Zombie Hand

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Like many Home Haunters, I am constantly searching the net for inspiration and information. I googled Zombies one day and came across this wicked little beauty. Someone had posted it on his blog (orimath.blogspot.com) asking for identification help. There were all sorts of answers and even a rude remark from someone poking fun at the poster's grammar. Rudeness is a whole other sore spot for me. I just want to throw this in here even if it is off subject. PEOPLE, "if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all". As I was saying, this odd thing of nature really made me curious so I joined the identification search. After looking at page after page of, shall we say "pornographic mushroom " pics I found our mushroom formerly called "Zombie Hand" on MushroomExpert.com. Ronald Meyers had posted a photo that I am convinced is our mystery zombie hand. Another photo and all the stinky little details was found at WalterReeves.com. I now know that the zombie hand found growing in the garden of a man in Indonesia is a type of stinkhorn mushroom called a "stinky squid" (pseudocolus fusiformis). Apparently the mushrooms in this group get stinky and slimy so even though it's not called a zombie hand, it smells like one.

Best Laid Plans

Sometimes no matter how good your intentions are things just do not work out as planned. An example is our "Buzz Bench" prop we made for our haunt a couple of years ago. We had seen a short video clip on Monster Maze Haunt site where they had visitors to their haunt sit on a bench to watch an electric chair execution, and at the moment the fake criminal was juiced, the unsuspecting viewers on the bench got, what they thought, was a little buzz on their bottoms. Of course they weren't really shocked. The buzz was created by using metal for the seat and hooking a small motor to cause vibration on the bench.
We had been trying to come up with a startle prop that we could use as a photo op prop and decided that this buzz thing would be perfect. I was so excited to think that we might actually get a few photos of folks with frightened looks on their faces. This was going to be our leap from cutesy funny haunt to something scary. 
Keith constructed a rustic looking bench just like I requested, and was ready to rig up the metal section that would provide the buzzed feeling. I am famous for over thinking things and this bench was no exception ,so I had the brilliant idea to use something else in place of the metal flashing for the seat. I was worried that some poor little toddler would sit down with his parents to have his photo taken and Mom would be sooo startled by the buzz that she would drop the kid as she ran from the scene. 
I had sat on the bench to test drive it and I felt it would still make for some cool candid photos. Halloween night arrived and we were ready to start snapping pics. I was busy passing out candy and sending folks through the haunt when I started hearing loud laughter coming from the area Keith had set up for taking pics. The "Buzz Bench" was a hit but not because it was scaring people, it was popular because when the motor was activated under the bench it gave a pleasant vibration to those adults that could appreciate it and it made everyone of all ages laugh because the vibration up against the material I insisted on changing to, made a loud noise like someone passing gas. Needless to say we didn't get those "it was soo scary" photos I had hoped for, but It did bring a few smiles to the faces of kids who insisted their parents sit together for a photo. 

Best laid plans right?

Bed Rest

Is this what it means when a doctor recommends "bed rest"?

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.