JustJimAZ

Well, it looks like HauntCast has aired their final show. 3 full years of madness come to an end.

How will we discover incredible haunting gurus?

Who now will give us mad props for our props?

How will we get Johnny Thunder's take on the latest and greatest (or lamest) horror movies?

Has the Ghost Light finally gone out on Revenant's Theater of the Mind?

I don't know about you, but I would never have gotten into haunting the way I did without HauntCast. it was hearing the news with Revenant that finally made me look for an Arizona Haunters group. It was Interviews with Haunting Gurus that introduced me to LaurieBeast, The Davis', Bates, and dozens more. It was Shellhawk's Charmed Pot and Rev's Theater of the Mind that inspired me to plan, plan, plan to make sure I did the most with what I had.

I don't think I built a single thing specifically mentioned by any of the prop building hosts, but I sure used their techniques and advice. That is what it was for, right?

I know Chris kept saying it was for home haunters and for pros, but he and I obviously disagreed on that. It was for me. Undoubtedly it was for you, too, but it was especially for me. Hauntcast - even more than the forums - convinced me that I was missing something. It showed me what I could do, not what a pro with $50K could do.

I always loved Halloween, but I never did much more than dress up and got to a friend's party or maybe have a little one myself. Hauntcast convinced me that I could do more. Does that sound overblown? Too bad. See any pics of my haunt in 2009? Me either. I did not have one. 2010 was pitiful but it was a start. In 2011 I still had a long way to go, but I think any objective observer will agree I made quantum leaps in quality. I learned about lighting, sound effects, backstory, themes, prop building, safety and traffic flow. Whatever was good about my haunt, I owe to HauntCast and AZ Haunters - and I already said I owe my finding AZ Haunters to HauntCast.

Amateurs practice their craft for love, not for money. I'm not a pro haunter and I never will be. In my opinion, HauntCast - "Radio for Haunters and Halloween Fanatics" was for the amateur. HauntCast was, to me, for amateurs in that original sense of the word. Ultimately though, you cannot pay the bills with love. For all their commitment and investment of energy, time, and money, the Scream Team apparently could not find enough support to continue to bring HauntCast to the world. It is a loss to all of us who open our homes or yards to the public once a year to celebrate this crazy holiday that we love.

Farewell, Scream Team. Would that we had valued your contributions according to their true worth.