From Halloween to the Haunted Holidays

I guess the day before Thanksgiving is as good a time as any to officially ended the 2022 Halloween season. I finally removed my Halloween porch decorations last weekend, and while some items stay up year-round, I’ve cleared my spooky corner to make way for some haunted holidays.

This month’s theme has been Halloween Encore. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of Halloween, especially since my work schedule in October kept me from doing all the things I wanted to do this season. Many of the DIY decorations I wanted to make are either half-finished or completely unstarted and I never baked my Halloween cake. My brand new pumpkin mold pan is still in the box. Not all was bad with the season though, I kicked off October with a weekend trip to June Lake, which was amazing and reminded me to get out an explore wilderness a little more. I was able to attend the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney’s California Adventure for the first time and I checked off half my Halloween bucket list, which I will continue to do, just because it’s a fun list no matter what season it is.

The thing that makes me most happy though, all the new friends I picked up this year and the nice turnout for the 4th annual Halloween Haiku Challenge. I finally sent out all prizes to our winners. This was the toughest year to judge yet. The talented writers that joined our little contest inspire and motivate me. Congratulations to all!

Speaking of December, the holidays are going to be a bloody good time this year. The theme next month will be Blood and Ice: A Vampire’s Christmas Tale. No sneak peeks. You’ll just have to be surprised.

Blood and Ice: A Vampire’s Christmas Tale, new holiday haiku coming in December

In addition to the killer haiku I have planned, ‘Tis the season to give and I’ll be sharing some fanglicious cocktails and recipes, plus new gift-giving guides for Halloween and horror fans. I’m also checking my lists twice to make sure I recommend the scariest holiday horror movies of the season. To top it off, Krampus helped me steal Santa’s magic bag filled with stocking stuffers that I’ll give away this season, but you must be following my blog and be friends with me on at least one of my social media pages for a chance to win!

To join in on the fun, follow me @Halloweenhorrorhaiku on Instagram and @Halloweenkristy on Twitter or r/Halloweenhaiku on Reddit

Wishing you all a very Haunted Holidays!

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

Thanksgiving Night Movies

The turkey is cooked, the pie devoured, and the guests are all passed out in the living room…you survived Thanksgiving…time now to kick back with a cocktail and watch some really bad horror films filled with annoying victims who didn’t.

Blood Rage – currently on Tubi
Nothing says Thanksgiving like a murderous bad twin on a rampage. Run-of-the-mill low-budget 80s slasher, good for laughs and showcasing the once impressive state-of-the-art gory special effects of that time.

Thankskilling – currently on Pluto
For those wondering what would happen if our turkeys turned on us and tortured us with bad puns before killing us, this one’s for you. Exactly what you’d expect for $5,000 Kickstarter film that promises boobs in the first few opening seconds of the film.

Black Friday – currently on On Demand
Bruce Campbell. Zombies. Black Friday hell. I mean, what more do you need? Okay, fine, a group of toy store employees fight off hordes of Black Friday shoppers infected by some alien parasite. It’s a decent horror-comedy and like all good Zombie films, it has a little something to say about consumerism, customer service, and corporate greed.
It’s campy, it’s fun, it’s a gross-out fest, and it’s a Thanksgiving film. Make sure dinner is settled in your tummy before watching.

Kristy – currently on Tubi
Yes, I watched this because of the name, but it turned out to be a great thriller about a evil killer cult that randomly stalks a girl named Justine spending her Thanksgiving break on campus alone, believing her to be a “Kristy” aka a follower of God. It is a bit of a slog in the beginning and the story is not exactly original or even scary. That said, it is nicely shot and the acting is decent. Once things pop off, the cat and mouse chase is enough to keep the tension going. This isn’t a slasher per say, but I was definitely rooting for Justine to be a final girl.

Pilgrim – Only on Hulu
Hulu’s Into the Dark season 2 has given us some great horror for all holidays and this is another truly creepy gem, beautifully shot, well-acted and genuinely scary. I should probably mention that I think historically pilgrims for real were evil people. Why someone thought to invite weirdos to re-enact the first Thanksgiving is beyond me. The question we keep asking throughout the film is whether these pilgrims are some crazy religious cult or demonic souls returned from the netherworld. This is definitely my idea of Thanksgiving hell.

Recipe of the Month – November: Apple-Cider Mimosas

Freshen up the holidays with this recipe for Apple-Cider Mimosas.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz Apple Cider (real or pressed cider, not sparkling or alcoholic)
3 oz Prosecco or sparkling wine
1/2 oz Vodka

Rim and Garnish (optional):

1 tbsp Caramel topping
2 tbsp Cinnamon sugar
Apple slices

Switch up the recipe by adding pressed or real pear cider in place of apple.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Haiku for Thanksgiving Week

emf meter
house full of spirits
thanksgiving guests

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I’d like to give thanks for all the Halloween fans and curious souls who have stopped by my little web blog to share in the love for Halloween. Be sure to check us out in December, when we’ll celebrate the dark and spooky side of the holidays.

Haiku of the Week

cold mashed potatoes
longing a familiar voice
ghosts of november

Recipe of the Month – November: Cranberry Crisp

Since November’s Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving, I’m breaking my own rule and posting a recipe this week.

Let’s be honest, next to green bean casserole, cranberry sauce is the least desirable dish on the holiday table. I suspect that’s because it’s so plain. Well, I found a recipe that might spruce up the trimmings, thanks to the good people over at Gimme Some Oven and their recipe for Cranberry Crisp.