Happy New Year 2026!

Welcome January! Welcome back old friends and new guests! This is a safe place for people who love Halloween, Horror, and Haiku, unless you’re a nazi, bigot, religious fruitcake, scammer, and an otherwise intolerant hater. I hope this message is perfectly f’n clear. A country with such a huge lying govrmnent needs citizens who speak the truth.

As my blog enters its 8th year in existence, I find myself at a crossroads in continuing a minor blog that I cannot dedicate much time to and needing a outlet for my feelings and a place to fuel my creativity. I’ve decided the latter is more important in this current climate.

There will be no gimmicks this year however, no contests, no themes per say, just Halloween, horror, and haiku. I like to celebrate holidays, celebratory events, and significant days, particularly those pertaining to the Arts, so I will continue to do so with haiku.

I quit almost all social media except BlueSky and Pinterest, where I’ve got lots of cool boards to share. Please stop by! I also keep a Reddit page, but there’s no activity there. Happy to engage though!

I thank those who stop by and read my writings. There’s still freedom in America. It will be business as usual. So, channel your inner Lord of the Rings character and let’s make 2026 unforgettable!

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!

Dickens Sundays – Ghost of Christmas Past

Every holiday season, I share the wise words of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Dickens’ was a champion of the poor and unfortunate, particularly children. Having grown up destitute himself and enduring the abuse and ills of the labor houses, Dickens knew firsthand of the timeless topics he wrote about.

The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of Jacob Marley’s three mercurial warnings to the cruel, greedy miser Ebenezer Scrooge to change to his lifestyle or endure a hellish afterlife like his old partner.

She turned back time to show Ebenezer his past, how happy he once was, how in love he once was, but the young Scrooge allowed ambition and greed to rule his life and lost everyone he loved so dearly.

“These are the shadows of the things that have been, that they are what they are, do not blame me!”

Spooky Shows to Binge over Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Thanksgivingweek!

Whether you’re joining the shopping boycott on Black Friday to send a message to oligarchs or just need to recharge and rest, Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time for binging spooky TV shows. Here are ten of my favorites.

Castle Rock (Hulu)

The fictional town in Maine that serves as the terrifying locale for most of the stories in the Stephen King universe gets its own supernatural show produced by JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot. True to any Stephen King novel, it’s a dark, mysterious, creepy mind-bender, filled with compelling characters. Sadly, it only got two seasons. A real shame cuz I had so many questions…

The Strain (Hulu)

Back when the CDC were the good guys, the show about a doctor investigating a viral outbreak with ties to an ancient strain of the vampirism was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan based on their vampire trilogy. Hollywood superstar showrunner Carlton Cuse of Lost fame wrangled this thrilling action horror for four seasons on FX.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)

Witches, warlock, humans, hobgoblins, old deities, and Satan, this ain’t your grandmama’s Sabrina. Forget the 90s WB sitcom, this is a much darker, scarier, and sexier show for Archie Comics breakout star.

Ash vs Evil Dead (Starz)

Evil Dead trilogy fans rejoiced when Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought their chainsaw-wielding hero and the Deadites to television for Starz in this action horror-comedy that squeaked out 3 seasons. It’s been 30 years since Ash left the Army of the Dead behind, working at Value Mart with his young friends Pablo and Kelly, drinking his lonely existence into oblivion and ignoring his responsibilities to protect the world until the evil dead come calling for the one that got away.

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Coming-of-age show about a group of friends investigating the disappearance of their friend and the supernatural acts happening in their small town of Hawkins, Indiana is Netflix’s most popular show. Season 5 premieres on November 26, so binging the first four seasons now is perfect timing.

The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

Mike Flanagan’s chilling first entry in the Haunting series for NetFlix was loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. Part ghost story, part family drama, horror maestro Stephen King hailed Flanagan’s vision of Jackson’s story as brilliant. I guess that’s why King keeps agreeing to let the guy direct movies of his own novels.

Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix)

A mind binding thriller set in the 90s about young female filmmaker in Hollywood, whose career gets derailed after mixing it up with a catty bohemian witch. This limited series wasn’t supposed to go beyond 8 episodes, but fans can still dream.

Marianne (Netflix)

This smartly written and wonderfully acted French horror show created by Samuel Bodin about a writer haunted by an ancient evil witch only got one season, but that’s probably for the best, cuz it’s the scariest show on the list. It’s better to watch in French with English subtitles. Your eyes will be glued to the screen anyways.

Kingdom (Netflix)

Not quite Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, this Korean gem is filled with colorful characters, political intrigue, and hordes of zombies. Based on a webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods created by Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il, this Josean period action thriller was never officially canceled, so fans are still hoping for Season 3, despite the many years that have passed.

The Walking Dead (AMC)

I once read in a Hollywood rag, that studio execs believed no one wanted to watch a zombie TV show and it would be far too expensive to produce. 15 years and 8 spin off shows later, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead franchise is still churning in some form, while knock off shows have come and gone. I believe it’s all due to the genius of Greg Nicotero and his special effects and make-up team. It’s the first, and the best zombie TV show ever produced, period. And, it totally proved the world loves zombies enough to watch them every week!

Prize Pool 2025

The Halloween Haiku Challenge has ended, but I’m sharing the scares this year, so check back in December for a new holiday haiku challenge!

The prize pool (see below) started with leftover or unclaimed gifts. I also have a lot more Halloween stickers but you can only get so many in one picture.😄

Before every contest, please see Contest Rules and Eligibility page for specific details. It is player responsibility to know the rules before playing any games here.

Happy October 2025!

Happy October! It’s been a busy summer. I admit that keeping up with a blog this year has been challenging. On one hand I love it, I love sharing  Halloween haiku and other spooky stuff, but truth is I simply don’t have the time to blog like I used to. 

I did make time to visit Disneyland recently for some Fall fun.

I also know times are tough and depressing. It’s not going to get better anytime soon, we need Halloween! We need to celebrate our culture and traditions more than ever and we need to make new memories! Good memories! You never know when that may be the only thing you have. So after careful consideration, I will again be celebrating all 31 days of Halloween this year.

There will be two themes this month, Haunted Halloween and Halloween Happy. Americans are a haunted people, but we all deserve life. Halloween is for everyone. Full stop. The holiday combines both ancient pagan and religious ceremonies. The original purpose was to chase away the demons and bad ghosts that crossed over the spirit realm because of the thin veil between the living and the spirit world.

Don’t let anyone tell you how to do Halloween. Decorate or not. Wear a costume or not. We can be scary and sweet. We can be spooky and cute. Let the teenagers trick or treat. Kids collecting candy are too occupied to do anything else. I truly believe Halloween makes people happy. It’s about community. We need our communities more than ever. It’s the only thing that can save America now.

Be sure to check back every day this October for cool, fun, and inspirational Halloween, horror, and haiku.

Every Monday, I’ll be posting a brand new Halloween Haiku, honoring the theme of Haunted Halloween.

Check in on Tuesdays for some online fun. I’ve got treats and I’ve got tricks.

Every Wednesday, I’ll showcase the amazing and unique talents of Halloween artists from around the globe.

Every Thursday, let’s travel back in time and revisit some of the greatest Halloween music ever made on the corporeal plane.

Bubble bubble, drink away trouble, it’s the return of Friday Fright Nightcaps!

Decadent desserts from the darkside. I’m not much of a cook, so this could get truly evil.

Spooky Sundays are for reading, relaxing, and recharging our brooms.

Eat, drink and be scary!

Due to time constraints, this year’s contest will start at midnight on October 30th through Halloween day. Winner chosen on November 1st.

More details to come, but for now, sharpen those pencils or pull up a blank page; I can’t wait to see those Halloween haiku!

Don’t forget to follow Halloweenhorrorhaiku on Pinterest and Blue Sky.

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

Winter Wolf – January 2025

Hello and Happy New Year! This month’s theme is the winter wolf. The winter wolf braces for the long cold months with courage and intelligence. Having already grown in its winter coat and possessing the gift of adaptability, this magnificent creature is well equipped to survive brutal harsh weather.

A few years ago, I quit Facebook. Last year, I quit Twitter. I was never on Tik Tok, and so, this year, I’m widening my self-imposed ban on social media to include Instagram and Threads. My time and energy can be used much more productively, and my money and support, well, that’s reserved for ideals I believe in.

Art by DrakoArt

Wolves are highly intelligent, social creatures. They’re caring, playful and all about the family and pack. When an enemy appears and threatens said tribe (like a buncha Nazis, kidnappers, rapists, slavedrivers, terrorists, treasoners, and their followers, who sadly allowed their cowardly, greedy, jealous minds to get hijacked), it’s time to get strategic about how to fight this evil, just like how they got strategic in their takeover of America. I’m choosing with my wallet and my eyeballs first. The battle has already begun.

The only thing I’ll miss are friends. I don’t expect any friends to do this too. Everyone needs to decide which roads to travel on their own. I do expect my real friends to understand and love me. Maybe we’ll see each other again and pick back up, right where we left off.

So, what does all this mean for my little web blog? Not much here is going to change. I’ll still do monthly haiku, a monthly blog post, post movie lists or reviews, post art and images, recipes and fun stuff associated with Halloween, horror and haiku. Who knows, with all that extra time and effort not spent catering to bots and an endless sea of scrolling eyeballs, I’ll produce something more impactful to culture and humanity.

I urge everyone to spend less time on social media, less time listening to big media, less time thinking about non-existent issues that racists, mysognists, and religious zealots want you to worry about. Make art instead. Write poetry. Watch movies. Listen to music. Buy from small mom and pop, brick and mortar stores. Protect the planet. Pay attention to climate change. Practice good DEI. Fight true evil pretending to believe in a fake god, and seriously, fuck nazis.

Be well and stay safe.

Last Minute Gift Ideas 2024

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.

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.

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.

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:

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

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.”

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.

Happy Holidays!

Witchy Gifts 2024

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!

Monthly Haiku Corner – December

Happy December! The theme is month is Wicked Wonderland. December is very much an opportunity to experience a second Halloween. There’s ghost stories, wicked elves, mysterious and mystical creatures, jolly ole Santa and the sinister Krampus. Lots of spooky fun coming this month, so check back often! Wishing you all very haunted holidays!

empty magic bag
wicked elves lie and deceive
Where is Santa?