Thread: Confessions of a Propaholic

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Rusty nails, as in "Spikes" can be bent, curled around then glued to your back, left sticking out from bloody holes in your shirt. I then used the spikes to hang my runner's number on along with the words:"Mount Carroll Maschist Runner's Club".
One sour-grapes woman didn't think this was funny. I was a runner, I went running that day with the pack. "OOOOWWWW!"

Wanna bees! If you wanna be badly enough, someday you will "BE"!
Time and concentrated effort rewards us ahead of almost any thing else.
Look at the bios of famous "Overnight Sensations" in entertainment fields, almost all of them have been putting in long hours, practising their skill long before some newspaper person declared them an "overnighter". (But who believes everything you read?
Stick with it. Apply all energy and smarts in that direction.
This might not work picking Lotto numbers.

GYM!!!
Where ya been?

"Dover?" No.
I just had a very hectic year of nealy constant required repair work and maintainence.
I probably spent at least two solid weeks just trimming tree limbs and cutting down trees all on my property.
I have about three hours of grass mowing to do once that begins to sprout.
Lately it has been clearing snow, alot of snow.
I inherited a garage two years ago that still needs alot of work.
I also spent the time along the way to build some new stuff. The trike is done and shown on this forum on my blog site , or is that the private messages?
I have two large outdoor displays very close to done when winter hit, I spent alot of time on them this last year too. The one display will make use of a large Werewolf head my neighbor gave me when he moved away, it's about the size of a Grizzly bear head! I painted, mounted it and haired it, installed it's teeth, once again, all very time consuming.
I built internal supports for several heads and masks from sheet metal, finishing the contact points with aerosal can foam.
Last winter & spring I was working on my mini-hearse. I finished its all steel welded and bolted frame and suspension, all heavy-duty enough to support my weight if I ride on the roof for parades.
For now it's displayed upstairs with a sign on it saying "waiting for bailout money" as the roof frame hangs suspended over the body as it is suspeneded over the frame, just like a car factory, sort of..
Of course I am open for tours of my house every night , all year long at 7pm to 12 midnight and many Sat. & Sun. afternoons too.
During the extreme cold and snow I can sit here on the keys or at night when I'm waiting for possible customers. I had six people tonight, Dec.27th!

Originally Posted by Gym Whourlfeld

"Dover?" No.
I just had a very hectic year of nealy constant required repair work and maintainence.
I probably spent at least two solid weeks just trimming tree limbs and cutting down trees all on my property.
I have about three hours of grass mowing to do once that begins to sprout.
Lately it has been clearing snow, alot of snow.
I inherited a garage two years ago that still needs alot of work.
I also spent the time along the way to build some new stuff. The trike is done and shown on this forum on my blog site , or is that the private messages?
I have two large outdoor displays very close to done when winter hit, I spent alot of time on them this last year too. The one display will make use of a large Werewolf head my neighbor gave me when he moved away, it's about the size of a Grizzly bear head! I painted, mounted it and haired it, installed it's teeth, once again, all very time consuming.
I built internal supports for several heads and masks from sheet metal, finishing the contact points with aerosal can foam.
Last winter & spring I was working on my mini-hearse. I finished its all steel welded and bolted frame and suspension, all heavy-duty enough to support my weight if I ride on the roof for parades.
For now it's displayed upstairs with a sign on it saying "waiting for bailout money" as the roof frame hangs suspended over the body as it is suspeneded over the frame, just like a car factory, sort of..
Of course I am open for tours of my house every night , all year long at 7pm to 12 midnight and many Sat. & Sun. afternoons too.
During the extreme cold and snow I can sit here on the keys or at night when I'm waiting for possible customers. I had six people tonight, Dec.27th!

Love to see pics of the herse-in-progress!

The sheet metal major body part is a kid's riding toy from 1950--? Originally it was decked out as a Fire Truck, even though it is basically a Cadillac convertible(1953?)
My question is I know how old this is because it is identicle to mine I still have and I got as a little kid when I was 3 or 4 (I'm 60 now --1949 +4 = 1953?) Yet, the stamping of the body has it with dual headlights?
Most cars did not have dual headlights until 1958.
Was there a toy company spy operating in Detroit's design studios?
Pretty brazen to put the future's look on a mere toy.

Originally Posted by izzio

Let me explain my propoholic "story"... I used to be one of those kids that had horrible nightmares from the least scary things. Scooby-Doo was brutally horrifying when I was 8. So when I was 9, my friend and I tried to brave a near by haunted house. Now, don't get me wrong, this was a VERY professional haunted house done at a rented area in a museum. People who have been through the scariest haunts scream like a little girl in this. (It's called Maximum Terror... here's a link... Maximum Terror 2007) So, of course I gt there, and wanted to go home. But I need more of that atmosphpere. So what did I do? I went on the website and e-mailed the people, because I thought I would be able to be an actor there. They let me. After that I became addicted to Halloween. Every year I would volunteer and be an actor there (I actually had some really fantastic interactive parts) IT WAS MY LIFE... so just last year, they announced they wouldnt be doing the haunt for just that year. And now they couldnt do it this year. So this gave me the idea last year to put on my own show. I was 12, so I didn't have much faith in myself, but what a turn out it was. I really do have a great idea of what creepy and uncomfortable is. I didn't really make any props that year, but I bought some at Spirit. Spirit is ok for props, but most of them suck, so I said "Why don't I make my own?" So I went online and found out that people really do that and spend tons of money doing it. (shocker) And here I am now as a crazy 13 year old. Yes, saying I'm only 13 may be a turn off to some people, but you'd really be suprised. I'll post some pictures of what I made this year.

So now you're thinking... How can a 13 year old make something GOOD? Well, let me tell you, I have an idea for creepy. You see, last year I thought it was scary to put dead bodies everywhere and splatter blood on the ground. No. It's not scary. At all. This year I'm doing a toy store theme (I have a thread on it in General Halloween) Basically, my ideology is to make an enviroment that makes people feel theyre uncomfortable. Not scared--- just really creeped out. My style is to make things look very old and gothic, so people are in awe at what they're looking at. I don't like making a big, elaborate backstory- I just like throwing people into a totally unknown world that is this way it is for no particular reason. I also use music from Midnight Syndicate to help the atmosphere.

Anyways thats my (amazing) story lol. If you doubt my ability since I'm 13, just check by in a couple months and you'll see some really great stuff.

GREAT story; thanks for sharing. Props are sooooo fun for me because it lets the ideas in my head materialize. Creepy curiosities make great props! I'm sure you've seen my props in my albums...always something to make and create. This Forum is fantastic for sharing concepts and zeal.

I wish you the best for a rockin' 2120 home haunt.

Propaholic... What do you mean??? Just because it is 300 day until Halloween. The temperature outside is -3 degrees. I'm out in the unheated garage shivering as I work on a prop.

I might have a problem.

Originally Posted by bamtunebam

Propaholic... What do you mean??? Just because it is 300 day until Halloween. The temperature outside is -3 degrees. I'm out in the unheated garage shivering as I work on a prop.

I might have a problem.

I'm sending you a high-five on that!

Is an impulse really in impulse if really like the sensation it brings?

That come into my brain about the time I'm pulling out of a night's sleep have usually turned out to be good ideas, if also very labor-intensive!!!
"Put a crashed airplane on the roof of the house,Jim."
The voice in my head whispered one morning.
I discovered airplane parts are out of my league expense-wise.
"How about a "Buck Rogers" spaceship instead!? Neat! I said to my other voice, good idea, who wants something as common as a mere airplane?
I went to the local junk yard, bought what was left of a 1950 Hudson (car) I could see quite a resemblance to Buck's ship in it's smooth yet slightly bulbous lines.
First I built a cupola on the 11 by 9 ft space in the middle of the roof,(there could have already once been a cupola there?) Then put the 1950 Hudson on top, added a tail, a wing with landing gear hanging down.
When asked how I got ot up there , I say somewhat distractingly, "I ruined the clutch driving it up there!" (Of course just the car's sheet meatal made the journey, frame, engine and heavy stuff stayed ground-bound.)
I spent the next few years pushing sealers and silicone into the window seams but could never eliminate all the leaks when the rain came. The original felt brush-like pieces were shot)
I covered the body with an olive drab canvas tarp after I painted "Top Secret Project BlueBook" on it.
When customers would show up and complain about me raising the admission a dollar I would explain I had to because I raised the house(cupola+UFO-Hudson)
When they would be looking at the Hudson , still undecided about forkng over that extra dollar, I would secretly push the remote in my pocket and turn on the Hudson's landing lights as 6 foot of real flame shot out the back of the body.
"U, OK." was to be heard as the wallet came out with George Washington smiling him added to my collection of smiling"Georges".
I didn't allow my wacky dream-whisper to die, I just had to scale it back a notch or two...and it is still pretty wacky-impressive to most who know it.
it's at: hauntedravensgrin.com