Poor Boy

Corn Reaper

Here is a scarecrow costume I made back in 2008. Wanted to get a photo shoot in before the snow flies. Couldn't believe the corn wasn't chopped down this late in the fall so we took advantage. Ames took all the shots and the man in costume is...you know who.

A little background on the mask: it is supposed to be an appliance that glues to your face. Changes were made. I added some twine to the mouth and one eye, repainted certain areas, and then sewed a hood onto it. Then I glued some foam to the inside and added some elastic straps to keep it tight to my face. It can be slipped on and off quickly without having to use spirit gum and turned out to be a very comfortable face mask.

Crazy

...is what I think of Black Friday. Ames and I refuse to do any kind of shopping on this stupid day. I value my calm demeanor and low blood pressure too much. Unfortunately I have experienced a Black Friday a few times and it was quite unpleasant. So you can get good deals on things, big whoop. Do a little searching any other day of the year and you can find good deals too, without the insanity that goes with huge crowds. This is why I have formed the Ban Black Friday Club.  During Thanksgiving dinner my dad said he is actually going shopping with my mom today. He says since he has been gone hunting for the last month he owes her. Not sure what happened because he used to be part of the club. I said to him at the dinner table as I shook my head, "you've changed man." He chuckled and when he did I think I saw something in his eye that said, "son, you are right, what have I done."

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More Privys

Here are our other two outhouses. The seats were removed to gain a little more storage room. Come spring new roofs will be put on. The tool shed was a two seater and is fairly large for an outhouse. It's 6 ft. by 6 ft.

Tool Shed

Pond Shed

OverGrowth

This is really neat.

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Just For Kicks

I wanted to make a pseudo movie cover of DNOTS. The image on the left
is an original VHS cover, the one on the right is what I came up with
using Picnik.

The Scary House

Many of my October nights were spent working at the Oblivion haunted house. There were several nights I remember Boo (4) not wanting me to leave. The conversation would go something like this.

Boo: "Daddy I want to come with."

Me: "No Boo, I'm going to the scary house."

Boo: "I don't want to go the scary house and Mommy doesn't want to go to the scary house. I don't want to go to the scary house cuz it's too scary for me. "

Me: "That's right, but you get to stay here and play with Mommy and your brother, ok?"

Boo: "Ok Daddy." proceeded by a hug.

Babes and Beasts

Digital art by Genzoman.
















































































deviantart.com

Vacant

"There wasn't any scarecrow, I looked. There wasn't anything out there."

The Bubba Scarecrow

This week Ames and I were able to do a photo shoot of my Bubba Scarecrow costume. I felt the chopped cornfield behind our woods would serve well, plus it's a short walk over there. We couldn't have picked a better November day...partly sunny skies, a slight breeze, and 60 degrees. My goal was to pay tribute to the Dark Night of the Scarecrow film. All photos taken were by Ames. The man in the mask..........................................................yours truly.

See more pics of Bubba here

Still Ticking

Just realized that yesterday made one year since I started blogging. Many thanks to all who peruse my blog and leave comments.

Pumpkinrot's Creepshow

Oh how I enjoy taking in Pumpkinrot's creatures, photoshoots, and videos. Here are some pics of his stunning 2010 haunt.
This is pure Halloween goodness.





































































































Watch is amazing 2010 haunt video here
















www.pumpkinrot.com

Happy Halloween 2010

2010 Display

This years display was kind of recycled. Not enough time to make any new props so I took what I had and went with it. As a result it was very relaxing and fun to put together. My 4 year old even helped a little. Yes, he's following in Daddy's haunted footsteps : ) I tried to fill the absence of new props with some extra fall decor. The plan for next year is to make another scarecrow or two? and move the display location.























































































This is the only night time shot that I felt was lit well. I REALLY need to experiment and learn how to properly light a display. I'm getting great lighting ideas from Pumpkinrot and Davis Graveyard.

It's Time Again

"Mr. Kupfer was right, you know...I do love a good joke and this is the best ever, a joke on the children."














Watched Halloween 3 again last night. Gosh I love how this movie captures so much of the essence of Halloween.

Knives, Chainsaws and Sickles

Horror Express Studios has some crazy realistic props. Check them out here.

Bubba Didn't Do It

Lovely rendering of the DNOTS scarecrow.

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Sinister

Wonderfully creepy. I'd love to try and make a mask like this.

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Scarecrow God

Awesome artwork of the Supernatural Scarecrow.





















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A Little Behind

I haven't posted more updates on the DNOTS costume because I haven't done any more work on it. Eeeck! Been busy with, well, things. I'm not fretting though because there really isn't that much left to do. All that's left is to add straw to the pants and do some more weathering. I hope to be done by this weekend and get some pics up soon.

What A Blast

Last night was my first night working at Oblivion Haunted House and by the end of the night I was beat. Harry Warden terrified everyone in true form. What a rush! I worked as a roamer and the staff said patrons were truly freaked out. Harry Warden is pretty easy to get into character for. I've watched the movie so many times to study his movements that it comes pretty natural now. I'm looking forward to later in the month when the crowds will be much bigger.

The one criticism I picked up on throughout the night was my headlamp light. Patrons were saying it was too bright and they couldn't see me when I was looking at them. Upon hearing this honest feedback, I began deliberately not shining it directly at their faces. After that I didn't hear any more "ahh that light is too bright!" talk.

That was the longest I've been in that costume at one time and I learned a few things. After 4 hours the gas mask starts to get really tight and heavy on your face. I put 1 inch lifts in my boots to boost me up to about 6ft. 3" which is really cool but again after that long my heels were getting pretty sore. With tinted lenses on the mask my vision is already limited and when they fog up it's becomes even more difficult to see. I put an anti fog solution on the lenses but over time it doesn't work as well. I don't like to take the mask on and off because there is a lot of repositioning to get it to look right again so I only took one break to relax.

Wearing this costume can be a pain, but it doesn't change the fact that it is one of my favorite characters. It is 100% worth the headaches : )

It Has Arrived!

Finally, my copy of Dark Night of the Scarecrow came in the mail on...you bet, October 1st. Oh how long I have impatiently waited for this. Going to watch it tonight in all it's restored beauty.

Almost time...

to play. One more day until the haunted house opens. I'm making some slight adjustments to my Harry Warden costume. Doing some extra weathering in a few spots.