Sinister Saturdays are turning out to be a showcase for my failed baking attempts.
And, this Saturday is no different!😄
Overbaked red velvet tombstone cakes
Yes, I used box cake. Middle finger to the haters. But the box cake wasn’t the reason why my Red Velvet Tombstone Cakes were a little well done, it’s just my inability to pull pan out of the oven when the box says!
They looked alright, but were dry as a bone and when I flipped them over, the cakes didn’t retain the pan designs.
I did however manage to bake another cake in my my lovely Wiltern pumpkin pan and it turned out kinda nice.
First thing you need for box cake is box mix and I prefer Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Red Velvet cake mix. This is the easiest cake mix, only 3 other ingredients are needed to bake the cake, 1 cup of water, half cup of oil, and 3 eggs.
Follow the instructions and you’ll get a nice fluffy red velvet cake.
Next, you add 4-5 drops of orange food coloring into buttercream frosting to get that nice classy orange color. If you want it brighter, I suggest using 2-3 more drops of orange and 1 drop of red. Next, spread frosting all over your cake.
Lastly, you add Halloween style sprinkles and viola, Halloween Cake!
It was a bummer the Red Velvet Tombstone Cakes didn’t turn out, but I was happy with the pumpkin cake pan version.
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.
Disney’s Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad, 1949
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.
Happy September! I’m so excited the ‘Ber months are back! This is my favorite time of year. It’s also the time of year that seems to go by super fast, making it hard to enjoy the holidays. The way things are going in America, I think this year will be important to celebrate Halloween, lean into traditions we love and make new memories. This is the way only way to keep our hearts and spirits free.
This month’s full moon is corn moon, named after the harvest time in North America. It’s also a blood moon, a total lunar eclipse. It’s a special night for charging crystals and casting spells to keep evil away. Hopefully, it work on earthbound evil as well.
It’s not that I think the world will end anytime soon, but we’re getting to the point where choices for survival may need to be made sooner than we ever thought possible. In some ways, it feels like the 80s all over again, with the same damn players! Except this time, we have treasoners in the mix! So, this Halloween season, grab a GenX’er and party like it’s 1999. I’m not going to say it’s our last Halloween, cuz unlike my younger self, I still have hope.
Be safe out there.
when all the bombs drop pumpkin apocalypse nature’s last scare
Will jack-o’-lanterns be a Halloween tradition that survives the apocalypse?
Past: Centuries before the Native Americans introduced pumpkins to puritan societies, the Celts (ancient Irish peoples) were carving gruesome faces into turnips and potatoes and filling them with candles, all in an effort to guide wandering spirits to safety and ward off evil spirits during Samhain.
Ancient Celtic jack-o’-lantern at Carnegie Museum of Natural History
By the early 1800s, the Irish began telling the story of Stingy Jack, a man cursed to roam the earth for eternity after being rejected entry into both Heaven and Hell.
“As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.”
Present: Irish immigrants brought their legend of Stingy Jack with them to the America and replaced turnips with pumpkins, which were big and easier to carve, not mention, the most economical gourds to cultivate, growing almost anywhere with the proper care.
With the commercialization of Halloween, we saw the pumpkin carving grow into a elaborate artistry and jack-o’-lanterns made out of every material substance known to man.
Future: According to an article “Could Humans Grow Food During a Nuclear Winter?” in Discover Magazine from March 2022, any sun-blocking catastrophes, i.e., volcanic eruptions, meteor crashes, or nuclear war would likely reduce sunlight by 40%, causing global permafrost and reducing much need precipitation. A Nuclear disaster would most surely ruin the earth’s soil, at least for a good 5 years or so. Without good sunlight and moderate soil temps, it would probalby be a number of years before survivors could grow fields of pumpkins again, or any food for that matter.
We have already experienced reduced crops in the last few years due to climate change, with soaring temps, severe rain storms in the East, and record-breaking droughts out West. Mini pumpkins, which can grow in controlled environments and small spaces, may be the only variety of pumpkin that survives.
All said, carving jack-o’-lanterns is arguably the oldest and most beloved Halloween tradition. I think as long as there’s a candle or a light, a metal bucket, and one human being left on the planet caring enough about Halloween, the jack-o-lantern will survive.
The theme this month is Dystopian Halloween. What Halloween traditions survive a post-apocalyptic landscape will be up to the survivors. For some of us, Halloween is instilled in our soul. We’ll easily find a way to celebrate the dead. That’s what comes to mind when I found this awesome spooky art from Kellen Carranza.
Halloween Dias De Los Muertos Sci Fi Chica Tattoos Pumpkin Skulls and Sneakers
Happy September! Welcoming back the Halloween 2021 season and wishing everyone a joyous, fun-filled, and memorable season. Our theme this month is Halloween Dreams.
aisles of pumpkins dreaming of halloween waking up
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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