Last week Netflix announced a new series featuring artist and baker Christine McConnell, titled The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell. For those unfamiliar with McConnell, her claim to fame is her Instagram account where she has amassed over 250,000 followers by posting images of her curious and creepy food creations as well as her artwork. The new series is being produced by The Jim Henson Co. and is sure to keep an aesthetic that will please fans of all things creepy and weird, but as news of McConnell’s success spread, I quickly realized that there are other talented creepy cooks online that deserve more exposure and I thought I’d share them with my audience. This is in no means trying to take away from McConnell’s success as anytime a creepy creator goes public it’s better overall for the horror and Halloween community, but I thought now would be a good time to use the exposure of the new show to shed light on some other talented creators.
The Homicidal Homemaker
I’ve been a long time fan of Kaci Hansen AKA “The Homicidal Homemaker.” What she lacks in posting frequency she makes up for in production value, as her YouTube channel features a number of high-quality how-to’s for making spooky treats and eats both based on horror films and original creations. Her overall footprint has grown over the last few years as she’s taken her show to Screambox and has become a regular recipe contributor to Rue Morgue Magazine. Highlights from Hansen’s channel include Edible Entrails, Brain Macaroni Salad, “Fresh Meat” Red Velvet Rice Krispy Treats, and one of my personal favorites, the “Dead Alive” Custard. I think what I love most about Hansen’s work is that it has a vintage suburban feel, but it has dark overtones, almost like it was born of the same universe as Edward Scissorhands.
Geeks Who Eat
Geeks Who Eat is a recent discovery of mine thanks to the online group of Halloween content creators called The Samhain Society, which was started by Spooky Little Halloween blogger Miranda Enzor. Much like All Hallows Geek, Geeks Who Eat span the full spectrum of geeky and creepy with original creations inspired by all things pop culture. From Butterbeer Pretzel Wands inspired by Harry Potter to their Miskatonic Reviver, a Re-Animator inspired cocktail they created for Shudder’s The Last Drive-In, this couple pairs their love of food and drink with their love of pop culture to make some pretty awesome creations. What blows my mind about Geeks Who Eat is the frequency in which they are putting out content. The site puts out at least two recipes a week and with every dish inspired by something from the world of pop culture I find that incredible. You can find Geeks Who Eat at 2geekswhoeat.com.
The Necro Nomnomnomicon
Tye Lombardi considers herself “the Devil’s favorite cook” and rightfully so as she runs the website eatthedead.com AKA The Necro Nomnomnomicon. If you’re a fan of Christine McConnell then Tye is probably the closest you’ll get to the same style of obscure creations on this list as she creates obscure horror themed recipes as well as macabre decor. Tye gained quite a bit of online notoriety last year when her Facehugger Feast Roasted Chicken recipe got picked up by a number of major online media outlets, but the genius didn’t stop there. She also poked fun at the Tide Pod challenge by making edible Tide Pods, and if you think that’s weird, you should see her “In-Dentured Dessert.” What I love about Tye is that you can tell she’s an artistic soul, her macabre creations both in decor and in food have an aesthetic only an artist could create.
Witchy Kitchen
My final freaky foodie is Carrie Scott, who runs the website Witchy Kitchen. Witchy Kitchen features spooky recipes inspired by dark pop culture as well as folklore and fairy tales. Most recently the Witchy Kitchen did a series of recipes inspired by the Ms. Marvel comic books, but in the past the Witchy Kitchen has done recipes inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas, The VVitch, and Stranger Things. What I love about Witchy Kitchen is that the inspiration and subject matter of the recipes are dark or geeky, but the final product looks so elegant you’d never know it.
Hopefully with this post you’ve discovered some new freaky food creators to follow online and while we can celebrate the success of Christine McConnell, let’s not forget the independent creators still trying to make a name for themselves in the world of horror and Halloween.
