Tombstones: the Last Word in Mortality

One big staple of Halloween Haunts are mock graveyards filled with tombstones.  Tombstones come in many forms.  Some come from the store and are made from plastic and Styrofoam.  Others are homemade and crafted from plywood.  My experience, which often requires me to work with what I have on hand, has led me to use materials like cedar shakes, rigid foam insulation, waste paper baskets with wrapping paper and concrete patch mix--see Chapter 4 in 10 Cheap Tricks to Haunt Your Halloween.

All of these materials have their virtues and today my mock cemetery is a mix of commercial and homemade stones in different mediums with some garden sculpture thrown in for good measure.  I like to start early, or rather the beginning of October--see my post "Who Wants to Go First?"-building my boneyard slowly with a few tombstones at a time.  I usually add my Flying Crank Ghost next.  I then incorporate other elements like flame-less candles, bones and Zombies as the Halloween season builds toward the big show on October 31st.

The beginnings of my haunt.  From left to right:concrete patch mix stone, cedar shake crosses and "headstone", and a Styrofoam Celtic Cross in front of a Flying Crank Ghost.

View of the cemetery by night.

From Chapter 4

Now let us take a moment to enjoy some of the great tombstones that popped up on lawns in the 2017 season.

The above is a Halloween store offering.  It has a nice shape to it. I like how the designer has included a string of ghost lights--which are cool all by themselves. They have also clamped a bat onto the tombstone.

Above is a traditional graveyard scene.  These durable, homemade, wooden tombstones have been used by their family for years. They have also built a nice modular fence to add authenticity to the scene.  Another cool thing is the above ground crypt style of one stone in the center.  This is a rare lawn haunt find. While this picture was taken during the day,  at night this display is lit with colorful spotlights.

This lawn has gone with quality homemade stones. They have taken full advantage of the customize-able nature of homemade stones by writing their own rhyming epitaphs.  One stone is even specific to the town it is located in.

One of my favorite memories from my early haunting career was the year that I introduced the cedar shake "stones".  I handed out black permanent markers and the volunteers decorated the plain white shakes with epitaphs from their personal lives.  I still have some of those monuments.

There's nothing wrong with having a little fun with a headstone.  Halloween is about facing your fears.  Particularly your fear of mortality.  So don't worry what your tombstones are made out of; get out your rhyming dictionary and a permanent marker and write something witty.  Then put your slabs in the yard so that they can have the last word in your haunt. 

Below are some real life inspirations.  Enjoy!

Clinton, NJ More than Just a Haunted Mill

The Halloween season is in full swing.  Homes are decorated. Candy is disappearing off of shelves and Christmas decorations are filling the stores. C'est la vie.

Central Jersey residents are  set to enjoy the famed Haunted Mill in the Red Mill Museum Village of Clinton, NJ.  However, Clinton has even more to offer. Residents are busy embellishing their already hauntingly beautiful Victorian homes for All Hallows Eve.

Below are some of the highlight from last Year's decorating contest.

The above home grabbed my attention by combining Halloween with mischief night.  I'm getting a kick out of toilet paper mummy face door.  This season, kits with plastic strips to wrap your door and the giant google eyes to go with are in the stores.  This is just plain fun.  The simplicity of the overall display is refreshing as well.  I like the placement of the bats.  There was definitely an eye for design at work here.

On the other end of the spectrum, below is a home that layered it on.  The decorators chose a trans-formative approach by covering the deck rails with camouflage
fabric to disguise the Victoria finery of the porch and transport the spectator to a medieval dungeon complete with strewn body parts.

I always like it when I see something new, and the bloody sacks are new to me. Nice job!  I also like the extension of the haunt to the fence surrounding the property.

Below is a display based on traditional motifs.  The witch, spider and jack-o-lantern combo is fun and sweet.

While beside the steps is a pair of skeletons in old clothes for a more contemporary add-on.

The final stop on our tour of Clinton is this front yard Cemetery.  I like the addition of a shackled skeleton in prison stripes.

I love seeing the re-imagining of a Victorian home for the Halloween season the gingerbread really adds to the spookiness.

My recommendation for this blog is simple, don't let the season pass you by.  Take a walk in your local downtown you may be surprised what haunting sights await.

Who Wants to Go First?

A pre-Labor Day entry into the Halloween season.

I have seen the question posed, "When is it acceptable to start decorating for Halloween?"  If you are like me you have been champing at the bit since last November 1st or at least Memorial Day.  Not because you wish for the summer to pass quickly, but because you know that some of the best times are in the fall.  And Halloween is certainly one of the best of times.

So who wants to go first? One answer is an eager beaver in Quakertown, NJ.  The display pictured above cropped-up in mid-August and certainly got my attention as the first public display of Hauntification for the 2018 season.

What I find brilliant? The pure exuberance of it.  That is a lot of dedication to Halloween very early in the season.

What would I add to the scene?  I would install a spotlight at floor level--of course I would be careful to keep it out from under foot in a doorway.  Which means that I would place it on the right side of the greeter and wrap the cord behind him.  A light color, like orange or yellow would would make him stand out while casting a big shadow on the door and porch ceiling.  This would make him twice the prop.

I tip my pointy hat to the seasonally precocious.

Getting an early start circa 1983.

Laughing Our Pumpkins Off

The skits after "Weekend Update" on  Saturday Night Live can either be utterly forget-able or legendary.  A year ago, who would have thought that "The Haunted Elevator" sketch would have been the latter.  For those with early bedtimes or a lack of television, I will elaborate.

A couple of haunt-goers board the 100 Floors of Frights ride anticipating the scare of a lifetime.  The couple are seated in an elevator with an operator who has no shortage of haunting puns.  As the doors of the elevator open to different floors the couple are assailed by different scary characters like a suicidal bride and a demonic chef.  Then the door opens on Tom Hanks (the evening's host) wearing one of those three-piece, jack-o-lantern-print suits that emerged on the market some years back.  Tom declares his name to be David Pumpkins and says that he will, "Scare the hell out of you!"  He and the two b-boy skeletons bust out into a spastic, urban, dance routine at the end of which David asks, "Any questions?"  The couple are stunned not with terror, but with the lameness of the routine.

As the skit progresses the elevator door opens multiple times, sometimes revealing horror scenes but other times revealing more David S. Pumpkins themed entertainment.  When the couple complains to the elevator operator about the preponderance of scenes involving the pumpkin-suit-clad man and his dancing skeletons he remarks, "It is 100 floors of frights, they are not all going to be winners."  Finally the door opens on just the b-boy skeletons who wish the couple a Happy Halloween.  The couple appear annoyed momentarily until the booming voice behind them of David Pumpkins asks, "Any questions?"  Then they are rightly scared witless.

The skit went viral and those suits--the hybrid professional wear and Halloween costume that had been languishing in the back of costume shops-went flying off the shelves.  A mythology sprang-up and the response to the character has been so strong that Loren Michaels has executive produced an animated special to air on NBC at 11:30 PM on Saturday, October 28, 2017.  More on that can be found at Deadline.com.

So why discourse on a Saturday Night Live skit?  In actuality, I wanted to write this post last year.  The first chapter in my book, 10 Cheap Tricks to Haunt Your Halloween, covers ideas like using humor in your haunt and having your spectators experience a range of emotions.  The haunt portrayed in this sketch uses both these ideas.  This seemingly goofy scene of skeletons who can't dance and a man in a silly suit that has no connection to anything is what gets the biggest scream in the end.  At one point the elevator operator remarks, "The scariest thing to the mind is the unknown."  I could not agree more, it is in our imagination that fear originates and it is the unknown that leaves the most to the imagination.  Furthermore, when we let our guard down that is when we are most susceptible to the unexpected and that is when we are most vulnerable to a sudden fright.  Laughter causes us to let our guard down; if you really want to scare someone get them to laugh first.  Then take them by surprise.

Nine million plus YouTube views cannot be wrong.

As always, please haunt responsibly.

Any Questions?

Oh Sweet Terror!

Not only is this the season of mocking our fears, but it is also the season of candy. Sure sweet treats are important to a lot of holidays, but, given our modern celebration's ties to beggars night, they are the superstars of Halloween. It is no surprise, then, that candy stores are some of the first places to decorate for the season.

Here's a no brainer, Lambertville's La Chocolate Box, has its window filled with vintage-look cat and pumpkin-head figures.  They also have black branches woven with a black bulb light string to create a spooky thicket against the glass while black vines and bats lead to the ceiling where a dark canopy awaits.

Minette's Candies in Frenchtown, has kept it seasonal with hay bales and artificial squashes including Rouge Vif D' Etampes pumpkins--the preference of Cinderella's fairy Godmother.  It is look that can work from September through November with a little tweaking.  Here the scene takes an eerie bend with the addition of a black light tree and crows.  Amazing how one simple addition makes the difference between fall and Halloween.

The Goody Bag & Basket Company in New Hope, PA has never been a shrinking violet when it comes to the macabre.  Here they show off a split personality with a warm orange window and a sinister green window. The former with autumnal decorations and Jelly Bellies. The latter features everybody's favorite green, electrified, Victorian monster and old favorites like Pop Rocks, wax fangs and licorice pipes.  I like the juxtaposition of the two seasonal windows.

Where do I find brilliance?  All these windows make great use of vertical elements, the vines in Lambertville, the tree in Frenchtown and Frankenstein with green lights in New Hope, that move the eye both up and down to take in the entire scene rather than keeping the elements at normal eye-level.  Although it is difficult to see in the pictures they also suspended things from their respective ceilings which is great way to get more elements into your scene and make it more robust.  Additionally, everybody was well merchandised with smaller thematic items.

Don't let these frightful windows scare you off, take a trip downtown and see how your own Main Street is celebrating this season. While you are there you may want to pick up some sweet indulgences for yourself, how much is between you and your dentist.

Fright in Frenchtown

I recently found myself in Frenchtown, NJ and before I knew it I was taking stroll through the town. While being one of the more sedate Delaware river towns, Frenchtown offers sublime vistas, historic architecture and small town charm. Moreover, like its urban sister to the south--Lambertville, it is picking up steam as a Halloween town.

Pictured below is a new display.  This exhibit features those very popular skeletons. I find the versatility of these guys amazing. Here the designer choose to use a rocking chair, possibly already on the porch. Also joining in the fun, man's best skeleton, skeletal dog. Notice how the designer gave these skeletons activities. The dog is chomping on a rubber chicken.

Our lesson here: allow your props to interact with each other.

Frenchtown also offers some natural inspiration for the holiday as well.  Check out the historic Frenchtown cemetery.

Nothing like Edwardian monuments to put you in the holiday spirit.

Haunt on!

Happy Fall 2017!

The leaves are turning, the crows are cawing and the sun is setting early. Fall has arrived and it is bringing with it the excitement of the Halloween season. We are just getting up and running for the holiday, but to get everybody in the mood here are some pix from a haunt I saw last fall.

 As you can see, the homeowner was not shy about their feelings for the holiday.  He or she touched on a lot of classic themes in this display.  These include: a cemetery, giant spider webs, a witch, and a ghoulish wedding ceremony (gives new meaning to "...until death do us part").

 

There are a number of things that add brilliance to this display.  For starters, the designer was not afraid to accessorize the props.  Just because a prop was made a certain way, doesn't mean you can't add to it.  Check out the witch silhouette, a lantern has been hung from one hand, a broom placed in the other and a fire pit and kettle have been placed before her.  Other standouts include the blood and crow on the tombstone and the ghost in the cage.

Another great idea, a significant amount of this display is in light colors like white and gray.  Light colors will make it easier to see this yard haunt at night and to "paint" it with colored lights.  I would recommend a weather-resistant color wheel to give the scene movement and to keep it changing throughout the night.

This is the first time I have seen a burnt-tree made for a yard haunt. Kudos to them for bringing something new to the table.

 The home owners have also managed to use the various levels of the house's facade to their fullest extent.  It is always a good idea to be upwardly mobile in your haunt.

And finally, who can resist a skeleton with a little attitude.  Haunt-on bone-head!

A Walk in Lambertville

Let's face it, on any fair-weather day or evening, Lambertville, NJ is a great urban hike.  Lambertville is home to numerous historic homes and buildings that have been meticulously restored and adaptively reused.  It also contains numerous bars, restaurants and inns overlooking the gentle flow of the Delaware River.

However, when October rolls around, Lambertville takes on an additional persona.  It becomes a Halloween city.  Private residences are bedecked with ghouls and goblins then bathed in black light in celebration of the spooky holiday.

Earlier this month I took a walk through the streets of Lambertville while many of the standout exhibits were being assembled by their creators.  Below are some examples of brilliance that I found in a few short blocks.

First up: this resident took the typical sheet ghost to the next level by creating a faceless specter.  What a cool way to imagine a ghost.  He or she also made sure the ghost was accessorized with skeletal hands clutching chains and a lantern.

This Frankenstein-green house has made the most of its structure by using the door to display a mural of the body of the revived monster.  The head is above the door; presumably trick-or-treaters will enter through the belly of the beast.

This Victorian inn has gone skeletal.  These popular, poseable, plastic skeletons have been making the rounds—not surprising considering they are weather proof and light weight.  I find brilliance here because the designer dismantled one of the skeletons and used the upper and lower sections separately for comedic effect.

Some other standouts include: a haunt based on Van Gogh’s (or is it Van Ghost’s) Starry Night (not pictured)—I would have never even thought of that as a theme; and a pirate ship on a deck (not pictured)—which is an excellent exploration of theme.

Of course, no tour of Lambertville in October would be complete without a stop at the home of Dolores Dragan on North Union Street.  This spectacular black light installation grows annually.  It was even filmed for TLC’s Four Houses in 2012.  This celebrated home does not need me to gush over its genius, but this haunt is the complete package and well worth the trip.

If you have an evening free between now and Halloween: don comfortable walking shoes, grab a flashlight, park on the edge of town, and to spend an hour or two enjoying the sights.  While you are there make a night out of it by trying one the restaurants, coffee shops or public houses. 

For more information about fun activities in Lambertville and along the Delaware River check out: http://delawarerivertowns.com/.

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