Vintage Haunted Schoolhouse Poster

FINALLY! I got this personal gem into a proper frame, ready to go up on the wall!

I am finding that the older I get the more I look back, longing for the black-and-orange nostalgia and Halloween innocence of my youth. As a kid, I absolutely loved getting the Friday insert section out of the local newspaper each October, eagerly and voraciously devouring page after page of glorious black-and-white ads for all of the local haunted houses (and being an 80s Halloween kid living in Northeast Ohio meant page after page of haunted houses! It seemed like every city had one!).

And even with page after page of wonderful ads, there was always one that caught my attention and became the one I always looked for: Akron's Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory. The iconic grim reaper graphic really caught my young eye, and it became the one (technically two) haunted house that my friend Jim and I would always beg our parents to drive us to every Halloween season.

Fast forward 35 years, and the opportunity to be a guest actor at the Haunted Schoolhouse presented itself. Needless to say I jumped at the chance, fulfilling all those old childhood dreams. It was everything I had hoped it would be, and I appreciate Dave allowing me to come back each season to "get my haunt on."

Two seasons ago, he unearthed this ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE Schoolhouse and Lab silkscreened poster from back in the early 80s. Up to this point I had never asked for anything from him, but I REALLY wanted a copy of that if one was available. And Dave totally came through, allowing me to own a piece of haunted house history!

And now it's finally in a nice frame, ready to go up on my wall. Amazing clipart and fonts. Admission $2.00. FREE BABYSITTING! They just don't make 'em like this anymore!

Love Bites at the Haunted Schoolhouse

This past weekend, I got the chance to go check out Love Bites, the Valentine's-themed haunt event at the Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory here in Akron, Ohio.

I've been going to the Schoolhouse for years, as it's literally 10 minutes away from the Cemetery, and every time I go I get a little nostalgic, as it was one of the first haunted houses I ever went to growing up (I think my first trip was maybe 1985?).

I've always loved the haunts, especially with this year's new ownership changeover and much-needed updating. This weekend's Valentine haunt was no different, with a few added lovey-dovey touches and an overall fun and great show with a large turnout.

Come get a kiss from the infamous DuWayne/Tater!!

Smoochie! Smoochie!


But what made this trip a bit more special was that for the first time in 35 years, I got a nice little behind-the-scenes tour, thanks to the haunt's makeup artist, Dave from Closed Casket Studios.

And while the staging and makeup areas were a bit smaller than I thought they were going to be, what was contained in both had the nostalgia kicking in like crazy...

The absolutely first thing I noticed was this amazing gem tacked to the wall. I couldn't believe it! An original early, early poster from the 70s/80s. ADMISSION TWO DOLLARS!! FREE BABY SITTING!! They just don't make haunt posters like this anymore. And look at all that glorious retro haunt art. It was a thing of sheer beauty!! God, I wanted to take it home with me. I wonder if they would ever let me borrow it to scan it and maybe make a limited run of screen printed reprints of it? I would probably buy all of the copies!!

After drooling over the poster for a few minutes, I checked out all of the other old art and props in the staging area and then the makeup room...

An unused prop (possibly from Unit 70?) that stood at least 9 feet tall!

Cemetery friend Randy Skalos from Haunt on Williams Street came all the way from Conneaut, Ohio to check out the haunt with us. He was digging this prop, too.

Not sure how old this piece was, but damn was it cool!

Ugh, how much for the killer Frank mask!?!?

The art on the back door of the Schoolhouse's original old school bus! (Another great thing about the new ownership was their understanding in keeping a lot of the original elements for the nostalgic types like me. I loved checking the old bus out as it was now proudly displayed near the ticket booth. Well done!)

So after the haunt and behind-the-scenes tour was over, it was time to head out for some drinks and grub with the crew. But not before making a quick stop at the merch table and adding a hilarious and awesome new haunt shirt to my collection...

Well done, Schoolhouse. Well done!!

  

Hangin' Out at Closed Casket Studios

I've always said that when viewed through the lens of a haunter/Halloween fanatic, my home town of Akron, Ohio is a pretty cool place to be. I have one of the oldest running haunts in the country, the famed Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory, a mere 10 minutes down the road. I have one of the longest haunts in the country, Canton's Factory of Terror, a mere 40 minutes down the road. And I have literally dozens of other haunted attractions in all directions around me. And don't forget the quick 2 hour jaunt to the Midwest Haunters Convention in Columbus each June...

But even closer than all of those cool locations is a sweet little prop shop that is an unbelievably quick 5 minute hop from the Cemetery: Dave Shonk's Closed Casket Studios. I actually met Dave when he was a wee lad getting in trouble with his local fire marshal. Since then, he has continually upped his home haunt game, eventually went pro for a bit, and has since started his own mask & prop shop. I've been to his basement shop a few times before, but I recently had the chance to hang out a bit, share a few beers and stories, and check out his new pieces for 2017. It definitely looks like I'll be adding a few more of his prop heads to the display this year!

But wait, there's more!

And as an added bonus, it looks like I'm headed to Transworld's Halloween & Attraction Show this week with the Closed Casket Studios crew! I'm beyond stoked for this opportunity, as I've never been to this show before. Be sure to come visit us at booth 406. I'll be the guy with the camera around his neck, shooting everything in sight! Stop by, say hi and buy something killer from Dave! See everyone in St. Louis! 

And if you can't make it to the show, stop by next week when I'll share all (most of?) my stories and photos.