Hand Carved Krampus Masks by Stefan Koidl

A year ago, I wrote about my dream to one day own a custom, hand-carved Krampus mask from one of a wide array of European artists. In fact, one of my bucket list items would be to one day travel to Europe and participate in an annual Krampuslauf parade. It really is a wintertime equivalent of working in a Halloween haunt, and every video I've seen looks like an incredibly crazy time! 

I recently discovered the work of Austrian sculptor and painter, Stefan Koidl. His hand-carved Krampus masks are truly stunning, with intricate carving and finishing details on each piece he produces. Seeing his work makes me want to refocus on getting that Krampus mask to add to my collection and book my flight to Europe!

Do yourself a favor and go check out all of his art here.

The detail and intricate carving on this Norse King mask is some of the best that I have ever seen. I can't even imagine the work that we will be seeing in the coming years...

All photos courtesy of The Art of Stefan Koidl

  

And enjoy a quick interview where Koidl talks about creating his masks...

Throwback Thursday: Halloween 1976-1977

Last Thursday, I decided to revisit some of my earliest Halloween costumes in a heartwarming and hilarious Throwback Thursday post. This week, I want to keep things going with a quick Halloween visit to the years 1976 and 1977...

Halloween, 1976
After two years of trick-or-treating as some sort of witch, my parents finally got with the times. For 1976, I got my first Ben Cooper costume...

Umm, unfortunately... it was some kind of panda. With bright pink lips. And flowers on the shirt. And a picnic tablecloth for pants. Getting closer, but geez, mom...


Halloween, 1977
1977 was finally the year that my parents got their act together. A proper Ben Cooper costume for Halloween! And for boys even!!

Just look at it! A ghost! Spooky! I'm not sure if it's supposed to be Casper, but just look at that evil grin! 

And the only thing that could possibly top that costume would be those incredible jack-o-lanterns on the table behind me. Soooo good! And that weird brown fern. Now THIS is a proper Halloween photo from my past!!


Come back again next Thursday as we move further up the timeline, checking out Halloween 1978 and 1979. Two more classics that are sure to dazzle, amaze and horrify!!

  

Throwback Thursday: Halloween 1974-1975

I've always enjoyed seeing "Throwback Thursday" photos, as I'm a huge sucker for nostalgia. Especially when the throwbacks involve Halloweens past. It always evokes the wonderful memories from my own childhood, tearing through the porch-lit neighborhood with my fellow Ben Cooper-clad candy gang.

Many years ago, my mom showed up with a collection of Halloween photos from my past and as I went through the wonderful old stack, I immediately knew that they had to be shared.

It's been a long time since I originally posted them, so I wanted to revisit them again because they really are too heartwarming and hilarious not to share. Come back every Thursday in October for the continuing journey of Highbury's Halloweens Past.


Halloween, 1974
Yes, I really am that old. 1974 was the first year I celebrated Halloween. I was 16 months old at the time, and apparently ready to go out and cast evil spells across the neighborhood...

My cute blue bunny pajamas menacingly covered with a strange black-and-orange hooded druid witch cloak. Where did my parents find such a thing!? And yes, I think those are bunnies (or are they horned demons of some sort?) on broomsticks in the cloak's pattern. The only thing groovier than that cloak was our brown shag carpet. 


Halloween, 1975
So for my second year of trick-or-treating, my parents didn't go far for my costume. They simply conjured up the previous year's druid witch cloak. Only this time they added a complimentary dress, also complete with a pattern of witches, black cats and bats. What on earth!? It must have been cold this year, as a winter jacket and knit hat were added to complete the ensemble. And check out those vintage Buster Browns!!

Regardless, the cold obviously didn't deter the newly-discovered candy fiend in me, as I proudly posed with my post-trick-or-treat booty haul. That smile says it all. And even though some neighborhood miser gave out an apple, I was hooked!

Stop back next Thursday to see what insane costumes I was forced to wear for the 1976 and 1977 Halloween seasons. Another couple of photos you WON'T want to miss!!


 

The Necromancer's Staff

With barely a day to spare, the latest MHC Masquerade Ball accessory piece has been completed! Just a quick teaser photo of The Necromancer's Staff, a nearly 7-foot-tall walking staff complete with a lit lantern, rusted chime bells, antler fragments and a rotted skull...

This piece was created as a prop accessory for this year's Midwest Haunters Convention Masquerade Ball. I was planning on reusing an old costume, but had wanted to add something with a bit of flash, as the Ball tends to bring out some truly amazing work. The idea of an illuminated staff came to mind, so I ran with it.

The staff itself is a branch that had fallen out of a tree in my neighborhood right after a storm. I found it laying in the street as I was on a bike ride with my son. I liked the shape and size, so I ended up dragging it back home! I sanded it down a bit and then added the arm section which was a piece of old, dried out wood that I had in a kindling pile. I used 2 screws and then glued and wrapped the entire joint, detailing it with burlap strips, jute rope, Spanish moss and strands of Creepy Cloth. 

The lantern was an old IKEA Rotera outdoor lantern that I had used in a previous costume accessory. I simply tied it to the arm piece, again detailing it with Spanish moss and Creepy Cloth. I lit the lantern with a battery-operated pair of LED lights that I had won on an episode of Haunters Hangout earlier in the year, and then covered it with a patch of Spanish moss inside the lantern.

I also got two pieces of deer antler from my aunt and uncle, who are both avid outdoorsmen. They were the perfect size, so I just tied them to either side, letting both pieces dangle freely.

The skull was one of my cast foam skulls that was sitting around unused. I simply drilled down through the top of it and slid the skull down the top of the staff.

And then finally, I knew that I wanted to have some sort of sound when the staff moved, so I ended up getting two packages of "jingle bells" from Michael's. I spray painted each to look rusted, then attached 13 of them throughout the top of the staff. It sounds a bit like Santa, but I'm still happy with the way it sounds and I'm really happy with the way this thing looks!

Come take a look at The Necromancer's Staff (as well as the rest of my costume!) in person this Saturday night at the Midwest Haunters Convention Masquerade Ball in Columbus, Ohio. I'll be jingling all about, so come dance, buy me a drink or simply say hello!

  

Saturday Night...

Photo courtesy of gravesandghouls.tumblr.com

No real post today, as I've been building a walk-in crypt in the front porch all day (it fits!!), and now I'm headed over to old Scrapes' house for a Halloween party and some trick-or-treating in his neighborhood.

Good luck and have fun to anyone else in Halloweenland who is doing their trick-or-treat thing tonight!!

 

One Week Until MHC, 2016!

Nothing like waiting until the last minute. As usual...

Even though I started in March, the costume is nowhere near done. I'm still waiting on a package with a few pieces for it (which probably won't even show up in time), but somehow, I'll be able to throw something together for this year's Midwest Haunters Convention Masquerade Ball.

Oh, and I have six days to finish it! MHC is next weekend!

Going to get to the thrift store today to gather up the last remaining pieces to tie this year's costume all together (the devil is in the detail!), and then crank it all out in the garage. If everything goes according to plan, I should be wrapping it all up late Thursday night, as I'm packing to leave early the following morning.

Here's a couple of teaser shots of what I have so far. I'm going a little bit bloody this year, as I got a bottle of FrightProps Blood Formula and I've been splattering it on everything! 

Say cheese...

Also, for anyone going to MHC this year, we have decided to skip the Friday night tour and after party. We just toured the ScareAtorium two years ago and the Beach Party with the old Playmate sounds a little bit too goofy...

So if you're in Columbus Friday night with nothing to do, why not join us as we go check out Arcade Super Awesome, a local bar/pinball arcade, complete with a pizza shop downstairs! It's about a 10 minute cab/Uber ride from the Convention Center. A few of us are going to grab some pizza and a few drinks, and play the hell out of some pinball. And we'll STILL be back at the hotel bar in time for last call!

 See everyone in Columbus next weekend. It's going to be insane!

 
  

Hand Carved Krampus Masks by Christian Eberharter

Stunningly beautiful hand carved and painted, one of a kind Tyrolean Swiss Pine Krampus masks created by Christian Eberharter in Austria. Available from KrampusMasks.com. See more of Eberharter's work at his site. 

Midwest Haunters Convention, 2015 - Part Two

If you missed Part One of my Midwest Haunters Convention review, you can read it in all its glory right here!

When we left off, we had just gotten back to our hotel room Saturday afternoon and we were going to get ready for the highly anticipated Masquerade Ball. We had some time to spare, so we decided to have another visit with our old friend, Mamuwalde...

This time, we sat down to watch the 1973 blaxploitation horror sequel, Scream Blacula Scream, co-starring the always sassy Miss Pam Grier. Again, William Marshall owned every scene he was in and gave another stellar performance as the black prince, making this another solid film. And again, I digress...

As we watched the movie, we started getting our costumes and makeup ready for the evening's festivities. This time around, I went with a new character, Dr. Albertin Kyphosis, a mad alchemist with a twisted spine and a fractured psyche. I had worked on the costume for about 3 or 4 weeks, and went with a makeup that I created from reference photos that I had pulled two nights before. The entire thing was completed in about an hour and I was really happy with the way that everything came together. I will have a full blog entry next week, detailing everything with this costume and makeup...

Jim on the other hand, had his costume and makeup ready to go in all of about 10 minutes and it still turned out great!!

Once we were all ready, we made our way over to the Masquerade Ball. And as usual, the array of costumes and makeups was absolutely amazing. I had the camera snapping like crazy...

Now THAT is some Steampunk.

Brad Goodspeed from Haunters Hangout and The Butcher of Provincetown.

Stacey Rager and her family. And Jim...

Hector Turner from Halloween Haunt Calendar.

Duck Dynasty. And Jim...

A killer bat costume, complete with retractable wings.

The infamous Tater from Froggy's Fog as the even more infamous Granny. 

Don't get too close, she's a mean one...

Bart Butler from A Haunter's Life and The Dead Zone Haunted House. 

He stood about 8 feet tall.

As everyone made their way into the large ballroom, the evening's festivities began, including the always-popular Body Art Fashion Show. This year's makeups did not disappoint. I was able to squeeze my way up near the front to get a good vantage point to check out the show...

After the Body Art Fashion Show, I was able to shoot a couple of photos of the Scariest Costume Contest judging.

With everyone running around on stage and the dark lighting, I wasn't able to grab many usable photos, so I retired to the rest of the ballroom to grab shots of all of the partygoers...

(Somehow, she just kept showing up in my photos from the night...)

We had a lengthy discussion on the virtues of all things Ghost...

After a couple/few/some/many cold ones, we scoped out the dance floor, but called it an early evening. Fortunately, the party picked back up by the time we had made our way back to the hotel room and went to bed/passed out... D'oh.


On Sunday, we woke up refreshed/hung over and made our way back to the trade show floor for one last trip through the vendor displays. 

It was a standoff...

I picked up a few odds and ends and made my way over to the Haunters Hangout booth for their big raffle. I had picked up a few tickets, thinking I might have the slightest possibility to maybe take something home. I was surprised by the amount of prizes that had been donated...

It was great seeing hosts Deoblo, JWAL and Brad in the flesh, as well as a few of the show's featured guests.

As JWAL called out the winning ticket numbers for the prizes, I watched people going up to claim their winnings (some even winning two or three times). I laughed thinking that I could get anything with five measly tickets...

And then it happened. See the skull faces behind JWAL's head in the photo above? He called out the winning number. I had to triple-check that the numbers matched the ticket that I was holding. Oh damn, I won!

A really cool, custom foam skull face plaque from VFX Creative Studios. The plaque is about 18" tall and has a sturdy hook on the back for mounting. I was beside myself. I never win anything. But I did now, and I got the chance to go up, get a picture with the guys, and claim my prize.

It was the perfect ending to an incredible weekend, packed full of non-stop mayhem and fun. Each year, the Midwest Haunters Convention is the other highlight to my haunting season. It gets my haunt creativity flowing and is the starting point to the countdown to Halloween. So with the excitement and new ideas still rattling around in my somewhat fuzzy brain, it's time to get down to business and get back into the garage. I have a long list of things to do for 2015 and I have less than 150 days to do it. Are you ready for the big night?


Oh, and it's never too early to start planning ahead. It was just announced the the next edition of the Midwest Haunters Convention will be June 10-12, 2016 in Columbus. Who is going to meet us there!?