Captain Hammer

I had to work the day before Halloween at work so I needed something I could work in so I put together this Captain Hammer costume. My co-worker went as Dr. Horrible and we kept up a pun-filled animosity the whole morning.

2010 Halloween Costume: Jambi

I was surprised how many people didn't recognise Jambi from Pee Wee's Playhouse. This costume was certainly not an easy one to wear. I made it a bit too large in retrospect. I had both complaints and compliments on the dancefloor. I did my makeup differently the first night out, and I went as "Zombie Jambi." I found out my costume made a great drink holder too!

Window Display at Main and Broadway

 I have created a window display for In-Touch Massage in the Lee Building at Main and Broadway. The space was donated by Cuppa Joe's Coffee who owns the currently vacant shop. The display is an entry for the Business Improvement Organization's Halloween Window Contest. I'm going to try and get some more photos during the day, and with a polarizer to get rid of some of the window reflections. Check it out if you're nearby, there are a few little details that will never show up on camera.

Ghosts in the Hood

I was passed on the link to a show in Port Moody: GHOSTS IN THE HOOD! True tales of BC ghosts - a SPOOOOKY dramatic reading!   I love ghost stories and would like to be able to go but will be working. If anyone goes, please tell me about it.  It's on Friday Oct. 29th.

Fright Fest 2010

2010 was the most successful year of the Fright Fest Haunted House at the Fort Langley Campsite. I was told that the guest parking lot was full, and that people were even parking on the road outside, meaning that not only were the campers enjoying our haunt, but the news has spread and people are making it a destination.

This year we all haunted based on a similar genre of a swampy forest inhabited by creeps and witches. Sean and I had very little time to prepare, so we used what we had from previous years and lots of branches scavenged from the site. I think we put together a pretty spooky display, and once again the infamous Pumpkinrot blog posted some of DeadSpiders wonderful photos (Shown here) Want to see more photos?

Nightmares Revisited

Nightmares in Victoria, BC has undergone quite a transformation. They have taken over the space from a neighbouring cafe and expanded their shop and their attraction. Previously, Nightmares had two short attractions: an electric chair and a seance scene. Now, they have a walk-through haunted house. If you like haunted houses, it's certainly worth a visit, especially since it's open year-round. One of the things that surprised me about the haunt was how dark a lot of it was. I like the dark, it's scary, and often haunts are over lit, but I actually found this haunt to be a little too dark, a little too often (especially when there are steps involved). I know that the Nightmares people are capable of intricate set design, and I'm hoping that there can be a bit more atmosphere created in the haunt as it evolves. I wont give anything away, but there are some really cool things inside. It also has one of the elements I love in a haunt, which is a couple of doors you have to open, one of which made the best movie-quality squeak that made me giggle like a schoolgirl. I really hope that the haunt is a work in progress, because it has a lot of potential. Add some ambient sounds, a few more scares, and lose the 3D element/glasses which didn't really add anything to the haunt. I look forward to going again to see how and if things have changed.

UPDATE: I went back this summer, and was informed that they will be closing the haunt down, but putting something new together somewhere elsewhere for Oct.... but I just checked the website, which is newly redone (finally) and it says that they have renovated under the new name Take2 Costumes, and that the haunt is still in operation.  Check the website out, it's pretty cool and interactive.

Halloween Costume 2009

Three, three photos of me as The Count ah ah ah [thunder and lightning]. The makeup was the hardest part. I am not a makeup artist, and didn't have one to help me, so I made stuff up as I went along: prosthetic ears and nose, fake beard and eyebrows, and a custom mixed shade of purple. The cape was custom made by a talented friend. Unfortunately, this costume was not enough to bring me a fourth win in a row at the Blarney Stone. Luckily one of the people who beat me was my good friend Sean (pictured in his scary Zombie Shriner costume). This costume was the result of a strict set of guidelines I gave myself after two unwieldy costumes. The guidelines were: must be able to fit in a car/taxi, must be able to see, drink, walk, and breath normally, must be not cause bruises or pain.

Fright Nights Disappointment

Let me start off with the positives:

-This event has improved quite a bit since the last time I was here. It's under new ownership, and they're putting a lot more money into it.
-There are quite a lot of cool props from Scarefactory, one of my favourite prop suppliers
-There was a neat tunnel/hallway of inflated walls that one has to squeeze through that was pretty neat.
-The Darkness haunt had some pretty awesome walls .

I've run out of good things to say.

The biggest problem that we encountered was that they've oversold thier capabilities. I knew that the Saturday before Halloween, with nice weather, would be a busy night, but there is such a thing as too busy. Waiting in long lines is annoying, but tolerable for a good event, but when you spend most of your night in lines after paying $30 to get in, it can be pretty frustrating, especialy when the payoff is weak. To help speed the lines, they were letting people through with almost no space between groups. This meant that sometimes you could see the group ahead of you getting scared, so the surprise factor was gone. It also meant that the timing system for the motion sensors was rendered useless. Props wouldn't go off at the right times, or even at all because the motion sensors, constantly being triggered by the stream of people, props were timed by their reset cycle rather than with any scare timing. The atmosphere of isolation is also totally blown when it's more of an indoor lineup than a small group exploring a creepy haunt. It's okay to say the night's 'Sold Out'. It's good for business to have an event sell out.

Many actors were unenthusiastic and just didn't know how to scare, or where to scare from. There were many perfect scare spots that had no one in them, and spots with actors that just didn't make sense. Don't put an actor in the middle of a hallway, put him around a corner!

The "Carn-Evil" Clown maze was an abomination. It consists of a maze of mod-u-loc fencing and tarps with very few scenes. There lack of anything in the maze was painful. If they condensed it all down to about half the length it kept the fog level high, or added some pitch-black portions, it might have made us less angry.

Have some entertainment for the lineups! Have some charachters come up and interact with you, sneak up behind you, or put on a scene. Fright Nights is the only haunt I've been to this year that's not had that! I probably saw four people doing 'walkabouts,' but for such a large place, it wasn't enough, and the people I saw were not very good or enthusiastic. I know it's cliche, but I didn't even see one chainsaw!

On a less busy night, I know I would have enjoyed my experience a little more, but it's still really frustrating to see some wonderful props and some interesting sets be squandered.  20% fewer people, and better training for actors and staff would have gone a really long way.

2009 Lower Mainland Haunts

This is a list of some of the main haunts in the Lower Mainland. This is not a complete list of every Halloween event, or small haunted house. Do to my association with many of the creators of these haunts, I will not be ranking these haunts in any way. They all have thier own unique qualities that make them good, and you will get something different out of each one of them. These haunts are now all open nightly until Halloween.

Barnyard Phantoms -Surrey
Dunbar Haunted House -Vancouver
Fright Nights -Vancouver
Haunted Forest Scream Train -Surrey
Potters House of Horrors -Surrey
Reapers -Chilliwack

I've not been to these ones, so I can't verify what they offer:
Ghost Ridge -Maple Ridge  ( I think this is new for '09)
Haunted Power House -Stave Falls (I'm intrigued by the claim of a 45 minute tour)

If anyone has any other suggestions for Haunts that should be listed, let me know. Also, I'm curious if Aberthau is able to live up to being listed again, please email me if you go this year, and let me know what they've done.

Halloween in August 2009 (FFBC)

Halloween in August is complete, and a complete success. Some pictures from our area even ended up on the infamaous Halloween blog, Pumpkinrot.

When guests knock on the door, it is answered by a meek young man who is not allowed to talk to strangers, so he calls for his mom, who opens the door. Like Norman Bates, they are the same person (me). The foyer is decorated with the repurposed set from last year's Breakfast Television show. From there they travel through hanging chains to meet the brother who is barely held back by the bars of his cage but still manages to share his bloody rodent meal with guests.

More photos are available at Dead Spider's Flickr page

2008 Costume: Steampunk Creature

After all, the heart is just a pump, the liver a filter, the veins just a series of pipes, how hard could it be to reanimate a corpse using modern (1800's) day science?
This costume included turning gears in both the front chest organ unit, and the steam-powered back pack. The smokestack could produce a stream of smoke, and blood actually circulated through the veins. This costume brought home another win at the Blarney Stone. Sean, pictured towering over me and everyone else, went as a period mad scientist, who was the creator of the magnificent mechanical monstrosity.

Breakfast Television Halloween Set

The set that Sean and I have put together can be seen on Breakfast Television this Thursday and Friday. Channel 13 (city tv) from 6-10am. We're very happy with how it turned out.

Haunt Reviews

We've not had the chance to check out all the haunts we wanted to this year, but we've made it to a few that were excellent.

Potters House of Horrors: This is the biggest and most elaborate haunted house in the lower mainland (Surrey). There are lots of neat sets, fancy animatronics, special effects, great actors and some really great scares. They've figured out the scaring perfectly, not always scaring the first person through, and providing distractions so they can get you when you don't expect it. The sets are often very detailed and professional, with lots of little subtle touches that took our second time through to notice. There are a few masks that seemed a bit goofy and out of place, and some areas that are little too brightly lit, but overall a great haunt for some great startles. The final room is a vortex tunnel. I've seen these on the Internet, but until you step inside it, you can't understand how disorienting the thing is. Defiantly go to Potters. It's well worth the wait in line and the $12 (I couldn't find them offering any coupons or discounts if you bring a food bank donation, which is unfortunate).

Bear Creek Ghost Train: This is just minutes away from Potters and worth going to if you're checking out potters. Most of the sets and scares are pretty ordinary, but they have a few things that really stand out. There's a super creepy set with many (bear?) skulls on stakes, it's lit well and elaborate. They also break some of the boundaries that haunted houses normally have (don't touch actors, they wont touch you). You will be grabbed! The train ride is well done, and for only $7.

Dunbar Haunted House
YES! YES! YES!!! This is the one haunt to visit in Vancouver. An amazing production that rivals professional haunted houses, and all done in someone's (large) yard. Lots of time, money, love and creativity have gone into this production. The sets are very elaborate and detailed (and expensive). There is also a theme to the haunt, which I enjoy, "Horror through the ages." You start out in ancient Egypt, and all the way through genetic modified pumpkins. With all the greatness, there were a few issues we had with some of the volunteer actors coming out of character; the giant tree that asks you, "Are you the last guys through, we were supposed to close at 10," takes you out of the mood. Admission is by donation (I'd suggest $8 or so) and proceeds go to a number of charities. Located in Southlands (6478 Dunbar) and open all day until 10pm, midnight on Friday and Saturday with actors coming out to haunt at 7.

Aberthau Imposters?

I noticed that this year Aberthau Mansion is listing a haunted house on the weekend before Halloween. Before I took over, and after I left, the haunt there was very amature. Without going, I cannot comment on the quality of the haunt this year, but I can comment on the fact that they have stolen the writeup I used for my haunt in 2001. I am interested if the haunt can actually live up to being a "more creative sensory experience" with a storyline, or if it will be teenagers in hockey masks. If anyone goes, please let me know.

The copy I wrote in 2001 which appears in this year's flyer:

Brave your fears as you explore the manifestations
of your darkest nightmares. We move beyond the
realm of teenagers in hockey masks and peeled grape
eyeballs into much more creative and artistic
sensory experience where our audience is hurled
into the middle of our gruesome storyline. What’s
happening at Aberthau? Find out as nightmares
become reality at Aberthau Haunted Mansion

Halloween Shopping Updated 2009

If you're looking for Halloween decorations and costumes here are some places you can try:

The Party Bazaar: (Vancouver and North Vancouver) Overpriced, but they have Vancouver's widest selection of Halloween items.
Thomas FX: (North Vancouver) Some things are overpriced, other prices are fair. They have a lot of unique items. Many items year-round.
New York Novelties: (Main and Broadway): Some goofy stuff, some scary stuff.
Dressew: (Downtown Vancouver) Masks, Wigs, costume accessories. Few decorations. Good prices on fabric to make your own costumes.
Homesense: Lots of reasonably priced decor and kitchen items. Some props and costumes.
Spencer Gifts: Not a great selection this year, but they have both costumes and decorations.
Walmart/Superstore: Check them out, some good prices, and sometimes some cool items.
Value Village: Mainly costumes and accessories, but they have some decorations.
More Madness Costumes: (Fraser St.): They rent and sell costumes and accessories.
Shoppers Drug Mart: Every once and a while shoppers has something really cool and often affordable.
HollyNorth: (Burnaby) Mainly theatrical makeup (bloods), but a couple severed limbs. They also rent gear and have great supplies like nicotine spray and snot tape.
Micahel's Crafts: They put their stuff out early, and transform to x-mas before Halloween which is good in the sense that now what's left is all on sale. Some neat props and decorations.
Carols Costume Corner: (North Vancouver) Mainly sales and renatls of costumes and accessories. 
Spirit Store: (Burnaby) A large store with some cool props and lots of costumes. Not as many products as I was hoping for.

I am in no way associated with any of these merchants and am not linking to them on purpose, however a quick web search should bring you their info.

2008 Halloween Event Listing

I am compiling a list of what's happening around the lower mainland this Halloween. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment. As soon as I visit the haunts, I'll add my reviews.

Potters House of Horrors -Surrey
Fright Nights -Vancouver
Parade of Lost Souls Oct. 25th -Vancouver
Stanley Park Ghost Train (For Kids)-Vancouver
Barnyard Phantoms -Surrey
Haunted Trolley Tour -Vancouver
Burnaby Village Museum Haunted Village -Burnaby
Reapers -Chilliwack
Bear Creek Haunted Train Ride -Surrey
Double Spurs Haunted House -Abbotsford
The Great Big Boo (For Kids) -Various performances
Brinkworth Dungeon -Surrey
Dunbar Haunted House-Vancouver

Updated 10/13/08

PNE/Playland Haunt Review

I went to the PNE last night and checked out the haunted house ScreamWorks has created there. It has been changed quite a bit since last year. The haunt is set up as "two haunts in one" meaning there are two different themes. The first is a traditional haunted house style exploring different rooms of a house, including a kitchen with hot and cold running blood. Aside from 2 or three times an actor popped out from a drop-panel and a shaking coffin, there weren't really many startles. There were several areas in a row where I kept waiting for something to happen and it didn't. I don't believe that there needs to be a startle in every room when a room acts to build suspense/fear or when it's detailed enough to appreciate the set alone. These rooms were overly bright and fairly boring. The second part of the haunt began with a series of dark corridors where you had to feel your way through. Normally these can be very scary, since you never know when and where something will startle you, unfortunately, not much did and I couldn't hear any soundtrack that could have helped to heighten my apprehension. The one truly scary room came at the end: a square room, lit by a slowly flashing strobe light. All around the walls of the room were various figures, and no obvious door. People are forced to enter the room with their senses confused by the strobe and surrounded by figures, some of which come at you. I hope that they can put some more time into adding some better scares before they reopen for Fright Nights.

Homeless for 2008

Things have fallen through with the museum for this year despite some really solid ideas. It's looking like Sean and I will be concentrating on creating some (hopeful) award-winning costumes as well as touring around to some of the local haunts.

Halloween in August

We have returned triumphant from Fright Fest BC and Halloween in August at the Fort Langley Campsite. For the past several years, the campground has hosted a Halloween-themed weekend where the children go trick-or-treating from campsite to campsite. Of course the highlight of the weekend is the haunted house put on by the FrightFest BC group. Our contribution was a circus themed area with a drop-panel ticket booth and an encounter with the creepy Fingers the Clown. We had a couple neat pneumatic gags, one where a man's balloon head popped and was replaced with a skull, and another air cannon that show popcorn up at people. Things went very well and there was much screams and merriment
.

Nightmares in Victoria

I had the opportunity to catch a helicopter into Victoria to meet up with Sean and his friends and to see (as far as I know) Western Canada's only year-round haunted attraction. The attraction is not a haunted house per se, but two 15 minute experiences: The Hot Seat, and Madame Isabella's. The Hot Seat brings you and no more than 4 of your friends (comfortably) into the execution chamber to witness ol' sparky in action. The actor we had was really good, and there were some scary anticipation involved. More laughs than screams for us, but I hope it's the other way around for normal people. The other attraction, Madame Isabella's, is a séance in a room that comes alive with spirits ( of the pnumatic and animatronic variety). Both attractions were a lot of fun, but not really scary. I'd certainly reccomend going.