David Milano ran an art project for a children’s choir in the weeks before Halloween where he put on some Lovecraft-inspired music (by AKLO) and told them abbreviated versions of Lovecraft’s Shadow Out of Time, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Call of Cthulhu. The kids—ages 8-14—drew the monsters.

The results? AWESOME! Check out the galleries at Milano’s website.

“Little Old Ladies”, written by Lavie Tidhar. The video was created by Gregory Bossert.

Embed our one-minute weird wonders to your heart’s content — and be sure to follow us via RSS, LiveJournal, or Facebook to catch them all!

Guillermo Del Toro working on a Lovecraftian video game according to Platform Nation. Del Toro is a fan of Lovecraft, and has directed films containing allusions to Lovecraft’s mythos (Hellboy, for example). He’s also tried to get a film version of At the Mountains of Madness greenlighted for some time. As for the HPLish game, Del Toro is working with THQ developing a game he described during an interview with MTV as: “It’s horror…but it’s a very different type of horror game. It’s not survival horror. It’s truly a strange, geeky mix. It’s a Lovecraftian thing. Let’s leave it at that.”

All we want to know: Will Wii have a tentacle attachment?

Weird Tales sorrowfully reports the passing of editor emeritus George H. Scithers, our longtime teacher and friend.

George passed away April 19 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, from complications following a heart attack suffered the morning of April 17. He was 80. He had been in declining health for the last few years, due to complications from diabetes and a heart condition. He is survived by a number of cousins.

George was honored with four Science Fiction Achievement Awards (a.k.a. the “Hugo Awards” bestowed annually by the World Science Fiction Convention): twice for his editorship of the fanzine Amra and twice for his editorship of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. He also received the World Fantasy Award for his work at Weird Tales.

George Scithers’s ashes were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, June 2.  The military ceremony included a twent-one-gun salute and a color guard who formally folded the flag and presented it to  Larry Fiege, George’s life companion. A West Point graduate who served in the Signal Corps for twenty-one years, George served in the Korean War.

Personal condolences may be sent to Larry Fiege, 218 Blandford St., Rockville, MD 20850-2629. Remembrances of George’s life in the SF community may be sent to letters@weirdtales.net.

JAN. 25, 2010 — Wildside Press, publisher of the Hugo Award-winning Weird Tales magazine, today announced the promotion of fiction editor Ann VanderMeer to the position of editor in chief.

“Ann has done an outstanding job since joining the Weird Tales editorial team three years ago,” said publisher John Betancourt. “For two decades she’s been one of the most talented, cutting-edge editors in the business, so we’ve been thrilled to see her finally burst onto SF’s center stage, both with Weird Tales and with her recent run of high-profile anthologies. We could not be more pleased to have Ann representing the proud tradition of the world’s oldest fantasy magazine.”

Editorial and creative director Stephen H. Segal, who has collaborated with VanderMeer for the past three years in leading the 21st-century revamp of Weird Tales, will remain a valuable part of the team as the magazine’s senior contributing editor. He is stepping away from the magazine’s day-to-day operations to accept a new full-time position as acquisitions editor for Quirk Books, publisher of the 2009 international bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

The Weird Tales masthead will be rounded out by two new, though very familiar, additions to the management team serving under VanderMeer. Campbell Award-winning author, artist, designer and performer Mary Robinette Kowal will serve as the magazine’s new art director. And two-time Stoker Award nonfiction winner Paula Guran, editor of the Pocket Juno fantasy imprint, will serve as Weird Tales’s new nonfiction editor.

“It makes me very happy that three of the most creative, insightful and hard-working people I know in the fantasy world will be shepherding Weird Tales into the future,” said Segal. “I’ve loved every minute of working on the magazine, and I’m terribly glad that Ann, Mary and Paula want me to stay onboard as a regular contributor.”

“Stephen’s been a trusted and brilliant co-conspirator on Weird Tales,” said VanderMeer, “and I’m happy that he has such a great opportunity ahead of him. Meanwhile, I’m very excited about the addition of Paula Guran and Mary Robinette Kowal to the magazine team. Thanks to our subscribers for their support; thanks to everyone who submits their writing and art to Weird Tales; and thanks to John Betancourt for his belief in the magazine and in me personally. We’re looking forward to a great future for Weird Tales, and we invite everyone to be part of that experience.”

Weird Tales has an active 2010 calendar lined up, starting with two major event sponsorhips in conjunction with its special spring steampunk issue (forthcoming in March): the Friday night festivities at Norwescon, the Seattle area’s leading science fiction convention, taking place the weekend of April 1; and the literary lineup at the Steampunk World’s Fair, a new multi-arts festival taking place in central New Jersey the weekend of May 14.

For more information, contact editor in chief Ann VanderMeer at weirdtales@gmail.com.