2008 Halloween Photos Finally Posted

After some difficulty with Flickr the Halloween 2008 photos are finally posted. Well, most of them. There are still a bunch left to sift through, including some shots from inside the house and from the hours spent cleaning up the rotting jack o'lanterns yesterday. 

Not to mention a few choice shots from our inaugural Pumpkin Massacre, like this one right here:

You can view the pictures at this link.

More are on the way soon. I just need to work on them a bit.

I know, I know...I'm really bad about the pics this year. Sorry.

Another Haunt Teaser

I'm way behind on getting my pics up so here's another sample of the shots I took.

The rest need some reworking, resizing and stuff like that. I'm hoping to find time to do all of that on Thursday night.

Not to mention the fact that I still have to pull down the rest of the decorations and dispose of a couple dozen rotting jackos.

Pumpkinrot's "The Hollowmen: Year of the Scarecrows"

Ho-lee crap...

You HAVE to see what 'Rot did this year. Totally blown out.

The Hollowmen: Year of the Scarecrows

As usual, a superb and disturbing yard display. He would probably never admit to this but Pumpkinrot routinely sets new standards for frightening and artistic haunts. I know that his work has been a huge influence on mine, at least, and I don't know of anyone out there in the home haunt world who can compare.

I mean, come on...

(Photo straight-up ganked from Pumpkinrot's site because I'm a spaz like that. Sorry.)

For my money, that's the creepiest little patch of front lawn out there.

Beksinski would be proud.

Keep your eyes open for more photos and a video this week on pumpkinrot.com.

Halloween 2008

A few of the photos from this year's haunt...





I have more to share and will be uploading them to Flickr very soon.

This year was a blast. Between the Pumpkin Massacre (our first ever pumpkin carving party) and a scaled-up yard display this his been an extremely busy but very gratifying Halloween.

I hope that yours was great, as well.

The First Weekend in October

I'm starting it off in grand fashion.

So far, I've spent the entire day in the garage putting a significant dent in the huge pile of work needed to complete my props for Halloween 2008. I'm writing this on a lunch break of sorts. After this gets posted the wife and I will be heading out to Gloria Jean's Coffees where I'll be purchasing a delicious Pumpkin Spice latte.

Then it's back to the garage for more monster-making until it's time to head out for the evening.

On the itinerary tonight is a trip to check out a new haunted attraction nearby called Nightmare New England:

A flier just arrived this morning and since then I've seen a television spot, as well. The website looks pretty cool so I'm going to make some time to see it.

This is a little embarrassing to admit but I've actually never been to a full-blown haunted attraction. A few haunted houses here and there and the occasional "spooky" amusement park ride are about the extent of my experience with this kind of thing. Not that there's any lack of them around here. I just always thought they looked a little silly. Couldn't tell you what's different this year but I've decided that I want to make it out to a few of them. I figure this is as good a place to start as any.

Another one that's high on the list this year is Haunted Overload, which I've heard nothing but good things about through folks like Pumpkinrot and the online haunt community. Can't wait to see that one. Doesn't hurt that Haunted Overload (like Nightmare New England) is about 15 minutes from my house.

The air is cool, the wind is blowing, the leaves are flying and we're off to a very, very good start.

I'll be sure to report back on the evening's entertainment. Cheers.

Those Empty Eyes

Why I Do It

It's making the monsters I both dreaded and wished were waiting beyond the hedges when I was young enough to trick-or-treat.

It's the hours surrounded by paint, glue, paper mache, sticks, wires, tape and sketches.

It's the clippings of found horrors pinned up for inspiration.

It's the dark music slithering through the air with the scent of clove and cinnamon candles and the smoke of incense.

It's the mounting anticipation as the sun drops a little sooner each day and the cold begins to rob the crickets of their inspiration and the garage door can stay open a little later because there are no more uninvited guests bouncing obsessively off the fluorescent tubes of the workbench.

It's about the family and friends who are excited to hear what I'm up to and want to be a part of it, offering their help, advice, time and effort.

It's about the kindred spirits found along the way: the folks who inspire and encourage you to go 'even bigger next year' every year simply by following their own inspiration and sharing it.

It's the reactions. All of them. The kids and the parents. The appreciation and the concerned expressions and hasty retreats.

It's about creating (re-creating?) an experience that will inspire some kid to do the same thing with their own yard some day.

The "Why We Haunt" page of the Grim Hollow website got me thinking about this.

I'm working on a new site for Halloween, horror and all that good stuff. I don't want to say much more than that right now but I'm pretty excited about it. There'll be more news as the big day approaches.

Cheers.

Eyes in the Dark

A forgotten photo from Halloween 2006.

More Sketchiness

Another monster sketch. This is actually the very first version of one of the creatures that will be supporting cast to the Baba Yaga(esque) prop. The drawing in my last post was the second attempt.

I'm thinking about doing another and making the creature more birdlike. Somewhere between a goblin, a miniature Nosferatu and a large raven.

The odds are that the end result will be vastly different from any of the sketches. It often works out that way. Still, drawing is a part of the process I really enjoy.

Black Ink, How Do I Love Thee?

An early sketch of a monster design I'm working on for Halloween '08.

It's pen & ink with some marker and a little Photoshop to remove a few adjacent doodles.

Making Monsters

Finally got underway overhauling last year's props to get ready for Halloween 2008.

Last year's "The Lurker" got some new skin and a base coat of paint. I'm really happy with the old paper towels and Elmer's glue trick. It creates some pretty life-like wrinkles and texture. It's also very easy to work with.

My inspiration this year is Baba Yaga. I confess that I won't be keeping entirely true to the stories. For example, I don't intend to mount it on a giant mortar or build a little house with the legs of a chicken. My version will be more of a sinister, "What if she were real today?" sort of take on the legend.

Along with an identity change The Lurker will be getting a new body this year, too. Something a little more to scale. At least we'll try to keep it under 12 feet this time around.

Oh, and she'll have some..."friends"...with her, as well.

While I'm on the subject, I really need to come up with an excuse to mess around with some of that monster mud I've heard so much about. That stuff sounds like fun.

Hmmm...

Are You a Haunter?

Winter is over. Spring's vibrant, green emergence has begun. As the snow melts away and the world waits to be reborn, my thoughts turn to that lovely time of year...

...when everything begins to die again.

Yes, it's time to start thinking about Halloween. Some would say it's past time but my obsession hasn't progressed quite that far. Yet.

So, as I'm sitting here surfing Halloween sites, taking notes and trying to figure out how to turn my garage into a human abattoir, I find myself wondering if there's anyone reading this blog who shares this derangement.

Are there any other sickos out there? What are you working on? Got any cool ideas for props? What sites do you like? Are you a part of any online communities you'd like to share?

Tell me your devious plan. I'd love to hear about it.