This year, we added a continuous fog source (coming from Jack’s box), and sound effects of bubbling coming from the cauldron. We also managed to get Jack to stop smacking himself in the forehead with the stick. (Sometimes it’s the little things that bring us joy). To see more of how Cal came to be, …
Author Archives: Mike
“Ray” (Raisin’ the Dead)
For a while now, we’ve had this idea of a grim reaper-esque figure, standing over the graveyard, and being the thing responsible for the zombies and skeletons coming to life in the graveyard. We’ve made a few attempts to create a version of Ray with enough grandeur and movement to pull it off. Admitedly, we …
Soul Eater
This seemed to be the effect everyone was trying to create this year. Here’s our take on it…
Pumpkin Patch Denizens
All summer long, the pumpkin patch grew, forming one pumpkin after another. They grew heavy and took on a deep orange hue. As October drew near, something else entered the patch, or rather someone. Someone who never left the patch again. The tall grass enveloped the body. As fluids seeped into the ground, the pumpkin …
Pumpkin Patch
In 2021 we went across the driveway and built a new attraction on the south side of the property. The Fence Having a new section meant building a new fence to contain it. Last year the wind took out a section of our backyard fence. The wood was pretty weather-worn. The Corn At the back …
Haunt 2021
There are a bunch of upgrades/additions for 2021 – almost as if we had a lot more time at home to prepare this year… The biggest addition is the Pumpkin Patch which has spilled over across the driveway and up the hill on the south side of the property. In the graveyard, the ghost game …
Ye Olde Social Distancing Candy Dispensorie
COVID demands social distancing. That means nobody gets closer than 6 feet. You wear masks. And don’t touch other people’s food. So what’s a Haunter to do? Someone online suggested putting a PVC tube on a stand, and making a candy slide. Here is our version: The dragon head and the wings were already here …
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Watchman 4.0
Gary gets an upgrade… The motor we put on Gary last year was pretty weak. He couldn’t turn against the wind … or even a light breeze. Something had to be done. Enter a box of frightprops wiper motors, and a variable power supply…
Team Spirit
So the notion of having the portal to Hell at the top of the display, is that spirits are escaping into our world, and subsequently reanimating the dead (like in Ghostbusters!) Some new ghosts have entered the fray en masse.
Cal’s New Cauldron
In the original version of the cauldron creep, the contents of the cauldron were simply an illusion of an acid light projecting on the cauldron wall, and the “fire” was created by a ring of orange fairy lights lying on the ground. In 2020, we enhanced the cauldron experience. First, the flame bed became a …