some spooky season selections

boo to you

i’ve always loved halloween — it’s my favorite holiday after thanksgiving (because despite my sweet tooth, the wholesomeness of the parade and the excuse to gorge myself on turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes win out every time). and as much i enjoyed trick-or-treating and sorting through my candy to keep the reese’s and butterfingers and toss the mary janes and bit-o-honeys as a child, there’s something so fun about being a bona fide adult but still getting a little creative and dressing up, enjoying some festive cocktails, and holding onto some of that haunted childhood magic through the years. so, as i sit here sipping a cold glass of caramel apple cider, i wanted to share some of the ways i’ve been enjoying the season. do you do anything special for halloween?

• while i love them, true scary story podcasts put me in kind of a weird energy the rest of the year, so i tend to just binge them all at once for the entire month of october. spooked and radio rental are my favorites!

  

• it hadn’t really occurred to me in previous years to rewatch halloween episodes of my favorite childhood shows (beyond the perennial are you afraid of the dark, of course), but it’s such nostalgic fun! i made a youtube playlist that includes boy meets world, clueless, and sabrina the teenage witch, plus compilations of ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s halloween commercials that are so cozy and cute to have on in the background!!

  

• moviewise, i love a good thriller, horror, or witch flick no matter what the season. but i tend to ramp things up as temperatures drop and it gets darker earlier. my annual warm-and-fuzzy standbys include practical magic, hocus pocus, scream, and halloweentown, but some recent scary movies that i really enjoyed were the night house, the menu, speak no evil, and last night in soho.

  

• i’m a sucker for halloween-themed beverages; my friend and i went to a comedy show last weekend and stopped by an applebees beforehand to try their famed “dollar zombie” — a bright blue, tiki-inspired rum concoction with a gummi brain on top as the pièce de résistance that was, indeed, just a buck. i was pleasantly surprised! it wasn’t sickeningly sweet and you obviously can’t beat the price! pro tip: you have to ask for it, because it’s not listed on the menu.

  

• i unfortunately didn’t make it into boston proper (or salem) this year to feast my eyes on the incredibly, impeccably-decorated homes whose owners go all out with giant skeletons, inflatables, and elaborate lighting schemes. but thankfully, my own neighborhood shows up and shows out, too! i’ve been enjoying wandering around and checking out the imaginative and fun decor on the streets around me.

  

• michaels is the place to go for little halloween knickknacks and tablescape additions, since by september, they’re already onto christmas crafts and deeply discount all spooky season stuff! like, check out the disco ball pumpkin, skull with a raven (or crow? idk) on top, and crystal cauldron that are part of my tablescape this year!

  

• speaking of salem (and themed beverages), i’m hoping for a november visit in order to check out blackcraft coffee, because it looks absolutely incredible! i adore salem, whether at halloween or not — there are so many fun shops (hauswitch is my fave) and good restaurants, it’s a perfect place to wander around and get a little witchy, whenever.