Deadline to submit videos is coming!

Submission deadline is Feb 24th! Get to crackin guys!

Who had the wicKEDest Halloween party of 2014?

That would be us right here in the Wicked Woods! Just got the award and I could not be happier. Can't wait to see what 2015 brings!

The link to the pictures can be found *HERE*

And here is the video once again :

Winners of the 2014 Haunters Video Awards are in and look who is among them!

That's right! The wicKED weeKEnD Halloween Party took best Party Haunt for 2014!

CLICK HERE FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

*we are announced at the 3 minute mark*

Best Yard Haunt	Mike Bachman	Saint Joseph, MO	39th Street Cemetery
Best Yard Haunt (Vanguard)	Mark & Belinda Faucett	Kissimmee, FL	Shingle Creek Manor
Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt	August & Pandora Rose	Aurora, CO	Dark Rose Manor
Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt (Vanguard)	Chris Ainsworth	Thornhill Ontario, Canada	Thornhill Woods
Best Static Prop	Chris Baker	South Yarmouth, MA	Village Mire
Best Static Prop (Vanguard)	Mark & Belinda Faucett	Kissimmee, FL	Shingle Creek Manor
Best Animated Prop	Steve Koci	El Cajon, CA	Sanctuary of Spooks (SOS)
Best Animated Prop (Vanguard)	Jim Slanker	Carol Stream, IL	Canyon Trail Cemetery
Best Party Haunt	WickED Meade	Big Stone Gap, VA	WickED Weekend
Best Video Production	Brad Goodspeed	Scarborough Ontario, Canada	Butcher of Provincetown
Best How-to	Chris Baker	South Yarmouth, MA	Village Mire
Propmaster Award	JIm Jwal	Charlestown, IN	Haunters Hangout

This was our first Halloween Party in the new house and we tried to go all out. I am humbled and excited to see our little video in this list.


Congratulation to all the winners, especially my Blog Buddy Mark Faucett over at Shingle Creek Manor for taking home TWO awards! Well Deserved!

Here is the Video of last years Party. Hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PARTY PICTURES

The Winners of the 2012 Haunters Video Awards have been Announced!

The winners have been announced! They are as follows.

2012 Haunters Video Award Winners

Best Yard Haunt 

Canyon Trail Cemetery

Jim Slanker

Carol Stream, IL 

Best Yard Haunt (Vanguard) 

Spider Rider of Dun Ringill

Steve Parmley

Sacramento, CA 

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt 

The Butcher of Provincetown Haunted House

Brad Goodspeed 

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada 

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt (Vanguard)

Hellizondo Carnival of Risk

Craig Schriber 

Simi Valley, CA 

Best Static Prop 

IHauntU

Grant MacDonald (Cemetery gate) 

Edmonton Canada 

Best Static Prop (Vanguard)

Deadwood Cemetery

Michael Braun

Gurnee, IL 

Best Animated Prop

Hellizondo Carnival of Risk

Craig Schriber (meat grinder) 

Simi Valley, CA 

Best Animated Prop (Vanguard)

Bates Haunt

Dave Bates (house projection) 

Utah

Best Party Haunt 

Valridge Manor Place

Stacy Saman 

Ancaster, Ontario Canada

Best Video Production 

The Butcher of Provincetown Haunted House

Brad Goodspeed 

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada 

Best How-to

2nd Street Cemetery

Heidi & Donnie Rauber Jr. 

Covington, LA 

Propmaster Award 

Hauntcast/Village Mire Yard Haunt

Chris Baker 

South Yarmouth,MA

Congratulation to you each and every one! Great job! 

If you are interested in seeing these great home/yard haunts, you can order the DVD via the link below:

These videos are a great source of inspiration and fun. I highly recommend it! Special thanks to Chris and Jeff Davis of Davis Graveyard for putting so much hard work into this year after year!

Halloween by the light of day

I had to come to a hard decision last night. I had 2 videos this year, one day and one night. 2012 was the year that I went all out on a new camera, a new low lux video recorder, and put in a boat load on haunt lighting. Then it snowed and rained for almost a solid week. Halloween was almost ruined due to weather but gratefully, Mother Nature gave us a 5 hour window without precipitation before it started back up. Just long enough to scare TOTs but not for a really great night video. I was really unhappy with the night shots as rain droplets would hit the lens and cause it go out of focus and we were super rushed. Therefore I have decided to submit my Day Shot video/pictures for this years Home Haunters Video.

Videos must be submitted by January 31st so if you are planning on getting one in this year, time is running out! I highly encourage you to do so if you have any good videos!

I just can't shake the feeling it is somehow wrong to submit a daylight video of my haunt........

2011 Home Haunters Awards have been announced!

   The winners have been announced for the 2011 Awards. Click below to view the list and their accomplishments. 

   I was very happy to see many winners in my network of fellow bloggers. I can't wait to go back and watch the videos of the winner again now. If you have not seen the videos yet, and have the slightest fondness for Halloween or haunts... go now and buy them. Lots of great ideas contained in the 5 disks DVD collection.

Sending out a big congratulation to all the winners this year! 

The Home Haunter DVD Collection and Awards

    If you have not picked up this little gem of Halloween goodness, you need to! I just got mine last week and we have been hungrily combing through the submission ever since. The creativity contained on this 5 DVD set is astounding. Check out the newly revamped website by clicking below:

    Don't forget to like the Home Haunter DVD Collection Facebook page as well.  

   I know there are many of us that are awaiting with a great deal of anticipation to see who won The 2011 Home Haunter Video Awards.  

   We are only halfway through the DVD sets and I already do not envy the judges jobs. There are so many great haunts and videos to choose from this year. Good luck all!

Hmmm.... this one on disk 5 sounds like it will be wicKED!

   Speaking of wicked things, don't forget about the May Monster Madness blog hop hosted by Annie Walls.Sign up by clicking the picture below!

Tag! I'm it!

TAG! You're it!

   It seems I was tagged by Pensive Pumpkin. Thank you Pensive for the tag ;). I secretly enjoy these distractions from all the creepy, dark, wickedness of my blog so I jump at the chance to partake. I am a bit late on this post as a multitude of games and other gifts from Christmas and my subsequent Birthday are keeping me enthralled around the clock.
   Without further delay.... the rules!

-----------------------------------------
Rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 3 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you have tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 3 people!
-----------------------------------------

Here goes the random stuff about me:

#1 I may not look it, but I am a world traveler. I have been all over this big blue sphere we call earth. Some of my favorite stops have been Japan, The Philippine, Costa Rica, Brazil, Germany, Amsterdam, and the Bahamas to name some of my favorites. I have been all over the US. When I was younger, I could not wait to get away from my home town. Now that I am older, I can't stand to leave it.

#2 I love spicy foods. The hotter the better.

#3 I am an excellent cook .Learned from my mom and picked up other tricks along the way.

#4 I am a total movie buff. I love movies of all kinds.

#5 I try to celebrate any and all occasions. I was raised to make the most of the day and to plan big when those days are special. I actually had a person recently comment to the fact that I celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with decorations, foods, and parties. They went on to tell me they NEVER celebrate anything, not even birthdays and then started to complain about how terrible their life was and they  "wished the good lord would take them on".  Perhaps if they would make the effort to celebrate life and have some fun they would not be so damn dour. I am also not sure that "the good lord" wants such a fuddy duddy which may explain why he does not "take them on".

#6 I am severely anemic. When I was younger, I would have to fight the urge to eat raw meat over this condition. Because of this, I love iron rich foods such as liver and spinach.

#7 I love landscaping almost as much as Halloween. As soon as spring hits, I am in the yard, planting trees, pruning, and building stuff. That last few years, I have been incorporating Halloween into my landscape by planting creepy trees and plants with fall foliage.

#8 I am a full on gamer. I play anything and everything from board games and puzzles to all night Gears of War marathons on Xbox. I am partial to RPGs.

#9 I am handy and crafty, which is a boon and a curse. It is good for holidays or when things break around the house, but people who know me are always wanting me to build, fix, create, or make them things. I usually don't mind as long as it is not excessive or interfering my carefully planned days.

#10 Speaking of planned, I am a planer. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!". I tend to plan everything, even grocery runs. I am very good at improve and jumping into things blind so I am not sure why I am so big on planning everything.

#11 I have 4 books and a game, all 95% developed and ready. I just can't find a publisher/agent to carry me.

 So there are my 11 random things. Time to answer the three questions offered to me by Pensive :

#1 What is your favorite way to celebrate success in life? That is super easy. Throw a party! I love a celebration and any success, no matter how small, deserves to be celebrated. This can range from a small 4 person get together to watch a movie or karaoke to huge parties that I worry about where people will be able to sit and if the neighbors will call the cops.

#2 How do you motivate yourself and those around you? I believe in an even use of positive reinforcements and grim consequences. I usually greatly exaggerate the reward and the punishment. I love to use vivid imagery of the prize awaiting success and the dark cold fate of failure should the goal be missed. I also tend to follow up... sometimes too may times.

#3 What is the thing (aside from your spouse, significant other, beloved, partner, human children, or furbabies) that makes you happiest in this world? It's the little things in life that make me the happiest. Don't get me wrong now, Halloween, vacations, and parties all make me extremely happy, but they are few and far between. The simple things give me the biggest pleasure. Like home made soup on a snowy day. The smell of a rose I grew from a cutting. Opening a new game. The smell of a new book. Sleeping late on a rainy morning. The first day of feeling good after a long, terrible cold. The sound of crickets in summer under a canopy of fireflies. Finding a dollar in your old jacket pocket that has been in the closet for a year. I think people forget about how nice the little things are and they tend to over look them or label them as insignificant. It is when your life is devoid of these simple pleasures that true misery creeps in. 

Now that is complete, time to tag three bloggers to carry on the tradition. I want to tag three blogs that I enjoy reading and I think will appreciate this type of activity. The three I have chosen are :

Marilyn from the art bliss blog.

Annie from the Annie Walls blog.

Nicole from the Bewitchingyou blog.

The three questions I will create for the newly tagged to answer are as follows :

#1 Besides Halloween and Christmas, what other holiday(s) do you celebrate/enjoy/decorate for?
#2 What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?
#3 How do you deal with the negative people in your life?

Ready.... set.... GO!

Another Awesome Award and some Bootiful Bargains.

 
   I was fortunate enough to receive the Liebster ("Dearest" in German) Blog award from none other than Annie Walls. With her witty report and eclectic humorous streak of her blog, this is quite the compliment coming from her! Make sure you drop by and say hello on her blog. Thank you so much Annie for bestowing this award on me.
   As with any award, there are rules to accepting and passing it on. Here they are :

The Rules for passing on the award: 

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.

2. Pass the award onto 5 blogs that have less than 200 followers.

  Thanks you again Annie for the honor!

Here are my 5 picks for this award :

Justine's Halloween

LuLuKellogg

BewtichingYou

The Pumpkin Abbey

The Halloween Tree

Make sure you check out all the blogs I just mentioned. If you do, you are in for a treat!

   As to the Bootiful Bargains. M and I headed out on one of the most beautiful Autumn weekends I can recall. We headed down to Tennessee with Halloween bargains in our cross hairs. We made out like bandits. Everything was just marked down to 75% off. We picked up several items for next years party, a bunch of toys for treat bags, tons of decorations, and some new wicked signs. The best buy of the day was M's new spider costume. She is going to wear it all winter (so she says). Needless to say, an unsuspecting  Lilly was the prime target for the new costume :

   Don't worry, Lilly still loves M even if she does have 8 legs :

   Hope everybody is having a great post Halloween weeKEnD! 

The scariest pictures you will see this year.

This picture was taken at 5pm on Tuesday November 1st. The front yard completely devoid of any signs of Halloween. This can be traumatizing to some Halloween Enthusiast. If you look closely you can make out three signs of Halloween night :

1. Ice from the fog chiller still managing to hang on defiantly in the sun.
2. A definitively coffin shaped imprint in the yard. 
3. Pumpkin the cat who ran like a bat out of hell all over the haunt on Halloween night.

   While I was on the porch rolling up an extension cord, a group of ladies from down the street approached. 

    I recognized them as the group that stopped a block away and sent their children to their doom into the cemetery. I had ignored the children and went shambling off for the group of ladies standing under the street light in imagined safety. They had ran off screaming, leaving their kids to their fate.

    Now they are back standing at my property in the daylight. I overheard one of them say, "Oh man! It's all gone! I wanted to see it! How could they have taken that all down since last night?". They turned to leave and I heard her say over her shoulder, "It's creepy... almost like it did not exists!". 

   I smiled to myself. My yard haunt was still creeping people out even though it was safety stored away in the  back building. If they had only came about an hour earlier, they would have been witness to the great Halloween Massacre of 2011 :

I must warn you!

The pictures you are about to witness....

are very graphic!

Look at your own discretion!

  These images are almost too much for me to bare. It looks like a Weapon of Mass Destruction went off near my yard haunt. Rest in peace props.... till next year....

Last, but certainly not least....

I RECEIVED A BLOG AWARD

The much sought after Zombie Rabbit Award!

This auspicious award was bestowed upon me by no other than The Demon Blogger of Canada of the Kweeny Todd Blog! Make sure to drop by and pay your respects to her blog and while you are there, grab a quick shave...it will be the closest you have ever had .... guaranteed!

Like any award, there are rules to follow upon accepting this award.

The Rules :

1. Give this award to up to 10 who you like, but also give a couple to the "Next Blog" Slider on the top so random bloggers can feel the love of a stranger.

   I am not sure about the random awarding of a blog. An award like this should be given because you really enjoy the content of a followed blog. Also, the whole giving a random stranger the feel of love seems a bit creepy, so I will award this out to people who I feel deserve it.

   2.  Post those you gave the award to, so fans of your site can see the places you like and that you Paid it 

        Forward too.

The following blogs come to mind anytime I think if a rabid zombie rabbit.

Pensive Pumpkin

Halloween Addict

Hooks Haunted Hollow

Voodoo Ghoul

Zombies Don't Run

Grim Hollow Haunt

AEIOU and sometimes Why

Maple Grove Cemetery

Blackwood

Gone Feral In Idaho

   Now I am off to finish putting up the interior Halloween. We are 90% complete. We have a big day of Halloween bargain shopping planned for the morning. I will share our finds! Hope you all have a great weeKEnD!

How to know if you are a Halloween Fanatic. 50 signs to look for.

  

  Recently I posted an article, "Why are you so obsessed with Halloween". That is one of the most viewed article on my blog with numerous link backs and shares. It also generated a lot of mail. One of the most common questions that comes from this article is, "How do I know if I am truly a Halloween fanatic or just a person who likes it?". 

   Below you will find a listing of 50 signs to look for in your life to determine if you are just fond, or fanatical. 

1. During the month of October, you seem to suffer from constant hot glue blisters, Dremel Tool gouges, X-acto blade cuts, coat hanger wire scrapes, splinters, paint fume headaches, and/or hand cramps from detail work.
2. You fully understand what a FCG, Peppers Ghost, Bucky, and Corpseing are.
3. You stalk your local stores, starting at the end of August, for Halloween merchandise.
4. You bargain shop for pumpkins.
5. Instead of having a Christmas Club Account or a Rainy Day Jar, you have a Halloween Cash Stash.
6. You take vacation time in October for Halloween projects.
7. You request Halloween off at your job a year in advance.
8. You have a nagging fear in the back of your mind that you will be sick on Halloween night.
9. Your "Black Friday" is whatever day the retails stores put their Halloween merchandise on 50% off.
10. If you have ever received or requested something Halloween related for your birthday and/or Christmas.
11. When on summer vacation to a warm sunny place, you manage to find and purchase something for Halloween.
12. Anytime you see the colors orange and black together, you automatically think "Halloween!". 
13. Your DVR is set to record more Halloween related shows than normal programming during the month of October.
14. Pumpkin flavored foods and drinks are highly coveted by you.
15. You would trade in your current vehicle, even though it is new, for a hearse in a heartbeat.
16. You landscape your yard during Spring and Summer for maximum creep factor in fall such as Sugar Maples and Red Oaks for fall colors or creepy gnarled bushes and trees for use in a yard haunt.
17. You stop mowing your yard for the month of October to make your house look scarier. 
18. If a cashier has ever asked you, "Are you building a bomb?" when you are shopping for Halloween.
19. You stockpile PVC, scrap wood, wire, miss mixed paint, Duct Tape, newspaper, and rebar all year.
20. If you have ever thrown away perfectly good storage items to make room for just one more Halloween tote.
21. Your idea of prime Halloween shopping locations includes Thrift stores, Yard/Garage sales, and Goodwill.
22. You plan your weekend destinations based on store locations that are selling a particular Halloween item.
23. If you ever dismantled another Holiday decoration to create something for Halloween.
24. You start dreaming up your Halloween Costume in June.
25. You're the first on your block to decorate for Halloween.
26. Your Halloween decorations are up in September.
27. If you have ever found yourself cooking something and thinking, "How can I make this look really gross for a Halloween Party.".
28. You find yourself secretly excited because you just heard a Halloween related song on the radio or TV.
29. You make a big deal out of seeing the first Halloween commercial of the year. 
30. Before throwing out anything broken or old, such as furniture, electronics, or clothes, you consider if it could be used for a Halloween prop.
31. You have at least one Halloween ring tone on your cell.
32. There is at least one Halloween item that stays up year round in your home.
33. People ask you if they can borrow a costume to scare somebody.....and it is July.
34. Somebody brings to your attention, during the month of October, that you have strange red stains on your hand, fingers, or feet.
35. Whenever visiting a graveyard, you can't help but look at the tombstones for inspiration. 
36. You surprise yourself at the amount of black and gray spray paint you go through.
37. If you have ever dug up a section of your yard to plant pumpkins.
38. When shopping for a new house, some of the main items you consider are , is there room for Halloween parties, how will it look decorated, will trick or treaters come to this house, and is there enough storage for my Halloween stuff. 
39. You have friends who bring over their friends to see your house during Halloween.
40. You know the difference in a Bucky and a Blucky.
41. If you have ever gotten into an argument with a complete stranger because they swear you can buy a hand made crank ghost or Pepper's ghost illusion at Walmart. 
42. In your collection of everyday hanging pictures in your house, there is at least one picture of you or your family in Halloween costumes.
43. If you have ever purchased a security camera. Not for your house or your car, but your display.
44. You have a special drawer or place in the closet for Halloween themed clothing and t shirts.
45. You have a secret family recipe, passed down over generations, for a Halloween related food or drink.
46. Your family and friends are always on the look out for strange bottles and jars to add to your apothecary display.
47. If you get random picture messages from friends containing Halloween displays or merchandise.
48. If you have ever studied a real spider's web for inspiration on a prop.
49. It's the first weekend of September and you already feel behind on your Halloween preparations.

And last, but not least.....

   50.  You start your own blog about Halloween.

   Now to score yourself and see just how into Halloween you are. Total the number of signs you can identify with and check below to see where you end up.

SCORING:

0-5     You're an Oops : 

You most likely found my blog by accident. Sorry if I scared you.

6-10   You're a Participator : 

With less than 2 weeks till Halloween. You better dig out that paper skeleton    and apple sized plastic pumpkin to decorate.

11-30 You are a Fan : 

You decorate, and celebrate. You most likely dress up to hand out candy from your decorated door.

31-45 You are a Fanatic : 

Your house is a work of Halloween art. Your Halloween Holiday spans weeks while you prepare and decorate. You most likely have an annual party and most of your decorations/costume are hand made. You  have the best treat bags on the block and set a huge budget for your Halloween spending.

46-50 You are the Incarnation of Samhain! :  

The neighborhood children better bring a change of underwear when they come for treats.  

   Hope that sheds some light on your true feeling for Halloween. Let me know how you scored. In other news :

I have been given an iDig Your Blog Award,

bestowed upon me by HollyHorror of Holly's Horrorland!

iDig Your Blog Award Protocol:

1 .) Gratefully accept this award. 

2 .) Link to the person you received it from.

3. ) Post 3 interesting facts about yourself.

4 .) Pass this award around to at least 5 blogs you dig. 

5. ) Notify them.

1. I accept this award with the utmost gratitude.

2. Thank you, HollyHorrorshow for digging my blog!

3. Three slightly interesting facts about me:

- I have traveled all over the world, but I settled back in my home town. Seems like the more I got to see of the world, the more I realized my birthplace was a pretty darn good place to be.

- I'm allergic to strawberries. They make me very intoxicated.

- I live with my Halloween supporting girlfriend, Miranda, and our two cats, Archie and Lilly. Archie is a rescue cat that I, literally, saved from the jaws of death (only seconds to spare). He is a rare breed Egyptian Shadow Mau. He is grey (we call him the Old Grey Man and tell people the house is haunted by him) but you can see his stripes in the sunlight. Archie talks more than any animal I have every encountered.

Miranda rescued Lilly. Her aunt found Lilly on her back porch when she was WAY too little to be weened. Nobody thought she would survive but she did. Now Lilly runs the household. To get more info on my eclectic family click HERE. 

4. iDig these 5 blogs and pass the award onto them:

Art Bliss

Justine's Halloween

Out of the Shadows

LuLu Kellogg

Ghost Stories and Haunted Places

5. I will make sure to tell everybody of the award right after the post!