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Last Saturday afternoon (cleanup days) my nephew & I went
driving around the neighborhood. We found a load of tarnished treasures
in less than an hour. Then the next day, I had a few errands to run in
the area. I tried my hardest not to checkout what was on the curbs as
I'm driving by. Out of no where, there is a wooden door, then another,
& another. All wanting to take a ride in my pickup & begging to
be added to this year's maze. I stayed strong & kept saying no, I
have enough. But, these doors just kept showing up, & not taking no
for an answer. Ahhh! I finished my errands & made my way home.
Thought that I had managed to give those
doors the slip. Checked the back of the truck, not even one door
was  hitchhiking. Whew! I was safe for now.

But, I know that they are out there waiting for
me.

What a nightmare!

Saturday April 14th kicked off the 1st unoffical weekend of Spring cleanup days!

It was a bright & sunny day, while slightly cool temps. Excitement
was in the air early this morning with the anticipation of possible
tarnished treasures. We usually have multiple birthday's party at our
house that weekend. My inlaw's (the guys) also feel the anticipation
too! The 5 of us in 3 pickups went scouring the neighborhood in search.
Traditionally, my nephew & I go out for an hour or so looking for
materials to use in the coming year's maze. We find all sorts of wood
from home improvement projects. My collection of wooden doors used to
extend the maze's walls has grown to 20. Was told on high that I have
to limit my findings (be more selective) this year, due to space
concerns.

For only going out for less than an hour we got the following:

2 fullsized sheets of 4x8 plywood (a little dusty & dirty)

5 wooden doors (one a screen door)

2 white small outside (back mounted) lights

 - perfect haunt for haunt lighting (need to spray paint black)

This will be the 3rd year that HFW's sponser's it's forum board member built Haunted House.(at the convention)We have a small window to build it in 8hrs & have it running hours later. Run it for 2 days, "Lights on tour" next morning for an hour, then tear down.

The first year was themed "Asylum" & was a great success! In 06, themed "Gothic haunted mansion", another frightful success. In 07 it will be "Phobias". The haunt crew with myself included, (2 yr veteran of it) are brainstorming ideas to try & startle, scare, or frighten eager guests. Which all happen to be horror film fans. Tough audience to say the least.

There will be a series of rooms, each more frighting. They are all confined within the space of a confrence room. It's quite a challenge with the confined space, low ceiling height, support pillers built into the walls & middle of rooms, sprinkler heads gettin in the way, don't know location of room for haunt in advance, or room size, & all the haunt crew comes from different parts of the country. Some will be driving & hauling their props in cars, trucks & trailers. Others are more limited on what they can bring because they are flying in (like myself).

Why do we, the haunt crew torture ourselves? With expectations growing every year.
"Because we love it!"

Greetings!

Just got the city newsletter today & they annouced the coming of Spring Cleaup days April 16-20th! For Haunters this news is very exciting. Because it's a great resource for free items, to use in their haunt displays or haunted attraction. Also it helps to prevent things that would normally go straight to the landfill. So it's a win, win situation for everyone. City residents will put unwanted items "tarnished treasures" on the curb for the city to pickup during a number of days. But, residents come along in brigades to look through it before pickup. Some come in cars but, the majority come in pickups that are stacked to almost overflowing. I've collected many things for my haunted maze over the years. Including lots of scrap wood, building materials, & collection of 20 solid hard wood doors (use to extend my haunt bigger each year). If you don't have this in your area, please contact me & getting this. My city officals would be happy to get your city started!

Happy Haunting!

Haunt_Master

Went to a movie & dropped off some people.
Little did I know that I would be filling my truck with a load of wood. They were getting rid of a homemade wheelchair ramp made of plywood & 2x4's. It was already taken down off the steps in three sections. They didn't know what they were going to do with it. Got talking to them & I saw a hidden potential for it. The guy was so happy to be rid of it that he helped load it & provided gloves for the both of us to use. Then he asked if I would be interested in any 2x2's that were in 2 ft sections? Got a pile of 40 of them if your interested? I said "load em up!" After loading it all, he asked what are you going to use the wood for? Oh, my haunted maze I said. Ha! Then ended up talking to him for 15 minutes or so about that.
Normally I get pickup loads of materials to use from my curbside surfing during Spring & Fall cleanup days in my area. (all for free!) Never know what I'll find next.

Haunty

This is the time of the year typically for me to research haunt concepts for my haunted maze. Leaning towards a haunted castle of terrors, with some torture devices. Want to build a working portcullis gate for the entrance.

It's also the time to start planning my trip to Baltimore, Maryland for Horrorfind Weekends in August. I'm bummed that I can't goto both of them in March & August. But, the Aug. con is bigger & better. Plus the entire haunt crew will be there again, to try once again to scare die hard horror fans!! Can't wait to see what we come up with. hehehe I miss my Horrorfind forums board member friends, sooooo much! I can't wait to goto some more haunt seminars & hang with my friends.

Haunty

Second chance Scream!
Saturday Nov. 4th
Haunters: Jason, & Myself

Full Moon with a cool crisp 45 degree night
Invited the staff of the local Spirit store to come join us for one last fright of the year, Saturday night. Co-workers of both of us that couldn't make it to the party, asked if it would be open, & could they come? Yes, We said & bring friends! Karla a college student from the area, had seen the website, called & asked if it was going to be open again? Our other haunters were busy so, it was just Jason & I. We went down late afternoon to do some minor repairs, & got everything setup. That was including a "Maze Donation" sign pointing to the box & high lighted with a green flood light on it. I once again setup the inflatable lit Jackolantern with strobes near the road. Then hung up the quart mason jars lit by tea candles from the trees along the winding gravel drive way. It got dark & we anxiously awaited our guests. Six o'clock came & went and still no guests. Both of us were getting hungry but, decided to tough it out til later. Finally at 6:30pm two cars pulled into the drive way, Yea!! The first one was my Sister inlaw Linda, (who lives there) to my disapointment. But, the second car had two college ladies in it and introduced herself as Karla & her friend. She mentioned that she was the one that had called about coming tonight. Welcomed them to the maze & they anxiously went in. Jason had gone in another way to scare them inside. I waited a few minutes and went in the entrance to do the same. We both got them several times by the time they exited. They both thanked us and tried for sometime to call their friends to come experience it also. Finally Karla got a hold of one of her friends & would be 30 min. til she came. In the mean time Jason & I gave them a lights on tour & answered any questions they had. Then another car pulled in yea! It was my wife & her two friends that had never been to the maze. They got her sister Linda & her husband Pat to also come through. By the time they had finished Karla's friend showed up. But, still no group from Spirit. So, the three girls went through & we scared them all again!! They exited the maze & then a second wave of mass calling on their cells to get more friends to come out. They left in one car to get some more friends & said they will be definately back! We called in a pizza and had a 35 min. wait for pickup. Thirty minutes later the girls were back with a kid from her babysitters. They all went through another time & got scared! We sent them through the exit to find their way back to the entrance. That really messed with them. They thanked us again & said that they will be definately back next year with friends. Jason & I closed the shed doors after they left & quickly got our pizza before anyone else came. Ate the pizza while keeping an eye on the road for more people. By 9:30pm no one else came so, We decided to call it a night & close down. Checked the donation box for anything more. Nothing to our disapointment. Gathered the outside props & lanterns & headed home.
Will be tearing it down next week, putting everything back in storage. Cry

Sunday Sept. 10th

The first day of prep starts today on the Maze of Terror. Haunt crew today is My Dad, nephew Jason, & Myself. Being that it's on a Sunday & my allergies, worked only 3 hrs. Had to clear the floor space of farm equipment first. Moved the huge grain truck, grain trailer, combine head, & several other pieces of equipment.

Decided to start construction from the back of the shed instead of the usual front to back build. Hoping to use the majority of the floor space & beat the 1,500 sq. ft. mark from last year. The first two walls up formed an "L" in the NW corner. Continued to build the exterior walls Eastward & South. Installed the coffin entrance in the NE corner at a steep angle. Actually have to step into it to enter the maze. Added a few interior walls in the middle before it was time to go.

It usually takes 40-50 hrs to build, setup, & decorate. Will keep updates as the progression follows. (text as well as photo links) This year's theme is: "Superstions & Phobias". Inspired by an exhbit scene in the movie "The Relic".
Worked on it for 3 hrs.

Let the Haunting season begin!

Saturday Sept. 16th

Haunting crew today is the same as last week.
Had a set back today with stuff in the way, in the shed. Grain truck was back, and metal flooring for a grain bin was stored on the left & right walls in two piles. The left side filled three pallets and then some. My nephew, Brother inlaw, & myself, transfered it all to a flatbed trailer. Boy were we tired after moving all that stuff! On the bright side, now have more floor space to build. Have about 3/4 of the outside walls up so far. Installed the coffin entrance at a steep angle. Patrons have to dug your head upon entering. Modified a top section of a 6x8 panel. Took off the plywood & replaced with semiclear coragated white fiberglass. With the right lighting from a down angle upward, will give a ghostly image to passers by on either side. Very cool! Put up more interior walls towards the front.
Put in 6 hrs today on the maze. Total of 9 hrs at this time.

Photos to follow....

Saturday Sept. 23rd-

Haunting crew- Jason, Brother inlaw Ronald, & Myself
Got up early & went to Menards for a roll of 10x25 clear plastic (for a future haunt prop- shadow wall) for $6. Bought 2ea 18 in. florescent light fixtures with rapid start, & bulb $3.88, & 2ea 18 in. florescent black light bulbs $6 ea. Heck of a deal!
Filled the back of my pickup full with recycled doors from Spring cleanup days. Another overcast windy day in the 60's. My Brother inlaw Ronald (seasoned haunt builder) joined my nephew Jason, & I with the build today.
In the 6 hrs we worked on it together-
. all the exterior walls are up
. 16 ft. tunnel cave installed
. revolving door reassembled & installed
. most of the interior walls are up
. bracing the walls overhead has begin
. many of the wide areas have been narrowed
. many zig zags, & dead ends are inplace.

Used almost all of the doors (brought down today) with today's build. I think that I may finally have enough doors for the maze. Have never even thought it might be possible or that I would ever say that. Don't even know how many I currently have, from the years of collecting them.

Still plenty to do, more passages narrowed, more zig/zags & deadends, decorations, lighting, effects, sound, etc.
Worked on it another 6 hrs, total 15 hrs.

Pics from 9/10/06
The first day of the build...
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/Haunt_Master/Maze%2006/?sc=1& addtype=local

Saturday Sept. 30th
Haunt crew- Jason, Alex, & Myself
Doors, doors, doors....
It's Fall cleanup days! & the city will start picking up offically Oct. 2nd, from the lower east side to west side hilltop. Residents of the surrounding area come with their pickups, trailers, etc. to help recycle. (before the city gets it) It's a treasure hunt for some, who knows for others. I did some quick curbside surfing, netted 3 wooden doors, a bunch of scrap wood, roll of round tube flexible foam insulation (will make great creepy snakes hanging from the ceiling), roll of flexible flat plastic/foam with mini air bubbles in it, & filled my pickup in a short time. (creepy crackly flooring, maybe for bug room) Back at the farm, I Installed 90 watt flood lights overhead in the haunt shed, what a difference! Next we converted a fullsized 6x8 panel to a shadow wall. We took out the 4x8 sheet of osb, replaced it with 3 mil clear plastic doubled over, & attached to framework. Will look very creepy with the right low angle lighting! Then we spent the remainder of the time using recycled wooden doors to make passage ways smaller, add dead ends, & generally confuse guests.
Put in another 6 hrs, total 21 hrs

Photo link follows...

Photo link 9/30/06
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/Haunt_Master/Maze%2006/

* Note As the maze gets built it gets harder to take photos in a cramped space, lighting conditions, etc. But, it does show progress.

Saturday Oct. 7th
Haunt crew- Ronald, Sharon, (my co-worker & her minons) Tori, Danni, & Myself
Loaded the truck up with props, effects, etc. Took a lot longer to do than I planned. It was 80 degrees today with a heavy wind from the North. Was so windy that I had to stop & put extra cover over the load (with a new tarp) under the bunge & other straps.
With the extra hands we unloaded the truck quickly. The new helpers toured the maze before starting. Ronald had been down 2 hrs earlier and got started on a room of his design. Grabbed the oversized rope spider web & looked for the perfect area. The Spiders & bugs room was the first completed phobia. Next I installed black weed guard at the end of the first tunnel cave, & another area towards the end. Placed a static phantom skeleton in the entrance area. Shoared up the tunnel cave with supports. Installed the first black light in the bug room, and placed a blue strobe in a critical pathway overhead.
5 1/2 hrs in today, total 26 hrs 30 min.

photo link to follow

Wednesday Oct. 11th
Haunt crew- Jason, & myself

Brrr! It was 34 degrees this morning & it didn't change much, 40 degrees for a high. Called Jason at work about going out for a few hours to work on the maze. By the time we headed down to the farm the wind picked up & started lightly snowing!! Couldn't believe that just last Saturday it was 80 degrees while working on the maze.

First things first, we needed to tarp the maze for a roof. It helps keep it warmer in the maze, control darkness, & helps keep the fog from escaping. Since it's so large- length & width, we need several tarps to cover it completely. It took 3 large tarps to cover it, two of the tarps are 20x30, and one smaller tarp. With the two of us it took over an hour to completely unpack the three tarps, open them up & pull them into place overhead. Then we ran a hd 25 ft. extention cord from the control panel to a 4 ft blacklight & strobe light controlled by a motion sensor. Next ran a hd 50 ft extention cord to the back of the maze. It will power two strobe lights (one w/ motion sensor), & the knight. Did a light test in complete darkness, then called it a night. Brrr! 26 degrees!

3 hrs tonight, total of 29 hrs. 30 min.

Saturday Oct. 21st
Haunt crew- Jason, Ronald, & Myself
36 degrees & we're all wearing multiple layers today. Brother inlaw Pat continues to work on the harvest. He's running the very loud grain dryer directly next to the shed we're working in.
There was plenty to get done today. Jason & I had lunch together early & then headed out right after. Normally we meet up down at the farm by 3pm. We put up the remaining two 8 ft tunnel/caves, installed blacklights, & many flicker flame fixtures. More motion controlled devices were installed, & the lighting fx controller was added & extended to multiple light sources. We tried out Bigscream's Thunderstorm cd to it, Wow! All three of us were doing our own things with decorating. We did a series of light tests to try everything out, then added more! The front que area is decorated & lit with creepy lighting.

Still have to cleanup the area, add a few finishing touches, decorate the party house, & install tea candle lighting along the driveway next weekend.

Took many photos in different light settings.
Photo link to follow...
9 1/2 hrs today, total 39 hrs

Photos from 10/22/06

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/Haunt_Master/Maze%2006/October%20 22/?sc=1&addtype=local

Saturday Oct. 28th
Haunters: Jason, Ronald, Chad, Matt, Roger (my Dad), & myself

It was a cool star filled night around 30 degrees.

Had a great turnout for the party!
Quite a few people invited showed, as well as didn't. Many thanks to Sarge's family for traveling 2hrs both ways to come join in on the fun! The majority of the guests were teenagers of my relatives.

In the house we had sooo much food & drink. I bought $30 worth of wine coolers, beer, & ice. Had a donation box out & threw in a few dollars to show people were to put the money. Was non-stop from 7-9 pm. Then the second wave came after the football game. From 9-11:30 pm it continued non-stop. We had some great screamers!! Didn't hear of anyone loosing body control, doh! Although we did have two girls that refused to got through.

Even though I volunteered to active the "chicken clause" (turn on the house lights & walk them through) no scare guarantee. At Midnight we shut down, & counted the donations. For countless hours of research & design, 40 hrs of building it (from mid Sept.-Oct. 22), we collected $3.50! Shocked That's down $31.50 from last year. Did mention to a few that went through multi times, if you enjoyed it there is a donation box. Please show us how much. Was reminded at the end of the night that teenagers don't carry much cash with them. Yes the party was a great success! But it was a failure for donations. Grin Shocked Cry

Thanks to all for the continued interest in the Maze of Terror!

HM Shocked

P.S. Have plenty of left over booze for Halloween!!

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