I love holidays. So many awesome designers release freebies. I've collected the locations and info of some of them for you. Most are available through the end of today, so get busy!

Freebies:

• Refuge - Freebie Halloween tee and Radiant Ruthie costume
• The Body Politik - Freebie Sculptie Witches Hat
• Little Rebel - Freebie Halloween tee
• Skin 2.0 - Freebie skin
• Canimal - Free Halloween HUD frames. To get them, join the Canimal group and it will be in the notices.
• Stellar Designs - Free Halloween layered tee
• AQUA - Free Pumpkin Pie Schoolgirl costume as part of a pumpkin hunt.
• Violet Voltaire - Free Spider Cameo Set
• Battered Boudoir - Free Halloween Lingerie
• Sae Luan - 12 Limited Edition freebies in Haunted House
• DEKA Designs - Free Halloween Outfit
• Sinistyle - Undead Inside tee
• Adam n Eve - Free Halloween eyes
• Port Seraphine - Pumpkins stuffed with goodies are hidden around the sim.
• Minnu Model Skins - Free male and female Halloween-themed skins

Cheapies:

• Nicky Ree - 50L Halloween Web Dress
• Alienbear Gupte - 25L per pumpkin, each containing a piece of jewelry, with 20 pumpkins in all. This is a scavenger hunt.
• Here Comes Trouble - 50% off of all costumes today.
• Catalyst - 10L Ribbed Vertigo dress in orange.
• Caliente Express - Halloween sale
• Total Betty's - 1L Trick or Treat Nightie Set
• Gritty Kitty - 1L Witch Hat & Scarf
  
• Tete a Pied - 50% off of the Drow, Gothique, and Marie skins
• Corduroy - 1L each Halloween leggings (Haver, Sera, and Mina)
• Lico Lico - There's an entire section with kickass freebies and cheapies!
• artilleri - Halloween Hunt - Each skull is 1L and contains a variety of artilleri items in orange.

Did I miss anything? Leave it in a comment!

When you live in San Francisco, every day is Halloween. I've had this holiday sneak up on me so fast my head spins like Linda Blair's. So it was with some pleased surprise that I found the house shown above, and wanted to share it with you all 'cause you're just so swell. Believe me, this shot does not do it justice. I won't link without permission, though, so if the owner is reading this, drop us a comment!

With that said, October 31st is coming, and I know some of you are planning parties in SL to celebrate it. Some of you are even decorating especially for the holiday. Let's see what you got!

If you have a build you'd like to receive some attention, send me your SLurl and I'll come get some shots and post them here. I believe there are many great things in SL that most people never get to see, and that's a damned shame. So this is my contribution to builder culture; send me your stuff!

[UPDATE: Turns out this is the infamous Bates Motel; how could I not recognize it? It was built by Furiae Blackthorne, and many thanks indeed!)

Literature Alive! (disclosure: I am an owner of this group and have been involved in these developments) is running two events over the next few days.

On Saturday at 8am SL Time students from De Sales University will be judged on their material for the "Literature of the Progressive Era" display in a funfair on land contributed by Finger Lakes Community College. From tomorrow you can judge which of the elements you find meets the criteria best - you are not judging the build (most of it is bought from in-world or created by people other than the students), but the content in terms of how well it teaches you about the era in question - a era of significant social change. You have the chance to vote for the best group, who will win a RL cash prize and leave feedback for the groups via an anonymous web-form.

Literature Alive! has also converted the British Gothic Literature classroom into a haunted house, with some help (and extra prims for a while) from out hostess, the Alliance Library, on Eduisland 3. As well as giving you the chance to learn more about gothic literature and the British authors, there is a hidden red cauldron. Find this to win a small L$ prize. There are other games and activites too, and no commercial activity, just fun for Halloween.

[UPDATE: Foolishly left out the SLurl!] It's not just big corporations and chain companies that decide to hang their shingles in SL; one of the nice things about SL is it's still a fairly even playing field. Megacorps and mom-and-pops compete equally. So it is with Annie's Costumes, an online Halloween costume store created with the assistance of Ten Golden Rules and LeftBank Studios.

Originally opened in RL in 1989, they created a web presence in 1996, and were so successful with their online presence that they shifted the business to be entirely on the 'Net in 2003. "Going virtual just seemed like the next step for our costume shop," states Shari McConahay, Marketing Director for Annie's Costumes, "We worked closely with Ten Golden Rules and LeftBank Studios to design a Second Life costume and clothing line that would reflect the true spirit of Halloween. All the classic Halloween costumes are represented from vampires to witches, from pirates to princesses."

As the gallery shows, these are well-done avatars and clothing, on a par with any of the more popular designers in SL. The costumes range anywhere from 450L (the 'Kissing Booth'), to 2000L (the 'Wise Old Wizard'). The costumes are no mod/no copy/transfer, and the prims are modifiable. While you're there, don't forget to visit the Halloween Hall of Fame!

And hey, is it just me, or does the male Vampire look like Jack White?

(Thanks, Michael!)

Ghoulish faces, spider-web traces and a spectre of death, oh my!


The wee Halloween Manor created by DarkDharma Daguerre is a tiny tribute to the holiday of Halloween. At one time, it appears that the manor must have been attractive and stately; the somewhat overgrown garden charming. It is the Manor that time forgot, but which the shadowed phantoms remember. A mummy and spectres welcome in the guests at the gate, and the dead flicker in and out inside.

Next door, the companion piece, a miniature graveyard with an appropriate selection of gravestones and more beasties.

I am loathe to say more of it and spoil the fun; you should experience the creepy silence and ambience for yourself.

The area is part of a changing sampling by Daguerre, so no promises as to how long it lasts.

I don't want anyone to think this is an obligatory post, put here simply because it's what's done during the holidays. Truth to tell, I'm not a big holiday person. The only one I give a wet slap about anymore is Hallowe'en, and that's only because I enjoy seeing people express their inner selves.

However, this is a good time to actually do more than pay lip service to the idea of giving thanks. What am I thankful for? I'm thankful for the opportunities that being a resident has given me: writing for this blog. Getting to meet interesting, intelligent, hilarious people from all over the globe. Jumpstarting my foundering creativity. Getting to feel like I belong to a larger culture, and one that I admire. For all Americans, and any other citizens of the world who may practice this holiday: Happy Thanksgiving. To everyone else, take a small moment to express gratitude for whatever it is that makes your life worth living. It's always a good thing to give thanks; what are you thankful for?

It's already night for many of you out there. Will you be spending your Halloween in RL or SL? There are advantages to both: SL lets you change costume every few minutes if you so desire, but you can't really taste the candy. RL lets you interact with cute kids, but also with drunken adults. Also, if you're at home in SL, do you get up to give candy to everyone who rings on your doorbell? Where will you be during the Witching Hour?

Halloween is, and has always been my favorite holiday. The freaks come out in force and let it all fly free. It's the one time during the year I feel like I can truly be myself. So it's with a happy heart that I bring you news of festivities in SL, which I will post as I become aware of them.

First off, IBM's Virtual Universe Community recently held an event wherein people were able to pick up new avatars, participate in a pumpkin-making tutorial, and generally share toys with each other. I particularly like the mini-Sephiroth! SD versions of people just appeal to the kid in me, I guess! Note: I'm not talking about my 'Inner Child'; I had that guy digested a long time ago.

It's nearly time for all good ghosts and scary spooks to come out of hiding to send shivers down the backs of all good folks! This is my favorite holiday, being a werewolf and all, so I love to see places in SL with fun decorations up, like this one in the Taber sim. Photos are more important here, so I'll let them do the talking! More after the jump!

Trinity Nabob has created a fun area in the Evolution sim, just in time for the approach of Hallowe'en. From the air, it seems fairly quiet and ordinary, until one notices the dense patches of fog wafting around the grassy floor of a nearby forest. One you drop in, the true nature of the place becomes obvious: you're in a graveyard!

I'm not sure whether Trinity has more planned, as All Hallows Eve is still a few weeks away, but it looks great right now. Go check it out, and drop in a donation. Show how much you scare!

I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that.

(Thanks, Andrew!)