Undead couple make local news paper... Zombie Apocalypse on the horizon..

   My dad used to have a running joke around the house. He said he would get up every morning and grab the newspaper. He would turn to the obituaries and if he was not listed in them, dad would have breakfast. I wonder what advise my dad would give me today if he knew I was in the newspaper, but listed as undead.
   The Wicked Woods Cemetery made the local paper! It only comes out once a week so it was a bit late on reporting some of the Halloween happening in our town. It was a really great article and I was not expecting that kind of coverage or the in depth look at what I do. I am actually humbled by the kind words from the writer. This will certainly help out with my future plans for having our first Zombie Walk for breast cancer and with a little luck, we may have some more TOTs next year. I plan on reaching out to the same writer next year to see if we can get some publicity for the yard haunt BEFORE Halloween.
   Here is the entire page from THE POST as it was printed in the paper :

Zombies and haints ...

for the love of it

"Kedric Meade II has loved Halloween 

for as long as he can recall. 

The Southern section resident annually 

turns his property into a “yard haunt.” But 

Meade’s skills have taken him beyond 

decorating for the neighborhood children: 

he said he has assisted as an advisory 

member for two national haunted house 

chains and recently was a subject matter 

expert for a national syndicated talk show. 

“My great grandmother’s birthday was 

on Halloween, so the family always had a 

huge costume party for her every year,” 

Meade said. “After her passing, we continued 

to honor her memory by celebrating 

Halloween to the fullest.” 

“I had my first experience with a haunted 

house when I was 13,” said Meade. “A 

group of friends and I put on a haunted 

house for Powell Valley Primary on the 

stage during the fall carnival. That same 

year I had my first yard haunt with those 

same friends at my great aunt’s house. I 

have been doing yard haunts for trick or 

treaters ever since.” 

Meade also worked in the Big Stone 

Gap Fire Department’s haunted house several 

times two decades ago and ran a charity 

haunted house for a company he 

worked for. 

“This makes the sixth year in a row at 

my current location that I have put on a 

yard haunt,” Meade said. “We give away 

the best treats because any child — or parent 

— brave enough to run the gauntlet 

deserves something good. As a child, I 

would have loved to find a home haunt 

like this, so I do it to pass down the love of 

the holiday to the new generations.” 

Almost all of the props in Meade’s yard 

haunt were hand-made or heavily modified 

by Meade and Miranda Kiser. He also 

has a blog, 

wickedwaysproductions.blogspot.com, 

that has “everything you need to know 

about Halloween, ghost stories, and haunted 

places in Wise County.” 

Meade said that, for next year, he hopes 

to have at least one book published, and he 

is also working on a Halloween game. “I 

also plan to work with the town of Big 

Stone Gap to have our first Zombie Walk 

for breast cancer next year,” he said."

   I hope I am not infringing on the paper by doing this, we did buy about 6 copies of the hard print ;). You will notice the Mourning Skeleton is one of the pictures selected by the writer. It was a happy accident indeed.

   I also have to laugh at the picture of that baby right next to me. As well as the advertisement for Dermatology (looking at our peeling grey faces).

   I feel this article will help to bring some well deserved fame for Halloween in our tiny town. The more people I can reach with the true joy that Halloween can bring, the better. Hopefully more people will see what fun it can be and join in next year.

   I also realize that none of the Halloween fun would ever be possible without the constant efforts of our armed forces. I wanted to take a moment to thank all our Veterans and active service men and woman (as well as their families) for the sacrifices that they have given to keep this county safe and free. That freedom that allows us to worship, celebrate, and live the way we choose.

   A special thank you going out to my stepfather Frank who served many years to keep our great country free!

Thank you one and all.

Happy Veterans' Day!