May Flower Moon is a pretty much self-explanatory. It’s high spring and flowers are everywhere.
This month, we celebrate Cemetery Appreciation Month. If you’re looking for reset or just a quiet peaceful day, visit your local cemetery. A day trip to graveyard can provide serenity, clarity, inspiration, education, and entertainment. Read some tombstones. Wonder about the lives of the dead and their loved ones. It helps bring clarity into your own life. You don’t even have to go to one with relatives, in fact, it’s recommended that you pick a different cemetery if possible. The dead can distract us from living our lives.
a life less lived don’t fall to fear and regret six feet under
Happy Walpurgisnacht! It’s Witch’s Night, the night where witches go out broom riding to celebrate the arrival of spring. Well, okay, there’s actually a lot more to it, but that’s the gist of it.
There are lots of Hollywood movies featuring witches, but for the efforts of today’s list, I concentrated on the scary witches. Not all witches are bad, but all bad witches are scary.
Unfortunately, not every scary witch is in a good movie either, and making a list of scariest witch films was my biggest goal.
A list of the scariest witches is going to require a lot more research and will be more controversial! So, for now, watch these ten films and we’ll debate later.
Scariest Witch Films List
Hereditary (2018) VVitch (2015) Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Suspira (1977) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Gretel & Hansel (2020) Drag Me to Hell (2009) Black Sunday (1960) The Wretched (2019)
There’s no order to this list. All horror is subjective, but I guarantee each of these films has a couple of scenes that will scare the skin off your bones.
I started this blog seven years ago to channel my anger and frustration. After the last election, I thought I could steer my negative energies towards creativity again, but I seem to be running full-tilt daily instead. Some days it feels like we’re living in a real live horrorshow.
George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, 1968
But this isn’t a political blog, it’s a Halloween blog, and a safe space for like-minded individuals. To have survived this long seems like a miracle. It’s not big or popular, I’m no influencer, but I’m not trying to be either. In fact, I basically quit on social media. I’m not interested in what people are selling. Period. I just want to celebrate and share my love for Halloween, horror and all things spooky.
First Blog Post on April 12, 2018
I can’t believe it’s been 7 years though. I had to go back and look up the date of my first post. I mean I didn’t even post on my actual anniversary, so, you know, life happens. This year, there’s no grand celebration. No contest. No prizes (that was getting really expensive with diminishing returns), no, this year I’ve decided to lay low and let the haiku and spooky posts do all the talking.
My second blog post, Why Halloween Haiku?
Halloween Horror Haiku blog has changed a lot, and in some ways, not at all. I’ve changed the name, the look, the logo, I’ve experimented with different formats and tried out different social media platforms, but no matter what creative road I go down, my Halloween haiku is still front and center.
So, whether you’re a new reader or you’ve been with me for the last seven years, I thank you for giving me your time and energy. I hope to be a light in the window and bring more Halloween happiness in these times of uncertainty!
April Pink Moon is a micromoon, meaning it’s farthest from the Earth this time of year.
This month is special because of the big holiday celebration that happens every year, no, not Easter (although I’ll never pass up the chance to post pics of zombie jesus), April marks the halfway point to Halloween! For those of us who get down with the spring blues, and dread the long hot summer to come, a reminder that Halloween is on the horizon really can stave off the grim reaper.
downpour of spring rain caught dreaming of October waiting on pumpkins
Death of Unicorn opens this weekend and reminds me that there are dozens of great horror movies about fantastical creatures from our most beloved children’s tales. These movies aren’t just fractured fairy tales, no, some of these are gruesome horror gems, worthy of an ogre’s eye.
Most supernatural creautures have the ability to disconcern bad people from the good people in ways we wish we could (it would be so useful these days). Supernatural justice is swift, decisive, and irreversible. In most cases, 1000% deserving. It’s perhaps the whole reason why some of us love horror movies.
Warning for jump scare junkies, my list runs the gambit of horror subgenres, so grab the popcorn, turn out the lights, and forget what the Grimm Brothers taught you about mythical beings.
The Company of Wolves – A dark provocative, twisted retelling of Red Riding Hood with werewolves, set in 18th century. This is British goth horror at its finest, directed by the legendary Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury as grandma, of course! One of my all-time faves!
The Ritual – Probably the best true horror film on this list. Four college grads still mourning the tragic loss of their friend, head out to hike the Scandinavian wild in search of inner peace and find ancient evil instead. I’m not going to give away the mythological creature cuz it’s so good when you figure it out.
Spring – One of best rom-horror ever made. It’s suprisingly tender story of a young man who finds love with a mysterious woman in Italy while mourning the recent loss of his mother. This sweet romantic tale starring Lou Taylor Pucci and Nadia Hilker, sometimes makes you forget you’re watching a scary film.
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo Del Toro’s magnum opus features classic elements of horror, war drama, and fairy tales. Del Toro himself considers it a parable. Set in Francoist Spain, the story of young girl who falls into a dark labyrinth filled with terrifying magical creatures is the greatest example of dark fantasy/horror and an absolute must watch movie.
Gretel & Hansel – This might be the scariest retelling of the classic children’s tale ever produced. Directed by Osgood Perkins, the movie is heavy on atmosphere and mood, rather than action (at least until the end) and focuses on the untapped power of Gretel battling the evil witch, who is seriously got to be one of the scariest witches of all time on film.
Antlers – An original story about a troubled little boy harboring a dark secret and the sad ordinary people trying to help before finding themselves sucked into deadly world of a wendigo. Everyday man Jesse Plemons leads an all-star cast in this underrated horror gem, produced by Guillermo Del Toro and David S. Goyer. Acting, production quality, story, and scares are top notch. I believe the wendigo is one of the scariest mythical creatures and have longed for a good adaptation of the folklore. This is the best so far.
Troll Hunter – Norweigan horror film about a group of college students who set out to do a documentary of a legendary bear hunter Hans. After an attack, Hans is forced to reveal the truth that he’s not actually out looking for bears, he’s hunting trolls! This thoroughly original mockumentary style horror is utterly brilliant in the way it brings the fictional creature to life with such seriousness, I now wonder what’s out there in the deep dark woods.
The Hallow – Dark fantasy horror about a conservationist who travels to remote Ireland with his wife and baby, only to meet hostile locals who warn the man about the region’s Hallow, fairies, banshees, and baby-stealing fae. It doesn’t take long before the couple are battling the Hallow’s underworld to save their child. Out of all mythical beings, fairies are the most ambiguous. Some are good, some are bad, some are mischievous. Corin Hardy’s directorial debut is one of best and scariest fantasy horrors depicting bad fairies.
The Lure – Insanely odd Polish fantasy film about two mermaids who crawl out of the ocean to join a rock band in a club during the 1980s. It might be light on scares, but the cringe factor is a ten and it’s total trip.
Leprechaun – This is best of 90s campy slasher horror starring pre-Friends ingenue Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis having ridiculous fun portraying the devilishly witty leprechaun who doesn’t let any humans get in his way while chasing his gold. Anything that can launch an 8 film franchise, whether they’re good or not, is gold in my book!
Happy March! Today’s full moon is a Worm Moon, a blood moon, and there’s been no shortage of bad blood around here. I admit to being on a rampage of sorts lately. Who needs horror movies when you can turn on CNN!
While the misery is palpable, I must remember to lean on my love for Halloween, horror, and haiku to save me from the insanity. I’m committed to creating my art every full moon and on special occasions, like St. Patrick’s Day coming up on March 17th.
March is my favorite non-Ber month. It’s a magical month full of mystery, fun, and my favorite mythological supernatural creatures of all time, such as the frightening Dullahan aka the Headless Horseman, mischievous leprechauns, enchanted fairies, scary or not, and of course, the wailing banshee, a ghastly female entity known to roam the countrysides of Ireland whose cries serve as warnings for legendary families of impending death and doom.
It seems those keening spectres have made their way to America. Will anyone listen?
disturb the silence warnings of death and mayhem when the banshees cry
Happy February! Today’s full moon is a Snow Moon. Reminder that I’m combining my haiku with the monthly full moon dates.
Freedom in the land is frozen. Abominable monsters are on the rise and people everywhere are anxious, scared, and tired. Now is the time when we need gather all are strengh and all our courage. I’m realizing saving OUR country is going to be the fight to end all fights and no matter what happens, home, will never be the same. The enemy knows this and rich kings who depend on poor farmers to do their fighting for them know those people have nothing left to lose. The real question becomes, are you prepared to lose everything to fight for your freedom?
It’s going to be a long long winter.
frozen tundra chasing our stolen freedom hearts of stone
On this last day in January, I thought I’d post a movie list as cold and bleak as a winter day.
I recently saw Robert Egger’s retelling of Nosferatu in the theaters. Anyone familiar with Eggers work, in particular 2015’s The VVitch, knows that the director pays meticulous attention to detail and pulls no punches in getting his period films to look, sound and feel authentic to period of time the story is set in. I highly recommend Nosferatu for anyone into gothic victorian horror and lovers of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Victorian Horror films are some of my favorite types of horror because the atmosphere is filled with such dark despair, viewers want to wrap themselves in a blanket just to watch the movie. This is in no means a comprehensive list, but it’s a darn good start!
Halloween Horror Haiku 
You must be logged in to post a comment.