The Darker Side of Blogging: A Spooky Roundup, Part One

All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween, Samhain, and the Day of the Dead are nearly upon us. What better time to take a look at the darker side of WordPress.com?

Our bloggers cover the spooky spectrum, from horror film reviewers to Wiccans to Halloween crafters to bioarchaeologists (they study bones!). This weekend we’re bringing you a double dose of the heebie-jeebies, with Halloween and witchcraft bloggers today, and other offbeat spooky topics tomorrow.

If you’re a fan of fright or just want to explore something new, get ready for the creepiest holiday season with these eerie entries:

Halloween Howlers

Are costumes and crafts more your speed than monsters and mayhem? There’s no shortage of inspiration on WordPress.com, with tons of bloggers dedicated to getting you and your little ones ready for an epic night of trick or treating.

The bloggers behind D.I.Y. Halloween take October 31st very seriously:

Every year, all month long, for the month of October, our family turns our whole house into Halloween Town. This blog will show you how we do it.

They chronicle the DIY projects that take their house from homey to haunted, from Dracula glass lanterns to ghostly Halloween wreaths. They also curate Halloween ideas from around the web, as in this collection of spooky finger foods. Many of their projects are aimed at families with young kids — the whole family can get into the Halloween spirit, and simple supplies like paper plates and markers make them budget-friendly.

If you’re looking for costume inspiration, look no further than Daze of Deception, where Macey blogs her love of costume and disguise all year long. Her latest post is a lifesaver for those who are despairing their lack of costume so close to the big day — she’ll help you turn yourself into a Day of the Dead skull with some facepaint and a few flowers.

Her simple but effective costume ideas span the spectrum from goofy (Gumby, anyone?) to gruesome (an impressively realistic half woman, half zombie), so there’s something for everyone.

For Celeste, the blogger behind Halloween Culture, Halloween is “not just a holiday, it’s a way of life.” It’s as though the Monster theme was made just for her:

Celeste keeps an eye out for costume, craft, food, and decoration ideas all year long, making her blog a treasure trove when October rolls around — as as you skim her site, you’ll be introduced to dozens of great sources for more tools and tips. (For more inspiration November through September, visit Eva’s The Year of Halloween.)

White Witchcraft

Halloween may conjure images of black-hatted, warty-nosed, broomstick-riding witches, but there are many practicing witches — women and men — whose observances are more about connecting with nature than turning naughty little boys into newts.  This Halloween season, visit a few of the witches who make their virtual covens on WordPress.com.

The Used Key is Always Bright is home to an “old-fashioned witch cautiously sticking her toe out onto the information highway.” Why a used key? Blogger Benedith y Cyrn explains her site’s title, which comes from a Benjamin Franklin quote:

The key which is seldom used builds up rust, while the key that’s often used, through wear, stays shiny.

I’d take this a step farther, and say it also means the more you do something, the better you are at it.  So the more you read about witchcraft, the better you are at … well … reading about witchcraft.

Franklin’s quote inspires me to spend more time Working the Arte, and less time sitting on my ample backside reading about it.

On her blog, you’ll find everything from musings on tarot to poetry to posts on how to develop “The Sight” — inspirational and practical witchcraft for the 21st century.

An earthy, moody version of the Chateau theme sets the stage for The Dreaming Wood:

The Dreaming Wood explores “Germanic and Northern European folklore and magic, kitchen witchery, American folk magic, gardening, woods-wandering, and finding out about hidden things.” Those who are toying with the idea of Wicca or paganism would do well to check out her latest post, “Are You a Witch, or What?”

A number of other WordPress witches have playfully-named sites that turn the trope of the wicked witch on its head. For a cheeky approach to Wicca, take a look at:

• Cauldron and Brew: A Witch’s Blog (which also makes use of the mystical Strange Little Town theme that works so well for D.I.Y. Halloween), the virtual home of Ariadne, a 20-something witch.
• Warts n’ All, a witch-in-progress who’s working to reconstruct traditional Irish pagan practices.
• The Ditzy Druid, a fledgling druid who also lives out traditional Irish/Celtic culture and ritual.

Inspired to make this the scariest Halloween ever? We hope so! If you need another push toward the dark side, look out for Part Two tomorrow.

---

Email Newsletter

Missing out on the latest WordPress.com developments? Enter your email below to receive future announcements direct to your inbox. An email confirmation will be sent before you will start receiving notifications—please check your spam folder if you don't receive this.

Email Address:

Follow

Join 110.1M other subscribers