In 1953, United Production Artists produced an 8-minute animation based on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. This surreal psychological horror short film, narrated by James Mason and distributed by Columbia Pictures, became the first animated film to earn an X rating in the UK. The reason? Well, that’s just what old stuffy white dudes do when someone makes a film about killing old stuffy white dudes for no reason.
Click here for more information on The Tell-Tale Heart from 1953.
Every Halloween season I make it a point to revisit the classic Universal monster films. These are the films that cemented American’s love affair with horror. Watching my favorite old classic horror films is one of my biggest Halloween traditions. This week, I created spooky cocktail to honor Karl Freund’s classic The Mummy, starring the legendary Boris Karloff, with a drink I call Ode to the Mummy.
INGREDIENTS:
3 oz. Coffee
1.5 oz Cutwater Bali Hai Tiki Monkey Liquer
1.5 oz. Vodka
1 oz. French Vanilla Creamer or Cream
Splash of Cream of Coconut
The theme for October is dystopian Halloween. This piece entitled The Guardian by Jeffrey Smith, creator of “Light Of Conscience” and “Persona Theater” series, captures the mood of the month.
Artist: Jeffrey Smith
Website/Studio: https://www.deviantart.com/ascending-storm
Social Media: https://instagram.com/ascendingstorm?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Where to Purchase Goods:
https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/ascendingstorm/
Happy October! After starting late this Halloween season, I’m now ready to post the schedule of this year’s 31 Days of Halloween Celebration. The theme this October is dystopian Halloween. With the doomsday clock ticking down, it’s probably way past time to think about how humankind plans to survive the apocalypse, in particular, how we’ll preserve our traditions and holidays, like Halloween.
Part of the month, we’ll have some fun with the dystopian Halloween-horror theme, but I have decided to mix in some good old-fashion Halloween traditional themes as well, cuz, I just love talking about those Halloween memories.
Have a safe and happy Halloween season!
31 Days of Halloween Schedule
Monday Macabre
Mondays are always dedicated to Haiku, but every Monday in October we’ll explore a dystopian Halloween.
Tuesday Terror
Every Tuesday, I’ll share my favorite scary movies that I believe make great Halloween season viewing.
Wicked Art Wednesdays
Every Wednesday, I’ll share some spooktacular Halloween art with an apocalyptic twist. I might even post some my own original Halloween pencil stencil art.
Throwback Thursdays
Preservation of Halloween traditions is important for several reasons. Every Thursday, let’s explore the origins of some Halloween traditions and muse over whether these traditions might survive the apocalypse.
Friday Fright Nightcaps
Ghosts aren’t the only ones who like to get sheet-faced on Halloween. Check back every Friday for Halloween season-inspired cocktails.
Sinister Saturdays
In the past few years, Sinister Saturdays have always been dedicated to food and Halloween recipes. The problem was, besides my being the worst cook in America, people are simply reluctant to let you share their recipes online, even if you give them complete credit and link back to their website. So, in the true spirit of Sinister Saturdays, we’re just going to let the demons loose that day and see what they come up with.
Poe Sundays
This year’s tribute to the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, will feature my thoughts on the best Poe adaptations on film.
4th Annual Halloween Haiku Challenge 2022
#Halloweenhaikuchallenge
Share your most original or scariest visual Halloween Haiku photos during October for a chance to win some prizes.
More details about the haiku contest will be announced on October 18th.
Join in the fun, and follow me @Halloweenhorrorhaiku on Instagram and @Halloweenkristy on Twitter
Years after the fall, survivors spend their days scavenging for food and other items to make apocalyptic life easier. Water is scarce and there hasn’t been a good harvest crop since the end of the war.
A man pours dirty water from a rusty cup into a small pot. He digs a little hole and turns to the small child beside him. She opens her tiny hand to reveal a bunch of pumpkin seeds. She drops them in the pot and covers them with dirt. “Happy Halloween!” the child says triumphantly. The man smiles at her. Hopefully a pumpkin will grow this time.
Monday Macabre is all about the scares during October, but this year, we’re tapping into the psychological fear of dystopian Halloween horror.
pumpkin seeds
water in a rusty cup
Halloween’s last hope
I’m writing today from June Lake, CA. It’s a beautiful, cozy little town tucked inside an old glacier in the Eastern Sierras. Very scenic. You can actually see the stars at night and that took my breath away. Living in Los Angeles, I barely see any stars. It’s really sad. Anyways, up here in June Lake, Autumn is in full swing and you can actually see some trees changing colors. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how beautiful and amazing our planet is, and how amazing we live in an unexplored universe we know nothing about.
Then, I think about Putin and his war machine committing genocide and thrusting the whole planet closer to doomsday. Nuclear annihilation feels closer than it’s ever been. I don’t even remember this kind of complacency in the 80s.
There is no Halloween in our future. No trick or treating. No fun costumes. No parties full of people. No pumpkins, nor the ability to grow them. Last month, I stressed the importance of perserving Halloween traditions, and shared with you how I feel preserving traditions eventually becomes the only way to keep our memories alive.
Whatever traditions survive is what is going to move the survivors forward. I hope you join me this October to make Halloween traditions stand out and make people feel stronger and more connected to each other, people, our friends, family, loved ones, our world, this wonderful planet which grows big plump juicy pumpkins, and the universe, who remembers everything and is the only hope humankind has of surviving. Cast off those old traditions that strangle us, like racism, sexism, bigotry, and believe in science, medicine, research and development, space exploration…When I look at the stars, I see that God everyone’s always talking about, but not in any Bible, not in your TV set, not in the guns, and not in the tanks. Creation triumphs over destruction, so create a life you want to live and make good memories.
This month’s theme is dystopian Halloween. Maybe if we imagine the world struggling to save Halloween, we’ll actually strive better to do it for real.
Wishing you all a safe, joyous, haunted October!
Good witches, bad witches, love witches, or scary witches, witches come in all variations. Whether you’re a new witch looking for guidance, an old witch looking inspiration, or not a witch at all, just someone looking for some spooky fun, here’s a list of my fave witchy movies and TV shows.
Our theme this month has been creatures of the deep. Here’s a sneak peek at the theme for August.
snapping lobster claws
no man quarrells with a queen
sea witches revenge
Haiku inspired by the Sea Witch, artwork by Ubergank aka Linus Pettersson.
To view more spectacular artwork by Linus Pettersson, follow him on Artstation at: https://www.artstation.com/linuspettersson or https://www.deviantart.com/ubergank
Our theme this month is creatures of the deep. I spent the weekend watching sea creature movies and lamenting over the fact, that despite now having the technology, we still do not have an awesome modern-day Kraken movie. What up Mr. Speilberg, are you busy?
“Kraken attacks ship” by Samuel Allan, created for PBS Digital – Monstrum, Episode 5
Artist: Samuel Allan
Instagram: @samuel_allan_illustrator
To view more fantastical art by Samuel Allan, please visit:
samuelallan.artstation.com
To purchase merchandise:
https://samuelallan.onlineweb.shop/
Happy July 4th! Believe it or not, there are still many spots in world’s oceans that have not been explored. We still do not fully understand ocean’s wildlife and what hidden dangers may lurk at the bottom of the deepest, darkest trenches of the sea. Our theme this month is creatures of the deep. Be careful where you swim.
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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