Empty Grave Acres

My Breathing Grave

2011-11-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

This year I built a breathing grave. It was a huge hit on Halloween. the moment is very subtle, depending on when you looked at it you knew something was odd, and then you really saw the "breathing" movement. Here's a daytime video:

I'm not sure if I have a night time video, but I will lokk and see if I do...

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

2011 pictures...

2011-11-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

So now that Halloween has past this year, I figured i should post the few pictures that I have from the "big" night...

Jen's new Spider victim

the kids & me

Jen & I

I've already started planning next year. We doubled the number of ToT's this year. It's a lot like it was in Salt Lake City... each year seems to grow as people find us.. I hope you enjoy the pics, and that your Halloween was amazing:)
Happy Haunting!!!
~ Bill

Here's the work in progress...

2011-10-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

22 days!?!?!? I can't believe that we're down to 22 day's already!!!! So last night my lovely wife Jen was outside taking some pictures of the yard. I have been adding the finishing touches to my reaper statue... added some spanish moss and changed the lantern mostly.
I hacked the wal-mart hurricane lantern so that it actually has a flicker candle in it, and I "aged" the glass globe. I haven't put the fog machines out or anything like that yet.
Here's two of the pictures that she took last night:

So this coming weekend, I have two projects to build/complete and some fine tuning of the lighting etc. At Viv's suggestion, I am going to make a gibbet and hang it and my Wal-greens corpse from a tree. And I almost have all the parts for my breathing grave. so I still have a ton to do :)

I hope everyone is having an awesome October, and I'll keep you posted on my progress!!

~ Happy Haunting!!!

Bill

So with only 33 days …

2011-09-28T06:26:00.001-07:00

Until Halloween, I have started another prop. Well, actually I started it this past weekend. One of the things I've always liked that other home haunts have (or have variations of) is the Monster Mud reapers. Before I had discovered the haunts that have became my inspiration and idols (of sorts) I had seen a picture of something called "the Watchman". It was a hooded figure holding a lantern much in the style of the Pleurant (Weeper) statues. (For a great blog post on these go to this post. I just recently started following Midnight in the Garden of Evil's blog, and I think all of you should as well J ) I believe I first saw it around 2007 or 2008. In fact I saved the pictures to my computer and told Jen that one day I would build one of my own. So finally I did …

First, I apologize for the poor quality of the picture. (I am the first to admit that I suck at taking pictures.) I haven't completely finished him yet. I still need to slap another coat of Monster mud on him, then do some painting/highlighting, and accessorize him.
Here's some of the build pictures …

The frame was made from PVC and "chicken-wire".

This is with the main body covered and MM'd. I tried to stay out of the picture but Kate decided to force me to be in it…lol

Here I am fitting the hood before MM-ing it.

And here it is at night....

So this is my project for this week. I hope to have him completely finished by Thursday; Friday by the latest. Weather permitting I also plan on setting up the yard this week. After this I am hoping to make a "breathing grave" and maybe a FCG (Flying Crank Ghost). I purchased a few motors so those projects will hopefully not take long.
Well, back to workJ
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

A new prop...

2011-09-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

has been made. So finally I made a new prop. This year has been extremely trying on me in regards to life just not wanting to co-operate with my plans. So finally in the middle of September I made a new prop. As I've stated before, I tend not to go towards the gore but I've wanted to do this one for a while now. So here's the story:

Last Friday while taking Viv to school, we (Jen, Viv, and I) snuck off to waffle house for breakfast. Then after we had to stop by Wal-greens. Well, I found 2 of these guys hanging out:

So it's a "life-size" at 5 ft. (yes it is bigger than Kate) and it only cost me $30 a piece. I bought the only two that they had. Over on the Halloween Forum they posted a thread on these guys and someone shared a link to this guy's tutorial on using plastic to corpse a skeleton . So I decided to give it a try. Like this guy I am way too lazy for the method that uses liquid latex and cotton...lol...
So here it starts:

So I started with wrapping the body, arms and legs with the .7 mil plastic drop cloth. then I used the brand new heat gun I purchased just for this occaision and started to form it to the skeleton.

Then I painted it with Walnut colored stain. I used Minnwax Gel stain just like the tutorial said (except he used Hickory). Then I dry brushed it with some tan paint, just to bring out the highlights. Next I worked on the neck and head.

I added some hair, and my corpse is hanging out drying upstairs with the kids. I may do a few more details and touch ups but I am not sure what they might be at this time... maybe some decayed clothes or something, but who knows.
Prior to corpsing this one, Kate got to pose with him...

Yes, in case you were wondering, he is dressed as Gavin. In fact, Gavin wanted to send him to school tomorrow instead of him having to go...lol
So there's my first prop of the season...Hope you all like it!!!
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

60 days until…..

2011-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween!!! I know; I know… I have so neglected my blog this year, but I have a good excuse. So I was still working away on Halloween props after the New Year. So come February I decided to take a short break from Halloween. I had planned on starting back up in April but then April came along and I was like…no I’ll start at the end of May or beginning of June. Well then the unfortunate occurrence of being unemployed happened. That meant I could not spend money on Halloween at all. It took me about a month and a half to find a job (and my wife has even went back to work at the hospital). So now that school has started back up, and we’re both working, I can finally start on some projects. On my list for this year are a mausoleum and maybe a few more tombstones. I know…it’s not that ambitious but hopefully next year will be much, much better…. Last year I had seen where someone had made a creepy cradle tombstone for a baby, and I wanted to “copy” that but I think I have found a better one. I saw this picture on a cemetery photography site and said to myself “this one I must make.”

I know it is a lil creepy...but I love it for some reason... So that is what I plan on doing for my birthday weekend (next week J) I'll post pics as I'm working on it :)
Happy Haunting all!!!!

No...I'm not....

2011-03-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

dead. I'm taking a break from my Halloween obsession until April. unlike most haunters I kept going after Halloween. (Usually we tend to take a break through November and December.) This is to prevent burnout ect. I will be back with progress on this year's haunt in April. Until then I think I will continue practicing my new hobby of Magic tricks...I am such a kid....lol
~Unklesatan

Another ghost picture

2011-01-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

taken from Ft. Barrancas. Some of you may remember that back in August, Gavin took a picture while walking around Ft. Barrancas and it had what appears to be a person standing down a hallway. (For that post go here.) Well last Saturday we took Jen's mom and brother out to the fort. While we were there walking around Jen kept saying that she felt like we were being followed and watched. (We were actually the only people at the fort because they were getting ready to lock up for the day.) She was taking pictures (like she always does) and she spun around real quick and took a shot from the way we were coming. (In fact if you compare the picture from august to this one it is the same corrider.) A few days later she was going through the pictures and she saw something. Note: the only thing she did to these pictures was adjust the lighting and contrast. (She also zoomed in a bit on one)....

In this one she saw someting down the corrider. If you look at the upper right of the corrider you see some "discoloration" in the picture.

In this one she adjusted the contrast and the lighting. If you look closely it appears to be a face of some kind.

This is the picture zoomed in. I have no doubt that that is a face looking back at us. We've taken the picture and zoomed in even more and it appears to be wearing a robe or a dress. We have briefly mentioned the original picture to the park rangers there and they told us that many people "feel" that there is something in that part of the fort, specifically in that corrider. I'll let you decide if you think that is a spirit looking back... I know that's exactly what I think it is.
Tonight we're taking a candle lit tour of the fort. It is the anniversary of the Fort joining the civil war. Maybe we'll see this spirit again....
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

DVD Review - Make Your Own Scratch Built Corpse by Christian Hanson

2011-01-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

I got this DVD right before Halloween. Corpse making has been something I have wanted to try, but I have never really had the time to do it.
I was browsing on the Halloween Forum and I came across this post. I then went to The Monster Closet and saw that the DVD was only $14.95 plus shipping (for a total of $19.90) I thought "well, for under $20 even if it sucks I can take the risk." I am so glad I did.
Here is Christian Hanson's bio (taken from his website):

Christian Hanson has had an interest in makeup effects since childhood, and became a serious student of the craft in the late '90s. He is the creator, designer and administrator of The Monster Lab, a popular online forum for FX artists (no longer online). He is currently working in the art/fabrication department of museum outfitter and design firm, sculpting animals and creating realistic environmental and educational displays. Over 2007, he invented a new process for creating corpse props and teamed up with filmmaker Sam Thompson to produce "Make Your Own Scratch Built Corpse" DVD. Make sure to check the "News" section for current work and updates. With each project, he aspires to the highest quality of realism, design and craftsmanship. Christian lives in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The DVD is of professional quality. It appears to be an actual DVD not pressed from a home publisher. The film quality is excellant. I had a question after I ordered it and within hours my e-mail was answered. So a thumbs up on customer service. The techniques that are discussed are ones that I have not seen before (and believe me I have scoured the internet and forums looking) and they are very clearly described and demonstrated. The dialogue between the cast on the movie is a bit cheesy, but for the information you get from the DVD it is easily over looked.

Here is the preview video that they have:

Ok, so here's the bottom line: This DVD is awesome. Even if you don't plan on making a corpse from it, the information given can easily go into other projetcs. I believe this is one of the must haves for haunters and for the price you really can't go wrong. Go get you a copy while you can.

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

As promised

2010-12-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

here is the picture that my wonderful kids got me for Christmas...

They got it from a guy in Estonia. This is the first & only one I have. the seller said it was a woman in her wedding dress. I think he may have been mistaken though. I did some research and it seems that in that part of the world they often will bury someone in white (much like the "dresses" that people wear for baptism, first communion, confirmation, etc.) So it would be reasonable to think that this was such a case. Of course that is nowhere near as interesting to a buyer as saying it's a dead bride.
I am actually trying to find post-mortem pictures from around 1865 - 1915. The ones that they posed the deceased and then took pictures with them as if they were still alive. I know, one might say that is a bit weird, but that's only because we feel death is a taboo. Anyhow, I promised I would share the pic....
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

My family is

2010-12-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

the best family ever!!! How else can you describe a wife that gets her husband this book ...

for Christmas??? She so enables my obsession at times. See she knows that for next years haunt I am not only doing the outside of the house but I am also planning on doing the front room as well. And part of what I am doing involves Post-mortem photography or Momento Mori. (Click the link for info on this topic). This book is chock full of the things... I'll post a review of it as soon as I can...Also she helped the kids pick out and purchase an original Death portrait for me. (Yes, even my kids enable my obbsession.) Is it wrong that my two 13 year olds and soon to be 10 year old see nothing wrong with buying me a picture of a dead person??? So yeah, I believe I have the best family ever. Those that truely know me also know I honestly HATE the Christmas season, but I do have to say that this Christmas is in my top 10 days of my life (so far). The kids this year made it awesome:)

I did get some other cool stuff...a wood burner with 4 tips (which will also be used on next years haunt), an awesome cast iron skull bottle opener, and maybe my favorite gift of all a ukelele... I know odd. Anyway, I'll think about scanning and posting the pic that the kids got me sometime this week....

I hope your "other holiday" was as fruitful as mine:)

Happy Haunting!!!!!

~Bill

I lied....

2010-12-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

when I said I was not going to build any more props until after the New Year. Last night I finished yet another tombstone. This time I did something different. I saw this picture :

I was like wow...I love this. So I tried to copy it. Here is what I got:

Now that I am looking at it I think I have just a few more touches to add then I'll be finished. I was trying for that "sandstone" look. Not sure if I achieved it or not. Jen likes it, the kids approve of it, so I suppose I'll add it to the cemetery next year.

Until next time....

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

Yesterday I was kidnapped...

2010-11-28T05:13:00.000-08:00

on the way home from Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Jen decided that whether I wanted to or not she was going to take me through the North Hill district of Pensacola. She's been trying to show me the houses there for months, but I have been giving tons of excuses like they don't have big front yards... or I'm too tired... While we were riding around through one of the neighborhoods, out of no where appeared a huge overgrown cemetery. It was like they just built the road right through the middle. Unfortunately at the time it was really cold and we didn't have the camera, so we went home. After the sun came up a bit more and all the kids were up, we returned to the cemetery to "explore" and take pictures... here are a few that Jen took....

This looked like it was the cemetery for a poor church congregation. There were a lot of graves that were just unmarked or simply the names were "drawn" into cement as it was drying. I think though I'll be able to use this as some "direction" for aging some of my tombstone projects.
Until next time...Happy Haunting!!!
~Bill

The Rott Family Plot

2010-10-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

I figured since I already had Fester N. Rott & Diane Rott, I might as well go one step further. The dates I have on both of those two lent themselves to a sad truth that I decided to use. When we go visit the older cemeteries, we always see graves for youngsters all over the place with the dates in the 1800's. So I decided to give the Rott's an infant son....Willy
So today I made Willy's gravestone:

Here's another pic of the stone:

The stone says : Willy Rott... Born 1842... 18 mos. ... Sleep, my little one, Sleep
I have the stone in betwen his mom & dad:

Maybe next year I will fence off a section so they have their own lil family plot. Jen says this is really creepy, but for me it just fits into the whole vision I have towards realism...hehehe
Tomorrow is the big day!!!! My anniversary and Halloween!!!! Woohoo!!!!
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

Pictures of the yard

2010-10-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

One of my many challenges is night photography. I suck at it. Normally that would not be an issue; however, since my yard looks the coolest at night with the lights and the smoke, it does tend to cause me issues with sharing what my yard looks like. But here are a few that I think are ok....

I wish they were better but they give you an idea of the yard at night...
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

New Tombstone: Fester (Diane's Husband)

2010-10-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

So since I completed Diane Rott's gravemarker I thought I should also do her husband's...Fester N. Rott....

I carved the Angel of Death and the hourglass the same way that I did the cat on annie's stone.

The epitaph reads " It does my heart a world of good...To see you in a box of wood"

Only 9 more days left... I'm so excited!!!!

Happy Haunting!!!

~ Bill

Tombstone: Diane Rott Finished

2010-10-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

As promised here is the final picture of the tombstone:

I think I am finished with it. We're getting closer to the BIG day.
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

New Tombstone: Diane Rott

2010-10-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I made a new tombstone: Diane Rott ( play on the words Die n Rot). Here is the pics... I still think I am gonna weather it a bit more, not sure yet though....

And another....

and the inscription/epitaph...

And here's a night shot...

Only 13 more days and so much left to do. We put the ground fog machines out tonight and did a test run. I think they will work well. Fog acts different here in Florida than it did in Utah.
Anyway, off to work on another Tombstone.
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

Completed: Gavin's Crypt

2010-10-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, being Saturday, was finish Gavin's crypt day. In all honesty, it is 70% his, 30% mine. (Especially, since he ditched me yesterday to play with a friend....lol) So here it is:

I think we did a good job on it. I am pleased with it so far. He ditched me after we got the top built, so I had to paint it. I did the opposite of what we did to the sides... I sprayed the entire top with a base coat of white and I let it dry. Then instead of using a roller I sprayed the entire top with a coat of black and used the hose on mist to "wash away" the paint. Here I am washing it away:

Here is what it looked like after I washed the black away:

I think I like this effect better than when I base coated black and washed the white away. And yes, the name on the crypt is one of my wife's great grand-mother:

And here is the finished top:

I added some moss to it (hoping it made it look "spookier and older"). The next few shots are of me putting it in the yard. I modified the "plan" for the crypt by putting pvc tubes on the inside to hold the rebar so the crypt is more secure.

Inside the crypt I added a green spot light facing inward and a fog machine (also facing inward). At night the green light shines through the cracks and "holes" that are in the crypt. It looks really creepy. Our camera takes really crappy night pictures so I am working on getting a good shot to post.
So the inspiration for this is from the Mitchell's new book "How to Haunt your House Book 2" page 20. I suggest you guys go and grab you a copy ASAP (so you can make cool stuff too!!!!)
More to come......Happy Haunting!!!!!
~Bill

Gavin's Crypt

2010-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, as I said in a previous post, Gavin (my 9 year old son) is working on the Tomb Cover from How to Haunt Your House Book 2 (by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell). Here's his progress... We should be completely finished by the weekend, I think we'll be finished sooner...

We've measured the panels and he is getting ready to use a jigsaw for the very first time.We did have an ambulance on stand by just in case...

Here he is actually cutting. He did an excellant job. I was very proud of him... in fact, we were able to dismiss the rescue squad that was on stand by.

I drew some lines on the wall panels, and gave him the dremel tool. I told him to trace the lines. I also said they did not have to be perfect... again, surprisingly, no one had to go to the emergency room.

After he dremeled the lines, he took a wire brush to make them a little more "crack-like".

So this is one of the panels ready for painting. I didn't take a pic of it but we primed it with Monster Mud and then sprayed the entire panel black.

After the black base coat dried, we went outside. I read somewhere about a technique for weathering where you roll a lighter color over the black and then use a hose to "wash away the top layer". this is what we were trying...

Here Gavin is spraying the panel with water. I think he did a great job so far. For me the jury is still out on this technique. I'll make a decision after we've finished. We still have a few more details to add the the panels..

This is the front panel so far....

This is one of the side panels....

This is the other side panel......

We still have the lid to make. Everything is cut out. We just have to glue it all together and detail it before we can paint it. As soon as we are finished I will post the pics....

Happy Haunting All!

Book Review - How to Haunt Your House Book 2 by Shawn and Lynne Mitchell

2010-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

My mother in law and brother in law got me this book for my birthday last month. I was so excited to get it.
This book is a professionally put together product. I know I've ranted before on how I dislike the home publisher jobs we get all too often. the pictures are detailed and clear (and large enough that you can actually see them). This is what I've come to expect from these two authors.
So to the "meat and potatoes" of the book. I think all of the projects that are in this volume are explained in enough detail that a novice can be successful in completing them. In fact, my 10 year old son is working on one of them now. (Page 20 "Tomb Cover") All of the steps are clearly outlined. The only thing that might have been helpful for my son would have been measurements and quantities. However, for our purposes we would have probably adjusted the dimensions anyway. To be honest that is really the only negative I could find, and that isn't really a negative is it?
As with Book 1, this volume gets you thinking of ways to do things that you may not have thought of before. My wife calls it a more "artsy" way of haunting. that it seems to hint of theatrical scene design techniques. I would still like to see a DVD companion to this series.
I highly recommend this book to every home haunter. the argument is always why purchase a book when a lot of techniques are available for free on the internet? My answer is simple... these are tried and true methods that produce top quality results... Support your fellow home haunters and go out and get a copy of How to Haunt your House Book 2>>>
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

Annie's Stone in the yard

2010-10-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

So here is what I think I'll do with Annie's stone. I hope that she likes it:)

I used part of a store bought prop from last year... I wanted it to be special or as special as it can be... So here ya go Annie:)

Happy haunting!!!

~Bill

It's begun....

2010-09-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

So tonight I started to put the display up... Just positioning the tombstones, but still it's a start...

Angel statue

Bird bath & Skelamingo/ memory garden

Creepy statue

another creepy statue

Grave marker

Another grave marker

Annie's Stone

The Smith's stone by Jen

So to recap.. I think by the "big day" I should have a total of 5 home made stones/markers completed... the rest of the display will be filled out with store bought stones... I will be adding more details as the month progresses..more pics to follow....

Happy Haunting

~Bill

Annie Voorhies Tombstone Finished.....

2010-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

I think... Well, at least for now it is... So to recap, this stone is for Annie in Colorado Springs...(my wife says she is as close to a sister in law as I will ever have.) And what better way to show someone that you love 'em then make a tombstone...hehehe... So with what like 47 days left until Halloween here it is....

Here it is with the Monster Mud Coat and I did the initial background painting on the design and the lettering. I actually have to give my wife (Jen) credit for doing the Monster Mud coat while I was at work today. I apologize for the blurriness... I suck at taking pictures.

Here is the first layer of paint. I used a watered down dark grey. There was no method to what I did. I just haphazardly painted away. i left some of the lighter grey showing... I figured that later on in the finishing process it would add another layer of color/dimension.

In this one, I've already dry brushed with a very light grey. I am highlighting the raised letteringon the name... if you get really close to it the letters look carved in granite.

Here is the finished stone. I am hoping that the stone looks weathered and is showing "years" of being out in the rain.. I may add some moss or lichen later on, but I think for now I will go ahead and say voila... it's complete.

I decided that it would be really bad karma if I used her actual birth year so I did it a hundred years earlier. If you notice there's no death date... again I would hate to jinx her... I hope you like it Annie...

Until next time.....

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

Update: First Tombstone Completed!!

2010-09-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

So I finished my William Compton tombstone. Here are my pics:

This is the stone with only two coats of Monster Mud. (I know I said I wasn't gonna do it...But I did.)

This is the stone with the final painting complete. This was my very first time ever "tea staining" and "dry brushing".

And here it is at night with some mood lighting and a few prop candles. I think the only thing that I want to add is some moss, and possibly some stains from rain. So tomorrow I should finish my tombstone for Annie... I'll post pics when I have it finished....

Until then Happy Haunting!!!!

~ Bill

Update: First Tombstones

2010-08-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

So in my uber procrastinating form, I took my day off today to work all of 30 minutes on my tombstone project. I have two stones in the works at the moment. One is my very first stone, that is my Southern Vampire character "Bill Compton" tribute. My original vision is different than what I actually have now. It is a very basic stone with the Death Head on top and simply stating "William Thomas Compton 1840-186blah".

I hand-carved the name and letters with a box cutter style knife. It being my first ever attempt I see every single screw up with the lettering. Also the numbers proved to be extra difficult for me. I used a "crack in the stone" to help hide my major screw up with the death date. I decided on this stone not to monster mud it, only because a) the drill I have is not powerful enough to mix it and b) I expect to redo this stone next year to match my original vision for it.
For Father's Day this year my wife and kiddos got me a "Wagner Project Sprayer" as a gift:

So today gave me the prime opportunity to try it out. I loaded up some black latex paint and sprayed a base coat on the stone.

This weekend, since I have a 3 day weekend, we'll finish this stone up. (I know I say that now, but I plan on it this time.)

My second stone is in honor of our good friend Annie in Colorado. My wife has a theory as to why I am doing this stone... you see Annie and I had a huge falling out a few weeks ago over the difference between a scone and a beignet... (actually it was because of the way I pointed this difference out, but that's another story)... my wife says that this stone is as close to an apology as she will ever get from me... she's probably right... so Annie likes cats so I wanted to try a technique out that I've seen on bunches of stones... so after I cut the shape of the stone, I took out the dremel tool and carved this into it:

I used the router attachment and a router bit. I think it turned out well. Then I decided that since I already had the dremel tool out, why not use it to carve the name and epitaph. So this is what I came up with:

In case the picture isn't clear it says, "Annie M Loving wife of Brian A Voorhies 1878 - " I didn't do the base coat today because I still have some detailing I want to do. Hopefully that will be done before the weekend and I will also finish this one. (I am still debating on whether to Monster Mud it or not...)

I have enough foam for about three or four more stones, and enough pink foam for an obelisk. We'll see if i am ambitious enough for that. More to follow, but until then....

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

Seriously...WTF???

2010-08-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

Fellow haunters...have you ever stumbled across a prop that made you shake your head and say "WTF were they thinking??" I just did....

Is it me or does the wolf appear to be humping the dead guy? This one is courtesy of K-mart's "Totally Ghoul" line. I can only imagine the snickers this prop would cause. Anyway, today's plans are working on the tombstones. I have two carved and ready for finishing. Off we go to Home Depot for supplies... Updates to follow ...

Happy Haunting !!!!

~ Bill

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A HAUNTAHOLIC WHEN ...

2010-08-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

you're pestered all year by kids who want to know what the theme for THIS year is.
you find yourself thinking that one corpse is more attractive than another.
you get more excited over a fog machine than a dirty movie.
you have more help at your haunt than necessary for an old-fashioned barn raising.
you have more than ten sound effect CD's.
you have names for the skeletons in your closet.
you play spooky music all year round.
you spend more on one Halloween than on your spouse's birthday, Christmas or anniversary.
you try to make Fido look like a hellhound every Halloween.
your neighbors avoid you a full month before Halloween.
your garage, basement and attic contain nothing but Halloween props.
the only candelabra you own is in a spider web motif.
there is a monster under your bed because your attic/basement/garage is full.
your electric bill higher in October than in December.
the family dog ignores masked individuals breaking into your house.
instead of giving your child a cat or dog, you give them a gargoyle to play with.
the guy at the paint counter at the hardware store sees you coming and starts stacking gallon cans of flat black on the counter.
you go to "Goth Night" at a local club, armed with a pocketful of "volunteer recruitment" flyers.
you can't watch a horror movie without jotting down ideas every two minutes.
you're nervous about taking rolls of film in to be developed, for fear the police might show up at your house looking for the corpses.
you have a room in your house reserved for special props/projects, and won't allow anyone in there because it'll "spoil the Halloween surprise!"
people refuse to walk into your house at night.
people refuse to walk into your house in broad daylight!
you have a customized license plate that has something to do with Halloween.
you start actually setting up your yard haunt in August...
you judge homes by how well a haunt could be set up in them.
your toddler's first words are "TRICK OR TREAT!"
it's not uncommon to see a "Barbie" doll hanging in a noose in you're daughters room.
your teenager wants his/her "own" coffin....

I found this a few years ago and copied it to a word doc... I don't remember where I found this or who wrote this, but it made me chuckle. I came across it while cleaning some files and thought I'd share it...

Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

Ghosts at Ft. Barrancas

2010-08-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

So my 9 year old son, Gavin, has this desire to be like Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures. About a month ago we were on the Pensacola Naval Air Station walking around Ft. Barrancas (for info on Ft barrancas go here ) As we normally do we allowed Gavin to have the camera. He's already caught moving orbs at the Pensacola Lighthouse so we figured what the hell... well, we were walking around and we came to the beginning of a corrider. Gavin started his usual banter of calling the ghosts out ala Zak and he just started snapping pictures....

Well, if you look down the corrider, you can see the figure of a person. We've blown the picture up several times and you can actually see a facial expression. We believe it was a soldier but we're not sure. Anyway, I know this wasn't related to home haunting or Halloween, but I wanted to share this pic...

Happy Haunting!!!

~ Bill

Family involvement

2010-08-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

So the whole family gets involved with my halloween obsession. I guess they really have no choice, but I like to pretend that they actually like it as much as I do. Well, one of my girls, Vivianna (Vivi for short), has been working on her paper mache pumpkins. Instead of making it already "carved" with a face, she made it like a real pumpkin and I suppose as an after thought decided she would carve the face in it using a dremal tool....

So there she is... I'll post a finished pic later. She has really started to show her creative side. I suppose a normal adult might be a little disturbed with some of her "art" but I think it is cool... she used some old doll heads to make ....

Maybe she'll open her own e-bay store or something...whatever she does though I think we'll keep encouraging her creativity....
Happy Haunting!!!
~ Bill

My first Tombstone

2010-07-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have made real progress on my first tombstone tonight. Those of you that know me also know that I have ADD. At times I can be what my wife calls me as "being shiny". My attention span can sometimes be that of a 9 year old and it gets worse when I'm tired or really stressed out. again those of you that know me also know that with my job I am working a crazy amount of hours and I am stressed most of the day. (Being a Plant Manager of a production facility means I am constantly fixing one problem after another.... but if it was easy they wouldn't need me.) So with that said, a few days ago Gavin and I started on this project. We measured and cut two equal pieces of styrofoam and I cut two slots in the back of one and placed pvc pipe (so I can slide the stone onto rebar for support.) I then glued them together with foam adhesive. Tonight, with me being hopped up on sinus meds I decided to cut the shape out. I made a template (I cheated... I have heard most people use photoshop or such to enlarge the template but I couldn't figure out how to print something as large as a tombstone so i just used Excel.) Here's a pick of me using the template to cut the shape.....

So I cut the shape out. I then used an electric sander to sand the sides down evenly and refine the shape a bit. I then decided that I wanted to have a base for the stone to sit on so I used some of the left over foam and made one. Here is a pic of that....

Notice that it is leaning. I've decided that since I am a Southern Vampire fan (actually my wife is...I just like True Blood) I am going to make this Bill Compton's grave stone. Since he "died" in 1868, I figured the stone will have settled by now and it being "crooked" just makes it more realistic. Tomorrow I plan on working on the engraving. I have an idea I'm gonna try using spray paint to "carve" the letters so it looks like they have faded with time. If it works I'll take pictures and describe what I am tried.

Well, that's all for tonight.. Time to go sleep, 3:30am comes awefully quick.

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

Book Review - How to Build a Corpse by Di Stefano Productions

2010-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sometime last September I was browsing a forum somewhere and there was a post about this website that had pictures of a baby with a corpse. So being the ever curious one that I am I immediately searched for it and found the website Corpses for Sale. As I looked around the site I remember thinking, "These are some realistic looking corpses if I ever have seen some."
On the site there isn't much about the author/corpse maker and at the time of my site viewing the site hadn't been updated since 2007. So in April of this year I sent an e-mail to the site asking if the book they offered was still available. I received a prompt reply that it in fact was still available. So my wife (the ever trooper that she is) sent the $24.45 ($19.95 + $4.50 p&h). A few days later, I received the book. As you can see from the picture, the book is put together a lot like Steve Hickman's series is. The book appears to be produced either from a home printer or at a Kinko's or store like that. My assumption is that these are word documents that have been printed and comb bound (like you would use one of these for http://www.binding.com/catalog.aspx?catid=plasticcombpunching ) The formatting does look good and the pictures in the book are clear. I would have prefered the pictures to have been color though. Now for my disclaimer: I have not tried any of the instructions in this book yet. With that said, it is definitely on my list of "when I have the time to do this I will". The book is divided in several "chapters" and they give clear and concise instructions on what to do. the author appears to have researched how the body looks and decays very extensively. The techniques in this book are unlike any of the other online instructions that I have seen for "corpsing" techniques. Some basic techniques for body casting are also included in the book. At the end of the book, there is a list of suppliers for some of the materials needed. I figured that if I followed the directions in the book exactly, I can build a very realistic looking corpse for about $60 out of pocket...
So the question... is this a must have item? No, not in my opinion. The corpsing techniques that you can find online for free will suffice for most. I do feel that for under $25 this was a good buy for me. I do, however recommend this for anyone that wants to bring the "realism" factor up a notch (or several) in their corpses.
Happy Haunting!!!
~Bill

Book Set Review - The DC Prop Builder's Handbook Volumes 1&2 by Brent Ross

2010-07-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

I know, I know.... I promised this review over a month ago. I got this set for Christmas last year. (We actually called it Scarymas we even had a haunted tree.) I believe I started "wishing" for this set of books around the same time that I wanted Steve Hickman's series. I found them doing a websearch after seeing the DC Cemetery on the fearnet.com series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts". It was really one of the first home haunts that made me pause a moment and say, "Wow... I want to try that..."
So you can purchase this set at DC Props. The author is Brent Ross from Mountain View, California. There's a good bio/history at the DC Cemetery site, so I won't give it here.

The books are well put together. I haven't decided if they are a "home publishing" job, but if they are it's a good job. My biggest gripe with the books are the pictures. I wish they would have been in color and maybe a little larger in some cases so I could see them better. I like the contents of the books; however, I do feel that some of the projects are beyond my skill level. Volume 1 has a nice section on static props. In fact, my original Cemetery Gates project was based off of the project in Volume 1. The instructions for each project are very clear and concise. They are also easy to follow. In my opinion, the Animated propsare from basic to what I consider advanced. I'm not sure I will ever attempt to make most of them, but I do find myself seriously considering the pipe organ. Volume 2 has really great info on Pneumatics & Computer controls. Again, I think the projects in this volume is more advanced than I am able to tackle, but it definitely gives the reader all the info needed to begin their journey towards pneumatic prop building. (I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do yet.)
So I think this set is a must have set for the serious Home Haunter/Prop Builder. It is jam packed with information that is valuable for both the novice and the more advanced builder. Also, if you don't have the time to build the pneumatic lifters, erectors, movers, etc you can purchase them already built from DC Props website.

Happy Haunting ....
~Bill

A yard haunt or not???

2010-07-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

So the Frog Queen posted earlier a question Yard haunt or not?? Basically asking about her display... Here is what I would say if she had asked me...
I personally think that you could go with either a haunt or a yard display… Actually better yet a haunted yard display. The thing that I like the most about what I have seen of your work (read “the pictures that I have seen of your stuff”) is that it let’s my mind start to work. Let me elaborate…. I look at this picture….

In my mind, I imagine it being dusk. Maybe it is a simpler time, that I am taking a shortcut home through the graveyard of the old abandoned church on the outskirts of town. What was that I heard??? A twig snapped??? The rustling of some leaves??? What’s out there??? Is something/someone following me??? The feeling of anxiety is starting to build…. My mind is working overtime… convincing myself that there is something lurking just out of sight… I know that it is there… it is only a matter of time before it gets to me…

     Or (and here is the weirdo in me) I imagine this is the graveyard that is in the books “The Vampire Diaries”. (Yes I have read them.) again my mind does the scaring.

     So back to the label… I think it is a yard haunt… simply because your “display” qualifies with most of what Webster’s dictionary says “haunt" means….

Main Entry: haunt
Pronunciation: \ˈhȯnt, ˈhänt\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French hanter, probably from Old Norse heimta to lead home, pull, claim, from heimr home
Date: 14th century

transitive verb 1 a : to visit often : Frequent....
(I often visit your site for inspiration)
2 a : to recur constantly and spontaneously to
b: to reappear continually in ....
I constantly ask myself when thinking of my yard “what would the Davis’ do with this???
3 : to visit or inhabit as a ghost.... Y’all have ghosts in your display… Not all ghosts are scary… creepy yes, unnerving at times yes… but not always scary.

     Of course these are just my opinions, and for those that read my blog know that the picture in this post is from the Davis Graveyard and is not my property… hopefully they won’t mind too much that I used it in my post…..

Candles

2010-07-07T01:44:00.000-07:00

I guess this weekend was the weekend for making prop candles. If my raving about the book How to Haunt your House wasn't enough to get you to go buy it, maybe this project will convince you. (That's right folks, this is a project from Book 1. In fact, the Mitchell's even have a video tutorial here.) These are so simple to make that I have about 50 or so more planned. For Under $10 I purchased enough PVC pipe and hot glue to make many many candles. I got the battery operated tea lights from
Wal-mart last year when they were on sale after Christmas and I am using left over styrofoam from other projects for the insert. I think this one came out nicely. So far I've made 2 of them, I plan on making more this week if I am not exhausted from work. If I can do this and make them look good anyone can, so watch the tutorial and go make you some prop candles.

OMG!!!! I'm so excited I could Pee myself!!!!

2010-07-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

So while doing my normal rounds today (read "As i stalked my favorite home haunts today") I popped over to the Mitchell's website and guess what??? How to Haunt your House Book 2 is available on lulu.com!!!! One might ask me "Bill, why in the world do you need/want another book on Home Haunting??? You haven't even completed your column project yet and that would take a normal person only 1 or 2 weekends..." My answer is I am an addict.... yes I admit it, I am addicted to all things home haunting. So if you have already purchased book 1 go ahead and get book 2...I don't even have it yet and I recommend it...that's how good book 1 is... And for those of you that don't have Book 1, ya might as well buy them both... Go on ...you know you wanna do it...go support the Mitchell's and get their books....
~ Bill

Empty Grave Acres

2010-06-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot about the importance of a backstory for a haunt. This prompted me to ask my wife, who is not only my better half, but the creative one out of this duo, to write a backstory. And this is what she wrote:

*Empty Grave Acres*

The stories have been around longer then any of us can recall, but they all ring true. Once a year, a graveyard appears out of nowhere to collect more bones. Funny thing about this bone yard is, the dead never stay at rest and the graves are always empty.

My great Aunt first told me about this roaming “God’s Acre” when I was barely old enough to know the meaning of the word. She told me some spirits cannot stay dead long enough to rot. That sometimes when there is so much evil in one place, the place becomes a living thing of its own. Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention to my great Aunt’s tale especially after finding my late Uncle’s diary in the town’s archive.

Recovered Diary

W. C. Dalesandro

Dated October 1- November 1, 1821

October 1st. I know something is not right. The birds are not singing their morning songs and the fog has lain unusually thick for October. I feel in my bones a strange uneasiness as I set out for town this morning. I have hope that others close by are noticing the same sense of caution I am feeling.

October 3rd. The Sea seems to have stirred up the ghosts of our past this season, for everyone I spoke to while in town can feel odd air blowing in off the Gulf.

October 4th. I slept very little last night. I heard, God have mercy on my soul, the sounds of boots on the road leading to my fields. When I rushed out armed to defend my land, nothing confronted me. The air was still. But the dirt was unsettled leading into the darkness.

October 10th. Again I greet this morning having slept little in six days. I fear for my sanity as the night sounds increase to match my own panic. I have begun to notice the crows are no longer startled at my presence and have doubled in numbers. Tonight I will pray until sleep delivers me into rest.

October 13th. I have returned from town with less peace of mind then when I left early this morning. My closest neighbors the Bentley’s are indeed experiencing the same curiosities I am. My proximity to these events seems to have increased my experience; two nights from now, James Bentley will sit with me, armed with his pistol while his wife Mary stands watch armed with her Bible.

October 15th. Forever I will be haunted by the sights seen and heard last night! What I can only describe as a march of the dead has shaken my home to its very foundation! Tonight, the Bentley’s and I bore witness to the ground giving up its most rotting foul hearted dead. Some still wore the hangman’s noose and black hoods of their death and burial. The most disturbing sight was of the long dead Spaniards shakily dragging their bare bones still draped with Spanish rags towards the back acre of my land. James was overcome with fear and unable to fire a single shot and Mary fainted dead away I tell you! Never have I imagined such things were possible, I leave today to tell our local Priest of these events and pray he will grant me the strength to see another night in Pensacola.

October 20th. Father Constantine Maenhaut has recommended I stay at St. Michael’s until I come to my senses. Five days have passed and I am sick with worry at what might come of my land in my absence. I hold hope that all is well and safe in the glory of the lord and that his light will shine down on these cursed fields.

October 22nd. I left St. Michael’s with a promise from Father Maenhaut that he would come to my land in ten days time and bless my home while he eases my mind. I have found moss and vines covering every inch of my fields; I am grateful for the early harvest but must not let my land winter in this state. I say the Lords prayer every second I am outside of my porch. God have mercy!

October 25th. I have cleared my lands of the odd vines but found the most disturbing traces of the nighttime activities I have until now, only guessed at. These evil dead have constructed a cemetery on my back acre. On my land now stands a damned acre of God’s land. The sight of the nearly decomposed men and the smell! The smell of those rotting fingers at work! They toil even in death, unable to find God’s light. Why have these foul souls come to my land to build such a fiendish monument?

October 30th. The Bentley’s, having left their land after what we experienced, are no longer here to take comfort in. I find myself unable to leave the safety of my home even during the day. At night, the light coming from the Acre of Empty Graves is a beckon to those lost and damned in death. Not even a butterfly dares to trespass onto my land while the dead walk here. I pray while the fog belches into every inch of my home that I will survive long enough to land in Gods good graces.

October 31st. The screams are howling on this night of All Hallows Eve! I cover my ears and yell the Lords Prayer with all my breath, please let the sun rise and wash this place clean of the walking dead!

November 1st. LORD BE PRAISED! The Father came this morning as he had promised. I took him to the spot of evil monument that had been constructed, only to find all traces of it gone! Everything has been torn down and removed as if it never stood. I cannot explain all that I have witnessed but pray to never see anything like it in my lifetime. The crows now stand as my only other witness to the horrors of my Acre of Empty Graves.

Today was a good day

2010-06-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of my girls (l to r. Jen, Vivianna, & Katelyn) hard at work on their paper mache pumpkins ala Stalloween Pumpkins. This is their first attempt at making anything paper mache and I think they're doing a great job. Maybe by the weekend they will have them finished, but who knows. It may have to wait for Vivianna to get back from visiting her mom in Arizona, but I think they'll finish this set of pumpkins this week. Today has been a day of progress here at our house. Gavin and I finally started back up on the columns. We measured and cut two sides of foam board and glued them to the frame. (We would have done more but we ran out of foam friendly glue.) I took the opportunity to help teach him the concepts of how to read a ruler. Yeah, I know, he learned this at school, but this was way more fun. I asked him what his favorite part has been so far and he promptly replied, " The chalk line...it's messy."
Tomorrow while we are out, we'll get more foam adhesive and get the other sides on this one. Maybe we'll even start on the trim. The plan for the column construction has been evolving as we go along. It started as the version in Brent Ross' The DC Prop Builder's Handbook Volume 1 and is now a hybrid of several versions. I'll get a review up about the The DC Prop Builder's Handbook set sometime this week. Anyhow, time to go read.
~ Bill

Ramblings of a Mad Man

2010-06-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

     I've started putting up banners linking to other sites. They are sites that I personally go back to for either inspiration (the Davis Graveyard), to see if they've published a new book yet (How to Haunt your House), or because I've purchased a product from there and I had a good experience from it (Terror Syndicate). I am in no way affiliated with any of them and they have not offered me any "kickbacks" to link to them (and I doubt if any of them even know I link to them).
     I personally think it's very important to get the word out about my hobby (of home haunting) and the links I put up I feel are essentials (or they were for me anyway). I can remember several years ago stumbling on Steve Hickman's (Terror Syndicate) and thinking to myself "Whao!!! This guy made all of this himself!!! I want to do that!!!" I think his site was the one that really got me thinking about home haunting like I do now. ~ I know, one might ask, then why has it taken you until this year to jump into building your own props?? Simple answer, I'm lazy. Actually in all fairness, I think it was Steve's site and another one DC Cemetery that got me all in a crazed like obsession with home haunting... (and the way that at the end of all the america's scariest home haunt clips Danielle Harris would say, "remember Home is where the Haunt is ....boo!!" but that's a whole different story there...lol)
     The one thing I've left out of all my reviews (I think) is that no matter how good the book or DVD is I've learned something from every single purchase I've made. I tend to sometimes focus on the negative, because that is usually what I remember, but so far every single one of my home haunt books have taught me a lot. It may have been something as simple as seeing how someone else has done something which in turn made me start thinking...you know that works but I wonder if I modify this or that would it still work?? or even giving me a base of knowledge so I could come up with my own "twist" to a prop.
    So I started scouring the web for ideas and inspiration. In my scouring of the web I definitely have found sites (read people) that I find to be truely inspiring. One might even call them my home haunting heros... Last year, I was on facebook and I did a search for Graveyards. Well the Davis Graveyard came up. I looked at the pictures on their page and was blown away. I even called my wife to the computer and shown it to her. I had been trying to explain to her what direction I wanted to go with my yard haunt but couldn't come up with the right words... the Davis Graveyard did it for me with their pictures. I have since been able to describe what I am after. I want it to be believeable. I find that with monsters and gore it's easy to scare the ToTs, but I usually fall short on the adults. The way the Davis Graveyard looked to me in the pictures I saw I could easily talk myself into thinking it was a real graveyard. It got me thinking, what am I scared of... well for one, I am scared of cemeteries at night. (When I was a younger me (about 14) growing up in BFE South Carolina one of the most terrifying things I remember was one night a bunch of my hoodlum friends and I were up to some trouble. We had actually just toilet papered the high school principal's yard. well he was home and was chasing us... we decided that we would run through the cemetery across the street to get away. In my running I stepped on an old grave and the coffin must have rotted away because I sank to about my knee... I thought I was being pulled in...) So I want to go for that realism... Another awesome site that makes me wish I was more artistic is Stolloween... This man is amazing... go look, I think you'll agree...I of course have to give props to the folks at the Mitchell Cemetery I am so stoked that this year I get to see their yard in person... they only live like 5 miles from me so there is no excuse for me not to see their haunt. There are others actually many others that inspire me but only a few that I constantly go to to check for updates....
   Well, I guess I've rambled enough... It's Sunday and I have a lot to do....
~ Bill

DVD Review - Bad Boys Scenic Design: Styrofoam Masons

2010-06-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finally received it from the “How to” rental site. It was worth the wait in my opinion. I first ran across Bad Boys Scenic Design about a year and a half ago. I was on one of the haunt forums and there was a post about them so I googled them. And I was impressed with what they do.

I’ll start with the technical aspects of the video. It seemed put together well. If I had to guess, it looks like it is a “home-made” video that was created with a DVD creating software. The video quality is good to excellent, meaning that you can see the details of what they are trying to show. I would have liked the audio to have been recorded a little “hotter” because I had to turn the volume up a bit so I could hear it. (But that could be because I am constantly in a noisy environment and I could be losing some of my hearing.) My wife however, agreed that the narrator was a bit soft spoken; however, my 12 year old said she heard everything perfectly fine. The DVD has menu’s and all and if I would have purchased it (verses rented) I would have little complaints about the quality of the audio/video.

As far as the content, it is exactly what I needed and hoped for. I am a visual person so seeing these techniques being done was a huge help for me. Like with a lot of home haunt techniques, I had read about these techniques on several of the forums but seeing it in “action” solidified things for me and I feel I can confidently move forward with some projects involving Styrofoam. What my wife liked about the video was that it gave her enough of a base level of knowledge that she feels confident that she can expand the techniques with experimentation. I appreciated some of the safety warnings… and my wife and I both laughed when we were told to use a respirator when using acetone only to see the guy in the video not use one…

So bottom line, if you can get a hold of this video it is a must have for the beginner foam mason. It describes what I feel are essential basics for a beginner. I would love to see another video from them with some more advanced techniques…

Inspiration

2010-05-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

With this weekend being Memorial Day and being forewarned that the beach is over crowded, we (the family and I) decided that a nice quiet weekend at home was in order. As I often do when I have free time, my mind wandered to Halloween and props and my home haunt. I have all of these ideas of what I want to do and how I want the haunt to look and I have come to a realization that I won't get there this year. So I am doing something that is out of character for me, I am planning things in stages; I am going to start over and build it the way I want without the short cuts I've used in the past. I have about 30 store bought tombstones, that to be honest were fine for me in the beginning, but now they are lacking. I have the cheap ground breakers that stores like K-mart And Wal-mart sell during the season. I have lots of lighting and fog machines. But the thing that I am lacking is the personal touches that I want the haunt to have.
Of course, I will finish the columns in the next two weeks... sooner if I can get the remaining materials. Then I think I will start with the tombstones. I want to get rid of all of my store bought and use ones that I make myself. (Or another option is to use the store bought as filler stones to accent my home built ones. and as my "inventory" grows slowly "retire" the store bought ones.)
I am currently waiting for a video to arrive. I found a site that rents "how to" vids and they had the Bad Boys Scenic Design title I was after. It has shipped and it should be here any day now. I still would rather purchase the dvd but it seems no one carries it. So I will have to settle for a rental and just take really good notes.
I have been looking at my favorite home haunt sites analyzing what it is about them that makes me like them so much. I've gotten plenty of ideas on things I want to do so now it's time to do it... wish me luck....

Bill

Revised Book Review - How to Haunt Your House by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell

2010-05-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

So after reviewing Steve Hickman's series I decided I didn't really do a good review on this book. So since I make the rules here I am going to re-do my reveiw :)
As I said before I got this book for Christmas. The first time I heard of this book was shortly after watching an On Demand video of Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts" featuring "The Mitchell Cemetery" created by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell in Pensacola, Fl. So after seeing this short video I thought "I wonder if they have a website that will share how they do some of the stuff they do...I stumbled across the website How to Haunt your House and realized that they have something much better than a how to section of a website they have a book!! This is another book I had wanted for a while. (And yes, my wife made me hold off on getting it because it would be a great present from the kids for my birthday or Christmas.)
I've already mentioned that the "Mitchell Cemetery" was a feature haunt on Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts". They were also a finalist for the Haunt X Awards Best Yard Haunt 2007. You can imagine how excited I was when the offer to be promoted and transfer to Pensacola was given to me... Is it sad that one of the deciding factors for me was that I would be able to see this home haunt in person???
First the things I like about this book... It is an actual book!!! the formatting is excellant.. I found no editing errors... the pictures are very clear and colorful... From a book stand point it is well put together and is professionally done. (Which is what I expect when I purchase a book for $35.) It is clear cut and easy to follow. So easy that my 9 year old son was able to follow the instructions on how to Marbalize props and successfully do it.
Okay, now the negative.... I wanted more info...yes I know I'm greedy, but it is brilliant of the authors as I now will have to buy any additional volumes they come out with.
I would love to see a DVD companion maybe of them demonstrating some of the techniques. I don't know how cost effective that would be but I like to "see" how things are done.

For me, more than anything, it provided several ideas on how to take my yard haunt to the next level. I recommend this book to anyone that is serious about their yard haunt or halloween party. Would I buy this book again?? Absolutely I can't wait to see more from these two talented individuals.
Thanks for reading....
Bill

Book & DVD Review - Home Haunter's Prop Building Complete How to Package by Steve Hickman

2010-05-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

So I got this set about 3 months ago. I think I started wanting this one in 2008 but my wife held off on getting it for me. (My A.D.D. tends to make me go all out on an interest to the point that I get burnt out quickly and soon move on. My wife wanted to see if my "obsession" with Halloween and Home Haunting would last... It did and has....)
So this set is 5 "handbooks" and 5 DVD's. You purchase them from Terror Syndicate . The Author is Steve Hickman. My wife had originally told me she would only allow me the books, but due to an error she made when ordering I lucked out and ended up getting the books and the DVD's. (So be careful when you order. It's real easy to order the DVD's instead of the books. And understandably, there's no refunds) The customer service was great. And we received the books and the DVD's in a very timely manner.Steve also included a one of his CD's (Terror Syndicate's Dark Soundscapes 5) with the order as a "little something extra" which eased the pain of the error we made. This also sealed the decision that I would be willing to order from him again.
So I'm going to start off with the books and the negative things. I guess my biggest gripe is a trend I have seen. The handbooks appear to be produced either from a home printer or at a Kinko's or store like that. Also the formatting could be better. My assumption is that these are word documents that have been printed and comb bound (like you would use one of these for http://www.binding.com/catalog.aspx?catid=plasticcombpunching) In several places it looks like the formatting is off as pictures cover up some of the text. For $30 a volume or $140 for the series I would have liked to have seen them be an actual book. Some of the techniques described have been frowned upon (i.e. using pvc piping for pneumatic cylinders, etc). Now for the good stuff... There's a lot of great ideas in the books and a lot of information that someone just starting out can benefit from.
The DVD's are produced from what looks like Steve's Garage or workshop and are low budget. They are burnt from a home computer. again for the price of $30 a disk or $140 for the series I would have liked to have seen them be of better quality. The pluses...I like Steve... he has some ideas on the DVD's that are not in the handbooks.
So bottom line... most of the info covered in this series you can find already on the internet for free... in fact before I got the series I had found a lot of it. (I just didn't realize it because I didn't know what was really in the books and on the DVD's) Would I buy them again?
Probably not. Am I glad I did buy them? Yes, because I helped a home haunter...
'Til next time....
Bill

Distressed Angel Statue

2010-05-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is a statue that Jen picked up a local thrift store. She dry brushed the highlights to give it the look of being outdoors for ages....

Marvin the Ground breaker

2010-05-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is Marvin...He's my favorite store bought ground breaker....

Where is the time going???? Only 174 days left

2010-05-09T02:54:00.000-07:00

With the move to Pensacola in January, getting settled in my new position, and just life in general I am finding I am running out of time to build things for this year. Yes, it's true.... I still haven't finished my simple project of building the cemetery columns and gates yet. Hopefully I will at least finish the basic construction this week so Jen can have them for her part. My biggest hesitation in building a lot this year is I'm not sure if we will be in this house for more than a year. It was definitely not my first choice, but it is growing on me. Plus I am not sure how the city will take me fogging up a section of a main road since we are the corner lot that shares the intersection...lol
Anyway, my goal is to finish the columns and gates ....and then do at least 3 more projects... I think that is doable... maybe the oil spill will ruin my summer plans and I'll simply stay home every weekend and work on stuff...in that case I may get more done.. (see... despite what my wife says I can look for the positive...)
I have a few more books to review this week.... the DC Prop Handbooks, Steve Hickman's Home Haunter's Prop Building series (books and DVD's), and Di Stefano Production's How to Build A Corpse. I have added to my wish list Bad Boys Scenic Design: Styrofoam Masons...I am a little hesitant to order from the supplier that carries it as I've heard some poor reviews of them ...but it's only around $25 and I might be willing to risk it..
Well, I guess that's all for now.........
Bill

Book Review - How to Haunt your House by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell

2010-04-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

I received this book for Christmas and I've decided it's time to give it a review. (Even though no one reads my blog.)
The authors Shawn & Lynne Mitchell the creators of "The Mitchell Cemetery" in Pensacola, Fl. They were a feature haunt on Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts" and were a finalist for the Haunt X Awards Best Yard Haunt 2007.
The book is very well put together. It has great pictures and clear cut easy to follow instructions. For me, more than anything, it provided several ideas on how to take my yard haunt to the next level. I recommend this book to anyone that is serious about their yard haunt or halloween party.

Progress

2010-03-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

So after sleeping all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday, I decided to start back up on my column project today after work. This time it took me less than an hour to build the frame for the second column. This weekend I will add the foam board and prep them for the monster mud coat. I have pictures but I will wait until this weekend and post them all.

First ever prop project

2010-03-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

So for my first prop project I decided to do something simple. I am making cemetary columns. So armed with my new power tools, I started the construction of the frames. I am using several sources for my inspiration. For Christmas, my wife and kids got me a few prop building books. I received both volumes of the DC Prop Builder's Handbooks. In Volume 1, it has the instructions for the columns. Well, I am slightly modifying the prop. They are 8 ft tall, which is actually rather tall...taller than one might think. The frames are made from 2x4's (which makes the prop a bit "heavy") so instead of using sheets of plywood for the sides I've decided to use foam board. I think that this will help make this prop less heavy, but the downside is it won't be as durable as it would be if it was plywood. But seeing as these aren't being made to last years of being outside (since I will only be displaying them about 2 months a year) this should suffice. To the left is a pic of the frame with Gavin standing in the middle of it. He is helping me build it. This project would take most about 1 weekend to complete. However, my ADD and the job are making this my March project... once I get the sides on then I will Monster Mud them and give them to Jen to paint and detail.

The Beginning

2010-02-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. One of my largest obsessions has become Halloween and decorating my house/yard for that one day every year. Most of my free time is spent planning it and with this year I will be building a lot of the props for it... I doubt that anyone will read this or even care but here goes....
It all started back on October 31, 2004. That is the day that my best friend and I got married. For me Halloween never was that big of a deal. I grew up in BFE South Carolina and in the 30 some yearsI lived there I can count on one hand the number of Trick or Treaters we had. My wife on the other hand grew up in Salt Lake City and apparently Halloween was something special to her.
That first year, we didn't really decorate any. In 2005, we were living in a 2 bedroom apartment, and our decorations consisted of a few "window clings" that we purchased from Wal-mart or the Dollar store. However, in 2006 we had moved to a house, with a small front yard. My wife suggested that we decorate our yard for Halloween, so we got a few (like 5) tombstones from Wal-mart and a few bags of Spider webbing... and so it began.... Our yard haunt has slowly been growing each year... this blog will chronical the journey this year. We moved to Pensacola Florida the first week of January 2010. We have a small yard and I am now planning the haunt already.....
Until next time......home is where the haunt is......