TFIF Boils and Ghouls, am I right?!

The last week has been quite a chaotic whirlwind and I was about ready to admit defeat (as my exhaust fumes were extinguishing) when I realized there was a long weekend coming (so, yay an extra recharge day!)

It’s also got me romantically longing for another Montreal trip so I can see lovely friends, truly recharge my soul and also check out some of my favorite spots in the city (like thrifting at Eva B and playing pinball at North Star)

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Being hit with pure exhaustion but bitten with the nostalgia bug really as me floating happily down memory lane and has also triggered some fond memories of my favorite childhood TV shows when I see those haunted VHS players…

So I thought I’d focus this Friday “Fright Night” around some of the scary shows that truly inspired my horror obsession 👻

so you won’t miss out on blog posts 👆🏻

+ feel free to get nostalgic and rewind to last weekend

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Let’s begin our Friday Fright Night with a few scary shows

Do we dare insert these VHS cassette tapes?!

📼 No 1: Freaky Stories

“This is a true story. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine…”

Growing up in Canada, I loved watched YTV and think back fondly to all the shows aired during the 90s that I loved, like Bobby’s World, Uh oh! and Reboot.

But one of those shows that really holds a special place in my creepy heart happens to be a cute, (questionably child-friendly) animated collection of urban legends called Freaky Stories.

I grew morbidly fascinated with urban legends and wanted to uncover more deeply disturbing scary stories after watching this show 👻 (sorry mom & dad, but you always knew I loved a good ghost story around the campfire…)

📼 No. 2: Are you Afraid of the Dark?

“Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story…”

This show actively made me want to join the Midnight Society (or have my very own) to tell creepy tales and ghost stories by the campfire, in the woods, with my friends in the middle of the night… (a ghoul can dream)

Honestly for a children’s show, I will admit that some of the episodes were actually very frightening, and still vividly stick with me to this very day… 🤡🤡🤡

And it’s probably why I am STILL afraid of the dark…

📼 No 3: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

“To find out, you must enter a world of both truth and deception, a world that is beyond belief.”

As I mentioned, I became morbidly curious with eerie and mysterious stories, and even more enthralled by the ones that could possibly be true… so of course when the TV series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction aired during my childhood, it would be one of the biggest influences on my morbid curiosity!

Each episode contains five stories that are reenacted (in a very 90s manner) and at the very end of the episode, you’ll learn which of the stories were FACT, and which were pure (horrific) FICTION.

Both Hosts James Brolin & Jonathan Frakes do a fantastic job narrating in-between the stories (with Frakes replacing Brolin during Season 2) where you will really feel those chills down your spine during each story’s introduction. I highly recommend binging this show!

📼 No. 4: Goosebumps

“Beware… you’re in for a scare…”

Speaking of things that stick with you (Hi, Slappy!) my obsession with Goosebumps has never faded away. In fact, I used to collect the books as a kid along with routinely watching all the episodes of the TV series!

I had to unfortunately donate all my old Goosebumps books in a cross-province move, but I’m hoping to start collecting them again (in my adulthood 🖤)

and I’ll always remember you, Scholastic Book Fair Hauls 📚🖤

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Since I happen to do a lot of reading, and love to chat about books whenever I can (plugs Goosebumps book obsession above), I thought I’d suggest a few books that you might also enjoy…

👀 If you like those TV shows, you should really Read 👇🏻

📗 No. 1:
The Saturday Night Ghost Club 👻

That nostalgic retro creepy atmosphere mixed with such a heartfelt story was everything I never knew I needed until I read this book.

Craig Davidson (aka Nick Cutter) is a Canadian author who possess a wicked alter writing ego that you must check out!

📗 No. 2:
Found: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories 📼

A collection of unsettling and terrifying tales in this incredible curated anthology with some truly notable horror writers is a must read for any found footage ghoulie 👏🏻

📗 No. 3:
Daphne 🤘🏻

Hearing chilling reading experiences from other booktubers really drew me to this book and I was NOT disappointed 😰

It gives a truly immersive urban legend experience and has now officially put Josh Malerman on my reading radar.

And might have inspired me to also pick up and read A House at the Bottom of a Lake…

📗 No. 4:
Be Scared of Everything: Horror Essays 😨

As a ghoul obsessed with horror media and pop culture, I was really excited when I picked up this essay book from my local bookstore (Trident Booksellers & Cafe) and when I discovered it was written by a local author, I was even more excited!

Another fellow blogger, author Peter Counter runs the Everything is Scary blog and has also published a few other non-fiction books. Definitely a writer to keep an eye on for captivating and insightful commentary!

As a little Friday Fright Night bonus treat, in theme with the post, I thought I’d end tonight’s blog with a little audio visual to kick off the spooky spirits to come this weekend!

If you haven’t already seen the recent video uploaded by Cadaber then you really ARE in for a terrifying treat 😱

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And if you haven’t already checked out the previous Scary Stories & Morbid Media post, I have an eerie suspicion you’d be intrigued with the content 👀

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Drop a 🕯️ if you’ve read up to this point or share your favorite nostalgic creepy content that has inspired your horror obsession 💀

Until we meet again,

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Are you afraid of the dark?