Post-Halloween Wrap-Up

We had around 180 TOTs. Every year we buy candy in response to how much we went through last year. I guess next year we'll have to buy just a little more.

One thing I was a little sad to see was the paucity of home-made costumes. Very few of the TOTs were wearing a costume that had that home-made look. I have to admit that our son wore a store-bought puppy costume, but he is a year old. For our sanity a pre-made costume was best. When he gets older and starts making decisions about what he wants to be then we'll make his costume. As I was looking at the Iron Men and Spider Men I started thinking about all the costumes I had as a child. My favorite would have to be Sherlock Holmes. I even had an authentic scottish deerstalker.

Overall, it was a fun night! Even with the adult TOTs, I still love this holiday!

Almost Halloween

My decorating energy has been devoted to creating games and other bits for my son's first birthday. We decided on a pirate theme and that led me to creating a pirate bean-bag toss game, and sign along with a sign for a treasure hunt game. I also created some crates that would be at home in the hold of ship that sails the bounding mane.

I crafted these with the old stand-by; white polystyrene. I would love to have an opportunity to use the blue or pink form, but you can't find it here. So, the white foam pellets are everywhere. However, the signs look really good. With the paint treatment I choose they have a comic quality that isn't too scary and completely appropriate for a child's birthday.

Depending on next year's birthday theme I might repurpose the signs into Spooky Gulch which, regrettably, did not make an appearance in this year's haunt.

The Spirit of Elias Cauphen

The whole family went out to the store and when we returned we found, what I could only assume to be, the spectral manifestation of Elias Cauphen. He was lying on the stone stoop of the Cauphen Famlily mausoleum quietly contemplating the hereafter. We went over to say hello and when we approached he vanished. Perhaps this is the very spirit that was scratching at the headstones?

Cats!

I don't know if they are daemon cats or regular naughty cats, but some clawed creature has been attacking the tombstones. Being made of styrofoam, the tombstones are easily victimized by sharp claws. So I decided to go out and try to reapir the damage. The first step is to paint the white exposed styrofoam and prep it for the top-coat. After that I can go back and touch up the grey with the spray paint. It'll look good as new.

Spooky Acres is Up and Scary!

Well, it's up. As for scary; that depends. I am a little disappointed with the look this year. The good thing is that by spreading out the tombstones and monuments, the haunt looks bigger. I also like the way the headstones are arranged.

What I don't like is how distracting the lights are. They are out in the open more than they have ever been and they are a little too visible. I would like to hid them more, but I am committed to spending nothing. I was thinking about using a couple of cardboard boxes painted black. That part will take some heavy pondering. In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures. One caveat. These photos were taken with out new camera and I haven't become an expert in it yet. With that in mind, please be kind to my photography skills.

You can see the lights clearly.

Brother Claude and the Monument

The Cauphen Family Mausoleum

North end of the yard.

The skull is back with a bow!

The purple light shining on the foot of the coffin will be exchanged for a regular light.

The Wind

Monday evening the baby, the wife, and I went outside to put up the halloween cemetery. It was a nice evening in phoenix. The wind was gentle and the air was cool. In other words, it was perfect decorating weather. We put everything up and I was very happy with the new lay-out. We went to bed and tuesday came.

Tuesday was a different story. The morning started out cool and cloudy. At about noon, the wind started to pick up. Normally, I am very confident that Sppoky Acres will not blow away. I have everything staked pretty well in the ground but with this particular wind my confidence was shaken. The wind proved to be a real problem. I was concerned that all my work would blow away. The headstones wiggled nervously in the wind. The rain smacked into the side of the faux mausoleum. Then there was the hail.

Yes, hail. Phoenix is not know for its hail. But we were given the gift of chickpea sized hail that pummled the haunt. I was outside when it started and I was pummeled in the head. To protect myself I had to take the mausoleum from its foundation and use it as an improvised shield. My wife and I both took turns grabbing things to prevent them from flying away.

A little later in the evening there was part 2 of the storm. The hail increased in size to walnuts and the wind was even stronger. By that time, however, most of the decorations had been moved to the back patio. We didn't loose anything, but I will have to re-install the decorations tomorrow.

Buffet Decorations

The buffet decorations are done and it looks wonderful. The haunted house centerpiece was a gift from my wife for my birthday. The remainder of the decorations (with the exception of the eyeballs) were either recycled or remade. I could go on and on about the process, but Ill let the pictures speak for me.

The book above was made according to Dave Lowe's easy process. It's a little difficult to see in the photo, but there is a spooky Adney-style skull on the cover.

And this is the buffet in all it's spooky glory. We're happy with the outcome and it adds something extra to a part of the house that always looked a little drab. Since there isn't going to be anything major added to the front yard, I think that focusing on the inside of the house is a good way to feel like I'm adding something to the house.