Grim Hollow Haunt

Spook Show

2012-01-26T21:56:00.001-05:00

I love watching all these old spook show videos. Pure awesomeness.YouTube Source

Season of Shadows

2012-01-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

It made me very sad today when I read John Wolfe's last post on the Season of Shadows blog. It made me realize once again all of the small things I take for granted every day. John will always be remembered by me as one of the great haunters who inspired me with his creations. I wish him the best of luck and comfort in the days ahead. See you on the other side, my friend.

The Last PostImage Source

Happy Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T15:51:00.001-05:00

"You see, Jason was my son, and today is his birthday…" - Pamela Voorhees

Image Source

Paraskevidekatriaphobics

2012-01-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

People afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.

Image Source

Grim Hollow Pumpkin Ale

2011-12-26T17:11:00.001-05:00

I have a friend who is into making his own home-brewed beer, and he brought up the idea of brewing a pumpkin ale over at our house this year. We were planning on having our first ever Grim Hollow Halloween party this year, so I thought it would be cool to make some "Grim Hollow Pumpkin Ale", which would make its debut at the party. We made about fifty of them, and most of them were consumed at the party. I'm not a big beer drinker, but everyone who tried them seemed to really like it. To me it just tasted like beer. :)I'm down to the last two, and have been saving them forever so I could take a picture of them. All the credit goes to my friend, Rick, for showing me how to make it, and my wife, Andi, for making the labels. I just kind of helped out where I could and helped put some of the labels on. It was a pretty fun process, and made me wish I liked beer more... I am looking forward to possibly making more of this in 2012!

Never Blow Out a Jack O'Lantern!

2011-11-03T17:15:00.000-04:00

I didn't, and I was glad this was the last one going.

Grim Hollow 2011

2011-11-03T16:51:00.000-04:00

We had an awesome Halloween this year... the weather was great, and we had several hundred people of all ages. We had announced to our neighborhood that we would hand out candy to people of ALL ages, and some older adults actually took us up on it, which was great. I wasn't too impressed with many of the pictures I took this year, mainly because I didn't have time to take many. Luckily, my dad came up and took a few more pretty good ones. I had a couple of new things this year, just didn't have as much time to work on things as much as I would have liked this past year. Now that my two younger boys are getting a little older, and more independent, I think I will be able to work more on some projects. I hope you all had a Happy Halloween! : )

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:47:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope everyone had a great one.

For my costume this year, I wanted to make a Pumkinrot style witch. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, and everyone else seemed to like it, too. Several people wanted to take pictures with me, which was kind of cool. Stay tuned for more photos from Halloween Night.

American Horror Story

2011-10-20T18:19:00.001-04:00

I've been watching American Horror Story on FX for the past few weeks, and I like it. A lot.

Dark Candles

2011-10-13T12:30:00.000-04:00

Can't say enough about Dark Candles... there is nothing else like it to add that finishing touch to your haunt. I try to make my haunt appeal to all the senses, and Dark Candles definitely helps me out by giving my haunt an aroma that adds to the experience. This year, we will be going with Haunted House, Coffin, and Graveyard.

DarkCandles.com
Image source: www.darkcandles.com

More Halloween / Birthday Party Pictures

2010-11-08T11:47:00.006-05:00

Here are a few more pictures taken around the time of the party, most of these were taken by other people who sent them to us. We were too busy chasing kids around to take any pictures. :)

Be sure to check out the cake in the last picture...

Grim Hollow Halloween/Birthday Party Decorations

2010-11-08T11:16:00.008-05:00

This year, we decided to throw a Halloween/Birthday Party for our two youngest sons. Both of them have a birthday within a couple of weeks of Halloween, and since everything else was set up we figured this would be a great idea. It made me wish that my birthday was closer to Halloween.

Here are a few pictures we took of some of the decorations...

We had a lot of other decorations inside, but I thought the pictures with the lights in them turned out the best.

Our "Ghost" Costumes

2010-11-04T19:21:00.005-04:00

Well, in my mind they are ghosts. Somebody posted this picture a while back, I can't remember who or where this picture was taken. It looks like it must have been at an amusement park from the roller coaster track in the background. I always thought this would make a good costume, so this year I bought some cheap drop cloths from Lowe's, and dyed them a slightly darker color to replicate the look of these props. I just used some black material under them, hoping it would appear we were kind of "floating" in low light. I also used some black, see through material inside the hood for that faceless look.

Here's the picture I got the idea from...

Halloween in Our Neighborhood

2010-11-02T19:46:00.005-04:00

I love seeing pictures that other people take of our haunt and the surrounding area. Here are a few that my dad took at Grim Hollow and some other places in the neighborhood. Some of these turned out really great.

Family Halloween Picture

2010-11-02T19:40:00.004-04:00

My neighbors mom took a picture of us on Halloween, as we were preparing for the Trick or Treaters. I never count them, but I guess we had between 400 to 500 people come by.

Skeleton in the Closet

2010-10-31T12:04:00.005-04:00

I can't help it, I have to post this again... this is one of my favorite videos of all time. Happy Halloween!

Alternate Version...

Louis Armstrong-Skeletons In The Closet-1936
Uploaded by redhotjazz. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T23:32:00.012-04:00

Grim Hollow 2010: Nightmare

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Grim Hollow 2010

2010-10-26T17:54:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures I took last night, I'm sure I'll have lots more right after Halloween.

Four More Days!

2010-10-26T10:42:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe Halloween is almost here. Due to an extremely busy year, I finally had to admit to myself that I wasn't going to be able to finish everything I wanted to have in the display this year... so I'm going to look at it as a head start for next years haunt. I probably could have rushed and finished some things, but I wouldn't have been happy with the results. I think it will still turn out alright. I've had a couple of people tell me this was the best one yet, which made me feel a little better. I still wanted some of the new stuff to be out there, though.

I took a few pictures last night, and will try to get some of them posted soon.

No Scarecrow This Year...

2010-10-22T19:40:00.003-04:00

I gave the scarecrow that I have used in the past to a friend of mine who has her own yard haunt, planning on making another one before Halloween. Doesn't look like that's going to happen, so I will just have a plain old sign this year. Here's about what it will look like. I think I like it, but I'm still not sure.

I think I'll like it better after I have it lit. Really dimly lit.

Spirit Halloween Store is Too Scary?

2010-10-20T16:51:00.005-04:00

This was on the news in our city today, apparently the Spirit Halloween Store is a little too much for some people. This kind of thing seems to happen quite often around here. All I can tell them is that if their kids are scared of the Spirit store, they might want to avoid my house on Halloween, and the nights leading up to it. I loved reading the comments some of the people left.

"There aren't any plans at this time to put up a warning sign. The store is only open for two more weeks."

I would think the sign outside would be warning enough...

...but that's just me.

Link to the story.

See more SCARY stuff at SpiritHalloween.com

Halloween Prank

2010-10-19T07:27:00.004-04:00

A pretty simple scare... I'm addicted to these videos, especially the Halloween videos.

That guy's kind of creepy, too.

Video Source

Destination Truth: The Ghosts of Petra

2010-10-15T08:03:00.006-04:00

I think we all probably like television during the month of October. I absolutely love watching all the shows and movies that come on this time of year, and wish it was like this year round. Yesterday, there was a Destination Truth marathon on SyFy. I noticed one episode was called The Ghosts of Petra, which I found particularly interesting because I have actually been there before. It was an awesome place, and the thought that it may be haunted never even entered my mind while I was there. The scariest thing we saw was a dead goat that had fallen off one of the cliffs and gotten lodged in some rocks. I wish I could go back there again someday.

Here's a YouTube video showing part of that episode, it's a really cool place.

My oldest son will probably be known as...

2010-10-14T08:22:00.005-04:00

...the kid with the Halloween house. He used to have to walk up to the end of our road to catch the bus, but this week his bus started coming down our road to pick him up for some unknown reason. I have been enjoying seeing all the kids looking out the windows of the bus at our Halloween setup. It's only about halfway done right now, but it seems like it's a hit with them already. Couldn't resist posting a picture of what I get to see a couple of times each day now.

My wife took this picture when he was getting off the bus one afternoon...

Why can't I ever come across any deals like this???

2010-10-13T07:24:00.004-04:00

Florida Couple Buys Human Skeleton at Yard Sale for $8!

Link to the story...

Image source

Guarding the Grave

2010-10-09T21:44:00.009-04:00

I also saw this tomb at the Hollywood Cemetery... I had heard this story a few times, and it was nice to visit the tomb of this little girl. Evidently she still has many visitors, as there were several small gifts left all around her tomb.

"A little behind the pyramid is a about a 3 foot high cast iron dog that has been placed by a little grave. The grave belongs to a Rees who’s first name was most likely Bernadine but has been also written about as Florence and Elizabeth. The girl passed aware of Scarlet Fever in 1862 at the age of three. A grounds person told me about seeing the apparition of the little girl playing with the dog at night.

The cast iron dog associated with the grave also has a few stories to it. According to an old Richmond Times Dispatch article, the most likely story according to historians is that Rees’s father moved the dog to the plot to preserve a family treasure well before she died. The Confederate Gov’t was confiscating cast iron during that period for the war. It is claimed however that the dog is guarding the little girl and some claim that it actually moves. Grounds crew and visitors alike claim that they will pass by and it will be pointed one way and when they come back by it will be pointed another. It is also claimed that you can hear it growl when you get close to the girls grave."

Story excerpt from ghosteyes.com

Hollywood Cemetery

2010-09-29T07:39:00.011-04:00

These are just a few of the things I saw at the Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond, VA when I visited in August. We didn't stay long, because we were on our way somewhere else, and it felt about 150 degrees that day... can't wait to go back.

Grave of James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States.
Grave of John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States.
They even have a website...

Bruton Parish Church Graveyard

2010-09-27T18:58:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I visited the Bruton Parish Church graveyard in Colonial Williamsburg. This church was built in 1660. There are supposedly a lot of people buried here, but back in the old days only the wealthy could afford grave markers, so a majority of the graves are unmarked. Here are a few of the more interesting things I saw there.

I'm always amazed by very old grave markers, and the work they put into them back then. It makes modern tombstones look a little plain.

A little bit of history about the church.

305 years ago, today...

2010-09-26T20:11:00.003-04:00

...this little fellow died. Noticed the date while walking around in a very old grave yard in Williamsburg, Virginia earlier today. I'll post some other pictures I took there a little later. There was just something special about this one.

SpiderFest

2010-08-31T18:09:00.005-04:00

If you haven't heard about SpiderFest over at the Davis Graveyard, you should check it out. I'm excited about seeing some of the other spiders that other people will make and send in. I decided to go with the Wolf Spider, since that seems to be the one I encounter most often. Its body is about 14" long, and it has a legspan of about 36". I wish I could have figured out a way to cover its body in tiny little hairs, that would have been an awesome detail. Oh well, maybe next time...

SpiderFest 2010
Davis Graveyard

Dancing Skeleton Puppet

2010-08-31T08:48:00.002-04:00

My dad sent me this video the other day... I think I could watch this little guy all day long. Pretty amazing.

YouTube Link

A Nightmare on Elm Street Soundtrack

2010-08-28T22:39:00.004-04:00

I was so excited when I found out Steve Jablonsky was doing the soundtrack for the new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. He's one of my favorites, and I use a lot of his music in my haunt on Halloween night. I bought this soundtrack a while back, and have been listening to it a lot lately. As for the movie, I haven't even seen it yet...

Listen to some samples here...

Also, Happy Left Hander's Day!

2010-08-13T16:52:00.006-04:00

Never knew there was a Left Hander's Day, until today. Hope all my left handed friends have a good one!

A little "Insight" into the Holiday

Happy Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T06:20:00.001-04:00

More Vintage Halloween Pictures

2010-06-05T23:58:00.004-04:00

Found a few more... there's something unsettling about that top picture. I would love to be in that room so I could take a look around at everything. Click the source link below to take a look at a few more pictures.

I just noticed that this ghost is the same ghost in the bottom picture of my previous post.
Source

Old Halloween Photos

2010-06-05T23:43:00.004-04:00

I love looking at very old Halloween pictures, and found a few cool ones while looking around tonight. Makes me wish I had a time machine, I bet Halloween was a lot different back then. I don't know if it was better or worse, but I'm sure it was a fun experience.

Link to these pictures and more...

The Road

2010-05-23T14:31:00.004-04:00

I've been waiting for this movie to come out (on dvd) for what seems like forever... I read the book a while back, and it was awesome. It's not a typical "scary story", in a way it reminds me of what things might be like after a zombie outbreak or some other type of disaster. The book never really gets into what the disaster was that has these particular characters traveling on The Road, and hopefully the movie won't either. Some things are better when left to the imagination. I hope this movie isn't a disappointment like so many of the others seem to be that I look forward to so much. I haven't really heard much about whether it was a good movie or not since it originally released at the theaters in October, and I don't think it even came to my city (which might be a bad sign). I guess I'll have to find out May 25th.

Click the picture to watch the trailer...

I'm going to be on Hauntcast

2010-05-22T08:13:00.003-04:00

I did an interview with Chris from Hauntcast last night, and should be on the next show. I had a good time doing the interview and will be looking forward to hearing how it comes out. Now all of you can find out how boring I really am, ha!
HauntCast: Radio for Haunters and Halloween Fanatics

The Oatmeal

2010-05-15T19:21:00.005-04:00

I love reading the comics on The Oatmeal. If you've never heard of it, you should check it out. Here's a Halloween related comic...

TheOatmeal.com

Bigfoot: The Mysterious Monster

2010-02-28T00:28:00.004-05:00

My dad had this documentary on tape when I was about 4 or 5 years old, and I used to watch it over and over. I was thinking about it the other day and decided to look for it on YouTube, and was so excited to find it. There are a lot of reenactments in some of the other parts that were cool to see again. I can still remember all the words, even after not seeing it for about 20 years. Those noises that you hear Bigfoot making at the beginning of the film as he's walking through the woods are super creepy.

I'm still terrified of Bigfoot to this day. Thanks Dad!

This is just part one, there are many other parts on YouTube. I can't believe it took me this long to finally think to look for it!

Peter Graves kind of gives me the creeps, too.

Be My Valentine

2010-02-14T06:57:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone...

Image Source

The Shining

2010-02-07T06:51:00.003-05:00

Was looking at the "Oh the Horror" blog today, and I was reminded me of this happy version of the trailer to The Shining that I saw a while back.

YouTube Link

Oh the Horror Blog

The Haunted Trail: 2009

2010-02-06T18:21:00.006-05:00

I got to visit another one of my favorite local haunts on Halloween this past year, "The Haunted Trail". This haunt is located a couple of miles from where I live, and a lot of hard work goes into it. Unfortunately, I didn't get any nighttime shots of it, which would have really looked great. The owners were nice enough to keep it up and running until our haunt had shut down for the night, so that my wife and I could take a walk through in the dark. It featured the 50' long tunnel from last year, but also added a long section of trail that went through the woods where another tunnel was found along with loads of other props. It was awesome! Once again, good job Pam!

Looking forward to next year, when some familiar Grim Hollow props might be in the ranks of The Haunted Trail!

The Crazies

2010-02-04T09:08:00.002-05:00

As a HUGE fan of "crazy" people, I'm pretty sure I will enjoy this movie...

Trailer Source

Hood Pumpkin Eggnog

2009-12-24T11:51:00.002-05:00

Saw this at the grocery store yesterday, and couldn't pass it up. I'm glad I didn't, because it is delicious! Don't know if regular eggnog will ever taste the same again.

Learn about it here: Hood Pumpkin Eggnog

Holdman Light Show

2009-12-12T10:56:00.004-05:00

I was watching a video of this Christmas light display, and noticed they had a pretty elaborate Halloween display as well. If you haven't seen their videos, they are well worth checking out. Their Christmas light videos are crazy!

More at Holdman.com

December 4th

2009-12-04T19:15:00.004-05:00

Coming Soon: Season of the Witch

2009-12-03T07:58:00.002-05:00

November 13th

2009-12-02T20:40:00.003-05:00

This was taken on November 13th. I'll post another picture soon, it appears they are still doing pretty good!

View from the kitchen window...

2009-12-02T20:23:00.004-05:00

It's nice looking out and seeing these guys every day.

The Darkest Hour: Video

2009-11-26T08:16:00.004-05:00

Made a quick video this morning of our 2009 haunt. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Stricken at Nightfall

2009-11-11T15:27:00.007-05:00

I thought this picture turned out kind of cool. I took it while laying on the ground, looking up at the prop as the sun was setting behind it.

Lost on Halloween Night

2009-11-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

This one fooled a few people... my mom came up and helped pass out candy on Halloween night, and she even talked to it a few times forgetting that it was just a prop I had placed there. Later on in the night, I moved it up closer to the road where all the parents usually stand. I saw a few of them try to have interactions with it as well. The kids reactions were the best though, when they realized that this was no ordinary kid they were talking to.
As it appeared Halloween night.

Grim was popular this year

2009-11-03T21:22:00.005-05:00

Here's another Grim prop that someone just sent me pictures of...
Nice work, Teresa!

Grim Hollow 2009: The Darkest Hour

2009-11-02T23:42:00.007-05:00

These were all taken the night of November 1st. All of these props were left outside overnight while we received 2 to 3 inches of rain, and they held up pretty good for not being sealed or anything like that. I have some pictures from Halloween night that didn't come out nearly as good, I'll post some of those later. I am so glad I decided to leave the display up for one extra day so that I could get some decent pictures... I usually break it all down on Halloween night so that on the morning of November 1st, all appears to be back to normal.

Yet Another Grim Relative...

2009-11-02T13:34:00.004-05:00

Another one of Grim's relatives celebrated its first Halloween this year, this one is carrying skulls and appears much taller than the one I built.
Nice Prop, Brian!

Halloween on November 1st

2009-11-01T20:41:00.004-05:00

I decided to leave my display up for one more night since the rain prevented me from getting any good pictures on Halloween night. So, we had Halloween again tonight. I even had a few people stop by and get out to look at all of it. The pictures I got tonight were much, much better, and I'll post some more soon!
This is what a prop looks like after being left out in about 2-3 inches of rain overnight by the way... not too bad, some of them had some minimal damage, nothing a little paint won't fix. I don't use any sealer or anything, and was surprised at how well they held up.

Halloween Night at Grim Hollow

2009-10-31T23:33:00.005-04:00

Well, it rained. A lot. I guess it could have been worse though, we still had probably 200 kids or so. We had laughers and criers of all types, so I guess overall it was a good night. The one thing I'm worried about is the pictures I took. I haven't looked at them yet, and don't know if they are going to be good or not because of the amount of rain we were getting when I took them. I'm kind of scared to look right now. Worst case scenario, I do have some pictures I took back on the 22nd I could post, but the yard was set up differently than it was for Halloween night. I'll try to get some pics posted soon! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!
This pretty much sums up how I feel right about now after being out in the rain all evening.

Update: My pictures turned out horrible, so tonight (Nov 1) is picture night. Usually I have everything put up by now, but everything is still in place. So it will be like Halloween night again at my house!

Grim's Relative Makes the Greenwich Time

2009-10-31T23:19:00.003-04:00

Got an e-mail from someone who had built their own version of "Grim" this year saying that they had made the Greenwich Time.... Here's the picture of their prop, "Grum".

Congratulations, Jeffrey and Karen!

Here's the Story

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T09:28:00.003-04:00

Go away rain! Here's a little Halloween fun for you...

Louis Armstrong-Skeletons In The Closet-1936
Uploaded by redhotjazz. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Grimvisions Scarecrow

2009-10-27T21:27:00.005-04:00

I have always liked the look of scarecrows with burlap covered heads. It was this scarecrow head, made by Grim of Grimvisions, that really gave me the urge to make one (or three) for myself.

See this and other wonderful props at the Grimvisions website.

Grimvisions.com

The missing are found...

2009-10-25T20:01:00.011-04:00

This is the scarecrow lineup for Grim Hollow, 2009. This year's theme is "The Darkest Hour".

Straggler

Strain

Strawman

Stricken

Strife

More pictures to come...

Fork and Spoon Costume

2009-10-23T23:51:00.004-04:00

Talk about embarrassing. I was forced to go buy these today as a favor to my mother-in-law, because they were sold out in her city.
All I know is that a fork or a spoon had better not show up at my house on Halloween.
Image Source

ScareFX Graveyard

2009-10-21T10:12:00.004-04:00

I loved this graveyard picture. From one of my favorite yard haunts, ScareFX.
Flickr Source
ScareFX Website

Sad Face

2009-10-20T22:16:00.001-04:00

New Addition to Grim Hollow

2009-10-19T21:15:00.004-04:00

We welcomed this little fellow into the world yesterday...
He got here just in time for Halloween!

The Lost

2009-10-17T20:06:00.004-04:00

I read about this prop idea last year on Pumpkinrot's What's Brewing blog, and kind of had the idea stuck in head since then, so I had to build it. It's about 3'10" tall, and resembles a small child. I think I may put a few pieces of candy on the ground in front of it to make it appear that the child may have spilled them, or maybe put a couple of hands, fingers, etc. in its bucket. My hopes are that some concerned parent will lean down to help this child and realize that this is no ordinary kid. This doesn't really go with the rest of my setup this year, it's just something I had been wanting to build since I read about it.

Thanks, Rot, for this awesome prop idea.

Rot's Original Post

My Helper

2009-10-08T23:52:00.004-04:00

This kind of ruins my preview of Stricken, but I couldn't resist posting this pic I took of my oldest son helping me paint this prop when I was working on it... I'm hoping to turn him into a yard haunter one of these days. He has some pretty cool ideas floating around in his head that he tells me about sometimes.

"Stricken" Preview

2009-10-07T19:24:00.002-04:00

New Prop: Stricken

In My Hands...

2009-10-06T07:14:00.005-04:00

...at 6:28 a.m., and getting ready to start watching it now.

Tomorrow...

2009-10-05T15:46:00.000-04:00

The Twilight Zone

2009-10-02T08:27:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite shows, The Twilight Zone, is 50 years old today.

Image Source

Grim Hollow Graveyard

2009-10-01T21:42:00.002-04:00

Started setting up the graveyard today...

Happy October 1st

2009-10-01T07:46:00.006-04:00

Can't resist it anymore. I'm going to start setting up today...
Image Source

Great Irish Tales of Horror

2009-09-25T07:51:00.004-04:00

I was surprised to find this book on a table we have at work where people commonly leave books for others when they are finished with them. It is usually full of romance novels or other books I wouldn't have any interest in. Needless to say, I grabbed it and brought it home. I have no idea if it is any good or not, hopefully the title isn't a disappointment.
Google Books Link

"Strain"

2009-09-16T20:41:00.003-04:00

Preview of the latest prop for Grim Hollow 2009...

More Strife Pictures

2009-09-16T13:00:00.004-04:00

The Watcher

2009-09-16T01:11:00.004-04:00

Looking through some pictures tonight and came across this picture of "The Watcher". I think this was the first "real" Halloween prop I ever made a few years back. He was made from wood, burlap, chicken wire, monster mud, and an old mask. I usually put this guy in a dimly lit place where people have to walk right by him. In the dark it's hard to tell if it is a real person or not, and you are expecting him to grab you at any moment.

I should point out that I used the Home Haunter's Prop Building Handbook, from Terror Syndicate, while making this guy... Here's another picture of him in "action".

2007

2009-09-16T01:06:00.001-04:00

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

2009-09-10T16:17:00.005-04:00

Was sitting around thinking about one of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone today... this scared me so bad when I was a kid, and changed the way I felt about airplanes and windows for the rest of my life.

Strife

2009-09-07T16:33:00.002-04:00

Deadwood

2009-09-07T16:12:00.004-04:00

My oldest son and I found this huge, dead tree while out walking in the woods today and I had to snap a couple of pictures. It looked pretty creepy towering over the rest of the lively, smaller trees. I wish it were in my front yard...

An Owl, the Moon, and Jupiter

2009-09-05T21:28:00.003-04:00

I wish I had taken this picture...

Image Source

Some Halloween Props (Not Mine)

2009-09-05T08:13:00.012-04:00

It is nice to know that some of the things I have made have inspired others. It is kind of cool to see a prop that I got the idea for from somewhere else, go on to a "third generation" of other props. Although I still don't feel that I'm up to the point yet where people would want to replicate my props, it is very cool and inspires me to do even greater things. Unfortunately, this year has been very busy for me and has seriously cut into my prop making time. I have only made one prop so far this year... but then again, I'm a last minute type of guy and have some things planned for the next couple of months. I think I have a pretty good theme for this year... be watching for a teaser video in about a month. With that being said, here are a couple of pictures of some props that people have sent me in the last couple of months.

This is another version of my "Grim" prop that is in the works. I am enjoying seeing the updates of this prop as it is being made. Looking pretty good, Brian.

Here was my version...

Which was inspired originally by Skull and Bone's "Kreep"... which can be seen here.

Here is a Cloaked Ghost, that is actually motorized so that it moves...
Pretty cool, Richard.

Here was my version...

...which was inspired by Pumpkinrot's Cloaked Ghost...

What if Office Space was a scary movie?

2009-08-06T17:02:00.003-04:00

I had seen this a while back, and someone sent it to me again today. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it makes you wonder what it would have been like as a thriller...

Obscure Hollow

2009-07-04T12:16:00.003-04:00

I found this blog today which has a lot of nice screen shots from several old horror movies. I am going to have to watch several of these movies now, just from looking at the pictures.

Hope everyone has a Happy Independence Day.

Strife Pics

2009-07-03T09:54:00.004-04:00

Here are a few more pictures of my new Strife prop. I re-used the head and hands from the first groundbreaker corpse I ever attempted to build, which didn't turn out so hot. Actually, they are from this guy. The rest of it is made from a skeleton made from rolled up newspaper, which was covered in paper mache'. Most of the branches I used are from Mountain Laurel, which I have a ton of growing in the woods behind my house. I'm looking forward to building a few more of these this year to line each side of my driveway. Should be a pretty spooky walk for the kids to get their treats this year...

Sun Doesn't Rise Video

2009-07-03T09:41:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that for as long as I have liked the band, Mushroomhead, I have never seen this video. YouTube won't let me embed the code here so you will have to follow the link at the bottom. It may not be your kind of music, but if you like scarecrows, crows, and pumpkins, I think you'll like this video. It has a pretty cool looking scarecrow that is tormented by crows, and a little girl who carves a new head out of a pumpkin and puts it on the scarecrow. Best music video I've seen in a while.

Link to Sun Doesn't Rise Video

Strife Video

2009-07-02T11:24:00.003-04:00

Sorry it took so long. Hope you like it...

More pictures to come.

Soon

2009-06-29T07:15:00.002-04:00

I promise, more pictures will be coming soon... here's a hint.

Strife Preview

2009-06-27T14:31:00.004-04:00

Putting the finishing touches on my new prop, "Strife". Couldn't wait to post a picture, so here is a little preview.

Random Thought

2009-06-27T10:51:00.003-04:00

One thing I have noticed from horror movies is that if you get naked, you will usually die within a few minutes. So keep your clothes on if you want to live.

Image source

The Thriller

2009-06-25T21:02:00.003-04:00

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson.

Friday the 12th

2009-06-23T22:18:00.004-04:00

My wife got me a shirt with this on it for Father's Day... I usually try to stay away from most of these shirts, but might have to wear this one.

Find some other funny shirts at Snorgtees.com

Really?

2009-06-22T19:21:00.002-04:00

I was wondering if "Thanks" is the proper response for when someone says "You're going to Hell, you know" after looking at your Halloween work.

Image Source

First 2009 prop in progress

2009-06-20T23:05:00.004-04:00

I finally got around to starting my first prop today. I hope it will come out the way I am seeing it in my mind, I drew a sketch of what I wanted it to look like but it is already morphing into something completely different. It's a scarecrow type prop with a lot of influences from... who else... Pumpkinrot. I hope I am able to do his work some sort of justice with this prop, which is kind of borrowing several ideas from several different props. I don't think it will be too hard or take too long to complete, but I don't want to post any pictures until it is just right. Hopefully I'll have some up in about a week or so.

I keep wanting to use the word "Pumpkinrotish", maybe we can all get that one into the dictionary one of these days.

Friday the 13th on DVD

2009-06-19T07:40:00.004-04:00

I finally got around to watching the new Friday the 13th movie the other day. I have to say it was pretty disappointing. I don't know why I was expecting anything other than that since it seems like most of these remakes have been the same lately. Oh well, at least all the annoying characters died.

Finally

2009-06-16T08:15:00.004-04:00

The creative juices are finally flowing, and I'm about to start working on some new props starting Friday. I've been sketching some ideas, and making plans for this years haunt as they come to me. I'll just say that it's going to be a lot darker this year, which will be fitting for the name I have come up with. I shot some video of last years haunt, but never got around to putting it together and posting it. I hope to make a video for that haunt, and make a really good one for this year too. I'm only about six months behind schedule, but still think I will be able to pull off good things. Our new baby will probably be arriving sometime around the middle of October, so the haunt is going to have to be sort of low maintenance this year, but I still think it is going to be the best one yet. It feels good to be excited again.

Pinkerton FX

2009-06-14T17:57:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine sent me a link to this place, and I thought they had some pretty cool looking work. It's a little cartoonish, but the more I look at some of it the more I like it.

I really like this "Horseman Skull".

Link to PinkertonFX

Motivation

2009-05-05T08:28:00.005-04:00

O.k., o.k., I know I haven't done anything in a long time on here. I've had a lot of stuff going on since the beginning of the year that has kept me from posting anything on this blog, or building any props so far this year. Lots of work, training, kid's baseball games, school work, stuff like that. The biggest news is that we found out on Valentine's day that we will be having another child sometime around October 22nd. There were some complications at first so we didn't tell anyone because the doctor told us there was a less than 50% chance that the baby would make it. Long story short, everything is o.k. now and hopefully things will stay that way.

Needless to say, I haven't been very motivated as far as Halloween things go, but all it takes is an occasional visit to Pumpkinrot's What's Brewing Page to give me that kick in the rear to get started. Also, I visited my friend Ross over the weekend who runs the other big haunt (The Homestead Haunt) in our neighborhood and saw what all he had been building. Let's just say he has been very busy and I absolutely cannot wait to post some pictures of his work. I think today I might get in the workshop and at least get some materials together to start something and after that, who knows?