Horror Books/Movies/Shows for Kids

 I never really post about horror aimed specifically at kids because I don't have kids, so I never really think about it. But I figured since we're approaching Halloween, I would make a post about the Top 3 horror books, movies and TV shows for children. This is a very 80's/90's list. I have no idea what's out there for kids today. If anything. I feel like the 90's kind of treated kids like little adults, people weren't worried about scaring us. Whereas now...Things are a little different. The parents I know seem way more concerned about what their kids watch/read/eat/wear/etc. than my parents ever were. I mean, I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street when I was three years old. (And clearly, I'm a totally well-adjusted adult who consumes so much horror that I decided to start a blog about it and I decorate for Halloween in August. Completely. Normal.) Anyway. Here are some of my favorites from when I was a kid.

Top 3 Books:

The Scary Book by Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson

This is a great book for young readers who aren't quite ready for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The illustrations are cute and not likely to traumatize your children. The Scary Book is separated into several chapters, consisting or stories, poems, tricks/games and jokes.

Some of the stories included in this compilation are silly. The scariest story in this book, for sure, is Taily-po. And the only reason I say that is because I've read another version of Taily-po, as an adult, that absolutely terrified me. The version included here has a much happier ending.

The tricks and games chapter of the book would be a lot of fun if your kids are still kids by the time this pandemic is over and you're throwing a Halloween party for them. You're taught how to create a headless man, trick your friends into believing you found a severed finger in a box, make your friends believe they're being touched by a ghost and you learn how to play the Dead Man Game, which is where you make everyone close their eyes and touch things like peeled grapes and spaghetti while making them believe it's actually someone's eyes and brains.

Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

This series was the only thing thing I knew about the Dewey Decimal System until I started working in a library. 398.2 SCH is the area you're likely to find it around, in case you're ever looking for it. When I was a kid, I used to borrow these books from the library constantly. I would return them and then check them back out again. It was always Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Short & Shivery.

As with The Scary Book, some of the stories here are silly. But unlike The Scary Book, others are downright horrifying (I'm looking at you, Harold.) I think my fear of looking out my window at night actually stems from reading The Window as a child. There are times, to this day, when I'll have my window open on a rainy afternoon and I'll forget to close it before the sun sets and then I'm too afraid to close it because what will I see outside my window? There's a good mixture of folktales and urban legends in these collections. The stories aren't the selling point of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark though...

The illustrations are. The only way to read these books is with the original drawings. Several years back, the series was rereleased with new illustrations because the originals were too scary for kids. And I completely understand why. I still can't look at whatever that thing is from T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P. It's not even a scary story, it's supposed to be funny, but I'll be damned if that thing isn't one of the creepiest images I've ever seen. I remember being afraid to sleep with the lights off after I read that one as a kid. I urge you to really gauge your child's tolerance for horror before presenting them with these books because they probably won't sleep for days and then you're going to be stuck checking under their bed and in their closet and you never know what you'll find hiding there.

Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine

I was really into Goosebumps for about a year before I moved onto Fear Street. Originally, I wanted to include that series in this post, but I think Goosebumps is more appropriate.

This hit series from R.L. Stine has been around since the early 90's and kids still love these books today. There were several spinoffs, including Give Yourself Goosebumps (a Choose Your Own Adventure series), but the original books were the best. Some of the most popular titles were The Haunted Mask, Night of the Living Dummy, and my personal favorite, Say Cheese and Die! (a story about a camera that takes pictures of future misfortune.)

Goosebumps was so popular that it was even turned into a TV show and as recently as 2015, there was a film about the series, starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine. There was also a sequel released in 2018, which I have not seen, but the original film was cute and Jack Black makes anything better.

This is a fun series that probably isn't going to scare your kids too much. If they're too old for The Scary Book, but you don't think they're quite ready for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, give Goosebumps a try.

Top 3 Movies:

The Halloween Tree

This animated film is based on Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name. The movie is also narrated by him. It originally aired on ABC, but Cartoon Network added it to their lineup around Halloween.

I have a post about this movie already, if you want to read a bit more in depth about it, but I really enjoyed it. The movie takes place on Halloween night and follows four children who go on a journey to save their friend, Pip. They travel across the world (and time), where each of them learn the meaning behind their costumes, as well as the true meaning of Halloween. It also shows what people are willing to sacrifice for their friends.

Personally, I do think this movie could be a bit scary for a younger audience, so keep that in mind if you know your children scare easily.

Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

I know Looney Tunes has its issues. A lot of them. But I loved these cartoons as a kid and I especially loved Daffy Duck's Quackbusters.

In this film, Daffy Duck receives an inheritance and is forced to start a legitimate business where he treats his employees with caring and kindness. No, I'm not kidding. Every time he treats Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig badly, we see the money in his safe dwindling down until he starts behaving nicely again. Daffy's "legitimate" business is a group of paranormal investigators, tasked with everything from exorcisms to dealing with an abominable snowman. Fun shorts are strung together to create a full length movie.

Some of my favorite Looney Tunes shorts included in Quackbusters are Hyde and Go Tweet, Claws for Alarm and Transylvania 6-5000. This movie isn't scary at all and can be enjoyed by children of all ages.

The Monster Squad

Okay, parents. Be careful with this one, it's a bit inappropriate and extremely politically incorrect (it was released in 1987, if that tells you anything) and parts of it are frightening. If your children are under the age of 12, I would hold off on this one.

A group of young kids belong to a monster club and it's all fun and games until they realize monsters are actually real and Dracula is about to open a portal that will plunge the world into darkness. Featuring an all star monster cast of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and "Gill-man" (aka The Creature from the Black Lagoon), this is the best monster mashup film since Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (also a great movie for kids).

There's one standout scene where the kids go to "Scary German Guy" for help translating Van Helsing's diary. Horace says, "You sure know a lot about monsters," to which the older man replies, "Now that you mention it, I suppose I do" while the camera is aimed at the numbers tattooed on his arm. It's a horrifying moment that I didn't understand when I was younger, but every time I see it now, I'm struck by it.

Top 3 TV Shows:

Tales from the Cryptkeeper

We've all heard of Tales from the Crypt, right? But did you know that in the 90's, there was an animated version for kids called Tales from the Cryptkeeper? I remember watching this on Saturday mornings (when I was actually home and not forced to go to religion classes and miss all the awesome cartoons that aired on Saturdays) and thinking it was the best cartoon ever. I still think it's one of the best animated series ever.

The premise is the same as the live action show, in each episode, the Cryptkeeper tells the audience a scary tale, but these ones are appropriate for younger viewers. There are all kinds of stories, ranging from people who are actually plants, monsters inside a mine and a train full of vampires.

My favorite Tales from the Cryptkeeper episode is Uncle Harry's House of Horrors. There's something so unsettling about carnivals, don't you think so? That's why so many horror movies and books take place there.

Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery

Say whatever you want, tell me Tiny Toon Adventures is a non-horror TV show and this was just a one time special and it doesn't count, but it's staying because it was awesome.

Inspired by Night Gallery (a horror anthology series), Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery features shorts inspired by classic horror tales and movies. It's not actually scary, but it is a lot of fun, especially when you know what each segment is referencing.

In this Halloween special, you'll find spoofs on The Tell-Tale Heart, Duel, The Devil and Daniel Webster and more, including one that references Abbott and Costello films like Hold That Ghost and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

And finally, I couldn't have written a post about horror for kids without talking about Are You Afraid of the Dark? at some point. This was a horror anthology show in the 90's and it's still so popular to this day, that Nickelodeon brought the show back (although now, instead of being an anthology series where different stories are told weekly, each season tells one long story). Each week, the members of the Midnight Society would sit around a campfire in the middle of the woods and one person would tell a scary story that they wrote.

As with any anthology series, some episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? were better than others. A couple of my favorites are The Tale of the Pinball Wizard (after ignoring a warning from his boss not to play a pinball machine, a boy is trapped inside it, where he has to battle zombies and a witch to save the princess) and The Tale of the Midnight Madness (a struggling movie theater receives a vampire film, from recurring character Dr. Vink, that's almost a little too real).

Again, I would say to use your judgment before letting your children watch this show. Some episodes are genuinely scary. I still have nightmares about my grandmother's basement and I'm convinced it's because of The Tale of the Dark Music. Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a fun show, but some episodes might be too much for younger viewers.

Halloween Decor 2021

 Okay, first things first. What happened to the recaps of The Witch's Diner? I'm exhausted, I've been playing Mass Effect 3, reading romcom novels and watching Monthly Magazine Home and The Witch's Diner for my own enjoyment. I was just too tired and preoccupied with other things to double the amount of time I spent watching the show so I could write about it. I did really enjoy it though (I do wish the characters were developed a bit more) and if you like K-dramas, or supernatural stories, or you're a fan of Song Ji Hyo, I think you would, too. And second things second, I was trying to post twice a week, which doesn't seem like a lot, but when I'm reading a book every week and taking a ton of notes and then trying to make those notes into a coherent blog post, in addition to whatever I'm doing for the second post, all while trying to work and do other things that I enjoy...It's a lot. I try to get ahead of schedule, and I was, all the posts for the past month and a half (for the most part) were scheduled in advance. So basically, for the entire month of July, I gave myself a break to play Mass Effect 3 and catch up on K-dramas, which means I'm no longer ahead of schedule now and I need to [maybe] slow down a bit so I can get ahead again. Anyway, Halloween decor!

Let me briefly describe my preferences when it comes to decor and whatnot. I have this Hello Kitty sheet mask (that I refuse to use because I love the packaging) that says "Horror & Cute" and that's my exact aesthetic.

There's a hint in here about a post that should hopefully be up at the end of September, assuming the world doesn't end before then.

Does my decor always go together? Nope. Do I care? Not really. My life is not together enough to match my bag to my coat or outfit, so why would I worry about my decor matching? I've never been one of those people, I wish I were, but I like whatever I like and I refuse to cut anything out because it may not go together.

I also really love anything that lights up. I like the mood it sets, if that makes sense. Basically, I'm a gremlin, I hate bright lights. I don't want to keep them on. I've been going to work this summer and leaving the lights in the office off and everyone who comes in is like, "You know you can turn those on, right?" I like dim light and candlelight and a lot of that comes from how I feel most comfortable reading. I want a really cozy space, so I'll turn on my fairy lights and burn a candle and read by that lighting rather than the bright overhead light. My point is, a lot of the Halloween decor I bought this year lights up. I also bought a lot of candles. I'm only going to talk about what I bought this year, not every Halloween decoration I own. There's really no point when some of them are no longer available, you know?

I went shopping at Bath & Body Works and Marshall's on July 30th, but I was holding off on making this post because I was waiting for some online orders to get here. I think I'll start with Marshall's since the majority of this post will be about Bath & Body Works. I actually considered splitting this into two posts since I bought so many things there, but I felt like I didn't buy enough Halloween decorations elsewhere to justify posting about the rest of those things on their own.

The first thing I bought from Marshall's were these Sleepy Hollow ghosts. I can't remember how much this costs...It was either $6 or $7. It's made of wood and it's cute and there's glitter on it. I know some people absolutely hate glitter, but I love it. I think this is something I may end up keeping out all year since it's not specifically for Halloween. I know there are ghosts, but if it doesn't say "Happy Halloween" or "Trick of Treat," that means it's totally acceptable to leave it out all year.

The only other thing I purchased from Marshall's is this iridescent pumpkin. (Another thing I kind of want to leave out all year.) It never even occurred to me that the pumpkin might light up. The only reason I checked was because I was watching Halloween decor videos on Youtube and someone showed a similar pumpkin and mentioned that it lights up. I believe this was $15.

Okay, I guess it's kind of not true that I only bought two things at Marshall's. There's some fall floral in this vase that I bought there for $15 or $16. But there's also these black glitter branches with LED lights and bats that I ordered from Target for $32. They are 4 feet tall, which is a good height. I have a love-hate thing with these branches. They're really nice and they look beautiful in person. The problem is that you can't really separate the branches because of the lights. The item description says there are 5 branches, but they're all stuck together so trying to arrange them nicely doesn't really work. The most I could do was try to fan them out a bit and stick them in the back of the vase.

When I was a kid, everyone in my family had one of these ceramic trees for Christmas and I always thought they were hideous. Now that I'm older, I appreciate them more. There are a bunch of versions of this tree in black and part of me wishes I had bought one of them instead, but I do really like the orange tree, too. I purchased this tree from Lakeside Collection and I kept wondering why this tree was only $17.99 when every other ceramic tree I've seen was double the price. I think I know now. First, I want to say this tree is adorable. It really is. However, it's extremely temperamental. I'm not sure if some of the wiring is loose or the batteries don't fit in securely enough, but the lights flicker on and off if you even look at it the wrong way. So that's kind of frustrating. I do like that it's battery operated and it doesn't plug into the wall. I can't even find a spare outlet to plug in my projector from Bath & Body Works (I'll get to that soon), so anything battery operated is saving me some trouble. But yeah, I'm a little disappointed that the tree is so sensitive.

Before I show this next thing, I want to talk about Cracker Barrel. They had a light up LED haunted house that makes noise and has a projector on it. I tried to order it from their website, but when I placed the order, it said there was an error and it didn't go through. However, there was a charge on my credit card. At that point, I couldn't even attempt to order the haunted house again because immediately after trying to place my order, it disappeared from their website. Now I was unsure if my order went through or not. There was a charge on my card, but no confirmation e-mail. No big deal, right? I could just contact their customer service. Wrong. Cracker Barrel, without a doubt, has the worst customer service I have ever experienced. And by that, I mean it might as well be nonexistent. I reached out to them by e-mail, over a month ago, and still have never received a response. I reached out to them on Twitter multiple times, they replied to other people, but continued to ignore me. And then finally I called them, which...If you know me is always a last resort. I have severe social anxiety, getting me to call anyone is almost impossible. So I called...And there was a wait. They don't tell you how long you'll have to hold either. AND. The thing that really put me over the edge is that the ENTIRE TIME, they blast country music in your ear. I was on hold for over an hour when I decided I couldn't take it anymore and hung up. It took about a week before I could actually get anyone over the phone to help me. I don't even know what the hell Cracker Barrel is, I only heard about them from Halloween decor videos on Youtube, but they are a nightmare and I will NEVER order from them again. Luckily, there's an almost identical version of that house that Big Lots released...

The only difference with this house is that there's no projector on it. Otherwise, it's exactly the same. And look at how cool it is.

If you are lucky enough to find this house at Big Lots, it's only $25 and I honestly think it's worth every cent, it's one of my favorite decorations ever. (My cat hates it, sadly.) Unfortunately, when I looked, Big Lots was sold out. And I just couldn't let this go, I really, really wanted this damn house. So I went on Poshmark and bought it for $50 ($62 after shipping/taxes) and while I'm happy to own it now, I am so frustrated by resellers. 

I have a post on here about Beetlejuice: The Musical, but I'm not sure if I mentioned that I don't like the movie. At all. I love the musical though, it's tied with Phantom of the Opera for my favorite Broadway show of all time. I saw it 4 times and I was supposed to see it a 5th time, but then Covid happened and the entire world shut down. I really wanted this sign from Spirit Halloween last year, but I hesitated to buy it and then it sold out. This year, my mom gave it to me as a birthday gift. (She always gives me a Halloween decoration for my birthday every year.) The sign is huge and I'm not sure where to put it long term (it's hanging in the hallway right now), but I'm so happy with it.

Now we're getting into Bath & Body Works. I just want to say, shopping on their website is a nightmare. I had to go to the actual store to get the projector, globe and hand sanitizer because, at that time, none of it was available online. And guess what? Even when they did eventually add those items to their website, it was an ordeal because they will leave items listed as available long after they've already sold out, but then when you go to place your order, it won't let you because something in your cart is no longer available, even though it doesn't tell you that. And in case you missed it, a lot of people received broken items in the mail (myself included and we're going to get to that) which is incredibly frustrating when it's hard enough to even obtain these items in the first place because of resellers buying all of them. A lot of people who received broken items (usually the witch hand) aren't able to get replacements because they're sold out. Bath & Body Works is doing a horrendous job of packaging people's orders securely so that they don't break in transit. If you're able to, I highly recommend shopping in store instead of online.

I'll get the worst thing out of the way first so I can talk about how much I love everything else.

You may be wondering why this item is on a paper towel. See that thin layer or bubble wrap? That's all this ceramic soap holder came wrapped in and as soon as I saw it, I could see it was completely shattered.

There's really no excuse for this. I contacted customer service and only received a refund because at that time, this was sold out. I was frustrated because, unlike some of the items I was able to get in person, this was an online exclusive. The day after this happened, I went back on the website and added it to my cart, fully believing my order wouldn't go through because Bath & Body Works is really bad about saying out of stock items are available when they really aren't. Imagine my surprise when my order went through. At this point I was like, "Okay, my order will probably get cancelled because this thing is out of stock," but I figured JUST IN CASE, let me contact customer service and ask if there's anything they can do to make sure this thing is packed more securely so that it doesn't shatter in transit again. They said they would add a note to my order.

They did package it with better bubble wrap this time, however, it was still just one layer and the bottom of the soap holder was completely exposed, so it could have shattered. They did better, but it wasn't great.

...And now that I have it in my possession, I think I was better off with the broken one. The paint job is awful. Everything else I bought from Bath & Body Works is so nice, but this thing is a monstrosity. I know kids who can color in the lines better than whoever painted this. Look at the pumpkins and the moth. Those FLOWERS. This is really poor quality compared to the rest of the Halloween line. There is a reason this soap holder is an online exclusive, because if you saw it close up in stores, no one would waste their money on it.

I bought three of the foaming hand soaps from the Halloween line. I love pumpkin and apple scents and I just really liked the packaging for Sugared Spell. I haven't started using these yet, I'm trying to finish up the soaps I bought for spring/summer.

Most of all, I really wanted these two PocketBac holders. The pumpkin spice latte holder is adorable and I already have it clipped to my bag. And clearly, I have the ghost kitty attached to my work lanyard. The cat holder is so cute, if you press on its forehead, it says "Trick or treat!" and then meows. It also glows in the dark. It is pretty heavy so I'm not sure I'll leave it on my lanyard. I may have to switch it to my bag and put the pumpkin holder on there instead. I also bought some hand sanitizer in the Halloween scents (I had another Wicked Apple, but I gave it away).

I ordered the bat soap holder online. I know some people think it's too cute, but I love it. Again, I really like cute things so I'm not bothered by it at all. I bought the haunted conservatory projector in store. I can't show a picture of it lit up because again, no free outlets, but it projects pink bats onto the wall. I like it, but I don't love it. I like the projector from last year better, it was creepier. Those flowers really aren't my thing, but there's a cute cat in the upstairs window and I like the pumpkins a lot. Also, just to put this out there, I don't use the Wallflower refills. I've read that they can be dangerous to cats. I bought the projector strictly as a decoration.

Here's another one of my favorite items this year, the water globe cemetery pedestal. The day I went to Bath & Body Works, I was out shopping with my neighbor and I went in there alone while she went into another store. And I didn't actually buy the globe. I saw it and loved it, but I was like...I'm not spending $70 on this. (Kind of like how I didn't buy the Beetlejuice sign last year, I talked myself out of it even though I really liked it.) So I bought a couple other things and left and then she decided she wanted to go in there after I met her in the other store...And I went back in and decided to buy it. My neighbor was like, "Maybe you should get one of the globes that's on so you know it actually works." That made sense, so I put the one I had in my hands down and she picked the other one up and said she was buying it for my birthday. I argued with her about that for a while, but she wouldn't back down and I am extremely grateful to her because I love this globe so much. I ended up picking up the Pumpkin Carving candle so I could sit it on top of the globe. This is another decoration that my cat hates. As soon as I turned it on, he ran and hid behind the door. The motor is so low I can barely hear it, but apparently it's enough to upset him, so I only turn it on when he's in another room.

Bath & Body Works recently had a sale on their 3 wick candles, so I took that as an opportunity to stock up on fall candles (and some extra hand sanitizer).

I guess this can't technically be considered Halloween decor, but fall and Halloween are the same thing to me, so I'm including them anyway. Basically, if it said pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, caramel or clove in the scent notes, I bought it. I never buy candles from anyone besides Candles by Victoria, but this year I've spent the same amount of money I always spend there, so I don't feel guilty branching out a little this year with Bath & Body Works and Etsy. Plus, again, they were on sale so it was more affordable to buy from Bath & Body Works this time. 

I'm bad at describing scents so I'm not even going to attempt it, but I will say OF ALL THE CANDLES I PURCHASED, Apple Weather is my favorite. I didn't expect it to be, but it's the best apple scent ever. And Crisp Morning Air isn't the kind of scent I typically like, but it will be perfect on a chilly, rainy fall day when I'm reading a book. (I seriously can't wait for those kind of days.) I was worried about Wicked Apple (I actually didn't even order it until I placed my third order during the sale) because so many people said it smells like celery. Now that it's here, I can say personally, I don't get celery from it at all. It just smells like caramel apple, I really like it. (After the sale, new candles were released and I placed an order for more 3 wicks: Honeycrisp Apple, Autumn and another Apple Weather because I loved it so much. They didn't arrive before I posted this and I didn't want to keep delaying this post.)

The reason I didn't buy that much this years is because between resellers buying everything and selling it for twice the price and my negative experience with Cracker Barrel, I was just kind of over it. Once I went to Bath & Body Works in person and got the rest of the items I had been looking for, I was happy and decided I didn't need anything else (but mostly, I didn't need or want the stress of having to constantly check websites to try to buy things before resellers got them all). I already dealt with the annoyance of buying a PS5, I was out of patience for this kind of thing. Also, have you seen the Halloween decorations this year? They're strange. Gnomes are still a thing for some reason. Joann and Michael's have a bunch of skeletons doing weird things, like yoga. So in addition to just kind of being over it because of resellers, I feel like the options this year weren't even that great. I do plan on going to CVS once they put their Halloween decorations out because sometimes they have really cute things there, like the two pumpkins in the picture above from last year. For now though, this it it and I'm happy with most of what I purchased.

Robbie the Rabbit - Fangamer

 

Full disclosure: I have no notes for this post, so I'm just kind of winging it. 

Earlier this year, Fangamer released a Robbie the Rabbit plush that I really considered buying, but I hesitated and then it sold out and I kind of hated myself. Luckily, they've restocked and I was able to purchase him this time around. Robbie is selling for $29. I think that's a fair price. He's 10 inches tall, can sit up on his own, he's extremely soft and...

He comes with two washable Crayola markers in red and orange so you can make him look a little more like he does in Silent Hill 3. I can't say how well it works, I'm actually terrified of trying to draw blood around his mouth in case the markers aren't completely washable and I screw it up. I'm not the least bit artistic. And to be honest, I kind of like the way Robbie looks without the blood. He's almost creepier because he looks cute and innocent, but you know better. Robbie comes packaged in a plastic bag and I'm a little disappointed, it would have been nice if he came in a box (for display purposes). That's a very minor complaint though, I really love him overall.

I love his Lakeside Amusement Park tag, it makes him feel like a real souvenir. Plus, it matches the poster I have hanging on my wall.

(I bought this poster from Redbubble years ago and I tried to find it so I could link it, but no luck.)

I don't know if I've talked about this before, but I have no space in my bedroom. For anything. I have three bookcases in here, a huge bureau, my desk, a mini cat tower, and every inch of the walls are covered in shelves or framed horror posters. So Robbie is a bit cluttered at the moment.

I don't know if I want to keep him there because it's directly across from my bed and he kind of creeps me out. I woke up after the first night he was here and I checked to make sure he was still where I put him because I just don't trust him at all. I haven't forgotten what he did in Silent Hill 4.

I really, really love him. He's perfect. Fangamer did a great job with him. And I really do appreciate that tag. I like to buy things that reference movies/shows/books/games I enjoy, that you wouldn't recognize unless you're also familiar with the thing it's referencing. Not in a "I'm cool because I know what this is and you don't" kind of way, I just don't really like having names plastered all over the place. If that makes sense. Like...It would make me uncomfortable to wear a shirt that says "Silent Hill" on it, but I actually own a hoodie (also from Redbubble) that has Robbie's face with "Lakeside Amusement Park" on it. Is it really any better to wear a hoodie with a pink rabbit on it? Probably not. But it's just what I'm comfortable with. I'm rambling now. See what happens when I don't have notes? Anywaaaay...

Bonus Jack and Robbie!

I kind of hate attaching videos on here because they're always really tiny and they look strange, but I'm going to do it anyway.

If you're a fan of Silent Hill 3 and you were thinking about buying the Robbie plush, you won't be disappointed. Maybe just don't sleep in the same room with him though.

Halloween for Pets

I'm in full Halloween mode over here. Decorations are up, fall candles are lit, cats are getting treats! I thought I would talk a little bit about some of the things Chewy is offering for pets this Halloween. (It's also an excuse to post a million pictures of my cats.)

First up, they've released their Halloween Goody Box ($24.99) again this year, for cats and dogs. I bought four of the Halloween goody boxes from last year because they were so cute and I wanted every cat I'd ever met to have one. This year's box includes two different kinds of treats, a candy corn tent, and four, what I'm assuming are, catnip infused stuffed toys. I want to give a little warning: When you open the tent, hold it away from your face. I didn't and it sprung open and hit me in the face, I thought for sure my nose was broken (it wasn't). So just be careful.

If you're wondering why there's only one picture of them together, it's because there was a fight. Finnick (the brown and white cat) absolutely hates Jack (the orange cat) for no reason and if Jack gets within five feet of him, he starts hissing and growling at him. I don't know why he does that, Jack never does anything to him, but yeah. They don't get along and I try not to force them on each other.

They really love this tent. Jack ended up wearing it as a belt, he's too big to fit in there. But the rest of them are able to curl up comfortably and Finnick seems to like it the most out of all of them. They also really enjoyed the stuffed toys, which is why I'm thinking they must have catnip in them. The treats were a big hit, too! I wasn't sure they would like the Squeeze Up treats (my cats can be fussy), but they all really liked them.

Chewy also has a Halloween 13 Day Advent Calendar ($19.98), again for cats and dogs. They released one for Christmas last year that was really cute, so I decided to buy this one. I want my cats to love Halloween as much as I do, but I think they're just like, "Lady, leave us alone." The advent calendar comes with a variety of toys, most of them are stuffed. I don't know if there's catnip in these ones, my cats didn't go as crazy over them as they did with the ones in the goody box. They did still play with them though.

The last thing I bought was from Target, it's a Haunted House Cat Scratcher. I wasn't expecting much for $13 and yet...I was still disappointed. The cardboard walls are extremely flimsy and the double sided tape that's supposed to hold the house together peeled off all together when I took the protective layer off. It's also extremely tiny and even my smallest cat, who can fit anywhere, doesn't really want anything to do with it unless I throw treats inside. It's really cute, but you definitely get what you pay for. I set it up next to the candy corn tent from the goody box so the cats could have a spooky village with their new toys.

It doesn't look bad, right? And I mean, it's not terrible. But it is really small. Let's see what Jack thinks about the new Halloween toys.

(Does he not look like those smiling, vintage Halloween cats in the last picture?) He's not hissing, by the way. He's practicing howling at the moon. I recorded a short video of them exploring the haunted village.

I'll end with some pictures of their past Halloween costumes. Jack is the only one who dresses up, for the most part, because Cthulhu and Finnick will kill me and Bogart is older and I don't like to torture him. (Most of these costumes were purchased from Chewy.)

The Beast and Belle costumes are from this year and I need to try to get better pictures when it gets closer to Halloween. Jack actually seemed to really like Belle's gown, but he hates the wig and every time I would try to put it on him, he would shake it off his head. Hopefully he'll let me get a picture of him with it on, but if not, I'll at least be able to take a picture of him in his pretty new dress.