Midsummer Scream Unveils Attractions for 2017 Halloween Festival

I am getting so excited for the end of July, when Halloween fans will come together to celebrate all that is spooky and kooky about the hallowed holiday at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, California!

Today Midsummer Scream unveiled their attractions that will be showcased July 29th and 30th at the Long Beach Convention Center! Read all about the tricks and treats they have in store for us in their press release below:

The Carving - Short Halloween Horror Film

Want a fun-size treat to satiate your hunger for Halloween? Look no further than the horror short film The Carving, set on Halloween night (thank you to The Horrors of Halloween for sharing this awesome short)! It captures the Halloween spirit and delivers some chills in just a little over two minutes, and it is the perfect spooky jolt if you are missing the Halloween season.

The Carving is written and directed by Jarret Blinkhorn, who also composed the rad 80s-inspired synth score for the short. I love how the short is structured in kind of flashback fashion as we follow in the footsteps of the killer through a house decked out for Halloween night. It was really different and clever how the story was told, and that last frame is just beautifully horrific!

Watch it below:

Catsploitation: A Zine Celebrating Horror Fans and Their Cats

I recently contributed to a zine called Catsploitation that celebrates horror fans and their cats and had such a blast! Each contributor was interviewed about their favorite horror movies and their cats. Each page of the zine showcases the interviewees' taste in movies, photos of them and their cats, and what horror movie characters and movies best describe their cats' personalities. The zine also contains an article on horror and sci-fi movies that feature cats as main protagonists or antagonists. Take a peek at this meow-velous zine below:

Monsters Come Together as ScareLA Celebrates Five Years and Moves to Larger Venue

One of the things I'm eagerly looking forward to this summer is attending the Halloween conventions here in Southern California, and ScareLA was the first ever Halloween convention here! This year it is not only celebrating its fifth year, but has also announced due to rapid growth that it is moving to a larger venue to accommodate all the Halloween fiends!

Check out the latest press release below:

5 Spooky Haunts in Orange County, California - Guest Post on Spooky Little Halloween

Spooky Little Halloween is one of my favorite Halloween blogs, so I was very excited when I was invited to write a guest post for SLH's summertime #TravelTuesday feature. I decided to stick close to home and write about five spooky haunts in Orange County, featuring historic and haunted cemeteries, a mission home to several ghosts, a creepy canyon, and the "happiest place on earth" where many choose to spend eternity.

Here's a little taste from my article:

The Order of the Thinned Veil: Trick or Treat Membership Box

A few months back I wrote a post on The Order of the Thinned Veil, a Halloween appreciation society for like-minded worshipers of the best holiday! This Halloween club is run by the artist and creator of The Cryptocurium Jason McKittrick and co-founded by artist Sam Heimer. It offers three tiers of membership packages, Candy Corn, Trick or Treat, and All Hallows. Each level has its own perks like exclusive artwork, certificates, hand-painted figurines, invitations to special events, and more Halloween goodies. When you join, you pay a one-time fee, receive one membership package (this isn't a reoccurring monthly subscription), and are a member for the year. Throughout the year you receive access to members-only perks and events.

I ordered the Trick of Treat level membership back in April, and that level membership box was shipped out last week and I received mine this weekend. Opening it up was like getting a dose of Halloween spirit and I felt such a rush of giddiness seeing all that black and orange! I may be stuck in the middle of summer, but joining The Order of the Thinned Veil made me feel realize no matter how much I hate summer, Halloween is right around the corner! I wanted to share my Halloween joy with you and let you take a peek at the treats I received - check out my unboxing photos below:

Spooky Travels: San Diego Mini Get-Away

San Diego's Museum of Man at Balboa Park

Apologies that I have not been updating as much as I would like here, but things have been so busy lately (in a good way) that I haven't had much spare time to do things I enjoy, like write here! I did want to share with you a mini get-away I was able to take last month. I recently got promoted at work, so I decided to treat myself to a quick weekend get-away in San Diego. San Diego isn't very far from me (about an hour and a half to two hours), but I hardly ever get down there. I had been wanting to try some new vegan restaurants down there, so I booked an AirBnB for Mister Spooky and I and we took a Friday off to visit SD.

Goth Essentials for Surviving Summer

I can't believe summer is already here, it feels like the spring went by so fast! Thankfully here in Orange County it is still relatively cool due to June Gloom (swoon!), but warmer weather has been creeping up on us (it will be in the 80s the rest of the week) and as soon as July hits temps will be shooting up to the 90s and 100s (ugh). I hate hot weather so I do all I can to stay cool while still keeping it spooky during the unbearable summer months.

Below I've collected some summer goth essentials to help you keep creepin' in the summer heat, including pool and beach accessories, some dark but gauzy clothing (I don't care how hot it is, I'm still wearing black), items that will protect your skin from the sun, boo-tiful bags to keep all these ghoulish goodies in, and much more macabre merch to add to your wish list!