Post by Michael West on Nov 3, 2008 16:42:55 GMT -5
A lot of new stuff this year, so let's get to it. Ladies and gentlemen, West Manor 2008...
[glow=red,2,300]THE GRAVEYARD[/glow]
(ABOVE) The graves, fence, zombies, ghosts, and ghouls were all back this year. New, however, was the wooden "NO TRESPASSING" sign with the rotting head on a stake. (BELOW)
In addition to the "NO TRESPASSING" sign (ABOVE), the driveway was lined with heads on pikes in various stages of decomposition. We had "fresh" heads, zombie heads, and skulls. We had three that actually talked, with moving mouthes (or jawbones in the case of the skulls). These were put in randomly, so that the kiddies would not know which ones would speak. (BELOW)
[glow=red,2,300]THE HAUNT[/glow]
(ABOVE) My wife stood guard, handing out full-sized candy bars and keeping the victims...er...guests in line. When it was time to enter the haunt, a zombie doorman would open the door and point the way. (BELOW) As many of you know, we did not have a doorman in the beginning, but after one group tore the door off the hinges trying to escape, it became a necessity.
The first hallway was lined with prison cells. Some of the occupants were animatronics that squirmed and cried out for help (ABOVE), others were actors who reached out and surprised passers by. (BELOW)
Next came our tribute to Stephen King's The Mist. Guests pulled back a curtain to find a hallway filled with thick fog. The backdrop was a print of spiders and victims caught in webbing that glowed brightly under blacklight. Our old spider was shoved to the background, while a new giant arachnid (BELOW) took center stage. This spider has a six foot legspan and it straddled the hallway so that guests had to walk beneath its waiting jaws. The eyes were LEDs that would flash red.
(ABOVE) Bodies lined the walls, covered over in web. Some were props. One was not, and he would reach out and startle anyone who got too close. At the end of the hall, a glowing sign proclaimed the Chop Shop open for business. (BELOW)
The walls were alternating colors of red and blue, and the ceiling bowed inward, giving the room the appearance of a circus tent and adding to the claustrophobic feel. Body parts hung down on chains, and the clowns...the clowns were everywhere. All different shapes, sizes, and demeanors. Mr. Smiley (ABOVE) was a huge prop with red LED eyes that glowed menacingly down. Harry (BELOW) was an animatronic character that would rip off its own head as it laughed.
Seated across the room were two clowns dining on severed limps. Bobo (ABOVE) was a static prop, but Killjoy (BELOW) was an actor who would leap up and slash at guests with a bloody machete, chasing them out the back door of the haunt.
The backyard was illuminated by a powerful strobe on its highest setting. When guests ran screaming from the other clowns, I was there...ready to greet them with a buzzing chainsaw. (ABOVE) Of course, when the young Trick-or-Treaters came around, I tried to play nice. (BELOW)
Big plans in store for next year. A new look for the front of the haunt. New zombies for the graveyard. And new monsters. Can't wait. ;D
[glow=red,2,300]THE GRAVEYARD[/glow]
(ABOVE) The graves, fence, zombies, ghosts, and ghouls were all back this year. New, however, was the wooden "NO TRESPASSING" sign with the rotting head on a stake. (BELOW)
In addition to the "NO TRESPASSING" sign (ABOVE), the driveway was lined with heads on pikes in various stages of decomposition. We had "fresh" heads, zombie heads, and skulls. We had three that actually talked, with moving mouthes (or jawbones in the case of the skulls). These were put in randomly, so that the kiddies would not know which ones would speak. (BELOW)
[glow=red,2,300]THE HAUNT[/glow]
(ABOVE) My wife stood guard, handing out full-sized candy bars and keeping the victims...er...guests in line. When it was time to enter the haunt, a zombie doorman would open the door and point the way. (BELOW) As many of you know, we did not have a doorman in the beginning, but after one group tore the door off the hinges trying to escape, it became a necessity.
The first hallway was lined with prison cells. Some of the occupants were animatronics that squirmed and cried out for help (ABOVE), others were actors who reached out and surprised passers by. (BELOW)
Next came our tribute to Stephen King's The Mist. Guests pulled back a curtain to find a hallway filled with thick fog. The backdrop was a print of spiders and victims caught in webbing that glowed brightly under blacklight. Our old spider was shoved to the background, while a new giant arachnid (BELOW) took center stage. This spider has a six foot legspan and it straddled the hallway so that guests had to walk beneath its waiting jaws. The eyes were LEDs that would flash red.
(ABOVE) Bodies lined the walls, covered over in web. Some were props. One was not, and he would reach out and startle anyone who got too close. At the end of the hall, a glowing sign proclaimed the Chop Shop open for business. (BELOW)
The walls were alternating colors of red and blue, and the ceiling bowed inward, giving the room the appearance of a circus tent and adding to the claustrophobic feel. Body parts hung down on chains, and the clowns...the clowns were everywhere. All different shapes, sizes, and demeanors. Mr. Smiley (ABOVE) was a huge prop with red LED eyes that glowed menacingly down. Harry (BELOW) was an animatronic character that would rip off its own head as it laughed.
Seated across the room were two clowns dining on severed limps. Bobo (ABOVE) was a static prop, but Killjoy (BELOW) was an actor who would leap up and slash at guests with a bloody machete, chasing them out the back door of the haunt.
The backyard was illuminated by a powerful strobe on its highest setting. When guests ran screaming from the other clowns, I was there...ready to greet them with a buzzing chainsaw. (ABOVE) Of course, when the young Trick-or-Treaters came around, I tried to play nice. (BELOW)
Big plans in store for next year. A new look for the front of the haunt. New zombies for the graveyard. And new monsters. Can't wait. ;D
