574, 547 and 715!

We're still cleaning up and putting away... and doing a little planning for next year. I've already started on one of at least two new songs for the music and light show next year. :-)

Our front yard no longer looks like the Addams Family, but the back yard has a ways to go yet.

But amidst the putting away and organizing, we needed to get all the donations sorted and delivered to the food bank before Thanksgiving; so we spent most of the day gathering, sorting, counting and organizing all the canned and other assorted goods our visitors donated this year. It was quite a haul!!!

First, since I haven't yet published our totals for the year; over the 3 nights we were open this year we had a total of 715 visitors (another record for us) - not counting repeats. Halloween night alone brought 392 terrified visitors.

And because of those generous patrons - as well as many that just stopped by to drop off donations - we are very happy to announce another record; we collected 547 items this year - weighing in at 574 pounds! 

We just finished loading the pickup and look forward to dropping it all off in the morning!

Happy Holidays!
-Creepy Chris

 

FIrst Two Nights - and the FRONT PAGE of the Fairfax Times Newspaper

So we opened Friday night (10/25) to just over 110 visitors... and continued on Saturday night (10/26) with over 200 more visitors. Screams were constant through both nights, and there was a reported pee-tality in the mine shaft!

We had a great crew and things went very smoothly both nights.
 

10/25/2013 Creepy Nights Cast

Gregg MacDonald (the reporter from the Fairfax Times) even stopped by to present us with some hard copies of Friday's paper - where we made the FRONT PAGE!

Front Page of the Fairfax Times Newspaper 10/25

And a photo of the Saturday night crew with Gregg as well;

10/26/2013 Creepy Nights Crew plus Fairfax Times Reporter Gregg MacDonald

 
Keeping our fingers crossed for a rain-free Halloween night! See you there!
 

S C O R E !!!

Been a HAUNTINGLY BUSY couple weeks but I wanted to share a couple things...

We gather props year round (in fact sometimes years in advance) and this year's haunt was on different I'd been searching for 55 gallon drums for our toxic waste area for at least 6 months, and from the time we decided to do a field hospital many months ago we've been looking for those small details that make it more realistic. Hospitals are tough to do well because to be convincing you need equipment that looks (and typically is) very expensive.

We had planned out most of our props anyway, even coming up with cheap alternatives for the hospital beds/cots - since even army style cots aren't cheap if you don't already have several laying around - and we didn't.

So about a week before we open a doctor's office in the medical complex where Catherine works shut down, selling everything on the premises as an estate sale.

Other home haunters out there will appreciate this even more (I know I'd be jealous) but talk about lucking out...

If you've ever dare shopped for hospital gurneys on EBay or similar - you'd find that even used they run $1200-$1500.

Working EKG machine

3 hospital gurneys and 2 IV stands

Catherine got us 3 - for $25 each!!!
Plus a couple IV stands, an "Exam room" sign... and - wait for it...

A WORKING (Hewlett Packard)EKG machine - with leads ($25!)

Took the truck over to pick them all up Friday morning before our opening night!

Probably going to pick up a couple more items too before they finally shut down the office next week!

It's beginning to look a lot like... #Halloween!

It's been an exhausting couple of months but things are finally starting to look very Halloween-y.

The mine shaft is creepy and dark, the toxic dump has all but its final toxic touches done, the graveyard is taking shape, the decontamination tunnel sprouted this past weekend, the hospital area has taken shape and awaits its first blood, the giant web out front is CRAWLING with spiders, and the morgue is already lined up with bodies. We even revamped several old favorite animated props - look for the "well to hell" in its new reincarnation! What else could you ask for? Oh and did we mention we'll have quite a few more scareactors than we've had before!

We'll be putting some signs out along the local streets this week and I plan to paint a new hours-of-operation sign for the front fence this week. As a reminder (the show schedule is up on our web page at http://www.creepynights.org/2013_show_schedule.html ) but tour nights are the weekend before Halloween (Friday 10/25 and Saturday 10/26) plus Halloween night (10/31); 7-10 pm each night. Feel free to park in front of the house - we'll have some cones and reflectors guiding you). 

We got listed in quite a few directories this year so we anticipate a crowd. We also may be getting a visit from the Virginia Lottery folks who have promised to stop by one evening with some giveaways! 

A shot of the toxic dump area: 

Scaredy Cat has been busy detailing; a few previews of the areas as they come along. First the Field Hospital:

Next the morgue:

More updates when I get a chance to get some more photos! We'll definitely get some shots after we spray the entire hospital area with blood and add the toxic "goo" to the toxic dump area.... ;-)

Light Show Premier 2013

We made it. The Halloween music and light show went online on schedule tonight - October 1st, 2013!

The massive spider web that covers most of the front yard is rockin' and rollin' - even the cocooned victims are singing along. If you pass by, roll down your windows or just tune your car radio to FM 91.1 to listen in on the tunes - each of which was custom synchronized to the 16-channel light show. 

The show comes on at 5PM nightly and shuts off at 9:30pm weeknights and 10:30pm on Friday and Saturday nights. The light show will run through October 31st - then it's gone! Below is a short video I took while we were testing it - just a fast cycling of all the lights:

Also thanks in large part to help from Will Bentley (and Gabriel) this past weekend we finished the mine shaft structure assembly and wiring - including the thunder and lightning system that RATTLES the entire back yard! It's a massive 20'x20' enclosure full of surprises; and with luck we'll get most of the detailing done this coming weekend.

The toxic area is also coming along nicely... We have several more large items to move in there, but here's a preview of how it's starting to look:
 

Stay tuned... some VERY COOL news to be announced soon!
 

Things are coming together!

We got LOADS done this weekend. We worked  8-9 hour days both Saturday and Sunday building and setting up; with Will on Saturday and Will, Rosa, and crew on Sunday.

Our first goal Saturday was to get the secret passage in the mine shaft (re) assembled. With the very un-level ground out back it was more of a challenge than anticipated, but after we struggled with the first couple panels we found our groove and the rest came together much quicker.

After that tarps rapidly went up around the perimeter and we began laying out pallets that will serve as barriers in the maze-y part of the mine shaft.

 Next we moved on to the Toxic Dump area. We're creating a fenced-in area where the toxic "zombidium" extracted from the mine is stored; and where infected individuals claw at the visitors passing by...

We had the large sand area from a previous swimming pool setup, so we built a frame around it and mounted wire to it. We also strung up a pair of tarps that will hide the area from view until people leaving the mine shaft come around the corner where it begins. 

 The "compound".

 Close up of the bottom of the fence, corroded and eaten through by the toxic "zombidium" and some of its victims!

Final touches on this later will include some "great stuff" (painted the same toxic green) "oozing" out from under the fence...

Also for this weekend, we built the frame of the (carport) field hospital area. This area will be a zig-zag passageway divided by curtains among hospital beds and other surprises.

We got the overhead frame up (made up of the 1" emt conduit) ready to hang curtains. There are still several props and surprises that need to be built for this area, but getting the frame and overall layout built was a major accomplishment.

Finally for this weekend, we got the conduit frame that covers the front of the house assembled and all the new flats we created for the front-porch morgue were drilled and fitted to be attached to the front wall of the house for next weekend.

 

We will also attach all the tarps to the front of the house and assemble the front-yard spanning spider web next weekend...And probably remove all the furniture from the front porch and start assembling all the morgue tables. 

Pity the mail/fedex delivery people that end up delivering to us after next weekend!

Hi Ho Hi Ho... It's off to the mine we go...

First, last night's haul from the local Home Depot. Every (straight) piece of 1"x10' EMT conduit they had left in the store (sadly only 10 and I still need about 17 more) plus some pallets (got permission from the store manager to relieve them of some of their spare pallets!). Pallets will form some of the dividers in the mine shaft.

Recruited a new helper today; Greg Phillips came by and together we managed to put together the rest of the mine shaft structure! Even got a tarp over half of it (the tarp for the other half is on order and hasn't arrived yet). Many thanks to Greg as I couldn't have done it all myself!

Good progress; got done exactly what I was hoping to get done today. It only took us two or three times per connector to get things straight ;-)

 We even laid down indoor-outdoor carpeting over the grass so things don't get muddy/sloppy - and so things look more like a mine/dirt and less like a yard inside.

Tomorrow if I have the energy I'll try to disassemble the mine-shaft passage way (see earlier blog posts on that) and get it hauled out into it's final position.

Also on the agenda tomorrow (time and energy permitting) is the setup and first fitting of the pipe structure that will go in the carport to support the field hospital area and dividers. 

Now we're cooking with gas!



 Haunt On!

Goodies!

Goodies in the mail!

Specifically some of the stuff we ordered from the "Seasons" catalog.

They only sell wholesale so you have to buy things in quantity (1 case each) but they do have some good stuff - and some items we needed for the haunt this year.

The order so far (not everything we ordered has arrived yet, but most of it did - and ahead of schedule);

• 6 Body Bags
• 6 miner's/zombie hunter helmets with lights
• 6 axes
• 4 foot diameter poseable spiders - 3 in brown and 3 black

We like the body bags. Since we have 6 "slabs" in the morgue this year this worked out just right. They zip open down the middle with plenty of room for an "occupant" inside.

The miner's helmets are pretty cool as well - and nicer than we expected. The lights come on automatically when you tilt them down; they have adjustable fittings inside to adapt to different head sizes; and each came with a spare light bulb.

The axes are pretty cheap... They looked better in the catalog - but with some touch ups I think we can use them.

The spiders are nice. These 6 (plus some more larger ones on the way) will be added to the menagerie that took over the front yard last year for a REALLY creepy overrun feel.

We have a few more packages en route. And hopefully tomorrow we'll be getting a ~100lb FedEx package with the remainder of the pipe fittings we need (from the wonderful folks at tarps.com) to put together both the mine shaft and the field hospital in the carport...

Should be a constructive long weekend at CreepyNights.org!!
 

Feeling the Pinch...

In more ways than one...
 

Finally took a little time this weekend to do a little Halloween prep. After attacking some of the weeds that were taller than I was, I got the control center mausoleum moved down to the back where I could work on it. Also started laying out the new-and-improved Mine Shaft '13.

Assembling those pipes is a tough job - especially by yourself. Hence the first Halloween related blood of the year when my finger got in the way of some of the pipes coming together.

The control center mausoleum is in dire need of a facelift - as well as a more convenient access. To date the lid lifted off, requiring a ladder to climb up and down into it to do any setup. That will change as I refit the sides and attach a permanent water-tight top - and add an opening in the back. 

First step was to knock off the rotted sides and back and chase away all the spiders that had moved in. I'm going to let it "air out" for a few days (and make sure all the tenants have vacated) before I move it inside for its refit:

The front is salvageable; it needs stripping and re-painting but it's stood up well and I still like the look. The frame was built to last another 20 years.

The dryer pipe you see in the picture is attached to a vent at the front/bottom where we route fog from the fog-chilling trash can mounted inside. We get a VERY satisfying and creepy ground-hugging fog from it.

Mining:
 
The BIG project this year is the doubled-in-size Mine Shaft and I REALLY needed to get that started. Besides, seeing even the start of that structure every day when I look out back will serve as motivation and a reminder to get things going.

Fist step was just to get the general layout setup. I still need to order a bunch of additional pipes, fittings, and tarps so I couldn't finish it yet if I wanted; but getting the layout done also helps me work out final details for the other areas in the back. Also since all of the passages in the Mine Shaft will be narrower and a different layout this year I'll need to both cut lots of new parts - as well as trim most of the lumber "supports" we used last year. The sooner I have all the supports in place, the sooner I can start on those as well.

Here's the beginnings of the layout. 10x20 last year - 20x20 this year.

 

Happy Birthday to meeee

It was my birthday this past weekend... And since I haven't had any time lately to work on any haunt related stuff it was exciting to get back into the spirit a bit.

Got the following two very nice gifts;

From my lovely wife:

Poseable with blinking LED eyes.

And from our friend Danelle:



Sound activated with a creepy howl and blinking LED eyes.
 
Oh - and did I mention my birthday cake? :-)