Now, onto the newest feature at the haunt:

You may be familiar with a certain arachnid at the haunt, Bubbles the Vicious Spider.

Before I go, I would like to remind everyone that I am currently looking for sponsors for the 2011 haunt.  If you click on the sponsors page, you can find out all the details.  There will also be a big announcement coming shortly.

• New fence sections – replacing some broken old sections
• Window ghost – my own take on the flying crank ghost, without the crank!
• Monster in a box – just what it says: a box, a monster, and lots of screams!  This will be my first attempt at using motion sensors!
• New tombstone – like every year, I shall build a new tombstone.  Planning a big one with a twist!
• Updates to the mad lab – including a frame for the back wall, new things for the Dr. to play with, and much more.
• new donation box – replacing the broken donation reaper, will be a totem pole of pumpkiny goodness!
• Possibly a major change to the electric chair that makes it more trick-or-treater friendly – can’t divulge info on this yet!

Might seem like a small list, but I assure you it will not fail to impress!

Coming up in the near future: a look at the Tim Burton Exhibit.  I went, I took pictures (when the guards weren’t looking!),and I have lots to share.  I will also be doing a feature in a while where you get an inside look at my mind, through a guided tour of my oddly beautiful bedroom!   And lastly, the “Site I Like” feature will be coming back, so if you have a home haunt, store, etc…email me the link and it may just be on the site.

Au revoir for now folks!

You can view them here!

This year saw some great things and some not so great.  The great, such as the addition of Hallowindow and some new props, will be shown in pictures and videos in the coming weeks, as I sift through everything.  The opening/closing coffin was a wonderful success.  The electric chair was great, except for the handle that broke off VERY early in the evening, courtesy of one hyper guest. 

On the not so great side, wind broke my donation reaper, so while he was still able to accept donations, he was no longer animated and his stand was in pieces.  The lights on my street are seriously messed up and would go on and off at will, which played games with my own lighting.  Overall though, I heard many great things from neighbours.  However, the debate to continue next year, which will be the 12th, is raging in my mind.  I’ll have to sleep on this one.

In the meantime, there are many people I would like to thank.

 - Neal Brother’s Foods: your support was much appreciated and I must say I heard nothing but good things about the taste of your cheese pops!
 - Mike Leinwand: You are always a help, although I often have to bribe you with candy.  Thanks Muke!
 - Mom and Pops: Once again you have proven to be wonderful parents who are VERY understanding!
 - Jesse: Thanks for lending me the projector oh wonderful brother!
 

And to all my neighbours who came and donated to The SickKids Foundation, I thank you very much!  And once again, a shout out to Jacob, for no reason other than I think you’re a cool kid, but my feelings towards your dog are undecided, as he growled at me.

Check back soon for pictures and video.  If I figure out how to transfer things from a PVR to a computer, I’ll also upload my City TV interview, as I was most hilarious in it, if I do say so myself.

Some of us grow to be doctors, politicians, lawyers, heroes.  Me, I grew to haunt and haunt I shall!  Today is the moment that I have been waiting for.  I’m like a kid in a candy store, a grown-up on their childrens’ first day back at school, a, well you get the idea! 

Tonight Halloween descends upon the streets of Forest Hill, as Haunt on the Hill kicks off its twelfth year of fear!  Come celebrate with me as I introduce to you new screams.  This labour of blood, I mean love, is all for you, the neighbours that make Forest Hill the wonderful street that it is.  And with that, I leave you with some words from this haunter’s favourite song:

Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn’t you like to see something strange?

Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween

This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It’s our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween

The haunt runs from 5:30-sundown.  Please bring money to donate to The SickKids Foundation!

Yours eerily,

Rachel “Wednesday Addams” Brown

In fact, this Monday I will have a very exciting interview with everyone’s favourite haunter, Kathy Sheife….Shief….Schiefer, um Kathy!  If you don’t know who she is, you will come Monday!  Really though, if you are a fellow haunter, you HAVE to know who she is, even if you can’t spell her last name!

As for an update on props for this year, that will come soon.  However, if you look to your right, you will notice that there are only 64 days left!!!!  I better get to the dungeon and finish some things!  I also want to quickly point out that Shopper’s Drugmart already has their Halloween candy out!  It’s almost here!

Now on to today’s blog post:  Haunt clubs.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I am a member of the OHC.  This is the Ontario Haunters Club.  It’s a website, a forum, and even a monthly get together to meet up with some of Ontario’s finest haunters.  Victoria Wolf, founder of the club, is a super nice lady and all the members are really helpful when I get stuck on how to do something.  I don’t really go to the meet-ups, but I do chat with a lot of the members online and I find them to be a valuable resource. 

If you’re just starting out as a haunter or have been doing it for years, local clubs are a great way to meet fellow enthusiasts.  So, no matter where you live, if you are a member of a local haunters club, post below in the comments and let’s get the word out about all the clubs!

And don’t forget to check back on Monday for my interview with Kathy Schieferstein!  Look Ma, I did it, I think.

And a big thanks to all our new Twitter followers!

Rachel “Wednesday Addams” Brown

Hallowindow in action!

Today is full of greatness!  Or weirdness, either way it’s a good day at the haunt!  First I thought you should know that there are two more parts in my series on projection haunting still to come!  The first was last Friday’s interview with Hallowindow, the second will be on Monday when we take a look at The Bates Haunt and lastly, next Friday we talk to Andrew Grant of Scaremation.  So much projectiony goodness!

Now what’s been going on with Haunt on the Hill you ask?  You didn’t ask?  Well I’m telling you anyway!  I’ve been hard at work on props for this coming Halloween and have decided that you deserve a sneak peak at one that I am especially proud of. 

As any past visitor to the haunt can attest, we have never had an opening/closing coffin, although we have attempted to for the past five or so years.  Something always seemed to go wrong or break at the last minute, but I did not give up!  I got my hands on a MonsterGuts motor and set to work on the coffin.  It’s not done yet, some tinkering still needs doing and a good ole monster hand needs to be fabricated and attached, but otherwise, it’s working like a charm. 

Here is a video I took using my iPhone:

I’ll have more sneak peaks on props in the works over the next little while,  so keep checking back.  In the meantime, I must remind you all that I am looking for sponsors to help raise money for charity.  If you know of a company or business that would like to help out, please use the contact form on this site to get in touch with me.  Also, if you have a website, store, product, home haunt, etc… that you would like me to discuss on this site, drop me a line and we’ll talk.  I’ve already been receiving lots of emails from people, but would love to hear more from my fellow haunters!

Fangs for everything,
Rachel