Haunt Review: THE SCAREHOUSE

It all started yesterday, on the way in to visit my mom at for the weekend in Pittsburgh, PA. My dad and I left early, but he didn't say why...when I saw my mom, she told me why - we had gotten VIP tickets to Pittsburgh's biggest and baddest haunted attraction - THE SCAREHOUSE!!!!!!!!

After washing down my excitement with a bottle of blue Mountain Dew (drink of the gods), We drove to Etna, PA, home of Scarehouse. The building was something to be seen: a tall, Greco-Roman style building lit with purple and green lights. We wound our way around the block to the back of the building to the entrance, were entertained by the crazy actor dressed as Steampunk transvestite (a very fun concept for a haunt actor) and got to the front of the line (a perk of getting VIP tickets), and after watching old '70's horror and exploitation movie trailers playing for the queue line, we entered the Mouth of Hell!

The first haunt was more of a creepy, subtler haunt, with no consistent theme called "The Forsaken" (my favorite haunt of the evening); each scene was different there was a dark carnival, a ruined church, a swamp, backwoods butcher shop, and a haunted mansion.

Next up was the wacky "Delirium 3D". For those who don't know, a 3D haunt is where they put blacklight paint of the wall, and you wear special glasses to the paint look like it's coming off the walls. Unlike your typical 3D haunt, which is clown themed, "Delirium" had a insane nightclub theme, with some of the best SFX I saw all night.

Finally, there was the gory, Steampunk-themed "RAMPAGE"! We found ourselves plunged head first into a futuristic totalitarian society during a rebellion. The rebel soldiers kept trying to recruit us to join the fight against the "DieRector" and the gun-totting, gas mask-wearing "Daphne". The final scene of RAMPAGE (and the whole attraction) was pure insanity. There were machine guns, chainsaws, robots, cannons, mutants, and lots of strobe lights! Finally, we were spat out back onto the street and into relative saftey. We picked up some souvenirs, and headed home.

Now, I have to say something - I LOVE SCAREHOUSE!!!!!! This place rocks, and generally kicks ass. If your are in the Western PA area in October, you've GOT to check out Scarehouse! As for souvenirs, I got a killer rabbit t-shirt, and the official soundtrack (yes, the haunt actually write their own music!) and it has some cool industrial/dance tunes that I'm gonna use for my party. Overall, great haunt, great actors, and very nice staff. Kudos to you, ScareHouse!

Oh, and those pictures above are cell phone pics of me and my mom with killer rabbit and the Steampunk transvestite.

Scarehouse Official site

Success!

Wow! It has been a LONG time since I sat down to blog a bit about Halloween. Well, here it goes:

MY BEST SEASON YET! Yes, despite the bad weather in PA, I would say that this was my biggest, most elborate, and most successful year of haunting since I started back in 2006.

Visual, this year was killer. We had cornstalks on every porch pillar, a witch's alter, two scarecrows (one themed as the one from Sleepy Hollow, the other we've dubbed "Fleshface" due to his gruesome visage), a beautiful cemetery, and TONS of spooked little ToTs. We lit the graveyard entierly with candles from my mom's wedding this summer. People were amazed by our display, which is pretty small compared to say, haunts like Davis Graveyard, but people came long into the night. I think we had about 200-some visitors on Halloween. While wearing my mask, I was able to scare some people just by looking at them. Already I've got some cool ideas for next year (the picture from pro haunt Haunted Overload is hint at one prop I hope to make). As soon as my brother e-mails me the pics, I'll post 'em! Hope every one had a great Halloween!

PS: Check House Bloodthorn's blog when you can. He has done some amazing work the infamous "Haunt of Miss Rose" formerly owned by Rob at Skull and Bone!

ScreamParks (Part 1)

Hello, again, haunters of all ages.

Well, I hope to be busy working on one of my scarecrows this Labor Day weekend, and I've been looking for topics when it came to me: I've covered home haunts, but not any pro haunts! So I've decided to cover some haunted ScreamParks* before Halloween!

* ScreamPark: noun; a Halloween theme park consisting of haunted attractions.

The first one I want to cover is an old favorite: Universal Studios Florida's HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS! Its been around since 1991, and has just gotten better since. This year's theme is RIPPED From the Silver Screen! and it just looks awesome! There are three haunts themed to the movies SAW, Child's Play, and an upcoming remake of The Wolfman. Two of the haunts are themed as re-imaginings of Frankenstein and Dracula, while the other haunts are done in the style of cheesey B-rate horror flicks. There's also a haunt called "Silver Screams" and is themed as an old haunted theatre. The mascot or "Icon" this year is called "The Usher", and is very creepy looking. Other attractions include Scarezones and two Stage Shows. Check out their awesome site, you won't regret it!

Halloween Horror Nights

Tommorow's ScreamPark: Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses.

Hallowe'en Land

Hello again, creatures of the night! I have a treat for you today.

Although I mentioned this haunt in a previous post, I did not give it enough credit. That is what I set out to do today. Haunted Overload is perhaps the most unique haunted attraction I've ever come across! The haunt's theme seems to be Halloween, no more, no less. It has a fantastic visual style, with a vibrant color scheme in their lighting. Not to mention, they have giant (as in 30 to 50 feet tall) statues of classic Halloween icons, like witches, ghosts, werewolves, and, coolest of all, SCARECROWS! If I could, I would make Haunted Overload my home! I've included some very cool images from their 2007 and 2008 seasons. Enjoy!

Favorite Halloween Sites & Blogs

Whew! I gotta say, things have been very busy 'round here, what with my Mom's wedding (which turned out beautifully, I may add)! But now, life's back pretty much normal, save for my black cat Nigel being sick :( Anyways, I've decided to share some of my favorite Halloween websites. But not just any websites; these are sites I feel will put the Halloween mood ANYTIME of the year! I promise you'll like 'em!

First, there's ShellHawk's Nest. This is a very fun little blog, with some very amusing posts. Its good for some light-hearted silliness.

Second, we have the Pumpkin Queen's Halloween Haven! The lady who writes this blog is really good with words. Her posts always make me yearn for Halloween and wish that it was October all year-round.

Third, the Captain's Ramblings. Very good for information on the latest horror movies. Also very funny.

Fourth, my favorite blog of all time: PUMPKINROT! What can I say about this man, this genious? King of the Scarecrow, Master of the Arts Macabre! Just check out his site, and you'll know what I mean!

Fifth, the Haunting of Ivy Hall. Unfortunately, its not update very often, but is loaded with great imagery and atmosphere.

Sixth, there is the Universal Studios Florida haunted house event, Halloween Horror Nights! This is one of the most realistic collection of haunted attractions in the industry, and some of there event themes are absulutely incrediable!

And finally, there's Haunted Overload. While I love haunted attractions that go for realism, this haunt's visual style cannot be beat. I so wish I could visit it in New Hamsphire.

Well, that's all for now. I'll post again soon!

(New) Lair of the HalloweeNut!

Interesting new project! My mom and my stepdad, Ben, have moved to PA, along with my brother and sister. It seems that my siblings will both have a themed room. For my bro, its a rain forest outpost; for my sis, its the beach (you know, dolphins, sea-shells,bla, bla, bla). However, my mom asked me what I wanted to do with my room for when I'm staying with them. So, being the freak I am, I of course said, "I think I'd like to do a Halloween room!" Thank God she didn't say "No". Anyways, the room will have a fiery color scheme; I.E. orange, yellow, red. I will also decorate with pumpkins, skulls, you name it! Now, if only I could do something like THIS:

http://www.jekyllandhydeclub.com/