HOUSE BLOODTHORN

The Dark Garden

2011-11-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

The air was still and the fog hung low as Rose beheld her garden.

Physically, the haunt this year looked the best it ever has. Still a few issues with lighting and photography, but all in all, I'm pleased with the way things turned out.

Bonus this year is that we were able to successfully get some good video of the haunt. Thanks to KC Kenaz for hanging out and filming. Early footage looked great so it looks promising for a video this year.

More to come.

The Night of Nights

2011-10-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

May your candles burn bright, your fog hang low and your pumpkin lids singe ever so sweetly.

Happy Halloween from House Bloodthorn.

Halloween 2010 Redux

2011-10-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

Soon has finally arrived. Better late than never. Here are a few shots of the haunt last year...

I hesitated posting them because the majority of the photos did not come out very well and I really had to ramp them up in Photoshop. Uncooperative weather for lighting setup, not covering the street light as we did the past year, additional lights left unhooded, no budget to speak of and a wingman with not one, but two broken wrists really hampered us this year.

Due to economic times, the only new prop for 2010 was a Celtic Cross tombstone, based on Hector Turner's design, that I made out of foam board left over from 2009.

The only other change was to the Tree of Woe. In 2009, to accommodate the Halloween Tree motif, the witch jars that came with the haunt were hung on the outside of the fence. With LED tea lights in them, they were quite dim and went pretty much unnoticed. The crown-of-thorns skull was hung over the lower window and also went pretty much unnoticed. In 2010, I decided to hang the witch jars from the tree (with real candles) and the crown-of-thorns skull as well. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Regrettably, I wasn't able to put together a video for 2010, as my video editor's 30-day trial expired and I put off purchasing the program. When I finally got around to updating it, they had upgraded to a newer version and wanted even more money... that I didn't have. Frustrating to say the least.

The frustration continues, so far, for 2011 as our economic situation has not improved. Our only camera was dropped and damaged, long after the warranty had expired of course. Still no video editor and lack of funds leading to lack of building materials is leading to nothing new being added to the haunt this year. I did receive a Bucky skeleton (my first) from Chris Baker for the work I've been doing for Hauntcast, which was really cool. Sadly, it'll probably have to stay in the box until I can get materials to corpse it properly. I don't want to half-ass it.

I'll probably just be playing with the arrangement and lighting of the haunt this year. Maybe some small additions and that's about it.

I was generously given a great haunt to care for and build upon and I love it. I want to do it the justice it deserves. But between last year and this year, at least so far, I'm starting to feel like I'm resting, however involuntarily, on Rob's laurels. I have plans and ideas. Right now I just lack the means to see them through the way I'd like to. Hopefully, that will change in the very near future.

At any rate, I'm not letting the tough times dampen my spirit. Here's hoping that you are all faring well in your haunting endeavors and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with this year.

More photos from 2010 here.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

More soon.

The Haunter's Forecast

2010-10-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

Best. Halloween. Ever.

2010-05-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

To cap off a very enjoyable first season with the haunt, House Bloodthorn has been honored with the Haunters Video Vanguard Award for Best Yard Haunt 2009!

My only goal in even submitting a video was to just be a part of the collection of outstanding haunts on the Haunters Video DVD. I am completely blown away that I was even considered for an award. Especially given the fact that it was my first year displaying the haunt.

My thanks to this year's panel of judges who saw fit to bestow this prestigious honor upon my humble efforts. I am truly surprised and truly grateful.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks, as always, to Rob at Skull and Bone, without whose trust and generosity none of this would have been possible. He deserves this award as much, if not more, than I. A finer torch I could not be carrying and I'm proud to do so. This certainly is inspiration and motivation for the years to come.

Thanks to Paul "Propmaster" Venturella for continuing, year after year, to put together this wonderful DVD set. I'm happy to finally be a part of it all.

I'd also like to thank my friends Chris and Jeff Davis for all that they do for the haunt community (including organizing these very awards)... Pumpkinrot for featuring the haunt several times on his great blog... all the fine folks at Hauntcast for featuring our story last year... and all my haunting friends and followers for their support and inspiration. A haunter may plan it or make it or display it, and it can be daunting at times, but its the camaraderie that makes it that much more worthwhile.

Finally, my sincere congratulations to all the other winners this year. You all did such an amazing job and I'm proud to be counted among you.

Well done one and all.

You can buy the DVD set here:
The Haunters Video 2009 DVD

You can view all of this year's award winners here:

The 2009 Haunters Video Awards

Davis Graveyard

2009-11-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

My friends Jeff & Chris Davis of Davis Graveyard have submitted their video to the Home Haunters Association 2009 Halloween haunt video contest. They are currently in third place, but having one of the best haunts in the contest, if not the country, they still need your support! Watch their video on YouTube (all the way through so it counts), rate it and help them get a much deserved win.

The Davis Graveyard 2009 Haunt Video

I'm fortunate enough to have seen this haunt in person, so I can tell you what a beautiful and richly detailed haunt it really is.

The House thanks you for supporting outstanding haunters.

Halloween 2009 video

2009-11-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

Just posted this year's video up on YouTube. You can watch it above or here. I also have WMV and QT versions up should anyone want to download it.
rose2009.wmv
rose2009.mov
My thanks to Pumpkinrot for the video inspiration and also for the recommendation of Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9. It was my first time really editing a video and the program is very intuitive and easy to use.
And, of course, my thanks to Rob of Skull and Bone (without whom there would have been a lot less to shoot) for his generosity and inspiration.
Some of you may notice the conspicuous lack of actual video footage in the clip. Nearly unusable footage from an old camcorder and lack of a proper video capture on the PC were the culprits. I'm not able to acquire new hardware so soon after going just a 'smidge' over the Halloween budget, so I kind of had to make due. Better equipment is definitely on the list for next year. If at some point I'm able to get some of the footage to a usable state, I'll edit it in or do something seperately later.
Enjoy and thanks for watching.

The Halloween Tree of Woe

2009-11-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

I always hated this tree.

It's a Japanese Maple and over the past few years it's been an overgrown lump. It was just a giant weeping hulking mass of shrivelly leaves with little to no branch or trunk to be seen. In trying to make room to be able to see more of the haunt in the yard, it became obvious that we needed to trim it back. At first I was hesitant to do so figuring it wouldn't be anough to just trim it and hacking it almost all the way back would make it even more of an eyesore.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Once we got under the canopy and took a good look underneath, I very quickly decided to lay into it. Once we trimmed up the outside, cut out all the small dead stuff and got to the knuckles, it literally became a thing of eerie beauty. All those gnarled, intertwined branches growing and twisting around and even through each other gave it a new, darker life of it's own.

I themed it as the Halloween Tree this year, but henceforth it shall be known as The Tree of Woe. The best part, though, is it's like having a built in Halloween prop in my yard all year 'round.

I love my tree.

Tribute

2009-11-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

For Rob and Lisa... you are, ever and always, a part of the House.

My heartfelt thanks for everything.

Feilte Samhain and Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

Though it seemed it wouldn't happen for much of the past few weeks, the weather improved and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. The moon was huge and bright. The air was crisp and still. The fog hung low. The lights burned dimly and for a few hours... the fates were with us and all was right with the world.

With over a hundred visitors, our first year with Rose was a resounding success. My humble and everlasting thanks to Rob at Skull and Bone for making it all possible. Thanks, also, to all those who helped as well as my family, friends, neighbors, followers and fellow haunters. You all make it worth it.

Teaser Poster

2009-09-23T08:32:00.001-07:00

The Mud Man Cometh

2009-09-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of the other projects I tackled this past weekend. My very first Monster Mud (MM) prop... a Grim Reaper.

Believe it or not, this prop started out to be Rose and wasn't going to be made of MM.

Due to not yet having the proper materials to start out with, horribly improvised framing of the armature and "too many chefs spoiling the brew", I decided to change the design and give it to my buddy, Tony, as "compensation". He's been helping me with some of the haunt building and tools, so I figured it was only fair to get him a nice prop. Also, he's been dying to see the MM in action ever since I first told him about it. I'll be making another, but this Rose is now a Reaper.

He'd already supplied the parts for the "frame" (and I use the term very loosely). It's some kind of stand at the bottom made from thin metal rod with a metal tube up the middle, some kind of fat metal rod shoved into that for a "spine", then what I think were old tent poles for shoulders and arms, a chest wrapped in two old pillows and some duct tape. Basically, stuff he had laying around his house. Then we hung some poultry screen over that, padded the shoulders and chest with some scrap foam and then wrapped it all in some clear pallet wrap he had around. There might be some bubble wrap in the arms too.

I didn't think the frame would support the weight. Seriously. It was ugly.

But, it got the job done.

We got some joint compound, ten yards of 48" burlap and some black spray paint. I bought a hollow plastic skull at Fred Meyer (because it wasn't going to be in MY yard. HA!) and some stuff we'll use for hands later. We had several half cans of latex paint laying around so we just mixed it in. The paint wasn't black enough, so we threw in some black tint. Not the prettiest mixture in the world, but it worked.

We got the burlap mudded and hung with much grunting and groaning. I did learn that you definitely need an extra set of hands (if not two extra sets) when coating burlap in the MM. The stuff gets pretty damn heavy and you need the extra hands to strain out the excess mud. Not to mention draping it over a tall frame. I now see the appeal of smaller props. It's over 6½ feet tall, so it was a bit of a chore, but should look pretty imposing to a trick-or-treater.

We chose to go with a cleaner, untattered appearance so it would look like a robe or cloth. We refrained from dry-brushing it as well to keep it from looking like stone. I managed to get some decent folds in the material and whipped up a quick chicken wire "cowl" for the hood to drape over. After that, we just let the mud dry and then hit it with some black spray paint. It'll get hands and a scythe next week.

All in all it came out fairly well for a first effort. My buddy definitely digs it and wants to build more.

"Next year", I said, "for the House."

Kind of a shame really. It turned out pretty good and won't even be in my haunt. But it was well worth the experience and I know it'll have a good home in my buddy's yard.

I'll definitely be adding some of my own next year.

Candle, Candle Burning Bright...

2009-09-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Building and repair of the Haunt has commenced!

I thought I'd share one of the smaller, yet larger, projects to take on this year. That project was the faux candles that came with the haunt from Skull and Bone.

I say smaller in that, typically, PVC candles aren't very big.

I say larger by virtue of sheer numbers.

The originals from Rob were cut, grouped in some cases, and then slather-coated with "Fix-All" which is a powder that, when mixed with water, forms a sort of plaster. It bulked out the straight PVC pipe and made them look "softer". Some were also filled with Great Stuff to build up the inside and form a "shelf" for the tea lights to sit on.

Years of use and weathering had caused many of them to become brittle and unstable. During the transporting of the haunt a good many of them essentially shattered and I was left with bare pipes and piles of plaster chips. Some came apart just picking them up as the plaster makes them heavy and some of the groups weren't wired or otherwise bound together first. Many, however, did escape harm and were reusuable with the plaster mostly intact.

So, I've spent the better part of the week cleaning off bad spots, clearing out the insides, replastering, adding hot glue "drips", adding foam inserts and painting eighty-six PVC candles.

Yep. Eighty-six.

About 24 hours combined, 6 cans of spray paint, a half-gallon of acrylic ceramic tile adhesive, approximately 100-4" and 80-10" hot-glue sticks, a few lengths of sliced foam pipe-wrap for tea light shelves, and two numb and swollen hot-glue gun trigger-fingers later... I'm pretty pleased with the results.

The originals were "smoother", but I wanted to add detail by giving them more pronounced drips. I may have gone a little overboard, but I like them slightly exaggerated. Plus, they are all much more stable and durable now and should last for many years.

Now I only have to get about 30 more tea lights. =\

Work on the haunt continues apace.

What's up?

2009-04-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. Has it really been over two months since my last post? Yikes. I must apologize to those who may have actually been interested in my blog. I did not mean to leave it hanging for so long. That works well for corpses, not blogs. I really don't mean to be so inconsistent with it, it's just that writing is not really my forte so it takes a little more effort on my part to get going. It also helps to actually have something to say. I promise though, I will pay more attention to it from now on. Pinky swear.

So what's been going on with the House?

Well, I've actually been fairly busy if not overwhelmingly productive. Over the last two months or so I've mostly been finishing up my 'social' pages. Not that big a deal, I know, but I'm picky. So those are done for now.

I also pretty much finished the 'facelift' of the Hauntcast website graphics and printed related stuff. I'm not a professional graphics or web designer by any stretch, but I am an enthusiastic hobbyist, so it was really cool of Chris Baker to give me an opportunity to play in the Hauntcast sandbox a little. It was fun too. Is it good work? Well, I suppose it's a little better than what was there before. I'll let others decide I guess. It did, however, lead to someone contacting me about another design project for a local/regional haunter's gathering here in Oregon. So that's encouraging. I will say this though, it kinda sucks having the skillset but not the toolset. I curse you, Adobe, and your outrageous prices. A Wacom tablet wouldn't suck either.

Additionally, I FINALLY got a web domain up for the House. While it's still freshly minted and pretty empty, it will be the new home and permanent hub of House Bloodthorn. It will mostly feature the House's haunt galleries and videos, but will also include this blog, some of my design projects and various artwork, the occasional story perhaps and maybe even the odd how-to, or rather, the odd 'how-I-did-it', as I'm no prop wiz. Of course, this is all subject to change, but that's the plan for now. It'll certainly be less time-consuming than updating 6 or 8 different 'social' pages. I'm hoping anyway.

New to the blog is the Flickr 'badge' on the right side of this page. This links to my Flickr gallery where there are images of the SkullAndBone version of THoMR and a few images of some of my older, store-bought props that I got by with pre-Rose. All staged and lit to approximate what they looked like in my windows. Most of the store-bought stuff will be cannibalized, retired or donated to neighbors.

And, finally, during this spate of good weather we've been having, I actually cleaned up and somewhat organized my garage/workshop so I can get going on some *gasp* ACTUAL haunt-related projects. Be still my thundering heart. Yes, I do actually intend to do some of that...

SOON!

Friday the 13th

2009-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

State of the Haunt

2009-02-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

At this time, the haunt is safely ensconced in my garage where it has been since I brought it home.

One of the least enjoyable things about living in Oregon, at least during late Fall/early Winter, is the weather. Lots of rain which is pretty much the norm for the season right through to late Spring. This Winter, however, it's been unusually cold. December saw record snowfalls in our part of Oregon which didn't help matters any, though it was fun for the kids. The cold also makes it exceptionally difficult to do anything in the garage. I'm a California boy and space-heaters only go so far up here. Not to mention the fact that most prop work (i.e. the use of adhesives, paints, etc.) doesn't exactly mix well with closed doors and space heaters. And, as I don't own stock in PGE, I can't exactly leave the doors open. So, suffice it to say, not much has or can be done during the Winter months. At least in the garage.

I'm still debating trying to negotiate for some workspace inside the house. I could probably swing it, but there's not that much room and far too many distractions to work comfortably upstairs. So, I'm relatively OK with waiting until March or April to start working in the garage. At least during the day. Nights still get pretty cold during Spring here.

But enough about what hasn't been done yet or why. Let's move on to the meat of it.

The Story of Miss Rose:

As heard on the Hauntcast episode or, better still, seen in SkullAndBone's haunt video, "The Story of Miss Rose", the theme of the haunt is essentially a ghost story. To paraphase...a lot, Miss Rose is a young school-teacher awaiting the arrival of her beau. She becomes lost and, distraught and forlorn, collapses in a dark forest. The local townspeople come across her body and, believing her dead, entomb her in a crypt with her locket and bell. And, as the story goes...

But just as the latch
Of the stone crypt door fell
No one heard the faint tinkling
Or the weak muffled yell

The sound was too slight
Lost in the mourners cries
Aghast in the darkness
Miss Rose opened her eyes

Her deep forlorn slumber
Alas sealed her doom
Awake now in horror
Interred in a tomb

She rang her bell screaming
Yet no help did 'rive
Her worst nightmare realized
To be buried... ALIVE

On nights just like this one
So the townspeople say
When the fall air is crisp
And the wind blows this way

If you quiet your breathing
And listen a spell
You can still hear the sound
Of Miss Rose and her bell

And so, each Halloween the 'ghost' of Miss Rose, as played by Rob's wife, would haunt the cemetery while a recorded narration played in the background. Rob himself, as well as some friends, would play the ghosts of the 'townspeople/mourners'. All this among the beautiful props, lighting and atmosphere that Rob so wonderfully created.

In my opinion it was a spooky ghost story and, at it's heart, a tragic love story that echoed, though wonderfully twisted, the real-life love story of Rob and his wife. Hence, her playing Miss Rose. It's a beautifully crafted tale and beautifully executed with all the elements that make a really great haunt. A good story and excellent presentation. Which is why it was so highly regarded. This was art. It was tasteful, well thought out and, above all, eerie and atmospheric.

And now it's come to me. (Insert doom music here)

More in the next post.

What's Going On

2009-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

A friend reminds me that I've been less than diligent about keeping this blog up-to-date on what I've been doing lately and what, if any, plans I have for the haunt. I thought I'd correct that oversight. I have been busy and I do have plans.

Let me begin by saying that the response to the story of how I acquired Miss Rose has been exceptionally great and has truly warmed the cockles of my black little heart. Lots of folks, including fellow haunters whose work I respect and admire, have had nothing but nice things to say about the story. I am very grateful and I truly appreciate all the kind words. Thank you all.

On the flip side, it's also brought about a fair amount of attention which, as cool as it's been, has taken a little getting used to. This includes a featured story on the very first episode of Hauntcast and mentions in several blogs including one of my very favorites, Pumpkinrot's. It's weird, and thrilling, to see or hear your name in something you and many others read or listen to all the time. It can be a little daunting. Hopefully I'll be able live up to some this attention. Though, mostly, it's been even more inspiring. My thanks again for that.

So after receiving the haunt and the response that followed, I figured I should have some kind of web presence as I know there are some people who are interested in both Rob's work on Miss Rose and what will become of it in my hands. Also, just to be able to share with the many that have inspired me what their inspiration hath wrought.

Having not had a presence on the web in about 7 or 8 years, I felt the easiest and quickest way to get back to it was to create a blog with the intention that it would become a 'part' of a future web domain. Kind of an ass-backwards approach for me as I am more of a visuals person than a writer (obviously). I never really intended for it to be a daily kind of thing as there are far better blogs out there for that. Personally there are several that I follow or check nearly every day. I intended to keep mine pretty much HB/Rose-specific and, hopefully, post once a week or so and keep folks abreast of how the haunt was progressing.

A quick backstory pertaining to my web background. Back in the late 90's I created and operated a short-lived free web-goodies (graphics, wavs, midis, etc) non-domain site called 'Tomb of Fear'. I had been a fan of other sites like Kevin Greggain's 'Night Gallery', Carrie Carolin's 'Dark Side of the Net' and Chad Savage's early work on 'Sinister Visions'. These were the inspiration for me to learn how to do web design and graphics, not that I ever got very good at it. In 2001, right around the time CSS and improved web-coding were being implemented and after several computers went down the tubes, I kind of got tired of playing keep-up-with-joneses and upgrading every six-months and I dropped it all. I switched to laptops and became just a lookie-loo. Fortunately, that seems to be less of a concern these days as hardware and software seem to have a little longer lifespan. So I'm back on a desktop and trying to catch up. But, I digress.

Essentially, I've been brushing up on my web skills and getting a presence out there so people can keep track of the haunt and it's progress. Most notably Blogger and social networking sites like MySpace, HauntSpace and Garage of Evil. I also still post occasionally on HauntForum though I've never been a prolific poster anyway. I've also admittedly gotten a little sidetracked as I've most recently been tweaking another friend's peripheral sites. It's something I enjoy doing and has lit a fire under my butt to maybe get some classes under my belt to learn how to do it better. We'll see how that goes.

In the coming weeks, I plan to get a domain up and running and then maintain a minimal presence on the 'social networking' sites. The blog will remain and I'll be using it as I orginally intended to. I'm debating about keeping it on Blogger or using WordPress. I'm curious to check that out. Again, we'll see how that goes.

So there's what I've been doing. It's been fun and I've met some really cool people since all this happened. As I've said, I can only hope to inspire some as so many have inspired me.

In case you haven't noticed, I procrastinate and get easily distracted. LOL. I will try to do better. =)

More in the next post. Thanks for reading.

And Now Your Host...

2009-01-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

"Don't stay up late. It's not worth it."

Bob Wilkins
1932-2009

Of course, it absolutely was worth it. Growing up in Northern California during the early 1970's, "Creature Features" was my introduction to Horror movies and the TV Horror Host. With his trademark cigar, skull candle, dry sense of humor and deadpan delivery as he skewered the less-than-stellar features being presented, he made staying up late Saturday nights and "sneak-watching" that much more satisfying. He was always about the films and the genre rather than glorifying himself as the host. His show was a major influence on my childhood and he will be remembered and missed.

Blog Wilkins

The Official Bob Wilkins Site

A Scary Christmas to all...

2008-12-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

...and to all a Good Fright!

Frightful

2008-12-14T19:38:00.001-08:00

Just a few pics I took today after a rather substantial snowfall. I rather like how the snow looks on a few of my trees, especially the bare spindly ones. And I love how it covers the bigger conifers and makes the branches appear much more vein-like. You can even see the collateral damage on the front window from the morning's first snowball fight. And, of course, my tiny pumpkins dusted with snow and huddled together against the cold.

Being from California and living in Oregon for only 3 years, I still get a little thrill from seeing my house and yard covered in snow. While snow in Oregon occurs fairly frequently, it very rarely makes it down to my elevation on the valley floor. Nor is it usually this heavy. These shots were taken in the morning and it continued snowing well into the early evening.

I'm happily entrenched by the fireplace soaking up the warmth and it looks like the kids are going to get a few extra days off from school before Christmas vacation starts next week.

I'm sure they'll get over it.

Hauntcast Goes Live

2008-12-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

The inaugural podcast from the good folks over at Hauntcast.net is now live for your listening pleasure.

The concept of a podcast "for home haunters by home haunters" has been a long time coming. Having listened to it a number of times now, and though a smidge rough around some edges, I think the future looks very bright for DJ Chris Baker and his cohorts, Revenant and Johnny Thunder. They will definately be giving the more established, though not that much more polished, industry-related podcasts a run for their money. I can certainly relate to it more being a home haunter myself.

I'm honored to have been included, along with Rob of SkullAndBone, as a featured part of the 'Maiden Voyage' of Hauntcast. Revenant's "News From Beyond" Holiday-themed news segment about "The Tale of Two Cities" really captured the essence of our story and the spirit of the holidays. While we weren't recorded for broadcast, I truly enjoyed my conversation with Revenant and hearing his thoughtful take on the story. It's surely something I will never forget.

My thanks to them for including Rob and I, and for giving us all a great premiere. My best wishes go out to Chris and his crew for continued success with the show.

Click the banner at the top of this post to stream it or download it and listen at your leisure.

Enjoy.

Priceless

2008-12-10T23:20:00.000-08:00

Truck & trailer rental and gas:
$900

Round trip Portland, OR to San Luis Obispo, CA:
1,700 miles

Total drive time over three days:
31 hours

Coming home with one of the greatest yard haunts ever by one of the classiest, most generous haunters ever:

Priceless.

Meet the Kreeps

2008-12-10T22:57:00.000-08:00

My son, Nick, and I pictured with one of our newest family members from our trip to pick up SkullAndBone's Miss Rose haunt. Please note that this is an exceptionally rare daylight shot for both the Kreep and myself. Suitable for framing...

...or burning. =)

A Haunter's Tale

2008-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

As some of my fellow haunters may, or may not, be aware, this past Halloween, Rob at SkullAndBone.com made the decision to end the renowned Miss Rose yard haunt that he has so wonderfully crafted over the past 5+ years.

I know a good many people have found his haunt and website to be a great source of inspiration, education and anticipation. Myself very much included. But, he felt it was time to move on to other endeavours.

Rob, being the classy guy that he is, made another decision. He didn't just end the haunt. Incredibly, he sought to pass it on. Preferrably to another haunter. At first he thought to sell it. I can't speak to whether or not he got any offers for the entire haunt, but, apparently, he was approached by some only to acquire a few props and things. He even had one guy act like he was doing Rob a favor by taking the haunt off his hands. Obviously, a less than learned soul. Well, he couldn't stand to see it scattered to the four winds, being sold off piecemeal or disappearing into a larger, already established haunt.

Then, astoundingly, I saw this from Rob responding to another member of the HauntForum...

"I am less concerned about selling props than I am about finding a good home. I have a couple mails out to a few close friends, but I am still looking for the perfect home for the entire haunt. Frankly, for the right haunter, I will be happy to pass along the entire haunt for free."

Insert many excited expletives here. A great many.

After some very brief consideration and calculation, I knew I had to at least attempt acquiring Miss Rose.

So enamored am I of their work, that I tend to regard some haunters as near celebrities. Naturally, some are more approachable than others. Also, having not really communicated with many other haunters pertaining to actual haunting, I was feeling a little trepidation. But, I took a chance, wrote from the heart and fired off an email to Rob.

I won't post the entire email here as this is a long enough story already, but, essentially, I expressed my admiration for the beauty and craft of his haunt. I included some of my personal background and my history with haunting. How, whether through lack of venue, budgetary concerns, or raising a family, it was difficult to start an entire haunt from scratch. How I was more of a detail guy and needed a palette from which to work, allowing me to concentrate on things on a somewhat smaller scale. And, finally, how I would be privileged and honored to carry on the legacy of the Miss Rose haunt.

The following evening, I heard back from Rob.

He was very gracious and appreciative of my admiration and enthusiasm for the haunt. He mentioned that he very much liked the idea of Miss Rose spawning a brand new haunt, and was lamenting it possibly being folded into another larger haunt. Moreover, my timeline seemed to coincide perfectly with his, as the haunt was still up. Perfect. Things were looking good. So, Rob asked to sleep on it and he would let me know of his decision Thursday morning. I made my plans, just in case, and waited for the good word to hopefully come. Friday morning, that good word came.

Rob said that, with a few minor stipulations, he would be very happy for my family to have the entire Miss Rose haunt. The stipulations were three. I had to take it all (not even remotely a problem), I had to pick it up that weekend (fortune favored the foolish) and, if I ever get tired of it, I have to pass it on to someone else (not likely for awhile, but I definately appreciated the sentiment).

Well, I was beyond ecstatic! Talk about a thrill of a lifetime. And the sheer generosity of Rob to just give the haunt away. Especially to someone he didn't even know. Simply amazing. I had never spoken to Rob before that day. And it's not like he was giving away store bought props. This was art. And some artists tend to be very proprietary about their work. So, to me, it was like Da Vinci saying, "Sure, you-a can-a have-a dat-a painting of-a da smiling-a girl." Close enough to that anyway. Needless to say, I was beyond grateful and honored and I couldn't wait to get down there.

We got a truck and trailer Friday morning, packed up and left late Friday night. We live about 20 miles southwest of Portland, Oregon. We drove all night and arrived in San Francisco, CA about 12 hours later. We stayed at my mother-in-law's house Saturday night and my son and I left early-ish Sunday morning and drove south about 3½ hours to just north of San Luis Obispo, CA.

We arrived there about noon-ish and I finally saw, in person, what I had only seen in pictures. One of my very favorite yard haunts in all it's spooky glory. And I was very pleasantly surprised to see that it looked as good during the day as it did at night. AWESOME! Beyond awesome.

Then I saw how much there actually was to the haunt. Uh oh. Shades of Roy Scheider: "We're gonna need a bigger boat". I needn't have worried as it all ended up fitting just fine.

It was a genuine pleasure meeting Rob and his wife, the lovely 'Miss Rose' herself. I brought them a bottle of Pinot Noir, from an Oregon vineyard, that was described as being "complicated by rose" and a jug of Oregon-brewed "Dead Guy" ale. They were very gracious and thankful. As was I. I'm sure my lingering thanks and endless praise are still caking the walls of their house.

A quick sidenote, they have an awesome house for haunting. It's a Historical Preservation Society 1912 Colony House with lots of exterior moulding and shutters. That house was built to haunt. As Rob himself said, "It came pre-haunted". Now she's going to a 1980 Crackerjack Box. Heh.

We hung around for awhile shooting the breeze. Rob revealed a few of his secrets and insights and we generally talked haunting and Rose's history with them. It was really cool. He's a very nice guy with lots of talent and creative energy. For my part, I could hang with the guy all the time. He's got a friend for life in Oregon, that's for sure.

Finally, we set about tearing it all down and stuffing 10 pounds of haunt into an 8 pound bag. With Rob's experience at packing it all away, we made fairly short order of it. Though, next time, I must remember to bring enough damn rope. As we were loading, he had a few friends and neighbors drive by, noticing the truck and U-Haul and asking what was going on. Suffice it to say, for opposing reasons, the both of us are going to have some pretty shocked neighbors next Halloween. I felt a little bad for his, depriving them of such a treasured landmark. But only a little. Heh.

Alas, the time came for us to depart. After a few photos and many more thank you's, we said our goodbyes and headed back to San Francisco with Miss Rose in tow. We stayed in SF that night and left early Monday morning for Oregon. We arrived back home late Monday night where my son and I unloaded all that wonderous haunted goodness. Not five minutes after we closed the garage door, it started to rain. The fates, it seems, were on our side for once.

Come the next morning, my younger kids finally got to see what Daddy a-brung home. Talk about bug-eyed surprise. It was really neat to see their reaction. They were almost as excited as I am. Almost.

Epilogue:

I know this was an exceptionally long post to read.

But, to me anyway, it's such a unique occurrence and experience that I felt compelled to share it as close to how it happened as possible. To appreciate and admire something from afar that took countless hours to create and then have it become mine through sheer generosity and willingness to share is something that I will never forget. It is a rare thing in this world.

I also believe that this story is a shining example of the intent of the HauntForum founder(s) and the haunting community in general. The willingness, even desire, to share ideas and knowledge and to celebrate our love of Halloween and the creative spirit. To be around others of like mind and find joy in their triumphs and commiserate in their less-than-successful undertakings.

So there you have it, friends. The tale of the passing of SkullAndBone's Miss Rose Haunt Torch. I am ecstatic, ever grateful and, most of all, excited about Rose's future with us.

And, as always, my profound and undying respect and gratitude to Rob at SkullAndBone for this beyond amazing privilege and gift. I've never met a classier guy and I'm proud to call him a friend. You rule the pool, brother.

As for the Miss Rose haunt itself, it may change in form, but, thanks to one haunter's generosity and another haunter's enthusiasm...

It will live on.

And perhaps, one day, another new haunter will have their own tale to tell.

The Inaugural Post

2008-12-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

Greetings all and welcome to the House Bloodthorn Blog. This is my first foray into blogging, so I hope you'll bear with me as I fumble my way about for a time. I'm not much of a writer to begin with, but I hope to improve in that regard as well as entertain and inform about the things that interest me.

Namely... Halloween, haunting, my haunt's progress, prop-building, movies (horror and otherwise), music, art (love the lowbrow), design, links to other sites of interest, a mild rant or two, or whatever else strikes my dark little fancy. Generally, the things that inspire me and keep the soul of the House thrumming contentedly.

So there you have the guts of it. Thanks for looking in and stop by again. There will be more to come and comments are always welcomed.

Enjoy.