Hello Hooray!

**I love the dead** · 09-02-2011,11:03 AM

Hello Hooray!

I came across this site a year ago when I was researching setting up a graveyard for Halloween. So I began lurking around again this year and I said to myself I need to stop lurking and join up. So I did.

My name is Chris and my user name “I love the dead” is from an Alice Cooper song of the same name. My first music album was Alice Cooper when I was about 10yrs old. I grew up watching classic horror flicks. One of the first books I bought as kid was a how to book on special effect makeup by Tom Savini. So I try to do things with basic household stuff. So when it came to Halloween makeup and costumes were more important to me than candy. As a kid I was in school haunted houses as well as small private ones in my teens.

But as I got older and I had to make a living so I had no time for Halloween even though I missed it and every Halloween I’d be thinking of thinks to do but never do it. Well now I’m in my mid 40’s and last year I set up a simple graveyard scene in the yard with Styrofoam tombstones, a fogger, hanging heads and bodies and had zombie babies playing with body parts. I even made myself look like a dummy sitting in a chair and suddenly move as visitors came up to the door, which turned out to be a good scare. My neighborhood was never big with trick or treaters but I did get a few so that was good. Plus stockade fencing and bushes and trees hide my house and yard so you have to venture down my long driveway to see the yard. Sadly one group of little ones who I could hear pleading with their mom to my house was denied by their mom because it was too scary. But those who came in complimented me on my work as simple as it was. But I really did it for myself and my family.

Anyway I want to do it again and I’m sure I’m going to need tips like on doing better lighting than I had last year and other things and I think I’m at the right place.

Thanks for having me,
I love the dead (aka Chris)