Editorials
10 Horrific Horror Home Goods to Haunt Your Abode
Surely, I’m not the only one ransacking Target come November 1st of every year, wracking up on all the clearance Halloween decorations – many of which just appear to be gothic decor. Halloween be damned! The truth is, if you stray towards the daker sensibilities, it can be difficult to find items to give your home the pleasant “doom and gloom” vibe you so desperately seek. Once, I even resorted to taking the chintzy, plastic “gold plated” chandelier that seems to be a mainstay in everyone’s first apartment, and spray painted it black. Getting crafty is often a necessity. Thankfully, in this day and age of Etsy and Pinterest, you can find your favorite indie shop for off-kilter goods, or rely on the wealth of knowledge out there to learn how to spice up that junk furniture you picked up at the thrift store.
Here are ten items you can buy…and a few you can make yourself, that will loudly proclaim to any house guest, home is where the horror is!
Smell the Fear
SickWix is a killer little Etsy shop with a line of horror film themed candles. The collection ranges from the above pictured Child’s Play and Friday the 13th to It and amazing, sculpted Halloween candles in the shape of The Shape’s ghostly mug. Fragrances range from “Sour Patch Kids,” “Die, Die, Pumpkin Pie,” and “Tortured Woods.” Each selection comes with various scent options to choose from. I have to admit, I’m a smidge jealous as a horror film candle line is on my list of “one day when I have the time.” For now, SickWix looks to be where it’s at.
Purchase Here
“Love” Horror?
It seems like every cozy kitchen and warm living area features at least one of these simple pieces emblazoned with graphics of words like “Hope,” “Peace,” or “Home.” The other popular term often found plastered on top of various home goods is “Love.” I can’t count how many times I’ve looked past these signs during my lost in time trips to TJ Maxx. Are you a horror lover or just a horror fan who loves love? Either way, this charming woodwork is a piece that should make you look twice. Featuring iconic slasher accouterment all together spelling out “L-O-V-E,” this seems like a no-brainer for genre fans seeking a welcoming touch to their gruesome abode.
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Morning Cup o’ Michael?
I’m addicted to coffee. I worked at Starbucks for almost ten years, and during that time I got used to plenty of free iced black coffee. FREE! Those days are long gone, and while I don’t get my coffee on the zero anymore, I still need it as soon as I roll out of bed. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start the day than to sip my fresh brew out of this sleek Shape mug. These mugs can even be customized to match whatever color palette your haunted house is sporting. If Michael isn’t your gig (for whatever reason that may be), designer MerchMassacre’s Etsy shop is loaded with other mugs, tumblers, and even hoodies from various horror franchises. From the night he came home to your morning cup of joe…
Purchase Here
Time Travel to the Days of VHS
At Etsy shop NancyJars, you can find an array of upcycled VHS goodies. There are a number of “VHS lamps” that feature the logos of your favorite flicks from The Thing to Ghostbusters, and even Black Panther (Nancy doesn’t waste any time). But, let’s face it. The greatest thing about the age of VHS is the cover art. That’s something celebrated by the collection of VHS Clocks on sale at NancyJars. They’re minimalist clocks that allow the artwork to shine through without pesky numbers muckin’ up the place. Options range from Jurassic Park, the pictured “Goosebumps,” and Scream. Granted, if you don’t see a clock that strikes your fancy, the designs can serve as great inspiration for making your own.
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Everyday is Halloween…
…At the Halloweentown Store! This website features pretty much any and everything you might find at Spirit Halloween come the end of September, only this site operates year round! They also feature a lot more than just what you could track down for your cute little costume party at a seasonal retailer. The above image might look like it’s nothing more than retro style Frankenstein mask, and well…okay, that’s pretty much what it is. But, it features an easy to hang hook on the back for display on your wall. Even better, there’s a broad selection of these old-school monster masks from The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Vampira (or their non-copyrighted counterparts “Fish Face” and “Vampyra Girl”), so you can really build up quite the statement wall with these pieces.
Purchase Here
Cooking Up Something Devilish?
Horror Decor has a little something for everyone. They’re kind of like Bed, Bath, and The Beyond…or something like that. They’re the home to Horror Buddies, a wide array of creepy candles and wax melts, as well as VHS pillows! They really do have a bit of something for everyone and every room in your house. I wanted to focus a bit on the kitchen, though, and Horror Decor’s “Pumpkin Pail” collection offered up just what I needed. “Pumpkin Pail” features five different classic Halloween images (some appear very Trick r’ Treat inspired as well) that are gorgeously illustrated. The artwork genuinely calls to mind nostalgic nights spent going door to door begging for candy and fearing something evil was waiting around every corner. You can get the designs on candles, enamel pins, tote bags, and of course, these too hot to handle pot holders. Remember, even something as simple as a square piece of fabric meant for handling a searing cast iron can be a design element.
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Don’t Let A Salt and Pepper Shaker Cross Your Path
Also from Halloweentown Store, these black cat salt and pepper shakers are totes adorbs. They’d go perfect with the above Pumpkin Pail line given their classic Samhain aesthetic. If your style is a bit more modern, however, they’ve also got a straightforward set of black and white skull shakers. Of course, you could always just fill them both up with Pumpkin Spice. It somehow seems more apropos.
Purchase Here
Summon Spirits from Your Coffee Table
So this DIY Ouija board coffee table is 100% amazing and sure to become the center of conversation at your next dinner party. I mean, you’ll be able to brag to your guests all about how you built the thing with your own bare hands AND strike up a new friendship with spirits from the other side…all at the same time! Now that’s what I call a multifunctional piece. Full disclosure, the instructions are fairly complex for those of us who might not be the woodshop type, but I fully intend to give it a go myself. Creator Purpletheory has several demented DIY projects worth checking out over at Instructables.
Instructions Here
X-ray Vision Bathroom Break
You could always get a black and white photo of a classic celeb like James Dean or Marilyn Monroe, stick it on your bathroom wall, and call it a day (seriously, why is that such a go-to thing?). Or, you could get a bit creative. Afterall, the bathroom is where we grope, groom, and observe our own anatomy – why not make a statement of it? Simply print off some X-ray images and place them within a bold frame. Look, ma, I made art! I discovered this little decor diddy over at the DIY Network site. The specific article’s title, “Teenage Girl’s Goth-Style Bathroom,” may be a tad cringe-worthy but some of the ideas could be used by even those of us above the age of 18.
Goth Teenage Girl Ideas Here?
Get Thee to a Paint Store
When all else fails, do what I did with my gross apartment light fixture. Get some black paint in your life! Just don’t blame me if you don’t get your security deposit back. :/ It’s amazing what you can do with old junky furniture. You can really make a statement with any room design by simply picking a bold color (and really, what’s bolder than black?) and painting a few eye-catching pieces to truly make a splash. Want a “worn” antique look? Like the armoire above, you can paint the furniture and then go over it in places with steel wool or sandpaper to give it a natural-looking weathered finish.
I hope I was able to give you a few ideas on how to haunt your own home, because horror isn’t just entertainment – it’s a lifestyle.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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