Halloween Magazines

There are a few Halloween magazines hitting the stands right now, as well as regular October issues with Halloween ideas in them. Let’s talk about them!


Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Special—This one is okay. I get this one every year and a lot of ideas and articles are recycled. I think I’ve seen the story on the lady who decorates her house in a “classy” black and white Halloween theme about 3 times already. Also, a “magic” themed kids party is not Halloweeny.

Martha Stewart Halloween Special—Again, a lot of recycled ideas from years past. I think I have all the Halloween special issues and October issues of Martha Stewart Living from back to 2000 or 2001 and look over them every year, so I may have a longer memory than most. But I’m pretty sure I’d seen almost all of the ideas before. There were a few new things, like the Victorian gothic article and some of the costumes. And, as always, everything is photographed beautifully. Even though I’ve seen some of the recipes and decorations before, it’s nice to have them all in one pretty, glossy place.

Woman’s Day Halloween special issue—This one was surprisingly good. There’s a lovely article of a house done up in sort of rustic Halloween décor that looks a bit like my house, so I’ll be taking inspiration from that. Lots of bare branches and owls—I’d do my house like that year-round! There were quite a number of owl projects in general, which pleases me greatly. I think I may also use the bat/cat/owl silhouette pumpkin carving templates this year. They look simple enough and I’m always looking for something new to carve onto pumpkins (ask me about the year in college I spent about three hours carefully carving an old, spooky tree into a pumpkin—when I lived in an on-campus apartment and nobody saw it except my roommates!).

Country Living, October issue—Again, a bit of a surprise. I tend to overlook this magazine, given its title and my distaste for calico and floral. But I really need to give it credit and start picking it up more often. They do a reliably good October issue. There were some great ideas in here. I love to see pictures of Halloween done in ways that please my “design” sense. I liked the article of the house that was maybe a little gothic and unusual any time of the year and just “enhanced” for Halloween with a few paper bats and some cheesecloth. This is kind of my goal for my own house. Country Living also released a Halloween book this year, which I eagerly anticipate flipping through at the bookstore to see if it’s worth the purchase. Also, I recommend checking out their website for a great pictorial of an amazing-looking vintage-style Halloween party in the woods.

Taste of Home Halloween issue (small one)—Taste of Home wants to take my money twice this year by issuing a “pocket sized” Halloween special as well as a regular magazine sized one, each with different recipes and ideas. So far I’ve just purchased the small one. I have a special place in my heart for Taste of Home magazines. The recipes are always horrifyingly calorie-laden and convenience food oriented, and sometimes just horrifying, but I’ve pored over my mom’s back issues for years. I guess it’s just that I’m a Midwestern girl and this is classic Midwestern potluck comfort food. There really aren’t any new ideas in this book. You’ve seen them before—potpies with spooky shapes cut out of the crust, soups or stews served in pumpkins, all manner of pumpkiny desserts. But it’s still fun to look at and it’s usually one of the first Halloween magazines to hit the newsstands, so I’m sure I’ll continue to buy it every year.

I saw Better Homes and Gardens October issue yesterday at the grocery store, but didn’t flip through it yet. And I always anticipate the October issue of Martha Stewart Living. There are usually a few gems in there even if they’ve done the Halloween special that year. The Matthew Meade Halloween “magazine” is out as well, although with its thick cover and $13 price tag, I’d consider it more a book. I hope to have some extra money to pick this up later in the season. It looks promising.