With the return of the Spooky Season comes Revenge of the Jar of Spooky! For those who missed it last year, my partner had a great idea about how to celebrate the Halloween season through September and October (or all year long): take a jar, fill it with your favorite scary movie titles on sheets of paper, and every night you randomly pick one.

This year, we decided to mix things up a little. Even though we loved the experience, we missed out on spooky shows we liked watching. And with a jar of predetermined movies, we also missed out on new releases that slipped off our radar. So we added some new rules for this year’s jar!

TV Shows

We sat down and figured out which TV shows we wanted to keep up with during the Halloween season. What We Do In the Shadows is a must for us as it’s one of our favorite shows. Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 is also one we’ve been enjoying, so that got added in. Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is coming out later this month, and while it’s not technically out yet, we added it to the list. We also added Channel Zero, despite already having watching it. It’s a favorite in the house, and we figured it was overdue for a rewatch.

If you aren’t familiar with the horror renaissance we’re been having on television, don’t worry, we got you covered!

Each TV show got one sheet of paper tossed in the jar.

Categories

This is where we really had some fun! Having an exact list of titles is fun for plotting out the season, but we decided to try something new with categories of movies. An example is “Slashtacular” – anything that is considered a slasher (or slasher adjacent) falls in that category. Another category we have is “60s Aesthetics… but with Vampires,” which is a pretty loose category allowing for anything that feels like it falls in that vibe.

Paranorman is a really fun flick with zombies and is always a good one to check out with most horror-friendly kids.

Make sure you make it feel personal for your tastes. I added a “Lurking in the Lair of the Laserdisc” category because of course I’m going to have a category specifically for my favorite film medium. Here are some other categories we came up with:It’s a Family Affair: Family-friendly horror! Sometimes you need a reprieve from the spicier horror.

Examples: Hocus Pocus, The Witches (2020), Paranorman

Tales From the Hood is a personal favorite of mine that I’m hoping to watch this year, especially with the recent passing of Clarence Williams III.

Horror Noir: In the case that you stick to creative teams that all “incidentally” look the same, sometimes it’s good to expand your horizons. This category is dedicated to horror from Black creative teams. Need help thinking up films for this? We got you covered.

Examples: Candyman (2021), Blacula, Tales from the Hood

Christopher Lee as Dracula? Yes please.

Let the Hammer Fall: Specifically films from the Hammer Horror collection! Can’t have enough Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee? This might be something to check out. Other similar categories could be any of your favorite horror production companies, such as Blumhouse if you’re looking for something more modern.

Examples: The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula (1958), The Vampire Lovers

It looks like everyone had a great time during this movie. Look at that smile.

On the Folksy Side: Folk horror! This subgenre lives off of folklore and rural settings to bring the scares.

Examples: The Wicker Man (1973), Children of the Corn, Midsommar

The important thing is that you have fun with these categories and include movies you think your viewing party would enjoy.

Each category got a sheet tossed in the jar.

Different Procedure From Last Year

Last year, once you had a sheet pulled, it got tossed. Pull a movie? You can kiss that little dude good-bye. However, this year, with a show or category, once it gets pulled and a selection for the night is made, it gets stuffed back in the jar! We have a few rules on how a sheet gets permanently pruned from the Jar of Spooky, though:

If it’s a show and you’ve either run out of episodes or don’t like it, just get rid of it. In the latter case, remember that the Jar of Spooky is supposed to be fun. If a particular show gets a little too spooky or just isn’t vibing with you, that’s alright! You got plenty other things to watch! Toss that sheet and pull a new one!

If it’s a category and you feel you’ve pulled it enough times or too frequently (two or three nights in a row), get rid of it! No need to feel like you’re in a rut.

Can I still put movies in the jar?

This is your experience! Do whatever you want! Of course you can still put movies in the jar if there are certain ones you NEED to find. I found that I didn’t need to once I had enough categories in there. My favorite horror movie is John Carpenter’s The Thing and between three categories – “From the Mind of John Carpenter” (Carpenter films), “Lurking in the Lair of the Laserdisc,” and “In Space No One Can Hear You Scream” (horror sci-fi), I knew I’d get a few chances to watch it. But you do you!

Can I come up with my own rules?

Heck yes. This is YOUR jar. I’d love to hear your ideas! Leave them in the comments so everyone can play along. Or put it out on social media with the #JarOfSpooky hashtag so we can all find it and share the experience.

Night 1 of #JarOfSpooky

It Came From Shudder

Any movie on the @Shudder streaming service.

I’ve been eyeballing Dave Made a Maze since it came on the service so I’m excited to check it out. pic.twitter.com/vDlfaLUpVJ

— john carter, ghost of mars (@johnhexcarter) September 8, 2021