The Heroes of the 2015 Halloween Display

  

  

The Kerbey House was without its full walkthrough this year due to time constraints and the expectation of huge crowds of Trick-or-Treaters (TOTs) on this Saturday Halloween.  The crowds were near non-stop in 2014, and it was difficult to manage both the TOTs and managing the walkthrough.  That turned out to be a good plan, as we likely had over 1,800 TOTs this year.  This change also meant that my friends pictured above were freed from being hidden in the haunt and were instead set up in a few scenes in the front yard.  The graveyard did not happen, as I procrastinated too long.  However, the Buick loaded with my "Rollin' Crypts" clown gang turned out to be the most popular of all of the scenes.  It was lit from within and above by spinning DJ lights and low-powered strobes.  It ended up being a backdrop for many pics that night.  As a bonus, there was room in the backseat for me to get some haunt acting scares in on a few victims that dropped their guard nearby. 

I will update this with a short video and more pics of this scene at night soon.

Everyone Loves Babies & Clowns

 It is dangerous to linger around haunt prop seller sites this time of year.  All sorts of props seem to get rationalized and purchased at 2am.  With that in mind, I present to you my first foray into the evil possessed baby category. 

 

 

He is a crude puppet that is meant to be held like a real baby before attacking a guest.  Unfortunately, nothing moves, other than to turn one's hand and the puppet's cloth body allows the head to sort of turn.  While I may use it as a hand puppet on Halloween night a few times... it will likely spend more time as a static prop in the cemetery.  Overall, not a bad purchase. 

 

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I am a sucker for a good smile.  And while my wife would contend that I have more than enough evil clown masks to be used as static props (she is not a fan), I believe there is always room for one more in the scene.  I think the kids will really appreciate this one. 

 

 

2015: The Year of the Walkthrough Display

Age protections will not be in effect.  Everyone gets it this year.

 

 

 

I have done a modest display one year, a haphazard (emphasis on hazard) interactive display another year, and a full garage and yard walkthrough with a front graveyard during the last two years.  I am expecting even larger crowds this year.  With that in mind, I will forego the full garage walkthrough, and instead use my large circular (oblong?) front driveway as a two sided, wide walkthrough for the family hordes.  Few punches will be pulled.  Props that were relegated to last year's walkthrough to protect the youngest TOTs will be on display and possibly active in the front where all must pass through.  If kids and sensitive parents get damaged... they can just get over it later.  Actors will be roaming, when not doing the TOT assist.  Lighting and animated props will be in effect.  If all goes well... shit will get real.  The biggest challenges are the everpresent late October winds savaging my foam-based graveyard and hanging props... and my procrastination in getting those foam-based props ready in time for the show.

 

2015:  No Theme.... Four Scenes!

 

Although last year had a theme, and next year will too, the masses will have to forgive the lack of one this year.  I doubt that most will notice.   There should be so much going on visually, that there should be no time to really think about it. 

 

The Scenes:

 

1)  El Paso Driving Tour Station

(Ticket booth, Huge Buick filled with evil clowns, lots of effects)

 

2)  Grim Road Cemetery

(updated gravestones and tombs, con La Llorona)

 

3)  Zombie Cage

(people love zombies and I have many.. so why not)

 

4)  Spider Alley

(mostly a roof-mounted projection with lots of props)

 

 

I hope to have a few masks and costumes ready to change into every hour to be able to scare those TOTs that are doing laps around the neighborhood.  If all goes well, others will join in to help with the display / cue line acting.  I am expecting easily 1,500 TOTs.  I haven't decided if the media will be invited to grab a 10 second spot to air later that night.  We will keep it running until around 9pm, weather permitting. 

The September Stall-out

Progress has been halted due to technical difficulties...

 

 

Mid-September, and prop progress has stalled-out... as expected.  This is the time of year when all of those plans run up against the harsh reality that it is still too hot to be leaning over a foam sheet, inhaling its' dust while trying to do necessary engraving on headstones, etc...

 

However, the impulse prop purchasing has been going and a financially debilitating pace, so that finding a place for it all will be a challenge... and explaining the credit card balance to one's spouse will be awkward.

 

Hopefully, I will have some pics to share soon.  My orders should start trickling in this week.  Masks, wall props, puppets (they were on sale... don't judge me), and other stuff.

 

Now, I just need to figure out how to make a dozen crude but effective standing body forms to mount zombie masks on.  Also, time management and project completion.... I should probably make some attempt at that.

 

Stay creepy.

Babysitter Wanted

I get ideas for my haunt by watching a lot of horror movies.  Most are not good (Netflix)... but the few that keep my attention deserve a mention. So the following review will hopefully be the first of many posted here throughout the year.

 

TLDR:  An interesting 80s style horror movie with good acting (except the boy... but that is to be expected), thankfully non-80s dialogue, and the right dose of gore... so that one cringes during the action scenes without getting desensitized.  It does do things that most horror fans will expect, but it stayed interesting enough to have me return to it after being interrupted a few times during the viewing.  Should have replay value even after knowing all of the twists.  4.5 of 5

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A slightly longer review:  This movie plays on the fear of being new and mostly friendless, of being trapped far from help, of creepy priests, and the fear of being passed through the digestive tract of a child.  And while most horror fans will see the many twists' headlights coming around each corner a few minutes before each reveal, it doesn't hurt the film.  Horror doesn't lose point for being derivative.  It loses points for being boring.  Fortunately, this film wasn't boring.  And it didn't have to rely on senseless gore and nudity to achieve that.  The gore we see hurts.  Most viewers will likely cringe in a few parts, but it serves the story...so it is not merely gore-porn.  The dialogue is to the point too, with only one section full of a boasting villain engaging in some exposition.  But the acting is good, so that can be forgiven.  All of the adults have fun with their roles.  The child actor... not so much.

 



That kid seemed to have been given a 1 minute compilation video of the child from the original The Shining as inspiration... and then just kept replaying the REDRUM part in between takes.   But horror fans are likely used to seeing a few stiff performances by child actors without ruining the movie.  I will put the blame on his coach.  Kids are plenty creepy to me in real life.  It is when they are told to be creepy that they seem to then just go stiff and dull.  If the twist ending had been that he was an interstellar alien in a human skin that had recently landed on Earth, I would have said the kid nailed the role.

The big question.... will you be scared?  Likely not.  But you will be curious to see where the ride is going and to see if the heroine survives.  One never can tell in horror.  And if you let yourself, you will be tense in a few parts and will cringe during the big fight scene.  The concept is scary, with acting performances that serve the script well.  And since the movie does so many things right for the genre, you will forgive the very few holes... such as how does one help another walk while having a deep axe wound in their own back (???).  Or who the hell called the cops?  But this is horror... not a history documentary.  So us horror fans are used to this too.  I definitely suggest this movie to fans of 80s horror.  And I suspect that I will see most of these actors in other projects. 

The pet peeve that made me swear at the screen that will be the slightest of SPOILERS is the obsession in horror films with setting up a sequel.  Why can't a horror movie just end?  Why must there almost always be a wink, or a hand reach out, or a "we can't find the body" ending?  Is there really a need for a Babysitter Wanted 2?  How about, "that was intense and jacked up, but it is over now.  Good luck with having a normal life and here is a card for a local PTSD counselor." [end rant]

While I do not think that any big parts of this movie will find its way into my haunt (maybe some of the gore barn setting as inspiration), I do not regret watching it.  That cannot be said of  >50%  of what I see in the horror section of Netflix.  I legitimately liked it.  Hopefully, this movie will get picked up by Netflix to improve its stable.  In the meantime, give the movie a chance and spend the $3 on Vimeo. 

 

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/38763/128208085

 

 

 

Overall rating:  4.5 of 5

The Clown Run, 2014

I never seem to take enough pictures on show night.  :/  And on a related note, I think I need to invest in a better night cam for 2016. 

 

Nonetheless...  here is one of the surviving action pics from the Clown Run that was the last stage of 2014 walkthrough.  It was set in the sideyard that runs the length of the house (70ft?) and is roughly 9 feet wide, with too many things planted on most parts of the sides.  Static props filled the area while spinning lights were used to "animate" them and possibly disorient the guests.  A haunt acter was stationed at the end as a jump scare.

 

 

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The guests left the small back yard, turning a tight corner to then be met by my gatekeeper.  He was illuminated by a strobe at the front and was backlit by the spillover from the spinning colorful DJ lights.  Guests could see some silhouettes of props beyond this, but were immediately met by waist high masked clown props as they passed through the fabric.

 

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They killed him.  At the beginning, this guy was suspended on the rope ladder and partially obscuring a masked prop a few feet behind.  Why didn't I take his pic before or during that night.... or even reset just for a good pic?  Good question.  Also a good learning lesson.

 

 

Here is some of what was waiting just beyond the rope ladder clown.  It looks much more benign in sunlight.  The bordering gardens served to visually soften the path while providing random tough scares to guests as they brushed past the standing masked props that were simple wooden stakes with clothes hangers, some masks, and the uglier of the shirts from my tropical shirt phase (2003-2006) that still lurks in my clothes closet.

 

 

 

This should give a better idea of the path structure and how close the guests had to pass the various masked props that looked very much possibly alive when lit by the DJ lights.

 

 

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Again... the big learning lessons are that moving DJ lights (not just annoying strobes) do a lot to bring simple props to life, forcing guests to SLOW DOWN and appreciate some of the haunt that they might otherwise speedwalk right past.  And always take many pictures during the build and especially during the show night.  Blurry is better than nothing.

 

 

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The 2014 Clown Run will be the last for this side yard.

 

Although this Clown Run was much more successful than the 2013 Ghoul Run (very poor lighting and people just walked through it missing most details)... with a big difference being that the walkthrough direction was flipped for 2014, making the side yard the ending rather than the beginning, my gardening hobby has made it near impossible.  That neat mulch path is now littered with stepping stones and other plants. 

 

 

Soooo... for 2015, the side yard will, at most, hold a large front-facing prop very near the front yard (since there will be no immersive walkthrough in the back).   This side yard will then be limited to being a lengthy display of the same (and additional) evil clowns to serve as a distraction while guests enter the adjacent alley that leads to/from the garage-yard haunt in the back.  This will allow my plants to live while also permitting me to set up a wilder display without the worry of things getting trampled like the rope ladder clown was and this poor guy: 

 

 

 

 

 



A few new faces at TKH for 2015

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La Llorona?  The Grey Lady?  Laura?

 

She is no longer allowed in the house, by spousal decree.  I think she is pretty.  I probably won't think the same when I run into to her lingering in the garage in a few weeks after I have forgotten she and the others are there.

I am thinking that she will end up either in the zombie cage with the many others, or possibly out in the open in the Grim Rd Cemetery.  The cemetery was supposed to have the undead in it, but she looks like she could make a strong impression. 

 

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Ruben

 

Ruben is definitely going in the zombie cage.  TOTs will have to walk past him and his equally nasty inmates, but kids are tough.  He will likely get a bigger reaction when the walkthrough haunt comes back online in 2016.  Until then, he will wait... always watching.

 

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Demon

 

 

I have no idea where my demon friend will be going.  He may wait in the basement for next year.  I just couldn't pass up the chance to get him...her...it.

 

 



The General Layout

The Google aerial view of the house back in 2012
 

The Grim Rd Cemetery is built on the front island, with some minor scenes often set up in the periphery garden areas.  The cemetery will be added to yearly. 

 

 

 



 

The hordes of ToTs (candy-mooching kids and their parents) enter both sides of the circular drive in numbers ranging from 800 to 1,500+... only diminishing by 9pm when the candy has already run out.  The access alley going diagonally in the picture runs the length of the block, but is unused on Halloween other than as my inlet/outlet to the detached garage haunt.

 

 

This alley is unlit aside from whatever temporary lighting I add and a postlamp in the backyard behind the fence line covered in vines.

 

In year 2013, the walkthrough haunt began at the front gate of the sideyard, down the sideyard into the small backyard, and through the workshed and attached garage.  Victims left through the dark alley back into the front yard.

 

In year 2014, the course ran in reverse, with the alley serving as the cue line and victims leaving through the front gate of the side yard.  This worked better for crowd management.  However, the sideyard garden has grown such as to no longer be viable as a walkthrough area.

 

For year 2015, there will be no garage walkthrough.  Rather than having a themed walkthrough in the rear of the property, the bulk of the TKH props will be set up in the front yard for all to see.  There will be 3 major scenes (Zombie Cage, Clown Car, and Grim Rd Cemetery), with a possibility of some minor scenes at the front of the side yards.

 

Year 2016 should show the return of the garage haunt.  Victims will cue in the alley.  The haunt will consist of the garage, workshed, and end at the backyard gate.  The sideyard will serve only as a huge highly animated display visible to people walking through the alley to cue or to leave. 

 

This is the sideyard in spring 2014.  It has since become too overgrown with gardens to be used by the plant-stomping guests.

 

 





The Kerbey House 2014 Haunt Theme: Told with my FB promo pics

 

There is a house in El Paso, Texas that has a rose garden, fruit trees, butterfly gardens, and vines covering several walls.  This is despite El Paso being in scrubland desert.  The owner boasts that he does his own gardening and never uses synthetic chemicals.  Due to his employment involving shiftwork, he can often be seen working in his garden and garage at odd hours of the night.

 

 

"Life comes from life," he is often heard saying.  "Happy worms equals happy soil!  And the soil is forever hungry." 

 

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There have been rumors as to how he manages to keep everything so green in this heat.  The most he will say is that good nutritious compost can work wonders.  He makes his own in his garage.

 

 

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That garage seems to be his second favorite place to hang out, aside from working in his gardens.

 

 

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And although he rarely invites neighbors over to see his techniques, he occasionally can be seen showing strangers around his backyard.  They seem to stay late into the night discussing things.

 

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That owner is always talking about his "happy soil."

 

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The spiders and bugs there are interesting.  There are so many... seemingly crawling over everything.  And yet they never seem to bite him.  He joking calls them his kids or his "thousands of little mouths to feed."  They seem to appreciate whatever it is that he is doing.

 

 

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His only complaint about making his own fertilizer and compost is the need to constant vigil regarding keeping unwanted ingredients out.  He says that they can often attract unwanted pests.

 

 

 

However, he claims to be able to keep most of the rare problem contained in his back yard.

 

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All neighborhoods have their gossip.  And this gardener knows that people talk, even though they claim to love passing by his gardens.  They nervously joke with him about there being bodies buried in the rose garden.  For a laugh, the gardener puts up a big cemetery Halloween display for all to admire when the families come by for Trick or Treat.

 

 

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And on that night, he even gives tours through his garage and yard.  He sets up realistic decorations and has actors that are very committed.  Some people get scared, but he assures them that the sights and smells... and sounds... are just for show. 

 

 

  

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That guy sure loves Halloween and his gardens.

"Happy worms make happy soil." 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

A Tight Squeeze: The compression door

Just hanging around...

 

The 2014 garage portion of the walkthrough included a compression scare in the form of a resistant foam doorway that victims had to push through.  The idea came from larger compression halls I have visited at pro haunts that use large airbags that guests need to push through... unaware of what waits for them on the other side.  It also adds the element of touch and forces a delay on the victims. 

 

For mine, I used a thick sheet of bendable black foam, divided in half, and firmly braced by 2x4 walls.  This allowed a crack of light to be seen in the center, with the next room being dimly lit by a 4ft black light.  A 7ft tall ghoul prop waited for the victim around the next corner.

 

Several of the quitters that left the haunt screaming did so when they were faced with going through this door.  It seems that darkness + physical resistance = NOPE for a few people.

 

 

What the victim saw (but with fake candles backlighting the area instead of the overhead as pictured.)

 

 

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This is how crude the setup actually was... with landscaping fabric stapled over the rough wood for protection from scrapes and to add to the gritty look of the room.

 

 

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This is a close-up showing the thickness of the door that victims needed to either open by hand or push through. 

 

 There were no hinges, so the strength of the foam provided noticeable resistance as one tries to slid through.  But it was wide enough so that no one had real trouble getting in.

 

Although the garage walkthrough will not be used in the 2015 haunt, this doorway has been left intact and will be used again in the full 2016 haunt.

 

 

 

 

A few of the faces from 2014

 

"Their faces were hung in the garage with great care...

In hopes that soon the gardener would be there..."

 

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"I am not good with deadlines"... The Belated Update

The 2014 haunt season was a huge success! 

 

Sure, there were problems with props, I ran out of setup time, some actors flaked, and lighting was still not ideal... but a success nonetheless!  It just seems to get better every year.

#1 Learning lesson from 2014:   Stop the line and do a personal walkthrough to see what needs to be reset or changed. 

There was a section of yard that had many props, but no actors.  Because of this, many props were knocked down or had been moved to a direction where they were likely not scary at all.  It is impressive how destructive strangers in a yard walkthrough can be.  So the guests during the last hour likely missed out on a section that no doubt cause the first groups to wig out and run into everything.  No one complained... it just could have been better if a 10 minute reset break had been worked in. 

#2 Learning lesson from 2014:  Put someone else in charge of storing the mini-lights / spotlights before showtime... because I misplace them every damn year.

Again, the front yard "Grim Rd Cemetery" needed better lighting due to highlight the details since I misplaced the mini-lights, only to find them the day after in a bag in an obvious safe spot.  :-/

#3 Learning lesson from 2014:  The cemetery needs better headstones. 

The ones I used weren't so much "bad" as they were "meh."  The cemetery will be the main focus for propbuilding before Halloween 2015.