Café de Nuit

I've been reading Franken Fran, and the titular character would make a pretty interesting dread golem or darklord. Designed to heal, she has to prolong life in any way she can, even if the life is horribly cursed and mishapened.

Wasn't there a domain like this in one of the Undead Sea Scrolls? I think is was called Immerabt.

(cool! I started the the 4th page!)

Ghost Hunt is a pretty good spooky anime that reminds me of Ravenloft.

Then I went off and watched Rozen Maiden and got reminded of my failed Marionette Scenario campaign I kept trying to write up, lol. Had some interesting ideas though.

also, another vote here for Hell Girl.

High School of the Dead - Animated series and manga
A fairly typical zombie-apocalypse with the twist of manga drama as six teens, a little girl and her puppy, and a ditzy school nurse who find themselves thrust into something out of a bad movie as the dead suddenly walk and those bitten die and return as one of them. The animated series isn't as great the manga, but it's not bad. An interesting look at the realities of life in a zombie apocalypse world; where to get food, transportation, weapons, what to do about those who are still alive but have lost their minds, and the fact that age stratification--especially in Japan--loses much of its value when its the "kids" who survive and figure out almost everything while the "adults" are too busy looking for someone to blame and some "rational answer" to what's going on. Even after an EMP knocks the electricity out of Japan, it's still the kids and their airheaded school nurse who survive by relying on each other and working together, utilizing each one's unique talents to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

This can serve as an excellent example as to what can be accomplished by working together, even when the world around you is falling apart. It also shows nicely the humanity that still exists even in survival situations. Especially emotions and drama that are an inherent part of what it is to be human(oid).

High School of the Dead is great, but the manga is better. The anime is bugged with a lot of "fan service" and slightly etchi content in the guise of panty flashes and wet shirts, which (thankfully) the manga does not have, the manga is also slightly more grown up in attitude. The nurse is also far more intelligent in the original content, though somewhat naive.

They are releasing the manga in the west (at a expensive price of $14 USD a volume), each volume containing 3 chapters and each chapter being the equivalent of a single episode of the tv series. There will be a second season, but they are holding it back so it stays to the pace the manga set and to avoid filler (which all but killed some shows like Dragonball Z).

Both formats of the series are good, but the manga does have the edge.