Here in an instant, gone in a flash. Just like October, my Instagram account of 10 years was erased in a flash. I’ve seen it happen to other people, I planned out what I would do if it happened to me but when it did, I have to say, I have never felt so disrespected in my life!. That’s actually not true. I have had my full share of instances where people have sought to silence and banish me. Yet, I still found my way into a community where I have been seen, respected and accepted. The removal of my main Instagram account will not stop me from sharing my stories, experiences and learned lessons with you. The way I see it, you will find me if you truly want to. Many of you have. And for the first time, for real this time, I don’t feel like I have to endure this roadblock alone.
Let me add it’s a minor roadblock. I have actually been receiving messages from my spirit guides to do a rebranding of sorts. I am always going to be Michelle Halloween, the Halloween enthusiast that you all know. But, if you truly know me and have been with me since 2019, you know I’ve gone through phases. I have grown and outgrown, since then and this Instagram debacle is part of another part of my evolution.
I have often said, “as creatives, we don’t necessarily need social media to be able to be seen and share our creations with the world.” But, without it, I wouldn’t have connected with my new family of Black goths, Halloween and horror creators. I wouldn’t have built a following that I now know I can rely on. What is true about the aforementioned is that now, for me personally, I am established enough to be ok and still share my work without losing my most valuable friends and followers. My michelle halloween Instagram had actually stopped growing. It took most of 2021 to reach 4,000 followers. It was feeling a bit stagnant. I wasn’t being seen by other black halloween and horror enthusiasts nor were they able to find me and I knew it was because social media is notorious for their attempts to silence and hide outspoken melanated people. It’s been proven and I had a feeling that when the truth came out about Facebook, we would be the first to pay for it. We already were. Again, I’ve seen it happen.
I decided to pause on uncovering the injustice of social media in order to fully enjoy this special October. You probably noticed me sharing the distracting beauty of the PNW and my Halloween festivities. But, even then, everything felt a bit… off. I reached out to friends who had disappeared from my feed. Just to let them know I care and the algorithm’s were being manipulated. And then, I made it a point to put my work aside to read and watch my friends do their Halloween things. I didn’t feel obligated to whip out my phone and record my entire visit at the pumpkin patch. I have been present!
Then the universe was like, “Yes, Michelle, but don’t get comfortable, you have to get to work.”
The moment I decided to chill out and embrace Halloween in the PNW was the moment that I received two opportunities to share myself and my tales beyond social media. I was contacted by VoyageLA for a feature. Me? A hidden LA treasure? Ok! I also got the chance to write a Samhain article for a new Witch Blog based here in Washington. @horrorincolor invited me to moderate a panel they were hosting called OnlyFangs. I admire the unholy hell out of Horror In Color. They will always get a yes from me and thanks to that opportunity, I found yet another long lost sister. Mystic aka @gothcakes_ I was and am still a fan of hers, now we talk all day everyday. Then came the Nocturnus LA feature and since then two more interview requests! I shall not name them just yet. I had the energy and excitement, thanks to Halloween Kills, to do a show, a live chat with my favorite Michael Myers cosplayers. That one night reinvigorated me and now I have a few more shows lined up. I had the best Ghoul time with Spooky Melanin Magic talking about all things Autumn for over two hours! That time flew!
So, you see, while I wait to see if Instagram is just going to ignore my appeal to re enable my michelle halloween instagram or create a new one and start fresh, I have found this experience to be an opportunity to pay more attention to my website and I am clearly going to be ok, if not better than ok, without the tool of Instagram. Besides, I can be myself here. No misogynistic, homophobic, fake feminists, white supremacist social media platform can fuck with the space I have built.
,It’s a year of new beginnings for me it seems.
New beginnings set aside, I sense the looming darkest. Like many of you, I embrace the end of autumn and head into winter. I use it as a time to go within. I also sense that this shift that began in late 2019 isn’t over. In fact, I believe that we as a whole are in for more hardships. However, that doesn’t mean we were wrong in choosing to enjoy October, me included, I put my activism aside, until Dave Chappelle’s bullshit, I limited my news reading and I refused to give into triggers. So, please do not let your guard down! Things are not back to the normal you remember. I know you can feel that. Do you actually want things to go back to the way they were? It was kind of existing in blissful ignorance. No, I don’t want to go back to that. So, why keep resisting the much needed cosmic opportunity to grow?
Keep creating, keep learning, keep going!
Once again thank you for all of your support, offering to help and love me up after realizing the michelle halloween instagram was disabled. I promise I will keep you posted on my happenings here. I can be fully transparent and unfiltered here so, this is probably where most of my content will go. But, do know I have a backup Instagram, one I was using for my naked mischief, that I am using in the meantime. I am also on Twitter and my facebook accounts have not been disabled so, I’m there too. While I do plan to rebuild my Instagram, it’s not my first priority. Below, you’ll see what I am prioritizing. And if you could see what I see on a daily basis, you’ll understand I am living in a writer’s dreamland. Yes, things are weird right now. But, it certainly makes for great stories.
Not every year is the same and if this was a bad one for you then rest assured that the upcoming is surely set to be your for the taking. Have a great Samhain and Happy Halloween.
I am so fucking grateful for you all.
–Michelle Halloween
P.S. Facebook. Instagram. Zuckerberg – You are all scrotum cheese. Fuck you. You won’t silence me or any other women of color.
Twitter @MicheHalloween
Facebook michellehalloween
This Halloween Weekend
Now unleashed! Issue #5 of The Rawl of the Dead Magazine.
Rawl of The Dead Magazine Issue #5 Halloween Issue featuring a The Chilling Tales of Sabrina photoshoot and features with Rick West; co-founder of Midsummer Scream, Videographer/Photographer & Storyteller JXPAZ and The Real Michael Myers
This magazine is my baby. It too has evolved since the inaugural issue. I look forward to Rawl’s thoughts each time I tell him to gaze over the layout. I look forward to that rush of adrenaline each time I hit “publish”. As proud as I am with this issue, and so moved by JXPAZ’s story, I cannot wait for this horror photography magazine to hit the next level in 2022.
Get your copy of Issue # 5 here. Rawlofthedeadphotography.com
What We Do In The Shadows Season 3 Discussion with
Your Best Halloween Ever
On Wednesday, November 3rd at 6pm PST 8pm Mountain Time I’ll be going LIVE with Devin and Andrew of ,Your Best Halloween Ever to discuss Season 3 of What We Do In The Shadows. This is a much needed discussion as this was a wild season. There WILL BE SPOILERS so, catch up before watching our show.
Spooky Melanin Magic’s
Autumn 2021 Bucket List
Have you accomplished all you’ve wanted this Autumn? Allow me to let you in on another secret – Autumn doesn’t transition into Winter until December 21st. You have time to indulge in more Autumn fun. Bianca of @spookymelaninmagic and I went into delightful and tipsy detail about how our Bucket lists are going. Watch and/or listen here.
Spooky Melanin Magic’s Autumn Bucket List
spookymelaninmagic.com
OnlyFangs: Sex & Horror presented by Horror In Color
Horror and sex go hand in hand but, what is the horror genre missing? Black queer femmes. Actual black queer horror loving sex workers. We went deep and shared experience being black, queer and curvy. Stereotypes you may not even have known about were uncovered.
This was powerful. I went into this discussion as an admirer of Mystic Young. Now thanks to this fun, serious and like I said before, powerful message Mystic and I have been chatting daily and plotting to rule the world. Mystic and Jose Cadena, one of the founders of Horror In Color came right to my aid and offered their shoulder when my Instagram was erased. They both rallied and launched an Instagram live so we could further discuss the hypocrisy and bullshit that comes with being horror lovers that look like us. I have never felt so embraced, seen and respected as a black Halloween and horror lover as I have within the horror community. But, I found out what family feels likes when I am embraced by the emerging black queer Halloween and horror community.
