HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Bonfires burning bright

Pumpkin faces in the night

I remember Halloween

Dead cats hanging from poles

Little dead are out in droves

I remember Halloween

Brown leafed vertigo

Where skeletal life is known

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember Halloween

Candy apples and razor blades

Little dead are soon in graves

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember Halloween...

The big day is finally here. Our high holiday, Halloween! It's hard to believe that we have already made it through another October, but here we are, basking in the fiery orange glow of All Hallows Eve.

Looking back, it has been a hell of a ride. But it still seems so strange to me in that I won't be getting up like a bolt of lightning, ready to recreate the ghastly magic of Highbury Cemetery tonight. Instead, I'll simply be going to work on Halloween, the first time in over 15 years...

But honestly, I'm okay with it. I wasn't sure that I would be, but having our new neighborhood's trick-or-treat last Sunday night has given me an unexpected week of calm enjoyment. And today I can just relax and really reflect on the season and enjoy myself. 

We were very lucky to have great weather and a great turnout for our trick-or-treat, and it looks like Highbury Cemetery has started a haunting new chapter. There's a calm satisfaction and a small spark of excitement for next year's display already smoldering inside me.

But for today, I'm just going to take it easy. Halloween music cranking all day today, the last of my pumpkin beers and Halloween movies tonight. And I'm super excited for it.

I wanted to take a second and thank each and every one of you who stopped by this month and hung out at the Cemetery. I truly love sharing all my random Halloween thoughts and goodies, and interacting with my fellow haunters and Halloween enthusiasts really keeps me going. I actually still have quite a bit to post, so let's keep this Halloween party going well into November, shall we??

I also want to extend the happiest of Halloweens to all of you, especially my fellow haunters who are battling the elements in order to spread some frightful cheer and fear tonight. It seems that a large number of us across the country will be battling wind, rain, snow, and even fire to try and do what we do. Do what you can do to the best of your abilities, but more importantly  please stay safe. There's always next year and we'll need all of you to keep this wonderful tradition alive and kicking. And screaming.

And finally, don't forget to have fun! This is our night! It's what we have literally spent the last 364 days planning for, so go out and scare the hell out of 'em!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM HIGHBURY CEMETERY!!!

Beware The Haunted House!

Imagine my surprise when picking my son up from school today he tells me that he has something for me. Perplexed, I ask him what it is. He proceeds to pull this out of his backpack, a proud smile glowing across his face...

It is by far the greatest gift a Halloween dad could possibly ask for. A beautifully hand-drawn, fully colored Haunted House picture from your 7-year-old son. I was genuinely moved when I got it, and I couldn't be more proud. Such detail in the tombstone and the green-lit entry way. And you can just sense the fear in the trick-or-treaters standing on the porch!

This will have a permanent place within the Highbury Cemetery office walls! And I do believe we have a young haunter in the making!!

  

The Mummies - "The Fly"

Iconic 90s mummified horror punk campiness bandaged together with the dried, withered remains of that electric buzz of classic lofi garage. THIS is my pre-Halloween jam!! Enjoy everyone, and get ready for the big day tomorrow!!

The Day After...

It feels weird sitting here on October 28th, penning a quick recap of the previous night's trick-or-treat display.

For the first time in over 16 years, we aren't celebrating on Halloween night (as I firmly believe we should be), due to our new neighborhood's schedule: Sunday night, from 5-7 pm. It really doesn't make much sense to me, but I'm not here to complain about it.

After finding out when our trick-or-treat actually was (there were conflicting reports of Saturday or Sunday), I got to scheduling everything in order to be ready for the big night. Being that it would be our first Halloween in the new neighborhood, I wanted to make sure we made a BIG first impression.

By Saturday night, I had everything (albeit in a scaled-back version from last year) staged and ready to go. The only thing posing an issue was the torrential downpouring of rain accompanied by gusting winds.

As I woke up on Sunday morning, I quickly checked the weather forecast. The rain would stop by 9, and the winds would die down by 10. Perfect. Except that didn't happen...

We started setting up at 11, only to be hampered by gusting winds throughout the day. Tombstones were swaying and blowing around and my stomach was in knots. Not to mention the nagging fear that we'd go through the trouble of setting this all up and we'd get no trick-or-treaters. The stress was weighing heavy on me.

As we got closer to show time, the winds finally began to slow down, allowing us to quickly put the full cemetery together. As I stepped back, I took a second to take it all in. It actually looked pretty damn good! The knot in my stomach began to release, but I realized that I still needed to put my costume on with mere minutes to go.

As the clock struck 5, we took our places within the cemetery. And slowly trick-or-treaters showed up. Not as many as I was secretly hoping for, but they still came.

As we really got into our groove, a strange thing happened. The wind died down completely. And the sun broke through the clouds. It's as if the Pumpkin Gods were rewarding us!

And then I noticed my fog machine and chiller setup. PERFECT, lingering plumes of thick, chilled white fog rolled across the entire cemetery, creeping around my tombstones and stretching out into the street, creating the greatest fog display I have ever been able to achieve. It was AMAZING!

Mrs. Highbury snapped this photo as the sun began to set...

Perfection!! I was giddy with what was happening.

Trick-or-treaters, their parents, and neighbors began to file down the street, checking out this new display in their neighborhood. We ended up getting a nice turnout and I was pretty happy with this year's setup. 

As trick-or-treat wound down, it finally got dark enough out to get photos of the display bathed in its truly spooky lighting. I got a collection of great photos that I'll be posting up with a full review after Halloween.

Overall, our first Halloween was a huge success. The nervous planning and stressful setup gave way to a great weather, an ever greater display and a ton of fun with friends, family and new neighbors. We were the talk of my son's school bus this morning, and Highbury Cemetery has planted the first seed in becoming the new neighborhood "Halloween House."

  

The Rainy Jack

So here we are at the last Sunday of October, and unfortunately with the crazy winds and torrential downpours over the last 24 hours, there won't be a Cemetery Sundays segment. With everything else going on, I just didn't have the time to slosh out with my camera...

But late last night, after a brief, windy and rainy trick-or-treat over at brother Scrapes' house, I was able to get my jack-o-lanterns all carved. I wanted to get them set up on the front steps for a quick night time photo session, but the constant downpour kept me from doing so.

I was however, able to get my favorite jacko out for a quick pic. And under the pouring rain I set him up with a tea light, and snapped one single shot before diving back in for cover. This is what I got...

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A post shared by Highbury Cemetery (@highbury_cemetery) on Oct 26, 2019 at 8:35pm PDT

No filters, no Photoshop. Just a quick, spooky photo with a cool light streak looking like something out of a horror film. After getting back inside and looking at it, I couldn't believe what I had captured. Not bad for a quick shot!

And as I sit here typing this out, I'm keeping an eye on the weather. Because tonight is OUR trick-or-treat!! It feels weird that after 17 years, we're not having it on Halloween night, but regardless, I have everything staged and ready to set up for tonight's big show. We're set to reveal Highbury Cemetery to an all-new audience in a new neighborhood. I just hope that people show up...

Last night, the rains were unending and now we have a high wind advisory. But somehow, the Pumpkin Gods are looking down upon us favorably, as the rain has finally stopped and  the winds will die down by noon, giving us enough time to set everything up and perfect weather to celebrate trick-or-treat tonight.

I'm off to tie up those last few ends (like finally printing my haunt shirts!!), and then it's time to do this. If you are having trick-or-treat tonight, I wish you the best of luck and if you had your trick-or-treat last night, I hope that it was glorious!

And if you're in the Akron area with nothing to do tonight, come hang out with us! We're on Alexander Road in Copley, near I-77 and Rt. 18. Our trick-or-treat is from 5-7, but we'll be keeping it going a bit later to hang out and get some night time photos. But be quick! Just like our last location, if you show up too late, you'll miss it!

  

The Misfits - "Hybrid Moments"

A little something to power through a day of prepping for tomorrow night's big show...