Holiday Horror Buying Guide

Looking for the perfect gift for that special ghoul or ghoulette in your life? As the winter solstice beckons us to appease those monsters in our lives, here are some fiendish ideas that will soothe the twin horrors of FOMO and possible re-gifting.

Blu Ray
All the Haunts Be Ours
Severin Films is releasing the ultimate set for all you folk horror lovers out there: All The Haunts Be Ours, a Limited Edition “Compendium of Folk Horror” boxset containing 12 Blu-rays and 3 CDs, featuring 20 feature films, hours and hours of short films, commentaries, and featurettes, as well as a 120 page hardcover book. If you’re still not sure what folk horror is but are intrigued, the award-winning documentary explaining the history of folk horror Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched directed by Keir-La Janisse, is one of the films included in the set.

Toys
Tower of Fear and Monster Action Figures set
Toy company Mezco is going old school with their Tower of Fear and Monster Action Figures set. This deluxe box set contains 5 figures (Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Sea Creature), a range of accessories, and a multi-level environment diorama. Standing at a monstrous 18” once assembled, the retro play set diorama creates a decaying Carpathian castle with three floors – a dungeon, a main hall, and Frankenstein’s Lab. Each floor has interactive components for each monster including a coffin that Dracula can fit inside, a sarcophagus that Mummy can fit inside, lab equipment that Frankenstein’s Monster can connect to, multiple landings for each figure to stand on, and much more!

Clothes
Cthulhu 2024 No Lives Matter Ugly Christmas Sweater
The perfect gift to show not only your holiday cheer but also your trepidation towards the next presidential election, the Cthulhu 2024 No Lives Matter Ugly Christmas Sweater will keep you warm as you ponder the mysteries of The Necronomicon over a cup of hot chocolate. As for 2024, why settle for the lesser of two evils when you can vote for the ultimate evil?

Funko Pops
Red and Mandy from Mandy
Funko Pop surely has the market cornered for ubiquitous pop culture figurines, but they have only recently gotten around to immortalizing two characters from Panos Cosmatos’s insane, psychedelic horror film Mandy. Nicholas Cage’s unhinged Red Miller and his doomed love Mandy look unbelievably cute, but where is the Funko Pop for the Cheddar Goblin?

Book
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Did you ever wonder what goes on in that weird house on your block? Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street answers that question but you might regret even wondering about that creepy boarded up house and the strange man who lives there with a black cat named Olivia. Believe it or not, Olivia actually narrates some of the chapters so if you were ever curious about how a cat might explain the whereabouts of a lost child, a serial killer, and its own religious inclinations, then this novel is for you.

Music
Fear Street: Parts 1-3
Waxwork Records and Netflix have released FEAR STREET: PARTS 1-3 (Music From The Netflix Horror Trilogy Event). The deluxe 3xLP album features the score music composed for the three installments in the trilogy based on R.L. Stine’s best-selling horror book series. Pressed on three colored vinyl records (Neon Blue, Neon Green, and Neon Pink), the scores by Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp, Brandon Roberts, and Anna Drubich reflect the three different time periods (1994, 1978, and 1666) as represented in each series. The set also contains liner notes by Fear Street writer/director Leigh Janiak, new artwork by Sam Gilbey, and a triple LP gatefold jacket.

Video Game
The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes
The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is the latest entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology from Supermassive Games. The game centers around a Special Forces unit during the Iraq War searching for chemical weapons who stumble across a buried Sumerian temple that houses some nasty, vampire-like creatures. Horrific discoveries and impossible decisions face the unit as they strive to navigate a subterranean labyrinth and escape the terrifying threat. The graphics are truly startling and kudos to the game developers for throwing in some references to The Exorcist. Available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Cosmetics
KYLIE COSMETICS A Nightmare on Elm Street line
Kylie Cosmetics has created the perfect makeup for all those horror-fashionistas: the limited-edition A Nightmare on Elm Street Pressed Powder Palette, Lip Shine Lacquer Set, and Lip & Cheek Jelly Stain. Although I’m not sure that I’d trust Freddie Kruger for skin care tips, the Pressed Powder Palette comes in shades such as Stay Up Late (peach gold metallic), He’s Coming (peach beige matte), Come to Freddy (rose pink metallic), Dream Demon (dark burgundy matte), and Don’t Fall Asleep (dusty rose matte). The packaging for the cosmetics has the red and green sweater pattern that we all know and love.