Inspiration can come in the most unexpected places. So can Halloween decorations. A few days ago, some aimless browsing on eBay produced a wondrous discovery: the Vintage Science & Medicine category. Talk about the mother-lode! Collectors of antique items are probably the most frequent visitors, but for a creative Halloweenie it’s a treasure trove of creepy old artifacts that would be perfect to decorate a Halloween mad scientist party. Here are just a few of the curious, archaic, and sometimes chilling items that I found;

• 18th Century Pewter Leaching Jars (you know, to hold your leaches)
• Exceptional antique brass microscope (functional)
• 61 Year Old Syringe and 12 needles (mint condition)
• Antique dental chair (with spooky padded-electrode-looking headrest)
• Victorian Anatomical Watercolor Posters of creepy skin conditions

With a Steampunk aesthetic that merges medical past with a more technological future, you can create an amazing DIY mad science lab. For a quick Martha Stewart inspired Mad Science Halloween party, check out this how-to. A more DIY version can be seen at ljcfyi’s Mad Scientist Dinner Party, complete with tons of inspiring pictures. Want to see what can really be accomplished with a lot of creativity and 80 hour work weeks? AlexCF is a an amazingly talented artist who creates “things you wish existed in forgotten attics or secret rooms“, deftly mixing the past with imagined technology. His work is wildly imaginative and instantly seems to draw you back into a time of wonder that may, or may not have happened…

And if you’re interested in conducting some genuine feats of mad science, I direct you to- of course- Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. And some safety goggles.