Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

I've already admitted to the fact that I am NOT a fan of pumpkin flavored foods, especially things like pumpkin spice lattes and other similar offerings. When I shared this lil' piece of trivia last year on social media, I was accused of not being a 'proper white girl.' I can live with that.

Anyway, I found this recipe posted on the Facebook page, ALL HALLOWS EVE. Even though I'm personally not a fan of the pumpkin flavor, I know plenty of you are, so I thought I'd pass this along. And who knows? I might get brave this fall and give it a shot out of curiosity. I wonder what you'd serve this with? It seems to me that pumpkin pie a la mode using this would put you into a pumpkin coma!

Trick-or-Treat With the Grim Reaper

Trick-or-treat! Even Death can't resist the lure of chocolate! Check out these hilarious cartoons featuring everyone's favorite reaper of souls enjoying a Halloween night out on the town. 

Halloween Fruit--Volume I: Ghost Edition

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that Halloween ISN'T all about the candy. I mean, trick-or-treating is a HUGE tradition...as are all the yummy, sugary concoctions that are routinely the staples of any good Halloween party.

However, if you're watching your weight, unable to eat too many sweets, or simply just want a few healthier options to throw into the mix, Halloween or year-round, check out these frightening fruity favorites! There are hundreds of great examples, so this is a topic you'll see pop up again. Since I'm a paranormal investigator and researcher---I think I'll focus on GHOSTS for this first volume.

Okay, so let's EASE into the concept of fruit for Halloween, with these strawberries that aren't strictly healthy. It looks like they've been dipped in white candy melts (but you could probably use white chocolate chips, too). The face appears to be drawn on with food-grade markers, which you can find in the baking/cake decorating/party section of most stores, such as Walmart. But, you can probably use chocolate candy pieces or black icing as well. This photo came from Pinterest, with no original source, so if you know who owns it, lemme know and I'll give 'em credit!





I LOVE these ghost pears! They look fairly easy to make, and are pretty versatile. They would be just as awesome at a fancy Halloween dinner party as they would as a sneaky and fun way to trick your kids into eating more fruit. The complete recipe and photo come from Tesco: Real Foods. Go check 'em out for this idea, and many more great Halloween desserts, treats, and snacks!

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy! Even the Wiggles can appreciate this spooky take on the fruit salad. Use mandarin oranges, pineapples, and whipped cream to create the traditional colors of candy corn---that famous Halloween candy that we all love to hate and hate to love---and top off with a ghostly marshmallow Peep! This is another quick and easy dessert, that combines a certain level of elegance with fun. The best part is, this can EASILY be made using canned mandarin orange slices and canned pineapple if you want to go that route, but can also be made using fresh ingredients for those who prefer that route. You could make a bunch of these at one time with minimal time and effort. Experiment with different serving glasses to change up the look. This particular version came from Love From the Oven.


A list of ghostly fruits could not be complete without the banana ghost and mandarin orange pumpkin platter. This cute idea was my first introduction to, and the inspiration for, this blog about healthy Halloween treats. It has been recreated numerous times (some much better than others) and shared all over the internet. It's SUPER easy. Peel your fruit. Cut your bananas in half. Stick on some chocolate chips for eyes/mouth, and a small piece of celery for your pumpkin stem. Plate and be done. This particular photo comes from Cozinhando Fantasias.

October Shadows

I have ANOTHER favorite Halloween artist---William Basso. And while his work is arguably quite different in style and subject from that of Catherine Holman, its no less beautiful with a vintage twist. For this first feature on Basso, I've chosen to highlight his October Shadows. From the artist himself:

"October Shadows" Collage and mixed media mounted on canvas. 20"x16"- This was done as a promotional image, a sort of "call for entries", for a Halloween themed art show of the same name. I wanted to pay homage to the "Vanitas" paintings of the 17th century Dutch masters. I felt that this captured the theme of "Halloween in Art" while adding a slightly surreal twist. ©William Basso

Please see his website to learn more about this artist, view other examples of his work, and to even purchase prints of your favorite pieces!

Tuesday Tunes: Happy Birthday, Tim Curry!

Happy Birthday, Tim Curry! Today, my favorite actor turns 70 years old, and to celebrate, this Tuesday Tunes is dedicated to him.  I love Tim Curry...in ALL of his roles, lol. But, aside from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, my favorite film in which he makes a dramatic appearance in is...The Worst Witch (1986). Tim stars as the Grand Wizard, the sexy head official whose arrival is eagerly anticipated by students and teachers alike. Here's his musical number, Anything Can Happen on Halloween!

I LOVE Halloween

I love Halloween. I mean, I really, really, really love Halloween. I love just about everything to do with Halloween, except for pumpkin-spiced flavored things, lol. But, everything else is awesome!

Just the very act of looking at Halloween themed pictures is enough to make me all giddy and happy inside. It feels like the exact opposite of the feeling I get right before a panic attack...crazy, huh?

There's just something about the whole season that I can't put my finger on. I think its beautiful, its mysterious, and even a little creepy. I love the way it looks, the way it sounds, the way it smells, and the way it feels. I'm still working on the taste thing, though!

Luckily, I am NOT alone. There are countless blogs, websites, and social media pages dedicated to the love of the Halloween season. When I decided to start this blog last year, I really struggled with whether or not I even should---there are so many other great spots on the web to celebrate Halloween year 'round. But, I decided to do it for MYSELF. I wanted a place where I could collect my favorite Halloween images, research and write about cool Halloween topics, and share new food and craft ideas to try. If no one but me EVER reads this page, I'm completely okay with it...

That's why I decided to bring it back. Last year, life got in the way, and I chose to dedicate the majority of my sparse spare time to my paranormal blog. I can't say I really got BORED with it...I just did not have the motivation. However, a few recent events in my life have made me sort of re-evaluate things and have led me to want to spend more time pursuing the things that DO make me happy. Halloween obviously makes me VERY happy!  I will continue with my paranormal blog, since that makes me happy as well, but I'd like to start devoting the majority of attention here---at least for a few weeks, lol. If you choose to join me on this journey, hang on! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!

Pirate's Cove Halloween

Catherine Holman is probably my favorite artist in the world. Her beautiful, yet sweet, Halloween paintings are exactly what I WANT small-town Halloween to look like: full of whimsy, full of nostalgia, and beautiful colors that SCREAM autumn. Over the course of this blog, I'll be posting many, many more works by Catherine Holman, but to get things started, I chose this one, entitled Pirate's Cove Halloween.

Here is what Catherine has to say about this image:

In Pirate's Cove as soon as the moon rises high in the sky, tiny goblins run from house to house giggling and gathering treats of caramel apples, popcorn balls, candy corn and various sweets and surprises. Adults and scared pets warm themselves by an inviting fire as they supervise their surroundings. Pirates anchor their ship in the cove curiously spying on these shenanigans as a ghost slips over the bridge chasing a very tiny witch and her suspicious black cat. This scary evening includes tiny tots and their bewildered dog dressed in strange uncomfortable attire being pulling by the wagon load through a small cemetery. Bugs and various creepy crawlers, pirates, mummies, and a superhero swarm the streets. A sweet princess being escorted by a mouse standing on two feet is about to magically fill her treat bag when she taps on the door, demurely smiles, and chants "trick or treat!"

If you'd like to own a Catherine Holman artwork, she sells originals through her website/Etsy Store...and Fine Art America offers prints in a variety of sizes and prices!

Judy Garland and the Black Cat

I absolutely LOVE this photo of actress Judy Garland, snuggled up with a black cat and reading Ghost's Night Out. One of my favorite ways to spend a quiet evening is cuddled up with my own black kitty, Ichabod, and a good ghost book! 

This photo was taken August 16, 1938, by Eric Carpenter.

Jack-O-Lantern Face Swaps

Okay, the Face Swap app is seriously the creepiest fad to hit social media in a LONG time! If you're not familiar with this program, basically what it does is take a photograph, and using facial recognition, identifies two different faces. It then allows for those two faces to trade places with each other, resulting in a horrific mishmash image. Some of the creepier images people have created include swaps between babies and adults, humans and animals (especially dogs and CHICKENS, lol), and humans and dolls.

If I wanted to select examples just based on creep factor alone, I would have to write a hundred blog posts to accommodate just the best of the best.  But, since this is a HALLOWEEN blog, for now I'll just focus on a few human to jack-o-lantern transformations. All photos were culled from various websites using Google Image Search. That last one---nightmare material! Enjoy!