Cue the twinkling lights, sit Danny Elfman down at the keyboard, and pop the cork on something dark and vintage. 'Tis the season for Romance Fatal Serif, a font from designer Juan Casco that could very well make the holidays a little less nightmarish even if heartbreak waits under the tree.

We see echoes of Tim Burton's Victorian sensibilities in this Ecuadorian typographer's font. Backward-facing serifs adorn many of the characters, along with elongated stems and luxurious tails that dip daringly below the baseline and give poisonous words like "Mistletoe" a deceptively bouncy feel. Tra-la-la, indeed!

Despite its initially flirty appearance, Romance Fatal Serif possesses a masculine, steampunk feel. For instance, the word "Duel" looks sweet until the viewer realizes the e is drifting down, ready to second the l should the first shot go horribly wrong. A simple sentence like "You are invited to dine" lingers on the page like an anxious suitor, waiting for his reply. Even "Craft Fair" has a hint of mystery when set large. This is a font that can showcase words making it ideal for bold display, although it also plays well in short bursts at 10 points.

Full upper and lowercase character sets are all here, along with numerals, diacritics, and accent characters. Sadly, Casco's symbol set mostly falls short--missing an opportunity to pick up on the main character style and weight, but that is a problem we think the designer will solve over time.

This font is licensed for personal use only, but then matters of love and attraction are personal. Hearts and flowers and Copperplate script are fine for the average romantic, but for those of us who can't seem to duck cupid's darker arrows, Romance Fatal Serif provides a sweet touch with an ironic edge. Use its teasing appearance to announce the end of a grand affair or a simple missed connection. Afford yourself a stylish reputation even though it hurts to type goodbye.

Note: To use this font, unzip the folder and install the .ttf file in the folder C:\Windows\Fonts. Note that the fonts won't appear in your applications until you close and re-open them.

--Kate Godfrey