Halloween Tag

Today is finally Halloween! I thought it'd be fun to do a little Halloween tag to commemorate my favorite holiday.

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HALLOWEEN MOVIE?

Definitely Halloweentown! It brings back so many good memories and it just gives you that cozy fall feeling!

2. IF YOU WERE IN A HORROR MOVIE HOW FAR WOULD YOU GET?

I really have no idea. I guess it would depend on what kind of horror movie it was.

3. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF HALLOWEEN?

Just going trick or treating and coming home to look through al lof the candy I got! It was so mmuch fun to go trick or treating around my neighborhood and sometimes I wish I could still go!

4. YOUR BEST/WORST HALLOWEEN COSTUME?

My best costume was probably when I was in about 3rd grade, I was a vampire and I went all out! My worst is when I was in 1st or 2nd grade and I dressed as a clown, what was I thinking?!

5. HOW DO YOU GET INTO THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT?

Watching scary movies! Also, just decorating or spending time outside while the leaves are changing.

6. FAVORITE HALLOWEEN DECORATION?

Pumpkins! I get so excited once people start putting pumpkins outside of their houses during fall. It always means Halloween is coming!

7. NAME ONE UNUSUAL THING THAT YOU'RE AFRAID OF?

Deep water. I guess that isn't really unusual but I am completely terrified when I can't touch the ground in a body of water. I can swim perfectly fine, but I just hate the feeling that there could be something underneath me and I'd have no idea. I'm especially scared of the ocean, do you know how many undiscovered things are in there?! Terrifying.

8. VAMPIRES OR ZOMBIES?

I'd rather be a vampire, but if we are talking about which is more scary I would have to say zombie.

9. WEREWOLVES OR GHOSTS?

Ghosts!

10. CREEPY DOLLS OR CREEPY CLOWNS?

Creepy dolls! I actually kind of have an obsession with creepy dolls, clowns...I'm not such a fan of.

11. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

I don't know if I believe in the stereotypical "ghost bu yes, I do believe in spirits in a sense!



I tag, everyone to do this as well! Happy Halloween everyone! Have fun and be safe! 

Pumpkin Carving & Roasting Seeds

With Halloween being a day away, I thought I would go ahead and carve a pumpkin that has been sitting on my porch for about a week now. I actually haven't carved a pumpkin in about two years, so it's definitely been awhile. 

Getting the pumpkin guts out used to be my favorite part, now its just messy and I definitely did NOT pick a good day to do this. It was so cold outside, I had to keep running into the house to put hot water on my hands because they would go numb!

And, the final product. This took me way longer to carve than it should have, but I think it looks pretty good! I wanted something simple since I haven't carved in over two years.

It looks so good at night! It actually turned out so much better than I thought. Last time I carved a pumpkin, I tried to do a very detailed spider web and the whole front fell in! So basically I had a pumpkin that had a giant hole...you can see why I was hesitant to do it again!

After carving my pumpkin I really wanted to try to roast the seeds. This is the first time I have ever done it by myself and I just followed a super simple recipe but they turned out quite good!

Instructions:
Clean the pumpkin seeds off. Then, take a pot and pour some water in, I really just eyeballed it. Bring it to a boil and then add the seeds. Let them sit in the boiled water for close to 10 minutes. Afterwards, pour the seeds into a strainer and pat them dry lightly with a paper towel. Preheat your oven to 350. Then spread them onto a pan evenly and drizzle them with virgin olive oil and some salt. You can also add any seasoning of your choice if you want it to have more flavor. Then let them bake for about a half an hour, make sure to occasionally check on them!

To my surprise, they actually turned out really really good! The above picture is before they were roasted. I told you the recipe was extremely simple. And carving pumpkins and cooking the seeds all day really got me into the Halloween mood!

Did you carve pumpkins this year? 

Top Horror Video Games

If you didn't know this already, I am a HUGE video game fan. I don't know what it is about them that I adore so much more than TV and movies but I just find so much more joy in playing them. Combining Horror and Video Games are basically putting my two favorite things together! Here are 5 video games that I love and that also REALLY creep me out.

Outlast

Miles Upshore is a journalist who has come to Mount Massive Asylum to uncover the filth and inhumane experiments that are seemingly happening in the asylum. Once inside, he realizes he is locked in, leading him on a terrible journey meeting many of the insane patients and uncovering the truth that is held inside. With only a camera you are expected to maneuver and survive throughout Mount Massive.

Outlast is the only horror game I have ever played that I can only beat once, and it's a miracle I even did that! I don't know why this game makes me so nervous, maybe the random jump scares, the scary chasing scenes in the dark, or that you have no weapons and can't fight back, just run and hide? Either way, this game makes me SO nervous. But it's also such a captivating story and the graphics are beautiful. It's so interesting and creepy exploring an old asylum (I'm slightly obsessed with asylums so this fits right in to my interests). Although it makes me anxious I love this game and would recommend it to any horror lover.

I believe it is only available for PC and a PS4/Xbox One download!

Silent Hill 2

James Sunderland receives a letter that seems to be sent by his deceased wife, asking him to meet her at their "special place" in Silent Hill. He returns to Silent Hill and realizes that it's much different than the last time he remembered. It is a haunting and eerie place filled with strange creatures he has to fight through to hopefully find out the mystery of exactly what this letter means.

I have posted about Silent Hill 2 before, which you can read here. Silent Hill 2 really doesn't contain any jump scares and is a relatively easy game to get through. The atmosphere and the town itself is really what makes this game so incredibly creepy to me. It's so eerie walking through a foggy town filled with creatures. I've been in love with the story of Silent Hill ever since I can remember but the story of Silent Hill 2 is by far my favorite. This game does have riddles and puzzles that you have to solve and it is kind of difficult at points because if you don't do something exactly right, it won't work. So you have to make sure you pick up all of the clues the game is leaving you! It's really an amazing game and if you have the time you should definitely try it out.

 Siren

Siren takes place in a small village in Japan that mysteriously disappears during the blaring of a Siren. The village becomes surrounded by a red sea that the once villagers emerge from now as some time of zombie creatures.

Siren is one of those classic horror games that I used to play when I got my PS2. I remember how scared I was when I first played and it still creeps me out to this day! It was released in 2004, so the graphics aren't as great as they are in present day but it still manages to be a very creepy and eerie game that really takes you into their terrifying world.

 Fatal Frame Series

The first Fatal Frame was released in 2001 but has many other games in the Fatal Frame series. Since all of the stories are a bit different I'm just going to loosely explain the first, since it's my favorite. Your character is exploring a huge mansion that is infested with tons of vicious spirits that are terrifying. 

I love these games and I think they are all unique and definitely scary. I'm not a big fan of the newer releases but the first few are definitely a must have in any horror gamers collection. They deliver an eerie atmosphere while encountering scary creatures and spirits. One of the first horror games I ever really experienced!

Dead Space

You play a character known as Isaac Clarke who seems to be an engineer who was aboard a ship that was traveling to save another that had been lost. All of the crew had been slaughtered and transformed into crazy monsters known as Necromorphs.

The reason I added Dead Space on this list is because I remember the first time I played and how scary it was! I was a bit younger and I'm used to it more now, but it's still an incredibly creepy game where you never feel safe! It contains lots of jump scares and you really don't know when a monster is going to pop out at you. Plus, they move very fast and are just incredibly scary looking so that doesn't help when you're trying to aim to shoot them! It's a fun, fast-paced game but if you don't like jump scares then steer clear.

Do you like horror video games? What are your favorites? 

Overlooked Horror on Netflix

Netflix is great for TV series but after having it for a long time it can be hard to find good quality, entertaining movies. A lot of good/decent films can definitely be overlooked because lets be honest, sometimes Netflix is pretty hit and miss. I'm going to tell you about the 5 horror movies that I almost didn't watch, but glad that I did!

American Mary

A medical student who's piling up debt jumps at the chance when she's offered a lucrative opportunity to perform extreme body-modification surgeries.

This is probably one of the more well-known films of this group. Surprisingly I had never really heard anything about it before Netflix. One night as I was trying to find a movie that could serve as decent background noise I chose this one and went about my business. However, I noticed I kept stopping to watch the movie. It's a pretty dark and gory movie but I find it pretty unique concept for a film. If you enjoy gore and weird movies I think you would probably like this!
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Dead End

Deadly consequences arise when Frank and his wife opt for an unfamiliar route through the forest and stop to pick up a mysterious hitchhiker.

I had actually never heard of this movie until a few months ago. Someone said it was a very creepy movie that is way underrated. I didn't really expect it to be scary but after watching it I was pleasantly surprised. Dead End is an EXTREMELY eerie movie in my opinion. There aren't really any jump scares or monsters, the atmosphere and the characters really make it quite terrifying. Even though it is horror and a lot of awful things happen it's not 100% serious either, but I like that it's still pretty creepy. The only place I can really find it is on Netflix, I definitely recommend checking it out!

V/H/S

When a group of petty crooks goes in search of a rare VHS tape, they come upon a corpse surrounded by stacks of horrific and bizarre videos.

I had heard a LOT about this movie online, mostly on Tumblr. Everyone was saying how scary it was and after seeing tons of screen shots I had to finally see it! I'm not a big fan of the whole "filming with a home video camera" that a lot of horror movies are doing these days but I thought I'd give it a chance anyway. I thought it was going to be one long story, but it's actually split up into multiple different stories containing multiple creatures and murders. It's a very eerie and creepy film that I actually really enjoyed. It's not a movie that I could watch multiple times but I think it's definitely worth watching.

Grave Encounters

The stars of a paranormal-investigation TV show spend the night in a derelict hospital, hoping to uncover what's been going bump in the night.

This was another movie I had heard a lot about online. But it was, once again, a movie filmed on video cameras and I wasn't too eager to watch. Boredom got the best of me one night so I clicked on it and I ended up really enjoying it! It was pretty scary movie! There was a couple of jump-worthy moments and overall was definitely an interesting movie to watch.

 Absentia

Seven years after her husband goes missing, Tricia almost has him declared dead -- but now she suspects a sinister force caused his disappearance. 

Absentia was probably my least favorite on the list but I still feel like it's worth mentioning. It was a very odd movie and the way the filmed it was pretty different to me and I'm not sure that I really liked it. But it was definitely creepy at times and had an eerie "alien abduction" feel to it. I thought it was a pretty decent horror film though overall!

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think about them? What are some of your favorite overlooked horror movies on Netflix?

Halloween at Modcloth

I decided I would check out my favorite online shop to see if they have anything neat in stock for Halloween and I definitely think I found some adorable things.

1. Head to Flow Top

2. Spell Me a Story Dress

3. Skull-lastic Looks Top

4. Rad to the Bone Dress

5. About Face Sweater

6. Spook Your Mind Tee

7. Mysteries of the Universe Tee

8. I Can Digit It! Tee

1. Give it Skull You've Got Socks

2. Beast in Show Socks

3. Generation X-ray Socks

4. Bat in Time Tights

5. Carpal Diem Bracelet

6. Favorite Favor Earrings

Check all of these out and plenty more at Modcloth.com

Etsy Finds #001

With Halloween right around the corner, what's better than a few creepy/cute Etsy finds? These are fun all year around but definitely serve a special purpose during the month of October. (Also, sorry about all of the skulls, I am really drawn to them for some reason!)

Skull Sugar Cubes

Skull Punch Bowl

Ouija Board Plate

Ouija Board Cosmetic Bag

You Look Lovely Hoop Art

Cereal Killer Spoon

Ceramic Skull Planter

Skull Wall Sconce

Mount Calvary Cemetery

Earlier this month I was looking for a new cemetery to visit. One had been on my radar for awhile I'd just never taken the time to actually go check it out. I typed in the directions in my phone and for some reason it completely led me astray, but I found this beautiful cemetery on the way so it definitely wasn't a bad thing to get lost!

Mount Calvary Cemetery is an absolutely beautiful place. When I first arrived I didn't realize how big it was and only snapped a few photos. However, the next week I decided to travel up that way again and explored some more and realized there was a LOT that I missed out on.

This neat little building was quite creepy and empty. If you can see right about the door it says "Ransom" a very odd and mysterious building that I really loved.

I believe this used to be the mausoleum. Such a beautiful building and was definitely my favorite that I found.

A place where some of the Curtis' family members are buried. This cemetery is actually close to a huge home known as the Curtis Mansion. As far as I know the building is abandoned but I would love to go around and explore it sometime. You can find many members of the Curtis family buried here and they all have very elaborate headstones.

A memorial to a soldier that I thought was lovely and quite haunting. I will never get over entering cemeteries and seeing a figure on top of a headstone and how eerie it is.

This building was pretty large and locked up tight. I peeked into the window and it sure doesn't look like it's ever used anymore, I would love to get the chance to look around though.

Mount Calvary is definitely my favorite cemetery I have explored. It was gorgeous and so calming to walk through. It was well taken care of and beautiful to just wander in. I found so many amazing headstones that I was so excited to photograph. I hope in the future I find many other lovely places like this one!

 

My Favorite Foreign Horror Movies

Foreign horror is sometimes my favorite. Often I feel like they are so much more scary and absurd than American horror films. I especially have a liking towards Japanese Horror. If you know anything about me, you'd know I already love everything to do with Japanese culture and my love for Japan actually started with watching one of the Ju-on's with I was about 8. (An odd thing to make me fall in love with Japan, but I guess it's what you'd expect from a horror lover like me!)

So I decided it would be fun and interesting to list some of my favorite Foreign horror films. They are listed in no particular order, so I guess lets get into it!

Ju-on

If any of you have seen The Grudge that came out in 2004 starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ju-on: The Grudge is actually the original version! It follows the same basic storyline. It revolves around a house that seems to be possessed by an evil curse from the past murders of a family and whoever enters the home or property will die in a terrible way. The second one just continues the original story of the first film and is definitely worth checking out if you watch the first.

It's one of the more popular Japanese horror movies franchises that I've found. Whenever I seem to mention anything about Japanese horror this one ALWAYS comes up. It's a very good story that is definitely a lot scarier than the American version!

 A Tale of Two Sisters

A Tale of Two Sisters is a South Korean horror film that was released in 2003. The two main characters are sisters Su-Mi and Su-Yeon who recently just got released from a mental institution. They return home to their father and step-mother.

The girls begin to have violent and terrifying nightmares and experience eerie things happening around them and it seems that their family and home are haunted by past tragedies.

This is one I actually haven't heard much about. I've always really liked this film but I wouldn't consider it one of the mainstream ones. But I feel like this may be one of the best films on this list. It's more of a psychological horror movie so if you're into that kind of thing I definitely think you should check it out! The more Americanized version of this would be The Uninvited with Emily Browning!

The Eye

The Eye is a Hong-Kong-Singaporean horror film that was released in 2002. It follows a 20-year old girl called Mun who has been blind since she was a child. She undergoes surgery to receive a new pair of eyes from a donor. She is happy to finally have her sight back but then she starts seeing odd figures and seem to foretell deaths.

The Eye is definitely a favorite of mine (obviously). This movie is always so creepy to me. Unfortunately the second movie doesn't really follow the first at all, but the first one is definitely worth a watch.

Ringu

Ringu is a 1998 Japanese horror movie. It follows a videotape that is apparently cursed and seven days after you view the tape it's said you will receive a phone call and will die. The only way to save yourself after watching the tape is to get someone else to watch it and then apparently the curse will be broken and go after the other person who viewed it.

A woman named, Reiko Asakawa's niece and three of her friends seemed to have watched the tape and were killed. She and her ex-husband try to investigate the tape and find out the curse behind it in time to break the curse completely.

I'm sure this story sounds extremely familiar as it's the original version of The Ring! The American remakes were very good and definitely scary, but you can't beat the original in my opinion.

Dark Water

Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese horror film directed by the same person who directed the Ring 1 & 2.

Yoshimi Matsubara moves to a small, run-down apartment with her daughter while she is in the middle of a nasty divorce. The ceiling of her apartment has a leak which becomes worse every day. She then starts experiencing odd things happening around the building and sometimes she will see a glimpse of a mysterious, long-haired girl. Yoshimi starts to uncover the horrible truth of what happened to the young girl in her apartment building.

This was remade into an American film in 2005. It was a good remake the the original is definitely a LOT creepier!

Do you enjoy watching Foreign horror movies?

Odd Etsy Finds

Odd Etsy Finds are my favorite kind of discoveries! I love things that are abnormal and stand out and I think I definitely found a few awesome ones here!

Baby Head Vase

Anatomical Heart Teacup

Eat Your Heart Out Dessert Plate

Vintage Doll Head Tea Light Candle Holder

Life-Size Skull Candle

Porcelain Doll Head Cup

Porcelain Tea / Coffee Pot with Mouth

Candle - Metatrons Cube

Holding Hands Mug