Why I Write a Halloween Blog All Year Long

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When I tell people I write a blog about Halloween year-round, I usually get one of three responses:

Response #1: “OMG, I have a friend who loves Halloween and would read that!”

Response #2: “OMG, I love Halloween too!”

Response #3: “Um, what?”

(Settle in, kiddies. This post is a long read.)

Can you guess which response is my favorite one? It’s not response #1…or response #2.

Yup. I love when I get the blank stares, confounded faces and confused, “Um, wait – what?!” responses.

I got my first one in early 2017 when I attended a local conference for bloggers. Now first, you have to understand that I hate networking events. I’m not a fan of small talk, so I usually dread anything you’d use the word “mingle” to describe. Walking into a room of people I don’t know where there is nothing to do BUT small talk amps up my anxiety.

(Free horror movie idea right there if you want to terrify introverts!)

But I was determined to make the most of the experience, and I figured if nothing else…my blog topic would be a good conversation starter.

I was NOT wrong about that assumption. As I introduced myself, the responses started rolling in and, for the most part, they were #1 or #2. But then a girl with curly red hair stopped dead in her tracks when I said ‘Halloween’ and gave me my first, “Wait – what?!”

It’s true! I told her proudly. Halloween – all year!

“So what do you write about in June?”

At that point, I hadn’t written anything in June because I was about 18 months in and it took me a little while to find my writing groove (#storyofmylife).

Off the top of my head, I brainstormed: Halloween beach products, summer jack-o-lanterns and oh yeah! I had this great playlist with 60s summer vibes to it.

I doubt she remembers our conversation two years later but for me, THAT was the moment I truly became a Halloween blogger.

 

 

Spooky Little Halloween: The Origin Story

Halloween blogger is never a title I thought I’d have. It happened totally by accident.

But to truly start at the beginning, we have to go back to 2012: the year of my epic Harry Potter-themed Halloweenie Roast. I still try not to think about how much time I spent cutting, folding and constructing Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean and Chocolate Frog boxes from patterns I found on the Internet. Or how much money I spent on one-time use things, like my chocolate frog molds, DIY floating candles and all those Harry Potter prizes found on Etsy.

I worked on that party literally every weekend for seven weeks straight and spent well over $500…

During that time, I found myself scouring the Internet for epic Halloween parties to garner ideas from, but for the most part…I came up empty.

In 2013, I resumed my party inspiration searches when I became determined to make the perfect Janet Weiss costume for my Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed party. (I think I did pretty damn good.)

And by the time 2014 rolled around, an idea popped in my head:

What if I started a blog to share my Halloween parties?

I had NO idea what else I would put on it, and at the time I was writing a music blog called The Good Groupie (which I just resurrected, if you want to check it out) – my “free” time was accounted for.

But the idea stuck with me over the next eight months, and by the time I was diving into serious Halloween party planning mode in mid-July of 2015 I was obsessed with the idea of a Halloween blog.

Surely there must be others out there already, I thought. And there were a few I found quickly using basic search terms: Sam’s Halloween Happy YouTube channel and Sarah’s blog, The Spooky Vegan. Aside from party idea blogs, however, there wasn’t anyone out there doing Halloween parties, exclusively.

 

 

My First Halloween Season

So what do you do when you can’t find the blog you want to read AND you’re a writer?

You write it yourself.

The exact tipping point was a late summer evening in August 2015: I was sitting at my desk trying to organize all the Halloween ideas I’d saved on my personal Pinterest account. As I clicked “create board” on board number 12…I had to admit I had a Halloween problem, and it could only be solved one way.

I made up my mind: I was doing it. I was going to start a Halloween blog.

I started brainstorming ideas for design and content. I’d always loved the modification to the lyrics of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to “Have yourself a spooky little Halloween”. I felt like that line summed up perfectly my kind of Halloween: a spooky, cozy and happy celebration of my favorite day of the year.

It stuck, I grabbed the domain spookylittlehalloween.com, and over Labor Day weekend 2015 I built the blog. On Sept. 14, 2015, I published my first post and was off and running for my first Halloween season.

And I’ve never looked back.

 

 

Why I Write a Halloween Blog All Year Long

These days, I can’t imagine my life without Spooky Little Halloween. It was just the creative outlet I needed. And, if I’m honest, I’ve always liked being the offbeat friend in the group – being labeled a Halloween blogger definitely qualifies as offbeat! (What can I say? Life is just more interesting when you’re quirky…)

I was interviewed recently on the podcast for the blogger conference I mentioned at the beginning of my story about what it’s like to be a niche blogger. Since then I’ve been thinking about why I keep going with Spooky Little Halloween. It’s turned into a short list of the reasons why I write a Halloween blog year-round.

 

1. I couldn’t stop thinking about Halloween

Halloween is my Christmas – and I say that as a way to put it into context for you. Some people love Christmas so much they light up their whole house, put up multiple Christmas trees and decorate their home from floor to ceiling with red and green.

That is my Halloween dream. Someday, I’ll be the weird Halloween house on the block that has yard decor and lights outside and is drenched in black and orange on the inside.

The further I got into hosting Halloweenie Roast, the more elaborate I got about Halloween…which led to me thinking about party plans all year long…and eventually how to Halloweenify my entire life. If I could live in Halloweentown all year long, I would.

 

2. I wanted a place to share my parties

Spooky Little Halloween started as a place to share my own parties after spending SO much time trying to hunt down great Halloween party ideas on the Internet and coming up short. These days, that’s part of what I do, but the type of Halloween content I share has grown into so much more!

 

3. I wanted every day to feel a bit more like Halloween

October 31st has always felt different to me. There’s palpable magic in the air. It’s a feeling I try to hang on to the rest of the year, esp. on days when I’m feeling frustrated or down, as a little pick-me-up. It’s something that’s brought SO many of us in the Halloween community together.

 

4. I started having a blast trying to Halloweenify everything

And I do mean everything. When you’re finding ideas for a Halloween bathroom, you know you’re deep in your love of the spooky life. The magic of the Internet is if you can think it, you can probably find it. So far, the Internet hasn’t let me down when it comes to Halloween.

Halloweenifying everything is also one of my favorite creative outlets these days. I’ve always liked making things, so exploring ways to decorate for other holidays using Halloween icons, like candy corn or jack-o-lanterns, makes me happy to no end.

 

5. I love the Halloween community

This is my favorite reason. When I started Spooky Little Halloween, it was on a whim and with ZERO expectations for any readership. After I found my writing groove, I was blown away by how much it grew – I’ve essentially doubled my social media and website traffic stats every year. I couldn’t believe there was actually an audience for this silly little passion project!

And as I got to know people, I was floored by how endlessly kind-hearted and accepting everyone is. I genuinely mean that. There is not a single person I’ve met in the Halloween community who has turned up their nose at what I do or acted clique-ish. (Man, was THAT a change from the music world…)

Everyone co-exists and respects what everyone else brings to the table, even if it isn’t 100% their style of Halloween. That blows me away and makes me SO grateful I can make a little bit of Halloween magic to contribute.

 

 

 

And that’s how I became a Halloween blogger.

It might not be the most exciting of tales, but it’s a genuine one. And as long as you guys keep joining me for this adventure, we’ll keep it going year after year!

If you dig what I do, I’d love for you to tell a Halloween-loving friend about my site. And if you need a little dose of Halloween in your social media feeds, here’s where you can find me:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

 

And if you’re still reading…thanks for sticking around for the long read and for being a part of my spooky little family online. I appreciate it more than you know.

 

Happy haunting,

 

February 5, 2019

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.

15 Comments

  1. Reply

    Tabitha

    January 29, 2019

    Hey Miranda! :) I’ve been following you across social media over the last year and really appreciated you sharing your world with us in this blog post! I always love a good origin story and found myself resonating with all of the reasons you listed for starting a Halloween blog. It makes my heart tremendously happy to know there are like-minded individuals out there that love the spirit of Halloween as much as we do and I always get so excited when I cross another soul with that love for all things spooky. Thank you for sharing your love for Halloween with us and I can’t wait to see what else you come up with in the future :)

  2. Reply

    Kristin

    January 29, 2019

    When I get frustrated with work, I come to your blog for my little daily Halloween “fix”! Thanks so much for providing that!

    “Walking into a room of people I don’t know where there is nothing to do BUT small talk amps up my anxiety. (Free horror movie idea right there if you want to terrify introverts!)”
    *runs away screaming*

  3. Reply

    Michaelanne

    January 29, 2019

    This blog always cheers me up!

  4. Reply

    Lauren

    February 1, 2019

    Hey Miranda!
    I love that you write this blog! It definitely keeps me in the Halloween spirit all year long! It’s my favorite holiday too! Thanks for all your hard work! 🎃❤️

  5. Reply

    AJ

    February 15, 2019

    Miranda

    Let me also say thank you to you and everyone like you that posts, writes, creates, shares all that is Halloween. Reading your posts helps keep the excitement and anticipation for Halloween going all year long.

  6. Reply

    Chelsea

    May 11, 2019

    I’m sure I’ve read this story before, if not this exact post and in bits here and there, but I still love reading it non-the-less. I’m so happy you’re still here and still filled with so much passion for Halloween and all that it brings to the table. Thanks for adding to an already unique community by opening it to even more possibilities and potentials!

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