The Pumpkin Man//October 340th, 2023

As you most likely already know, Halloween-themed movies are tremendously important to me. For most of my life, when I needed a dose of Halloween in the off-season, or even wanted to make an October afternoon feel extra special and anticipatory, I’d turn to movies that would immediately transport me back into the most important day of my year.

I will watch pretty much anything relating to Halloween, whether it’s a horror film, a tv special, something intended for small children, or pretty much anything in between. And over the years, across genres, I’ve accumulated some go-to movies that capture Halloween for me like nothing else, and can make my heart leap with excitement as if it were October 30th, on, say, any random Tuesday in May. These are the movies that inspire me, and keep me going even at the worst points in my calendar year.

A few days ago, I had the absolutely amazing opportunity to view a new film called The Pumpkin Man before its general release. I’ve been following this movie on Instagram for awhile now, and of course, been absolutely smitten with the aesthetic of it and the look of the titular character. I knew the second I hit the “follow” button on the Instagram page that I’d be obsessed with this movie once I saw it, and the chance to view it early was an absolute dream come true!

I’m not going to spoil anything, as I truly want people to watch this movie, but to give a brief synopsis, The Pumpkin Man follows a teenage girl named Catherine, obsessed with the local legend of her hometown, Cromwell, about a witch who invoked a demonic pumpkin man one Halloween night, centuries ago. Despite horrific circumstances, Cromwell truly leans into its lore, essentially turning Halloween into “Pumpkin Man Day”, and Catherine has been on a mission to piece together the clues that would bring the Pumpkin Man back to Cromwell…But is the demon Kurbis more than she, or anyone in the town, ever truly bargained for? Some legends might be better off staying just that.

It’s honestly hard to choose what I enjoyed the most about this movie! The aesthetic of it was absolutely perfect. I’ve always had trouble explaining what it is that some movies are able to do that captures the essence of Halloween so perfectly, I usually just refer to it as a movie having it, and The Pumpkin Man has it in spades. You truly feel like you’re living Halloween and the days leading up to it, and that’s so important to me when it comes to watching a Halloween film! (I’ve seen plenty that look like they were filmed on June 22nd, and it takes you so far out of the moment!) I’m also not sure if I’ve ever actually seen a pumpkin antagonist like Kurbis before.

Also, I’m not sure how the filmmakers pulled this off, but I absolutely love that The Pumpkin Man plays out like a horror film, and has its dark, somewhat gorey moments, it somehow also manages to provide all of the nostalgic feels. Somehow I managed to feel both like I was watching an exciting horror but also something like an episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? or Goosebumps at the exact same time. This movie has such a duality to it that I’m not sure I’ve ever quite seen before! It truly felt like watching something made for the kids that grew up watching spooky things; as if these old programs grew up with us. If you’re a 90s spooky kid like me, I can recommend The Pumpkin Man on those feelings alone!

I also have to add that I loved the little Easter eggs in this movie that were little nods to other Halloween-themed movies, such as the town being called “Cromwell” like the family name in Halloweentown, or the teachers’s last name being “Leota”, as in The Haunted Mansion. And I also saw quite a few decorations I recognized, many of which I actually own. I mean, in a movie about an anthropomorphic pumpkin, would you really expect any less?

All in all, I am absolutely honored to have had the opportunity to view such a wonderful Halloween movie early, and I have no doubt in my mind that The Pumpkin Man is going to become a go-to movie for myself and many others within the Halloween community. If you want Halloween vibes, I can assure you you will find them…and probably feel some amazing nostalgia, too!

The Pumpkin Man is available to order from Scream Team Releasing starting today. You can also check out the trailer and the award winning short film while you wait for your copy to arrive!

Stay spooky, my friends.

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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