October is my favourite month.  Summer is over and the cooler temperatures are returning, the shops are filled with Halloween decorations (which I pretty much use all year round).  I love Halloween and all the spooky vibes that it brings.  So if you’re looking to get into the spooky spirit; here are my film and video game recommendations!

Films

• The Nightmare before Christmas – The beauty of this film is that it can be a Halloween or a Christmas movie and I definitely watch it during both holidays because it’s one of my favourite films.  Tim Burton is one of the great creative minds in film.
• Hocus Pocus – This one is a childhood favourite and I love a bit of nostalgia at Halloween.
• Halloween and Halloween II – I couldn’t experience Halloween properly without watching these films, there’s something about classic/slasher horror that surpasses modern horror and jump scares.  These two films are classics…although I’m not a fan of the more recent additions to the series.
• The Shining – I don’t think any spooky movie list is complete without, at least one Stephen King film.  I remember watching this film for the first time and finding it truly disturbing.  There’s something about psychological horror that’s way more scary than other horror genres.  I also recommend the book, it’s just as terrifying, but in a; ‘ I can’t stop reading’ way.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street – Freddy Krueger is another classic horror character that still scares me.  Robert Englund does an amazing job of making this character utterly terrifying.  It will make you want to sleep with the lights on though, so watch that electricity bill!
• It (1990 or 2017) – So this is a film I recommend because it’s terrifying but I avoid because I have a real phobia of clowns.  My Mum forced me to go see the 2017 one at the cinema and I actually cried in utter horror the entire movie.  Despite this, I still recommend it because it’s a great rendition of another spine-chilling Stephen King book.
• The Addams Family – Sometimes I feel like I should have been born into the Adams family because my wardrobe consists of 90% black clothing and I use Halloween decorations as normal room aesthetics.  For those reasons, I love this film because it’s full of spooky vibes and it’s just light-hearted humour.
• The Conjuring – A movie on the more modern side of horror but one that is pretty terrifying, especially if you believe in the paranormal. 
• Insidious – Another modern horror movie.  The jump scares in this one legitimately got me tensing in apprehension every few minutes.  Again, it’s paranormal themed and especially creepy if you believe in ghosts and hauntings.
• Friday the 13th – Another example of classic/slasher horror and it’s got to be included since we actually have a Friday 13th this month!  It’s one of those cheesy horror movies that still manages to be iconic.

Video Games

• The Evil Within – A survivor horror game that has some pretty disturbing and scary scenes.  It has a really good story and characters, plus the bosses you face are terrifying and I repeatedly had to pause and gather my wits to beat some of them.
• Outlast – I think any game that involves investigating a psychiatric hospital brings a sense of dread and impending doom; this game delivers that.  Playing it, you know something terrifying is around every corner but it’s impossible to stop playing, even if you are gripping the game controller like a terrified child.
• Alien Isolation – This is a brilliant game, the whole experience is tense and eerie.  It’s one of those games where you hold your breath as you play, it’s an addictive kind of survival horror.
• Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 – An old game that manages to be creepy and eerie without all the amazing graphics and technology that newer games have. I like the way the character is so isolated and it really feels like you’re there; in this terrifying town filled with strange and disgusting things chasing you down.
• Until Dawn – An interactive horror survival game where the choices you make, change the story and character outcomes.  Playing this game is like watching a film, it’s super cinematic and engaging.  I like that you can play it multiple times and get a completely different outcome, it’s one of my favourites to play at Halloween.
• Resident Evil – I like the majority of Resident Evil, they’re stars in the survival horror genre.  What’s not to love about zombies at Halloween?  Plus I love games that make you use your brain by solving puzzles and micromanaging your inventory, it adds to the survival aspect.
• Dying Light – Another zombie survival game.  I like the open world in this one and the way it feels like I imagine a real zombie apocalypse would be.  There’s a lot of parkour and finding ways to navigate the world without being swarmed by zombies.  It’s a fun game experience.
• Dead by Daylight – One to play if you like multiplayer games and are a fan of those classic/slasher movies. 

There are a lot of great horror movie/video game options if you want to get in the spooky mood for Halloween but these are a few of my personal favourites.  Feel free to share your recommendations!