I've never really been interested in subscription boxes. Aside from the fact that I don't want to commit to anything, or deal with the hassle of trying to cancel a subscription (I've read horror stories from other people who have had a really difficult time getting companies to cancel theirs), it just always seemed like a waste of money. You spend whatever the cost of the box is, to receive items that will probably just add to whatever clutter you have lying around. I have a lot of clutter already. There are books and games piled up everywhere, I can't add clutter I may not (most likely won't, honestly) even want on top of that. You pay $20/$30/etc. for random items that you have a chance of not even liking. In my mind, I can't justify that. I would rather take that money and spend it on a single item that I know I actually want. However, I thought, "For the sake of my horror blog, which I do not promote and no one even knows exists, let me look into some horror themed boxes."
Everything ended up coming down to two boxes, after I read the somewhat negative written reviews and the FAQs for various other subscription boxes stating that if I wanted to cancel, I would have to go through Paypal or e-mail them...Which brings me back to the reviews and people stating they never received a reply to their e-mails and continued being charged. Again, this is exactly why I don't want to deal with subscription boxes, especially from companies I've never heard of. So after a bit of research, I had two decent options left to consider.
The first box was the Occult Box ($34.95 a month). I watched a video review of their Ouija box and it seemed well thought out, they even included items for protection. Personally, even though I don't really believe in those things, I don't want to screw around with it because there's a good chance I'm wrong and I'll be terrorized by a nasty spirit. The only other video review I was able to find was for their voodoo box and I could tell a lot of thought went into that one, too, but I would never use any of those things. They would get lost in the abyss or thrown away next time I decide to clean out all the things I've been hoarding for too long. So while this seems like a very nice box, ultimately, I realized it's probably not for me. (I will admit that I am going back and forth about whether or not to pre-order their Samhain box.) But if you're someone who is interested in that sort of thing, you would probably really like it. And what's nice about Occult Box is you can buy a single box without subscribing. You can also put your subscription on hold if you don't like the theme for the current month and if you just want to cancel, they say you can do it directly from your account. No contacting Paypal, no waiting for a response to an e-mail, it's very simple.
The other subscription I considered was Box of Dread ($24.99 a month for the 1 month plan), which seemed to be pretty reputable. This one claims to come with a variation of collectibles, promotional products, shirts, stickers, figures, etc. I watched two different video reviews, from different months, and in both of those boxes, the people received a poster and a movie (along with a couple other things). That's when I decided this box wasn't right for me either. I already have a lot of horror themed posters hanging in my room, there's no space for more, any new ones would probably end up in the trash. I'm also really particular about horror films. A lot of them are awful and I'm not one of those people who can see the beauty in that, and based on the movies the other people received, I know I probably wouldn't enjoy them. So once again, we're back to not knowing exactly what you'll get and being unsatisfied with it. I would rather save money and maybe buy the Universal Classic Monsters Complete Collection that's being released on Blu-ray today. As with the last box though, there are people who would really like this subscription box, if they're more open minded and not a horror snob.
I think what I was really hoping to find was a subscription box featuring horror decor. Not tacky Halloween decorations, but items I could leave out all year. No such luck though. It would also have been nice to find a horror themed book subscription box that had reviews that didn't scare me off. I really wish the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society would start their own, because they put so much thought, love and artistry into their products, I think it would be amazing. Hopefully one day, they'll offer a service like that. Until then, I'm staying away from subscription boxes.
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