[jdubbya]

This was the second year I had the awesome pleasure of teaming up with my good buddy and fellow forum member lewlew on a collaborative effort. We started putting things on paper back in February and began the actual off-site building in August. The carnival theme was one we’ve never done before but it was one of the most creative opportunities and really lent itself to a lot of great detail and fun scares.The front yard display was a circus arcade, complete with a kissing booth and face painting/tattoos for the kids waiting in line. Lewlew, myself, and two other actors dressed as clowns, worked the crowd, getting people excited (or nervous) about what layed ahead. Really funny how many people are terrified of clowns!The path to the actual haunt took them past a fortune teller, a pinhead, and our ringmaster greeter. Once inside, all bets were off as guests were assailed by several clowns, three drop panels, and an array of freak show oddities, including the wolf boy, snake lady and the elephant man, all of which were mere distractions for the real scares! We had over 650 visitors Halloween night along with TV coverage from two local stations. While we didn’t have any video footage we did talk to several patrons as they exited the haunt and the overwhelming consensus was that it was the best ever! Capped off by a picture perfect night and a fantastic staff of close to 20 helpers, all of whom played their parts to perfection, Halloween 2015 could not have been better! Here are some pics from the event. Hope you enjoy them!


https://youtu.be/qQ_pzh1td3c

 

[xxScorpion64xx]

Pictures are awesome , quite evident that it was a great experience for all, everything looked on point, it's a shame you don't have video footage , congrats to the both of you and the volunteers

 

[Paint It Black]

Fun! Fun! Fun! Love your set-up, and your actors were fabulous! I just love a good carnevil. Once again, you guys did such an awesome job with your theme. I always look forward to seeing your photos every year. Thanks for posting. Loved it.

 

[jdubbya]

Pictures are awesome , quite evident that it was a great experience for all, everything looked on point, it's a shame you don't have video footage , congrats to the both of you and the volunteers

We had hoped for video but were just too busy making sure everything went smoothly that we didn't have a chance. We're planning to get a dedicated video set up this year to capture the crowd reactions. They were priceless! Thanks for the kind words my friend!

Fun! Fun! Fun! Love your set-up, and your actors were fabulous! I just love a good carnevil. Once again, you guys did such an awesome job with your theme. I always look forward to seeing your photos every year. Thanks for posting. Loved it.

Thanks PIB! Appreciate it very much! Our crew was the best and got some outstanding scares/reactions! All of them want to come back this year too! We had a blast doing this and I'd recommend this theme to anyone who has not yet tried it!

Here are some more pics that didn't make it into the slide show

IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p255/jdubbya2006/Halloween%202015/12109045_1087008167977091_7913110743266033589_n_zpsdfsb1gaj.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Vandalay Industries]

Is the striped wall painted sheets or is it the table cloth rolls from Oriental Trading? I'm doing a psycho circus this year and want some inexpensive wall covering. Thanks.

 

[jdubbya]

Is the striped wall painted sheets or is it the table cloth rolls from Oriental Trading? I'm doing a psycho circus this year and want some inexpensive wall covering. Thanks.

They are Scene Setters. We got them from Spirit. Party City also carried them

 

[22606]

Phenomenal job.

 

[punkineater]

Fantastic setup, killer clown menagerie, creeps and freaks! Nice touch with the AHS soundtrack, creepy carnival music and vid editing.

 

[jdubbya]

Phenomenal job.

Thanks man! We had a great time with this!

Fantastic setup, killer clown menagerie, creeps and freaks! Nice touch with the AHS soundtrack, creepy carnival music and vid editing.

Thanks! We played the AHS soundtrack through the upstairs windows all evening. It made for a creepy mood. Inside we had a different track for the main hall then individual tracks for three different freak show scenes. I think the screams probably overshadowed the sound tracks much of the time! lol!

 

[Hilda]

You can FEEL how much fun the whole vibe is!!
I love all the quirky humorous touches. Face Painting!?!? hahahahaha Uh. No thanks. I'll pass.
Oh and the creepy stuffed animal 'prizes' at the skull toss?!?!?! hahaha Great job!
You know I'm a huge fan of your beautiful cemetery... but I bet this was TONS of fun for you to change it up so.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[ooojen]

...While we didn’t have any video footage we did talk to several patrons as they exited the haunt and the overwhelming consensus was that it was the best ever! Capped off by a picture perfect night and a fantastic staff of close to 20 helpers, all of whom played their parts to perfection, Halloween 2015 could not have been better! Here are some pics from the event. Hope you enjoy them!

I did enjoy them, immensely! I loved the creativity, the quality of the work (that sign at the entry-- jaw-dropping!), the obvious camaraderie of the people involved-- all of it looks fun and well-executed!
I also want to say how much I enjoy the entire positive tone of the post (much)! That is inspirational.

 

[offmymeds]

Just outstanding!! What a great set up. Love your attention to detail and your actors were just awesome. Is that you in the Twisty costume?
I am quite fond of the kissing booth

 

[jdubbya]

You can FEEL how much fun the whole vibe is!!
I love all the quirky humorous touches. Face Painting!?!? hahahahaha Uh. No thanks. I'll pass.
Oh and the creepy stuffed animal 'prizes' at the skull toss?!?!?! hahaha Great job!
You know I'm a huge fan of your beautiful cemetery... but I bet this was TONS of fun for you to change it up so.
Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Angel! The entire evening's atmosphere felt exactly like a carnival. It's hard to describe but the energy from the crowd and staff was fantastic! We really had fun doing this and as lewlew said on the other forum, it was liberating to do Halloween in a totally different theme, away from the traditional, graveyard, zombies, ghosts, gore, etc.. We had a blast coming up with all the little details and the fact that guests had to wait in line to go through gave everyone a chance to take many of them in. We got a lot of great compliments.

I did enjoy them, immensely! I loved the creativity, the quality of the work (that sign at the entry-- jaw-dropping!), the obvious camaraderie of the people involved-- all of it looks fun and well-executed!
I also want to say how much I enjoy the entire positive tone of the post (much)! That is inspirational.

Thanks oojen! Truly appreciate that! Our crew rocked it that night and most of them are already committed to helping out this year!

Just outstanding!! What a great set up. Love your attention to detail and your actors were just awesome. Is that you in the Twisty costume?
I am quite fond of the kissing booth

Thanks OMM! Twisty was a friend of my sons who made his mom drive all the way to Penn State to bring him home just to be in the haunt! LOL! I was the one with the jester mask/apron. People heard the bells and started freaking out!

 

[Attic Hatch]

I agree with ALL the positive comments here! Fun- funny - scary - what more do you want!?
I don't know how people change up themes from year to year; I can't imagine the effort/talent/teamwork that is involved (you have a "build team", right ?")
Anyhow - Kudos!!

 

[halloween71]

Always perfect!

 

[jdubbya]

I agree with ALL the positive comments here! Fun- funny - scary - what more do you want!?
I don't know how people change up themes from year to year; I can't imagine the effort/talent/teamwork that is involved (you have a "build team", right ?")
Anyhow - Kudos!!

Thanks AH! Up until a couple years ago when I partnered with Mark (lewlew), I pretty much kept a similar theme each year, just moved stuff around and added a few things. We took the haunt in a different direction and built a free standing structure which serves as the walk through portion, in addition to the front yard display. We have a large warehouse that we're able to store the haunt panels in and we actually set it up in September so we can get the light/prop/scare placement just right. We then dismantle it and move it to my place the week of Halloween, set it up again and then tear it down the day after. Mark and I often do much of it ourselves but we had a lot of help this year between some our actors and their dads. Most of our scare actors are teen age high school/college kids who are friends of my son. They're able to help lift/move/steady stuff while we fasten it all together and it saves our backs!

Always perfect!

Much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Attic Hatch]

What a luxury having a place for storage and trial setup!
Awesome you have like minded collaborators as well.
SO - it wasn't that much effort after all!

 

[jdubbya]

What a luxury having a place for storage and trial setup!
Awesome you have like minded collaborators as well.
SO - it wasn't that much effort after all!

Oh, it was THAT much and more! LOL!
Some pics of the build in the warehouse

 

[Attic Hatch]

Okay . . . .
That's it I'm leaving.
You people is crazy.
(sez the guy with a 25 ft spider breaking through his roof)

 

[jdubbya]

Okay . . . .
That's it I'm leaving.
You people is crazy.
(sez the guy with a 25 ft spider breaking through his roof)

You say crazy like it's a bad thing!