Thoughts On The Culture — 9/30/2026 – Through the Shattered Lens

It’s the last day of September and also the last day before the start of our annual October Horrorthon! Here are my latest thoughts on the culture.

Why Do We Have An Entire Month Devoted To Horror?

Why wouldn’t we?

Horrorthon is one of those TSL traditions that I’ve always cherished. This site has been active since 2009. We’ve hosted a lot of different writers with their own unique and individual views of the world. We’ve had film, television, music, and gaming reviews written from every point of view. I’m proud of that. I’m proud that we are a site that values true diversity as opposed to just robotically moving from trend to trend. No matter what else might have been going on here in the TSL Bunker or in the world outside, one thing has always remained consistent. October is for horror.

I love October, but even more importantly, I respect it. At a time when the scolds are trying to ruin everything, October has remained resilient. Halloween has remained pure. For as long as I can remember, people have been trying to cancel Halloween. When I was a kid, it was said that Halloween was some sort of demonic holiday that would lead us all astray. Now, as an adult, it’s coming from people who claim to be traumatized by the sight of someone in a costume. (The truth is that they’re traumatized by the sight of anyone having any sort of fun at all.) Regardless of who was coming after it, Halloween survived. Halloween survived the scolds. It survived the COVID era. It survived the joyless leeches who panic whenever anyone thinks for themselves. Every October, people wear costumes and they watch horror movies and they enjoy getting scared. Halloween survives.

And so do we.

My Plans For October

My initial plans for October were incredibly grandiose and not at all practical. That’s the way things usually go around this time of year. In all honesty, I would be thrilled if we broke our previous record for posts and views over this upcoming October. A thousand posts? That’s a lot of work, but it could happen over the course of 31 days. I’ve been writing reviews since late August. For the past week, I’ve been using those song that Caleb Flynn sent his mistress as my writing music.

But last night I realized that October should be fun. And that’s going to be my number one concern this month. My hope is that we’ll all end up loving October together.

What The Hell, Flanagan?

Last night, I read that Mike Flanagan said that he could easily imagine his version of Carrie lasting for three seasons. So, is it going to take Carrie that long to make it to the prom? Or is Flanagan talking about exploring the trauma of the survivors? Stephen King’s original novel ended with a report of a second teenage girl with similar powers.

Well, let me just go on the record as saying that Carrie works because it’s a simple story that can be told in 90 minutes. It doesn’t need multiple episodes or seasons.

Speaking Of Which….

Watch yourself, Crystal Lake. It’s nice that you want to bring Jason Voorhees and his mother to a new generation but if you mess this up with a bunch of American Horror Story-style nonsense, there is an army of horror fans who will never forgive you.

We Need To Bring Back Old Timey Horror Hosts