I have a Halloween movie collection on Letterboxd that I have curated for optimal spooky but fun October viewing. Best watched when you’re feeling cozy in a blanket with a cup of hot tea OR my special hot toddy recipe.
The Best Hot Toddy
Makes 1 Drink
2 oz bourbon/ whiskey of choice/brandy
1 tbs honey
juice of half a lemon
slice of lemon
4-5 whole cloves
ground cinnamn
OPTIONAL
star anise (whole)
Bring a pot of water to just under boiling. Juice half the lemon into a cute mug that you love. Slice the lemon from the other half. Arrange cloves around the slice of lemon. Add the spoonful of honey into the mug. Fill the mug up 3/4 of the way with hot water. Stir to dissolve the honey. Add a dash of ground cinnamon and optional star anise and stir to dissolve. Add 2 oz of whiskey. Garnish with your clove and lemon. Enjoy!!
One thing that really helped with my seasonal sadness when we start getting into fall and winter is really honoring whatever that season has to offer. I love marking the passng of time with seasonal rituals. It helps me enjoy each season and those special activities instead of feeling bummed about gloomy winter days. Lately I have been really leaning into the rituals I love for fall. This includes eating lots of roasted squash, soups, drinking a lot more hot tea, knitting, admiring the changing leaves and feeling cozy watching movies.
I compiled a list of some of my favorite Halloween adjacent spooky and autumnal movies that are fun to watch in the month of October. This includes a range of fun and cheesy and also creepy and scary movies, so there’s a little something for everyone. A lot of these are streaming now on Kanopy, Max, Criterion Channel, or Hulu right now. Enjoy!!!
Halloween Movie Watching
This is a compilation of some of my favorite Halloween/spooky movies. I made a list with some film stills below in case you enjoy knowing the movie aesthetic before diving in.
I just watched Poltergeist for the first time the other day. It was far less scary than I thought it would be. It was really intersesting to see how much Reagan-era American “manifest destiny” type overtones were in this. The gist of the movie is a really nice family moves into a house in a new suburban development and some strange things start happening. It’s streaming on Max as of writing this.
I wrote about Practical Magic in my last newsletter, but it’s such a fun autumn movie I had to include it again. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are amazing. The outfits are amazing. The setting is gorgeous. It has that nostalgic 90s movie feeling that I just love. It’s currently streaming on Hulu.
The Witches of Eastwick features 80s Cher, who is a timeless icon to me. The cast is amazing and the setting is amazing. Similar vibe to Practical Magic. It’s not taking itself too seriously and is downright silly at times. Lord knows why all these ladies fall for an insane Jack Nicholson but it’s a fun watch.
Scream is probably a 6/10 on my scary rating. It’s a great combination of both silly and spooky. Iconic cast of Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, Courtney Cox and David Arquette. I love the nostalgic 90s vibes (are you noticing a theme here…?) and the oufits are great. Fun 90s teen vibes. Streaming on Hulu currently.
I saw Susperia for the first time last year at an old movie theatre in Detroit and it was the perfect way to enjy this. The colors and setting of this movie are just gorgeous. It’s a story about a dance academy with something creepy and weird going on. Amazing score, amazing outfits, amazing cinematography. Currently streaming on Tubi.
This is such a fun Japanese spooky movie. There’s cute school girls, a spooky house and lots of magical madness. This is on the silly spooky spectrum and the outfits and cinematography are great. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
This movie is downright spooky!! So many movies have been made from the book The Haunting of Hill House, but this is the best one (that I have seen). The setting is incredible and the fact that it’s in black and white makes it even spookier to me. Currently streaming on Max.
This was so much fun to compile! I hope you enjoy some spooky movies with a nice cozy warm beverage. See you again soon in your inbox!
xo
Meghan
oh my gosh I haven’t heard of these!! Thank you!!