Johnny & June t-shirt found on Etsy
Less than a year ago, I started an Instagram blog entitled Halloween Granny, which I meant almost solely to facilitate the collection of Halloween photos I’d taken over the years, since I was getting the impression that my regular account followers may not appreciate daily reminders of a singular holiday.
In no time, I discovered I wasn’t the only one with a love for all things creepy and spooky; there are hundreds of thousands of us on there waiting impatiently for October. And most of them, I can attest, make my obsession seem minuscule in comparison. (I have one ROOM that stays decorated for Halloween; these people have their entire homes decorated year-round!)
In the 10 months of my Instagram account, I found something called “tours” or “takeovers,” where collectors of all types (Rae Dunn, plants, home decor, tablescapes, vintage, thrifting, flat lay photography, and many more) come together once a week to contribute a themed photo to their timeline (or “squares”). Their reasons are many: To identify themselves as part of that community, to find others who share their passion, to get ideas, to increase engagement (IG has a pesky algorithm), and to participate in a fun activity that highlights their hobby or obsession.
I’ve been participating in a few of these over the months, but I noticed that to do so, I was drifting from the original reason for my account, which was to promote, highlight, and obsess over Halloween. There weren’t any “tours” or “takeovers” for spooky photos, so I recently started my own.
And that’s how the “My Halloween Life” photo tour was born. Every other Friday night, participants post one Halloween-related photo, and for a 24-hour period, we “Like” and “Save” each photo beneath a unique hashtag that I distribute moments before our 7pm start time. My favorite part is that so many shop owners have jumped aboard, thereby giving Halloween lovers exclusive previews of unique Halloween items in their shops AND giving these makers exclusive access to customers who are *dying* to buy their wares.
The rules are simple: Follow @My_Halloween_Life on IG, follow everyone the account follows, then send a quick DM to state your interest. You will be added to a party room, where you’ll be given access to the hashtags and the write-up that goes along with your photo. It’s easy and fun, and you’ll find your people there waiting for you.
Stay scary!
