Every holiday season, I share the timeless words of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, intriguing, mysterious, and downright the scariest ghost of all of literature, we don’t even need the Ghost to reveal the fates of Scrooge and his loved ones, readers can guess from the second he shows up in the story,
PJ Lynch’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
THE Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded. He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved. “I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?” said Scrooge. The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand. “You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?” The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.
This concludes Dickens Sundays in December. Until next Christmas! Be safe out there!
Back in Victorian times, people practiced strong Christmas traditions, including telling ghost stories. Charles Dickens wrote the most famous Christmas ghost story of all time and I like to celebrate it every year.
Ebenezer Scrooge was a crusty old mean rich white guy who liked to take out his selfish grievances out of the lowest and poorest of society, which included his own employees. The ghost of Scrooge’s former business partner Jacob Marley shows up one night with a warning for old miser, change your wicked ways or suffer eternity in chains just like him.
Earlier this fall, Toho Co., Ltd. celebrated the 70th anniversary of Godzilla, King of the Monsters. I wanted to do something a little better than a birthday shout-out to one of my favorite SciFi creatures, so I came up with a list of cool gifts for Kaiju lovers this holiday season.
Most of these are collector items, so if you’re looking for kids toys or less serious items, maybe try your local toy store. There’s no particular order to the list either, nor do I have any affiliation to any companies. My gift giving guides are always simply to help like-minded fans find awesome collectible gifts to buy for their loved ones.
10 Gifts for Kaiju Lovers
Godzilla Enamel Pins by Tom Whalen and others from Mondo Shop, $10
Enamel Pins make great stocking stuffers and Mondo Shop has several monsters, not just Godzilla.
Bandai’s Godzilla Store Limited Movie Monster Series Action Figurine from Godzilla.com, $32
Figure based off 1964 movie Mothra vs. Godzilla.
Pre-order Godzilla x Misfit Fiend T-shirt and Exclusive Apparel from Godzilla.com, $32
Two legendary icons brought together. This t-shirt is sure to become its own icon.
Godzilla Minus One Blu-ray Deluxe Japan Collector’s Edition, from Godzilla.com $65
An amazing collector’s boxset for this incredible reboot film, which showed big studios how to properly make a Godzilla film and brought in a whole new generation of fans.
Godzilla: The First 70 Years Art Book (Hardcover) from authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, published over at Abrams Books, $75
Written with love by kaiju super fan, Steve Ryfle, this is no mere coffee table book. A legendary giant needs a giant book to cover 70 years of narrative and visual history featuring exclusive behind the scenes photography, production materials, and other artwork.
From the 70 Years of Godzilla exhibition featuring artists from around the globe in conjunction with Spoke Art Gallery and Ghost X Ghost, you can find poster size prints for your wall.
Matt Taylor “Godzilla ’54” 24″ x 36″ print, $70
Dawn of the Monsters Video Game from 13am Games, prices vary by system
“Dawn of the Monsters is a co-operative kaiju beat ’em up out for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Dawn of the Monsters is a co-operative kaiju beat ’em up out for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X, and Stadia.”
Perfect for gamers and anyone who wants a little more interactive kaiju experience. I haven’t played myself to be honest but I hear this game is the most fun. You get to play as a kaiju!
Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 Collector’s Blu-Ray Set, from The Criterion Collection, $225
Godzilla and friends get The Criterion treatment with this one of kind Collector’s boxset featuring remastered original cuts of all the monster kaiju films, from the beginning to when the big studios started to rule the world.
Criterion films specializes in preserving only the best of the best in film history, and Godzilla is the best, he’s the king of the monster films! This is the most incredible boxset I’ve ever seen!
You better watch out. You better not pout. You better not cry, or you’ll give your hiding spot away.
Our theme this month is A Christmas to Dismember and it pairs perfectly with December’s cold moon, aptly named for the dip in temperatures. Winter is coming….but if ask any left american, it’s been here since last January.
under a cold moon a Christmas to Dismember hiding from Santa
We’re back! Typically, I lay low for November. It’s a haunted month for me, filled with memories and deep sadness. This year the melancholy was compounded by the state of our faltering nation. Our theme last month was Lost Souls, cuz right now, the US.A is full of them. I’m still hopeful though and looking forward to a busy, festive December.
Around here we celebrate the haunted holidays. I see your bad santa and raise you 3 evil elves and a killer Krampus! I’m feeling fiesty after my month off, and in the true spirit of the hellidays, I’m sharing the scares! It’s gonna be A Christmas to Dismember!
Don’t worry, we still like our normal Christmas traditions. I’ll be posting brand new gift guides for Halloween and Horror lovers. I also put together a little list for kaiju lovers. Long live Godzilla!
There’s also gonna be a creepmas photo challenge, with a focus on creepy, weird, and ridiculously old holiday ornaments, Dickens Sundays, cuz a whole lotta nazi scrooges need a visit from the three ghosts of Christmas, and lastly, the Holiday Haiku Challenge returns at the end of the month, with a chance to win some spooky prizes. See, we know how to bring the Merry and Fright! So check back often this December.
Be well. Stay safe out there, and season screamings!
Happy Creepmas! Looking for last minute virtual gift ideas? No stress! You can pull up your phone and have an amazing gift in less than 5 mins. Check it out!
Give the gift of knowledge! I mean, there is no better gift than that. The online classes are easy, interesting, and fun. Your giftee can take classes at their own pace and pick whatever topic they want to study, there are over 200 to choose from! It’s fantastic for new budding writers.
Loot Fright Box from Lootcrate ($34.99 per crate)
Gift a bimonthly horror box filled with officially licensed and exclusive cool collectibles, apparel, and other horror goodies. It’s the gift that keeps on giving
A gift for two people! Support independent artists, creators, influencers, musicians, and podcasters by gifting a fan with a Patreon subscription.
You need to set up a free Patreon account in order to gift someone but they have made gifting is easy, click here for more info.
Artists like Diana Levin of Ghoulish Bunny use Patreon to connect with fans.
Calm 1-Year Subscription ($69.99)
Gifting wellness is a beautiful gift and shows how much you care. Everyone deserves to be happy and feeling good about their mental health, but sometimes it’s challenging and people don’t know where to start. A Calm subscription is unimposing way to ease into caring for oneself.
Online Gaming Subscription or Gift Cards (price varies)
Plenty of spooky games are available for horror fans on PC, Playstation, XBox, or Nintendo Switch.
Buying a year long online gaming subscription service is an amazing gift. Gaming subscriptions are costly and more and more game companies are adding online play to their games.
Image by Playstation
There are hours of online entertainment to enjoy, but it helps to know what system your giftee is on. Just ask, “hey, what gaming system are you on?” Below are the big ones:
Playstation Plus Digital or Gift Cards ($25-$100)
Xbox Game Pass Digital or Gift Cards ($10-$50)
Nintendo Switch Online Digital or Gift Cards ($3.99-$19.99)
You can purchase digital subscriptions online, or even give physical gift cards that can be found at any grocery store, retailer store or pharmacy store.
Dying Light I & II
Amazon Prime 1-Year Subscription ($139)
Free to watch Prime movies, TV, online books, music, and free shipping for a year! Best gift ever! Now, Amazon has made it a little difficult to gift an actual membership. You have to purchase a gift card instead and then the person uses it to buy themselves the membership. Taken from website: “Amazon no longer offers the ability to directly gift an Amazon Prime membership, but you can use an Amazon gift card to purchase a Prime membership.”
Gift Cards (price varies)
The good ole standby gift. It may seem impersonal but it’s not. People love getting giftcards. If you know their favorite stores or online shops, it helps, but a Visa giftcard that works anywhere, still the cherry on the top of an ice cream sundae.
The theme is month is Wicked Wonderland.The reindeer rescued Santa from the evil clutches of Krampus, but there’s no time to waste! Christmas Eve is upon us!
white clouds, starry night swapping Krampus fear for joy Santa’s busy sleigh
The theme is month is Wicked Wonderland. The reindeer have no intention of letting the big man go without a fight! Can they rescue Santa in time for Christmas?
reindeer attack! battle for the workshop a Santa rescue
Happy Creepmas! We’re coming up on the first weekend of December and if you’ve got a Halloween and horror fan on your holiday shopping list, I’ve got some great gift ideas! Now, truth is, Halloween and horror fans are pretty easy to buy for, anything Halloween or Horror related, even the smallest of items, makes us really, really, really happy. But, if you need more ideas and inspiration, then, check out these items:
Shudder Streaming Movie Subscription ($4.99 monthly) – Shudder online or streaming devices
Shudder is horror fan’s best friend. It’s a comfort zone. There are horror movies, thrillers, foreign films, TV shows, documentaries, old classics, new favorites, and curated collections. No yearly commitment, cancel anytime. it’s worth every penny!
A Christmas Carol Characters – Pop! Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Glow) ($12) – Funko
Honestly, I had to boycott Pop! Funko before I went bankrupt, but these Christmas Carol funkos…
Fitz Alice Cooper’s a Haunted Party Night 350 Scary Cards Family Horror Movie Box Game ($24.99) – Macy’s
Last year I finally had the pleasure of seeing Alice Cooper in concert and holy smokes, it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Mr. Cooper is master showman and horror maestro, it’s only fitting that he’d make his own horror party game.
1000 Piece Halloween Puzzle ($24.99) Woodbests
Christmas break is long and my patience is short, I consider puzzles to be relaxing, self-care tools that should be covered by flexible spending plans. Ya know, if we all band together and try to make it happen, it might.
UNITED” 3 x 5 ft. Large Halloween Flag by Rhode Montijo BACK IN STOCK ($25) – Rhode Montijo
Back in stock! Hurry! Why are you still here? Click the link and buy! This is a Halloween fan must-have item! And Rhode Montjo is the most amazing artist and an awesome person!
Late for the Sky: Boooo-Opoly Monopoly Board Game ($31.99) – Target
As a Halloween fan and mini knock-off Monopoly game collector (I think I own 15 different game sets) I’ve been eyeing this one and I better get allllll the candy when I land on Free Candy or there’s gonna be board flipping!
On Set With John Carpenter: The Photographs of Kim Gottlieb-Walker ($39.99) – Barnes and Noble
If you’re a fan of the Halloween movie franchise or legendary horror John Carpenter and his movies, you’re gonna want this sprawling 176 page photo book for your coffee table. Packed with behind the scenes photos, anecdotes, commentary and stories from the horror maestro, crew members, and celebrities.
Dracula Book Phone Case ($35) – Once Upon a Book Club
Never be afraid to drop your phone again with these cool book phone cases from Once Upon a Book Club. They have other novels and a really kickass subscription box service too. Old phone, new phone, don’t worry, the list to match the correct size phone case is pretty extensive!
Phantom of the Opera Scarf ($49) – Storiarts
I have loved watching Storiarts grow. They make gloves, scarves, t-shirts, totes, and blankets of all types of classic novels. These scarves are like the classiest way of declaring your love for horror classics I can think of.
Smile 2 Limited Edition Steelbook Pre-release set for January 21, 2025 ($44) – Target
One of creepiest films of 2024 should be in your film library, if only for Naomi Scott’s memorable frenetic performance.It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
I’m blown away by attention to detail of these limited edition collectibles featuring the Universal monsters. NECA makes other spooky characters too, but I’m just a sucker for anything featuring the old monster movies and those little interchangeable heads! C’mon! Who doesn’t want Larry Talbot on their shelf!
Make umbrellas and parasols great again! Look, it’s even orange! ahahahaha alright, alright, unlike incoming convict-in-chief, these Halloween umbrellas are dainty and elegant. They really can punch up a plain black goth dress and they protect from the sun, so you won’t turn to ashes. They ARE great!
3D Halloween Castle Wood Puzzle Large 250-300 pieces with Wooden Box ($34-$100) – Woodbests
Woodbests puzzles are colorful laser etched onto natural wood and beautiful. It’s like you’re putting together a piece of art!
**After reading some reviews, I thought it best to put up a warning to Read Carefully when purchasing Woodbests Puzzles as there’s different size puzzles and prices, gotta buy a box separately, and the kit separately, otherwise it will all come in a plain bag and will be seriously disappointing. Then again, if you’re looking to save money and have another display plan for the puzzle, you might love the fact that you can just buy the pieces and that’s it. The products are really cool, just pay attention. It’s a bit like buying flowers online.**
So, there you go, happy haunting and good luck crossing off your list. I’ll have another gift guide next week! Stay tuned!
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