From The Pumpkin Patch

The Blair Witch Project was one of the first horror films I ever saw.

I had recently started high school, and one of my new friends planned a sleepover. As 13-year-olds, that meant junk food, gossiping about boys and watching scary movies that we had persuaded her older brother to rent for us.

There was something special about watching horror films that I wasn’t quite old enough for. It felt dangerous, like anything could happen, as though the thin membrane that separates the regular world from Hell could tear at any moment.

Classic slasher killers like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees became real. A scratchy, mocking voice at the other end of the phone could tell you the date of your death. And an evil witch haunted the Blackhill Woods, waiting for her next victim.

It all felt possible on those dark nights that smelled like popcorn and nail polish, punctuated with nervous giggles and shrieks.

After that experience, The Blair Witch Project took on a sort of magic for me. Was it real? Did it actually happen? Social media didn’t exist back then, not the way it does now. All we had were the whispers of internet lore, horrifying tales that could be true. The film’s official website was pretty convincing. It really seemed like the footage was real, that the three people shown in the tapes had actually disappeared.

I didn’t know for sure. But that film felt wrong. It felt evil. And I loved it.

I found a copy of The Blair Witch Project on VHS recently, at a car boot sale. Even today, as an adult, I still watch some of the scenes through my fingers. I can feel the horror as Heather, Josh and Mike run blindly through the pitch-black woods, the camera swinging wildly and God knows what following them.

It’s a fantastic, trail-blazing film, and I wanted to honour it this Halloween.

So, I spent a happy hour on Halloween Eve crafting the iconic Blair Witch stick figures. I followed this tutorial by Wyrd Words and Effigies, which goes into a little more detail than I do.

You will need:

• A selection of sticks
• Twine
• Strong, sharp scissors

How to make your Blair Witch stick figure:

1. Choose four sticks. Cut three to roughly the same size, and one slightly smaller.

2. Cross two of the larger sticks over to form the base of the body.

3. Lay the other larger stick across the top.

4. Use the smaller stick to form the neck and head.

5. Using twine, tie the sticks together at the joints. Leave a long length of twine from the neck, which you can use to hang your stick figure.

I don’t think there’s anything inherently evil about these figures, and I’m pretty sure they were created specifically for the film. But I’m not entirely convinced.

Seeing them in real life sends a chill down my spine. It’s like they’re infused with dark magic. My husband doesn’t want them in the house, so I’ll be hanging them outside to spook all the trick-or-treaters.

I just hope they don’t attract anything else…