From haunted home hunters to horror-inspired fashionistas, listed below are probably the most sensational Latin content material creators taking on the “darks” internet.
It’s no shock that many Latinos are obsessive about all issues haunted, deathly and Halloween. From the celebration of the deceased referred to as Día de los Muertos, to the foreboding thrills and life classes underpinning Latin America’s fiendish folklore, spooky issues are as revered as they’re feared.
Prior to now few a long time, the “espooky” neighborhood has solely been strengthened by a multicultural, multigenerational publicity to the humanities, particularly music. Many grew up with dad and mom sharing the attract of goth, new wave, punk and steel (in addition to their darkish aesthetics), all of which grew to become extra discoverable due to the web. There’s additionally been a surge of nostalgia for slasher movies and scary motion pictures — and a brand new crop of leisure impressed by them, such because the 2025 reboot of “I Know What You Did Final Summer time.” This enthusiasm to attach with like-minded movie and music freaks on-line has bred a brand new darkish subculture that merely gained’t die.
If Jenna Ortega’s devious dance to the Cramps in Netflix’s “Wednesday” felt like a cultural second, social media solidified it. Right this moment, Instagram and TikTok are stuffed with influential figures within the area who additionally occur to be Hispanic. In Los Angeles, creator entry to the leisure business has helped many construct highly effective profiles that manufacturers and leisure corporations need on crimson carpets, at themed occasions and at residence, unboxing or modeling their merchandise. And it’s not nearly tapping into Latin client spending energy; these black-garbed creatures of the evening are having a ball as they construct monstrous followings from all walks of life, year-round.
Victoria Venin
Along with her vixen vibes and campy catchphrases, Victoria Venin, whose actual identify is Victoria Perez, has constructed an avid following on-line that, within the wake of the pandemic, has ballooned to 709,000 followers on Instagram and greater than 54,000 followers on TikTok. Except for conducting on-the-spot interviews at conventions similar to Midsummer Scream and Monsterpalooza, and modeling for manufacturers like Sizzling Subject and Romwe, Venin is finest referred to as the principle vogue fiend and mannequin for Kreepsville, the native goth-glam clothes model with a flagship retailer, Monster-A-GoGo, in East L.A.
She’s expanded her depraved world into the music scene as of late, internet hosting ticket giveaways for main bands and music promoters —most not too long ago, Social Distortion and Morrissey at Toyota Area. The Mexican American actress and mannequin got here to L.A. from San Diego to pursue her desires and tapped into the facility of social media after her companion, Danny Morales (of Pomona’s long-running new wave dance occasion Membership Rock It!), obtained behind the digicam to seize her adventures.
“I simply began taking footage, going out day-after-day, and tagging all of the manufacturers and it actually took off once I met Danny,” says Venin, who first grew to become drawn to the darkish aspect whereas seeing the movie “Bride of Chucky” as a child. “I keep in mind seeing Tiffany, performed by Jennifer Tilly, and considering she seemed so fairly. I believed, ‘I wish to be like that once I develop up.’ I’ve all the time liked horror, all issues spooky-cute, so I used to be in a position to make use of that, however make it glamorous.”
Venin’s recommendation for constructing a following on-line? “Work laborious, go to all of the occasions, make connections and put your self on the market,” she says. “Be the most effective model of your self doable and don’t put your self in a field. Being Latina shouldn’t be one thing I’m making an attempt to be, it’s simply one thing that I’m. Victoria Venin the model isn’t restricted to being Latina — she’s for everybody worldwide. I wish to encourage all people.”
Hauntina
Tina Estrella, a.okay.a. Hauntina, has been celebrating horror and Halloween-related content material on-line for over a decade, touting the “spooky aspect of life.” Tellingly, her most viral moments have melded her heritage along with her horror sensibilities, similar to a current hit clip by which she cooked albondigas in a cauldron.
“I constructed a neighborhood of like-minded individuals, particularly in Southern California, who really feel the identical year-round pleasure for the spooky season,” says the creator, who counts 67,000 followers on Instagram and greater than 109,000 on TikTok. “I feel my following grew as a result of I’ve all the time stayed true to myself and handled horror and Halloween as greater than a section; it’s a life-style.”
The Mexican American creator, who was born in Los Angeles and grew up within the Inland Empire, cites her center college years as formative for her love of other music and tradition. “It led me into Gothic literature, particularly Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles,’” she shares. “That opened up an entire new world for me, and shortly I used to be obsessive about horror movies, particularly slashers like ‘Scream’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Road.’”
Right this moment, she says Guillermo del Toro is her greatest inspiration, noting the filmmaker’s fantastical worlds and macabre magnificence. “His work made me really feel seen and impressed me to embrace my very own love for the eerie and the extraordinary,” she says. “I imagine that Latinos put a lot into different areas just like the spooky neighborhood and we should be seen and highlighted, so I’m all the time grateful to attend occasions the place individuals who appear like me aren’t sometimes invited or celebrated.”
Backstitch Bruja
Social media started as a enjoyable method for South Gate native Yvette Aragon-Herrera to advertise her clothes line, Backstitch Bruja. However finally, it spawned one thing larger — quickly she grew to become the model, constructing a following of 144,000 on Instagram and greater than 142,000 on TikTok.
“It was very natural,” the designer says. “I used to be posting DIY [tutorials] on-line as a plus-size creator about seven years in the past. There weren’t quite a lot of spooky plus-size garments and equipment that had been inexpensive … it began snowballin, so I turned it into an precise aspect hustle and it ended up being my essential enterprise.”
Impressed by her time as a UC Santa Barbara Chicano Research main and retail jobs at shops like MAC Cosmetics, her gender inclusive and ethically made “Mexi-goth” model was successful out the gate. However she quickly realized that her followers loved not simply her garments — obtainable by way of the web site she began in 2019 and inside a San Dimas brick-and-mortar retailer she opened two years later — however her complete witchy aesthetic. As she began sharing extra, her numbers grew, which led to invitations to a wider array of invitations and occasions.
“When film studios and PR corporations had been like, ‘Hey, do you wish to come to this film premiere?’ I used to be like, ‘I’m not an influencer,’” she displays. “However they had been like, ‘No, you’re.’ So now I’m in any respect these cool issues.”
Along with vogue and film promo, Aragon-Herrera prioritizes her tradition, particularly on her Instagram tales. “I feel it’s essential to share the Latino expertise, present occasions, issues which can be affecting us,” she stresses, noting that her hottest posts had been from her Halloween wedding ceremony in 2022 and out at protests. “We must be politically privy to what’s happening. I do know quite a lot of my clients do take pleasure in my store, however they take pleasure in me as an individual, so I simply attempt to preserve it very genuine.”
Pinup Doll Ashley Marie
(Pinup Doll Ashley Marie)
On social media, the place area of interest means all the pieces, efficiently melding a number of subcultures into content material creation will be difficult, however Ashley Herrera has achieved it with fashion. Often called Pinup Doll Ashley Marie, the Mexican American creator’s social media ascent started with classic hair and vogue tutorials. However quickly her love of horror, DIY and storytelling helped her broaden her viewers. Her content material has yielded her 668,000 subscribers on YouTube, greater than 190,000 on TikTok and 198,000 on Instagram.
“I really like having my fingers in a number of ardour initiatives, which is why I combined my two favourite loves, Fifties glamour and horror,” she says. “The classic and pinup neighborhood was tiny on-line, so it grew to become this stunning, supportive area. As I developed, I introduced my followers alongside for each section — the style, the house initiatives, the Halloween builds. In my neighborhood, [my house is] the Halloween home, as a result of I create giant elaborate decorations that you may’t purchase in shops.”
The Santa Ana native’s horror content material additionally consists of her AshleysFreakyFriday channel for paranormal tales, impressed by familial storytelling and “La Mano Peluda,” which was her grandfather’s favourite radio present. “Individuals would name in and provides their accounts of all of the paranormal sightings they’d see,” she recollects. “The combination of folklore and concern kind of grew to become consolation for me. It linked me to my roots and my creativeness. I used to be additionally born on Nov. 1, so my birthday was typically celebrated on Halloween day — so it’s naturally been my favourite vacation since I used to be a toddler.”
Ghoul Daddies
Chicano couple Matthew Chavana and Paul Silva, who name themselves the Ghoul Daddies, have been overlaying haunts and scream scenes ever since a really eventful first date at an excessive hang-out in Fullerton — now in Buena Park — referred to as the seventeenth Door.
“They threw cockroaches in my face, then they tazed us and drowned us,” recollects Chavana of the expertise, which requires signed waivers to enter. “Paul filmed it, and the remaining is historical past.”
Silva says that after his put up went viral, he realized that “haunts, paranormal investigations and celebrating Halloween year-round wasn’t quite common, [but] lots of people associated to it.”
Sharing their dates from the darkish aspect since 2021, the pair each grew up in La Mirada and have constructed a strong fanbase on-line from their pictures and movies, which discover the eerie aspect of life (and loss of life) in L.A. and past. They’ve garnered greater than 14,000 followers on Instagram and roughly 38,000 on TikTok, a lot of whom additionally belong to the LGBTQ+ neighborhood.
Chavana says it’s all within the familia. “That is all due to my mother,” explains Chavana, who typically brings his mom, Mary Alice, alongside to outings to assist movie them. “She would go all out on decorations each Halloween and took me to each hang-out in L.A. since I used to be 5 years previous and it actually caught with me.”
From ambassador gigs with Fangoria journal to podcast appearances speaking all issues scary, the duo stays busy year-round, however that is clearly their favourite time of yr. They’re at present hitting smaller residence haunts throughout town, however Silva says, in the event you go to only one this season, make it Reign of Terror. “It simply has a particular really feel to it,” he says. “You may inform how a lot they love Halloween — like we do.”
