Well we, the undead, of the UnDead Cemetery must crawl back into the shadows until next year. We will rest in peace knowing that many visitors left our home with a smile on their face and a scream in their ears. The care takers and all their wonderful actor volunteers provided a perfect cover for us to walk among the living once again. The fragrant odor of living flesh and candy was intoxicating and invigorating. As we followed them through the make believe haunted house we could feel once more the rush of adrenaline brought on by one scare after another. We jumped on their backs as they ran through the cemetery to escape the chainsaw man and hopped off just before they crossed the Troll bridge to go home. We were tempted to follow them to their cars, but our place is here among the tree roots and moist soil. We will rest, rest, rest until next year. In 2010 it will happen again.

Let The Games Begin

Labor day weekend is when the reality of how much work we have to do starts to sink in to our rotted zombie brains. This weekend (if the rain holds off) I think we plan to make final decisions on room ideas, lighting etc. We'll start making our to-do list, which of course never gets completed. As home haunters we work really hard to be sure all of our visitors have a spooktacular good time. We stress over every little detail of every room even though we know that most folks will rush through and not even remember the background of the room that "the chainsaw guy" was in. If you ask one of the kids seen running from the cemetery how they liked the sound effects they would probably tell you all they heard were the screams and laughter of their friends. It's worth all of the work and worry just to see everyone, even if just for a few minutes, forget their problems and leave with a smile. At the end of the night we, the permanent residents, of The UnDead Cemetery will sleep the sleep of the dead with happy hearts and dream about next Halloween.

Mixing It Up A Bit

This year we're going to shake things up a bit by changing the traffic flow of the haunt. In the past TOT would enter our first room and make their way through the other rooms etc. and exit by strolling (running) through The UnDead Cemetery and crossing the Trool Bridge. We have done it the same for 7 years and are ready for a change. In 2009 we will start in the cemetery and exit out the last room. A change in the flow will hopefull slow folks down a bit so that they can see some of the work we put into the details of each scare zone. And besides, slowing the trick or treaters down makes it easier for and my zombie pals to catch them and eat their brains.

And so it begins

While many folks are looking forward to the end of school and summer vacation, the caretakers at The UnDead Cemetery are hard at work on the plans for the 2009 haunt season. Little do our visitors know that months of planning and building are required to put together a Home Haunt. It's like the Wizzard in The Wizzard of Oz; they have no idea what goes on behind the curtains. Don't get me wrong, we like it that way. If you know how a magic trick is created it's not nearly as impressive.
Even though we try to have different scares in each of our zones we usually try to work with a new theme each year. A theme gives you a bit of a guideline to follow so that you don't start a bunch of projects that you can't possibly finish. Our theme for 2009 is "The Zombie Zone" so you can expect to see a few brain eaters walking around.