Flashback

I was looking through some pictures to find a couple to put up on my new Chabby House Facebook page when I found a Halloween picture from 2007.  My Halloween display sure has come a long way since then.

125 Days Until Halloween

So, things are chugging along.  I have cut out most of my new tombstones and hope to get two more done in the next couple of days - then aging and painting and more aging.  I built some new stones to go along with my background story I wrote this year.  I may still tweak it a bit before it is finished and ready for posting.  I am hoping to post it in a promo/movie style but we will see how it goes.  I am not on a Mac and it seems Mac has the best programs - especially since Windows stopped supporting its movie maker.  I have been looking into some other programs so we will see  how it goes.

I am not sure how much bigger the haunt will be this year - costs being what they are - but I am hoping for more detail, better lighting and more chilling. 

I was able to pick up a couple of motors from frightprops.com as well as a few decorations. I do like Frightprops.  They ship to Canada without too many problems, although shipping costs do add up if you aren't careful. 

More to come. . . .

Halloween 2016

The planning has started for Halloween 2016.  This year Halloween is on a Monday so that will likely affect the number of people heading over on Halloween night.  But I (we) are still going ahead.  I have written Part 1 of the Legend of Chabby House and the plan is it to turn it into a bit of a movie/promo so people will know the theme of the haunt and be prepared for what is happening inside.

I have a list of things I need to build, repair and improve for this year and purchasing has already started.  Once I get a few things built I will be posting the pics. 

I have a real focus this year and hope I have the time (and money) to get it all done. Although, like many a haunter, I probably won't. 

Until next time, Happy Haunting!

Halloween 2015

Well, haven't I been the lazy one?  Finally, here are some pics of Chabby House, Halloween 2015.

I go for a more creepy and chilling Halloween Haunt as opposed to the gore alot of haunts have these days. It scares a few of the little ones but the older seem to think it fun and not scary at all.  I will have to work on that.

I rebuilt the pillars again this year.  I went with a wood frame and covered in dry wall.  They looked really good. I also, at my hubby's suggestion, added electrical to one so we can hide a few of our cords. I also revamped the arch itself. I covered them up over the winter so, fingers crossed, I don't have to do a lot of work on them again in 2016.  We also added a better fence. I will be making more sections this year.

We built our first walk through this year.  The ToTrs were met with the Grim Reaper.  As the night wore on and it got colder, the batteries started to fail but it was cool while it lasted.  By the time it was really dying, the kids were pretty much done. We picked up the Reaper at Canadian Tire.  It lit up, spoke and had flapping wings.

This was the first section in the walk through this year. I was going for a creepy overgrown feel.

Our dropping spider hung out here, along with bugs and snakes. If you look close, you might be able to see him.

You can see the doorway into the next room, the witches' lair.

This is a pic of the witches' lair looking back toward the doorway.  It definitely will need more lighting next year.  It was too dark to see all the detail - potion bottles, etc. You can also see a bit of the altar beside the witch.  She is facing two other witches - part of my haunt since the beginning - one stirring her cauldron and the other reading from the spell book.

This is a close up of the altar.  We set up my hubby's monitor to show a ghost video - Ghostly Apparitions, from AtmosFearFX.  People seemed to enjoy it. I am using more Celtic flavour of props - due to my wanting to promote the past meaning of Halloween as Samhain, a time to honour our ancestors and the dead. 

The Scarecrow was at the top of the haunt where it turned to head back out.  I had my jumping spider and skeleton here as well but they were hard to see in the dark.  More planning to do for next year.

The last section to go through before you left the haunt was the crypt. This is where I had my ghosts. The one you can see lit up also made noise and moved which was pretty cool.

Again, this past year we suffered through the winds of late October but the temperature was good and we had more kids than ever before. 

I have already started planning for 2016.  I have picked up a couple of deer motors from FrightProps so I will have a couple more animated props. 

This coming year will be harder as Halloween is on a Monday night but we will do our best. So, hope to see you in October! Bigger and Better!

Happy Haunting.

13 DAYS!

Yup, only 13 days left until the big night.  Just a quick post.  Still working on fixing up my props - painting, painting and more painting.  I hope to get things up this week.  Hubby is helping but we still haven't got the walls up yet.  I hope it doesn't take too long to put them up and decorate.  I have a few new and awesome props this year.  Not sure where they will go.  More info to come.

October 1, 2015

Well, it is the first day of October and I am far from ready for Halloween.  Most of September I was sick so now I have to go into overdrive to get the yard ready.  I will post pics as I get things done. Now starts a marathon run.

93 Days Until Halloween!

Another Halloween is on the way!  I have drafted up my layout, bigger with more scares.  I am building a walk through that will go into the backyard.  I am having a bit of an issue with how scary to make it.  Don't want it too scary for the younger kids but don't want it boring either.  I guess I will have to use my son as a guide; although things that should scare him don't but things that shouldn't scare him do. Oh well, I will do my best and learn from it.  I will be posting my progress here for you to see the development of the haunt.

Happy Haunting!