Strange Answers: "How do you make fake human sashimi?"

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severed thumb 07

The question of the day here at Dapper Cadaver was “How do you make fake human sashimi?”

It’s a familiar horror movie set up, knife wielding maniac slices some choice parts off their victim, nothing unusual there, but the part two of this gruesome torture involves slicing the bits and pieces thin. There will be close ups. And the budget is practically non existent.

If budget allows, pieces can be custom fabricated so there’s meat and bone looking material built right in, but budget didn’t allow this time so we need to go with off the shelf pieces.

One of the pieces getting cut off is the thumb. Now the detail on our thumbs is great, you can see the pores and even take a fingerprint. Add a nail, and you got a close up ready piece. Skin tone is going to be repainted to match their actor. The problem though is the thumb is hollow vinyl. How do you cut it thin without spoiling the illusion.

We came up with 2 possible solutions.

The first involves stuffing the thumb with meat and bone so you can cut into it and see the gore inside. It’s good because you can maintain a steady shot, but you’ll have to hold it carefully so the skin doesn’t slip and spoil the illusion.

The more classic effect is the old switcheroo. Knife maniac goes for actor and the first switch is pulling off the fake thumb for the real thumb. The maniac slams the thumb down on a table – close up on bloody thumb – then cut to close up of the knife coming down. Switch the fake thumb for a similar piece of meat, say a raw chicken wing, the fat part with the single bone inside and a thumbnail glued on, but don’t do a close up. The maniac starts cutting, you can go as thin as you want and it will look real because it is real. Leave the damaged nail for even more impact.

Here’s a tip, if your character is female, give her a noticeable nail polish, then match the nail polish on the fake finger. It keeps it clear whose parts your dealing with. Worked in The Big Lebowski.

Strange Questions: Do you have a Possum Penis?

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Raccoon baculum

Everyday the phone rings and I hear: “This is going to sound like a strange question, but…”

I answer the question, which may range from advice on making bloody explosions to medieval torture equipment to making the best fake spider webs to what happens to what part of the body after death or why you shouldn’t sell black market human remains, you know, morbid industry tech support.

I recently decided I should start publishing these question and answer sessions. And feel free to email me with more questions, my email is info@dappercadaver.com .

So todays question: “Do you have a possum’s penis replica?”

Why would anyone want one, you might ask, well there’s an old American tradition that raccoon and opossum penis bones – called Baculum, should be worn around the neck for good luck. The tradition can still be found in some parts of the south, amongst carnies, and certain trucker traditions. It was referenced in the book “The Heart is Deceitful above all things”

A replica Baculum was wanted because this was for a production and the actors were a bit squeamish over handling something like that. Well, it turns out the anchovy shaped Opossum baculum replica eluded me, but I found a good scientific supply house the carries an amazing array of baculum, from ferrets to foxes to bears and seals, and yes, even the lucky raccoon. Dapper Cadaver can now special order bacula of nearly any North Amercan mammal for $10-$40 each.

The longest baculum in North America belongs to te Walrus, measuring an average of 2 ft, with the record being at nearly 5 ft. Think about that for a second, and shudder. Walrus baculum, called Oosiks by the inuit, are of great ceremonial importance.

All the great apes except humans have a baculum. The zoologist Richard Dawkins speculated in 2006, that the loss of the bone in humans, is probably a result of sexual selection by females looking for signs of good health in prospective mates. The reliance of the human penis solely on hydraulic means to achieve a rigid state makes it particularly vulnerable to blood pressure variation. Poor erectile function betrays not only physical states such as diabetes and neurological disorders but mental states such as stress and depression.

Monster Mondays: Long Wang

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Monster Mondays: long wang

As part of the Dapper Cadaver blogs Monster Mondays, I bring you a king amongst Chinese Dragons – Long Wang!

Long Wang is a serene type of dragon and the specific dragon of the “Year of The Dragon” part of the Chinese zodiac. They presides over watery weather and scaly creatures like lizards and fish.

Being in charge of water and rain, Long Wangs often dribble themselves with dewdrops or come in floods.

The noble Long Wang does not understand why Westerners constantly snicker around it and laugh behind Long Wang’s back.
Treat the mighty Long Wang with awe and respect.

Bones and Warcraft Props up for Auction

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The Chiller Theater in New Jersey is doing a charity auction May 2nd – 4th, 2008, and I’ll be contributing 2 pieces from my collection a warcraft mask and a skeleton. The skeleton was used in ad campaign of Fox’s Bones. Fox’s Bones and World of Warcraft are in no way affiliated with this auction. These items are my personal property that has been used by their productions. Other items up for auction can be seen here. Stills from the ad showing the skeleton and the actors together can be seen in the below links

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I’ll also be contributing a World of Warcraft Ork Mask and the mold for making more latex Ork masks. See the finished Ork mask here .

The charity is a benefit for horror host and novelty horror music legend John Zacherley, the cool ghoul. The fund raiser is a surprise, so if you know Zach, don’t tell him!
the cool ghoul

Zach is the last of the great original horror hosts, 90 years old and still as sharp as a stake through the heart. He fell ill around Christmas and while he’s out of the hospital now, this auction is to raise the cash for his hospital bills. Along with other hosts like Vampira who passed earlier in the year, Zach helped create the campy mix of ghastly puns and ghoulish gore that is often imitated, never equaled to this day. While the honors for Vampira came mostly post-humous, this is a chance to honor a legend of the undead while he’s still alive.

As well as a character actor and horror host, Zacherley produced an unrivaled assortment of novelty horror records in the 50’s and 60’s. Often backed by the rockabilly surf style of the Dick Clark Five, or spooky organs, Zacherley’s horror limerick songs are one of the founding forces of todays Psychobilly genre Give a Listen to some selections here, and then go ahead and buy the album here. We’re trying to get the dude paid after all.

Zacherley’s music and television persona has been a huge influence on all of us here at Dapper Cadaver where his music can regularly be heard in our in store mix. We’re thrilled and honored to be able to help him out however we can. We hope whether you love Zacherley, Bones, Warcraft, or other horror swag you’ll be able to make a bid and help this delightful old ghoul out.

Muerte Las Vegas!

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We just got back from the Halloween Costume, Haunted Attraction, and Party show in Las Vegas. Eileen and I had a great time and even made the paper.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal

The four-day convention includes more than 700 exhibitors and is expected to attract about 10,000 attendees from 47 countries.

In 24 years it has grown from a small event in Chicago with about 20 vendors to today’s incarnation, a multiday costume, prop and gore extravaganza for an industry worth about $7 billion.

“Something like 20 percent of people in the U.S. will attend a haunted house,” said Joe Thaler, chairman and CEO of TransWorld Exhibits, the company that runs the Halloween show. “It can be very valuable.”

Mutilated bodies, full-length Sasquatch and Yeti suits, trampy nurse and superhero outfits are among the highlights of the Las Vegas event. There’s plenty at the show to shock even the most hardened sensibilities.

The firm Dapper Cadaver of Los Angeles showed off a line of vintage medical instruments, mutilated and vandalized corpses and a collection of faux human and animal fetuses stored in jars.

Dapper Cadaver owner-artist BJ Winslow said he’s been fascinated by macabre preservation techniques since childhood.

“Even when I was a little kid and I had a toy I was no longer interested in I would stick it in a jar, fill it with fluid and put it on a shelf,” Winslow said. “My mom still has some of them.”