Good people, in five days, the best month of the year begins. October is when people suddenly decide the celebration of horror and the supernatural is acceptable. The good will fades as dawn breaks on 1 November, so get your fill in while you can. Here are a few things you can do to help celebrate the non-stop horror of October.
First, you might still be able to luck out and pick up some gorgeous budget Blu-ray and DVD re-releases from MGM and Fox. On 8 September, 13 films ranging from okay to amazing received brand new cover art from Skuzzles. These particular editions are only available in physical Best Buy, Target, and Walmart locations, but all the titles have recent non-special edition releases widely available for under $10 each on Blu-ray and DVD.
- The Amityville Horror (Original)
- Carrie (Original)
- Child’s Play
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Jeepers Creepers
- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
- The Last House on the Left (Original)
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
- Teen Wolf
- Species
- Misery
- The Return of the Living Dead
Second, you can take the Horroctober challenge. This is a Tumblr-driven initiative in the vein of NaNoWriMo. Basically, Horroctober challenges you to create something spooky, creepy, or macabre in October. It's intended to be a larger project rather than a sketch and it's built around a sense of community.
If you sign up by sending an ask with your intended project now, you can get a response with suggested resources to help you in your creative endeavor. The organizers have been great with posting a variety of resources and I've been bookmarking them left and right. Need some guidance on how to write horror? What about anatomical references for your art? Or a rundown of subgenres and tropes? Horroctober has you covered.
I don't quite know what I'm doing for Horroctober yet. I have a few ideas in mind. I'll probably cement my plans on Sunday after I finish celebrating my birthday by going to one of the best haunted houses in the country tomorrow night. Maybe a visual novel. Maybe an illustrated story. Maybe a new collection of flash fiction. Maybe a giant painting. I'm not sure.
What I do know is that the annual 31 Days of Horror festivities at Sketchy Details start up on Wednesday, 1 October, and you're all invited. I'm squirreling away reviews so I can guarantee 31 entries in the festival this month. It's going to be good.
How are you celebrating October? Let me know in the comments below.