Viewing 1 - 6 out of 6 Blogs.

Have you ever hear of the



Shac 7



if not I suggest you follow this link and read the summary of this case against some animal activists. Even if you have no interest in animal rights the case of terrorism against these folks - who apparently did nothing more than operate a web site speaking out against an animal testing lab - is one of the worst and least publicized assaults on our civil rights that I've seen recently. This era in America is a return to the paranoia of McCarthyism where instead of people being labeled Commies or Reds they are instead being labeled Terrorists. The Terrorists are everywhere and you must be vigilant against them. Turn in your neighbors and keep silent and safe. That's it, now go and read the case - then worry for your freedom my friends.

Enlightenment is what I need.

In past years doing a haunted house I've always noticed that the November post-season is always a bit of a bummer. I try - and no ladies I am not pretending I know what it is like to give birth - to liken it to giving birth. From my own modest observations I have seen that women tend to swear off ever getting pregnant again in the months preceding and especially right after the actual birth of the child. Who could blame them. The constant running to the bathroom, the physical discomfort and eventual pain that I can't imagine that is tied to passing something the size of a bowling ball out of an orifice that under normal conditions wouldn't do such a thing. However, usual after a few months the memory of the pain and discomfort are lost in the background of memory and the maternal desires to procreate return. There is, I must note, a time when a woman will have her last child. Rarely these days with the widespread use of contraceptives does this time come when she can no longer biologically have children, but instead comes from a conscious choice - either due to financial or physical toll. Haunting has always been that way for me.

November comes and I swear that I'll never do that again. The winter holidays loom large and so do the added financial costs that are inevitably there - yes buying presents - and fixing up the house for the visitors to our house. It's at these times that I'd really love to have the money spent on our "Free" haunt in the bank instead of lying around in props and decor in my other house. But as November wanes I find my thoughts sneaking back to prop making and haunt themes - at least in the past they have.

This year, though seems different. With the added strain of having to deal with inspectors this year and the looming hoops I'll have to jump through for 2007 - if we can manage them at all - I wonder if perhaps the Nottingham family has had its last haunted child. The procreation of the various haunts may have reached their inevitable end as it were. As Thanksgiving is upon us I find myself not thinking of new props, but rather of dumpsters and yardsales to dispose of it all. I also wonder what it would be like to complete projects that involve drywall, paint, and new flooring for my real house with the money saved on the haunt. Things to ponder and resolve soon so I can plan a vacation that might involve sunny skies and alcoholic drinks in a lounge chair instead of cleaning house and cooking food for the army of monsters that stay with me in October. Hmmmm, I wonder.

New video and photos posted - enjoy. 393 through the haunt on trick or treat night - many turned away and many took candy and chickened out. 50-70 through the haunt on Friday and Saturday in the rain and cold. 5 peetalities and one admitted pootality. Why someone would admit they've soiled themselves is beyond me but it's still kinda funny - heh, heh.

We were inspected by the state of PA yesterday.
It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I am still a bit irritated that I don't charge and 99% of people that go through are from a 3-4 block radius of me. The boyscout haunt that does charge didn't get hit and it's 5 blocks down the road. I can understand that a prohaunt should be registered, and it concerns me that a little guy - which is really what I am despite the fact that I know a bit about web design which makes me look bigger than I am - is being required to do this. I liked John Humburger after I met him, but I think he still had the impression that I ask for donations. I do have a PayPal button on my site this year and list items I would like to have donated - mainly because my neighbors asked for a list and without it I end up getting everyone's garbage. And I use it somehow. People have always tried to hand me money haunt nights and I have always turned them down cause I never wanted to end up like someone like Kim of Kim' Krypt in Baltimore and have the authorities breathing down my neck. I have never accepted cash or received not one thin dime from the PayPal donation button.

Now that I am registered I am faced with having to get the local fire marshals invovled. I will have to adhere to all the regulations that a prohaunt does. I will have to remove all the fire hazards, use fire retardents, maybe rewire my whole house and put in a 100amp service like Altoona requires of all new construction and rentals now. In order to continue I will have to either chuck this money out my own pocket on top of the thousands I already have spent over the years while pitching everything that won't meet code or start charging people to make up the difference. Or quit and spend my mney visiting all the pro haunts that I'd love to see. ;-)

Just to make it clear - I have never had not one injury in the 6 or so years we've been doing this. At no time is a visitor to our haunt ever more than 5 feet away from a haunt actor. We have fire extiguishers and smoke alarms, but still use the dreaded black plastic. Nor have I had one complaint from any neighbor for the ruckus I cause on haunt nights. They love me, and I'm not sure if I can go pro and bring more patrons and cause more of a ruckus to make a profit here and still have them love me.

My concern over these inspections is for the fate of the little guy like me. Will a home haunter now have to hide in shadows - no web sites, no flyers, no signs and by invite only haunts? Where does this stop? I am a home haunt which is now most likely going to face it's death just like I originally posted. And who will be next? Everyone I suspect in Pennsylvania I suppose. And where does it stop? Will we one day have to register our Christmas light display? Sounds silly now, but then so did a state inspector registering me as a haunted attraction like Hundre Acres or Castle Blood. I would have laughed a few years ago at being put in the same category as them. And what will happen when all the haunted garages and home haunts are forced to have fire marshall inspections - where will Halloween go? Litterally before my family started doing this our block was dark on trick-or-treat night and many of our elderly neighbors left for the night in fear of someone breaking in - yes it happened to more than one little old lady on our street. Usually teenagers acting like idiots. Now I can honestly say I see more decorating and porch lights handing out candy than ever before. Our block is alive with activity and we get to meet our neighbors. It is safer in our neighborhood now than 10 years ago cause we all know each other and watch out for each other. There is no michief here and I don't want to sound arrogant but I really believe we restarted this here. So what will happen to other neighborhoods all across the state and country if goofs like me have to either go pro, fork out cash to or quit.

10/2/06 - Halloween radio took to the air last night on October 1st. If you want to hear the songs and promo for the haunt they can be found playing automatically on our MySpace or HauntSpace pages. Go visit them and become our friends! Also, see the Gallery page for new photos of the setup and a brief video, but beware that if you are on dial up it may take ages to load. Also, we'd like to send a thank you to the Dread Pirate Brett for his donation to the haunt - hope your own home haunt goes well thar' Cap'n - aaaaarrrrrr. That's about it for now - don't forget to stop by and see the progress and if you see the tombstone that says "Halloween Radio 88FM On Air" then by all means tune in for some music to make your blood curdle.

Been working on a color organ light show that will broadcast on FM to car radios. Slapped it together and it actually works from spare parts. It ain't pretty yet, but it does make the lights flash on four channels. It's the first picture in the prep photos labelled "The Gizmo". I plan to clean it up and install it in a water resistant tote for my porch and run some carved Funkins off it as well as some other lighting. The color organ will supposedly handle 250 watts which should work for what I have. Not exactly the "Wizards in Winter" from Christmas last year but still the only light Halloween light show on my block.

http://www.nottinghammanor.castlenottingham.com/gallery.htm

--
Patrick
www.CastleNottingham.com