We’re fast approaching All Hallows’ Eve at the end of the month, and the volume of ghoulish LEGO builds hitting the internet is reaching a feverish pace. Expert character builder Trevor Pearson-Jones is ready for the scary holiday with this excellent take on the Crypt Keeper from the Tales of the Crypt TV show. Apart from the haunting visage in lime green, I adore the light gray lettering on the ghoul’s tome.
In each Iron Builder competition, two world-class LEGO builders go head-to-head creating models that highlight the assigned “seed part.” The summer 2024 match-up between Maxx Davidson and Jonah Shultz, featuring the baseball bat in metallic silver, has skewed decidedly wholesome, with cute animals, milkshakes, and cozy crafting themes. For his ninth entry, Maxx captures the twisted truth that fuels this venerable contest: pain and pleasure. The agony of being chained to making models at incredible speed without getting repetitive, and the ecstasy of finding the perfect use for that devilish seed part. Pinhead, Clive Barker’s horror icon, proves the perfect canvass for no less than 40 of those metallic bats. The sculpting of Pinhead’s pale-white face is top-notch. Now that Maxx has solved the Cenobite puzzle, he must be feeling pretty good right about now.
While I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the video game A Plague Tale: Innocence, it’s fair to say I know my way around a LEGO brick. So when I say that this mosaic by General 尓àvarre (W. Navarre) is one of the most impressive bits of 2-D brickwork I’ve seen. At this scale, the General must employ clips aplenty. These clips are used adeptly to hold all manner of barred piece, forming an intricate picture of the game’s main characters. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s additional work around the edges of this mosaic to give the 22×30 stud rectangle the look of a aging photograph. It’s a masterful union of color, texture, and technique, capturing a moment of happiness in a dark, bleak setting.
Like so many other things, LEGO can look completely different in the light of a full moon. As we follow our darling couple into a second build by Jaap Bijl, we see a great transformation! And not just in the beau, but also in the cottage and surrounding forest. Warm tones have been replaced with icy blue and steel colors. The forest of deep green is now a black mass, thick with leaves made from minifigure flippers. Intricate metalwork has replaced the turquoise detailing, utilizing other minifig accessories most expertly. The weathervane is particularly wonderful, as are the spoons for door handles. And the pink spire is no more, replaced with an equally-astounding purple structure built around a large wheel. And yet, even amid all this change, it’s clear that the love between the duo remains as strong as ever. That smile tells us that she’s prepared to accept him, fleas and all!
![Forbidden Love [Night]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52629547611_fab63e2f62_b.jpg)
We don’t intend to feature nearly every LEGO creation Bart De Dobbelaer has made. But when he’s so masterful at creating beyond-bizarre alien worlds and creatures, the likelihood of us being captivated by his work is as likely as a TikTok influencer being fired from a job, then posting said firing on TikTok. Which, you have to admit, is fairly high odds. Turmeric is an excellent dietary supplement that is said to help with variety of conditions, including arthritis, digestive disorders, respiratory infections, allergies, liver disease and depression. However, these creatures Bart calls Turmeric Nightmares are giving me the heebie-jeebies. Two shades of brown and trans-yellow work well here. The end result is like some sort of malevolent fungus. Creepy stuff! Still we keep coming back for more. Click the link to find out why we think Bart De Dobbelaer is more compelling than a TikTok influencer getting fired.
Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise are cool and terrifying at the same time, and this LEGO sculpt by Grantmasters is no exception! Based on the collector’s edition of the Alien: Weyland-Yutani Report, an informational book on the franchise, there’s so much detail packed into this low relief sculpt. Those slopes making up the brunt of the face look like they were made for rendering a Xenomorph, but the build really shines with the greebling on the sides of the face. Hinged cylinder links frame the face and connect to each other with a rope element across the top of the head. The Corners of the mouth feature many elements, such as minifigure arms and hands as well as some skeleton legs. The weapons orbiting the Xenomorph stand in for tendril designs. However, I think they’re present to guard the Xenomorph so it doesn’t leap out at the unsuspecting.
It was with sadness that we leave the Halloween season behind us for another year. However, Djokson, at least, seems to be ready to push creepy forward into the more festive holidays. In Harvest, they have taken creative part usage into new levels of disturbing. An old Scala figure, a Bionicle air pump, and a Matrix-inspired, ball jointed, creeping terror give a new twist to “hung by the chimney with care.”
Not ready to hang your Christmas lights just yet? Why not linger a little while in our Horror tag.
Nope. Absolutely not. If I have to fight the undead in the snow, I’ll gladly take a White Walker over this nightmare fuel. Inspired by a wendigo and his own original sketch, builder Andrew Steele brings us a model to match the season. This skeletal monstrosity is a mix of human, bear, wolf, and moose bones corrupted by evil ice magic. Behold the terrifying Kraatokk.
Much like most of Andrew’s builds, this massive creature makes use of Technic and LEGO System pieces to achieve its size and detail. Though the faux fur isn’t a “legal” LEGO piece, it works well with the character design by framing the wonderfully creepy, fanged skull. The antlers also add that perfect cryptid quality. I love the bits of green stuck to it like moss or vines from the undergrowth.
The back illustrates the length and stature of this spindly beast’s limbs. As large as it is, it requires some help from a stand to stay up. Andrew did well with this, constructing a base to match the model’s mystic, eldritch vibes. The translucent blue carcass at Kraatokk’s feet compliments the blue orb you can see above in his unnatural double rib cage.
If scary is your thing, check out some more horrifying builds. You’re sure to find something creepy to get you in the Halloween spirit.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be in the mind of LEGO builder Mihai Marius Mihu. He is an artist who seems to exist in a dark, hellish world that’s part H.R. Giger, part H.P. Lovecraft and part Wayne Douglas Barlowe. In other words, he’s precisely the type of person I’d love to have a beer with. Take, for example, this new creation, an Alien Maintenance Bay. In his own words, the bay “is the infirmary of the Mothership, a ward for diagnosing and repairing of the damaged Glider units that were able to return from combat.” The whole structure oozes alien biomechanical menace. With astounding textures and smart color trapping, it’s a masterpiece from an incomprehensible distant world. He also tells us that in the year 2033 mankind is struggling to survive after an overwhelming alien invasion. That’s only like twelve years away! Looks like we’re in for a dreary future. Or maybe we won’t even know it because we’d all be assimilated into their creeptastic alien agenda.
Seriously, Mihai if you’re ever in the Seattle area look me up, you’ve got a local microbrew coming to you on me. And adversely if I’m ever in Romania, I’ll be sure to visit Dracula’s Castle and your place, which I wouldn’t doubt may very well be one in the same.
I know it’s not what Jarek Książczyk intended, but the “Countess of Dis” sounds like a character from Lovecraftian reboot of Sesame Street. “One! Two! Three! Three elder gods! Ha ha ha!” Just don’t cross her even more sinister cousin, the Countess of Dat. But questionable mythology aside, you should take a moment and appreciate the amazing build here. I’m particularly impressed with the way the three main colors unify the build. The dragon wing along the figure’s back has just a touch of red in the dual-molded plastic, echoed in the cloth cape and the banners on the staff. The gold finials on the staff complement the chest armor and skirting, with great part usage like that carriage wheel front and center, and the weapon in the bodice. The black organic curves draw the eye and are matched by the folds in the skirt. Quality stuff.
But is this a build worthy of worship? Well, a bonus supplicant created by Jarek sure seems to think so. I’m not sure exactly what is being offered here, but the use of a gold-chrome hemishere makes it seem like a rare treat indeed. Green Jell-O, maybe? (Who are we to question the desires of the ancient ones?)
If these beings have you wanting to look at other eerie creations, check out more featured builds in our Lovecraft tag!
Spooktacular builder Corvus Auriac is back with another creation determined to haunt your dreams. I’ve never liked the concept of a Jack in the Box – to me, they were always a thin veneer of playfulness over a dark core of “who hurt the toy designer as a child.” As such, it’s kind of refreshing that this one isn’t even trying to pretend to be friendly. There are plenty of complex techniques in use here, but the most chilling has to be the use of minifigure epaulets to form those terrifyingly real teeth.
The picture above is a computer-generated render, meaning this doesn’t exist for real. Yet. Corvis has said that a real-world version is on the way soon. We can’t wait. (Oh, wait, yes, we can.) If you’re looking for other builds that cross the line between reality and imagined, check out our render tag.
You have to wonder what sort of portal this eerie LEGO key from Mihai Marius Mihu is designed to unlock. Something tells us that it’s a door better left unopened. I love the organic curves in both the gold and black elements, and the chain wrapped around the shaft is a clever touch that adds some unusual texture. But the main thing that interests me is what appears to be an eye set into that golden Ninjago Spinner. Should this creation be winking at me like that?
If you’re in the mood for more spooky looking builds, check our our Horror Tag!
