Creeper Coffin Skate Deck


Skateboarding and horror movies. The foundation of my youth. 

And Waxwork Records has just combined the two into a cool new project release. Behold! The coffin-shaped skateboard deck, featuring Creepshow graphics from amazing artist, Ghoulish Gary Pullin!







Like what you see and want one for your wall? The pre-release is on now, but you have to hurry, because orders end TONIGHT!  Order yours here.

Should I or shouldn't I, should I or shouldn't I? I'm really going back and forth on this one, but I think I'm probably going to throw down for one. It's just too cool. And it reminds me of the classic (and VERY collectible) Misfits and Samhain coffin decks from the 80s!






  

Transworld 2015 Video by Deoblo


Deoblo from Haunters Hangout put together a great video tour of the 2015 Transworld show floor, highlighting an array of insane animated props, masks and other Halloween haunt goodies. Check out the bus tour and Hangout booth footage toward the end. Someday, I'll make it to Transworld. Someday...

Until then, I'm going to get ready for MHC! Great video, Deoblo!





The Halloween House


Dolores Dragan creates fantastic blacklight figures for Halloween that draw thousands of visitors from all over the area to her quiet street in Lambertville, New Jersey. She has a special reason for working so hard on her Tim Burton-esque figures, which delight both young and old.

Dolores was one of the featured guests on last night's episode of Haunters Hangout. We got to meet Dolores and hear the backstory to this unique and wonderful haunt!



Calabrese - "Born With A Scorpion's Touch"


Believe in Rock and Roll!




Hauntcast: Post-Mortem


Sometimes, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. 

For me, that was the case with the hilariously awesome Halloween haunt-themed podcast, Hauntcast. In 2014, Chris Baker and crew called it quits, leaving a noticeable void on my iPod. Now honest truth be told, I was unfortunately one of the reasons that Hauntcast called it quits. 

After Hauntcast came back (the first time) as a subscription-based podcast, I never threw down the money to subscribe. For some reason, I always found something else on the list to throw my money at. I even remember talking to Revenant at MHC in 2013 about it, feeling bad that I hadn't yet subscribed. And yet, I continued to put it off. And last year, upon hearing about the demise of Hauntcast, I distinctly remember feeling bad for never subscribing. I felt kinda bad about it, because I really enjoyed the podcast...

So imagine my joy when last month, the announcement was made that Hauntcast was being exhumed! And as an added bonus, the podcast would again be released free of charge. I quickly went and downloaded the new episode and loaded it onto the old iPod. 

Listening to the new episode instantly put a smile on my face, as I remembered all of the great episodes of the past. And a lot of the old segments were back, choc full of great and useful information. After listening to the episode in its entirety, I realized that Hauntcast was, without a doubt, the best haunt-themed podcast available. There are other haunt-themed podcasts available that I really enjoy, but Hauntcast's sometimes (most of the time?) crude humor mixed in with insightful and informative segments make it my go-to podcast for all things Halloween and haunting.

And only now do I realize what a great asset it is to me, so this time around I won't dawdle. The podcasts are now free, including all of the old episodes, but Chris is asking for donations to help with the show. And all donations over $20 are now eligible for some really cool prizes. Donations must be in by March 30th to be eligible for the drawing, so why not go over and download all of the episodes and why not throw a couple of bucks their way to help support a great show. I'm heading over right now to do something I probably should have done a few years ago... 

Chris, JT, Rev, Shell and the rest of the crew: it's great to have you back!





 

The Peruvian Stigmas


Stigma:  noun, plural stigmata [stig-muh-tuh, stig-mah-tuh, -mat-uh]

1. A mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one's reputation.
 
2. (Medicine/Medical) A mental or physical mark that is characteristic of a defect or disease.
 
 
 
During a 1984 excavation in the remote, outlying areas of the Madre de Dios region of Cusco, Peru, archaeologists discovered a shallow, unmarked tomb located in an area away from the general cohabitation region of what was to be believed the uncontacted Maschco-Piro tribe.
 
This grave area contained two skeletal remains, both of which showed signs of significant cranial abnormality. The two cranial specimens, as documented below, displayed large amounts of calcified growth and structural deformity.
 
Both specimens were also wrapped in loincloths in a way which suggests that both were ostracized from the tribe, most likely due to the deformities displayed in each.
 
 
 
Cranium Specimen Number 1
Cat. 103.01.x hghbry
 
Specimen displays large deposits of calcium nodes, predominantly in the frontal lobe area. Also present is a large structural piercing located above the right occular socket. Piercing appears to be inflicted from a sharp object, approximately one half-inch in diameter. Fabric material has been wrapped around the circumference of the cranium and has been bound vertically with a jute rope. A secondary rope has been wrapped diagonally across the right occular area.
 
 



  
 
 
 
 
Cranium Specimen Number 2
Cat. 104.02.x hghbry
 
Specimen displays large deposits of calcium nodes, predominantly in the frontal and rear cranial areas. Also present is a large area of smoothing across the top of the cranium. Fabric material has been wrapped around the occular sockets and has been bound with a jute rope.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
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Here are the first two new foam cast skulls for 2015. I picked up right where I left off last year, when I showed the Six Skulls of Osteopetrosis, and I'm trying to refine the process with each casting. This is still a loose process, but I really like the way each skull comes out of the mold. Some dry, some still wet (which then gets exposed to the air and expands further to create the "Calcium deposits" that I describe above), some complete, some fragmented. I'm going to keep going with this process, as I think it gives each skull its own unique look and gives me the chance to write a quick back story about each one. Be sure to check out my post on the Six Skulls of Osteopetrosis, as I give a full how-to on my skull making process.
 
 
   

The Scare Factor's Haunted House Directory


I came across a cool new website yesterday - The Scare Factor - an updated online directory of all haunted attractions across the US and Canada. What a great resource! All haunts conveniently collected by state and reviewed in one location.




And who knew that my home state of Ohio was the hotspot with an incredible 95 haunts listed!?! I will definitely be using this site as a reference during the October haunt season this year. Time to start saving up now...