New Year New Props!

Happy almost new year to all!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe new years eve. I am looking forward to some big glasses of bubbly and lots of great food!

I'd say I have a few New Years resolutions this year but the one haunt related one would be to get cracking on props as early as possible. I have a lot of ideas for Grimlock Manor this year and we are starting to add a carnival aspect to it now so I'm really going to have to work on new props that fit that theme.

We want our carnival to be like a circus freakshow of sorts. Last year we started with a simple sign that read "Carnival of Souls" we had a clown carnival wheel with light up eyes (made from foam board) and a fun house blacklight maze but this year I really want to make carnival games, a freakshow tent and some creepy vending carts. I have really been inspired by The Haunt at Hellizondo, they do some amazing work with papier mache. This year they made a full merry go round with I believe it was 3-4 creatures which posed as the horses you would normally see. They did a few game stands and had a cool walk through corridor with a nice drop panel scare. Check out their website if you haven't already, very inspiring stuff.

I also have a cool link I'd like to add that has to do with a pretty cool prop from Haunted Overload that we are thinking about taking a stab at. Haunted Overload is the creation of Eric Lowther. He started Haunted Overload as a home haunt and because he didn't have enough space to expand his haunt outward he decided to build up and began making these 20,40,and 50 foot creatures which are just a sight to behold. Now HAunted Overload is a pro attraction and Eric has a lot of talented people working with him one of which is Rae Enslin who made and awesome Undead Horse prop for the haunt in 2009. Rae called the horse Mr. Dead. She made a website dedicated to the step by step creation of the prop which I find to be super cool! You can see it all from concept to completion and she details everything. It is an awesome tutorial if you ever want to build an undead horse for your haunt. Check it out here at Mr. Dead Tutorial.

I still have props sitting that are in the works but a Mr. Dead of my very own could make the prop list for 2011.  I hope to stay ahead of the game and really get cracking on things and I am looking forward to what 2011 will bring to Grimlock Manor and I hope everyone has a happy and safe new year!!

Mr. Dead