mostly booze and bitters.(several drops to taste)

C)      Add a few drops on top of vanilla ice crème and fruit (try peaches), (About 4 drops)

D)      Add a few drops to a flute of Champaign for added zest.

You’ll mostly notice the bitters on the “nose” (smell/taste) and “finish” (aftertaste) of a cocktail  Enjoy!

Fiendish Tom Collins/Tom Collinsport:

 
An Anachronistic Bijou
* 1 1/2 ounces dry gin
* 1/2 ounce vermouth
* 1/2 ounce Chartreuse [4]
* half-dropper of Horror Infused Fiendishly Tropical Bitters
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with cracked ice. Stir well for 20 seconds and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Twist a piece of lemon peel over the drink and use as garnish.

We always love to see where our products end up; you can check out our customer-submitted pictures (or submit your own) at www.facebook.com/horrorinclay or search for the tags “horror in clay” or “cthulhu tiki mug” on Flickr. New products, convention appearances, and news will show up on the facebook page and at our website; www.horrorinclay.com.  We have the Corner-Booth Blog dedicated to horror, tiki, cocktails, pop culture, and conventions on the site and are also active on twitter (@CthulhuMug) and on Google Plus+ as HorrorInClay.

Whether you are mostly interested in horror literature, tiki culture, or just plain old awesome Things, we really hope you enjoy your purchase!  Remember, if it ain’t got bitters, it ain’t a cocktail. All the best!

Jonathan Chaffin

Horror In Clay LLC

Top 5 experiences:

• I was a guest on "Seriously, Dan,"  a live broad-cast every Sat. from 6pm to 8pm, WYXC 1270 out of Cartersville, GA.  I was honored to be included by show host Dan Carroll (who you might also know from his role as Director of Media Relations for DragonCon, Monsterama, and various and sundry similar products).  He's a nice, funny, and soothing personality, and I had a great time on the show. Also, turns out my "radio announcer voice" works well on actual radio (or at least was good for a laugh).  I also got to meet and interact with Scott  and Ruth Suehle and some other lovely folks
• .
• Thanks to the MandalorianMercs and my booth-minion Jamie, I got to "anguish in a Mandalorian prison cell. For 20 minutes. For charity. Also, I practiced showtunes while doing so. "Sinnnngggiinn' in tha' caaaage....just Siiiiinnnnggggin' in tha' CAAAGGGEEE!  What a gloooorrrious feeeeling!" Etcetera. Ad Nauseum.  
• 
• Played a new game called "Tonto Cuore". If there ISN'T a version with naughty cards, there SHOULD be. (It's about owning a household of maids, and you score points for the ones you send to your chambers...sort of). Fun game though.
• 
• I'm gonna go with meeting Neon Pink Jesus!  He even blessed our booth for the second year in a row.  (I'm told this year he had much better nipple-guards).  If you are interested in the Gospel According to Booze, Bullets, and Hot Pink Jesus, go here; Http://www.hotpinkjesus.com  (It's a movie).  
• 
• The final highlight was vending with our friends who came to help staff the booth, and introducing many people to the joy of  a Dark N Stormy made with Blenheim Extra Hot Ginger Ale and Horror Infused Fiendishly Tropical Bitters.
• 

As a vendor: Load in and out was super smooth...volunteers were on hand to help load in an out. Load in 10am morning of (for a 3pm opening) was a little more frenetic than loading in the day before, but not terrible.  Smartphone/wifi signal was strong with no hiccups.  Donated to the charity auction.

More pictures from the trip here: https://plus.google.com/photos/104119888491198424312/albums/6020507144256513905

Also; if any one in the 501st Carolina Garrison know these two Mercs, I'd love to meet 'em when they aren't handcuffing me and throwing me in a cell. :)

TL/DR  ConCarolinas was fun! 

To all the female writers, artists, sculptors, podcasters, actresses and others who choose to push the boundaries and explore humanity through horror, and incidentally teach my daughter that she can do whatever she wants even if it involves "gross stuff": thank you.

There are many ways to support artists and creators; usually time and treasure goes the furthest. Just to spread the love a little further, here are some very worthwhile woman-produced horror projects being funded that I personally couldn't resist.

The Littlest Lovecraft Presents: The Dunwich Horror Tro Rex and Eyo Bella are doing a followup to their first project (Littlest Lovecraft: The Call of Cthulhu). This book will be a full color, fully illustrated volume, written in verse and coming in at around 64 pages. The book should be produced in hard and softcover. Their company website is Littlest Lovecraft (Please note: this is a Kickstarter campaign; you will not be charged until the project ends)

She Walks In Shadows Anthology  Women do write Lovecraftian fiction. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is spearheading the effort to prove it with your support. More than a dozen female authors have gathered to write original Lovecraftiana and place it in a single volume under the title She Walks In Shadows. They seek to pay 6 cents a word to contributors. All funds go towards that goal and to other production costs: mailing prizes, design, etc. Silvia's entry about the project is here. (Please note this is an Indigogo campaign and supporters will be charged immediately.)

At Christmas one year I got a large leatherbound book of Robert Louis Stevenson stories and an unabridged collection of Edger Allen Poe stories.  Between "Treasure Island", the "Strange Case of Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde," "Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Black Cat" I fell in love with the outre and the macabre.[1]

Thousands of books and a word processor later I spent most of high school writing/journaling/reviewing and editing things.  Word processing led to desktop publishing and Bob's-your-uncle; I'm a working artist and graphic designer. 

All that was a VERY long way around to saying that I was recently asked to participate in the October 2013 Monster Serial project over at The Collinsport Historical Society. The website is a well-curated, authoritative look at the multiple "Dark Shadows" tv series and movies. (I've said before that "Dark Shadows" is a lot like the "Dr. Who" of horror.)  During the '90s revival tv series I used to join up with some other friends of mine [2] and watch the show every week. 

Monster Serials was a commitment by several authors to write a movie review a day during October, culminating in multiple reviews from the "Halloween" line of films on All Hallow's Eve.  I'd like to thank Wallace for inviting me to participate, and share my contributions to the project here. Without further ado; here are my contributions. Hope you enjoy.

•In The Mouth of Madness 

•Halloween H20:Twenty Years Later

For those interested, here is my two-bit summary of the Halloween franchise.

• 1. Innovative Original
• 2. The Next Day
• 3. Capitalize on the name with unrelated property
• 4-5-6. Create a TRILOGY instead of 4. to explain backstory and move the story forward 
• [extra interesting in my opinion because they A) do some gymnastics to work the unrelated 3rd movie into the cosmology and B) the try to end the series for the first time (producers cut) then decide to release a different ending (theatrical cut) allowing for...]
• 7. The "Where are they now" sequel that was originally written to pick up where 6 left off but was then REWRITTEN to pick up where II left off and ignore 4-5-6.7. also has a conclusive end
• ...until 8. decides to resurrect the franchise again, this time with video cameras ala SAW.

 Thanks for reading these thoughts from the Corner-booth at Pickman's Cove!

[1] You see what happens, Donny? This is what happens when you give a little kid antique literature.

[2] One of my old friends, Tim, does sardonic live-texts of movies he watches under the heading #TerribleTheater (Indexed here)

The winner of our 2013 mask contest for a Cthulhu Lover's Gift Set is...

Hunter the First with his entry, "He demands a portion of my liver as a sacrifice."
We also have a prize our first enthusiastic participant: Scott Nikola with his entry, "Go home Cthulhu, you're drunk!"

 THANK YOU to all our contest participants!  Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

#C

Heather L.

"Cthulh-ette"

#D

Claire M

"The squid is family"

#E
Will M.

"The brood"

#F

John L.

".  .  .  H u n g r y . . ."

 #G

Cat A. Strophoea

"Darling, ALL th' ladies are going Utterly Mad this year. It's QUITE th' rage!

#H
John W.

"Sometimes Ithaqua likes to pretend he's famous, too... "

You've just been made an expert in something and now people are inviting you to talk to other people at conventions. What do you do?  Grab a mug of your favorite beverage and read on.

Disclaimer - these are just some notes from my own perspective and experience, by no means exhaustive or complete. Hopefully useful and cogent, but I'm not promising anything. This is the exact opposite of an expert opinion.

Really basic 101 type stuff

When you go to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Pop Culture conventions etc there are usually panels you can sit in to learn more about your favorite topics.  I've had the good fortune to be on a few panels* (usually in a crowd of other folks, usually related to Lovecraft/Cthulhu, fundraising, marketing, or prop-making).

Panels are fun, but they can be stressful for panelists, and the stress can come from some strange directions.  I wanted to run down some of the more common thoughts and observations I've had, on the off chance they are useful to someone about to be on their first convention panel.

1. So you're going to be on a panel…GREAT! They are fun! REMEMBER THAT! In any setting you can enjoy the atmosphere or you can BE part of the atmosphere.  If you've been asked to be on a panel (or Q&A session, or to speak) it means, first and foremost, the panel organizer (track director or whoever) trusts you to contribute positively to the panel/track/convention. Heady times, my friend!  
2. Either you are an authority on a subject, were directly involved, have a unique perspective, or are really entertaining in front of a crowd.  Or all of the above.  Let that be your armor against self-consciousness and doubt; the organizer trusts you.  Try and relax and remember that you are there in  front of the crowd to be you; to bring your knowledge and experience and personality to the panel.
3. Don't let the organizer down.  Here's a handy dandy sub-list that will help you out.

WAY BEFORE THE SHOW

BEFORE THE PANEL

 RIGHT BEFORE THE PANEL

 DURING THE PANEL

 AFTER THE SHOW

Party Like a Cephalopod!

"Beware the Alumni, for they have squids in their heads" is a phrase you'll hear if you hang around me long enough.  (I'll explain some other time).  Well, the squid in the head of my friend Mr. Kleef is fond of math. And rum.  And he wanted to throw a party for all his friends who bought the Horror In Clay.  Logistically, there were a few things to consider:

How to scale the recipe for the signature cocktail up to monster-sized?  

How to tell one mug from another?

We decided to share a little of the legwork he did to make a wonderful Lovecraftian Luau come to hideous undying life. 

How to make 5 gallons of Cthulhu Waits Dreaming

SCIENCE!

You'll Need:

Gold Rum 160oz

Dark Rum 20oz

Brandy   40oz

Absinthe  1.67oz <OR> 10 tsp

Cinnamon Syrup 40oz

Orgeat Syrup   40oz

White Grapefruit Juice 140oz

Fresh lemon juice 60oz

Bitters  8.34oz

Oh so many bitters.

Also poured in maybe 1/3 of a 20lb bag of ice.

The Shopping List

3 x 1.75L bottle Appleton Jamaica Rum [Special]

1 x 1.75L bottle Coruba Dark Rum (sub Meyers)

1 x 1.75L bottle Paul Masson Grande Amber (sub whatever)  

1 x 0.75L bottle Absinthe

2 x 0.75L bottle Collins Orgeat Syrup

3 half-gallon White Grapefruit bottles

1 x 10 Oz bottle Angostura Bitters 

3 of the 2-cup cinn. syrup mix (handmade at 1c sugar, 1c water, 3 sticks)

Juice of 40 lemons (at 1.5 oz per lemon <OR> 60 oz fresh squeezed = buy 4 pints)

You will need to juice more than twice this many lemons. You will feel every nick, cut, scrape, and tear on your hands.

Don't forget the salt-water rinse!

A few tea spoons of sea salt in a casserole dish full of water to brine/rinse your mug in first (just ladle in some salt water, rinse, and pour out.)

So. You have all the social lubricant anyone could ask for.  You have a bunch of like minded tiki freaks, horror fans, and freaky freaks all hanging out. Everyone brought their mug.  All the mugs are the same. How to tell them apart?

You could glue googly eyes on them like this fellow:

Which I don't recommend.

Or you could order a bunch of rubber bands designed to tell beer bottles apart (or LiveStrong bracelets, or whatever) and sharpies.  This is a pretty entertaining option, and worked well.  I recommend it anywhere you go where you need a nametag for your tiki mug.

Whatever you do, have fun!  More on decorating your Cthulhu fete later. If you have your own events around our products, I'd LOVE to hear about them and see pictures! 'Til then, enjoy your Horror In Clay gear!

An extra special thanks to Mr. Kleef and Lucky for hosting this awesome event! Thanks guys! All the best.

 

*1 Hurricane recipe: (1 part lemon juice, 1 part passion fruit syrup, 2 parts dark Jamaican rum).

*2 Passion fruit syrup (see below)

*3 The brand of passion fruit pulp I like: CANOA' Maracuya Passion Fruit puree/pulp

*4 Also kiss his boots for getting Lemon Hart 151 into wide circulation again!

*5 In general, Bacardi is popular because it has a fairly neutral flavor (meaning it hides in drinks) and because they spent a lot of money hosting cocktail contests back in the day. Doesn't mean they are the best.

*6 Can you tell I love dark rum? 

*7 A few words about syrups (see below)

*8 I love Blenheim's Old #3 Hot.

I. The Manifesto

By now everyone knows we sell a Cthulhu inspired tiki mug. Yay!  The world just got more awesome! (At least we think so)

We have a little more going on that that, and still more in the pipeline, so here's our manifesto. 

We at Horror In Clay want the world to be a more magical place, and have more of the stuff we create and that we find inspirational from around us. We want want to sell high quality, conceptually appropriate products. We want to help people do cool things to promote more inspiring products in the world.  

I'd much rather have something crafted from one of our concepts than just slap a logo on something (although if it's really cool we might do a little of that).    This is our labour of love, so sometimes it might take a little while to get things shipped out, but I promise to try and get everything handled in a timely fashion, as defined by me. 

II. Some Cool Stuff We Will Be Attending

Horror In Clay is sponsoring the inaugural Classic Horror track at http://www.Anachrocon.com Feb. 22-24, In Atlanta, GA.  Anachrocon is an alternative history convention (think steampunk or weird west genres) and is a lot of fun.  We will have a booth in the dealer's room and also will be giving out tchotchkes and speaking on a panel.

We will be vending at http://www.ConCarolinas.org in Charlotte, NC, from May 31-June 2, 2013. ConCarolinas is a general multi-genre multi-media convention. They call themselves a sci-fi convention but in truth cover all speculative fiction - science fiction, fantasy and horror. It hosts a variety of fandom related events and guests, including gaming, discussion panels, costume events, music events like Klingon Karaoke, charity auction, SCA events, fan groups like the 501st Stormtroopers, Starfleet, and Klingon Assault Group, and something different every year.

We would love to see you at these events.  Please stop by our booth if you are at the con and say hi!

III. More Awesome

For years I have been a fan of the minty fresh skypieces produced by Fez-O-Rama.  Starting at Anachrocon, Horror In Clay will be an official Fez-O-Rama reseller and will have a limited selection of Fez-O-Rama fezzes for sale (mostly those with tentacles).  We cannot wait to share these and send more fezzes into the wild.

That's enough for now.  Your host, JMC

-- "The box. You opened it. We came."