31 Days of Halloween: Zombie Prom Party Prep!

Hi ghouls and boils! I'm running around like a crazy person getting ready for tonight's Zombie Prom! There are a few more decorating touches to be done, baking/cooking and last-minute costume alterations going on!

Whew! I can't wait for tonight, though!

Of course I couldn't let a day go by without a post, so I wanted so share some photos I've taken while prepping for tonight's Halloween party.

Check out how our "Romero High School" is coming along for Zombie Prom:

Entry way

 "A Night to Dismember"

Prom dress

 Caution: Zombies Ahead

 We will dance by candlelight

 Welcome to Romero High's Zombie Prom 2012

A Night to Dismember

Spooky wall

 Beware!

 Grrrrr arghhhhh!

Spooky cloth

 Caution: Zombies!

 Photo booth

 Blood Red Room

Batty bathroom

I can't wait to share more pics of the actual party with you! 

What are your plans for the evening? Are you attending any Halloween parties? 

31 Days of Halloween: Bloody Zombie Fingers Recipe

These cookies are always a huge hit at our parties and they are going to be perfect for our Zombie Prom this year! They can also be called witches fingers, but for the sake of our zombie-themed party I switched the name to "Zombie Fingers".

They have a sweet almond taste and the crispy consistency of biscotti (just not as hard or crunchy)...plus, they are the perfect finger food (bwahahahaha...sorry, couldn't resist!).

I've adapted the recipe from a few sources from the web (namely here and here!).

Bloody Zombie Fingers

Ingredients:

1 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
Vegan equivalent of 1 egg (1 1/2 teaspoon of EnerG egg replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons of water, or Vegg replacement, etc.)
1 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
Red decorating gel or red raspberry jam

Directions:

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the egg replacer, almond and vanilla extracts until well-blended (make sure you don’t have any lumps in your egg replacer!). Add the flour, baking soda and salt. If the mixture is dry, you can splash in a tablespoon of non-dairy milk. Roll in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill for 30 or so minutes.

Once 30 minutes are up, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets (I needed two big ones) with parchment paper. Take a quarter of the dough at a time and mold it into a finger shape. The fingers will expand while cooking, so make sure to shape it no larger than pinky-sized and about two to three inches long. Use a knife to add knuckle creases (use your own finger as reference for where to put the knuckle creases) and pinch the dough between knuckles so it creates the shape of a finger. For the finishing touch, press a blanched almond into the fingertip to act as the nail.

Place cookies on the baking sheet, pop into your pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom. Once the cookies are completely cooled, remove the almond nail and add a dollop of red gel/raspberry jam, then squish the almond back on! Then add some red gel/raspberry jam to the end of the finger for a bloody severed finger look! Grrrrr, arghhhhh...bloody zombie fingers!

These keep well in airtight containers, so you can make a day or two ahead of time if you wish!

31 Days of Halloween: Vintage Halloween Cartoons

What is it that I love so much about vintage Halloween cartoons? I love how they are creepy-cute, balancing silliness with scares. I love their nostalgic charm and thinking about how many people have enjoyed them, considering some go back as far as the 1920s!

Most of all, I love the Halloween atmosphere and spirit they all seem to exude. Watching any one of these puts me in the Halloween spirit!

I wish there was a box set of these vintage Halloween cartoons, but for now we can watch most of them on YouTube.

Check out a few of my favorites below:

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween Music Mix Tapes

Does anyone use 8tracks? I discovered it just a few months ago and since then have pretty much been obsessed! It is a site where individual users create mix tapes (or playlists) and post them for all to enjoy.

Well, I don't need to tell you that it has been perfect for Halloween season! I've been listening to oodles of spooky mixes, but it finally dawned on me that I should create a few All Hallow's Eve playlists myself!

Below you'll find a few I've created, but you can check out more on my 8tracks profile!

13 Haunting Halloween Songs from thespookyvegan on 8tracks Radio.

Halloween Music for Monsters from thespookyvegan on 8tracks Radio.

Trick 'r' Treat Halloween Mix from thespookyvegan on 8tracks Radio.

They're Coming to Get You, Barbara! from thespookyvegan on 8tracks Radio.

Do you have an 8tracks profile?

What music do you listen to during the Halloween season?

31 Days of Halloween: The Ultimate List of Essential Halloween Movies

UPDATE: I made a bigger, better list of Halloween-themed flicks in 2016!

Lots of people watch spooky movies during October, but I prefer to watch Halloween-themed flicks. I don't want to watch just any old horror movie....that just simply won't do! In October and the months leading up to it, I prefer to watch stuff that is set during Halloween, features Halloween as a plot point or at the very least features Halloween in a scene or two.

In past 31 Days of Halloween posts I've reviewed countless Halloween flicks, but it occurred to me that I should gather a master list of essential Halloween-themed movies to watch this time of year! That way every year I can look back and use it as a checklist to make sure I get my Halloween fix (and so can you, dear readers!)!

The list below contains all kinds of Halloween-themed films, including some TV specials and cartoons. There are good ones and bad ones, everything from horror movies to kid's cartoons. The one thing that ties them together is that they all feature Halloween! This list isn't all-inclusive, so I'm sure I've missed lots of movies, TV specials and cartoons - please feel free to leave anything I left out in the comments!

Ultimate List of Essential Halloween Movies:

Arsenic and Old Lace

Abandoned Mine (2013)

All Hallow's Eve (two films - 2007 and 2013)

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Betty Boop’s Hallowe’en Party (1933)

Boo (2005)

Bugs Bunny’s Howl-oween Special (1978)

Candy (short) (2010)

The Crow (1994)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Disney’s Halloween Treat (1982)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

Every Other Day is Halloween (documentary) (2010)

The Fat Albert Halloween Special (1977)

Frayed (2007)

Fun Size (2012)

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (1985)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns (1996)

Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask, parts 1 and 2 (1995)

Hack-o-Lantern (aka Halloween Night) (1988)

Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns

Hallow’s End (2003)

Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (documentary) (2006)

Halloween (1978) 

Halloween 2 (1981)

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Halloween: H20 (1998)

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)

Halloween Night (2006)

The Halloween that Almost Wasn't (1979)

Halloween: The Happy Haunting of America (documentary) (2007)

Halloweentown (1998)

Halloweentown High (2004)

Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001)

Halloweentown: Return to Halloweentown (2006)

Halloweentown

The Halloween Kid (2011)

The Halloween Tree (1993)

The Haunted History of Halloween (documentary) (1997)

Hell Night (1981)

Hellbent (2005)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

The Hollow (2005)

Hollow Gate (1988)

Home Movie (2008)

Idle Hands (1999)

It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To (2009)

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

Jack-O (1995)

Lady in White (1988)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1977)

Mad Monster Party (1967)

May (2000)

The Midnight Hour (1985)

Monster House (2006)

Mostly Ghostly (2008)

Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (2014)

Mad Monster Party

Mr. Halloween (2007)

Murder Party (2007)

Night of the Demons (1988)

Night of the Demons (2009)

Night of the Demons 2 (1994)

Night of the Pumpkin (2010)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)

The Pumpkin Karver (2006)

Pumpkinhead (1988)

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It (2007)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2010)

Roseanne's Halloween Special (various season and available on DVD)

Satan’s Little Helper (2004)

The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror (various seasons)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Tower of Terror (2007)

Trick or Treat (1986)

Trick 'r Treat (2009)

Under Wraps (1997)

When Good Ghouls Go Bad (2001)

Lady in White

UPDATE: Check out my bigger, better list of Halloween-themed movies!

31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Popcorn Brain Balls

[source]

I stumbled upon  a picture of popcorn balls and immediately thought that they looked like braiiiiiiins (maybe I should lay off the zombie flicks for a while...but who am I kidding? I could never do that haha!)! That is how inspiration for these Popcorn “Brain” Balls was born!

All you really need for this recipe is plain popcorn, marshmallows, butter and some red food coloring! Nothing could be easier...or ooey-gooey delicious! Recipe below veganized/adapted from this recipe and various online sources (I lost the other sources after cobbling together this recipe...if you know the other sources please tell me so I can give proper credit!).

Popcorn Brain Balls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup un-popped popcorn (or about 4 cups plain popped corn)
6 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
5 cups miniature vegan marshmallows (I use Dandies)

For decoration:

Red food coloring
Powdered sugar
Water

Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with vegan shortening, butter or margarine. Set aside.
2. If you are using popped corn, skip to step #3. If using un-popped corn, add vegetable oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Put popcorn in prepared pan.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in marshmallows a little at a time and stir constantly until melted. Pour mixture over popcorn and mix with spoon to coat evenly.
4. Let mixture cool slightly. Coat your hands in butter or grease and mix popcorn and mixture with your hands so that it is evenly coated.
5. Form popcorn into 8 balls.
6. If you want, you can use a mixture of a few drops of red food coloring (make sure it is vegan or use natural food coloring from plants), a few teaspoons of powdered sugar (again, make sure to buy a vegan brand) and a little bit of water to make a paste. Use the paste to draw veins on your brain balls! Alternately, you could just add a few drops of red to your butter and marshmallow mixture to give your brain balls a nice pinkish red tint! 

31 Days of Halloween: Vintage Halloween Photographs from Life Magazine

Can you tell I love vintage-y Halloween things? I can't help it, there is just something so neat about looking back at how Halloween used to be celebrated!

Today, I want to share some old Halloween photographs that Life Magazine has taken in past years. These nostalgic photos show some spiffy Halloween costumes and decorations from decades gone by. I've compiled a few of my favorites below for a visual treat!

31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Pumpkin Pie Shake Recipe

Octobers in Southern California are usually pretty warm...unfortunately temperatures still hover around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and we rarely get a cool, crisp autumn. If you are like me and still want to enjoy the warm flavors of the fall season while still staying cool, then try this vegan pumpkin pie shake recipe! It is like a pumpkin pie in milkshake form!

I adapted the recipe after looking at several pumpkin smoothie recipes online (namely this one by Feed Me I'm Cranky and this one by Happy Herbivore). I wanted a richer, thicker shake so I added some vanilla ice cream and this new autumn creation was born!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Shake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree (I used the can version, but I think prepared fresh pumpkin would taste even better!)
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup vegan vanilla ice cream (I used Coconut Bliss in Island Vanilla) plus a scoop to add to your blended shake
1/2 cup vegan non-dairy milk (try a richer, denser non-dairy milk - I used rice milk)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for sprinkling on top
Ice

Directions:

Throw everything in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. If shake is too thick, add more non-dairy milk. If you like a bit more sweetness, try adding a teaspoon or so of pure maple syrup.

Pour into a tall glass and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired. Drink and enjoy!

Recipe makes enough for two if you feel like sharing!

31 Days of Halloween: 15 Underrated Zombie Movies

There are SO many zombie movies out there…good ones, bad ones, silly ones, serious ones, traditional ones and ones that try to take a fresh approach to zombie lore (fast zombies, talking zombies, etc.).  SO many to choose from!

This month I've already given you my two cents on my favorite zombie movies, but those were only 10 picks…I could probably pick 50 favorite zombie movies! I feel like I left a lot off the list that deserved to be there, so I wanted to compile a list of zombie flicks that I feel don’t get the attention they deserve. Hopefully you discover something new and check out something you may have not given a chance before.

Disclaimer: All you zombie purists keep an open mind…some of these might not be “traditional” zombie films, but I firmly believe they all do fall under the genre, no matter if the zombie-ism is attributed to virus, aliens, voodoo, space dust, apocalypse, evil spirits, radiation, etc., etc. So please don’t give me your “this is not TECHNICALLY a zombie film” speech. The management thanks you.

1. Dead and Breakfast – Part slapstick, part musical, ALL AWESOME this horror-comedy has a very special place in my heart! It is full of quirk, Jeremy Sisto (swoon!) and scheming, singing zombies who are possessed by an evil spirit. I love the unique approach they took with this zombie film and I love the fun-lovin’ tone too! And the songs by Zachariah and the Lobos Riders are icing on the cake!

2. Versus – This crazy import from Japan is described as a “supernatural action film” and features lots of arterial blood sprays, numerous fight scenes and creepy zombies. You just gotta see it to believe it! 

3. Zombie Strippers – Ok, hear me out - I thought I would hate this movie when I first saw it (and actually avoided watching it for a while), but instead I love its campiness! It is so wacky and in-your-face that I can’t help but love it! Robert Englund puts on one hell of a hilarious performance as the strip club owner and Jenna Jameson is surprisingly fantastic as the lead zombified stripper. Give it a chance.

4. Deadgirl – This is one of the most somber films on the list and is a devastating movie that brutally portrays the loss of innocence. I’ve only seen this once and have no plans to watch it again, not because it is bad, but because it is so unflinching in its psychological terror on the viewer. Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart.

5. The Beyond – I love Lucio Fulci’s films and The Beyond is no exception. It is lesser well-known than Zombi, but its surreal atmosphere and nightmarish visuals make it a cult classic. The storyline isn't that linear (like most Fulci films), but the gore and eeriness of the film make it a standout. City of the Living Dead (another Fulci film that is part of the unofficial trilogy of Beyond, Zombi and City) is a close runner-up and also features some gooey gore.

6. Wild Zero – Want an absolutely WTF, crazy zombie flick? This raucous rock ‘n’ roll nightmare from Japan is little-known, but boy, is it one gleefully weird zombie movie! It features lottsa punk fashion, oddball characters, an evil villain in short-shorts, real-life rock ‘n’ roll band Guitar Wolf, lasers and of course flesh-eating zombies galore. It is just too weird and awesome for me not to absolutely adore!

7. Fido – I love this film’s Pleasantville-by-way-of-Monroeville feel and how it gently pokes fun at both a by-gone era and zombie films while offering another different view on zombies. Plus it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling at the end, which can’t be said for most zombie movies!

8. Night of the Living Dorks – An import from Germany, this fun zombie movie follows a group of nerds as they become zombies and realize it isn't so bad being undead...except for those embarrassing moments where your body parts start to fall off in front of the prettiest girl in school...

9. Dance of the Dead – Another high school zombie romp, this one features the enticing combination of zombies + prom! It's a fun, quirky film that you actually appreciate more on repeated viewings. I loved rooting for the nerdy characters that end up saving the day and who doesn't love zombies dressed to the nines for prom? 

10. Dead Snow – One of the best “Nazi zombie” films I've ever seen (yes, there are more than just this one)! I know this flick was popular when it first came out, but a few years later it seems to have faded a bit. I think that it definitely deserves more, especially with its gleefully gratuitous gore (wow, say that 5 times fast!) and how it pokes fun at the horror genre. It is over-the-top and just damn good!

11. Hide and Creep – This low-budget indie film is about rednecks and zombies. Need I say more? Ok, how about that it is both clever, hilarious and has a unique take on zombies. It may not be the most polished of the bunch and it does have its pacing problems, but if you can overlook those issues it is definitely a fun little zombie film!

12. I Walked with a Zombie - This eerie and atmospheric film from the 1930s is one of the first few films to feature zombies, though these are of the Haitian variety. This is a stunning film, though, and I feel that not enough horror fans have seen it. Another honorable mention is White Zombie with Bela Lugiosi, but I feel I Walked with a Zombie is the more under-appreciated, lesser-known film that deserves more attention.

13. Night of the Comet - Like, this film is totally tubular, but it is, like, a total bummer that more people haven't seen it! Two plucky girls do battle after the world as they know it is destroyed by (what else) a comet, leaving behind just them and some zombies. Sure, it's a little dated but it is still a whole heck of a lotta fun and filled with '80s goodness!

14. Zombieland - I know a lot of people LOVE this movie, so you might be wondering why it made my "underrated" list...well, even though tons of people are like, "f*ck yeah, Zombieland!", I don't think they appreciate just how AMAZING the film is. Even though it has a standard "zombie apocalypse" theme, everything from its slow-mo zombie attacks to its "rules" made it an instant zombie classic. The zombie rules will be quoted 20+ years down the road and this just isn't some flash-in-the-pan zombie film! 

15. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead - How in the world could I leave off this awesomely offensive Troma offering? The spirits of slaughtered chickens coming back to infect the slobbering masses chow down on them? I'M SO IN! Yes, this is also a musical, but I am quite fond of musicals, especially when they come with a high gross-out factor like Poultrygeist. 

This post is part of the Virtual Zombie Walk. Please visit the other sites participating:

Zombies Everywhere
[Retro-Zombie]
Halloween Blues
The Southern Northerner
Martha's Journey
Annie Walls
GingerRead Review
App'y Talk
Kweeny Todd
Jenny's House of Horrors
Bubba's Place
Fictional Candy
herding cats burning soup
Author Sherry Soule Blog
Paranormal Research Group Blog
Adult Urban Fantasy by Sherry Soule
Moonlight Publishing Blog
Candid Canine
Ghost Hunting Theories
Above the Norm
A Dust Bunny In The Wind
Faith McKay
Zombob's Zombie News and Movie Reviews
Flesh From The Morgue
The Living Dark
Some One Else's Cook
Stumptown Horror
Forget About TV, Grab a Book
Zombie Dating Guide
Strange State
The Paranormalist - Renae Rude
Idée Fixe
Random Game Crafts
WhiteRoseBud's Tumblr
Gnostalgia
Book Me!
Carmen Jenner Author
Sarasota Zombie Pub Crawl
Not Now...Mommy's Reading
Love is a Many Flavored Thing
Its On Random
Ellie Potts
Attention Earthlings!
Horror Shock LoliPOP
The Spooky Vegan
The Story In...
DarkSide Detectives Blog
Something wicKED this way comes....
Julie Jansen: science fiction and horror writer
Author/screenwriter James Schannep
The Zombie Lab
Creepy Glowbugg
Pickleope
Sharing Links and Wisdom
Midnyte Reader
This Blog Has A.D.D.
Carol's Creations