Highbury Cemetery Logo, 2016

October 1st. It's finally here! Time for another Countdown To Halloween!

I'd like to welcome any first-time visitors, and welcome back all the regulars. It's time to get this annual Halloween shindig started! 

October. Another 31 posts in 31 days. A huge celebration leading up to the grand high holiday of Halloween!

As in previous years, I always like to get the countdown started by revealing this year's haunt logo. A little creativity to really get the juices flowing. I've been hammering on this for the past month with great feedback from a few close friends and family members, and I think we really nailed it! As in previous years, this logo will be used for posters, stickers and that all important annual t-shirt!

Ladies and gentlemonsters, boils and ghouls, I present the 2016 edition of the Highbury Cemetery yard haunt logo...

Year thirteen. It's hard to believe that we've been going that long, but the excitement still flows and there's no sign of stopping! The annual countdown is on and I'm giddy with October elation!


Be sure to stop back daily, because the posts will be hitting you nonstop. Halloween art, Halloween music, Halloween props and everything else Halloween. And don't forget the annual Cemetery Sundays, where I tour local cemeteries with my camera and post up photos of all the old, beautifully ornate tombstones and mausoleums. And if that isn't enough, stop by for Freebie Fridays, where I share the wonderful sounds of my collection of old novelty Halloween records and cassettes.


October is finally here. It's time to celebrate!


 

The Countdown To Halloween...

The annual Countdown To Halloween blogfest is nearly here! 31 posts in 31 days, celebrating all things Halloween, culminating in the unveiling of our annual, one-night-only yard haunt display.

Every October I get really excited for this and 2016 is shaping up to be quite the celebration. I have a ton of new posts in the can, just waiting for the official start! Halloween art, Halloween music, Halloween photos, Halloween freebies, and yes, Halloween contests! It's the big party over at the cemetery! Join me daily, starting Saturday, October 1st and we will get this party started.

Or better yet, join in on the fun. Head over to the Countdown to Halloween blog, get your own badge and get your Halloween posts a'going!! 

Just remember: No Costume, No Candy.

  

Midwest Haunters Convention, 2016 - Part 2

When we left off, James, Chad and I had gone back to our room early Saturday afternoon to down some "beverages," watch some classic Scooby Doo, and to get ready for the evening's big event - the Masquerade Party.

2016 was my sixth time attending MHC, and with each year that I attend, I am able to whittle down the prep time it takes to get into my costume. This year, I was able to get completely into character in just under an hour and a half. Of course, James and Chad are both smarter than I and were able to get into their costumes in an astonishing SEVEN MINUTES. Oh well, I had more makeup to apply then they did...

Upon heading out the door and over to the elevator, we immediately ran into Ken Sheldon, who graciously took our photos!

Photos by Ken Sheldon.

When we got to the party, I immediately set about taking photos of all the incredible costumes and makeups. The MHC Masquerade Party is the highlight of the convention weekend and this year did not disappoint. 

For the first time in all the years I have been going, I was outside in the lobby taking pictures and talking with friends and I actually missed the Body Art Fashion Show. Oops! Luckily, I was able to track a few of the models down and got a few pictures before heading in for the rest of the costume contests and then to get our groove on.

Here, in no particular order are some of the amazing costumes that were on display.

Our annual group photo, taken and sponsored by PromoSocial. (l to r: Chad, James, me)

Stacey Rager and family (and some hooligans...)

Dave and Tammy Boston, from Boston Haunted Manor.

Christopher Weeks from Spyder's Realm, who flew in all the way from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Damn!

 

"Hauntzilla" Melissa Winton from Haunt Shirts. How the hell did she get angel wings??

 I laugh every time I see this. JWAL Twistedseed as "Dirty Cop." He just made you feel so "icky"...

 

1. Wear a costume.

2.  Hand out treats.

3. Never blow out a jack-o-lantern.

4. Always check your candy.

The belle of the ball herself (and winner of the Scariest Zombie contest AND Best Kids' Costume), Miss Alexis Skye!!

 

A few of the models from the Body Art Fashion Show. A big draw every year, for obvious reasons!

(Here's your photo, Chad. Dirty old man...)

 

The welder tears up the dance floor!

 

After a long night of socializing, imbibing and generally getting crazy, we finished it all off with a nightcap at the hotel bar with a big group of friends (many of whom had already gotten out of their costumes. But not me!!).

Luckily, I downed enough water and Gatorade before passing out so that I was up and (relatively) ready to go early Sunday morning to check out William Ramsay's free class on skeleton corpsing. It was pretty much a how-to on Allen Hopps' "plastic dropcloth and a heatgun" method that I had used in the past, but it was still nice to get up and get moving early. 

After the class, I met up with James and Chad. We took one last lap around the tradeshow floor, made our final purchases, said our goodbyes and departed for home.

Without a doubt, it was another successful and incredibly fun weekend. I picked up a few necessities for the upcoming haunt season and I have been fully recharged to jump back into this year's monstrous prop projects.

A huge thanks to my roomies, James and Chad, as I had an absolute blast the entire weekend. Only with you two could I get away with acting like such a dork and have so damn much fun doing it!

And thank you for checking out my recap, but now I gotta go. Only 137 days until Halloween, and I'm supercharged with creative energy. Look for me in the garage from now until the end of October!! 

  

Midwest Haunters Convention, 2016 - Part 1

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!

Giant saw props from Slaughterhouse Studios.

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...

The fog-up showdown between Froggy's Fog and Master Fog.
The winner? This girl!

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!!