Bewitching Gifts For Your Favorite Witch

The word "witch" means different things to different people, but to me it simply means someone who is fiercely independent, empowered, creates their own magic, and has a fierce respect for nature and the elements. Of course, I also must acknowledge that witchcraft is rooting in history and different cultures, with each culture having different variations of what "witch" means to them.

With that being said, I've rounded up a list of creators whose wares will wow anyone who is witchy AF, from those deeply rooted in the spiritual side to others who just like to dip their toes in the magical pool. Wherever they land, below you will find gifts that will help bring out the magic in anyone!

Art Inspired By La Befana, The Italian Christmas Witch

To me, La Befana is an underappreciated Christmas figure that should be just as popular as Krampus! Originating in Italy, La Befana, aka the Christmas Witch, is a legend thousands of years old. As the story goes, an older woman lived in a village that the Magi passed through on their journey to deliver gifts to the newborn Jesus Christ. Many people followed the Magi with their own gifts to deliver to the newborn messiah, but this woman did not join them as she was too busy with her housework. Once she realized her mistake, she ran out of her house with her broom and presents to try to catch up to the Magi, but it was too late. Ever since then on the eve of January 6th, the Epiphany, the woman who would become La Befana flies from house to house on her broomstick, delivering all the gifts she wasn't able to give to the newborn Jesus to good children.

Living in an Italian household, I grew up with this story and looked forward to La Befana's visits every year (as long as I had been good!). I love everything La Befana still, and hers is one of my favorite Christmas legends. In honor of La Befana, I've rounded up some artwork inspired by her from a variety of artists. I am so glad her name is becoming more and more recognized and love sharing her story!

Check out art inspired by La Befana below:

20 Creepy Calendars for 2020

I am one of those people that adores wall calendars - I even have multiple calendars in different rooms of my house! I am a very visual person, and wall calendars work so much better for me instead of using my phone calendar or even a planner. I love the physicality of wall calendars and how I can see right in front of my face if I have an event or appointment scheduled. I grew up organizing my life on calendars, so from the time I was pretty young I would gleefully look forward to receiving a calendar for Christmas.

I love continuing this tradition and gifting myself a brand new calendar around the holidays. I always take great pleasure in picking out the next year's calendar for myself, which is why I love sharing creepy calendars with you every year! In a way, it is kinda like we are shopping together for calendars, and how fun is that?!

So anyways, if you are old-skool nerdy like me, take a look at 20 creepy-cute calendars I've had my eye on and let me know which one is your favorite!

Animated Halloween Video Featuring Sam Heimer's Artwork + Harley Poe's "Pagan Holiday"

I'm posting this a few days late, but this video by Nocturnaloner featuring Sam Heimer's artwork and "Pagan Holiday" music by Harley Poe is a perfect way to kick off October! If you're a long-time reader, you may recognize Nocturnaloner's name from past Halloween seasons (you can check out past videos I've featured here, here, and here!). He painstakingly animates all his videos and sets them to atmospheric music. I simply adore his magical videos that are imbued with the spooky spirit! See his latest creation below:

Sneak Peek of the I Like Scary Movies Interactive Experience

Want a chance to live in your favorite horror movies like The Shining, Nightmare on Elm Street, Beetlejuice, IT, and The Lost Boys? If you're in LA, you are in luck, as the new art installation called I Like Scary Movies, opens tomorrow, Thursday, April 4th! This time, the horror fans get their very own selfie museum, complete with recreations of some of your favorite scenes, characters, and set pieces from iconic horror films. Take a tunnel down to the sewers to float with Pennywise from IT: Chapter One, get trapped in the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, go down to the boiler room from Nightmare on Elm Street to sit on Freddy's throne and flee with his larger than life glove, head to the Murder Capital of the World to hang in the lair of The Lost Boys, and brush up on your Handbook for the Recently Deceased in the afterlife waiting room of Beetlejuice!

I was invited to get a sneak peek of this exhibit last night and couldn't wait to share my photos with you here as well as my general impressions of the experience. My hope is that it will give you a taste of what to expect from this fun experience, or, if you are unable to attend, hopefully you can live a bit vicariously through these photographs. I'll walk you through the exhibit below:

10 Things I'm Loving This March

Hi fiends, hope you are having a spooktacular March! Believe it or not, I've been enjoying a bunch of Halloween-related stuff this month! It feels like Springoween! The month, I went to a haunted house, saw a great horror movie, drooled over some new Halloween stamps that are coming out later this year, scored some amazing new artwork, subscribed to a rad Halloween membership club, and so much more.

As I've been doing on a monthly basis with these "ten things" posts, I'm sharing 10 items I'm loving this month. This practice encourages me to be grateful for the little (and big) things in my life and also give me a chance to share some cool things with you!

See the 10 Things I'm Loving This March below:

The Order of the Thinned Veil Halloween Memberships Unveiled

If you've read this blog for a while, you might remember me gushing about The Order of the Thinned Veil, a Halloween club that offers tiered memberships and exclusive art as part of their packages. Founded by artists and Halloween lovers Jason McKittrick and Sam Heimer, The Order of the Thinned Veil has entered its third year and has just unveiled its 2019 membership packages. You can choose from three different tiers of membership, and all come with some truly gorgeous artwork and sculptures. Check out details on the ghoulish goodies below:

Bethany Lowe Designs Halloween 2019 Preview

Bethany Lowe Designs just unveiled their wholesale catalog for their vintage-inspired Halloween 2019 collections and it is so delightful to get a peek at Halloween goodies when it is still wintertime! Though these are only for wholesalers and aren't available for consumers yet, these designs are something to look forward to when they hit stores next fall.

Bethany Lowe Designs began in 1985 with the artist's vision of creating unique, original, vintage-style folk art and holiday designs for the wholesale industry. At that time, very few companies were creating this distinct style and look. Bethany Lowe Designs gained a following of collectors and admirers throughout the years, and in recent years the resurgence of the vintage folk-art style has led to even more spotlight on this brand, who showcases other artists' work as well.

The 2019 Halloween catalog offers us a glimpse into the whimsical artwork and decor of Bethany Lowe Designs, along with other artists like Chicken Lips and Johanna Parker! Some of the designs showcased are old favorites while others are boo-tiful new editions, but all of them will give you a burst of Halloween joy just be looking at them! Check out some snippets from the catalog below:

Valentine's Day Gifts for Dark Hearts

While Valentine's Day has never been my favorite holiday, it is slowly growing on me, especially with all the delectably dark products we get to treat ourselves or our spooky someones to this time of year!

There are lots of ways to show your love, and an eerie adorable gift is the perfect start. Whether you want to profess your adoration to the one you love, your admiration to your best friend, or want to treat yourself, I've rounded up some gorgeously gothic items to perfect for your favorite dark heart.

How To Decorate For A Gothic Valentine's Day

While it seems that Valentine's Day is often an over-commercialized holiday full of annoying fluff and pink stuff, you'll be glad to know that spooky kids like us can still express love in our own delightfully dark way! We can even decorate for Valentine's Day by using some gothic decor that blends in and enhances our already dark decor styles.

The good news is that there are lots of gorgeously gothic items available to make sure you keep it creepy this Valentine's Day! I've found products and ideas for you that will definitely help set the macabre mood for a spooky Valentine's Day, browse them below:

13 Horror Valentine's Day Cards For Your Spooky Sweetie

Horror fans want love, too, and the perfect way to show them you care is by giving them a horror-themed Valentine's Day card this year! I've rounded up 13 of the kookiest and spookiest horror-themed Valentine's Day cards for your spooky sweetie!

Make them yours with these killer Valentine's Day cards!

Creepy Calendars for 2019

I am one of those people that MUST have a physical wall calendar - I love writing out plans and seeing what is coming up without having to look at my phone. I guess this is probably old-school at this point, but I just love physical calendars! I never got into planners, but with calendars I am obsessed! I love picking out new ones every year, and of course I love the ones with a darker aesthetic or ones that align more with my tastes. This year, I've picked out calendars that vary from bats and cats to sacred sites to haunted places to cult films to moon magic to true crime to classic monsters to Gorey art and beyond - pretty much everything that could tickle fellow darklings' hearts!

Below you'll find 13 calendars I've chosen for 2019 - now I just need to narrow it down so I can pick a few for my own office walls! Let me know which ones are your favorites...

20 Goth Gifts for Darklings

Let's face it, sometimes shopping for gothlings can be a difficult task, even if it is for yourself or someone you love. Luckily, I've scoured some of my favorite spooky shops and picked products that will delight the recipient. These items range from adornments to home decor to art to bath and body products and more! I've also made sure to include a wide range of prices, from small stocking-stuffers to more extravagant presents. As always, all items I've selected are vegan and cruelty-free.

Whether you are shopping for yourself or your significant other, check out the 20 eerie items below that are perfect for the strange and unusual.

Spooky Halloween Home Tour: My Boo-tiful Bedroom

My bed and my sweet prince Havoc

Happy Halloween Eve Eve, fiends! Earlier today I took you on a haunted home tour of my living (dead) room and creepy kitchen, and I also wanted to share my boo-tiful bedroom with you. This is where I dream at night of moonlit graveyards, friendly ghosts and monsters, autumn forests lit in reds, yellows, and oranges, misty pumpkin patches, and other delightful dreams. It is where I get ready every morning for the day ahead, put together my to-do lists, and write my blog posts. It is my serene space where I listen to music, relax, and gaze out the second-story window into the leaves of a tree. I love taking naps with my cat Havoc underneath the orange lights and soft pumpkin glow, with the window open and the wind rustling the leaves of the tree.

Enough with me babbling on, though, and onto the photos of my boo-tiful bedroom:

Spooky Halloween Home Tour: My Living (Dead) Room and Creepy Kitchen

Today, on the day before Halloween, I wanted to take you on a tour of my spooky home! It has been dressed up a bit for Halloween, but despite a few banners and extra decor, it looks like this all year-round. I love creeping it real all year, so why not leave up the decor that brings me happiness and joy?! I especially love leaving the lights up all year as they make it feel so cozy and warm! And of course I love collecting eerie artwork to adorn my walls.

You may remember I shared my living room with you all last year, so I thought I would start there since it is the focal point of my spooky home and what you see as soon as you enter through the front door. We have a soft black couch that I love to sink into after a long day. It is piled high with pillows and blankets for maximum comfort while watching horror movies. I have pumpkins arranged around the TV, twinkle lights strung up around the room, and pieces of art, candles, and small decorations on shelves to create my perfect spooky sanctuary.

Behind the couch there is a vintage church organ that belongs to Mister Spooky as well as the bookshelves that hold my movie collection and some of my favorite books. Beyond the living room is the kitchen, where I somehow manage to squeeze in my collection of Halloween mugs and tableware and cook our vegan meals.

Take a peek at both my spooky living room and kitchen below:

The Stay At Home Girlfriend Zine #29 - Halloween 2018 Edition

My friend Kendy P. (aka MissMuffCake) creates some incredible zines (several which I've had the pleasure of contributing to or featuring here, like Cemetery Gates volumes three and five and Catsploitation). I recently had the pleasure of contributing a Halloween playlist to her latest zine, The Stay At Home Girlfriend volume 29. I just received my copy and it is packed full of Halloween treats! Get a sneak peek below...

Pageant of the Monsters Halloween Haunt

The Pageant of the Monsters returns to Laguna Beach only once every five years, and 2018 is one of the years it appears at the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts. It features a macabre marketplace, sinister sideshow, eerie arts and creepy crafts, and a haunted house walk-through the backstage of the theater. The event runs only four nights, on October 26th, 27th, 28th, and 31st. There are only two nights left of the event, and you can read more about my visit there below!

Jack-o-Punkin Halloween Puppets by FoamFoolery

How cool is this custom-carved and handmade Halloween puppet by FoamFoolery? I have never seen anything quite like it and it is so unique! This spooktacular Jack-o-Punkin puppet was sent to me by Seth Chappell, the creator and puppeteer behind FoamFoolery, a company that specializes in making custom puppets. Seth makes custom puppets for clients and is behind many puppets inspired by metal musicians. His puppets were featured in an Author and Punisher video and he also creates his own metal videos with his puppet band Throwing Goats, with some pretty big guest stars from metal providing music for the videos (check out FoamFoolery on YouTube)!

Nights of the Jack Lights Up Halloween

There is nothing quite like a jack-o-lantern burning bright on Halloween...especially if it is hundreds of lit jack-o-lanterns expertly carved! This year just north of Los Angeles you'll be able to enjoy the spooky spectacle of Nights of the Jack, where you can wander on a trail and enjoy thousands of jack-o-lanterns, from huge dinosaurs built from pumpkins to pumpkins carved to depict your favorite horror characters!

Nights of the Jack will be held on the grounds of King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, California and will feature a half mile trail studded with hand-carved and illuminated jack-o-lanterns. Bask in that orange glow that is quintessentially Halloween this season at Nights of the Jack!

More details below...

Halloween 2018 at Roger's Gardens: A Hogwarts-Themed Boutique

One of my Halloween traditions is going to Roger's Gardens to check out their Halloween displays that are unveiled every Labor Day weekend. This year, they have a Harry Potter-inspired boutique decorated to look like Hogwarts, similar to last year's displays. Despite repeating the same theme as last year, I was excited to check out this year's displays.

When I attended opening day, I glad to see that the displays were different than last year's, though still Hogwarts-themed. It was a magical experience getting to be immersed in incredible rooms filled with potions, spellbooks, owls, and fantastic beasts. You can see photos from this year's Roger's Gardens Halloween boutique below: