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!
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 Friday! This week’s gift guide is for the witches. Whether you’re a baby witch or a seasoned enchantress, witches need tools and toys to practice their craft. These gift suggestions are general and meant for everyone. Obviously, if the giftee has a specific practice in mind, like they want to be a kitchen witch or moon witch for example, you’re gonna want to find the tools, toys, and books geared towards that.
I listed some cool items from shops I like, but this is only a tiny guide to inspire you in finding the perfect gift for your favorite witch, even if it’s yourself. Happy Creepmas!
400 Page Large Grimoire leather journal, Print Tree of Life Journal, Blank spell book book of shadows Leather Celestial Gifts For Him Her ($48.99) – Amyracraft (Etsy)
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!
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.
The theme this month is November’s Undead Embrace. Most vampire movies feel like autumn, or winter, with the exception of The Lost Boys, which had cool summer vibes.
My list of faves is made up of all older movies. Honestly, Abigail was the last good vampire flick I’ve recently seen. Some on my list are endearing, all the Draculas, because Bram Stoker’s Dracula is one of my favorite novels. Dapper and mysterious, the hyponotizing Bela Lugosi is still the best, but Frank Lagella was sauve and sophisticated enough to make forget all about those bad disco effects. Gary Oldman was tall, dark, and handsome, but honestly, young Christopher Lee still might be my favorite, sinister and sexy. He turned me onto Hammer Horror, and no one does olde English victorian goth better than Hammer.
The original Swedish Let the Right One In, from 2008, the gruesome horror coming of age tale, had the best story of all the vampire movies I’ve ever seen (it was also based on a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist).
And the militia controlled religious zealotry of the American apocalypse featured in Stakeland is something I very much forsee happening to our great nation, minus the vampires, well, maybe…
The other films, oh hell, I just like sleek, fun action horror monster movies.
So, here’s the list. Perfect for a Black Friday movie marathon, or you can go fight off real life vampires at the stores if that’s your thing. Bwahahaha😄
Dracula, 1931 Let the Right One In, 2008 The Lost Boys, 1987 Stakeland, 2010 Horror of Dracula, 1958 Dracula, 1979 Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992 Near Dark, 1987 Blade, 1998 Underworld, 2003
Honorable Mentions: Salem’s Lot Fright Night Afflicted The Hunger Only Lovers Left Alive A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Interview with a Vampire From Dusk til Dawn
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday or a very happy Thursday.
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.
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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