They Live Inside Us//October 9th, 2020

I finally had the opportunity today to watch what’s probably been my most highly anticipated movie in a long while:

They Live Inside Us.

I truly can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a new movie. Maybe Halloween 2018? It’s hard to say. But from the instant I pressed “play”, this one didn’t disappoint, and lived up to my every expectation.

Much like the predecessor that it was born out of, the Witching Season anthology, They Live Inside Us is an all-out love letter to Halloween, that was clearly made by people who love Halloween, for people who love Halloween, and truly understand what other people who love Halloween want to see.

The opening sequence of this film, with two mischievous boys riding up on their bikes to the house that will become the central focus of the story, immediately brought me back to the Halloweens of my childhood. That mischievous streak that takes us over, that part of us that wants to be scared, no matter how we feel any other time of the year. And if there’s one thing I will never get over about Witching Season Films, it’s their ability to pick out, and perfectly capture on camera, the perfect decorations, to both incite an intense feeling of Halloween nostalgia, and also create an atmosphere that is foreboding enough to make you wonder what’s lurking beyond them.

Soon we meet our main character, Jake, a writer who’s clearly exhausted and desperate for inspiration, who has come to the eerie Booth House, with his young, physically disabled daughter, in the hopes of writing the next great horror story.

As they settle into the house (well, as much as you can “settle” in a place like this), eerie things start to happen. Their first night in the Booth House plays out in a style similar to the first season of American Horror Story. (I strongly encourage fans of Murder House to check this movie out, if you’ve been missing that vibe!) Strange, unexplainable things start to happen, and lines start to blur between what’s real and what’s a hallucination.

As Jake starts to work on his story, we’re treated to a few little horror stories within the main story itself. Jake toys with the idea of a masked killer, a scarecrow, and an evil clown, all of which we get to see visualized in great detail. The masked killer bit is a fun throwback to the original anthology’s Killer On The Loose. The Scarecrow sequence is my favorite aesthetically. I could smell the corn and hay at my favorite local farm while watching this. And the clown piece introduces a truly iconic character named Choppy. I admit to being a sucker for an evil clown in most cases, but Choppy was definitely the most horrific character in the story, taking things in a different, more raw direction for a bit. I dare say I think he could hang with the “Heads” from another favorite Halloween/horror film of mine, Rob Zombie’s 31. I am also incredibly impressed that each of the killers in the stories, along with Jake himself, were all played by James Morris. He does a fantastic job with all these roles. It was obviously a big job to take on, but the passion and dedication, from everyone involved with the film, is strong and obvious. You will know while watching this movie that these people love what they do.

I won’t reveal how the story ends here, because I want people to watch this movie. I will say, if you haven’t watched the original short film yet, it may be best to wait until after you’ve watched the full length film, so you feel the full effect of the ending. But, even going into it with some idea of how it was likely going to conclude, it still managed to get me in the end. There were a few bits added onto the ending that actually made it really emotional. It took me a few minutes to even move after it was over, and I won’t deny I had tears in my eyes.

Since seeing the short film for the first time, I’ve wanted more of the They Live Inside Us story, and this movie was truly everything I hoped it would be and more. It managed to combine everything one could possibly ask for in a Halloween film. Nostalgia, atmosphere, and even a darker horror element than I would’ve expected. They Live Inside Us deserves to become a Halloween staple, for anyone and everyone who loves the holiday, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

Please check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Stay spooky, my friends.

I'm Not So Sure About This Social Media Thing//October 94th, 2026

I started this blog six years ago on New Year's Day. I had been through some major life changes in 2018/2019, and really found myself along the way. I felt as though I really had cemented a place for myself within the Halloween community on social media, and often, when I would caption my posts on Instagram with snippets of memories, or a specific feeling that maybe not many others could understand, I would get comments and messages from new friends and followers, complimenting the way I wrote, sometimes even asking for more, and so, the idea to start a blog again was born, and, silly as it may sound, I am very proud that I've managed to stick with it as long as I have. Long work hours, personal problems, bouts of anxiety and depression....none of that has ever fully stopped me from coming back and doing what I love. But, lately, I have been feeling a little off about social media in general, and that's something I really would like to talk about, as I feel it taking a to...

Tales From A Walk: April 5th, 2026; AKA Easterween/Creepster/Zombie Jesus Day, Etc.

Someone asked me once When do you stop mourning the previous Halloween and start looking forward to the next one? That's always been a hard question for me to answer, as I am always looking back or looking ahead, depending on the situation. I often see what was, and what will be again, simultaneously. But today, I went for a walk. Probably my first full walk since Christmas time. That last walk, the remnants were still there. Though it was a different holiday entirely, I still met some rotting pumpkins, and some dead leaves clinging to their brittle branches. Then two back to back winter storms came in February, burying us in two feet of snow both times. I don't know that I've ever felt more like I was in alternate reality, or farther away from Halloween. Today was different, though. When Easter comes, you hear all this talk of spring, and new beginnings, and that sort of thing. And I guess it never really hit me how that can apply to Halloween as well. Wal...

Here’s Where The Story Ends//October 337th, 2020

Everyone has moments in their life when they feel like giving up. That feeling of “This is never going to happen, so why keep trying?” Sometimes it relates to a thing that would be trivial to anyone else, sometimes it’s about something more life-altering. But, we’ve all been there. I have moments of discouragement with this blog. Times I’ve told myself, “No one cares”, or “No one will read this”, etc., but I continue on, for the joy of it. And sometimes, something amazing happens. If you haven’t read my previous post, Have You Seen This Pumpkin? , I would strongly suggest doing so before continuing on with this story. The short version is, I saw a pumpkin in someone’s window when I was twelve years old, and have spent the last twenty-one years trying to find it for myself. When I published that post, I wasn’t expecting much of a response. I was really just hoping to hear someone say, “Yes, my family had this pumpkin when I was a kid!” Or “I once saw this in a neighbor’...

Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

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