Happy Birthday, Zacherley


When Ghouls, Goblins and Creatures of the Night appear,
rest assured that Zacherley is near!

Happy Birthday to The Cool Ghoul, Zacherley, who turns 94 today!




And here is the remake, backed by Electric Frankenstein. This was my first exposure to Zacherely, way back in the mid 90s...

 


One More Week Until October!


Just seven more days to go until October! The posts are being gathered for the annual Countdown to Halloween and we are getting excited to start the festivities to celebrate the greatest month of all! See you on the 1st!!




The Fall Season Has Officially Begun!


It's here! The best season of all, marked by the best beer of all! I finally procured my first 4-pack of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale of the year. I waited patiently as other Octoberfest and Pumpkin beers made their way to the shelves, but for me, only one beer has come to celebrate the beginning of the fall season and the exciting countdown to Halloween...



And as always, the first sip was delicious! This beer is going to get me through the next 6 weeks of building and preparation for the big night. So much to do and so little time. Having a new little one in our ranks is presenting a new series of challenges to my home haunt prop building this year, and this little bottle of deliciousness will surely help me get through it all...


And speaking of the new little one, we all went out for our first family outing to the Halloween store today. The entire Highbury family traveled to the local mall to visit the seasonal Halloween USA store. Unfortunately, we were pretty disappointed by what we saw. Not one animated prop display to be found throughout the row and rows of cheap costumes and even cheaper static props. We ended up walking through all of the aisles in about 15 minutes and then walked right out. I was very disappointed that my new little haunter's first experience was such a letdown (although he seemed content as he slept in his car seat the entire time). Today's trip really reminded me why as a home haunter I do what I do. I'd rather build just one home made prop in my basement this year than go and buy any of the overpriced junk filling the rows at a shop like that.

But as we all know, those home made props don't build themselves. Time to grab a cold one and head to the basement. We only have 45 days left...

 

The Davis Graveyard Is The Best!


Well, I have to give a shout out to the Davis Graveyard. I was looking for some new bits for a tombstone that I'm working on, and I visited their Etsy store. They have a plethora of foam flourishes and skulls made specifically to enhance your tombstone. And because I already have a couple of stones with skulls, I put down a few bucks for an Annabelle accent.

A few days later, a box with a familiar moniker showed up at my door...



And as I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised!



A cool DG postcard with a quick note from the Frog Queen herself. And the Annabelle flourish looked great!





But they weren't done there. They threw in a cool, round flourish...


And if that wasn't enough, I even got a treat bag full of candy, bugs and a spooky pencil. And I didn't even have to say, "Trick or Treat!"


 


A big thank you goes out to Chris and Jeff from the Davis Graveyard for putting their personal touch on an online order and for putting not only a big grin on my face but a fire under my butt to get some props knocked out this year. I can't wait to put these pieces onto my new tombstone. It's going to look great! And please stop by their Etsy store and order some of their goodies. Support the home haunt community!!

Okay group, only 50 days to go. The clock is ticking!

Countdown To Halloween 2012 - We're In!


Our time may be limited this year, but we've decided to once again participate in the annual Countdown To Halloween. 31 posts in 31 days, all about our favorite season of the year!! Their new participation badges are up and they look great! We had to go with the head of Karloff from Black Sabbath. Soooo good!




Be sure to stop by daily throughout the month of October as we share memories, photos, music, art and home haunter how-to's to ring in the season right. And it looks like we'll be doing October "Freebie Fridays" again, so why not get some free goodies while you're at it!?

Check out the Countdown To Halloween site to explore all of the crazy Halloween bloggers that participate in this annual brouhaha. It gets larger every year with tons and tons of really great sites to keep you busy until the big night!

Ugh! Only 56 more days until Halloween. Time to change a poopy diaper, and then it's off to start working on the list of 2012 props. It's going to be a real challenge for the yard haunt this year, but I accept the challenge to see how much I can pull off. Wish me luck!!

 

Vintage Poster Restrikes from Hamilton Wood Type


A good friend recently sent me a link to Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum's page of vintage poster restrikes. Beautiful, old woodcut poster plates that were rescued from the Globe Printing Company of Chicago. All reprinted posters are available here.