We got an Amazon delivery yesterday. I'm assuming the driver just said, "I'll just go ahead and leave this safely outside the cemetery arch entrance..." And scooted off to the sound of Scooby-Doo running! No way was he coming into THIS yard!
With the 2016 Midwest Haunters Convention now wrapped up and a full night's sleep to recover from it all, it's now time to go through all of the photos and try to recap it all!
The 3 days flew by, with something going on literally every minute of each day. With some skillful planning, we were able to cram a ton fun and learning into 72 hours. So let's start back at the beginning! I arrived in Columbus bright and early Friday, with the first of two classes scheduled in the morning. Right off the bat, I hooked up with some friends...
Stacey Rager, Hector Turner and I discuss the finer points of Halloween prop building (nah, we were probably talking about how much alcohol was consumed on the Thursday haunt tour buses!)
After that first class, it was time to check in and wait for the arrival of my cohorts, James and Chad. I got everything into the room and it was time to head to class number two.
With a ton of info gathered in the second class, I met up with the boys and it was time to rage...
We decided to skip the slated Friday Night Haunt Tour and Beach Party, as we had toured the ScareAtorium two years ago and the beach party sounded a bit goofy. Instead, we hopped a quick cab ride over to Arcade Super Awesome, a local neighborhood pizza/bar/pinball arcade. Soooo worth the trip!! Delicious pizza, great beers and even greater selection of pinball games!!
Elvira, Metallica, Ghostbusters, Twilight Zone and a handful of other killer pinball games.
We take this very seriously!
After pizza, beers and tons of pinball, we opted for the walk back to the hotel. We made it back for a nightcap at the hotel bar with a big group of fellow haunters. We retired early (2 a.m. is early by some haunter standards) and got ready for a full Saturday schedule.
On Saturday morning, James and Chad opted for a big breakfast while I went to class number 3. Another hour full of new info and then it was time to hit the tradeshow floor. I kept the camera snapping, focusing more on the individual pieces from all of the vendors. TONS of amazing props and masks throughout the show.
After we did our first full lap through the show, we snuck out for some lunch at North Market. Amazing food vendors throughout. We filled our bellies and headed back to the show for another lap...
A cool charred figure that was hooked up to a fog machine, so that it looked like he was still smoldering.
A really nice effect!
Ooooh, how I love the silicone masks from Shattered FX...
Dave no longer wants to hear about James' custom mask order...
Fellow Akronites Closed Casket Studios had their increasing array of awesome prop heads, hands and masks.
A Highbury Cemetery order from them will be coming soon!
I'm actually kicking myself for not getting this voodoo staff from From Art to Zombies...
After another lap and a few purchases, we headed over to check out the Zombie Walk. We hung around a bit, checked out some interesting zombie makeups and decided to head back to the room early for a round (or two) of "beverages," a couple of incredible episodes of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? and to get ready for the marquee event of the weekend, the infamous Masquerade Party!
Check back tomorrow for MHC 2016 - Part 2. Tons of photos from the Masquerade Party! Even with the awful lighting, I was able to capture some of the amazing costumes and the hilarious shenanigans that went on!!
What if horror's greatest villains were in former episodes of “Scooby-Doo”?
That question has been realized allegedly by artist ‘TB Real’ (via
Tumblr), who saw his Captain Spaulding art shared by Rob Zombie on his
official Facebook page.
This spawned a series of responses sharing other pieces of art that
put “Scooby-Doo” face-to-face with Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger,
Michael Myers and Ghostface, among many others. My personal favorite
thing about the art is the creator’s animation touch – just look at
Pamela Voorhees’ head drawn as if it were a hand-painted background that
the animation cel would be placed over. This is super cool stuff.
What if Shaggy’s soul was swallowed? That’s the kind of world I want to live in…
I finished up another two tombstones for the cemetery this week. These two were part of the original cemetery many years ago, and were in desperate need of an update.
The first was our old Silas Long tombstone. It was one of the first stones we did. For the astute Scooby Doo fans in attendance, Silas Long was, in fact, the wolfman villain from the 1970 episode, Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Werewolf?
Why not take a second out of your busy day and watch the entire episode here? It's quite good!
So the tombstone was in pretty bad shape, as I had originally tried to mount it to a wooden stake by driving two screws through the foam. After a couple of years of wear and tear, the screws tore through the foam, leaving two nasty holes.
The first thing I did was repair the holes by filling them with spackle.
I then painted the entire thing with flat white ceiling paint. The moisture in my basement got to the spackle on the bottom hole and you can see a patch of brown mold discoloring of some sort...
Not a problem, as it was covered by a wash of watered-down black paint, followed by a quick wash of watered-down green. I have used this same color pattern on a few of my tombstones, as well as my new obelisk.
Next, I created a full-size epitaph. I printed the tiled 8.5" x 11" pages out and taped them together.
The difficult and time-consuming part comes when it's time to cut out all of the lettering and the flourish at the bottom.
I then traced everything onto the front of the stone with a permanent marker. After the initial tracing was completed, I used black paint to fill in the larger letters. I just filled in the small letters and detail areas with the marker.
After all of the lettering was complete, I wanted to add a few extra details, as Abigail Harrington is the new witch in our cemetery. She will also be flying around my new crypt on Halloween night (she is my new Flying Crank Ghost).
A hole at the top of the stone (from the years we used actual candles and the hot wax melted down into the foam) was perfect for a new PVC flicker candle, complete with melted wax down the front. The scribbled "XXX"s were taken directly from the mausoleum of Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. The story goes that if you put an XXX on her mausoleum, she would grant you your wish. And I figured, if Abigail Harrington is a witch, perhaps she would do the same. This also allows for her followers to leave flowers and other small offerings at her grave during the dead of night. I'll have some plastic flowers and other offerings (whatever I can find that will work) to place around the stone when it's set up on Halloween night...
I was also able to quickly update another old tombstone that we had created years ago. This time it was poor Solomon Grundy that needed a refresh. I'm not a comics guy by any stretch, but the idea came from a rather hilarious commercial that was done by Cartoon Network back in the late 90s...
"Solomon Grundy want pants, too!" was the catchphrase that entire Halloween. But after years of wear and tear, it was time for Solomon to be retired. In keeping with Abigail Harrington's witch theme (as well as adding a coven of live witches to this year's haunt), Mrs. Highbury did some research on the Salem Witch Trials and came up with a fantastic new epitaph for poor Bridget Bishop, the first convicted witch to be hanged at Gallows Hill.
I filled two nasty holes at the bottom of this stone, too, but used two coats of a watered-down brown paint on top of the white base coat. This gives the stone a more sandstone appearance.
But don't worry comics fans. The spirit of Solomon Grundy lives on, because if you look closely, his original epitaph is starting to come through the paint. His memory of wanting pants will live on in Highbury Cemetery!!
3 more days until the big night!! All major prop building is complete and I'm into the frenzied state of sorting out all of the lighting and extension cords and stereo equipment. Once this mess is all sorted, I might be able to relax for a second, although I do have one last project to complete. But you'll have to check back later today for our final Freebie Friday to see what it is. Just be sure to bring your thinking caps with you when you stop back...
A cold, weathered hand pierces the rust-laden earth of a late autumn night. Reanimated decay becomes the evening's guide. Masked faces bask in the fiery glow of a jack-o-lantern's illumination. A lifeless finger points the direction toward the next porch-lit house. For this is the night of ghouls and goblins and tricks and treats. This is the night of Hallowe'en...
