Friday the 13th Pizza

This is a fun idea from Beau Coffron (@lunchboxdad)

Would have attempted this today had I bought ingredients ahead of time.  I definitely want to give it a shot in the future.

Happy Friday the 13th!

True love

"True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen"

- François de La Rochefoucauld

I'm finding these two chicken wire ghosts inexplicably compelling.  I think it's partially due to the fact that this picture was taken during daylight hours, seemingly near sunset.  I also think it's because there is a clear relationship between these two; they aren't the usual solitary figures.  There's a story in there somewhere, the details of which we can never fully know.

Picture found on Pinterest. I could not track down the original source anywhere.

Nosferatu Candle Holder

This is pretty clever.

Click below to see it on Etsy

by LilacRage

Early September Yard Haunters

We were driving home from a date last night when I caught a glimpse of purple and orange lights down a side street.  I gave the ghoulfriend a bit of a start when I exclaimed "WOAH! Turn the car around!"

Pulling into the side street we were treated with a wonderful sight! A full-fledged yard haunt, and we aren't even a week into September yet!

(notice Sam from Trick R Treat in the window!)

Here's a quick video of the lights in action:

It was such a wonderful treat to stumble upon such a sincere display of Halloween spirit.  It absolutely made our night!  Come October, I think I'll leave a Great Pumpkin Project pumpkin for them. They clearly have the spirit of the season, and those headstones are seriously asking for a jack-o'-lantern

It's time

On the night of September 1st, as I was walking the ghoulfriend home from an event, we both inexplicably stopped in the middle of her quiet neighborhood street.  The wind blew, rustling the fallen sycamore leaves.  It was a cool 75° (cool for central Florida).  The New Moon meant it was dark, save for the streetlights.  We turned and looked at each other, wordlessly communicating that we both knew... it's time

"I'm normally a stickler on dusting this one off before the threat of hot days have
passed, but this year I'm appealing to the feeling over the calendar. It’s time folks"
- Sam Heimer, original artist

More-so than last year, it really feels like Halloween is coming.  Among friends and online circles, there has been a steadfast patience for the arrival of the season; a patience not felt last year (as Sam Heimer pointed out in this post) when many jumped the gun, declaring "spooky season" as early as July.  For whatever reason, I didn't see that as much this year, and I think we are better for it. 

The next day, September 2nd, we invited a close friend over to have a cozy day in.  We watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and baked homemade pizza and pumpkin bread (both of which I make quite well, if I do say so myself).

The ghoulfriend and I are very ready for this season to start.  This will be our first Halloween together, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share it with!

Pumpkinrot 2024 teaser: HAXAN

Rot and Jenna just released a teaser for their Halloween 2024 display, entitled "HAXAN"

I'm stoked.  There are few creators that can garner such excitement from me just by showing a single prop.  It looks wicked!

Click below for the teaser trailer on Instagram:

100 days until Halloween 2024!

As I've previously said, I won't be building a yard display this year. 

BUT, I am still quite excited for Halloween, as always!  Let's ride out the rest of summer together as we look forward to the most magical holiday of the year

Edited photo from Halloween 2021

Listening to: Stumbling Home

By Lunng Fern & Marta Gynku, from the instrumental acoustic guitar and flute album Zwischenraum.  This album is beautiful and melancholic.  "Zwischenraum" translates to English as "gap, the space between two objects".

Stumbling Home is pensive and heartfelt.  When listening, one can't help but imagine walking a dark street, homebound, drunkenly remembering.

To listen to Stumbling Home, click the image below for links to all streaming/purchase platforms:

CLICK HERE to stream the entire Zwischenraum album.

“We wander in the fields...”

Another incredible scarecrow by Herman's Hollow (@hermans_hollow)

Summerween

Summerween takes place on the 22nd of June each year, but can really be celebrated anytime during the summer.

While it's true that I do believe one can begin celebrating Halloween "too early" (a sentiment not commonly shared by many of my spooky peers) I enjoy Summerween because it doesn't attempt to rush the seasons (at least not the way we celebrate it).

Big box stores are already starting to put out their fall and Halloween decorations despite the full-swing of summer's heat, tempting many of us to engage in autumnal daydreams and wistful consumption.  Trust me, I feel that temptation myself.  But just like how I could sit in a lawn chair with my feet in a kiddie pool and pretend I'm on the sandy shores of O'ahu, I know it wouldn't feel the same.  It would feel too.... empty.  Nothing compares to the real thing, the real Halloween.

And that's where Summerween comes in.

"jack-o'-melons" carved by The Ghoulfriend and one of her friends

Instead of futilely pretending it isn't 99° outside, or imagining the leaves changing color, or cranking my AC to "Arctic Circle" just so I can cuddle under a blanket next to the fireplace... Summerween seeks to uplift the summer season, making it more palatable to spookier folks like us by injecting some Halloween fun into it.

For our Summerween celebration, we got a group together out at a friend's lake house.  During the day, we boated, jet-skied, and drank cold beers and seltzers.  We carved jack-o'-melons after lunch, snacking on the red flesh as we worked.  After watching the sunset from the dock, we went inside and made homemade pizza.  We topped the night off with more beer and a screening of Scream (though admittedly, Friday the 13th would have been more appropriate).

The operating room

To me, Summerween is all about celebrating the wait for Halloween and accepting summer as a necessary part of that wait. We're enjoying our favorite parts of summer -swimming, eating popsicles and watermelon, cooking out, spending time outside with friends- and doing a couple Halloween-y activities to scratch the itch.  It feels like a throwback to Summer Vacation as a kid (except for the beer).  Instead of fighting summer, we embrace it, enjoy it, and declare, "This is how Halloween people do it!"  

I know not everyone feels this way, but for those who do, I hope you find ways to "embrace the wait" rather than trying to force the whole holiday of Halloween to arrive earlier.  After all, the real Halloween only comes once a year... that's what makes it so special!