Happy Birthday To This Blog!//October 92nd, 2020

I have never really been one to celebrate New Year’s. In fact, up until last year, I always found the idea of a whole blank slate stretched out in front of me to be somewhat ominous. Facing the unknown can either be exciting or scary, and I think, on some level, 2020 turned out to be a combination of the two. It was definitely not a typical year, and many of the long-term goals I had for myself didn’t pan out due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, but it did have its high points as well as lows.

It’s hard for me to believe this blog will be a year old tomorrow. I came up with the idea to start blogging at some point in late 2019, but got frustrated every time I attempted it. I also already had a failed Halloween blog under my belt from around 2015-ish, which ultimately became nothing but a boring collection of hauls, and led to me buying things I didn’t really want, just for the sake of having something to talk about. But, while I may not have the legions of followers that some other bloggers do, I can honestly say I’m truly happy with everything I post here and am proud of myself for sticking with it over the past year.

(This picture was taken last year, immediately after publishing my first post.)

It does surprise me sometimes, to see how many followers I’ve gained on social media in the past year. 2020 was a huge year of growth for me in the Halloween community, and I’m so grateful for that. If you had told me twenty years ago, when I was the only person I knew who got depressed when November first hit, that I’d eventually find my niche, I’d likely have thought you insane, yet here I am, excited every day to see what new, spooky things will be going on online, and more inspired than ever to share my stories. The fact that people, no matter how many or how few, enjoy hearing my stories and memories of Halloweens past, or value my opinions on movies, and even tell me I have a gift for writing, astounds me every single day. One thing 2020 has brought me is a new sense of faith in myself in that regard, and more motivation to embrace my creativity than ever.

Of course, we can not talk about this blog and what it’s brought me in 2020 without acknowledging how it was ultimately a post here, read and shared by the right person at the right time, that brought me my ultimate hoy grail Halloween item, that I’d been searching for since 1999.

I know it may sound crazy, but sometimes I truly don’t think there will ever be a more astounding feeling than looking up at my wall and seeing her there, finally a real, tangible thing and not just a blurry screenshot I took for the sole purpose of proving her existence, both to others and myself. I had truly dedicated so much time and energy to searching for her, I never thought just randomly deciding to tell the story on this blog could be the way to actually find her. One thing 2020 taught me, thanks to this particular experience, is never to give up. Things can happen in strange ways that you don’t expect!

I’ve definitely expanded my collection a lot in 2020 and look forward to doing more of that as time goes on. From the end of 2019 until now, I feel like I’ve really found my personal aesthetic when it comes to decorating, collecting, and even my wardrobe, and it’s fun to see how things come together as I discover more and more.

In 2021, in addition to sharing nostalgic stories and prose, and doing more Halloween and horror related reviewing, I’m also hoping to expand a little more on the characters I’ve created for my Halloween dolls and characters. I have so many ideas, it’s just a matter of organizing them and converting them into profiles and little stories. I wrote many “pic fics” during my doll collecting days and hope to do that here as well, now that I know what truly inspires me. I think 2021 has the potential to be an awesome year creatively.

So, if you are reading this, thank you. I am truly so grateful for the friends I’ve made this year, the artists I’ve discovered, and just to have made it through these strange times in general. I know 2021 won’t be a cure-all for the craziness we’ve endured in 2020, but it will be interesting to see what surprises it has in store.

Stay spooky, my friends, and best wishes for a Happy New Year...or better yet, a continuing perpetual October.

The Long Way Back//October 32nd, 2023

Every year I talk about November 1st...it's such a confusing day. It makes me feel so many emotions all at once. Mournful, depressed, angry...It's like a slap in the face shoving us into a new month, forcing us to forget what came just hours before. Last year, I did have somewhat of an epiphany regarding the month of November as a whole, and while I do my best to keep my own past words in mind, that doesn't make today any easier. Or easy to explain, for that matter. I suppose I should speak from my heart. Today I feel detached from reality, as if I don't really exist. Like there is no longer a place in the world for me. Just yesterday everything I loved made sense, and was loved and revered by everyone else as well. I felt like I fit. But now, today, I see those same things being quickly shoved away. Less than twenty-four hours after trick-or-treating time began, it's all being swept under the rug. The season culminated and the world is no longer a place I recog

The Spooky Community Has No Entrance Fee//October 288th, 2023

Something I’ve been seeing a lot this year around the Halloween community, possibly more than any other year, has been talk of consumerism, how much money spent on Halloween is too much, whether collecting is really that important or if it’s somehow required to truly be a part of the community, etc. I’m in no way trying to copy anyone else who’s already spoken on this subject, but I thought I would chime in and share my thoughts, as it is something I definitely think about. Now, I’ve always been relatively fortunate when it comes to how much money I have to spend on Halloween goodies. As a child, I often received money for my birthday, September 8th, at the height of the shopping season, at least as I knew it back then. No, it wasn’t enough to collect the way I do now, but it was enough to make me happy, and you also could get a lot more for a lot less back then. I didn’t necessarily stop to think about my “hauls”, but I knew even at a young age that there was nothing I’d rather be sp

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’s window while

Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

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