Top 13 Halloween Pictures of 2004

This year we built a shooter bar that was a major improvement over our 2003 model. It not only featured a stand up bartender prop with an under lit glass tray of coloured shooters in crystal decanters but it had a thatched roof and a mini coffin in an alcove, recessed into a plywood wall covered in a special mix of Monster Mud which gave it an authentic stone look. We dubbed it Club Dread!

We had a window in the side of the bar and figured it looked to bare by itself – it needed something to kick it up a notch… Then it occurred to us to put a little awning over top the window. So we built an awnig out of small pieces of wood and cardboard. Finally, because we felt the cardboard roof didn’t look authentic enough, we got the idea to undo the bristles on a store bought witch’s broom and use the “bramble” as a thatched roof. (more details on how coming)

When you walk up the two steps from our living room into our dining room you saw the side of Club Dread so we thought it was the perfect place to put a window. That way guests could get a tantalizing glimpse into Club Dread before they rounded the corner.

Ohmar stood in the corner of the bar area holding out a tray of crystal decanters of colourful shooters. The tray was made up of a wood frame around a glass cutting board with a white light positioned underneath. This gave the bottles of haunted refreshments an eerie glow from within.

We made Ohmar to be a stand up character prop. Complete from the top of his head to the bottom of his shoes – his coat even had tails! At first glance he almost looks normal but once you notice his oversized hands holding the tray you know there are monsters somewhere in his family tree.

Back from 2003 is one of our favourites – BleedyBoy! Hey, I only said we named our Halloween props… I never said we give then good names! Anyhoo, this year we gave him red LED eyes and plugged him in and let him do what he does best – continuously bleed from the top of his head through his chin into his chest where it then gathers in a reservoir with a pump behind his chest.

We started having our guest sign into a guest book for our Halloween party: Fear Fest. This is one of my favourite pictures of all time it has a great ambience to it and I like the lighted skull looking in the window from outside .

Drac’s back! Our Dracula Corner-Ceiling-Hanging prop was back this year for more blood and this year we gave him a victim bride to sink his bloody teeth into.

If you saw this Dracula prop in our 2003 season you’d may have noticed that he was not endowed with hands that would help him catch his prey. Well this year we thought seeing as we were giving him a victim, then he should have a predatory set of hands to stalk the night with. These prop hands were my first and so far only attempt at paper Mache.

Another one of the props that we had hanging up in the corner near the ceiling (which we call Corner-Ceiling-Hanging props) was our grave robber. Standing behind a tombstone with his shovel, he lit up the area with his silk flame lantern. see with lighting

Same grave yard fence and tombstones as 2003 just different location and more twisted haunted trees. Even though it is not in great focus I like this photo a lot because of the great Halloween shadows that were cast by the red flood light.

This turned out well – he’s not a flying crank ghost, he is simply a static phantom creature of the night in our black light room. He was super cheap and easy to do – basically some coat hanger wires, some old foam for shoulder bulk, a dollar store mask and a curtain from the thrift store later and viola! One not so bad spectre!

Like a lot of other home haunters out there, part of what we do during our Halloween party is collect cans of food for the local food bank. This year we had a new coffin to collect the cans in. Made from salvaged pallet and crate wood this little coffin is not only a great donation receptacle but it also make a great storage container for our Halloween props during the off season!

Thanks for Looking.
Cheers ScreamingScarecrow.