Best Halloween and Horror Gifts 2025 (last minute gifts included!)

Happy Caturday! It’s the last day of Fall and the last shopping weekend before Christmas. There’s no guarantee you’d get any of these gifts by Christmas day without paying exorbitant shipping costs, so I included some spooktacular digital gifts to give to your favorite Halloween and horror fan this Christmas.

Scrub Daddy: Limited Edition Halloween Sponges, $5

Halloween season may be over but you can still find these adorable limited edition Scrub Daddy Halloween sponges online or in stores. They make great stocking stuffers!

Severin Films Horror Enamel Pins, $12

Last week, I mentioned these Severin Films enamel pins of famous horror directors and actors. I just needed to reiterate you could buy a beautiful enamel pin of horror legends Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. These are so incredible! If only they had Vincent Price, we could’ve had the horror trifecta in our stockings this holiday!

Ototo Designs: Vino, Corkscrew and Bottle Opener, $22.95

Your favorite Halloween fan will light up like a Christmas tree if you gift them this darling Ototo Vino bat corkscrew and bottle opener.

Nordic Ware: Haunted Skull Cakelet Pan, $38.50

Every Halloween I post pictures of pizza skulls and every year people wonder how to get their hands on the coolest pan they ever saw. The “skull pan” is Nordic Ware Haunted Skull Cakelet pan and they have tons of other cool pans for all the other holidays too!

Lego Halloween Wreath, $32.99

Legos are the gifts that keep on giving. Building Legos are calming and therapeutic. They’re collectible and you can rebuild them over and over and never get bored. The kid in us won’t allow it. Any spooky set makes a great gift, but this Halloween Wreath is fangtastic! You could get different results each time, it covers two holidays, and with 500 pieces, it shouldn’t take much time at all to complete.

Fangoria Classic Logo Tee, $25

The classic Fangoria.com T-shirt is good ole fashion horror supporting casual wear. Fangoria is one the first true magazines to celebrate horror movies, so we should give back by keeping them alive for generations of future horror fans.

Fangoria+ Subscription (Print+, digital, billed annually), $79.95

Or you could buy a year subscription and get this fancy free t-shirt instead.

Subscribe now and get a free t-shirt while supplies last

HORROR MOVIES

Horror fans love horror movies. Full stop! Sure, we love little trinkets and memorabilia, but what we love most is the very thing that captured our attention and hearts in the first place, HORROR MOVIES! So, when in doubt, buy scary movies, either DVD or Blu-Ray or a streaming service for a couple of months, (doesn’t even have to be a whole year, but that would nice!)

They can even be those cheapass bad two to five dollar bin finds. In fact, that might work out better! Trust me, we horror movie fans are a special bunch. We’ll even watch the small, indie, made in your backyard horror. We may not love it, but we’ll watch it and talk about it cuz we love talking about the spooky films we saw. So, yep, even bad horror movies make great gifts!

Blumhouse of Horrors, 10 Movie Collection, $35

It’s about time that Blumhouse started releasing box sets of their movies. I’d be happier to see Happy Death Day in its own box set, but at least it’s included here. Get Out, The Purge, and Split are also three of best “new” horror Blumhouse has ever produced anyway, so it’s in good company.

LAST MINUTE DIGITAL GIFTS

No time to shop. No time to wait. Gotta have it now, here you go:

Gifting instant access to thousands of scary movies is always a great idea! The two horror movie channels are very similar, except Shudder is little older, more established, maybe has a better selection. Debatable. However, a Screambox yearly subscription is cheaper, even if it has more ads because of it. Really comes down to your patience and wallet.

Bloody Disgusting’s own Screambox Yearly Subscription, $59.99

Shudder Yearly Subscription, $79.99

Foxblood Clothing E-gift Card, starting at $25

Give a e-gift card from Foxblood Clothing in Los Angeles to your fave Halloween and horror fan and let them shop all the after Christmas sales and get exactly what they they really want!

A Gothic Universe Digital Gift Card, price varies

Give the gift of ‘go shop for your own gothic ware’ from A Gothic Universe a fa-boo-lous retailer for goth merch. It’s a win-win!

Calm Subscription, $79

Help your anxious fan relax with the Calm.com app and hundreds of hours soundscapes, sleep stories, meditations and more. Calm may be normal but a well-rested goth has more time to go do cool spooky shit.

Concert Tix for 2026, price varies

Give the gift of live music. SoCalGoth.com has a great chart of all the goth bands out on tour next year in SoCal, but I’m sure you can use it to look up if these bands will play in your area or maybe plan a little trip. SoCal is lovely all times of the year.

Happy Holidays everyone! Wishing you all safe and happy New Year, may 2026 be kinder to us all. Be safe out there!

Winners of the Halloween Haiku Challenge 2025

Happy November! Anyone else forget to set their clocks back? LOL Here are the winners of the Halloween Haiku Challenge 2025!

We had three talented writers submit some great spooky original haiku in this year’s Halloween Haiku Challenge. It was another tough one to judge! Congratulations to all the winners!

1st Place:

2nd Place:

3rd Place:

I will directly contact winners to get mailing details to get prizes out. Please do not post personal information here or on social media.

I thank all participants for their contributions on making this a successful haiku challenge.

This concludes the Halloween season 2025. I thank everyone who stopped by this past October and shared in our love for Halloween, horror, haiku, and all things spooky!

May November be kind to you all. Be safe out there!

Friday Fright Nightcaps – The Bride’s Nighcap

Happy Friday! Tonight’s Friday Fright Nightcap is The Bride’s Nightcap, a Midori and pear vodka cocktail in celebration of Frankenstein Friday.

Ingredients:

2 oz. Midori
2 oz. pear vodka
.5 oz. Malibu (or white rum)
.5 oz. Key West lime juice (or lime juice)
4 oz. lemonade

Mix ingredients well. Garnish with Maraschino cherries or fresh fruit. Serve chilled.

I got a little exotic using Malibu and Key West lime juice. Honestly, regular white rum and lime juice will work too. It’s a little sweet if you don’t add the lime juice and Isuppose regular vodka is fine too. F*** it, use what you got. Midori is the star of the show no matter how you dice it.

This is my last post in October. Such a bittersweet moment. I thank everyone who stopped by all 31 days this Halloween season!

Please don’t drink and drive. Be safe out there!

Happy Halloween!

Loving these haiku entries!

Be safe out there!

7th Annual Halloween Haiku Challenge 2025

Halloween Haiku Challenge 2025
#Halloweenhaikuchallenge2025

Share your most original or haunted Halloween Haiku on October 31st for a chance to win a Haunted prize pack.

SUBMISSIONS

You must be a WordPress follower to particpate and a US resident. Post your haiku in comments section below. All comments must be approved first so it may not show up right away. I’ll do my best to approve as soon as I see them.

Only 1 haiku are permitted per contestant, US residents only. If I see more than 1 haiku from the same participant or a foreign entry, while I thank you for joining our challenge, these entries won’t qualify for a prize.

PRIZES

Grand Prize – 1st Place Winner will receive Haunted prize pack, which includes Drew Rausch vintage cat postcard print, Disney’s Haunted Mansion collectible pin, and their choice of either The Conjuring I & II Blu-rays, Annabelle Blu-ray film set, or It 2-Film Collection on Blu-ray. This prize pack is worth well over $50.

Second & Third Place Prize: Winners will have a chance to pick a small prize from the prize pool (typically pins, patches, and Halloween stickers).

DEADLINE

The contest starts and ends midnight to midnight Pacific time on October 31th through November 1st, 2025. Winners will be announced on November 2, 2025, here and social media.

Please see Contest Rules and Eligibility page more details.

Have a Happy Halloween season, everyone! Be safe out there!🎃

Timeless Thursday – Fave Horror Soundtracks

It’s Timeless Thursday and we’re jamming out with the greatest horror soundtracks of all time.

It should be no surprise that the three most recognizable horror themes are “Halloween Theme – Main Title” by John Carpenter followed by Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from The Exorcist, and the “Jaws” score by John Williams.

But, did you know the best selling horror soundtrack of all time is Dracula 2000? According to Loudwire Dracula 2000 soundtrack earns an estimated $1.7 million in royalties from 445 million plays on Spotify, thanks to the headbanging power songs from System of a Down, Saliva, Disturbed, Static-X, Powerman 5000, Taproot and the biggest driver of them all ‘One Step Closer’ by Linkin Park.

The second best selling horror soundtrack is Tim Burton’s Nigtmare Before Christmas with music by Danny Elfman. The best song off that album, is “This is Halloween” by Danny Elfman.

Rumor has it that Kiefer Sutherland originally turned down his role in 1987’s vampire hit The Lost Boys, but changed his mind upon hearing INXS and Jimmy Barnes would be doing music for the soundtrack. There’s so many cool songs on this soundtrack, it’s easily one of my all time faves. Who can forget Tim Cappello’s I Still Believe which he got to perform on the boardwalk for a scene in the movie.

Another of my favorite spooky songs comes from the 1992 Candyman soundtrack. It’s carnival fervor dream turned nightmare and the epitome of the sound of innocence being stolen by evil forces.

Lots of folks love Italian disco rock band Goblin’s score for Dario Argento’s supernatural thriller Suspira, and it is an amazing soundtrack for certain, but my favorite score from them actually comes from George A. Romero’s zombie masterpiece Dawn of the Dead from 1978.

No theater goer will forget the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, which featured one of the most memorable scores in movie history with a segment from “Dies Irae” from “Symphonie fantastique” by Hector Berlioz, performed by composers Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind. Omnious and haunting, the music immediately sets the tone of one of the greatest horror films ever produced.

I hope you have a chance to check out one of these great horror films. Happy Halloween!🎃

Songs copyright by respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. This is fan appreciation and critique. Reposting video under the “fair use” privilege of U.S. Copyright law. These videos still could be removed at anytime. Please email me at Halloweenkristy@gmail.com to report broken links.

Wicked Art Wednesdays 2025 – Tiki Art by Doug Horne

Happy Wicked Art Wednesday! I was feeling a like need a little more tiki artin our lives so today’s artist is the world renowned tiki creator Doug Horne.

Artist: Doug Horne
Company/Studio:

Where to Purchase Goods: Several tiki sites sell Doug Horne’s tiki art and exclusive tiki mugs. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DougHorneArt

Why we love it: Phoenix born Doug Horne, who now resides in Long Beach, CA, has been creating tiki art and tiki mugs for generations. We love his pop culture monsters tiki mash ups. Doug also creates art for tiki bars around the globe. Chances are you may have seen his work up close while sipping on Mai Tais

https://mytiki.life/tiki-mugs/zombie-king-fifth-edition-green-yellow-by-doug-horne-for-strong-water-anaheim

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/doug_horne_art/?hl=en

Trick or Treat Tuesday Best of Haunted House Horror

We’re 3 days away from Halloween and for a big treat on this Trick of Treat Tuesday, I’m sharing my favorite Haunted House Horror.

The Changeling, 1980
Poltergeist, 1982
Hereditary, 2018
House of Haunted Hill, 1959
13 Ghosts, 1960
The Innocents, 1961
The Haunting, 1963
The Amityville Horror, 1979
Legend of Hell House, 1973
Burnt Offerings, 1976
The Others, 2001
Woman in Black, 2012
Stir of Echoes, 1999
Crimson Peak, 2015

It’s always hard to put together these lists. All the films are so good. There are a lot of classic horror films from the 60s and 70s on my list and I hope people will give them a watch.

I personally feel The Changeling starring George C Scott from 1980 is one of the scariest haunted house films ever made.

Scott plays composer John Russell grieving the death of wife and son. He moves from New York to Seattle to start over and moves into a house haunted by the ghost of a little boy who died mysteriously.

These movies will certainly spook anyone staying in on Halloween night and films like House on Haunted Hill or Poltergeist play nicely in the background at parties too.

Honorable Mentions:

Paranormal Activity
House of Usher
Horror House
We’re Still Here
House, 1985
The House that Dripped Blood
House by the Cemetery

Happy Halloween! Stay safe out there!

Monday Macabre, Week Four 2025

Happy Halloweek! Posting a special Halloween haunted haiku for Monday Macabre.

voices on the wind
spooky scares all week long
thin spirit veil

Sinister Saturday – Halloween (Box)Cake (Nailed it?)

Sinister Saturdays are turning out to be a showcase for my failed baking attempts.

And, this Saturday is no different!😄

Yes, I used box cake. Middle finger to the haters. But the box cake wasn’t the reason why my Red Velvet Tombstone Cakes were a little well done, it’s just my inability to pull pan out of the oven when the box says!

They looked alright, but were dry as a bone and when I flipped them over, the cakes didn’t retain the pan designs.

I did however manage to bake another cake in my my lovely Wiltern pumpkin pan and it turned out kinda nice.

First thing you need for box cake is box mix and I prefer Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Red Velvet cake mix. This is the easiest cake mix, only 3 other ingredients are needed to bake the cake, 1 cup of water, half cup of oil, and 3 eggs.

Follow the instructions and you’ll get a nice fluffy red velvet cake.

Next, you add 4-5 drops of orange food coloring into buttercream frosting to get that nice classy orange color. If you want it brighter, I suggest using 2-3 more drops of orange and 1 drop of red. Next, spread frosting all over your cake.