Here’s how to get into the Halloween spirit like Christine McConnell, Netflix’s new horror baking queen

Christine McConnell is like the domestic goddess of Gomez Addams’ dreams come to life undead existence, and, if we’re being honest, all of ours. The self-taught baker and Instagram star not only carves cakes into monstrously macabre sculptures—she bakes chocolate eyeballs into cookies, crafts her own goth tea sets from chocolate, annually transforms her parents’ house into a terrifying, sharp-fanged creature, and somehow manages to design and sew her own vintage-inspired dresses with enough time to look after five puppet monsters and a charming serial-killer boyfriend on her new Netflix show, The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell.

The hostess with the most-ess torture tools and dead friends—including a ghost played by McConnell’s real-life pal, Dita Von Teese—keeps house and more than a few stunning desserts coming over the course of the show’s first six episodes, creating an instant cult classic that feels a little Pee Wee’s Playhouse, a little Martha Stewart, a little Avenue Q. (We can thank the Jim Henson Company for the show’s irreverent puppet monsters.)

We caught up with the goth kitchen legend to learn how to celebrate Halloween in L.A. right—whether we’re strolling through cemeteries, decking out our front decks to scare children or marathoning scary movies—and learn what’s next for McConnell’s creepy clan.

So is Halloween your favorite holiday?

Easily and obviously. I’m so jazzed my parents’ house worked out the way that it did and I’m gonna be there on Halloween night, dressed to the nines and terrifying little children. 

When you visit L.A., what are some of your favorite spooky spots to get into the spirit?

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary: It’s well known as the burial place of Marilyn Monroe, but it’s a quiet and sleepy cemetery; I’ve always liked to go and sit. And Heritage Square Museum, another L.A. favorite of mine: Old houses and a church from the L.A. area have been moved to this out-of-the-way lot and can be toured. Catching a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a perfect date night for the ghoul in your life, and on Halloween night, the West Hollywood Costume Carnaval is an amazing way to show off your best costumes with friends or family and enjoy the creativity of others!

What are your favorite non-Halloween spots?

I go to that Westwood cemetery a lot—whenever I’m in L.A. and have a break and I don’t have anything to do for a couple hours, I always go there just because it’s creepy and beautiful and tranquil. And I love the Ace Theater Downtown; it’s so gothic and creepy and it’s a really incredible place to go. And I also love the TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood: That’s a beautiful place to just walk around and feel like you’re in the past.

Do you have any favorite Halloween movies?

Trick or Treat. It’s a bunch of stories all strung together and it’s probably the most Halloween-y movie I can think of. And then I’m a huge fan of the classic Halloween; I play that almost nonstop during the month of October, and, I mean, all of them. I really kind of binge anything horror. I love Frankenweenie—I know that kind of might be silly, but I love the music, I love all of the little characters—it’s just such a terrific Halloween movie.

Any tips for people who want to get into the spirit at home?

I love to pick up some dry ice, [then] fill a cauldron with punch and sherbet ice-cream; drop a few cubes of the dry ice in and watch it bubble and fog. This is fun to do with for a party or just something delicious and spooky by yourself.

Every year you redecorate your parents’ house for Halloween, and you go all-out with the woodwork, the lighting—what are a few ideas for people who might not be willing to go that all-out with their decorations?

For people who aren’t insane?

Right, maybe just the people who want to show up their neighbors.

You can always go and get some foam core and cut it with a kitchen knife to make some teeth and like, put them around your entry way. And you can put little googly eyes—I mean, really, you can make it as simplistic as you want; you can make it an elementary school craft project or you can get a little crazier with it. But I kind of feel like putting a creepy face up on your house is a fun way to creep out the neighbors and the kids, and I just think it’s exciting for kids to come up to a house like that. 

When it comes to Halloween candy, what are your top and bottom favorites?

Full-size Snickers, full-size Almond Joy, and I like Whatchamacallit bars. I don’t want to put down any companies, but I don’t like those little Dum Dums suckers, and I don’t like candy corn. And this is a personal thing that will probably cause a lot of controversy, but I don’t like Three Musketeers; it’s like a candy bar that’s missing all the good stuff.

What do you think Rose’s [a raccoon puppet in the show] favorite Halloween candy is? 

Everything. Sex? Sex is her favorite Halloween candy. I think the running theme is she has an insatiable lust for everything, and I don’t see her playing favorites. 

And Rankle’s [a mummified cat puppet] and Edgar’s [a sensitive werewolf puppet]?

Maybe dead birds? That seems to be [Rankle’s] thing, like he’d want to hand out dead birds to trick-or-treaters. And I think [Edgar] really loves those chocolate-covered bones, so anything that looks like a human part. 

In a Halloween round of fuck, marry, kill, what’s your pick: Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon?

Ooh. I would say marrying Dracula would be the way to go, because he’d bite you and you’d live forever. And the Wolf Man’s kind of hot, and I think I’d be OK with killing the Creature from the Black Lagoon; I don’t think he’s very nice. Sorry, those are all kind of creepy answers.

It was kind of a creepy question. In terms of your love life on the show, will we be seeing more of Norman?

I have an opinion about that, and I don’t think I should say. I love him and I love the actor [Adam Mayfield], but I have plans for him, and I can’t say that they're all good.

I’m not sure if you can say whether there are more episodes coming, but is there anything forthcoming we can look forward to?

I don’t know anything, but I’m lighting candles and I’ve got a shrine going. I’m crossing my fingers, basically. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for purposes of clarity and consistency.

Netflix’s “The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell,” a co-production with Wilshire Studios and Henson Alternative, is available to stream now.