The costumes may be memes – a blue and white dress, a pizza rat, a sexy Trump – but the spirit of Halloween will always be the ooky kooky spooky stories told around a dying campfire.
Forget live-tweeting your costume party. It’s time for monsters, ghosts, and other creatures of the night to come back in vogue with an old-fashioned story time.
To help Make All-Hallows Ghostly Again, we’ve compiled a list of some lesser-known but still creepy damned souls.
Edward Mordrake
A handsome, accomplished, well-to-do man, Edward Mordrake was loved by all. He was born into nobility, and would have had an incredible life ahead of him if it weren’t for the demon face on the back of his head. Also known as “The Man with Two Faces,” Mordrake was haunted by his skull-fused twin, which was a pretty woman but described as “malignant”. It was observed to follow people around the room with its eyes, and move its lips. No-one heard it speak except for Mordrake. He said, “it talks to me forever of such things as they only speak of in Hell,” and begged doctors to remove it even if it killed him. Mordrake took his own life at 23.
The Melon Children
This geographically-specific breed of monster comes from Michigan. The Melon Children, sometimes called Wobbleheads, are said to roam the forests in Ottawa County. According to one story, the children had hydrocephaly and lived in an asylum with an abusive doctor. After killing the doctor, they escaped into the woods and now live in a system of underground cabins. Because of their fear of society and normal-headed humans, they kill and cannibalise anyone who comes across them.
Carmilla
Want a sexy costume? This is the one. Carmilla is the original vampire, preceding Dracula by 25 years. She preys on young women, befriending them and draining their life over months. Thought dead in the slaughter of her family centuries ago, she changes her name through the ages – from its original Mircalla to Millarca, and then Carmilla. She appears to be in her late teens, is pale, hates crucifixes, and is very snarky. A classic costume.
The Bell Witch
What do you get when you cross a ghost and a witch? Total Hell. The Bell Witch was the ghost of Old Kate Batts, and she haunted the Bell family in Tennessee for many years, starting in 1817. She took the form of a dog, a bird, and a girl in a green dress; she could move things around the house; and she spoke. Not just ghoulish whispers, but full conversations. She loved the Bell family matriarch, Lucy, and would deliver her fresh fruit and flowers. She poisoned John Bell Sr, finally killing him after several years of curses, threats, and afflictions. She also hated the Bell’s youngest daughter, Betsy, and would scratch her and poke her with needles. On the plus side – she had the best gossip.
Minions
A modern interpretation of a timeless classic, the minion is a servant of Satan and other forces of evil. Minions appear alongside gods of the underworld Hades, Mictlāntēcutli, Chernobog, and more recently Gru. Minions have always done the bidding of their unholy masters, and take great joy in acts of evil. The latest incarnation is shaped like a yellow pill, representing the pharmaceutical industry (the minions’ true master).
