Like many people out there, the partner and I like to have a different horror film every night through October. Heck, we love horror so much, this year we started back in September. In previous seasons, the evenings had a slow start; we had to peruse the different streaming platforms to find the “perfect” film for the night. If I wanted to suggest an older film to rewatch, it took a sales pitch, and I’m sure the partner felt the same way.

And even if we found a movie that might be the perfect fit for the night, there’s always that feel of opportunity cost – did we really get the right one?

Enter the “Jar of Spooky.”

This photo brought to you by Silver Shamrock

First off, I need to give the credit fully to my partner; she proposed it at the beginning of September and I’ve been in love with it ever since. The rules behind it are pretty simple.

1. Preparation – Cut out strips of paper equal to the number of available nights. Everyone receives an equal amount of paper strips and writes a horror movie they want to watch on it. I was able to put in all my mainstays, a few films I hadn’t seen in a while, and a few new ones I had been meaning to check out. If you have several streaming services, like us, it’s helpful to also write down where you intend to watch the movie (making sure it’s available first is also very helpful).
2. Pick – At some point during the day, you pull a strip from the jar. Make sure to mix it up first. There should be some finality in the pick, but conditional exceptions should be allowed. An example of flexibility is that my partner put in all three films in Rob Zombie’s Firefly trilogy. A few nights ago, we pulled House of 1,000 Corpses, the first of the trilogy. Last night, she pulled 3 From Hell, the third film. It would have been awkward to watch them out of order, so we agreed that we’d watch the second film, The Devil’s Rejects, that night… and when we pulled that film from the jar, we’d watch 3 From Hell.

And that’s it! Picking the movie each day has been a fun injection of surprise in the middle of the day. Our 6-year-old has even gotten involved, insisting on being the selector. (No, she didn’t watched House of 1,000 Corpses with us. She just likes picking. All horror viewing is after she’s in bed.)

The jar selects and we obey.

I hear some of you asking, “But, John – we don’t like scary movies at our house!” I don’t think the jar will mind if you put other kinds of movies in there. We’re already talking about using the jar and having a curated Tom Hanks marathon next month in celebration of “T.Hanks-Giving.” You could just as easily have spooky-lite movies like The Addams Family or Hocus Pocus in there… or have it be completely unthemed and just fill it up with films you’ve been meaning to watch/rewatch.

It’s been fun posting the drawings on Twitter as well. A few of our friends have started doing it, and it’s been fun watching their selections. Since it was my partner’s idea, she cultivated a whole thread where we post our pickings. You can check it out here:

We filled a jar with horror movies to watch now til Halloween.

I got to draw first.

Night 1: Re-Animator pic.twitter.com/ibLfmAqRLv

— Sofi They should all be Destroyed Muldoon (@thebourbonwitch) September 9, 2020

If you do your own Jar of Spooky and decide to post your selections on social media, be sure to use the #JarOfSpooky hashtag so I can find you and celebrate your spooky selections!