The Scarecrow's Post

Beware The 14th

2012-02-14T06:54:00.001-06:00

Baldy

2012-02-09T22:38:00.000-06:00

Here's a new skull I finished up. This guy has a chipped tooth and a nasty underbite. Left lots of exposed skull showing on his scalp.

Behind The Rows Studio

Need me some Walking Dead

2012-01-31T19:55:00.000-06:00

Over the past few weeks, Ames and I watched all The Walking Dead episodes again from the very beginning. We can say it was as just as enjoyable watching it a second time...REALLY excited for the new episodes to get here.

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New Venture

2012-01-29T17:19:00.000-06:00

I've finally been able to start my own horror workshop called Behind The Rows Studio. I'll be creating a variety of horror and Halloween related items, mostly props, decor and lighting, all which are hand made by me. This has been in the planning stages for sometime and I'm very excited to see it come together. I'm hoping to carve out a little niche among the sea of amazingly talented artists out there. If you get a chance, please check out my site at www.behindtherowsstudio.com.

Pumpkinrot's Film

2011-11-02T17:59:00.001-05:00

Click here to watch Pumpkinrot's Swamp Foetus video. Definitely is THEE coolest thing I've seen all year.

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Happy Hallowe'en

2011-10-31T21:26:00.000-05:00

The weather was nice and fun was had. Took a drive to the city so the kids could go trick-or-treating. We saw lots of tots running around and I was able to get a few scares in my Cornreaper costume. There were a good amount of homes that decorated and handed out candy.

Long live this tradition.

Our two boys

New Tunes

2011-10-27T19:29:00.000-05:00

Was fortunate to have picked up these limited edition soundtracks. Superb scores that contain some previously unreleased tracks. A big thanks to Pumpkinrot for blogging about this a while back, otherwise I may have missed out.

buysoundtrax.com

Travis County Horror

2011-09-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

The latest scarecrow from Cameron Scholes. Imagine coming across this on a backwoods road. I would have second thoughts about proceeding.

Scarecrow Mania

2011-09-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

May I present the work of Cameron Scholes. The craftsmanship and creativity he puts into his pieces are mind blowing. These are a few of many creations he has under his belt. Just wow...

Visit his website here

Burlap Bubba

2011-09-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

Here it is. I'm VERY excited to share pics of my latest acquisition, the burlap Bubba scarecrow mask. This just may be the holy grail in my mask collection. This was a one of a kind piece made by Cameron Scholes, an extremely talented artist who hails from Canada. Although several latex versions of this mask grace my collection, this one is latex free and made from burlap like the mask seen in The Dark Night of the Scarecrow film. Cameron really captured the look I wanted while adding his own special flare. I can't thank him enough for how remarkable this turned out. Future blog entries will feature more of Cameron's stunning work.

Receeding

2011-09-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

Incongruous

2011-08-21T07:36:00.000-05:00

"This place had once been the seat of an evil older than mankind and wider than the known universe-it was a place of pain and suffering beyond human understanding." John Trent - In The Mouth of Madness

Ames and I came upon this by accident on a scenic drive. Reminded me a little of the church from the movie In the Mouth of Madness.

Monstrous

2011-08-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

Grimace

2011-08-20T09:11:00.002-05:00

I was very excited to see my Cornhusker mask from Midnight Studios arrive yesterday in all of its demonic splendor. This mask his really HUGE. I just love the toothy devilish grin. As an option Kyle said he could add LED lights in the eyes which would really make the evil in this pumpkin come out. Man am I glad I had him do it. The LED's look killer! On top of that it even included its own mask stand!
Check out Midnight Studios website.

Bad Move

2011-08-07T22:13:00.001-05:00

Bubba never met a fan he didn't like. Except this guy....he tried to come between me and Marylee.

Convention Memorabilia

2011-07-28T20:06:00.001-05:00

Chances are that if you attend a horror convention it means getting some pretty cool stuff. Here is what came home with me from Fright Night Film Fest.

Movie poster signed by JD Feigelson, Larry Drake and Tonya Crowe

Laminated poster

Signed 8x10 by the cast

Soundtrack and promotional cards

The Bubba mask I had signed by the cast

Another highlight at the con was meeting John Carpenter. Here is a man whose work I adore. The meeting was very brief but it was pretty cool to meet such a legendary man. Items at his table were a bit pricey and he was charging separately to get a picture with him so I passed on the photo. Kinda kicking myself now. I'm also ashamed to admit that I left my Halloween III poster at home. Carpenter was the last one I needed to complete it. Bummer. At least I got him to sign a Halloween poster. Hopefully I can run into him at another con.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow Reunion

2011-07-27T13:12:00.002-05:00

Well I made the trip to Fright Night Film Fest this past weekend in Louisville, KY. A long drive but so worth it. I attended this convention solely because of the 30th anniversary of Dark Night of the Scarecrow film. It was the first reunion ever featuring: JD Feigelson (writer of the film), Larry Drake (as Bubba Ritter) and Tonya Crowe (as Marylee Williams).

JD was so gracious, he personally introduced me to Tonya Crowe and Larry Drake. This was Tonya's first convention ever! And Larry Drake, can you say Darkman and Dr. Giggles? Tonya and Larry are such genuine people. It was fun to hear their experiences with making the movie.You could tell they were glad to be there and meet the fans. Chris Rowe was there from VCI Entertainment promoting the movie, another super nice guy. We all talked about the movie for a while and I made sure to get all their autographs (watch for a separate post on this) before I donned the Bubba costume. I made some improvements to the costume itself to be more screen accurate (also separate post to come). All in all the costume was well received and it was amazing to see so many fellow fans that appreciate this movie as I do. I had a great time posing for pictures with everyone. During the Q&A panel, JD even asked me to stand near the stage in costume. What an honor. Afterward he invited me to dinner with the cast. How could I say no to that?
What a lasting experience I will never forget. Needless to say, I had THE BEST time. I sure hope Larry and Tonya decide to do more conventions.
On with the pics...

Bubba making his debut

Larry Drake, Tonya Crowe and me

The Scarecrow, Tonya and JD Feigelson

The two Bubba's

Tonya, Larry, the Scarecrow and Chris Rowe

Re-enacting last scene in the movie

Yours truly in the flesh with the beautiful Tonya Crowe

The cast and me

Tiny

2011-07-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

This little guy is our latest addition to the family! We named him Coal. We found him crouched up in a tree in our woods. I don't think we would have seen him if he hadn't been meowing since he is all black. No idea how he got there or where he came from but we took him in and are giving him a good home. He looked pretty malnourished at first but after a week he is putting on weight and looking much better now.

Twilight

2011-07-14T07:56:00.000-05:00

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A Sleepy Hollow

2011-07-07T08:07:00.000-05:00

Image Source

A Little Flesh Showing

2011-06-04T10:27:00.001-05:00

Here is the other mask in my collection that has flesh color. Just a little on the eyes. This scarecrow is made by Brian Freiburger from Scarecrow1138. I wanted a wearable copy of this guy but it won't fit my big noggin.

Twisted

2011-06-03T22:57:00.004-05:00

Scored this rare mask from a fellow Halloween Mask Association member. This is called "Twisted Seed" and was made by The Horror Factory. It was later produced by Morbid Illusions under the name "Stingy Jack". I prefer the paintwork on The Horror Factory version myself. It has been out of production for a number of years and since then I've never seen one of these for sale until now. I was pretty excited when I found it. And now for a bit of useless information...this is one of only two scarecrow/pumpkin masks in my collection that has flesh color somewhere on it.

The Tribe

2011-05-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

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Demon Patch

2011-05-29T08:05:00.002-05:00

Over the years Midnight Studios selection of high quality masks has grown tremendously. Not to mention their amazing costumes and props. How excited I was to discover they have four crazy pumpkin masks in their lineup. These are insane!
M U S T H A V E T H E M A L L . . .

Cornhusker

Halloween King

Pumpkin Queen

Samhain

New Latex Additions

2011-05-21T20:13:00.002-05:00

It was time again to add some more Death Studios masks to the 'ol collection. Up first is Crow Killa. It is scultped by Death Studios owner Jeff Keim and is part of their 2011 line up. The burlap texture on this mask is absolutely insane! Jeff said he was ready to pull his hair out during the sculpting process.

Mr. Grim was sculpted for Death Studios by Pete Infelise of the Devil's Workshop and was released in the late 90's. Fortunately it is still being produced by Death Studios as it has been on my mask wish list for a long long time. Pete went on to sculpt Mr. Grimm 2, seen in this earlier post here.

Mask-fest Scores

2011-04-06T20:07:00.002-05:00

Waiting until the last day to buy any masks paid off this year as I got two wonderful masks at great prices. I was able to snag this foam filled scarecrow/executioner mask from Jake at Brothers Rich FX. Jake is a super nice guy and I was amazed at how much he knows about the fx industry.

Next is Jacko the pumpkin puppet from Darkside Studio. I had asked Paul to bring one of these to the show for me as I had my eye on this mask for a while. I really like the little pumpkins and vines wrapped around the neck area.

Masks of Mask-Fest

2011-03-31T20:50:00.000-05:00

A few of the many masks on display and for sale at Mask-fest 2011.

Images courtesy of Yellow Phantom

Bubba Comes Home

2011-03-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

Here is another great picture from Horrorhound weekend. This is the second time I've had the privilege to meet J.D.Feigelson, writer of Dark Night of the Scarecrow. JD's table was filled with dvd's, pictures and memorabilia from DNOTS. He also had the original mailman hat worn by Charles Durning's character Otis Hazelrigg in the movie.
When he saw me in full costume, he was thrilled! At times it was difficult to tell who was more excited, him or me! He liked my costume so much he gave me an autographed picture free of charge! I happily posed for several pictures and JD even let me wear the Otis mailman hat. I was a bit surprised to see so many people taking pictures of the scarecrow. I'm glad to see just how well loved DNOTS is after all these years. What a fun experience!

Thought I should point out that there are two things missing from my costume. A keen eye will notice there is no rope around my waist. Yep I forgot it at home. And I left the pitchfork home too. JD said I should definitely bring the pitchfork next time.

VCI Entertainment table

JD Feigelson and me. JD was wearing the infamous Otis hat .
Oh and I really like how my eyes can't be seen through
the mask even with the camera flash. : )

Me posing next to a Bubba bust

Me with mask artist Jeremy Bohr
who sculpted the latex version of the scarecrow mask

Harry Warden vs. Tom Atkins

2011-03-29T23:37:00.001-05:00

Yes I said Tom Atkins!! Oh my, Tom was a lot of fun. He signed my H3 poster and also a few 8x10 stills of Halloween 3 and My Bloody Valentine 3D. He was really digging my costume. Before I could ask he grabbed the pick axe and held it up under his chin for a picture. He was great!! I will be posting more pictures of Horrorhound/Mask-fest 2011 soon.

Death Studios Goodies

2011-03-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of Death Studios' new masks from their 2011 lineup. Going to be placing an order soon.

It's Almost Time

2011-03-06T10:02:00.004-06:00

I am thrilled to say I will be attending the Horrorhound convention in Indianapolis in a few weeks. The highlight of the convention for me is definitely the Halloween 3 reunion/panel. I'll be bringing memorabilia for the Halloween 3 cast and crew to sign.
Also taking place at the same location is MaskFest 3. MaskFest is a separate convention featuring tons of indy mask makers. There will be masks for sale, Hollywood special fx and makeup artists and many other goodies. I'll be assisting my good friend Paul from Darkside Studios set up and man his booth. Good stuff. I'll definitely be bringing my Dark Night of the Scarecrow costume now that I found out JD Feigelson will be there! I'm hoping he feels I did justice to the costume. I'm considering bringing my Harry Warden costume to make a small appearance there and to get a picture with Tom Atkins. He's the only actor that will be at this con that starred in My Bloody Valentine. Just am really looking forward to this whole convention!

Click here to see more about Horrorhound and MaskFest.

Poor Boy

2010-12-17T12:50:00.001-06:00

Corn Reaper

2010-12-01T11:47:00.005-06:00

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

2010-11-26T09:25:00.002-06:00

...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

2010-11-24T16:55:00.001-06:00

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

Strange Hobby

2010-11-23T22:04:00.002-06:00

So I started to collect outhouses. Yep. Most people I tell this to think I'm nuts. This all came about when I was looking for a shed to store our garden tools. In my search I came across an outhouse for sale. It was in great shape with the seats intact and everything. Surprisingly it did not smell. The man that owned it said it hadn't been "used" in 30+ years and he wanted it gone. Hence, it went home with me.

The way I see it, outhouses are a dying breed. You don't see many new ones and the ones you do see standing are usually in poor shape. They are relics that have character and history. Now when we travel I am on the lookout for other outhouses. I have picked up two more since and am fixing them up. Plans are in the works to incorporate one into my Halloween display.

The Garden Shed

OverGrowth

2010-11-16T10:39:00.003-06:00

This is really neat.

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Just For Kicks

2010-11-14T20:56:00.008-06:00

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

2010-11-13T12:18:00.008-06:00

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

2010-11-13T09:38:00.007-06:00

Digital art by Genzoman.

deviantart.com

Vacant

2010-11-12T21:07:00.003-06:00

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

The Bubba Scarecrow

2010-11-11T16:18:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-11T12:55:00.010-06:00

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

2010-11-09T11:16:00.015-06:00

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

2010-10-31T09:14:00.001-05:00

2010 Display

2010-10-29T11:00:00.026-05:00

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

2010-10-27T22:29:00.012-05:00

"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

2010-10-19T21:30:00.006-05:00

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

Bubba Didn't Do It

2010-10-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

Lovely rendering of the DNOTS scarecrow.

Image source

Sinister

2010-10-13T21:19:00.004-05:00

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

Image source

Scarecrow God

2010-10-13T21:11:00.006-05:00

Awesome artwork of the Supernatural Scarecrow.

Image source

A Little Behind

2010-10-12T22:06:00.007-05:00

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

2010-10-03T19:49:00.017-05:00

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!

2010-10-02T09:45:00.003-05:00

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...

2010-09-30T14:34:00.004-05:00

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.

Oblivion Haunted House

2010-09-27T16:25:00.007-05:00

An old acquaintance of mine is debuting his very own haunted house this year. I got a sneak peak tour last week and was pretty impressed overall. I haven't worked at a haunted house in four years and I do miss dishing out the scares. I'm going to help out and dig out the Harry Warden costume so I can work the queue lines. I'm adding 1" lifts to my boots to give me more domineering height. Should be a good time.

Costume Update

2010-09-13T15:51:00.014-05:00

You just gotta love thrift stores. There's always something I find there that I could use. I found a trenchcoat there and except for the tan color the look is good. I broke out the rit dye and gave it a good soak of blue. The color turned out pretty good. Then raffia was glued to a few spots on the sleeves. The last step was weathering. I may do some more on it yet. I don't want to go overboard since the coat in the movie doesn't appear to have much weathering it.

Sorry, I forgot to take a before shot. The flash washed out alot of the weathering but here is what I did so far.

Mask Update

2010-09-12T10:09:00.004-05:00

I've been punching straw through parts of the mask. Still need to do some more but it's coming along nicely.

Costume Progress - Mask Screening

2010-09-06T22:35:00.023-05:00

Here is how the mask looked before I started screening. For those who want to know, I got this mask at a Horrorhound con last year. It was sculpted for the publicity of Dark Night of the Scarecrow's upcoming dvd release.

First I had to cut the latex out of the mouth and eyes. Then I took two layers of window screen and hot glued them to the inside of the mask. The second layer is glued on offset to the first layer. A fellow mask aficionado told me of this technique. Thanks Travis!
The nice thing about using hot glue is that if you ever want to take it off, it just peels off and doesn't damage the mask.
Note: Do not use hot glue on the outside of a mask unless it is a mask you don't care about. If you try to peel off the glue it will take paint with it!

Here is how it looks screened. From a distance you won't see the screen, it will look like empty black holes.

Idea For This Years Costume

2010-09-05T20:53:00.021-05:00

After thinking long and hard about it, I think I'm going to make a Bubba scarecrow from Dark Night of the Scarecrow. It's such a classic movie and the costume is so simple yet very creepy. One of the major factors for my decision is the dvd that to be released end of September. I adore this movie and feel compelled to honor its release.

Items needed: mask, trenchcoat, flannel shirt, blue jeans, boots, gloves, straw, rope and pitchfork.

Fortunately I already have the mask, which would have been the most difficult piece to acquire. My plan is to start screening the mouth and eye holes on the mask tomorrow. I'm going to try real hard to post pics as I make progress on this project.

Heck of a Patch

2010-08-29T11:11:00.013-05:00

My friend Curt has a HUGE pumpkin patch behind his woods. For a guy who doesn't really do much for Halloween, I think it's pretty neat how much he loves his pumpkins. He grows several varieties of pumpkins, guords, and squash. With the hot days and a lot of rain, this year looks to be one of the best pumpkin crops ever. I can't wait to help pick this year as I have my eye on a few big ones. There are plenty that are a decent size right now but it's exciting to know they have a month to grow into even bigger jackos. I snapped a few pics of what's on the vines.

You can't see much orange in this picture but you can see how big his patch is.

A Little Storm Damage

2010-08-21T16:28:00.017-05:00

We had a few nasty storms roll in last night. The next morning I looked around the yard to see if there was any damage. Fortunately all our trees and rooftops were intact. I glanced over at the garden and the scarecrow was down! Upon closer inspection I noticed that the wooden cross he is fastened to snapped off where it goes into the ground. He fell face down right between the garden rows. His head had gotten squished from the fall so I reshaped it with some more straw. That was the only thing that needed fixing, the rest of him was fine. He's been in the garden since last summer and other than this, I haven't had to do any maintenance to him...which is nice.

Here he is fixed up. For now I tied him to the corner of the fence until I decide if I want to move him to a different spot.

Friday the 13th Surprise

2010-08-13T15:50:00.021-05:00

So Jim, my UPS driver delivered a hideous but most welcome sight today. The #1 master copy of Mr. Grimm 2 showed up on my doorstep and I can't say enough good things about it. Talk about a large mask and the teeth on this guy are just INSANE! This monstrosity is made and signed by Pete Infelise, the man behind The Devil's Workshop. Pete puts out some fantastic masks and if you haven't been to his site, you can check it out here. His blog.

Thanks again Pete...you sure out did yourself on this one!

I can see this guy being used as a possible corn creature prop. Hmmm....

Look at the scale of this guy compared to an average sized mask. Wow.

Coming soon to a cornfield near you...

2010-08-03T13:36:00.015-05:00

These beauties just arrived from my good friend Paul at Darkside Studio. The Darkside Scarecrow and Halloween Jack were some of the first masks Paul ever sculpted. These two pieces are redesigned versions to celebrate Darkside Studio's 15th year in mask making. I'm excited to add these to my collection and can't wait to see what else he has in store for 2010.

These are how the originals looked and have long been discontinued. I think the redesigned versions look much creepier.

Fear

2010-06-23T06:13:00.011-05:00

One of the best costumes of Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow I have ever seen. The lighting is wonderful.

Here is an interesting video I found of the performance. Skip ahead to 2:18.

It's been a long time...

2010-06-01T20:24:00.008-05:00

since I bought a new mask....and it feels good! This scarecrow mask is made by Brian Dunn from Alter-Ego-Dezines. The unusual design of this one caught my attention. It almost looks like a goblin creature under that burlap and that eye is sick. I haven't made a stand yet for this guy so I'm using Brian's picture of it. You can find more of Brian's work at alter-ego-dezines.com.

A "Supernatural" Scarecrow

2010-05-12T17:49:00.050-05:00

Ever since I saw this creepy scarecrow in season one of Supernatural, I wanted to get my hands on a mask of him. I could not find a record of this mask ever being made by anyone. If I wanted it I would have to have this commissioned, but by I wasn't sure who to go to.

After some pondering Eric Lusk from The Creature Cabin came to mind. Eric makes high quality masks, props, does special fx for the film industry and also does commission work. I have purchased several scarecrow masks from him and have been very impressed by his sculpting, paintwork and ease to deal with. Eric has some serious talent, enjoys what he does and likes scarecrows, which is a plus. He seemed to be the ideal choice for making this scarecrow for me.

When I told Eric I'd like a scarecrow mask commissioned, he seemed genuinely excited. I shared some reference pictures of this scarecrow but few were very good. Eric did some digging and agreed the project would be difficult based on how few decent reference pictures he found, but he remained confident he could pull it off. I told Eric to go for it and let's just say the end result was phenomenal. I could not be happier with how it turned out. It is a one of a kind foam filled latex piece and yes, the hat was sculpted too. This is the first time I had a mask commissioned for me and Eric put me at complete ease throughout the entire process, doing everything one would hope and expect. He promptly answered any questions or concerns I had and always kept me informed of what stage he was at in the project. We stay in touch and share the ongoings of the horror/halloween/mask industry. I am happy to call Eric a friend and look forward to seeing what other creatures and monsters he will bring to life.
Click here to visit The Creature Cabin website.

Here is my custom mask made by The Creature Cabin. Yep, same pic as my current avatar.

Here are a few screen caps of the scarecrow featured in the Supernatural episode.

Halloween III...The Night No One Comes Home

2010-03-08T10:30:00.001-06:00

In my opinion Halloween III: Season of the Witch is one of those horror movies that will always be underrated and misunderstood. It ranks high in my all time favorite 5 horror movies. I know Pumpkinrot, fellow blogger and prop maker extrordinaire, makes no bones about his love of Halloween III. I myself fall into the same category of being a huge fan of this movie and I go to great lengths to defend my adoration of it. There are so many aspects about Halloween 3 that I appreciate, not only as a lover of Halloween but also horror movies. Just to name a few: it has a well written story, amazing soundtrack and score, features some classic Halloween masks, there are human looking killer robots, creative death scenes and a scheming villain. Conal Cochran, the villainous toy maker gone bad, is truly a monster and a madman. Using his misguided practices of witchcraft and adapting them in order to carry out a worldwide mass killing is truly sinister. One thing I noticed in this movie is the writers were not afraid to make children the target. One of the things that does not occur in most horror films is harming children. I said children, not teenagers. I believe the reason for this is that most writers, directors and film studios believe it is taboo and "won't go there". Now I certainly do not advocate the killing of children, but anyone that has a problem with this knows that it is just a movie.

I happen to favor horror movies that do not have the cliche happy endings and this one appears to not. I say appears because it is not spelled out for you and just leaves you hanging. It's an ending you love to hate. Although this can be debated, I believe that many children and families were unable to be saved by Dr. Challis's best efforts that night.

Upon it's release this movie left a bad taste in people's mouths. It's understandable as there is no Michael Myers storyline in it and many people assumed that it would continue where Halloween 2 left off. After writing the first two Halloween movies, John Carpenter wanted to abandon the Michael Myers storyline and its characters to come up with something different. His plan was that each year they would make a completely different Halloween based movie that would be all to its own. Each movie then on would be completely separate than the one that preceded it. The first of these to be was Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Unfortunately upon its release it did not do well and John Carpenter has never had anything to do with another Halloween movie. Take away the Halloween title and I believe this film would have been much more enjoyed by the audience at the time. If you have never seen Halloween III then don't you think it's about time you did?

Deterrence

2010-02-26T23:22:00.018-06:00

The autumn air is cold and still as the scent of decay slowly permeates the barren land. Once free to circle the sky, death's grip now traps the crow in suspended flight. Foreboding, a warning at the edge of the dying fields. -crs

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Hungry

2010-02-22T11:37:00.004-06:00

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Thunder's Hat

2010-02-17T22:12:00.011-06:00

Here is someone's chance at owning a prop from the movie Big Trouble in Little China, another one of my favorites by John Carpenter. This hat was worn by Thunder, one of the Three Storms in the movie. I've always been fond of the Three Storms characters. I think it would be fun to try and pull off any one of their costumes. Found this interesting item on the Wing Kong Exchange and is for sale here.

Wing Kong Exchange

Green Bones

2010-02-10T10:55:00.006-06:00

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We Can Bring Him Back to Life

2010-02-07T19:35:00.012-06:00

Got to take a break after a hectic week and watched my favorite Stuart Gordon film, Re-animator. This is one of those cult classics with loads of gore, horror and bits of humor.

"It's really quite simple. All life is a chemical and physical process, correct? It stands to reason, then, that if one could find extremely fresh specimens and re-charge that chemical process, BANG, we'd have re-animation." Dr. Herbert West

Stick People

2010-02-01T09:41:00.006-06:00

Sculpture by Camille Allam. I can only imagine the time that went into making these.

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Tormented

2010-01-29T19:24:00.005-06:00

Snow Pumpkin

2010-01-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

A Work of Art

2010-01-23T18:51:00.011-06:00

My friend Pete from The Devil's Workshop made this one of a kind scarecrow. These photos were taken while it was on display at an Illinois art gallery. Simply amazing.

Just look at those teeth.

Vacant

2010-01-21T21:20:00.003-06:00

"And where do you live, Simon?"
"I live in the weak and the wounded...Doc."

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Vine Creature

2010-01-19T08:34:00.005-06:00

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Harry Warden Are You Down There?

2010-01-17T18:17:00.004-06:00

I'd love to photograph an old mine. Since I made my Harry Warden costume the desire has grown a lot to do just that. I hope to tour an old iron mine this summer a few hours north of here. Maybe, just maybe, I'll see Harry Warden there...

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Old Homestead

2010-01-15T17:30:00.008-06:00

I really like old homesteads: their character, self-sufficiency, link to the past and usual decrepid condition. This property is on the outskirts of town where we used to live and is set back from the road quite a ways. Ames and I had driven by here several times and often wondered about its history. I did a little digging and soon discovered that former U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy lived here during his youth in the early 1900's. The people that own the property now do little to maintain it other than mow the grass. The owners occasionally grant people permission to photograph the property because of its unique history.

I was thankful to be able to take a few pictures here several years ago. Such a neat piece of property. Oh what a person could do with this place around Halloween...

Cereal Spokesman

2010-01-13T16:43:00.004-06:00

Watchman

2010-01-13T15:51:00.003-06:00

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Reaper of the Fields

2010-01-12T10:11:00.010-06:00

I'm a sucker for an evil scarecrow costume. This one means business.

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Pick Me

2010-01-11T10:03:00.002-06:00

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Fire Eater

2010-01-11T09:20:00.001-06:00

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Stocking Cap

2010-01-09T22:36:00.005-06:00

Here is a bucky I corpsed a long time ago. He's pretty bad looking and I'm kind of embarrassed to post it but thought this was kind of a neat pic with the snow. Better to hang him from a tree than keep taking up space in my shed. I don't care about what happens to him so I decided to just leave him up through the winter.

Sun Pillar

2010-01-09T22:23:00.004-06:00

Beautiful view of this morning's sunrise. I've been seeing alot of these lately.

A light pillar is a visual phenomenon created by the reflection of light from ice crystals with near horizontal parellel planar surfaces. The light can come from the sun(usually at or low to the horizon) in which case the phenomenon is called a sun pillar or solar pillar. -Wikipedia

Forsaken

2010-01-08T11:10:00.010-06:00

A while ago I came across an amazing scarecrow drawing on Deviantart. I knew I had to make a scarecrow like it. Here's the drawing that inspired me by artist Clearharm.

Below is my completed version called Forsaken. My intention was to build him as he looks in the drawing. However as my work on him progressed, it started to go in a slightly different direction. I'm very pleased with the end result.
I braved the elements and snapped some shots near our neighbor's farmfield. Of course I had to take pictures on one of the coldest days of the year with a biting northerly wind. Nearly got frostbite for my efforts but it was well worth it.

See more pics here

Lava Demon

2010-01-07T12:20:00.006-06:00

A lucky member from the HMA received this amazing mask made by Steve Wang. Steve Wang is talented special effects makeup artist, sculptor and creature designer whose work is featured in movies such as Predator, The Cave, and Gremlins 2.

The cracked lava surface reminds me of the Balrog demon in The Lord of the Rings. So cool.

It looks stunning under a blacklight.

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See more of Steve Wang's work here

Vintage

2010-01-06T18:25:00.007-06:00

What's not to love about these Halloween postcards.

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Moon Ring

2010-01-04T15:56:00.004-06:00

Fellow blogger Shellhawk had a recent post that reminded me to share this photo. I snapped this on New Year's Eve minutes before the start of the New Year. This was the second full moon to appear in December, also known as a blue moon, and combined with the lunar ring it made a pretty rare event.

Session 9

2010-01-03T21:46:00.011-06:00

Last night was movie night. I vividly remember the first time I watched Session 9. Like many other trips I've made to the video store, I couldn't decide on what to rent. Then I noticed this movie sitting there and thought to myself, hmmm, this one looks interesting. I'll give it a chance. Man was I glad I did. The movie is creepy as hell with a chilling score. It still freaks me out as much as the first time I saw it.

Clowns

2010-01-03T11:25:00.016-06:00

Hell's carnival is open for your amusement. Art by Mariano Villalba.

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Looking Back...and Ahead

2010-01-01T14:34:00.012-06:00

As much as I'm looking forward to the new year, I find myself reflecting back on 2009. Like most people, last year had its ups and downs for us: our son turned 3, had a family reunion, had a sudden death in the family and we moved. Some things I care to dwell on more than others. The highlight of the year by far was selling our home and moving into a new home in the country.

Until May of last year we lived in the city. Nothing against city life but it just wasn't for us anymore. We grew weary of the traffic, honking horns, cars speeding by our house, a tiny yard, disrespectful kids that cut through my yard (even after I've nicely told them not to) and hearing lawnmowers start up at 6:00 in the morning. (Ok I'm done complaining.) In short we found ourselves longing for the tranquility of the country. In 2008 we decided to do something about it. We put our house up for sale, pinched our pennies and waited. Then in May it happened. After struggling for a year to sell our house in the dismal housing market, it finally sold and we bought a home in the country.

Living out here really is a dream come true and I can say we are truly "at home". Sure it has its slight inconveniences. We have to plan ahead when going to town as the nearest gas station is 10 miles away and the closest store is 15 miles away. But it is peaceful, relaxing, and we actually have a yard. We live off a quiet rural road in a small farming community. Our home is average sized, has an unattached garage and rests on 5 acres of a mix of woods and field. There's a small pond next to the garden and a creek that winds its way through our backyard. I should mention there are lots of cornfields nearby. Oh how I do LOVE cornfields.

In the short time we have lived here we have already built a shed, planted a decent sized garden and done some minor landscaping. Owning land that is actually YOURS to do what you want with is such a good feeling. I now have plenty of room for making Halloween props so I don't have any excuses.

If I have any kind of "resolution" this year it is to get back on the prop wagon and build more props than I did last year. So Happy New Year and I hope everyone has a prosperous 2010!

Here's a few pictures of our home.

Our dog Aries really enjoys his new yard.

Almost Here

2009-12-31T22:44:00.001-06:00

Forsaken

2009-12-31T20:01:00.004-06:00

New scarecrow coming in 2010.

High Voltage

2009-12-31T16:29:00.007-06:00

How cool is this. Vines have consumed part of the power lines to form one heck of an ominous looking scarecrow.

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The Woods

2009-12-30T15:35:00.006-06:00

There's something out there. It lives... out in those woods, in the dark... something... something that's come back from the dead.

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Tree Corpse

2009-12-30T10:22:00.002-06:00

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