Sunday, October 30, 2011

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

It's Up and Spooky

So, the plan to have everything up before the 10th proved too much for this yard haunter. The main delay was caused by last year's hail storm that pummeled the styrofoam headstones and put dime-sized holes in every surface imaginable. Most of the tombstones escaped a large amount of damage and were easy to fix; paint. The obelisk and mausoleum fared the worst. I was able to use some paint washes to hide most of the damage. It even gave it a weather-beaten look. The mausoleum wasn't nearly as lucky. It was so badly damaged from the hail and storage that I had to completely re-imagine it as a headstone instead. The results can be seen in the pictures below.




After the debacle of last year's overly-dispersed haunt I, again, increased the density. The stones are closer together and have a more crowded look. It's certainly less realistic, but gives a better impression.






I added a green flood light and eliminated the red spot. Last year's haunt had too sinister of a feel. I was deeply concerned that TOTs might be scared and less likely to come up and take a look. The red always put me off. It suggested cruelty and evil. I wasn't going to have any of that this year. My own son is 2 and he was really excited to see the lawn. Keeping the primary colors green and blue gives the yard a spooky look without any gory stuff. It makes families and kids more comfortable.






There are still a few pieces to install. Most of those, however, deal with Spooky Gulch. Primarily, I have to finish two signs and a few decorative parts. Those props will be added when I have a moment.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Countdown Begins

It's October 1st and the countdown to Halloween has begun. This year marks the last year Spooky Acres will be held at this house. We are waiting for our new house to be built. We are extremely excited to be moving, but the future look of Spooky Acres is fuzzy. That, however, is in the future. Right now I need to think about setting up the haunt. Setup will be on the 7th and I promise some pictures.