2026-2027

2026 Sep- Dec

5 Best Dan and Phil videos for the Halloween season

Dan and Phil, British Youtube sensations. They have been making videos collaboratively for seventeen years now. Just one year ago they hard launched their relationship—one that has been heavily speculated about and investigated since their very first video together. Twelve years ago they launched their joint channel, Dan and Phil Games (which has now been turned into Dan and Phil following the hard launch). They have a Halloween tradition entitled “Spooky Week” in which they post scary gaming videos. They also have a longstanding tradition of doing baking videos for holidays like Halloween and Easter. In honor of the Halloween season, here is my list of the five best Dan and Phil Halloween videos (in no particular order):

1. Dan and Phil Play SLENDER – This is one of their videos from their first ever Spooky Week and I still love it to this day. It is the right amount of comedy and fear to have you ready for the holiday, but not falling out of your chair in fear.

2. Halloween Baking - PUMPKIN SPICE PUMPKIN COOKIES – This is quintessential Dan and Phil baking, honestly. They somehow manage to make a tasty treat, but there are a lot of hiccups along the way and some of the cookies are definitely a little ugly. I have yet to try this recipe, but it looks absolutely fire.

3. Dan and Phil Play FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S – They played Five Nights at Freddy’s mere months after it came out as their very first Spooky Week video. For anyone familiar with FNAF, you might not get scared, but it is most assuredly a laugh. The way they play the game is so agitating but endearing. Also the ending is just hilarious and a classic Dan Howell moment.

4. Halloween Baking - RADIOACTIVE MUG CAKES – I would say this is one of my favorite Dan and Phil videos to date. It is so fun, lively, and funny; it is so peak. This video is pre-hard launch, but I think you can just see how free they feel to be themselves, which makes it even better. Also, this recipe is such a simple one to follow if you as a viewer wanted to make one as well. Who doesn’t love a mug cake!

5. Dan and Phil’s Traumatic Golf Incident – In this video, they play the game Greener Grass Awaits. They have a series where they play Golf With Friends so this choice of game was a throwback, as well as an amazing choice for Spooky Week post-hiatus (because they went on a hiatus in 2018 </3). It’s an indie horror game, which I think makes it a little scarier because of the visuals. You could very well be scared while watching this (I know I was), but you will also be laughing purely because of their reactions.

Whether you are a veteran phan, a new gen, or someone that enjoys watching gaming and/or baking videos, I think these are the best ones to get you ready for Halloween. You should listen to me and watch them because I am always right!

A half-baked rant about the literacy crisis

Fuck the 1-Star Good Reads review

that suggests just because a character is evil

the author must be too.

Haven't you ever read something

more than mediocre?

I would hope you could see past

a surface level analysis

& wonder why

an author made that choice.

But, these days, people seem more interested in

skipping past

descriptions & flipping straight to "dialogue".

As if nothing meaningful happens in the

[in between].

While I'm here

[unfortunately still on twitter]

watching reactions to Anne Carson's

prize winning poetry

trickle

in:

user42069

Anyone can write gibberish

"My personal poetry is a failure."

Did it ever occur to you to consider subtext

in a line of fucking poetry?

The poetry that constitutes her humanity is failing.

She is failing

at being

a person.

I would think that you could relate.

I'm sorry they killed

your inner child.

I'm sorry you never had a chance

to look up at the sky.

Because how can you witness

a rosy-orange sunset,

& not call it a poem?

This blog post is a poem

because I said so.

Art is what you make it, so

I would love for you

to pick up a pen.

Or better yet

to pick up a book.

Or better yet

learn to rub two brain cells together.

This is what they want.

Us dumb & arguing

while that fuckwad racks in

another trillion off of the platform

I can't quite

get

off

yet.

There is a literacy crisis

because they want us

  ¿un-questioning?

Give them something to answer to.

Don't let them tell you

that art is meaningless.

Pick up that pen,

& construct

your own narrative.

The “go birds”-ification of the Philly concert

During my tenure as a student at our one and only Arcadia University, I have attended a lot of concerts (twenty-six to be exact). Surprisingly though, only eight of those concerts have been in Philly. I come from southern Maryland and go to a lot of concerts with my sister, so a lot of times I will go back home for a concert. I very recently had a three day concert bender (concerts three days in a row), and it made me realize something: in all of the cities I have gone to, there has never been a city culture like there is in Philly. 

One of the concerts on my bender—Phoebe Bridgers at Xfinity Mobile Arena—was a hometown show for the opener, Alex G. Obviously he is going to be Philly proud, but Phoebe (who is from California) pulled her own “go birds!” at one point and even mentioned LeBron James’s move to the 76ers. In response, the crowd cheered loudly both times, as they tend to do. It wasn’t until the last concert in my bender, though, that I realized just how common this is and how much it brings a crowd together.

I was standing in the crowd at the Franklin Music Hall, watching the opener for Julia Wolf perform. Right before starting another song, the bassist said, “Oh and go birds.” And again, the whole crowd cheered. This “go birds” in particular was what made me reflect on this trend as a whole. For the concerts I’ve gone to in Maryland or DC, artists will do the typical “hey [city] what's up,” but sometimes they even get the city wrong. In Silver Spring, Maryland, artists will often call it “Silver Springs” or more shockingly, they’ll call it DC… Stuff like this never happens in Philly. Philly is Philly. Maybe it’s because Silver Spring is not a big city and it’s close to DC, but still. 

In the summer of 2025 I saw My Chemical Romance at Citizen Bank Park. During the show, the Phillie Phanatic came onto the stage with the members of the band and he threw cheesesteaks into the crowd. As far as I am aware, this was the only time they brought a mascot onto stage. I saw the band again this summer at Nationals Park in DC, but Screech the bald eagle most definitely was not brought on stage during the concert. This time with the Phillie Phanatic was truly a Philly special, all because of the pride the city feels, especially around the sports teams.

All of these examples, and the other instances of a “go birds” that I have not mentioned, illustrate the one thing Philly has that not many other cities have. Whether you are from the city or not, you can truly feel your Philly pride. There is no community like the one built on the love for Philly sports teams. I am not even a sports fan but when I watched the Eagles win the superbowl my sophomore year, I was feeling proud! I don’t know if I’ll ever go out of my way to watch a Phillies or a Flyers or even an Eagles game on TV, but if my roommates put it on or I get invited to go to a game, I see no reason to turn away. The culture of Philly pride is one that is so welcoming and such an easy way to connect with the city, it truly something I’ve never seen anywhere else.

While I am not a native, I really do love my country Philadelphia.