5 Things I’ve Learned in my 5 Years as a Halloween Blogger

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Halloween blogger was never a title I expected to have.

By now you likely know the story: back in 2015, I was a ghoul on the hunt for a singular space on the Internet full of Halloween party ideas. I kept coming up empty and since I had the professional skills…I created the Halloween blog I wanted to read.

It was a thought that floated around in my head for almost a year before I actually decided to make it a reality. The tipping point? Organizing and reorganizing my Halloween content on Pinterest into so many boards that it was getting out of hand…

So in the span of a weekend, I came up with my blog name (a play on the phrase “have yourself a merry little Christmas”, in case that isn’t clear), built the site and hit publish on my first post on Sept. 14, 2015.

It was truly just supposed to be a space for myself to document my parties and share Halloween ideas. I never, ever expected it to become anything.

 

 

But five years later, here we are.

And honestly? I couldn’t be happier about it. Delving into the online Halloween world has shifted my life in so many interesting ways. It’s given me a creative outlet, introduced me to new friends, allowed me to travel to new places and made me truly own who I am inside and out.

Spooky Little Halloween may have started on a whim, but I wouldn’t trade the journey its taken me on for anything.

During the past five years, I’ve learned a thing or two…so to celebrate today, I’m reflecting and sharing a few of my favorites with you.

 

5 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Halloween Blogger

 

1. Being a niche blogger is a TON of fun.

You might not know that before running Spooky Little Halloween I had a music blog called The Good Groupie. I loved it, but I never quite found my footing with it. As a result, I spent a lot of time combing through online blogging courses and a lot of money investing in in-person conferences to learn as much as I could.

Little did I know I was chasing the wrong interest.

It still took me almost a year to fall into a routine with Spooky Little Halloween, but once I started…I couldn’t stop. In that time I realized that by getting so specific with my blog’s topic…it actually opened up my creativity and allowed me to explore a ton of areas, like recipes, DIYs and playlists, through the Halloween lens.

These days, I get excited for new ways to Halloweenify holidays and seasons, and the reason I can keep going with it is that I genuinely love what I’m writing about.

If you’re curious about what running Spooky Little Halloween looks like behind-the-scenes, check out this interview I did on my friend Bree’s podcast about two years ago.

 

2. Scary stuff, like horror movies and haunted houses, might not be so bad…

One thing you’ll learn about me pretty quickly is I have ZERO problems laughing at myself and how ridiculous I can be. I did that in August 2016 when I shared four reasons I thought I was the worst Halloween lover ever. At the time, I did genuinely dislike the items on the list…but I thought it’d be funny to share them since they’re all things most Halloween lovers, well, love.

On that list were the facts that: 1. haunted attractions terrify me thanks to an experience I had in fourth grade; and 2. I can’t handle horror movies because of the blood-and-guts factor.

My, how times change.

In 2018 at Midsummer Scream, I agreed to give the mini haunts a try…and actually enjoyed them. So much so that I was the one encouraging our group to hit those first in 2019. I also tested out a virtual haunted house (pictured above!) at Texas Haunter’s Convention I enjoyed…even if I was scared while doing it. I still think about what was in that bathtub I refused to glance over…

Then enter 2020 as the year I started finding horror movies I love. My spooky BFF Matt gave me this list, and I’m almost through the entire thing. I really enjoy the “Halloween” franchise and liked the kitch of “Return of the Living Dead”. My favorite horror movie isn’t on his list though – “Midsommar”. I still get chills thinking about that ending…

 

Move over, Oprah - there's a new favorite things list! Today I'm sharing my favorite Halloween things...plus how you can win them.

3. I will always have a love/hate relationship with pumpkin coffee.

Every year I try it again thinking maybe I’ll like it better. At this point, I think I try more for the comedy of the experience than anything else. Or maybe I’m just trying to wear myself down? I’m not sure.

What I do know is I don’t absolutely hate the pumpkin cream cold brew at Starbucks, and I seem to prefer pumpkin drinks from local coffee shops over chains. I even took a stab at making my own pumpkin whipped coffee, pictured above.

But I think no matter how hard I try…it’s always going to be love/hate with pumpkin coffee. I prefer my coffee how I prefer my magic: black. (That’s a joke…)

 

4. You can take anything – and I mean anything – and make it Halloween.

One of my favorite parts of running Spooky Little Halloween is wondering if someone’s created a Halloween product for something totally random…and then scouring the Internet until I find it.

A few of my fave examples of this? These ideas for a Halloween bathroom, these Halloween jigsaw puzzles, these Halloween items for winter and these Halloween games!

I also have a blast making other holidays and seasons Halloweeny, like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, spring and summer.

 

5. The Halloween community is full of the nicest people on the Internet.

The Internet became a thing the year I turned 13, so it’s been a part of most of my life. Around 16, I started blogging, making Internet friends and occupying online spaces. I’ve never looked back, and these days having friends I only know through the Internet scattered all over the country – and all over the world, for that matter – feels 100% normal.

I’m 36 now, and over the span of the last 20 years I’ve lived in a lot of different online communities. But in that time, I can genuinely say I have never met a kinder or more accepting community than the Halloween one. It’s my favorite Internet family I’ve ever belonged to.

 

 

Your turn! What’s been your favorite part of Spooky Little Halloween?

I ask because here’s the thing: this place would NOT exist without you. If your eyeballs were reading this sentence, if you hadn’t followed a link here, if you hadn’t Googled something and landed here…Spooky Little Halloween wouldn’t exist. This is as much your space as it is mine, so I’d love to hear what your favorite thing about the blog is in the comments!

And last, but certainly not least…THANK YOU. Thanks for taking the time to read this, for hanging out in this Internet space with me and for celebrating Halloween all year long. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.

 

Happy haunting,

 

 

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.

8 Comments

  1. Reply

    Kelly

    September 14, 2020

    Happy Anniversary, Miranda! I’m not sure when I landed here, maybe 2017ish, summertime, looking for Halloween blogs to follow (because I knew there had to be some!). Not only does your blog provide me with excelllent ideas and inspiration to incorporate Halloween all year long, but you provide so many ways to connect with others in the Halloween community. LIke you, I prefer spooky cute over blood and guts and I love that there’s a community (you helped create) for people like us! Cheers!

  2. Reply

    Kristen

    September 14, 2020

    Congratulations on your 5th Blog-aversary! Thank you for creating a wonderful place for us who don’t always feel normal or included. Spooky Little Halloween is an online “home” for me to return to when days are difficult or I need a break from my troubles. Thank you for always being there Miranda.

  3. Reply

    Rachel Strickler

    September 14, 2020

    My favorite part of Spooky Little Halloween is having it year round. I don’t need to explain this to you, but Halloween lives rent free in my brain and is often my go to seratonin saver. Everything about Autumn time hits different and it’s hard to explain why. I can probably make a 20 page front-back list of all the specifics. Everyone I meet who also shares the same love of spooky time is the best, so solidarity is found here :)

  4. Reply

    Lauren

    September 14, 2020

    Happy Anniversary Miranda! Thank you for sharing the Halloween love always! My favorite part of your blog is when you go Halloween hunting and I get to see all the new products without wasting gas. Then I can get what I want and I know exactly where it is!

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