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I thought I might try actually making this blog interesting enough for people to actually READ it. So I'll be posting all the interesting Halloween links I find when I'm surfing instead of working.

Today's link is to a list of instructions on making your own vacuum forming machine. It's much simpler than others I've seen.

Check it out!

http://www.instructables.com/id/ELPFLBN6A9EYJ3I2F0?ALLSTEPS

I'm always on the lookout for items to use for Halloween. One of my favorite catalogs is the Oriental Trading Company (http://www.orientaltrading.com).

I get a new catalog for each season, and there always seems to be something that can be adapted for Halloween.

The latest catalog had some items for the upcoming wedding season (spring and summer). I saw a unit of 200 ivy leaves for 4.49. Glue these to some paint-soaked twine and you would have some cheap ivy for covering your graveyard.

The Mardi Gras items are always good to stock up for fake jewlry and coins. These would be useful for a pirate theme. A room full of the metallic masks would make for an interesting variation on the standard dot room (check out the "plastic white full masks" too, in the crafts section). And the inflatable jester is just creepy enough for a demented carnival theme.


Remember, only 9 more months until Halloween!

As Christmas approaches, don't forget those Christmas sales for holiday merchandise that can be hacked into Halloween props! Some examples:

• Flicker bulbs: Sometimes you can find these in cheaper multi-packs during the holiday season.
  Plastic electric candles: Rework into candelabras (remove the base and turn upside down to make a cup instead of a base). Or just add flicker bulbs and use as-is.


• Large plastic yard angels: Paint gray and use as angel statues in your graveyard.


• Plastic Nativity Scenes: The robed figures are great for statues and mourners.


• Small decorations (angels, doves, animals): Paint gray and add as decorations on your tombstones.


• Small Christmas tree lights: The twinkling variety can be bunched up and covered in red cellophane for a fire effect. Place around your plastic witches' cauldron or under some logs. Or use to make blinking eyes in the bushes.


• Motorized rotating Christmas tree stands: The cheapest ones rotate about 70 degrees back and forth. Use to animate the heads (or entire bodies) of your ghouls.


• Talking Douglas fir: Great for creating talking monsters. Get the one with an auxiliary input jack for a tape recorder.


• Dancing Santa: dress up as pirates or zombies. Use your own soundtrack, of course!
  
• Yard lighting fixtures can be used for any holiday.

Happy Hacking!

Well it's approaching Christmastime. I may seem like our favorite holiday was given the quick boot by local stores, in order to cram as many shopping days into the holiday season as possible.

But before you get all medieval on the local establishments, I'd like to play "Devil's Advocate" (heh heh) on the side of the shopkeepers. Because, according to the retail establishment, Halloween has a lot of disadvantages compared to Christmas.

First, despite popular opinion, Halloween really isn't second only to Christmas regarding commercial spending. Other holidays, which involve gift giving, will make more money for the stores (Father's day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day). Unless we can convince everyone to give Halloween gifts, our favorite holiday is always going to be far down the list in terms of money making for the stores.

Second, Halloween has the bad luck to be two months and one holiday away from the biggest commercial holiday in the year. And the only thing separating Halloween from Christmas, is a holiday that involves no gifts, little decorating, and perishable purchases (Thanksgiving).

Third, a lot of stores depend on Christmas to make a profit for the year. So they are going to do everything and anything to extend the season.

Finally, stores wouldn't do this if it didn't get results. They can't MAKE us buy anything we don't want to. If we want to place the blame on over-commercialization of Christmas on anyone, just look in a mirror. Or, if that is too unsettling, look at your neighbor (but don't peek in the windows... that's frowned upon).

Personally, I like to look at the silver lining. The earlier Halloween stuff goes on sale, the earlier I can get bargains. All the Christmas decorations is something different and colorful for a few months, when everything is turning brown (here in Texas, we don't even get snow to pretty-up the place... we get sleet and freezing rain instead). And stores are bound to over-purchase some Christmas stuff, so I get deals on some of the things I can hack for Halloween anyway.

So… "Bah Humbug" that!

Well it was a hectic, frustrating, exciting, and fun Halloween.

I'm sure that many of you feel the same way about the holiday. Those of us in the haunting community do so much more on the 31st than most normal people. It can be pretty stressful. Trying to make our haunts look and work perfectly, while juggling family, friends and work, it going to wear on a person. It can even make the holiday less enjoyable

I myself am not immune to the stress. Our kitchen wall is now sporting a foot-shaped hole where I kicked it in frustration, after forgetting to charge the battery on the camcorder.

Needless to say, I was immediately embarrassed, and resolved to "chill-out" for the rest of the evening.

So I'd like to offer my tips for a less stressful haunting season for next year.

Scott Messinger's : The Zen Of Haunting

1. "It's not fine furniture, it's Halloween" – Someone told me this a long time ago. If you build a lot of things for your haunt, you may be putting more work into it than necessary. Detail and fine workmanship tend to be overlooked when someone is running screaming from a zombie in the dark. "Good Enough" will work OK.


2. "Only you know what's missing" – So what if you didn't accomplish everything you wanted this year? No one will notice. They will be too busy admiring what you did accomplish. And don't complain about what you wanted to do. Just bask in the compliments of your admiring fans. No one will be the wiser.


3. "A wise man knows when to give up" – Things will break. Spend a few minutes trying to fix it, then give up. You aren't going to enjoy the evening, sitting in the front yard cursing at an inanimate object (although others may be entertained). Let it go. Really. It will be OK.


4. "There's always next year." – If it breaks or if it didn't get done this year, there is always next year. Sure, you might get hit by a truck before then. But then you'll have bigger problems than making that pop-up zombie work. So relax! Halloween comes every year. You can look it up!


5. "Are we having fun yet?" – Remember, this is supposed to be fun. If you are losing sleep and snapping at your kids and kicking holes in walls (my bad!), then you aren't having fun. Well, some people might have fun that way, but they are even weirder than us. So if you can't remember the last time you were having fun, start following the rules above. Life is too short to not have fun.

I remember an album my dad would always pull out at Halloween when I was a kid. The title was "Sounds to Make You Shiver!" It had a wonderful spooky album cover, with a Frankenstein's monster coming at you in front of a spooky castle filled with all sorts of horrible things (The album cover is currently posted in my gallery). The first track was called "A Night in a Haunted House". I remember listening to that over and over, imagining what might be making those sounds, and dreaming of the day that I could build my own haunted house.

My dad passed away some years ago, so I called up my mom and had her find the album for me. Alas, it was cracked and looked unplayable. So I searched the internet and found someone who had a copy for sale.

But it's been sitting on my shelf for a year because I've never taken the time to pull the turntable out of storage. And if I did, I wouldn't have a place to put it. Entertainment centers aren't made with turntables in mind these days.

Luckily, I won't have to find that turntable. I recently found a wonderful web sit for old spooky albums: http://dw56.250free.com/ForbiddenCryptsOfHauntedMusic.html.

This site has a collection of MP3's from a bunch of old spooky albums, including "Sounds to Make You Shiver." So I downloaded it and am currently listening to the sounds of horror at my desk. Everything is as I remember it. Even the part when the narrator says ominously "Don't turn around; there may be something behind you!" It almost makes you want to look over your shoulder.

Of course, we know there isn't anything there.


It's all make-believe.


Right?

I finally found time to put up the cemetery this weekend. Having a 3 yr old son means that the only time I have for my hobby is late at night and during his 2 hour nap on Saturdays and Sundays.

But I was able to get all the tombstones up and some of the fence before he woke up on Saturday.

Wonder of wonder's he actually wanted to help! He even gave up a trip to the playground to help dear old dad. You can see some pictures in my gallery us working together.

No pictures yet of the cemetery. I was wiped out Saturday and it rained all Sunday. But some will be posted soon.

(UPDATE - Pictures posted now 10-17-2006)

It was a full moon last night. I snapped a picture of it and posted it to my gallery.

Halloween progress is coming along. It's mostly boring stuff, so I haven't posted any pictures.

I finished repairing and re-painting the cemetery fence today. A year outside without a tarp has taken its toll. Looks like I'll have to create replace the wood next year. But for now my patches will just have to hold. Perhaps the sense of disrepair will add to the atmosphere.

I have a 10 foot piece of 2-inch PVC in my garage for my haunted street lamp. The glass is frosted and ready. All that's left if to wire and paint it this week.

I have 2 new gargoyles to mount on my cemetery columns this year. Unfortunately, I need to find a new method of fastening to the columns. They'll be bolted to a square of wood from underneath. Then this wood will be screwed to the top column. Hopefully this will make them difficult (but not impossible) to steal.

Expect more pictures next weekend!

"Massing" (noun) : A large quantity, usually a shapeless quantity, gathered together; a lump.

Last year, when my son noticed all the pumpkins stacked infront of the local supermarket, I joked that "the pumpkins have started massing".

Sometimes, thoughout the year, he would ask "Are the pumpkins massing?" when we drove past the store. And I would reply "Not yet, David. Not yet."

But this weekend when we arrived at the supermarket, he pointed and yelled "pumpkins massing!"

And sure enough, there they were. Gathered together on haybales, nestled together in cardboard bins, and otherwise just...well..massing.

The season is officially here!

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