Terror Trader Arizona's Year Round Horror Marketplace!

 

As someone who is a fan of horror movies, spooky things & lover of Halloween I am so happy that Arizona has had a few horror & gothic style stores pop up within the last year or two. One of the horror themed stores here in Arizona is called Terror Trader which is a year round horror marketplace. You'll be able to browse & shop selections from a number of local small artists all under one roof. They are located at 941 W Elliot Rd Suite 3 Chandler, AZ 85225. 

Along with having a large variety of products to purchase there are also free photo opportunities with their life sized props including a coffin in one of the small rooms that you are able to stand in to snap a phot. There is also a small room which features a mini museum of oddities that is pretty cool to check out. 

Everything in the store was well organized & each local seller had their own little section that featured their products. You could find pretty much everything including trading pins, taxidermy, clothing, jewelry, props, masks and more. This spot is a great place to pick up a few creepy, spooky or awesome finds all while supporting not only Terror Trader but all of the local artists who sell their products in store. 

All of the staff were friendly when we were there, the store was easy to navigate. There were one or two small rooms that felt a little stuffy if too many people were in it at once, otherwise the store has plenty of space to roam around and look at everything. We enjoyed visiting & we will definitely be back the next time we are in the area to pick up a few more things. If you want to add another stop on your terrifying route, be sure to stop across the street to visit Spooky's Swirls where you can grab some horror themed baked treats and see their collection of props as well. 

Terror Trader also puts on events through out the year including larger pop up markets where vendors will set up their own booths and special horror movie nights at a local cinema. Be sure to check out their page to see what events are coming up, you won't want to miss out on their Spooktacular events! 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

★ This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this on our own. I enjoy sharing new places we explore with my followers.

Tom Devlin Monster Museum Review!

 

I am a big fan of horror movies, so when I found out we would be driving past where the Tom Devlin Monster Museum is in Boulder City, Nevada I knew I had to add it to our itinerary. When we were on our way back home from Las Vegas, we stopped into the monster museum to check it out. We were lucky when we arrived because we were able to be the only group visiting, it wasn't until the end of our stop that more people started to come into the museum. As soon as you arrive, you'll find a decorated hearse, the mystery machine & the Ecomobile along with spooky decor. 

Upon enter into the museum you will be in the gift shop which features a lot of awesome goodies to purchase including autographs from various celebrities & there is also a small arcade with horror themed games. Entrance into the museum is $20 per person & $10 per child. There are a lot of cool & awesome photo opportunities throughout the museum with a wide variety of your favorite horror characters. 

The museum is packed with a wide range of horror themed figures, props and more. Some of the work is by Tom Devlin himself & the rest is all from various special effects artists and movies. For the size of the building, I was actually surprised how much was packed into the self-guided tour. If you take your time to look at everything, read the information plaques and snap photos you'll be in the museum for an hour maybe a little longer. The lighting makes it a little dark & spooky which fits in with the atmosphere of the museum itself, I feel like regular lighting would ruin the whole thing. 

At the end of the museum is a theatre that will be showing different documentaries, or short films. When we were there, they were showing a video on two chairs that they built. One was for Alice Cooper & one was for Corey Taylor/Slipknot which we enjoyed watching because we are a fan of both. The seats were pretty comfortable, and it was a nice spot to escape the heat outside. They did a great job with the various displayed and even themed rooms, for example one of the rooms had a ton of different Jason figures and a spooky haunted woods feel. 

They had a lot of our favorite horror movie characters & it was fun learning about some new movies we've never seen as well. For us this was a fantastic spot to stop, we loved everything they had to offer. The gift shop has a lot of cool collectables as well from figures, to pins and even clothing. The bathroom was kind of neat too, the door is built to look like a coffin lid & the inside of the bathroom has a Shining theme. There are no jump scares in the museum & none of the figures move around so if you aren't a fan of being scared, no need to worry. 

🎲 I will be sharing some other family friendly spots around Las Vegas including other FREE things to do, so if you want to check them out keep an eye out for more posts or type in "Things to do in Las Vegas" in the search bar of my blog. I also have posts on some great places to check out in California & Arizona. 

**This post was not sponsored. We visited this location on our own.**

October Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

 

How in the world is it October already? The last half of the year always seems to go by in such a flash. I have been loving picking up some new spooky things for my house and I am patiently waiting for the weather to drop down to a nicer temperature outside. Sadly, we are still dealing with triple digit heat here in parts of Arizona, so I am hoping it cools down soon. A new month also means a new Beauty & The Book Giveaway bundle of course! Being the spooky lover that I am this month's theme is Halloween. I always have a lot of fun putting these giveaways together, so I hope you all enjoy them just as much as I do.  

Headed your way soon are some more fun reviews & spots to visit in both Arizona + Las Vegas along with a giveaway for a box full of books. I already have a theme planned for next month's Beauty & The Book bundle as well, it is going to be "Magical". I will let you guess what the main theme for the products might be, so keep an eye out for that the first week of November. 

❤ Included In This Month's Bundle: ❤

🎃 Hardcover copy of "Dark Storm" 
🎃 Morphe Midnight Dune Eyeshadow Palette
🎃 Makeup Revolution Poison Ivy lipstick set
🎃 Makeup Revolution Beetlejuice Green mascara
🎃 Halloween Hello Kitty makeup brush set
🎃 Lip Gloss with bat shaped confetti 
🎃 Purple false eyelashes
🎃 Patchology under eye patches
🎃 Three eyeliner pencils (Green, Brown + Black) 
🎃 Spiderweb shaped cake try
🎃 Glass potion bottle that says "Toxic Brain Juice"
🎃 A cute witch keychain
🎃 Pumpkin lanyard
🎃 "Rise & Grind" reusable coffee cups
🎃 Elvira acrylic ornament 
🎃 Black cat straw topper
🎃 Halloween card/scrapbooking assortment 
🎃 "Bat shit crazy" sticky notes

This is open Worldwide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the winner notification! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 11/10/2024

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

Which item in this bundle are you most excited about?

If you celebrate Halloween what will you be dressing as this year?

Tell me about something exiting you have coming up or something good that happened to you lately.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is easiest if you log onto Rafflecopter using the Name/Email Address option. 

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way. 

Evil Izzy's Haunted Emporium Costumes & More - Phoenix, AZ!

As someone who enjoys cosplaying & putting together costume outfits for a variety of events and not just Halloween, it was always a bummer that options for year-round costume shops are slim pickings. I recently found out about Evil Izzy's Haunted Emporium which is new to Phoenix, so I had to visit. They are a year round costume shop located at 4239 W Thunderbird Road Suite B Phoenix, AZ 85053.

The store is still new & they are working on adding more inventory every week. They currently have a great selection of masks, adult costumes, kids costumes, pet costumes & costume accessories. They also have a large special effects makeup section and not the crap they have at Spirit Halloween, but the good makeup that is worth the price.

You'll also find hair dye, candles, random housewares like blankets plus horror themed clothing, ghosts in a jar up for adoption & more. I think this is a spot that I will end up visiting often and look forward to seeing what else they add to the store. Knowing there is a spot not too far from me that has my favorite special effects brand is a huge plus, especially if I run into an issue of needing something last minute for a cosplay.

Prices are about what you would expect at a costume shop/themed store like this. We picked up a Evil dead shirt & it was just over $20 with taxes. If you are in the area & are looking for costume pieces or even just want to take a look I would suggest stopping by to see what you can find.

★ This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this on our own. I enjoy sharing new places to check out in my local area! 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page). 

October Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

 

It is officially Spooky month! So, let's start posts off for this month with the October Beauty & The Book which is themed around Halloween for this month (Of course!). I have a lot of great reviews and a few giveaways headed your way this month including tickets to the Spooktacular Hot Air Ballon Festival if you are an Arizona resident. I had a lot of fun putting together this month's Beauty & The Book giveaway, and I hope you enjoy everything I have put together. If you are new here, this is a monthly giveaway I enjoy hosting that combines two of my favorite things - books & makeup. So, if you started becoming a follower due to this giveaway, it would be great if you could stick around for the rest of the giveaways and reviews, I host as well! 

This month instead of a regular book, I found a moth themed adult coloring book that fits in perfectly with the theme for this month. 

🎃 Included in this month's bundle is: 🎃 

👻 Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
👻 Mini Pumpkin Squishmallow 
👻 Moth Adult Coloring Book
👻 Betty Cora Halloween Nails
👻 L.A Girl Hyper Cake Eyeliner in the shade "Manic Purple"
👻 Mad Hippie Face Cleaner Sample
👻 Into The Night Bath & Body Works Lotion
👻 Ghost Face Bath Bomb
👻 R.I.P Jewlery Tray
👻 Frankenstein's Monster & Bride of Frankenstein Coaster Set
👻 Ipsy Halloween Makeup Bag
👻 Harley Quinn Presson Tattoos
👻 I love Zombies car bumper magnet
👻 Wet & Wild Eyeshadow Palette 
👻 Ioni Eyebrow Set
👻 Halloween Stitch Socks
👻 Daiso Halloween Keychain 
👻 Daiso Halloween Nail stickers
👻 NYX Lipstick
👻 Black Eyeliner Pencil
👻 Black Eyeliner Pen
👻 Origins Charcoal Facemask
👻 Candy Corn Earrings

This bundle is worth $100+ 

This is open Worldwide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 11/03/2023

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

Which item in this bundle are you most excited about?

What is something you are looking forward to this month?

Are you dressing up for Halloween? What are you going as?

What is your favorite Horror or Halloween movie?

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You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way.

Haunted Fishbowl Giveaway!

 

Every year Target has some fantastic Halloween decorations in their Hyde & Eek line. Last year I spotted the Animated fishbowl & kind of wanted it but didn't get it. This year they have it again & I debated getting it, but ultimately decided to grab one. I posted a short clip of it over on Tiktok & I am not the only one who loves the little skeleton fish, but sadly a lot of people commenting on the video can't find it in stock. It has completely sold out online & it sells out very fast in stores, I checked online & it showed only three Targets within 50 miles of me had a single one in stock. A lot of the fish bowls that are sold end up online at twice the price (or more). I feel bad seeing how many people couldn't find one near them so I promised if I found another one, I would scoop it up to giveaway. Well, I found another one, so here is the giveaway!!!!

I decided to host it here on my blog, mainly because it will be easier to collect the entries & pick a winner since the giveaway platform, I use picks the winner for me. I will include a small break down of how to enter using the form below if you've never used it before plus the rest of the information you need. The form is actually very simple to use & it shouldn't take that long for you to claim any entries you'd like to opt into. For example, you can gain 5 entries for following me on Tiktok & another 5 for following me on Instagram. So just a few minutes of work & you are entered to win this awesome Haunted fish bowl.

If you've never visited my blog before, you should stick around! I host giveaways quite often. At the moment I have a giveaway up for a beauty prize pack (click the link to enter) - This is actually a giveaway I host once a month. Next month's Beauty & The Book Giveaway will be Halloween themed, I'll include makeup, skincare and a few Halloween decor products. I also host giveaways for tickets to Arizona events, boardgames and more. 

The fishbowl can be found at Target for $35, as mentioned though they sell out very quickly - However don't give up hope and keep searching for if your store restocks. It has a setting where it will only turn on if you push the button or you can switch it to the noise activated mode.

How to use Rafflecopter -

1. Hit "Use your email" - Enter your name + email.
2. Fill out as many entries as you'd like! For example if you follow me on Instagram or Tikok you will enter your username in the "info" field then hit enter. I ask for your username so I can verify your entry is valid. 
3. Wait for the giveaway to end & a winner to be announced! 
4. If you have any issues or need help, feel free to reach out to me.

A few notes:

👻 This giveaway is being hosted/sponsored by ME - I paid for the fishbowl & will pay for shipping to the winner within the US.

👻 If you are outside of the US & would like to enter, you can however you will need to pay for the shipping. 

👻 The giveaway will run for TWO weeks. 

👻 You can earn as few or as many entries as you would like.

👻 The winner will be announced on my Facebook page & Tiktok, I will Email you to let you know you won - I will also reach out on social media. 

This giveaway ends on 09/24/2023

Thank you for visiting & good luck to everyone entering! Hopefully this is easy enough for everyone to enter, and if you need anything feel free to reach out to me. I can be found on Instagram,Facebook,Twitter and Tiktok all under the same name as my blog - The Moonlit Nook.

❤ Leave a comment letting me know what your favorite costume you've worn is!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way.

Halloween Town Pumpkin Patch in Chandler,AZ!

 

Halloween Town in Chandler is open again for the Halloween season. This mini carnival is perfect for parents with small kids as this pumpkin patch is specifically geared towards children ages 2-8. There were about twelve different rides set up for kids to ride on along with a mini maze & large slide.

Know Before You Go:

• Admission is $5 per person for ages 2+, Children under two are free. Parking is free.
• All you can ride wrist bands are $25 - I suggest buying them only for the smaller children, most of the rides are set for specific heights + weights. My nine year old son was too tall for a few of the rides & the only thing us adults went on was the burlap sack slide. 
• Game tickets are $1 each, I believe they may sell them in a cheaper bundle if you buy a certain amount. - There are five different games, the cheapest one cost $3 or 3 tickets 
• Food Prices range from $5-$16 and drinks range from $3-$4. I would give the food a two out of five stars, three of us ordered pizza which was a little burnt & I was told had tasted like it wasn't fresh. My chicken tenders basket was $16 it came with three small chicken tenders and some fries, the fries weren't hot. I do not see any thing on their website about not being able to bring snacks, small children tend to snack a lot through out the day so I would bring a snack or two for them to enjoy while waiting in between rides.
• If you plan on eating at the event there are hand sanitizer stations, however I recommend bringing some wet wipes or baby wipes to clean your hands before eating. 
• There is face painting, a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, a mini hay maze, bounce houses & fun photo opportunities. 
• The pumpkin patch is located in the parking lot of Chandler Fashion Square - 3111 W Chandler Blvd Chandler, AZ 85226
• They open now until October 31st. M-F they are open 4pm-10pm & weekends from 11am-10pm.

Halloween Town was busy, but it wasn't overly crowded. The ride lines, food lines & game lines were short which is great when dealing with small children. I liked how they had everything laid out, the pumpkin patch was easy to navigate & there were plenty of areas to explore. Everything was very straightforward & easy to understand as they had plenty of signs letting you know how much everything was and if you did end up needing help there were staff members all over who were friendly & there to help out. 

Some of the games are a little more challenging than the others so a few of them offer small prizes even if you only score a point in the game. Each of the kids ended up winning a small ice cream shaped stuffed toy, a lollipop stuffed toy and they also have a dragon plus some cotton candy and a small pumpkin.

We thought that Halloween Town was cute & it is perfect for families with small children. If you have a mixture of ages the older kids will have fun playing the games, although they may not be able to go on many of the rides so I'd see how many they could go on before buying older kids a all you can ride wrist band. Older kids can also still enjoy face painting & the pumpkin patch where you'll find dozens of pumpkins of assorted sizes, shapes and colors to choose from. 

Disclaimer- Tickets & Ride Bands mentioned above were provided by Halloween Town for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Monster art by Johnathan Paine.

 

At the end of May I did a review on the brand Not Another Rubber Ducky, in the review I spoke about the creator Johnathan Paine. Johnathan Paine is a 3D character artist whose name you have seen in a number of movies & may not even have realized if you aren't someone who frequently pays attention to the credits. He has worked on films such as UP, Cars, and more! Now you can own a piece of his signed artwork through his Etsy shop called Me and My Monsters. He sells a number of greeting cards & art prints featuring his creature artwork. His studio is located in Canada, but my package arrived quickly and in excellent condition. 

I recently received one of his funny zombie greeting cards & an art print of Lonely Lionel who is a creature from the black lagoon. The greeting cards are 5 x 7 with a blank interior & comes with a white envelope. The cardstock used it thick, sturdy and the print looks fabulous on the front, full of color and fine details. It looks so nice, it is almost a shame to gift it or write in it because you'll want to keep it looking the same. The back of the card has a bit of info on the artist printed on them so whomever you gift it to can learn about the artist behind the print. The zombie is a little zany which adds a lot to his personality, he looks like a zombie that you might see as the role of a pet or friend zombie in a animated movie verses just being a crazed brain eater. Your card will arrive in a protective sleeve to keep your card looking crispy, clean & vibrant ready to be gifted.

I absolutely love lonely Lionel, the art print has a lot of fine details shown within the creature itself & in the background. This print also arrived in a protective sleeve and also had a protective sheet in front of the photo so nothing rubs off onto the plastic of the protective cover. The art print looks like a photography taken under water, I had bought a frame for it, however I had bought the wrong size. Once I get a proper frame, I can't wait to have this hanging up on my wall with my other slightly spooky home decor. Inside of your package, you'll also find special instructions on how to care for your print & frame it properly, so the ink doesn't get smudged or ruined. As a bonus the print has been signed & dated. So if you are a fan of his art, or are looking for a unique gift for a loved one stop by his Etsy shop to see what he has in store for you.

Disclaimer- Me and My Monsters provided the products mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

April/May '22 CreepyCrate Review!

 

The April/May CreepyCrate has arrived! This month has several fun items, and I am glad to see there is a collectable enamel pin in the crate again, they are one of my favorite things to receive. What is CreepyCrate? Let me tell you, CreepyCrate is a Horror/True Crime themed bi-monthly subscription box. If you've been a follower of my blog for a while, you will have seen some past reviews featuring the great items they include in each crate. 

Each month includes a physical copy of a book along with a digital copy of a secondary book. This crates book is "Unmasked" by Paul Holes, alternatively some of the boxes may have received "The New Neighbor" by Carter Wilson as different box variation. The digital book is a copy of "The Shadow of Death", they used to send you an email link with a link to claim your digital book. However they no longer do it that way, instead there will be a QR code on the item sheet that arrives with your crate. I always love seeing which book they select for these boxes, there are quite a few that really peaked my interest when I read the blurb on what the book was about. 

The biggest item to come in this crate is the "Where are you D.B. Cooper?" backpack. It is a fun drawstring backpack with two extra pockets compared to what normally comes on a basic drawstring bag. I think this would be a great bag to take with on a road trip or to keep your belongings in during a hike. Two of the items in this month's box are also quite useful, those two items are the "X-Files" nail file which I think is a great play on the shows name, my mom always loved watching this show when I was younger, she would watch it every week so I think I will pass this onto her. The Devil's Footprint sticky note set is also very useful and is just the right size to toss into your purse or bag for when you need some note paper, it is also small enough you can put it in your pocket if you prefer.

Also included was a Texarkana Killer Pin plus a Lincolnshire Poacher numbers station lanyard. All of the non-book items are CreepyCrate exclusives which means you can't get them anywhere else aside from maybe Ebay if someone decides to sell off the items they didn't want to keep. The crates are $39.99 per crate, you can choose to get billed bi-monthly or pre-pay for your crates selecting the three or six crate option, shipping is included in the price. I am pretty happy with this box, all of the products have a use and the book sounds like it will be an interesting read. One of my favorite items to receive in these boxes are the enamel pins, I have a cork board I like keeping them on along with my normal collection.

Which is your favorite item from this crate? What creature, horror movie or unsolved case would you hope to receive an item for?

Disclaimer- Creepy Crate provided a box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Halloween Goodies Giveaway!

Every year I love going to see what new decorations the stores near me have, this year I decided to go a bit early and did a little shopping last month as I had a feeling the stores would sell out quickly. I am glad I decided to do that! Last year I waited until October to shop and almost every store had mostly barren shelves, this year is looking the same as most stores aren't restocking any Halloween goods and are putting out Christmas instead. I think it is a combination of stores just not restocking and resellers snagging all the cheaper goodies which results in the mostly empty shelves. 

I was lucky enough to find a few of the things I was looking for in particular and bought an extra one or two. My best friend and I exchange Merryween boxes that are a combination of Spooky Baskets + Christmas gifts for each other since we live in two different states it is easier for us so a few of the extra goods I bought are headed to her and I also have a few things for two lucky readers. 👻

This giveaway is just a little thank you for my readers who help support my blog my leaving likes, hearts and comments on my various social media channels along with following my pages. It helps make it to where I can bring you more great reviews and of course giveaways! Plus I know it is a bummer to miss out on some of the cute Halloween decor out there. So let's get on with the giveaway.

1st Place:

The first place winner will receive a Spider Web Cake stand, a Bat shaped bathbomb, Night Owl Elixir potion bottle, two small potion bottles one is bat wings and the other is Dragon essence, a pumpkin spice scented air wick, a spider sun catcher, a pin that says "Witch" and a two pack of reusable coffee cups. 

2nd Place:

The second place winner will receive a bat bathbomb, a Grim Reaper sun catcher, a pin that says "Witch" and a bat wings potion bottle. 

This is open World Wide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 10/30/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me what your favorite kind of candy is! 

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