Gift Ideas for Halloween and Horror Fans 2024

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.

Universal Monsters 7″ Scale Action Figure Collectibles ($40-$75) – NECA

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!

Halloween Orange Umbrella ($64.95) Hilary’s Vanity

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!

Shop Small Business Saturday 2024

Hello! Today is Shop Small Business Saturday. This new annual tradition of supporting the mom and pop local businesses in your own town follows Black Friday every year. Today, I’m celebrating the last day of November with one of my favorite small businesses.

Backstitch Bruja

It’s been a joy to watch Yvette’s business grow from a small online shop into a real brick and mortar store in San Dimas, CA. This busy entrepreneur still makes time to travel around to Halloween and horror conventions and spooky events around the SoCal area. Follow her on Instagram for details on appearances.

This is just a small taste of what’s offered up this Creepmas season. It seems that everything pictured is still in stock, but merch moves quickly at Backstitch Bruja.

But don’t fret if something sells out. If you can be patient, get yourself a Backstitch Bruja giftcard. They usually restock.

Haunting Holidays and Merry Creepmas to all!

Winners of the Halloween Haiku Challenge 2024

Hello everyone! Apologies for the delay, this year’s Halloween Haiku Challenge was tough to judge. Such a talented group of authors submitted spooky and original haiku this season. Some were funny, some were scary, it was a really hard call. 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. I have some halloween stickers for all the contestants.

Thank you for participating in the Halloween Haiku Challenge 2024.

Happy November!

Happy Halloween!

I’m a mixed bag of emotions today. Happy that my favorite day of the year has arrived, this is what we’ve been counting down to, of course, but the last day in October is also a bittersweet day. I feel like I didnt celebrate in the way that I wanted. It’s always a bummer to celebrate Halloween season with a US presidential election looming, but this year was particularly sickening. Mostly, work is just kinda killing me. I didn’t even carve my own pumpkin yet! <gasp>

It’s time to say goodbye to our favorite month, our favorite holiday, our favorite time of the year. While the Fall season is in full swing and finally there’s some cooler temps out in SoCal so it actually feels like Autumn, that too is winding down. Christmas crept into retail stores while we were picking out pumpkins. I’m not even ready for that, so I will once again stretch out Halloween through November, before introducing a brand new haunted vampire theme for the month. I’m leaving my decorations up, I’m watching more classic horror movies, I will carve that pumpkin, and I’ll help my fellow Halloween lovers suffering from withdrawals by providing Halloween content, as we barrel into the wicked wonderland.

Truthfully, this website never stops Halloween. We do celebrate all year long but it’s just extra during October. Thank you for stopping by this season. I’m stoked to read all the haiku for this year’s Halloween Haiku Challenge 2024 and pick a winner tonight. Stay tuned for more bloodcurdling fun this November and a brand new haunted holiday season in December. Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat 2024!

Wicked Art Wednesdays 2024 – Alex Ross

Today, we celebrate the one and only art master Alex Ross, as a special tribute to Halloween, with a look at his beautiful magnificent drawings of the beloved Universal monsters.

Artist: Alex Ross
Company/Studio: Alex Ross Art

Where to Purchase Goods: https://www.alexrossart.com

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/thealexrossart

Why we love it: Alex Ross’ influence on comic book artists is unparalleled. The man’s technical artistry is awe-inspiring, with his ability to show realism and the emotional depth of characters truly makes them come alive.

I could just sit here all day describing him with good adjectives. Mr. Ross is simply a marvel. One doesn’t just look at his art, they have feelings.

Trick or Treat Tuesdays – Chocolate Candies Guessing Game

It’s our last Trick or Treat Tuesday in October with another candy guessing game.

There are between 1 and 75 chocolate candies in this jar. Guess how many and win a prize!

Rules: First person to post the correct number or closest to the exact number of chocolate candies in this pictured small square 16 oz. jar, here on WordPress or Instagram, wins their pick of one prize from the Halloween prize bag (see pics below) and some Halloween stickers.

Please see Contest Rules and Eligibility Page for more details. Sorry, contests only open to US residents this year.

Another closer look from the top.

Monday Macabre

Posting a special Halloween haiku every week for Monday Macabre.

Beware on Devil’s night
always check your candy
Halloween killer

Spooky Sundays – Week 4

Spooky Sundays are all about reading, relaxing, and recharging our brooms. Work is definitely getting in the way of celebrating my favorite holiday, but I managed to get all my posts up. Looking forward to this last week in October. Gonna carve my pumpkin, enjoy some more spooky classic movies and hopefully read some awesome entries for the Halloween Haiku Challenge. Four days left til Halloween! Here’s a visual recap of this past week.

Sinister Saturdays – Best Era for Horror Films

Horror films have captivated audiences since before Universal’s wild heyday of Horror during the 1930s. Each era has had great scary films and some so good, they spawned sequels and created franchises. Jaws, a 1975 horror adventure from a new young director Steven Spielberg gave birth to the summer blockbuster! In fact, thanks to horror, some amazing technical achievements have been discoverd, like new camera and lighting tricks and, make-up, and special fx. Horror films are truly the backbone of Hollywood.

I personally have been a horror film fan for over 40 years and I pride myself on having seen a majority of scary films and always look forward to those I’ve havent found yet. But there’s just one thing I haven’t been able to figure out, and that’s which era had the best horror. Was it Universal’s monster era or the SciFi greatness of the 50s, or how about the great slasher films of the 80s? It’s so hard to choose! Help me out!