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!

Tribute to Udo Kier & Horror Movie Gift Ideas for Udo Kier Fans

I wanted to pay a little tribute to the great horror icon Udo Kier, who passed away last month.

Udo Kier, the charming blue-eyed German actor with over 280 film credits across multiple countries, worked with every director under the sun, and starred in every type of genre movie you can think of, from arthouse cult classics to Marvel blockbusters. He was mostly a champion for small and independent foreign films, and a LGBTQ rights advocate.

Udo Kier and Jim Carrey from Ace Ventura Pet Detective 1994

Udo Kier made small movies and big movies. He loved making art. He was smart, funny, and understood the movie business. He understood sometimes you went in to make money, and only money, and sometimes you went in to make art, no matter what it cost.

Kier often played villains, weirdos or deviants, and his immense talent could elevate even the smallest roles. He once said “The villain is the character that people remember.” Udo Kier’s menacing villains will always be remembered by horror fans and filmgoers.

Severin Films Hall of Fame Enamel Pin #17: Udo Kier, $10

Severin Films has a great collection of enamel pins celebrating horror directors and horror stars of The Theatre Bizarre, a horror anthology from 2011, with wraparound segments featuring Udo Kier.

Udo Kier Autograph Signed REPRINT The Vampire’s Kiss Blood For Dracula, $12.99

I think Blood of Dracula is one of Udo Kier’s best roles. This is autograph reprint is a great small gift for anyone who loves those old indie euro subculture films.

FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN & BLOOD FOR DRACULA / 6 Discs / 4K UHD / NEW RB Blu-ray, $174

Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein starring Udo Kier and Joe Dallesandro, directed by Paul Morrissey were arguably both actors’ most memorable films. Filmed in Italy, the films were repackaged and released in the US under Andy Warhol’s production company. This Italian box set looks amazing.

Mark of the Devil 4K UHD and Blu-ray 3 Disc Set – Vinegar Syndrome, $28

One of Udo Kier’s first roles was a supporting character in the infamous Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält a.k.a Mark of the Devil, a 1970 German knock-off of The Witchfinder General. This horror historical film was known for its realistic scenes of torture and violence towards women, and featured a marketing campaign that leaned in and promoted the film with the slogan “rated V for violence.” Theaters even handed out sick bags. It’s no wonder the filmed eventually got banned in England under the video nasty age and wasn’t publicly shown again until heavy cuts were made.

Dario Argento’s Symphony of Fear features three of the Italian horror maestro best films 4K restorations, $30

Udo Kier had a small but important role in Dario Argento’s 1977 classic Suspiria. As Dr. Mandel, Udo showed off his range. Yes, he was known for over-the-top villains, but he could tone it down when he needed to.

Brand New Blade Trilogy (Blu-ray, 2024) Exclusive Slipcover, Wesley Snipes, $26 (varies by eBay seller)

In Marvel comic book adaption of Blade starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, Udo Kier had a small but fitting part playing Vampire Elder Dragonetti who butts heads with young rebel vampire Deacon Frost played by Dorff.

Udo Kier and Stephen Dorff from Blade 1998

Shadow of the Vampire – Special Edition (2000) Blu-ray, $22

Udo Kier joined fellow scene chewers Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich for a spine-tingling movie about the filming of Nosferatu in 2000 Shadow of the Vampire.

Udo Kier and John Malkovich Shadow of the Vampire, 2000

Obviously, with 280 films, there’s no way I can post suggestions to all of Udo Kier’s movies, but he has starred in some pretty iconic films that would make cult-film lovers and horror fans mighty proud to have on their shelf. He worked with Lars von Trier and Gus Van Sant a lot, so be sure to check out all those titles.

Buyer Beware Warning: Be sure to check specs before purchasing any movie DVDs, as some of these are in PAL format and won’t play in the USA. You can find almost anything on Amazon, but I suggest shopping small and independent this holiday season.

Rest in peace Mr. Kier!

Happy holidays! 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!🎃

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Trick or Treat Tuesday Best of Haunted House Horror

We’re 3 days away from Halloween and for a big treat on this Trick of Treat Tuesday, I’m sharing my favorite Haunted House Horror.

The Changeling, 1980
Poltergeist, 1982
Hereditary, 2018
House of Haunted Hill, 1959
13 Ghosts, 1960
The Innocents, 1961
The Haunting, 1963
The Amityville Horror, 1979
Legend of Hell House, 1973
Burnt Offerings, 1976
The Others, 2001
Woman in Black, 2012
Stir of Echoes, 1999
Crimson Peak, 2015

It’s always hard to put together these lists. All the films are so good. There are a lot of classic horror films from the 60s and 70s on my list and I hope people will give them a watch.

I personally feel The Changeling starring George C Scott from 1980 is one of the scariest haunted house films ever made.

Scott plays composer John Russell grieving the death of wife and son. He moves from New York to Seattle to start over and moves into a house haunted by the ghost of a little boy who died mysteriously.

These movies will certainly spook anyone staying in on Halloween night and films like House on Haunted Hill or Poltergeist play nicely in the background at parties too.

Honorable Mentions:

Paranormal Activity
House of Usher
Horror House
We’re Still Here
House, 1985
The House that Dripped Blood
House by the Cemetery

Happy Halloween! Stay safe out there!

Wicked Art Wednesdays 2025 – Drew Struzan

For today’s Wicked Art Wednesday, I join the chorus of mourning millions with a tribute to the legendary movie poster king Drew Struzan, who passed away on Oct. 13 2025. We’ve all grown up seeing this man’s breathtaking iconic artwork in our local theaters, advertising what would soon become our favorite movies. There will never be another.

Artist: Drew Struzan
Company/Studio: http://www.drewstruzan.com/illustrated/portfolio/index.html

Where to Purchase Goods: https://filmartgallery.com/collections/drew-struzan-movie-posters?page=12

Why we love it:

RIP Drew Struzan. Thank you for sharing your talents and artistry with us. You will always be remembered.

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.

HALLOWEEN SCHEDULE 2025

Monday Macabre

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

Trick or Treat Tuesdays

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

Wicked Art Wednesdays

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

Timeless Thursdays

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

Friday Fright Nightcaps

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

Sinister Saturdays

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

Spooky Sundays

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

Eat, drink and be scary!

7th Annual Halloween Haiku Challenge
#Halloweenhaikuchallenge2025

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!🎃

Horror’s Spookiest Pumpkin Scenes

October is mere hours away and to celebrate this month’s theme of pumpkin apocalypse and welcome back the Halloween season with some of the spookiest pumpkin scenes in horror.

Stsrting with my personal fave from Disney’s Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad, 1949. The Headless Horseman wore a fiery pumpkin head on top his shoulders and terrified the poor ‘ole school master Icabod Crane by chasing him down and throwing his own head at him. It’s one of the most iconic scenes in animation and pretty darn scary for Disney.

Who can forget the 1952 Disney classic Trick or Treat, when Witch Hazel casts a spell on Donald Duck’s pumpkin causing it to dance around and sing. Head on over to Disney Plus to view the whole classic animation in its entirety.

Horror films are meant to scare us, whereas spooky family films are meant to delight us. It’s all about the intention, right? Which is why horror fans everywhere took a doubletake at Eli Roth’s scary kids film, The House With a Clock in the Walls.

The horror maestro traded in his trademark blood and gore for a whimsical Halloween tale with an incredible production design featuring a magical haunted house filled with secrets and crazed jack-o-lanterns who spew their pumpkin guts on you.

Enough with the kid films, we want killer pumpkins!

Carved 2024

If you didnt see the logo plastered all over the posters, no one would have ever guessed this stoner horror-comedy was a Hulu production. It wasn’t the greatest movie, but the scene where the pumpkin creature exacting revenge by slaughtering most of the participants of a pumpkin carving contest is alone worth a watch.

Tales of Halloween, 2015

Starring several horror icons, this spooky anthology features ten terrorific tales set on Halloween night, directed by a who’s who in horror. I adore this film, it has Adrienne Barbeau as segment DJ, killer ghosts, naughty trick or treaters, aliens vs axe murderers, demons, witches, but no creature is scarier than the killer pumpkin from hell in Neil Marshall’s horror short Bad Seed.

Trick ‘r Treat, 2007

Michael Dougherty’s directorial debut is four Halloween stories connected by a mysterious trick or treat demon named Lil’ Sam. Candy is good enough keep Sam at bay, just as long as you don’t break any of the rules of Halloween. In one of the movie’s scariest scenes, we learn there are consequences to making Lil’ Sam angry. You will never blow out a pumpkin before midnight again after watching this movie.

Trick ‘r Treat never received a decent theatrical release, but instead of falling into obscurity, it became an instant cult horror classic. This October, the movie will get a re-release for two nights only.

It’s one of my favorite horror films of all time and instantly invokes the true spirit of Halloween. A must watch for any Halloween and horror fan.

Werewolves vs Aliens

August is for aliens. Ha! When I went to write up my list for favorite alien movies, I noticed I forgot to post my favorite Werewolf Movies list last month. Obviously, my brain was abducted by aliens back in July.

That’s okay though, cuz now you’ve got one post with two lists of great spooky movies to watch this Halloween Season. There’s no breakdown, just lists. Go watch ’em!

There doesn’t appear to a definitive origin story for the werewolf. Early movies were just based on a collection of myths and legends from around the world. Like vampires, this lead to a variety of possibilities of appearance, characteristics, and nature of the beast. Early movies like Universal’s Wolfman, starring Lon Chaney, wowed audiences using brilliant make-up techniques and stunning special effects of their time to achieve the werewolf transformation. It was simple, but sorta magical. By 1981, technical advances in both film making and special effects allowed John Landis to direct one of the most realistic transformations of man into monster that moviegoers ever witnessed. To date, it’s been hard to top. My list though, isn’t necessarily a ‘best of’ list, just my faves.

American Werewolf in London, 1981
The Wolfman, 1941
Ginger Snaps, 2000
Dog Soldiers, 2002
The Howling, 1981
Wolfen, 1981
Silver Bullet, 1985
In the Company of Wolves, 1983
Wolf Cop, 2014
Brotherhood of the Wolf, 1998

By mere definition, aliens on the other hand do not have origin stories. They come from beyond the great unexplored universe. Movie audiences flocked to theaters to see the original 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers in search of thrilling new sensations. In 1979, Ridley Scott’s Alien, delivered in spades, spawning a 40-year blockbuster franchise, solidifying aliens as a huge part of cinema. SciFi and Horror are like peanut butter and jelly, they just go together. Condensing a list of thousands of movies down to just ten spots is pretty agonizing. For purposes of this list, I chose what I think are the scariest alien movies. Admittedly, some are more action than horror, but having a terrifying villain is half the assignment.

Alien, 1979
The Thing, 1982
Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978
Event Horizon, 1997
Annihilation 2018
Predator, 1987
Pitch Black, 2000
District 9, 2009
A Quiet Place, 2018
Nope, 2022

I love all these movies so much, I can watch them over and over. It’s really hard to pick a winner. Help me out! Here are two great lists of horror films to watch for Halloween 2025, help me decide who wins this epic battle, werewolves or aliens?

Have a happy Halloween season! Be safe out there!

Happy 50th Anniversary Jaws!

June 20, 2025 marks the 50th Anniversary of Jaws.

Distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by young and upcoming wunderkind named Steven Speilberg, the oceanic horror-thriller was based off Peter Benchley’s best selling novel of the same title grossed $7.9 million dollars and spent 14 weeks at the top of the box office, making it the very first “summer blockbuster” of Hollywood films. A critical and commercial success, the movie changed the landscape of all art and film and would go on to be the first film to earn $100 million dollars.

Jaws is a masterclass in fear, even John Williams’ brilliant score alone was enough to send shivers up spines and keep people outta the water. It isn’t just about facing the horror of giant man-eating vengeful shark though, it’s a psychological look at the breakdown of smalltown life. It’s the fear of a simple man overwhelmed with the job of trying to protect his community. A weary wife and mother afraid of losing her family. The fear of a elected official losing the faith of his community. The fear of a community losing their economy, their livelihoods, and their lives to something they cannot control. The fear of a young insecure college grad being ridiculed for his intellect and his ideas. And, the fear and trauma of an old fisherman who survived a horror greater than war.

It was years before I truly understood how great the story of Jaws was. I was very young when I first saw it in a drive-in theater in San Diego, CA. It’s my first movie memory, peeking inbetwen the car seats up at giant screen, yards away, as young swimmer was violently yanked under the water. This was back in the day when parents didn’t really shield kids from sex and violence in movies and TV. I watched a lot of old 70s horror movies this way. In fact, this is where my love for horror movies began. Being the first movie I ever saw, Jaws has a very special place in my heart. I try to watch it every year, usually around Fourth of July, when the story is set. I must have seen this film a hundred times at least and it never gets old.

Some may argue Jaws didn’t do any favors for sharks. Yes, it created mass hysteria and worldwide fear of sharks, For all the fear it generated, I think Jaws also sparked interest in sharks. Something that led to the increased study of sharks and all sea life behavior, maybe even put marine biology on the map. This all helped create conservation of sharks and ocean life. It’s been a long hard fought battle to save this planet by learning not to be afraid of what lurks in the ocean. Love it or hate it, Jaws is an unforgettable masterpiece worth celebrating.

Monthly Haiku Corner – June

Happy June! It’s a strawberry moon. Also known as a honey moon, aptly named due to the harvesting season for strawberries and honey. This is the lowest moon of the year and a rare lunar event.

I have a confession, I mixed up my themes and months this year, but I had a good reason. This June marks the 50th Anniversary of Steven Speilberg’s Jaws, that occasion only comes around once, and I have a special place in my heart for the nautical horror-thriller, being the first film I ever saw in a theater. So, instead werewolves and berries, which has been my June theme for the last few years, we are celebrating a theme of Creatures of the Deep. There are more than just sharks out there in the great wild. Truth is, we don’t even know what’s out there. Beware of what lurks under calm waters.