La Llorona

 

La Llorona gets her own mini tomb in the front graveyard.  This is the only thing in the general public area that might freak out the very youngest Trick or Treaters (TOTs). 

 And in case the video fails to load (... a problem on BlogSpot), here is a pic.

 

 

The front graveyard has been deployed!  I am not sure if I will try to put in a few more or go with what I have.  Most are oriented towards the house.  A few are toward the street (that should be closed to traffic on haunt nights).  And the few that are more horror related will be sequestered to the walkthrough haunt area. 

 

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One gravestone doesn't really fit with the others and may be the only of its kind in home haunts.  I got the idea from a Canadian goth cartoon from a few years ago that is more entertaining than it should be to me and my wife.  But it is often weird Canadian humor, and that works well with Halloween.  I present... the Ruby Gloom inspired stone.  Doom Kitty and Scaredy Bat.  Don't judge me.



Another day working on props.  Today, mostly painting gravestones and trying out different scene setups in the old hag / la bruja hut.  A mere 13 more days to go until opening night.   

Are there any Browncoats in the audience?  Here is a headstone/monument that I finished today to go with my seemingly Netflix cue list theme.  My haunt isn't all about horror.  The graveyard in the front will be a general public friendly zone... hence the tribute to Jayne.  Of the thousand Trick or Treaters we will get, I will be surprised if five get the reference.  But I suspect those five will find it awesome, so it is all worth it.  The text will show better at night with directed lighting.  Stay shiny!

Dead tree limbs and white faces.  I did this last year when I attempted my first poor man's graveyard display (made from cardboard).  I had pruned a tree earlier and tried to prop up branches throughout the yard like a big dead overgrown graveyard.  People seemed to like it.  The thing is, El Paso is incredibly weak regarding Halloween displays, so it doesn't take much to impress.  So anyone reading this that lives in El Paso has no good excuse to not throw something together this or next year.  Back to the pic... I tossed a handful of cheap white masks onto the branches and they caught the lamp light pretty well.  Each looked quite creepy when viewed at the right angle.

The dead tree thing won't be done this year.  But it did serve as a great test regarding the tolerance of my incredibly cool neighbors who did not complain.  So I am pretty sure they are going to like what I put out this year. 

I will try to rely on natural light during the walkthrough haunt for all of the outdoor scenes where possible, aside from accent lights for emphasis and effect.  There is something about the shadowplay cause by ambient light that cannot be recreated with dragging out floodlights and spotlights.  Besides, what the eye can't fully see (regarding detail on the props and actors), the mind automatically fills in and interprets... usually not for the mental calm of the viewer.  My little friend pictured above is obviously no real threat in full sunlight or fully illuminated by lamp.  But in moonlight, I expect even he will get a few reactions.  The vines that are not seen here, but are nearby, have a tendency to reach out and try to grab you when you walk past them in the moonlight.  It would be a pity to lose that by flooding the area with electric lights.

Back into the evil clown room again.  The "flesh" has been added to the ceiling hooks and the lighting placement is working well so far.  To ensure the best possible showing, I try to leave the room often to return later for a different perspective.  This has allowed me to move a few small elements around to get a better balance and has also made me realize that one particular prop may be the death of me.  Or at the very least, I may injure my hand sometime soon by reaction-punching this thing, as it consistently causes me to flinch every time I pass it.  And most of the time I remember that it is there.  It is just that the placement, shadows, and form of the prop is as close to perfect as I think I could make it... considering it is a mask and a cloak and not much more.  If anything I have causes a guest to go fetal or run straight into the nearby wall, this is the one.  So I will not show it here.  If you want to see it, you will need to visit on October 30th or 31st after sunset.

HOWEVER, I will gladly show you Goonie the Clown sitting under a spinning DJ light.  His favorite show will be playing on a nearby TV.  He looks like he might stand up at any moment.  And on haunt night, he just might do that.

You may live next to a haunter if you look into their back yard and see something like this.  Gravestones require many coats of paint to look good.  And one can never have enough random lumber.  The open door in the background is the entrance to the final rooms of the walkthrough.  Looks perfectly safe to wander into at night, no?

The evil clown room... the final part of the walkthrough... is starting to come to life.  What you see here won't necessarily be how you see it on haunt night.  There is so much more to do.  Hopefully there is a little bit of something in this room to make an impression on all who enter.  RULE: No young children are allowed in.  The rest of the haunt will be bad enough for young minds.  The goal here is to have at least one victim go fetal and have to be carried out.  There are more than just props to deal with in here. 

 

Every demonic hag needs a copy of the Necronomicon.  There really is no good alternative when conjuring demons and having any hope of controlling them.  So here is mine... or hers.  Admittedly it is a bit too glossy in the final pic, but I am thinking it will show better at night.  

 

Step 1)  Locate unwanted book and slather on liquid latex in the form of a Necronomicon face.  There are many out there, so no need to try to be exact.  I use a cheap silicone spatula since it allows for a bit of a sculpting effect rather than brushing, and the later dried latex easily peels off.  If possible, push in bits of previously dried scraps into the drying face to add a nasty textural element.  

 

Step 2) Paint on a diluted calligraphy ink to both tint the latex and have the ink pool in the recesses, giving good definition and gloss.  I used reds, a brown, and a black.

 

Step 3) Touch up with acrylic paint where needed and apply further diluted ink to get more warm tinting. 

 

 The finished product has a definite flesh texture, where it is pliable but otherwise firm.  The sheen from the inks makes the book appear to still be wet, as if recently made.  The bits that were added in have cause at least one tester to shiver and pull their hand away.  Not bad for roughly $1 in material costs (assuming you have the inks and paints already).

I am too happy with one of the lights I ordered for my garage haunt, the last part of the yardhaunt walkthrough.  I took a chance on some things from Amazon that received mixed reviews.  If this light is still working after Halloween, I will have no regrets about this purchase.  I think it had cost around $13 after shipping... from China (arriving before the domestically shipped stuff somehow).  LED too.  Plugs into a regular bulb outlet and has a motorized spinning dome to create the effect.

My first 100% original prop is finished!  I had made the model with Plastalina clay and then made a cast with Plaster of Paris this summer.  I recently received my Monster Maker RD 407 Mask Latex, brushed on a casting, and this is also my first try at painting.  The goal was to have a ripped off face to hang from a hook in the garden walkthrough.  There will be more.