New Here And Need Help Quick

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deadbride
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New Here And Need Help Quick

Post by deadbride » Sun Oct 22, 2006 12:14 am

Sorry. :oops: I usually am so ready for Halloween. But things happened and I am not ready. I have oodles of stuff. I have 3 animatronic zombies, 7 ft. bat with blinking eyes, skeleton bat, fog machines, dracula, skeleton fountains, etc. Lots of stuff. I usually do a full haunted house. I need a theme. I have lots of items to use. I have costumes. I have mannequins and other dummies I can dress up. I have access to a clubhouse/recreation hall. I'd like to run it for three nights next weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Setup on Thursday/Friday. I have lots of help available too. I'm just running short on time. But I need ideas. Please if anyone can help me I'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

I love the site.

Here is a link to something you might like. It will tell you how much I love Halloween. This ran in the Augusta (Augusta, Georgia) Chronicle Saturday October 21, 2006 front page. My name is the first one in the article.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/10 ... 1394.shtml


I've done a lot of different themes. But I recently moved so they would all be new for this area. But the clubhouse is different from the one I was used to using and I can't staple, etc. into the ceiling (that type of thing). I've done a full pirate ship, a haunted hotel, a spider hospital, Web-Mart. I just can't think this year.

Please help. Even the kids can't seem to come up with a theme. :cry: :cry:
I may grow older, but I refuse to grow up.
I'm not weird, just normal challenged.

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mandy0221
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Post by mandy0221 » Mon Oct 23, 2006 12:58 pm

Wow - sounds sooooo much fun - wish I could come.

I am not too good at this but have you thought about maybe doing a theme from a particular sccary movie? Or perhaps combine a few classics? I know some people on this board do mad scientist labs for their themes. Or you could just keep it generic like a haunt fest type theme.

Did you really enjoy any of the themes used previously? Like the haunted hotel? That is neat.

As for the not being able to staple....can you tape or sticky tack as a substitute?

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deadbride
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Post by deadbride » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:31 pm

Thank you for the suggestion about sticky tack. I am so used to stapling to the ceiling in the old place. This new clubhouse has a drop ceiling and I can't do that. And I'm running short on time now. I just get flustered quickly. I've got so much stuff. I just feel like I don't know where to start this year. Thanks again. I hope I can get it all sorted out come Thursday when I'm ready to set up. :oops:
I may grow older, but I refuse to grow up.
I'm not weird, just normal challenged.

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EvilMel
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Post by EvilMel » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:14 pm

What about a mad scientist's lab? You could use some of your old hospital stuff for the lab. You could have zombie lab workers (like in resident evil)?

You could also do something like a mortician's workshop.

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Post by kevin » Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:41 am

Make a fog chiller.. takes about 30 minutes tops if you dont have one. Go do the gotfog.com site chiller with a 50qt ice chest, some PVC tubing and screen mesh.

How about a witch in the corner of the house with a strobe?, strobe coming from garage as well.

Purple lights near the walk way where the kids come up is pretty kewl... with some glowing items it looks very kewl, as will their costumes if they have on some bright stuff.

Put some black thin string hanging far enough down to run over their faces as they walk up the path. Tickles them, especially if you make it wet.

Maybe color some cooked rice an off yellow, throw it on the floor around the door to look like maggots... that don't move, lol.

Brain mold for jello is cheap, and gives a kewl brain to put out, put some blood on it, color it with food coloring.

I bought a cheap chalk and yellow tape kit, going to outline some severed bodies and put some fake blood out, and yellow tape up around my drive way.

A cheap strobe controller and strobe with some good thunder sounds can give a decent thunder/lightning effect.

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deadbride
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Post by deadbride » Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:35 pm

Many delight in holiday frights
By Laura Youngs| Staff Writer
Saturday, October 21, 2006
For Misty Poffenberger, Halloween was the one time of year she could be anything she wanted.

"I was always the one that dressed weird. I never fit in," she said. "As I got older, I had to be unique, and you can't do that at Christmas."

Halloween, however, allows Ms. Poffenberger, a seamstress, to be whoever, or whatever, she likes - including possibly dressing as the Corpse Bride this year, from Tim Burton's movie of the same name.

As with almost any big holiday in the United States, Halloween has gone from homemade costumes and carved pumpkins to something much bigger.

"We watch it get bigger and bigger every year. If it's on a Friday or Saturday, it's off the charts," said Michele Hattman, costume manager at Fat Man's Forest on Laney-Walker Boulevard.

From cigarette holders to plates, lamps and candles, customers have gobbled up Halloween decorations at Fat Man's. Ms. Hattman said the store has twice reordered stock for a $70 witch costume.

According to a recent National Retail Federation survey, consumers are expected to spend $4.96 billion this year, a 51 percent increase from last year.

That's because more people are celebrating Halloween - 63.8 percent of those surveyed, compared to 52.5 percent last year - and people are spending more on Halloween, said Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the federation.

"It's become such a seasonal event," he said. "People are literally decorating their homes like they would for Christmas."

Ms. Hattman can attest to that.

"People-wise ... it has been busier, sooner," she said, adding that store shelves once packed with Halloween decorations and accessories are almost empty.

Ms. Poffenberger has always treated Halloween as a seasonal event.

The Augusta mother of four has staged elaborate haunted houses open to the community for years. Past themes have included a pirate ship and a haunted hotel, she said.

The expense of Halloween, is of course, what you make it.

"The beauty of Halloween is you can use creativity and spend as much or as little as you want," Mr. Krugman said.

Decorations can range from inexpensive spider webs to singing ghosts, cackling witches and fog machines.

Ms. Poffenberger's cast of ghoulish decor includes plastic skulls, a 5-foot-wide bat and three large, electronic zombies that cost her more than $100 each.

And her fur bat with eyes that blink? That was a present from her husband, who found it on a home shopping channel for $65.

And store-bought costumes for children and adults can cost from $20 up.

If you get Fido in on the act, there's another $20 to $40 so man's best friend can be anything from Buzz Lightyear to a hippie.

And Halloween long ago stopped being a holiday just for children. About 85 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds plan to participate in Halloween activities, up from 67 percent last year.

Many, including 19-year-old Augusta resident Amanda McZilkey, plan to head to a party to celebrate. Shopping with a friend at Fat Man's, she said she plans to go as Minnie Mouse, but set her spending limit at $50.

Some, including Waynesboro, Ga., resident Caroline Post, 40, are looking for a mixture of convenience and a good price.

Picking up a cowgirl costume and a muscle shirt for her two youngest children at Fat Man's on Thursday, she said she sets a budget of $30 per costume.

The costumes can be used for dress-up later on, she added. Halloween, for her, isn't over the top, but rather a fun thing for her and her family, Ms. Post said.

"I've got four kids," she said. "I don't go too bananas."

Reach Laura Youngs at (706) 823-3227 or laura.youngs@augustachronicle.com.

CHEAP COSTUME IDEAS

Jack-O'-Lantern: Paint a jack-o'-lantern face on an oversized orange sweatshirt; pair with green leggings and a green ski cap.

Static Cling: Pin or sew mismatched sock and dryer sheets to a sweat suit.

Bathrobe Beauty: Put on a bathrobe, wrap your hair in a towel and put on some slippers. You can paint on a face mask or carry a mirror for added effect.

Dalmatian: Paint black spots on a white sweat suit, sewing a set of felt ears to the hood.

Spider: Make legs out of stuffed black leggings and attach to a black sweat suit. Cinch the legs with fishing line to create joints. Decorate colored felt with glitter to create the belly, and top off with a black hat.

Fortune Teller: Wear a long shirt, peasant blouse, dramatic makeup and piles of jewelry. As an added prop, carry a bag of fortune cookies so you can tell people their "fortunes."

Source: http://www.mommysavers.com



TOP COSTUMES FOR 2006

Kids

1. Princess (11.5 percent)

2. Pirate (5 percent)

3. Witch (4.8 percent)

4. Spider-Man (4.4 percent)

5. Superman (3.7 percent)



Adults

1. Witch (17.5 percent)

2. Pirate (3.7 percent)

3. Vampire (3.7 percent)

4. Cat (2.6 percent)

5. Clown (1.8 percent)

Source: NRF survey


GETTING IN THE SPIRIT

- The average consumer plans to spend $59.06 on Halloween this year, up 22 percent from 2005.

- Halloween is only the sixth-largest spending holiday because people don't exchange gifts. But when it comes to holiday decorating, Halloween comes in second only to Christmas.

- The survey questioned 8,000 consumers on their plans for the holiday, how much they plan to spend, and where they plan to spend it, among other things.

Source: National Retail Federation's Consumers Intentions and Actions Survey


From the Saturday, October 21, 2006 edition of the Augusta Chronicle

First person mentioned in the article is me. I figured the link I posted was asking people to subscribe to the chronicle online. :oops: I forgot.

Thanks for all the great ideas.
I may grow older, but I refuse to grow up.
I'm not weird, just normal challenged.

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mandy0221
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Post by mandy0221 » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:21 pm

Deadbride...that is some neat information you have shared. I guess Halloween is bigger then I thought - at least to other people. It has always been big to me!

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