This year, I’m returning to my roots and posting simple horror haiku.
ICE cold hands
shocking murder in plain sight
dead of winter
Monthly Haiku Corner – January 2026
Category: Uncategorized
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!
Dickens Sundays – Ghost of Christmas Present
Every holiday season, I share the wise words of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
When the Ghost of Christmas Present appeared before Scrooge, the spirit showed Scrooge the repercussions of his actions and how much he hurt those closest to him, including his faithful employee Bob Cratchit and family, his good-natured but very ill son, Tiny Tim.
“Come in!” exclaimed the Ghost. “Come in! and know me better, man!”
Scrooge entered timidly, and hung his head before this Spirit. He was not the dogged Scrooge he had been; and, though the Spirit’s eyes were clear and kind, he did not like to meet them.
“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the Spirit. “Look upon me!”
Scrooge reverently did so. It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. Its feet, observable beneath the ample folds of the garment, were also bare; and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust.
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!”
Dickens Sunday – Jacob Marley
Back in Victorian times, people practiced strong Christmas traditions, including telling ghost stories. Charles Dickens wrote the most famous Christmas ghost story of all time and I like to celebrate it every year.
Ebenezer Scrooge was a crusty old mean rich white guy who liked to take out his selfish grievances out of the lowest and poorest of society, which included his own employees. The ghost of Scrooge’s former business partner Jacob Marley shows up one night with a warning for old miser, change your wicked ways or suffer eternity in chains just like him.
“I wear the chain I forged in life… It made it link by link, and yard by yard.”
10 Gifts for Kaiju Lovers
Earlier this fall, Toho Co., Ltd. celebrated the 70th anniversary of Godzilla, King of the Monsters. I wanted to do something a little better than a birthday shout-out to one of my favorite SciFi creatures, so I came up with a list of cool gifts for Kaiju lovers this holiday season.
Most of these are collector items, so if you’re looking for kids toys or less serious items, maybe try your local toy store. There’s no particular order to the list either, nor do I have any affiliation to any companies. My gift giving guides are always simply to help like-minded fans find awesome collectible gifts to buy for their loved ones.
10 Gifts for Kaiju Lovers
Godzilla Enamel Pins by Tom Whalen and others from Mondo Shop, $10
Enamel Pins make great stocking stuffers and Mondo Shop has several monsters, not just Godzilla.
Godzilla Classic 2026 Wall Calendar from DateWorks over at Calendars.com, $18
Why celebrate one month when you can celebrate the kaiju king all 12 months!
Kaiju Believe T-shirt from Tee No Evil, $30
I believe!
Bandai’s Godzilla Store Limited Movie Monster Series Action Figurine from Godzilla.com, $32
Figure based off 1964 movie Mothra vs. Godzilla.
Pre-order Godzilla x Misfit Fiend T-shirt and Exclusive Apparel from Godzilla.com, $32
Two legendary icons brought together. This t-shirt is sure to become its own icon.
Godzilla Minus One Blu-ray Deluxe Japan Collector’s Edition, from Godzilla.com $65
An amazing collector’s boxset for this incredible reboot film, which showed big studios how to properly make a Godzilla film and brought in a whole new generation of fans.
Godzilla: The First 70 Years Art Book (Hardcover) from authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, published over at Abrams Books, $75
Written with love by kaiju super fan, Steve Ryfle, this is no mere coffee table book. A legendary giant needs a giant book to cover 70 years of narrative and visual history featuring exclusive behind the scenes photography, production materials, and other artwork.
Officially licensed original artwork from Spoke Art and Ghost X Ghost. Artist and Prices vary.
From the 70 Years of Godzilla exhibition featuring artists from around the globe in conjunction with Spoke Art Gallery and Ghost X Ghost, you can find poster size prints for your wall.
Dawn of the Monsters Video Game from 13am Games, prices vary by system
“Dawn of the Monsters is a co-operative kaiju beat ’em up out for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Dawn of the Monsters is a co-operative kaiju beat ’em up out for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X, and Stadia.”
Perfect for gamers and anyone who wants a little more interactive kaiju experience. I haven’t played myself to be honest but I hear this game is the most fun. You get to play as a kaiju!
Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 Collector’s Blu-Ray Set, from The Criterion Collection, $225
Godzilla and friends get The Criterion treatment with this one of kind Collector’s boxset featuring remastered original cuts of all the monster kaiju films, from the beginning to when the big studios started to rule the world.
Criterion films specializes in preserving only the best of the best in film history, and Godzilla is the best, he’s the king of the monster films! This is the most incredible boxset I’ve ever seen!
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.😄
Chip n Dale pin
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 Halloween!
Loving these haiku entries!
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.
Timeless Thursday – My Fave Witchy Songs
It’s Timeless Thursday and we’re walking down memory lane with my favorite witchy songs. I had so much fun making a Youtube playlist of Halloween 80s songs that I decided to make one for witchy songs.
Again, I had trouble getting my playlist to post to WordPress. So here is the link:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw-pyzpxGDXnX_hMm3errCaCq4iJGitFr&si=OiR5w0aQ55JKKK8C
- That Old Black Magic by Frank Sinatra
- I Put a Spell on You by Nina Simone
- Black Magick Woman by Santana
- Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford
- Witch Queen of New Orleans by Redbone
- Devil Woman by Cliff Richard
- Witchy Woman by The Eagles
- Spellbound by Siouxsie and thr Banshees
- Mummer’s Dance by Loreena McKennitt
- Crystal by Stevie Nicks
- Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine
- Black Magic by Little Mix
- Burn Your Village (Same Old Energy pt. II) by Kiki Rockwell
These 13 songs are not in any particular order of preference. Honestly, if I had to pick one absolute favorite though, it would have to be Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford. Man, do I miss the good old days of musical storytelling and concept albums.
Released in 1973, Swamp Witch was a song off his debut album “Jim Stafford” The Southern crooner who also often performed on the Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, was known for his lyrical talent and humor. Stafford wrote most of his own songs and had a follow up hit “Spiders and Snakes” another good song for a Halloween playlist.
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.
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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