MY FAVORITE THINGS: HALLOWEEN SEASON 2026
Well it's that time again folks. Time for me to list off ... 🎵a few of my fav-o-rite thiiiiiiings... ♪♩
A reminder for the uninitiated on how this works.
Over the course of the current year (usually starting about July 5th) I start collecting all the things that the Halloween season has to offer that strike my fancy. The things I like don't have to be brand new, just new to me. Sometimes they just pop up in my searches, or float by my thumb in my social scroll. I then collect these images with screengrabs or "save as"es and paste 'em into a Notes on my phone until this point in the year. Then I do a debrief on all that I've collected in the form of this post. It's mostly for me to just process all the things, but can be an interesting peek inside my spooky brain.
(Note: none of these links are affiliate links or plugs. I just like talking about the things I like.)
Here we go...
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| Photos: DwightsCraft Etsy |
ETSY'S DWIGHT'S CRAFT - SPLIT GLOW PUMPKIN LIGHT:
I'm going to be blunt: most stuff on Etsy I find to be lackluster. And most 3D-printed stuff I think looks just "meh" (it's the 'printing lines' on all the items--- when they can perfect 3D printing without the bumpy lines on everything ---then, THEN!--- I will get excited about 3D printing).
But then I found Dwight's Craft.
And then I found the Split Glow Pumpkin Light
I've seen my share of light up jack o' lanterns. Whether they be blowmolds, or pottery, or porcelain, whathaveyou. But THIS is different.
First, it's a great sculpture: the angled top gives it some dynamics that you don't see in most pumpkins that just sorta sit there. Then it's got the stretchy --what I'll call-- 'pumpkin guts' middle. It evokes the stringy business in the middle of a pumpkin without being ooey OR gooey.
Second, because it's 3D printed you can get it in multiple colors AND sizes. There's a palm-sized version (~6" x 7..5") and then there's a bigger 9"x10" size. That allows for desk space AND decoration sizes. And just look at the colors you can get (the photo is a mashup of some, but not all, the color choices)! I was in love with the orange pumpkin with yellow guts, but then I saw the orange with neon green! It's like a pumpkin patch was planted in some Return of the Living Dead Trioxin. But, hold on, let's not rule out the black pumpkin with the neon green stretchy. Jeez. I love every color combination this thing comes in.
Lastly, IT LIGHTS UP! Or not. You choose. I, of course, would want a wired version and would make one my desklamp. Here's to hoping Dwight creates a bigger one that I would be proud to put on my front porch.
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| Photos: Target |
TARGET HALLOWEEN:
I'm trying something a little different this year, and clumping all the Target stuff I like under one heading.
This. Is. "Target."
Target is my happy place come Halloweentime.
It's the store that wins my affections and I can say with true honesty it doesn't really feel like Halloween until they've stocked their shelves and I've wandered through on a weekday. (Why weekdays? It's quieter. Sometime in the morning (playing a little "life hooky") when everyone has gone off to work or school, just wandering through the fully stocked shelves. Pushing all the "try me" buttons... hefting all the jack o' lanterns and decorations... throwing a few choice bags of carefully selected candies over my shoulder like I'm a prospector slingin' feedbags for my donkey.
Yep. Bliss.
Anyway, Target has a bunch of great stuff this year and I cherry picked my favs.
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| Photos: Target |
SKULL DUDE:
Maybe it's my fascination with a certain Beistle skeleton from my past (YOU CAN READ ABOUT THAT HERE). Actually I have an affinity for various 2D jointed skeletons with a number of prizes in my possession: an 8-Bit Zombie version sporting a Nintendo Power Glove, a 2000s-era Beistle with an orange-hue, etc. Maybe I should make a museum? "The Museum of Jointed Skeletons."
Actually, yep, I would travel to see that.
So these two guys are right up my alley. The one on the right is right out of a Scooby-Doo opening credits montage. You can see it can't you? The camera would be Dutch-angled and pushing in and there would be that long Hanna-Barbera moan sound-effect. Totally.
The guy on the right has accordion arms--- not generally my preference but that neon green and purple combo is just fantastic and overrides any slinky-armed bias I have.
PUMPKIN SKELETON DUDE:
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| Photo: Target |
I love this guy. Seems like he just wants a hug, right? Or maybe he just did a somersault and wants your encouragement? Regardless, I like that they chose to make the jack o' lantern head, sort of a glow-bones-white. But the little light dimples in his eyes give him a friendly puppy-like stare. Yep, I'm takin' this guy home. One please.
And for what it's worth, I apparently have a thing for jack o' lantern-headed skeleton dudes too.
I just posted THIS RECENTLY HERE & ON SOCIALS so I'm noticing my own patterns.
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| Photo: Target |
CANDY BOWL DUDE:
I have a lot of candy bowls. I don't always use them as candy bowls, but --here's the thing-- if I have them around, and put them out as decorations, then I'm going to want to fill them. With candy. And, like I said, I have a lot of candy bowls. So I don't NEED this guy. But I need this guy.
He reminds me of a combination of "Skid" and "Pump" from the classic "Spooky Month" cartoon. (If you don't know what I'm talking about PLEASE GO HERE AND WATCH THE 1ST EPISODE NOW).
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| Photo: Target |
CANDY BOWL:
Did I mention I like candy bowls? Yeah? See above.
Actually this one may go in inspirational materials for a future jack o' lantern carve. If you go through my 20 YEARS OF JACK O' LANTERN CARVES POST you'll see it's reminiscent of the 2012 carve. Tsk. I'm so predictable.
TARGET PUMPKIN CHARGING CABLE & POWER BANK:
This was one of the first things I saw online waaaaay back in July/August.
Any chance I get to Halloween-ify my tech, I'm on it. I try and buy my cables, phone cases, desktop mice & keyboards all in orange or black.
This year Target came out with a line of power banks and 3-in-1 charging cables in a variety of Halloween iconography: there are ghosts, black cats, cauldrons and, best of all, jack o' lanterns. The kicker? They're only FIVE DOLLARS EACH!
I thought they were awesome. And so did the rest of the world, because as of this writing I still have not been able to find the jacks in stores. -sigh-
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| Classic Decks Halloween playing cards (images from their site). |
CLASSIC DECKS - HALLOWEEN PLAYING CARDS:
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| Photo: Hallmark |
HALLMARK IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN SPOOKED TRICK-OR-TREATERS ORNAMENT:
If you've been reading my writing over the years, you know what a big fan I am of the Halloween TV special "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." If I had to pick a moment from the special that is my favorite, it's the opening credits. The gang in their costumes plod along leaf-strewn paths on a starlit night with midnight blue skies. They pass an abandoned building, startling the bats within who swoop out over their heads. Running for cover, they stop when confronted by the visions and sounds of spooky voices, and shimmering, frowning jack o' lanterns.
Though it's only the beginning of the classic special, it's the point in the special that feels most like Halloween night. I can feel the cold air bite my cheeks. The feel of the cold plastic trick or treat bag curled in my fingers and the condensation on the inside of my vacuuformed mask when I watch that opening.
In addition, the music for that section always gets my heart racing. I think it's a sense memory of knowing that as soon as this music ends, and the owl "Hoo-HOO"s its way into the camera to end the scene, it meant the commercial break would start and I'd only have 3 minutes or so to grab whatever snacks I could and slide back in front of the TV, burning my knees on the braided rug.
There's always a lot of merch around "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" every year, regardless if it's a big anniversary year or not. Most of it I admire and then go on my way, but this is the first time my mouth dropped open and I audibly gasped. Well, more "Whuuuu--"ed that 'gasped' per se.
A physical embodiment of my favorite part of the special AND seeing the video of it in action, lighting up the flickering jack o' lanterns and playing the music complete with sound effects? Magical. Great job, Hallmark. This one's a keeper.
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| Photo: Neroone.com |
NERO_ONE'S HALLOWEEN BUCKET STENCIL PACK:
Oh boy we looooove our buckets don't we?
It all started with the McDonald's Boo Pails, but this year everyone has thrown their, er, bucket into the ring: Dunkin' Donuts, Lowe's, Dollar Tree, Petco, Ace Hardware, and Walmart even has tiny buckets.
Aside from the Lowe's glow one, which I LOVE (more on that next) they're all pretty tame. Lacking a little 'je ne sai spooky.'
Enter stencil artist: Nero One.
Nero one has created a trilogy of, what I'll call, "cute but sinister" Halloween stencils specifically to 'Up your Halloween bucket Game. ' The Halloween pack includes a jack o' skull, a black cat, and a witch--- each complete with a symmetrical moon and bat backdrop. (There are a few other Halloween versions, but this is the one that calls to me.)
He even has A QUICK AND HANDY VIDEO showing how to wipe off the mediocre graphics on a 2 gallon bucket and apply the stencil and sealant. It's a craft project that even I can do.
Here's to hoping next year he creates his own version of "The Halloween III" which would be a skull, jack o' lantern, and witch.
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| Photos: Lowe's |
LOWE'S GLOW-IN-THE-DARK HALLOWEEN BUCKET:
Oh Lordy. I'm going to gush about this thing so much it needs a separate post.
GO HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT HOW I'M ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED TO THIS BUCKET!
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| Photo: Hallmark |
DISNEY THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN ORNAMENT:
I've always been fascinated with Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Ever since I first saw it as part of Disney's "Halloween Treat" TV special, it's been locked into my psyche. Having grown up for a time in the Hudson Valley, I had the Scholastic version of the book on my shelf and I had multiple copies of the USPS stamp to ogle over. But Disney's version was the anchor.
So imagine my surprise and delight at finding this Headless Horseman ornament from Hallmark whilst clicking through their Halloween wares.
I have no notes. It's perfect. In a frozen moment it captures that frame from the animation of the Horseman surprising Ichabod before the fateful chase. The horse is fierce and scary... the jack o' lantern is ready to be thrown... the purple cape flaps... fantastic.
And on that note...
CHASING THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN BY JW OCKER BOOK:
I LOVED JW Ocker's previous book A Season with the Witch. The premise was simple and brilliant: the author lived in Salem, MA for the month of October and experienced everything the little 'Halloween Capital of the World' had to offer. The historical tours, the chintzy, the spooky. It's a stunt that I personally have always wanted to pull off myself, so on one particular Halloween season when I was not able to get out to experience it much, I lived vicariously through JW and that book.
The idea of doing the same in Sleepy Hollow, NY (formerly Tarrytown, NY), setting of the legendary story, and experiencing all that IT has to offer for Halloween is another bucket list item (Hey look! There they are again! Buckets!). So though I haven't even read it yet, THIS is my planned pick for my 'Halloween read' this year. (And the book cover taking design inspiration from THAT SAME USPS STAMP IS NOT LOST ON ME.)
KILLER SOUNDS OF HALLOWEEN RISES FROM THE GRAVE ALBUM:
Here's another thing that I'm first in line for, sight unseen--er, or ears unheard: Sean Keller's newest Halloween album "Killer Sounds of Halloween Rises from the Grave."
Since the original "The Killer Sounds of Halloween" album dropped way back in 2019, I've loved these albums. The 2020 drop "Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween" MADE a very pandemic-times non-Halloween ---HALLOWEEN! Seriously, it saved my season.
Here's the TLDR:
The albums spoof various music genres and performers, but the songs are very on-point and not funny (though there is a tongue firmly planted in cheek) and all very Halloween-horror.
Just the other day I was humming the very not-Rob-Zombie-ish "Hate Living, Love Dead" or "Happy Hallof**kin'ween (live)" which is very much not-KISS, not live, but all awesome (by a band called "The Destroyers" --see what they did there?).
Some songs also feature a horror-royalty cameo or two (A Nightmare on Elm Street's Amanda Wyss for example). Fake bands, but real music.
The new album will drop in early October and I can't wait to put it on 'repeat.'
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| Photo: Lemax Collection |
NIGHTMARES VIDEO - HALLOWEEN LEMAX COLLECTION:
Collectible Spooky Towns and Halloween village displays are one of those things that I LOVE to ogle over, but something has always kept me from diving in. Maybe because I know of the endless collecting it spurns, or the steep price tags for single pieces, or maybe I just don't have the room.
Regardless, when I saw this latest Halloween Spooky Town Lemax Collection item it truly tested my resolve. It's a tiny video store, decorated to the gills with horror movie & Halloween accoutrements.
There's a whole story going on in this piece. The store is closing down according to the boarded up windows and signage. But it also comes with a zombie holding a boom box (a clear classic movie reference to Say Anything) and skeletons dancing about.
So did the store close because there's a zombie apocalypse?
Or is it a video store that's well decorated for Halloween and the boarded up windows and signage is part of the store's 'costume?'
Like the ending to John Carpenter's The Thing-- I don't really want to know what's true. As someone who worked at an actual VHS video store back in the day, I love the details on this: the store shelves seen through the window stocked with tapes (or DVDs) to rent, a drop box for late night returns, stacked TVs, AND IT LIGHTS UP! It's nostalgia + Halloween + small collectible.
I may have to get this as a year 'round desktop toy.
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| Photo: Official promo photo from Disney Parks Blog |
HATBOX GHOST PUMPKIN BUCKET:
In this age of 'collectible popcorn buckets' I tend to watch the popcorn buckets float by like bad pitches, and I refuse to swing. "What am I going to do with a giant plastic thing that I won't even put popcorn in?" I say to myself.
"Just what exactly----wait, wha---? A Hatbox Ghost one? From Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride?
You mean, my absolute favorite Disney character whose face scared the crap out of me as a child and made me the Halloween Thing I am today?"
One please.
Oh I have to buy a ticket to a Disney Park too and while supplies last?
Sure, no problem, here's a giant bag of money.
Oh and it LIGHTS UP TOO!
SINESTEЯ'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL OF IMMERSIVE AMBIENCE VIDEOS:
Being a fan of Shudder's "Ghoul Logs" from years past, I've discovered a whole subculture of YouTubers who make their own 'atmospheric ambiance' videos.
The one I've taken a real shining to ('liking to' not 'haunted-hotel-with-blood-soaked-elevator to') is a creator called "SINESTEЯ" who produces hour-plus-long videos of iconic movie scenes. I've been gravitating toward the John Carpenter's Halloween and The Fog and some Halloween II ones just because those are the soundtracks that I generally put on when I'm trying to buckle down on some work, or blogging, or just to set a quick Halloween mood.
They're fantastic because, unlike some of the Shudder Ghoul Logs, there are no jump-scares or other drastic volume fluctuations. The music isn't too loud, nor are the sound effects, and there isn't a lot of dialogue from any of the movies to take you out of your flow. It really allows you to settle in to the vibe. And both Halloween & The Fog really are vibe-movies for me for a substantial amount of their runtimes.
I also like the Halloween II one called "Michael Myers at the Elrod House" which just has Michael, barely visible in the shadows, standing outside the house looking in. Just like in the film, the Elrod's jack o' lantern sits in the window and we can barely hear the Elrods watching Night of the Living Dead inside. The wind rustles a sheet on a clothesline just out of frame and the leaves flutter against the house. It's over an hour and a half long and, though I haven't checked, I'm guessing it plays the entirety of NOTLD. It's the coziest thing.
Also worth noting: they're not just single frames from the movies with a soundscape. According to many of the descriptions, they're built in 3D in Unreal Engine which gives them more dimensionality and allows for more realistic play with shadows and light and a little movement. In one of the Halloween II alley videos, Brackett's police cruiser drifts by, lights going, and we can barely hear the Sheriff and Loomis arguing.
There are a ton of different ones, from all sorts of horror films and then all sorts of different MOMENTS from those horror films. So if you like your ambience videos a little scarier, or gorier, you've got options.
Me? I'll be hanging back in the 'spooky, not much going on' videos.
With these horror ambiances, I can pick one of my favorite locales from Haddonfield and just let it play on my 2nd monitor. There sits the Myers house, or the Doyle house, or the Wallace house-- jack o' lanterns on the porch... the shadows of trees rustling across their siding... the crickets chirping... and Carpenter's notes playing ever so softly from time to time. Maybe you can even pick up some of Michael's mask-breathing or the local kids daring each other to ring the doorbell. Or KAB's ad break playing just under the lapping waves & distant fog horn. But it's all in the effort to set a tone and a mood.
It's like stepping into the movies themselves and just sitting still to watch the world go by.
LOVE THESE.
Definitely one of my favorite things that I'll be enjoying all season.
And that's it!
So far.
I may pop back on and add a few more things.
It IS only October 1st and that's usually when the Halloween fire-hose gets turned on 'full.'
Feel free to sound off in the comments about some of your favorite things this Halloween season.
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