New Zombie Contact Lenses

So in my last installment, I made mention of the fact that I didn't get my new zombie contact lenses in time for the Midwest Haunters Convention Masquerade Ball. They did in fact show up the day that I was already at the convention. Oh well, at least they showed up and I finally had a chance to pop them in to see how they looked.

I ended up ordering the Anakin Sith lenses from Demon Eyez. I wanted to go with more of a "Walking Dead" style zombie look, so I ordered a set that had more of an "infected" look as opposed to the traditional "whiteout" style (which I still have as a backup set).

They did take about 2 weeks to show up, but I didn't realize that they shipped from jolly old England. And even though they did take a while, I'm still really pleased with them. Very vibrant colors and cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. With a little bit of makeup, they will draw a lot of attention when they make their public debut at an upcoming zombie walk...

I even had a minute to photoshop a quick mockup of what the original zombie costume should have looked like with the new lenses. With a few color tweaks, this will be a big upgrade for the 2013 haunt season.

Midwest Haunters Convention, 2013

Well, another year of the Midwest Haunters Convention is in the books. And of course it didn't go off without its share of hiccups for the Highbury crew...

We ordered new contact lenses 2 weeks before the convention's masquerade party, as as you probably guessed, that did not show up in time. They did show up, however, that Saturday afternoon (when I was already in Columbus at the convention). Awesome.

And then of course, Scrapes got hit with a stomach virus Friday and couldn't go. Which meant that I had to go to the show solo. Luckily, a few of my fellow local home haunter friends were in attendance, so I just stuck by them like a lost puppy dog for the day.


But even through all of that, the 2013 Midwest Haunters Convention was a total blast! Vendors displaying insane props in their booth installations, amazing makeup artists battling it out for top honors and drunken lunatics masquerading around until the wee hours of the morning. Just what I needed to kick off my 2013 build season!

I had my camera snapping wildly as I strolled through the convention floor, taking mental notes for future props and snagging catalogs and other swag for later reference. I got to talk with a ton of great people and got to see their incredible work throughout the trade show floor...

Don't get too close. He split open and had an animated spitter in his chest.

 Push the button and watch the sack pulsate. Ewww!

Amazing animated mannequins with some of the best movement I've ever seen.

Animated doggie that foamed at the mouth. Nice doggie!

Damn, I love the props that Creepy Collection bring to the show!

 

And after all that, the day was still only half done! I made my way back to my hotel room and caught a quick nap before it was time to get ready for the masquerade ball. With a newly updated makeup kit, I made my transformation into the zombie, Highbury, and made my way to the party - camera in one hand, old rusty lantern in the other...

Selfie with the old lenses before heading up to the madness.

 

Alien with a retractable 10-foot wingspan and illuminated teeth. Nice!

 

Amazing automaton with glowing lights and spinning hands. All balanced on stack shoes with no heel. Calf muscles strained by the end of the night?

 

And let's not forget about the annual body paint art show!

I would have gotten more photos if it weren't for all of the dirty old men in the front row jockeying for position! I did get a lot of photos of tops of heads and hands holding cell phone cameras. Next year I'll get to the stage early...

   

Kitty!

 

Congrats to Reggie and Brooke from the Svenpuss crew on winning the "Ms. Scary Midwest 2013" contest!

So after all of that, I dragged my (un)dead behind to bed. A few bumps in the road, but it was still a success and more importantly, a ton of fun. Mark it in your calendars to get to the Midwest Haunters Convention June 6-8, 2014. I'll see you there!