4 Reasons I’m Actually the Worst Halloween Fan Ever

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Let’s have some fun today. Obviously you don’t start a Halloween site unless you really, really love it. And I do. About this time last summer, I decided it was finally time to go all-in and start a Halloween site where I could share my love of October 31st with everyone.

But sometimes I feel like a fraud.

I’m not your normal Halloween lover. There’s a lot of things everyone else gets super excited about (and rightfully so!) that just don’t quite do it for me. And that’s not a bad thing or meant as an insult if you love something I don’t. I’m not saying you’re a weirdo if you disagree with all the things on my list below – I’m definitely the weirdo here, mister.

But today, just for fun, I thought I’d share a few things with you guys that make me feel like I’m actually the worst Halloween fan ever. I hope you’ll get a laugh out of them and share one of yours!

I hate pumpkin spice anything

Candles, body wash, lotion, snacks, cookies, coffee – you name it, I dislike it. Which is crazy because I love pumpkin itself. I live for my mom’s pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread every fall. But there’s just something ridiculously fake about pumpkin spice anything to me that I don’t enjoy. It really bums me out.

Actually, I think my brother got the pumpkin spice gene. That kid loves him a pumpkin spice latte like they’re going out of style.

Or maybe I just haven’t found the right pumpkin spice goodie yet! I will say, I was adventurous at the grocery store this week and instead of buying my standard hazelnut coffee creamer, I bought a pumpkin spice one. I haven’t opened it yet, so we’ll see how it goes.

 

Haunted houses terrify me

I was in fourth grade, I think, when our family went to the Harris County Fair. There was a haunted house and being the amateur Halloween lover I was, I decided I wanted to go in it. I’d never been in a haunted house before, and it seemed like a grand adventure.

It was a mistake.

My brother (who is three years younger) was sent along with me, and we got exactly five steps inside before we both broke down in tears. I remember standing at a little barred window at the front of the house, trying to get our parent’s attention to no avail so we could get out. The staff member who was manning the door told us the only way out was to go through, and some kind soul walked us through the entire haunted house, shooing off anyone who tried to scare us.

I guess it all felt a little too real once we were inside.

Over a decade later I discovered I still didn’t enjoy them when I worked on an entertainment TV show in Tulsa, OK, and we spent ALL October going to every single haunted house in northeastern Oklahoma to film. I was forced to walk through every single one, and I hated it.

(And it’s documented on YouTube for your viewing pleasure – check the 2:28 mark for a familiar blurry face. And funnily enough, this was my favorite one we visited because it was SO much more than just a haunted house!)

The one hosted by a church was hands down the worst – being terrorized by school shootings and abortions and car crashes was way, WAY too much for me. Especially since I knew what I was going to be asked the second we walked out the doors at the end…

We even got a private tour of a haunted house while it was under construction one evening, and the owner walked us through the whole place, pointing out every spot for actors and scare opportunities. That almost made walking through the finished product worse because I knew where the scares were going to be…and I still RAN like a little girl from the guy with a chainsaw at age 24. Haha…

We’ll blame my writer’s brain – I’m just too good at playing pretend.

 

I’m not a horror movie buff

This one goes hand in hand with haunted houses – I’m too good at believing the story. The details of super gruesome horror movies worm their way into my head and give me nightmares. I just can’t do them. I had to give up on season two of “American Horror Story” when I thought Bloody Face was in my apartment waiting to get me. Then I started dreaming he made me kill someone and the whole thing ended in very graphic details. ICK.

But horror movies full of suspense or crazy plot twists that keep me guessing? Love them. “The Woman in Black” with Daniel Radcliffe is a semi-recent favorite. I also don’t mind a lot of 70s horror movies that just seem cheesy now – “The Amityville Horror” might be one of my favorites under that umbrella.

I’m also not a movie buff in general. I am forever having to admit there’s a lot of classics I haven’t seen. *shrug* I grew up reading books, and that’s how I’d rather immerse myself in a story so it lasts longer.

That said…I’d love to hear your horror movie recommendations. I’m not opposed to them, and I’ve been watching more on Netflix this summer. Share your pick in the comments or Tweet me.

 

Blood and guts make me seriously queasy

Like, Imma-bout-to-be-sick kind of queasy. The Saw movies are 100% out for me. I also don’t watch a ton of medical shows for the same reason. Any hint of blood on TV or in a movie, and I am diving for a pillow to cover my face. I don’t know what made me this way, but here we are.

The crazy part? Early on in my journalism career, I covered a local hospital. They held a press event one afternoon to demo stainless steel clamps a local doctor had developed to use on patients whose sternum had to be sliced in half for heart surgery. The clamps locked in a unique way that pulled the patient’s chest back together instead of a doctor having to wire their chest shut. It was pretty cool!

And the whole set up was demoed on two human torso cadavers. No arms, legs or heads. Just the torso cut wide open so you could see how the clamps worked. I walked into the room knowing they were real human torsos. I snapped pictures like crazy for my assignment. Being in the room with two actual dead bodies didn’t even phase me.

I’m such a weirdo sometimes I don’t even understand myself…

 

What I love about Halloween

Okay, enough of the downer stuff. (Though I hope one or two of those made you laugh.)

So what do I love about Halloween?

  • I love watching classic Halloween movies like “Hocus Pocus” or “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.
  • I love watching all the ghost hunting specials on cable every October.
  • I love making homemade costumes.
  • I love bringing home too many pumpkins.
  • I love carving jack-o-lanterns.
  • I love squishing pumpkin guts in my hands. (That might be THE best part of Halloween for me.)
  • I love the chill in the evening air of October.
  • I love decorating my apartment into a spooky little lair.
  • I love bats and rats. (Sorry, Mom…)
  • I love making pumpkin treats.
  • I love testing new cocktail recipes for my witches brew.
  • I love planning my Halloween party, Halloweenie Roast.
  • I love making my own Halloween decorations.
  • I love going to stores and getting excited over their Halloween collections.
  • I love listening to Halloween music.
  • I love making theme Halloween playlists, like all witch songs or my favorite 60s songs.
  • I love sending my favorite people Halloween cards.

The list goes on and on and on…

 

What makes you the worst Halloween fan?

We all have that one thing everyone else loves that we don’t. What’s yours?

Your favorite “worst” Halloween fan,

Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

Miranda is the Houston-based writer, blogger, and Halloween lover behind Spooky Little Halloween, the blog celebrating October 31st all year long. Her favorite Halloween things include pumpkin guts, chocolate bars in her trick-or-treat pail, real haunted houses (including the one she lives in!), and historic cemeteries.

34 Comments

  1. Reply

    Sarah

    August 24, 2016

    Candy corn. I tried to like it once, I can’t.

  2. Reply

    Laura Worley

    August 24, 2016

    I’m not a fan of Pumpkin Spice anything either, Now give me pumpkin pie with a huge helping of whipped cream and I’m happy go lucky, I’ve never been to a “real” haunted house, just the cheesy ones put on by local neighbors and schools, I do like some Horror movies but I tend to stick to Disney type ones. I love Halloween very much does what I like or don’t like make me a worse fan than others, um nope I don’t believe so, It’s more of a spiritual holiday for me.

  3. Reply

    Autumn

    August 28, 2016

    You know what? I hate gummy worms! And I Hate the Saw movies but I love House of 1000 Corpses. ?? So I don’t love all horror.
    I am really enjoying your blog! So glad I found you and others who love Halloween to! Wish we could get together one October.

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      August 29, 2016

      Hey Autumn! I hear ya on the gummy worms. I’m super picky about gummy candies, and I don’t like many. Thanks for stopping by and reading Spooky Little Halloween. I’m thrilled to hear you’re enjoying it. :)

  4. Reply

    Autumn

    August 28, 2016

    Just watched that YouTube clip. Cool!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      August 29, 2016

      My lack of patience for haunted houses aside…the Castle of Muskogee is pretty cool at Halloween! If you’re ever in Oklahoma in October, I definitely recommend checking it out.

  5. Reply

    Stacey Rager

    September 1, 2016

    I am not a horror movie fan. Everyone thinks that because I love Halloween, that I am a Horror fan,. Drives me nuts!!!! Personally, I dont understand why they are even connected. Creepy, scary ghost movies are more Halloween then Horror movies!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      September 2, 2016

      You sound exactly like me, Stacey! I agree – creepy, scary movies are more Halloween-y in my book than horror movies. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment!

  6. Reply

    Jen Spookybones

    September 6, 2016

    I’m also not a huge horror movie fan! I get frustrated while watching them and I spend most of the time yelling at the tv “double tap you idiot!” Haha

    P.s love your website!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      September 6, 2016

      Haha! I’m forever telling people not to do dumb things in horror movies too. Then again, if they didn’t do dumb things…we’d have no story. :)

      Thank you so much for reading, Jen! I’m so glad you’re enjoying Spooky Little Halloween. LOTS more to come this season!

  7. Reply

    Virginia

    February 27, 2017

    Yeah, I can’t really do gore, either. It seems so excessive, but I guess everyone has their preferences. Haunts are a challenge, as well, for me…even though, ironically, I do enjoy working them! haha Thanks for this awesome article — great read!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      February 27, 2017

      Thanks for reading, Virginia! I agree – everyone has their preferences. Mine just happens to be for suspense over blood and guts. Looking forward to checking out your blog!

  8. Reply

    SpookySprinkles

    August 10, 2017

    First off, I wouldn’t say a dislike for Pumpkin Spice means a knock on Halloween, it’s a Fall flavor. I like it in some stuff and not in others, but the question here is….if not pumpkin spice, do you enjoy Apple Cider stuff??? haha

    Sometimes I think we were cut from the same cloth. I can’t watch a slasher horror movie to save my life but I’ve got my own collection full of Goosebumps, Eerie Indiana, Hocus Pocus, Looney Tunes Halloween, Garfield Halloween. Beetlejuice etc etc etc. Frankly I don’t understand why a guy who can’t be killed running around with a knife is an attractive thing to begin with….and yes, they also give me nightmares.

    I also enjoy real paranormal stuff, as I’ve had my own experiences, but I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night without my glasses on seeing an apparition above my bed…yikes! Have you watched Kindred Spirits on TLC yet? That’s a great one.

    I won’t walk into a haunted house, had yucky experiences as a kid. Also, those aren’t “haunted” houses, they’re just people doing icky things haha but put me up in some haunted mansion with an evp meter and a camera and hey hey hey!

    But I feel ya girl, there’s something about Autumn. The air, the colors, pumpkins, the feel of all of it. You don’t need pumpkin spice and gore in your face to be a Halloween fan ;)

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      August 11, 2017

      Ah, someone who GETS it! <3 I'm glad you can relate to all my silly quirks. And hopefully this answer doesn't make me lose points: I like apple cider in small doses. I've never been crazy about apple juice, but I like apples themselves. Perhaps I just haven't had a GOOD version of apple cider.

      • SpookySprinkles

        August 11, 2017

        I would say maybe it’s because Texas that you haven’t had a real good apple cider? If we ever do meet up, I’ll make sure to bring something good for ya, as long as it’s in season. There’s an orchard near me that has one of my faves, it does taste more like apples than all the spices and gunk that can be added…and it’s still ok! No points lost here. Having that love for Halloween means you do you, as long as it’s legal…lol I’ve been in a place where I knew this one guy, and he wouldn’t stop badgering me saying “You can’t possibly be an actual halloween fan if you can’t watch horror movies.” He was SO upset that I hadn’t seen the Chucky films, no thank you. I’ve actually met the director Tom Holland and he’s lovely, just no to a doll that’s going to come alive and kill me. And how is THAT the spirit of Halloween? I haven’t talked to that guy in a long time actually. There are bullies like that and yet, if I go to a “horror convention” those crowds are some of the sweetest, nicest people I’ve ever met and I love the “spooky” community. I go to comic cons and conventions for shows where it’s mostly girls going for a hot actor too haha and spooky conventions have the best crowd by far. I’d say that guy I just spoke about is probably the “worst halloween fan ever” haha because he’s too narrow-minded about it. I just went off on a tangent there, lol apologies.

  9. Reply

    Rhonda

    August 30, 2017

    Rest assured, Miranda, you are not alone. I can’t stand pumpkin flavored anything. It makes me gag. I love monster movies but I refuse to watch bloody hacker movies. I think it’s because monsters aren’t real but there are a lot of evil people out there and it’s just too realistic for me to handle. I’ll do a hayride but if I have to walk through a haunted attraction were people get in my face, I’m out.

  10. Reply

    Alice

    October 7, 2017

    Hi, Miranda! I found your blog through Sarah Morgan’s promo of her course and now I can’t wait to receive the newsletter!! I decided to leave a comment under this post because I definitely see myself in it, I can’t watch horror movies at all, haha. Halloween is my favorite holiday after Christmas and I’m so happy I was born the 27th of October because I usually celebrate both my birthday and Halloween together with my friends :)

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      October 7, 2017

      Hey Alice, welcome! I adore Sarah and all that she’s taught me, so I’m glad that’s how you found me. :) Looking forward to celebrating Halloween with you…all year long!

  11. Reply

    Richelle Ehrenhard

    December 31, 2017

    I always liked creepy stuff (maybe because i like metal ) but this year we celebrate halloween for the first time in the Netherlands and i was really good! Really fun site miranda!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      January 2, 2018

      That is awesome! I love hearing from people around the world who celebrate Halloween. Glad you’re a part of our spooky little community, Richelle!

  12. Reply

    Mary Kate

    February 13, 2018

    I’m not a horror movie or gory fan either. I can only do it if it’s funny, or over the top fake like some of the Tim Burton stuff like “Sweeney Todd” or ” Sleepy Hollow”. My favorite Halloween movie is an old one called “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”. It’s a great comedy duo from the 1940s that gets to deal with all the classic movie monsters and much silliness ensues. They did a couple of spooky themed movies that are all lovely and silly. Absolutely love your blog, by the way! Keep up the spookiness!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      February 14, 2018

      You’re better than me, Mary Kate – I don’t even like the laughable stuff! I’ve never seen the movie you mentioned, but it sounds like fun. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it!

      Thanks so much for stopping by the blog and commenting! Glad you’re a part of our spooky little community.

  13. Reply

    Ashley Chapman

    August 21, 2018

    I know this is an old blog post, but you just featured it on your IG story and I wanted to comment.
    I, too, am not a fan of “pumpkin spice”. Though I do also like pumpkin bread and muffins and the like. I get excited for Starbucks’ Salted Caramel around this time of year, mostly. And cider. Lots of cider.
    I, too, cannot do horror movies or anything remotely violent or gory. It’s extremely triggering, and with my eidetic memory, they stay with me forever. I seriously remember scary scenes from things from when I was 4 years old that still plague me. It’s very strange how a love for Halloween became synonymous with a love for violence, blood, and gore. Not so with me. I like the magic, spookiness, and enchantment of the holiday. Not murder and torture.
    I HATE JUMP SCARES. They piss me off, and I’ve kicked people in the groin (seriously.) so no haunted houses, mazes, Knott’s Scary Farm or anything of the like for me. Plus I’m claustrophobic and hate clowns. So… not a good situation for me, normally.
    But I love literally everything you do about the season. It fills me with such utter joy. I’m so thankful for Halloween and other Halloween lovers like you that help us all keep the spirit alive amongst all of us :).

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      September 17, 2018

      Thanks for reading and sharing, Ashley! This is probably one of my favorite posts to share because it still makes me laugh.

      I’m glad I’m not the only Halloween lover who doesn’t enjoy violence and gore and haunted houses. <3

  14. Reply

    Roxanne Rhoads

    September 20, 2018

    I’m not into haunted houses either. The jump scares bother me the most. I react badly when I am startled.

    I like horror movies, of a certain kind. I’m not into guts and gore. So no slasher movies or those that rely on jump scares. I like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, etc. Not serial killing weirdos that stalk, torture and kill.

    Pumpkin spice is more of a scent pleasure than taste pleasure in my home. Candles, wax melts, incense….all over the place. But I’m not really into the flavor.

    And candy corn is gross.

    We can’t like ALL the things. LOL

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      September 20, 2018

      I just don’t get a ton of enjoyment out of being scared in that type of environment. Give me psychological thriller movies that mess with my head any day!

  15. Reply

    Señor Scary

    April 16, 2019

    I’m the worst Halloween person ever because I hate costumes on me! I love seeing others costumes, but the thought of getting into a ridiculous costume, having people stare at me, laugh, and guess what I am is a daily occurrence. Why add another day? I’d rather lurk in the shadows and frighten people, or hide in a dark theater watching horror movies. When I die, I’m going to be a terrifying ghost!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      April 16, 2019

      I’m the complete opposite, but I love and relate to your reason for not liking costumes. And we need people who are willing to scare others to make some of the Halloween magic happen, right?

  16. Reply

    Miranda

    September 16, 2021

    Hello my fellow Miranda! I feel exactly the same way about Halloween. I love fall, pumpkins, black cats and witches but not into horror and the scary stuff. Pumpkin spice is just the worst.

  17. Reply

    Jeff

    September 22, 2021

    I love this list. And I so appreciate what you said about feeling like the worst Halloween fan, even while loving the season. It is hands-down my favorite time of year, and my favorite holiday. That being said, like you, I don’t love ALL of it.

    Oddly enough, I don’t get into wearing costumes that much. I love seeing creative costumes, and so appreciate the people who make the effort to dress up. For me, I think it’s a combo of growing up in Seattle, where it usually rained, which meant that whatever costume my sister and my friends and I came up with, our parents wanted us to wear raincoats over it for trick-or-treating. BUMMER! Also, I usually have lots of fun ideas but no idea how to execute them, and I end up falling short and hating the whole process.

    Major blood and guts: same. ICK! Too scary and vomit-inducing for me. I like spooky, mysterious, tense … that’s my flavor. All out terrorizing? No thanks.

    What I love so much about the season: the changing of the light, the shorter days, the fall leaves, Halloween decorations, the treats (savory and sweet), the scary spooky I read and write, great spooky/fun movies (Practical Magic – LOVE IT), all things witches, carving pumpkins, the music, and other people’s fun and cute costumes!

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      September 24, 2021

      Thanks for sharing, Jeff! I think that’s the beauty of Halloween too: everyone has something they love about it, and everyone else just accepts that. :) Definitely one of the most welcoming communities I have ever been a part of.

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