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!

Monthly Haiku Corner – November

Happy November! It’s been a minute since this country has had any hope, but last night showed the world that Americans see through the lies of greedy evil conmen. A battle was won but maggots have declared war on our own country. This fight is far from over. We must stand tall like trees and trust in our deep roots.

November’s full moon is a Beaver moon, the biggest brightest supermoon of the year, and I have hope that it will light the way for lost souls well into next year.

forest trees stand tall
lost souls searching through the fog
misty fall morning

Be safe out there.

Happy Dia de Los Muertos Haiku – 2025

resist evil
draw strength from ancestors
honor the dead

Happy Dia de Los Muertos! 🏵🐈‍⬛️🏵

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do vampires eat turkey and pumpkin pie? Well, having Thanksgiving dinner in a gothic castle sounds like it would be fun anyway. The month is winding down and we say goodbye to November’s Undead Embrace and usher in a Wicked Wonderland for December. I wish everyone safe and happy holiday to my fellow Americans and great weekend to all!

My Favorite Vampire Movies

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.

Smashed Pumpkins

Made with Canva Dream Lab.

Monthly Haiku Corner – November

Happy November! Halloweentime was a busy, loud, and spooky whirlwind of sight and sound. We waited all year for October, and then, it was gone…the ‘Ber months are always a blur. That’s why I choose to regroup in November. Thanksgiving is two days of madness I don’t mess around with. Nope, I slow down, stay home, eat pie, drink spiced cider, and do some reading.

Pumpkin Pie by Elly Nemtsov on Dribbble

The theme this month is Fall Reading. All haiku in November will connect to tell the story of a visit to a haunted library, where a little ghost likes to read over people’s shoulders.


November rain falls
gently on gothic windows,
haunted library

Culinary Cannibals Marathon

On this last day in November, I serve up a fresh list of intriguing or scary movies featuring cannibals. Holidays are all about eating. Thanksgiving just passed and I still have leftovers coming out my ears. Pretty sure, cannibals don’t have this problem. Anyways, if you’re feeling stressed, why not chill for a day, or the weekend, and have scary movie marathon.

These are my faves, but there are certainly other good cannibal films out there. This year, I shy away from Cannibal Holocaust exploitation type movies cuz horror movies should be fake, lest they become something else. The real killing of animals and the rape of women is just sickening and I want to do my part to hold people accountable. Fuck those movies.

Personally, I’m excited to see the recently released Bones and All starring Timothee Chalamet, Taylor Russell, and Mark Rylance. I might even add it to the list for next year.

Happy Thankskilling! Special Haiku of the Week

Here comes another controversial American holiday whose roots and traditions are built on whitewashed historical lies. Now I actually dislike this one for personal reasons, so flipping it is easy. Even if I can get behind being thankful and wanting to spend time with family and friends, the glutinous excesses of over-eating and commercialization of Christmas (another holiday covered in lies) truly make this one of the scariest holidays Americans hold, so here’s a special haiku to honor the horror of the holidays!

baked mystery pie
cannibals at the table
Thanksgiving dinner

Monthly Haiku Corner – November

Welcome November! If hobbitses can have second breakfast, why can’t we have second Halloween? It’s no secret that I’m no longer a fan of Thanksgiving, but November is fine month to do all the things on your Fall and Halloween bucket list, that you were too busy to do during October. For me, I hold a Lord of the Rings marathon one weekend, and simply enjoy Halloween, which I always seem to miss cuz I’m too busy working.

The theme this month is Halloween Encore.

lit jack o lanterns
black cauldrons full of candy
Halloween encore