From owner-halloween-l Wed Nov 1 16:12:13 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 05:14:27 -0600 (CST) From: Alana Jordan To: halloween-l@netcom.com Cc: "'halloween-l@netcom.com'" Subject: RE: Party Wrap-up Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: We have a police scanner. The best night of the year to listen to the police scanner is Halloween. A couple of years ago the police received a call about someone chasing people around with a chainsaw. The guy got arrested. Alana On Mon, 30 Oct 1995, Michael Worth wrote: > >prop chainsaw!!! Oh man I gotta have one of those. Any clue where > >your friend found it? > > >Susan > > Why not simply remove the chain from a real Chain Saw? It's Noisy, and = > it looks and sounds like the real thing because it is the real thing.=20 > > MW From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 02:34:00 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Tue, 31 Oct 95 09:42:44 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Party Wrap-up Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Party Wrap-up Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 10/30/95 8:42 PM Susan wrote: >prop chainsaw!!! Oh man I gotta have one of those. Any clue where >your friend found it? Wellll....you can try what I did one year. I got a hold of an electric chain saw and removed the blade. The sound is authentic, the look is authentic. If you can get around the idea of messing with the electrical cord, it makes a great prop. Your "victims" will hardly notice the cord anyway since you're scaring them half to death. I used mine with my Grim Reaper outfit. A new twist on an old idea... - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 02:44:43 1995 From: RoboJay@aol.com Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 20:54:27 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: "Instant" Costumes Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: Gang: I know Halloween is over, but I'm putting together a list of costumes that one can put together with what you have lying in the closet. Not just obvious stuff like hobos, but other ideas for costumes from what is likely to be in your house. For example, a few years ago I went to a Halloween party as a Yuppie. I wore my best business suit, and had a BMW keychain hanging out of my pocket. From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 03:16:53 1995 Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 10:05:23 -0700 From: milwiron@ix.netcom.com (D.D. ) Subject: More on Theremins, WoooOOOOooo To: Halloween-L@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Hi All, A newsgroup is trying to form supporting the quintessential scary sounding musical instrument... the Theremin. This is the first electronic instrument, developed in the 1920's and is the sound heard in just about every science fiction movie of the 1950's . If you've seen the movie Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp or watched the original tv Star Trek, you've heard a Theremin. To help with the formation of a newsgroup send a post to the newsgroup and mention your support for "alt.music.makers.theremin". Next Halloween I'll be using a Theremin for sound effects. Happy Haunting All, Denny From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 03:24:16 1995 Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 13:11:25 -0400 (EDT) From: "Donna J. Logan" To: halloween-l Subject: Netsurfer Digest Halloween Issue: Vol. 01, #34 (TEXT) (fwd) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: This seemed appropriate to pass along...perhaps help some of us get thru the withdrawal symptoms after Tuesday nite..... ;-> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 10:00:22 -0700 From: Netsurfer Digest Subject: Netsurfer Digest Halloween Issue: Vol. 01, #34 (TEXT) ______________________________________________________________________________ N E T S U R F E R D I G E S T Halloween Issue Monday, October 23, 1995 Volume 01, Issue 34 ______________________________________________________________________________ "More Signal, Less Noise" OUR SPONSORS Netsurfer Marketplace: Once upon a Halloween In the town of Booville There lived an undead student, named Bob. Bob bought a Halloween costume for trick-or-treating And made up his face. To get in the mood, Bob watched some horror flicks And read ghost stories. Bob said goodbye to his mummy and headed into the streets. He heard a distant chorus singing songs of holiday cheer. Bob passed by the local cemetery And ran into a dead person, of corpse. The streets were fraught with vampires, Witches,... Zombies,... And skeletons performing impossible acts. There was a man named Frank N. Furter And strange beings pierced with metal. One house's door stood ajar, so Bob peered in. On the way next-door, Bob heard a loud noise And turned to see a giant pumpkin of malicious intent. He ran into a nearby haunted house Which led him straight into the Inferno. The sights horrified his eyes, The sounds assaulted his ears,... And the experience nauseated him to the point of Vomitus Maximus. Bob entered a strange cabinet he found there Which, a la CS Lewis, rescued him from the Dark Side of the Web. Back home, Bob decided to see how much candy he'd amassed But, somehow, the PEZ seemed foreboding. At last Bob fell asleep, worried about ghosts, And had nightmares of bandwidth-sucking monsters. CONTACT INFORMATION CREDITS ONCE UPON A HALLOWEEN Want to learn the history of Halloween in a witch's own words? Via a Web page, copied from a newsgroup, copied from a BBS, perhaps this is not straight from the witch's mouth but it is an interesting FAQ, complete with source references, to the ancient history of Hallowtide. Another page here contains over 80 links to related and unrelated sites, but you're as likely as not to end up playing Web tag in a vicious circle of contentless linked pages. Stick with us. We're professionals. IN THE TOWN OF BOOVILLE The USA CityLink Project, a collection of American cities on the Web, has specially constructed the virtual city of Booville for the Halloween season. The city metaphor effectively links you to a bevy of fright-night Net sites via headings such as "What to See", "What to Do", etc. The copy is amusing and the links useful, but Booville's economy must rely on the service industries: the site lacks original content. If you're looking for eerie entertainment, this is an effective and amusing introduction to the spooky stuff on the Net. THERE LIVED AN UNDEAD STUDENT, NAMED BOB. This is an archive of a totally weird comic strip called "The After Life of Bob". This comes from Canada, where the long, cold winters must mean spending too much time inside in the dark. The weekly strip is published by The GateWay, a student newspaper at the University of Alberta, and, despite its amateur status, matches up with the best out there. Caution, though - downloading from this site may capture your soul, and will certainly capture your IP address in the logs (peek if you must). BOB BOUGHT A HALLOWEEN COSTUME FOR TRICK-OR-TREATING Still searching for that hard-to-find body part? Just can't get a hold of that much-needed severed head? Not to worry: the Web can deliver body bits as well as data bits. The Halloween Mart and Tombstone Productions both offer vast selections of seasonal weirdness. Along with visceral props, both sites offer masks and costumes, some available for viewing, others left to your twisted imagination. The offerings run from high-end ensembles such as a $3,000 RoboCop costume to a gold lame Elvis outfit for just $35. You need to supply your own gut. Of course, real undead make their costumes from scratch. Halloween Mart: Tombstone Productions: AND MADE UP HIS FACE. Every Halloween for 22 years, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., has transformed into Knott's Scary Farm to host a huge party with literally hundreds of hideous monsters to scare you witless. You can have an unofficial backstage look at the shebang through the eyes Mike Strong, who played a vampire for three years. See steb by step how monsters are made or take a limited virtual tour of the setup. A complete tour is promised for next year. What else is new? TO GET IN THE MOOD, BOB WATCHED SOME HORROR FLICKS The Web's a great place to find others with the same weird obsessions you have. It's so comforting to know you're not alone. And no-one should be alone when watching any of the movies listed at Horror Haven. A self-proclaimed horror movie buff since childhood, Tammy Kearns has arranged a text listing of 20 old classics (Dracula, Psycho, Night of the Living Dead), 20 new classics (Alien, Halloween, The Shining, Rosemary's Baby), a Die Laughing set (The Brain That Wouldn't Die), the gorefest best (Hellraiser, Re-Animator, Scanners) and a category she calls Grim Remnants. A short storyline for each would've been nice, but having seen nearly all these flicks ourselves, we can say there's not a loser in the bunch. AND READ GHOST STORIES. The glow of the VDT replaces the glow of the campfire for those gathered round the alt.folklore.ghost-stories newsgroup. Home to academics, psychics, the curious, and the spooked, the group offers tales of hags, spirits, and other denizens of the land of the not- quite-dead. The stories are true, or so claim some tellers. True or tall, the tales will make you think twice about ghosts in your machine. If bloodsuckers - or blood - are more your taste, spread those bat wings and flap over to alt.books.anne-rice, the electronic watering hole for vampire wannabes. It sports poetry, "speculation stories", and Anne Rice fang - er, fan news. Questions like "If you were made into a vampire, whose blood would you drink first?" have to make you stop and think. Or drink. BOB SAID GOODBYE TO HIS MUMMY AND HEADED INTO THE STREETS. Two days after Halloween, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead. The Museo de las Momias (the Museum of the Mummies) is a site that nicely frames the spooky picture of Mexican death fascination. Dan Harrison describes in words and pictures his visit to the museum in Guanajuato, Mexico. The corpses there have been so well preserved by the "magical" soil that they've been exhumed and put on display. Good incentive to check out the real thing. HE HEARD A DISTANT CHORUS SINGING SONGS OF HOLIDAY CHEER. Our editor spent four brutally interesting years living in Rice University's Wiess College, four Halloween evenings of which were spent pumpkin caroling around the campus. You too can experience the sublime - visit the Wiess College page, download the lyrics, get a group together, and go serenade the neighbors. The tunes are all familiar Christmas carols, and it's pretty obvious which lyrics follow which tune. There's also a description of the traditional route around the campus, but this is a waste of time unless you know the university. For some reason, people are really confused by this behavior. BOB PASSED BY THE LOCAL CEMETERY Dress in black and take a tour of the World Wide Cemetery, "a place where Internet users, their family and friends, can erect permanent monuments to our dead." If you have a dear departed who deserves to be immortalized in virtual reality, here's your chance. You can even leave flowers at the monument. After all, as the sweetly sincere home page owners point out, the WWW "is an ideal place to announce the loss of someone we cherish and to erect a permanent monument to their memory." Just hope the network doesn't crash. AND RAN INTO A DEAD PERSON, OF CORPSE. If you're into the body beautiful, you'll love the Interactive Volume Browser. Sound boring? It consists of an all-too-realistic human corpse, including a hauntingly dead face, negotiable through a variety of views: up/down; left/right; zoom in/pull out. Not exactly the right site for kids, unless you want them to have nightmares, but it could enliven a dull party. Note that the data upon which this site is built is the same cryosectioned guy mentioned in Netsurfer Digest vol. 1, no. 33. THE STREETS WERE FRAUGHT WITH VAMPIRES, Brad Middleton, alias Vlad III, has assembled Vampyres Only, an impressive and comprehensive collection of vampire resources. Among the pages of what is clearly a labor of love, you'll find lists of books and movies, FAQs, author interviews, shareware games, even gothic fonts. Dig deeper for vampire mailing lists and recipes for "vampiric drinks". If you have any energy left, visit the Pointe du Lac Gallery with its photos and art, or sit down for a disturbing read among the vampiric e-fiction. Before you leave, you may want to try the Vampire Vulnerability Test, just to see if you need to worry. WITCHES,... If you desire a more serious historical approach to the subject of witchcraft, look no further than Joan's Witch Directory. This site includes everything from the history of witch persecution to witches in art. There are plenty of interesting reference materials and suggestions as to why witches were singled out for elimination during the Middle Ages. ZOMBIES,... The Zombie Death Dungeon features zombie pics, a dancing zombie MPEG, and some prose. The writing entertains and the images are, ummm, unflattering to the zombies. AND SKELETONS PERFORMING IMPOSSIBLE ACTS. The skeletons can be found in glorious red, white, and black at the Den of the Dead. This page has links to many of our other featured sites and a few more, including a handful of useful Halloween party hints. While not spectacularly designed, the inline images are worth a gander, especially those skeletons. A similar page is Trix's Halloween -O-Webbery, which like the Den of the Dead, features spooky stories. Dead: Trix: THERE WAS A MAN NAMED FRANK N. FURTER Frank N. Furter, of course, was the sweet transvestite from Transylvania played by Tim Curry in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Here's a page for that site with links to others of the ilk. AND STRANGE BEINGS PIERCED WITH METAL. Erotic. Bizarre. Sublime. Downright weird. These adjectives can all be easily assigned to "The Ugly", a Web page chock full o' links to Web sites that may alternately offend and titillate netsurfers. This page is definitely not for the weak of disposition. It's replete with links to horror, sex, UFO, and body modification sites, the latter dealing with body piercing, tattooing, radical decapitation, and the like. It's the perfect site for a bit of macabre surfing on All Hallow's Eve, as long as three criteria are met: get the kids off the computer; don some fine leather goods; and put a sweat-guard on the mouse. ONE HOUSE'S DOOR STOOD AJAR, SO BOB PEERED IN. Gint's Haunted House puts netsurfers in the endangered shoes of a private detective investigating an acrid smell permeating an old, abandoned house. The odor, unfortunately for our brave detective, is the palpable smell of death. This expedition resembles the old Infocom games that led players through mazes in which one wrong move resulted in a grisly death, usually by something like high explosives or tractors. The good thing about a Web game of this nature is that reincarnation is only a click of the back button away. In any event, this mystery is a welcome bit of diversion. Beware the knob of death, children, beware! ON THE WAY NEXT-DOOR, BOB HEARD A LOUD NOISE This page is really great: everything you could ever want in a totally spooky experience. Best of all, it has some great scary noises. Our fave was the evil laugh (echo and everything!), worth every irretrievable instant of the over three minutes we had to wait for it to download. Choose between spooky pictures, QuickTime movies, sounds, stories, and anything else you could possibly want if you're into Halloween. Definitely worth a look. AND TURNED TO SEE A GIANT PUMPKIN OF MALICIOUS INTENT. This is the home of giant pumpkins. We're talking 900-pounders, the kind Cinderella used, seriously large squash. Howard Dill, a Canadian farmer, developed the Atlantic Giant variety pumpkin and now offers seeds to hobbyists and competitive pumpkin growers via the Internet. There's also story here about mysterious lights and, if you just happen to have an ant problem, there's a recipe for their destruction via internal explosion you might be interested in. That's kinda frightening, especially if you're an ant. HE RAN INTO A NEARBY HAUNTED HOUSE Though Dallas is scary enough on its own (keep those cards and letters coming), head eastward if you really want to have to change undies. In the little town of Forney, you'll find the Haunted Verdun Mansion, a 7,000-sq-ft antebellum home which just happens to be filled to the roof with werewolves and other monsters. There are some good photos of the special effects and the mansion itself, in case you can't make it to Texas. Make sure to check out the Wolf Studios home page for more about the creators. WHICH LED HIM STRAIGHT INTO THE INFERNO. If you're wandering weak and weary, here's a site that's not too dreary. Called the "Ninth Circle of Hell", it's stuffed with Dante Alighieri's "The Inferno" and a nice little gallery of images by Vallejo, Nagel, and some Japanese anime. Links teleport you to the opuses of Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker. If you've been waiting for the right moment to finally descend into the Inferno, your prayers have been answered. THE SIGHTS HORRIFIED HIS EYES, It's so cool and so detailed and so thoughtfully done. But, oh, it's so slow over our measly 14.4 kbps modems. Too bad everyone doesn't have their own fractional T1 line. The Nightmare Gallery contains 416 gothic/horror pics gleaned from alt.binaries.pictures.misc and arranged into a virtual walk-through gallery with art adorning the very lovely ray-traced walls. Interesting enough images, but like all museums, it takes too long to cover thoroughly. THE SOUNDS ASSAULTED HIS EARS,... Phantasmagoria! is a Pennsylvania Halloween event with a Web presence of limited value with one exception - the Phantasmagoria Graveyard. This horror page offers scores of sound files of mood music, creepy effects, and movie and television dialogue and themes. There are also film clips, shareware, and pics, all of the pertinent genre though some lean to the humorous or satirical. The page's graphics are stunningly superb, and we advise hitting the "Back to Phantasmagoria!" button if only to check out the graphics used in the rest of the site. AND THE EXPERIENCE NAUSEATED HIM TO THE POINT OF VOMITUS MAXIMUS. The Vomitus Maximus Museum is an online collection of the works of San Francisco-born artist RS Connett. As you might guess, this site contains some pretty disturbing imagery brought forth from the depths of Connett's subconscious, and all the standard disclaimers about parental guidance and weak stomachs most definitely apply - in short, Vomitus Maximus Grossimus Outimus. Those brave hearts who make the journey will learn why this controversial artist has been met with reactions varying from revulsion to morbid fascination. Don't forget to pass by the Vomitus Gift Shoppe to pick up a severed head for the kidlets. BOB ENTERED A STRANGE CABINET HE FOUND THERE If your thoughts have turned to the horror genre, the Cabinet of Dr. Casey will fill all your dark longings for fright. Want to see a map featuring every known fictional reference to your home state in a horror movie or story? Look at the Horror Atlas. How about a historical timeline detailing every horror-related event from the 15th century on? The graphics and audio archives thoughtfully include brief text descriptions of the files. Also on hand are excerpts from recent horror novels, newsgroup links, and Tales from the Internet, where unpublished authors can weave their magic. WHICH, A LA CS LEWIS, RESCUED HIM FROM THE DARK SIDE OF THE WEB. Although administered by a rude, arrogant webmistress, Dark Side of the Web is the best collection of links to various depressive and dank pages, ranging from "Cemeteries, Funeral Homes and Death" to 94 Gothic sites alone. The Halloween entries have something for everyone, including "Halloween Fun for Kids" with great recipes, games, stories, and decorating ideas for creating a non-virtual haunted house. This is the truly THE one-stop center for all your macabre needs. But be forewarned, my pretty - this site could keep you tied up 'til well past the witching hour. BACK HOME, BOB DECIDED TO SEE HOW MUCH CANDY HE'D AMASSED Oh boy, this is more than a little scary. Alphabetized candy bar wrappers. This Robert Batina guy must have a friendly dentist. If you have a wrapper that he lacks, then e-mail him; he's really keen to hear from you! To quote Robert, "I plan on doing this until I die. (seriously)". All in all, it's not a bad obsession, at least it has the perk of some chocolate thrown in, which is never a bad thing. It's not a pretty page but it sure makes you think, and get the munchies. Robert's must be the most popular house in the neighborhood come trick -or-treat, unless he gives out unwrapped candy bars. BUT, SOMEHOW, THE PEZ SEEMED FOREBODING. If you think PEZ is just a wholesome, harmless toy/candy product, think again. Visit here for photographic evidence (including two versions of the skull PEZ dispenser) and numerological analysis of the dark side of PEZ. While humorously annotated, even funnier are quotes from the four unfortunate PEZ defenders who e-mailed the author with protests. This is a small site, so hop along on the pointer to the larger world of either more normal or more naive PEZ afficionados. AT LAST BOB FELL ASLEEP, WORRIED ABOUT GHOSTS, So is June Houston. Strange sounds surround and frighten her when she's alone. Her Ghostwatcher page employs several netcams in the search for ghosts under her bed and in her storage trunks. Lend June an eye or two for the cause. AND HAD NIGHTMARES OF BANDWIDTH-SUCKING MONSTERS. Here's a nice page. It had better be, for the time it takes to load. The Night Gallery features categories like "Stuff I Wrote" (scary), "The Rude Things in My Fridge" (scarier), and "Body Music" (scariest). Yes, the last comes complete with sound files contributed by a number of volunteers. We can't say enough glowingly good or ferociously bad things about this site, nor, possibly, about its maintainer, Kevin Greggain. CONTACT INFORMATION ______________________________________________________________________________ Netsurfer Digest Home Page http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/index.html Netsurfer Digest FTP Site ftp://ftp.netsurf.com/pub/nsd/README Subscribe WWW form: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/subscribe.html Subscribe E-mail: nsdigest-request@netsurf.com Include one of the following commands in the BODY of the message: HTML Format version: subscribe nsdigest-html Plain ASCII version: subscribe nsdigest-text Submission of Newsworthy Items: pressrm@netsurf.com Letters to the Editor: editor@netsurf.com Advertiser and Sponsor inquiries to: sales@netsurf.com Netsurfer Communications http://www.netsurf.com/ General Information info@netsurf.com CREDITS ______________________________________________________________________________ Publisher Arthur Bebak Editor Lawrence Nyveen Production Manager Bill Woodcock Writers & Netsurfers Peter Barnes Kirsty Brooks Joanne Eglash Lisa Hamilton Caroll Houser Jay Mills Richard Wagner James Weissman Netsurfer Communications, Inc. President: Arthur Bebak Vice President: S. M. Lieu ______________________________________________________________________________ NETSURFER DIGEST (c)1995 Netsurfer Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. NETSURFER DIGEST is a trademark of Netsurfer Communications, Inc. From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 03:26:53 1995 Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 16:09:18 -0500 (CDT) From: Detah To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Favorite Blood Recipes? Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: I prefer AB +. sincerely, Detah Do not ask too many questions, I may have to kill you. There are two kinds of people on this Earth and You are not either of them. From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 03:43:26 1995 Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 17:37:17 -0700 (MST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: trix@primenet.com (Darlene Horwath) Subject: Re: Virtual Jack-O-Lantern, http://www.chaco.com/~glenn/jack/ Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Hi! It looks like pretty cool stuff! I downloaded the software, and hopefully I will get a chance to check it our this week! Besides, anything that keeps me entertained is deemed useful around here! I will try to get a link up to you on the next upload! Happy Haunting! Trix >Howdy. I've constructed a VRML Virtual Jack-O-Lantern on the Web. There's >currently 3,888 different jack-o-lanterns you can make using an HTML form >(choosing different eye shapes, etc). Check it out at: > >http://www.chaco.com/~glenn/jack/ > >VRML is the Virtual Reality Modelling Language. It's a file format for >describing 3d scenes and objects (like 3d pumpkins. ;-). If you use >MS Windows, you can get a viewer for VRML files at: > >http://www.chaco.com/vrscout > >So with a VRML viewer and the Virtual Jack-O-Lantern, you can make >a 3d pumpkin, then walk around it, get inside it for a "candle-eye-view", >etc. Not terribly useful, but it does look kinda cool. > >-glenn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is that a modem in your pocket or RU just happy 2C me! http://www.primenet.com/~trix/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 06:40:19 1995 Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 09:34:39 -0800 From: milwiron@ix.netcom.com (D.D. ) Subject: More on Theremins, WoooOOOOooo To: Halloween-L@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: (Apologies if you see this twice, I originally sent this many days ago. Netcom has been losing half of my outgoing mail.) Hi All, A newsgroup is trying to form supporting the quintessential scary sounding musical instrument... the Theremin. This is the first electronic instrument, developed in the 1920's and is the sound heard in just about every science fiction movie of the 1950's . If you've seen the movie Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp or watched the original tv Star Trek, you've heard a Theremin. To help with the formation of a newsgroup send a post to the newsgroup and mention your support for "alt.music.makers.theremin". Next Halloween I'll be using a Theremin for sound effects. Happy Haunting All, Denny From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 11:25:54 1995 From: glenn@zuni.chaco.com (Glenn Crocker) Subject: Re: "Instant" Costumes To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:35:16 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Gang: > >I know Halloween is over, but I'm putting together a list of costumes that >one can put together with what you have lying in the closet. Not just obvious >stuff like hobos, but other ideas for costumes from what is likely to be in >your house. > >For example, a few years ago I went to a Halloween party as a Yuppie. I wore >my best business suit, and had a BMW keychain hanging out of my pocket. My wife won a costume contest in college by going as a pile of dirty laundry. -glenn From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 12:17:46 1995 From: "BHendrsn@kirk.microsys.net" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 14:13:56 +0000 Subject: Re: Party Wrap-up Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > Big thanks to whoever created the cold-cuts-over-the-plastic-skull > recipe. It was a BIG hit. I made some modifications - I put > a balloon inside the skull, filled it with water and froze it. > The Jello wouldn't stick, so I left it out. I found peeled > radish eyes made it look really horrible, especially with some > red Jello squished into the socket. You're welcome. Actually, the Jello isn't going to stick, but since the meat does stick, you use it as sort of a bandage to hold the "brains" in. > That, the brain dip, and cat s*** cookies made for a completely > disgusting array of party food. (Pilsbury Reese's Pieces > cookie dough makes rad cat turds - just bake-n-shape!) We took Tootsie Rolls, melted them down, and when they had cooled slightly, we simply shaped them and allowed them to cool all the way. > Now to start planning for next year's party.... I know what you mean. Next year, we're going to have a *HUGE* party and a full haunted house. Now that I think about it, this year could have been bigger and better... -Brian From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 12:23:19 1995 From: "D. Joseph Creighton" Subject: Re: "Instant" Costumes To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 08:59:11 -0600 (CST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: In the last exciting episode, RoboJay@aol.com wrote: } Gang: } I know Halloween is over, but I'm putting together a list of costumes that } one can put together with what you have lying in the closet. Not just obvious } stuff like hobos, but other ideas for costumes from what is likely to be in } your house. FBI Agent. Having a badge, a Mag-light (flashlight), and a weapon helps. Joke costume: best suit, attache case, and a potato hanging from your zipper. What are you? Why, a dictator, of course. - Joe -- "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasting time." -- T.S. Eliot http://www.ee.umanitoba.ca/~djc/ D. Joseph Creighton \ Sr. Programmer, DB Support: Admin Computer Services Joe_Creighton@UManitoba.CA \ University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 12:27:34 1995 From: "BHendrsn@kirk.microsys.net" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 14:13:52 +0000 Subject: Re: Party Wrap-up Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > Yes, certainly! Let's hear about everyones Halloween and the new and great > ideas everyone did and/or saw. Actually, last night went pretty well except for the fact that it kept sprinkling and threatening to short out all my outside electronics. I did come up with a great idea at the last minute and it worked out pretty well. While checking out the setup yesterday afternoon, I noticed one window that didn't have anything in it. I didn't have anything at all that could be put there so I went hunting around the house for something that I could use. I ended up finding my wife's old metronome (those things that click back and forth so piano players can keep a beat) and bent out the metal arm sligthly so it was vertical. I then cut out an arm and knife from light-weight cardboard and fitted it over the metronome arm. With a sheet over the window and a strong backlight, it looked just like someone stabbing someone else ala Psycho. I had to restart the metronome a few times during the night so I'll probably design a motorized system for next year, but it was pretty good looking from the outside. Now the task that I've been dreading for a while... packing up all the Halloween stuff for another year... -Brian From owner-halloween-l Thu Nov 2 12:37:35 1995 From: "BHendrsn@kirk.microsys.net" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 16:49:26 +0000 Subject: We Are Not Alone [Newspaper article] Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: This is an article that appeared in The Press-Enterprise yesterday and I thought it was interesting. Keep in mind that it'll mention a lot of places that you have no idea where they are. I'd really love to see more reports on Halloween from around the country. Oh, what a frightening web we weave by Don Babwin Picture: Giant spider with webbing all over the place. Used to be, about the only planning that went into Halloween took place on the streets, as hobos, devils and ballerinas plotted their strategy to hit all the houses with full-sized candy bars and avoin the ones where the take was one crummy stick of gum. And parents could get away with cutting a couple of eye holes in a white sheet and sending juior off as a simple -- and cheap -- ghost. Not any more. "I spent $5000 on my guillotine alone," said Todd Seibert, whose contraption electronically sends a head rolling away and sprays anybody nearby with warm water, ...er, blood, in the haunted house he puts on at his Murrieta house. "We go for the full-range scare 'em routine," said Seibert, an electronics engineer, who took six weeks off from work to ensure the spookiest house possible. His effort paid off: Almost 5,000 people visited last weekend. Seibert is not, however, the only corpse in the graveyard. "We just got back with our coffin," said Kellee Sheahan, whose Riverside home will be visited Halloween by the Frankenstein monster, his lovely bride, and a huge spider whose 7-foot web hangs from the front of the house. The spider infestation has hit Beaumont, too, where eight-legged monsters crouch on the roofs of two houses within blocks of each other. Then there is Corona Mayor Jeff Bennett's "Haunted Halloween" display. From Dracula's castle, where smoke-belching monsters loom over battlements, visitors go through a huge gaping mouth inside to a scene of a sunken pirate ship manned by an undead crew. Elsewhere in the house, a battle rages between a pterodactyl and a jumbo bullfrog; Frankenstein's monster struggles to free himself from the insane doctor's operating table; a 6-foot jack-o'-lantern reaches out to grab visitors and zombie hands reach from graves. The elaborate preparations in Riverside County are part of a national trend. Halloween has gone big time. Researchers are Hallmark cards say Halloween is second only to Christmas in their business, and that 65 percent of Americans are expected to decorate their homes for Oct. 31 this year. Locally, business is anything but scary to merchants. "We're definitely up over last year for this time of the month," said Robin Oates, who owns, with his wife, the Candy is Dandy store at the Moreno Valley Mall. At the mall's Spencer Gifts store, it's the same story. "It seems like people are really getting into it, especially parents with kids," said Sonia Calderon, the manager. "It seems like Halloween has been getting bigger and better every year." Retailers in Temecula say sales are brisk. "It's picking up an awful lot," said Mark Katan, the manager of the Target store there. Adults, he said, have been getting into the spirit of Halloween for the past five years, and their interest has generated more parties as well as sales of decorative items. Sales of decorative lights, animated dolls and realistic-looking pumpkins far exceed last year's figures, he said. So why is Halloween becoming a big deal? In Corona, Mayor Bennett's theory is that baby-boomers, Bennett included, have always enjoyed Halloween and they didn't give it up as adults. As they age, he said, the adults are seeing the holiday through the eyes of their children. Sheahan, whose Riverside house has been haunted every Oct. 31 since she and her husband, Jim, were married on that date three years ago, agrees. "Parents are really getting into it with their kids, going out with their kids, even getting dressed up." Bryan Woodward, of Temecula puts it simply. "I just never grew out of it," he said. His yard is dotted with headstones, and a hand emerges from a coffin, shaking the lid as though somebody is not quite ready to be buried. "It's fun scaring the kids," said Woodward, whose display includes a separated head and body perched in a tree that shakes violently when passed, a ghost that flies across the yard on a fishing line and a werewolf hanging above the house's entry area. "This is our third year and it gets scarier every year." Few are saying that Halloween is overtaking Christmas. But as Halloween gets bigger, it seems something has to give. "I'm not sure I'm up to a really big Christmas after all the work we did for Halloween," said Cathy Tirnau of Corona. She and her husband, Joe, have a haunted house that features monsters lurking in the landscaping, a dozen leering jack-o'-lanterns, and moans and wails emanating from hidden speakers. "Maybe," she said, "we'll just stick a Santa on the chimney and call it good." -Brian From owner-halloween-l Sat Nov 4 23:05:27 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 07:28:31 -0600 (CST) From: "Jacqui Young" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: RE: "Instant" Costumes Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: I sent my daughter out as a rapping spider. She wore an oversized black sweat-shirt with black jeans. I attached the extra sets of arms (panyhouse stuffed with dark green garbage bags) and wired them to her own arms with clear fishing line. She wore the rapper headgear of a reversed baseball cap and prepapred a little rapper chant to repeat on request. From owner-halloween-l Sat Nov 4 23:19:39 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Thu, 02 Nov 95 10:58:36 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: More on Theremins, WoooOOOOooo Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: More on Theremins, WoooOOOOooo Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/2/95 10:03 AM >A newsgroup is trying to form supporting the >quintessential scary sounding musical instrument... the Theremin. For those interested, (if you can find it) there is an Outer Limits T.V. soundtrack that includes Theremin music. I'll double check. If that's not the one, I'll get you all the correct info. - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] "Do witches run spell checkers?" From owner-halloween-l Sat Nov 4 23:32:10 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 07:15:29 -0500 (EST) From: "Donna J. Logan" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: "Instant" Costumes Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Tue, 31 Oct 1995 RoboJay@aol.com wrote: > I know Halloween is over, but I'm putting together a list of costumes that > one can put together with what you have lying in the closet. Not just obvious > stuff like hobos, but other ideas for costumes from what is likely to be in > your house. > > For example, a few years ago I went to a Halloween party as a Yuppie. I wore > my best business suit, and had a BMW keychain hanging out of my pocket. You wouldn't have gotten into MY party...costumes have to have shown at least a *modicum* of work (besides, I see yuppies all the time at work) (altho the idea of being a yuppie IS pretty scary....) Anyways, I was working security Tues. nite at a local college which was having a Halloween party in the campus pub, and me and the other guard got to talking about "instant" costumes (we both agreed we hated the lame "instant" costumes, and shared stories of glorious costumes we'd done in the past). Anyways, coming from the female perspective, there's always the infamous gypsy - most gals have some sort of bright, flouncy skirt in their closet, and probably have a peasant-type blouse, or something which can pass. Just add a bright scarf as a sash, another scarf wrapped around the head, and add big loopy gold earrings, lots of bangle bracelets and necklaces, put lots of curl in one's hair and lot's of makeup on one's face, and you're set. A variation of this is a pirate...same shirt, same sash, just replace the skirt with black pants (will have to pick up the pirate's hat, eye patch, etc. at the store, but these are usually some of the most easily gotten costume accessories. In a pinch, just wrap the scarf around the head, and make the eyepatch out of felt and elastic, easily gotten at a fabric or craft store). That same felt can easily be made into cat's ears, etc. Just wear an appropriately colored leotard and tights, or a jumpsuit. A friend of mine did a variation on this, the year a bunch of us went as mythological creatures. She either didn't want to, or didn't have the time to, really do up a decent costume (*I* went as Medusa, and spent 2.5 hours painting snakeskin scales on my face and hands....)...we talked her into being a unicorn...she made ears out of felt and sewed or glued them to a headband, to which she glued a styrofoam cone wrapped in foil (the unicorn's horn). She wore a turtleneck sweater with stretchpants in a matching color, around the wrists and ankles she wore fake fur to simulate fetlocks (and of course, her hair was in a PONYtail!) Not quite all "stuff around the house", but close. But she outdid herself another year, when she literally didn't do anything for Halloween until the day before....she was attending a local college, and decided to check out their theater arts department to try to get a costume, of course everything decent had already been grabbed. She ended up grabbing the only thing left, a brown tunic and greenish pants in a burlap type material...she then grabbed a bunch of maple leaves which at that time were knee deep in her yard, and stapled them to the tunic, and stuck a few dried weeds in her hair, and went out on Halloween as "The Spirit of Autumn". Looked more like a walking pile of leaves to me, but hey, it WAS a costume (no matter how lame!) ;-> From owner-halloween-l Sat Nov 4 23:59:00 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Thu, 02 Nov 95 10:48:19 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: The Haunted Hall of the Theatre of the Macabre Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: As you enter the Theatre through a low narrow doorway, you arrive in a very dimly lit Concession area. Just as your eyes become accustomed to the eerie purple glow, you begin to realize that things are not as you imagined. Rot- ting flesh and freshly cut body parts are your offering. Oozing sticky eye- balls cling to the wall. A man stands before you with a machete, waiting to dispose of his next victim. A man utters a pitiful moan as the one with the machete grabs him by the hair and raises his head to expose the vulnerable neck. Suddenly, a light flashes! As the machete is swung, the light goes out momentarily...when it comes on once more, the "machete man" is holding the head of the hapless victim aloft for all to see. Escape is the only thought that flashes through your brain! This evil area is inhabited by yet another being - who suddenly bursts through the wall - in attempt to capture you as you flee to... The Wardrobe Department. You stumble along a long narrow hallway with the Usher of this gruesome theater. You notice something not quite right about the usher. He seems a jolly enough fellow, but maybe a little....lifeless? He wears the pale of the dead; a cleaver extends from the misshapen hump on his back. You pass racks of old moth eaten costumes, past a large trunk. Aaahh!!! Something - or someONE just rose from that awful trunk! You narrow- ly escaped it's clutches...the usher cautions you to avoid the trap door that he stomps with his club foot. Just as you make the detour, you brush against another rack of costumes. GRROWLL! Some hideous creature lunges at you through the costumes! He almost captures you, but you twist away - running the last several feet towards the end of the dark hallway where.... The usher explains you are about to enter the Makeup area. He waits until your group has caught it's breath and slowly pulls back the curtain. WHAT?!? This isn't the makeup area at all! Revealed to you is a man trapped in a large cage. The poor soul is screaming for his release. He begs your inter- vention! You can not possibly help this man, for as you can see, this cage is being carried by a very large, obviously brutal gorilla. The usher utters in a "deadpan" tone: "Oops! Wrong curtain!" He silently leads you to... The Makeup Department. Before you is a benign scene indeed. The Diva sits at her makeup table, primping for her next performance. What you do not know is that this young woman has been cursed for all eternity for her excessive vanity. In life, she was obssessed with her beauty; in death, well...You peer into the mirror. Everything is as it should be. Table, makeup, powders, even one lone (dead) rose. Immediately you are aware that all is not right. The Diva does not cast a reflection! Upon this sudden horrific revelation, the Diva spins around and shrieks! You behold her terrible, terrible face. Thereon is a skeletal deathmask! This, then, is the Diva's eternal curse. You turn and realize the usher has abandoned you. Just as you begin to get a knot in your stomach, you are met by another *unique* denizen of this bizzare place - the Ratcatcher. You are led by this sick fellow (is he really EATING that rat alive?) to the rehersal of: the Phantom of the Opera. The maestro is driving his newest performer to the depths of exhaustion. "AGAIN!" he yells. "AGAIN!" "AGAIN!" The young woman slowly approaches her master and boldly lifts away his odd mask. To her horror, the maestro she has learned to love these many months is terribly disfigured by some unknown accident. She screams and flees. "DISASTER!" he bellows. All at once, the chandelier in the background comes crashing down. The lights go out after a sudden brilliant flash. You are left in the darkened room. The Ratcatcher (are those really rats sticking out of all of his pockets?) draws you to the last room of the dingy theater. Before you lies a scene of unspeakable cruelty. Yet another victim of this ghastly domain. The victim is "not all there" as it were. She is but half a body - the upper torso - left to perish. She cries out a warning to all: "You must leave! He'll come for you next! Leave!" Another voice is heard. "Get out while you can!" Go now!" The lights begin to flash, disorienting you momentarily. You hear a roar. From behind the tattered curtain rushes the tormentor. Face, mustache and clothing bloodied, this man is coming for YOU, butcher knife flaying in every direction. He wants, NEEDS fresh meat. Terrified, you head for the exit and the Ratcatcher (are those really live rats in that burlap sack he carries?) graciously allows your freedom. After exiting the theater, you breathe a long sigh of relief. What wretched sights! What frightening sounds! Did you escape in one piece? Was this all a product of your fevered imagination? The only way to be sure is to get back in line and go through the ordeal again. And again. And again. - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] "Do witches run spell checkers?" From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 00:03:19 1995 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Flying Ghost, again To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 21:37:09 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: Art: alt@ixstar.att.com writes: > ...ghost system description deleted for brevity... > Great way to be able to use a heavy ghost. Only limitation is the single run. You could probably do an incredibly long run with a system like this though...like all the way up a street and back. This also reminded me of the successor to the original ghost system that I would like to build some day. These ghost systems all run on a track. What about a ghost that could fly anywhere within a bounded 3-space. For example, an entire front yard. Not just in one direction but anywhere, including up and down, in that space. The idea came from the .....hmmm....there goes the brain...the something cam. I can't remember the name now. It was a camera that "flew" over a football field. It was tested for a while about 10 years ago or so. The setup consisted of 4 towers at each corner of the field. Each tower had a powerful servo motor at the base. A cable ran from the servo motor up the tower to a pulley and then out to the middle of the field. All the cables were joined at the center (this is also where the camera was attached.) A computer control unit kept the line taught and an operator would control control the path with a joystick. (Denny, I can hear the gears grinding in that brain of yours.) This system allowed the camera to travel over the entire field and even in the Z-dimension. In case this doesn't make sense yet I'll do some crude ASCII art. Top view o o \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \x/ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ o o Boy is that rough. I hope you get the idea. The control system has to be constantly calculating the speed and direction of each servo motor. Its an interesting control system. The brain is kicking into gear now....I think it was called the Skycam! It actually took two operators, one for the camera and one for the motion. The benefits are obvious. Now you could have a ghost that interacts with your victims...I mean guests. It could chase or torment them anywhere within the confines of the system. This would require some serious development so I have been trying to come up with a simpler system. I have a few ideas that I came up with a couple of years ago, but I never have implemented them yet. The other idea for this system was a floating, talking skull. Outfit a skull with servo mouth and wireless sound for an interactive disembodied head. Kind of sends a chill down the old beheaded body! Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 00:09:41 1995 From: dbell@cup.portal.com To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Instant Costumes Date: Thu, 2 Nov 95 12:48:41 PST Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Seen at my daughter's school's Halloween carnival: A mom costumed as a Laundromat (I think...); She cut out the center of the bottom of a plastic laundry basket, hung the basket with suspenders from her shoulders, stuffed all around with (probably empty) detergent and other containers. Made a necklace of clothespins, labeled (one letter per pin) I.LOVE.LAUNDRY.........NOT! I recall a bunch of baby clothes also, on hangers, pinned at various places on her... Dave From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 00:13:08 1995 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Being humbled at Halloween decorating To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 15:55:11 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Don (and all): Don Bertino writes: > > Hi All! > > Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I can't wait to hear what you all > did *and* what are your plans for next year..... :) > > Me? I bought a hand clicker counter to count kids and was amazed when > it read 663 at 9:00pm. Yikes! 663! Yeesh, you must spend a small fortune on candy. It was a very disappointing year at my house. We share a long driveway set off the main road with one other house. It is not very appealing for the kids to come down because of the low-candy-to-long-walk ratio. On top of that we are at the end of a long dead-end street and don't get too many trick or treaters on the main street. Our grand total for the evening was about 18 kids. The house looked great with my new thunder and lightning going. It really adds to the ambiance. I had the fog machine running as well. Now you can see why I do parties instead of the Halloween night thing. > > I took pictures and will put it on the web site later, but... > Can't wait to see it. > I took off at 9:00pm to see "the court" There was a write up in the > newspaper and thought I would go see. Man oh man. > > 5 watt laser (damn thing had to have a disel generator for it, > 440V 50amp) > 10 computer controled can lights that moved in sync. > 7,000 watt sound system > 20 strobe lights at least > at least two "slide" show projectors these things must of been really > really bright. They lit up a three story house's front with a rotating > image. > All the lights where on differant houses and where all in sync. > > Man! I am saving my pennies... :) > > He had to FAA approval to do the light show. Sounds impressive. Is it just primarily a light show? Somebody obviously has access to some major equipment...or a very large budget. > > Anyway, back to my, plain old halloween house... (sob) > > Now lets see, if I do the flying ghost system for Christmas and put Santa > on it..... :) My brother wanted to try this! Maybe we just need to mix the two. Put a Jack Skellington in the sleigh. We can stretch Halloween all the way until Christmas! That's it! Scott (Heir apparent to the Pumpkin King) -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 00:18:05 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 18:26:47 -0800 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: fishcat@hooked.net (Trystan L. Bass) Subject: Re: More on Theremins, WoooOOOOooo Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: If you're looking for some web Theremin links, check out the article on MetroActive -- http://www.boulevards.com/MetroActive/ It should be in the Arts section by the end of the week (yeah, I HTML for this place, & I surfed for the link list too...) fishcat@hooked.net @->->-- Trystan L. Bass --<-<-@ TrystBass@aol.com http://www.hooked.net/users/fishcat/ From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 00:21:16 1995 Date: Fri, 03 Nov 95 19:09 EST From: Donna_KENNY@umail.umd.edu (dk62) Subject: Re: "Instant" Costumes To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: RE: Instant costumes: a friend came to our party last year in all black (pants and turtleneck), with a paper, half-moon and star pinned to her shirt and she called it "NIGHT" -- how about that? Pretty cheap, pretty easy, and hey, very ;ast minute and instant! Donna Harrrington Kenny From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 04:51:02 1995 From: "BHendrsn@kirk.microsys.net" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 00:23:45 +0000 Subject: Bizarre Ideas in the middle of the night Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: I was sitting down last night, as I was finishing up packing my Halloween gear, and wondering what I was going to do for Christmas. Now granted, I never go anywhere as far out for Christmas as I do for Halloween, but as I was packing the fake blood and prop axes, I was wondering how well "Silent Night, Deadly Night" would go over... Yeah... the inflatable Santa on the roof with a chainsaw. He's coming down *YOUR* chimney this year, Billy! ;) -Brian From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 07:51:47 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Mon, 30 Oct 95 11:42:04 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: the 4th Annual Howl-O-Scream Masquerade Ball... Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ...featuring the return of Haunted Hall (of the Theatre of the Macabre)... Well, folks, our haunted house at the kid's school was a big success once again! We drew 564 (give or take 20) people this year, an increase of about 15 or 20 people (my wife thinks 45 or 50) over last year. We had games, door prizes, a raffle, music and refreshments - including fresh- ly popped popcorn, hot pretzels, cider, etc. And, of course, Haunted Hall. The haunted house was set up on the stage and the theme this year was the theater. You entered into the "concession area" which included plenty of body parts. To move the people along, a guy popped out of a hidden doorway and directed them to the wardrobe department. There were racks of old costumes ( a guy with a mask popped out of one ) and a trunk ( one of our young assistants popped out of that ), then to the end of the hallway where an ape had captured a guy in a cage and was carrying him about (an illusion costume - check the Nightmare Factory homepage for a picture). The next scene was the makeup area (one of Bill Lewis's favorites - Hi, Bill!). The makeup area was also an illusion. We rigged it so it looked like the diva was looking into the mirror and primping. The diva, however, did not cast a reflection. There was a reflection of the makeup table and accessories as well as the lights (Spencer's X-Mas "blacklight" bulbs, a great mood setter). The diva would sense the presence of the spectators and turn around and scream. Her face was a killer - kind of a deathmask/skeletal look. On to the stage scene of the Phantom driving his student to her full potential. She would lift his mask to reveal his deformed visage, scream and run. He would bellow his displeasure and the chandelier would fall and there would be a bright flash as the chandelier went out. The last area was a victim with only the upper body crying for help as you realized the rest of her was "hanging out" (spaghetti, sausage - the works). Her attacker would come from behind a curtain - shirt splattered with "blood," looking for his next victim. Exit stage right. This description is a bit lacking, but I've got to get back to work (got to earn my paycheck so I'll have money to spend on next year's event). My pic- tures turned out too dark, so they're unusable. I'm hoping one of the attendees got some good shots so I can forward them for posting in the archives. I'm also anxious to read a full review from our fellow compatriot Bill Lewis, so we can fine tune for next year. And speaking of Bill, I'll be headed his way either tonight or tomorrow, so you can count on a review of his handiwork as well. Cruelly yours, - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 08:02:21 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 06:43:39 -0600 From: raven@kehleyr.phys.ttu.edu (Morgan Bottrell) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: for next year Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: I was wondering.... Is it normal for posts from this list to be delivered 3 or so days late? I'm quite sure many of you do lots more stuff for Halloween than I do. I didn't do much except decorate the windows this year due to time constraints with other projects and getting the flu at the beginning of October. I noticed a decline in trick-or-treaters this year, and I wonder if it was because my house wasn't as "spooky" as it was last year. I only had 3 jack-o'-lanterns (normal is about 7-10) and I also generally have an 11 grave graveyard in the front yard with a few lawn monsters sprinkled in. The gravestones are pretty well anchored and are heavy to boot, but some of the other lawn stuff "wandered off" last year, making me a little leery of putting it out by itself this year. (Graves require much hammering into ground and much dirt hauling from garden. The dirt goes onto plastic sheets cut 3'x 6' so I can get it back to the garden after Halloween.) I plan on putting in a 4' high fence this year to make such forays into the yard a bit more difficult. I'm also just a little tired of finding the kids next door playing in my flowers the minute their mother turns her back. A fence would make her life and mine easier. I could also get some of those nice lawn statues and gargoyles I want and worry less about them. Next year, if I get the fence, I'd like to increase the number of graves, take an idea from the people a few blocks over and put up a rope spiderweb with large spider, and make some life-sized lawn monsters like a mummy and a vampire. Anyone whose got some tips or ideas for more stuff: they would be welcome. Morgan Bottrell (raven@kehleyr.phys.ttu.edu) Dreams do not vanish, unless people abandon them. - P.F. Harlock From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 08:09:13 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 06:04:43 -0800 From: milwiron@ix.netcom.com (D.D. ) Subject: Post Halloween To: Halloween-L@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: A loud, pained and mournful wail is heard echoing down Oriole Drive. Dark, dried blood surrounds the bloated creature's mouth as he lays on the floor. It's only me, the result of days and days eating Butterfingers and Snickers bars. The blood? naw, just chocolate. But hey, candy bars do provide the 4 basic food groups... chewy, gooey, crunchy and munchy. Halloween was a big success! The flying ghost was a huge hit. The 260 feet of Kevlar thread, under 25 pounds of tension, running over 5 pulleys gave me virtually no problems for 3 weeks. I did replace the line once after two weeks because of some fraying where the ghost hung. In heavy rains the drive pulley running 3/32 diameter urethane belting slipped a little, I'll machine a new one for next year with a double groove. The system never went down after the first day. (Thanks again Scott for the idea) The skull and iron ring door knocker activated by a remote IR sensor was also well liked, the last minute decision to build it proved worth the trouble. I also added wireless X-10 controls for the ghost and smoke machines giving me full control from anywhere in the house. Thanks everyone, I hadn't even heard of the X- 10 stuff 2 months ago. While most of my display items are automated by light, sound or IR sensors, next year I hope to do more wireless transmitting and receiving using custom built IR sensors/transmitters and normal X-10 receivers. Both the FG-2000 fog machine by Lyte Quest and my home-built fog machine ran for many days without a hitch. Using a fog juice with long hang time caused my end of the neighborhood to "white-out" when the wind was calm. Handing out Halloween themed toys, purchased again from Oriental Trading Co. was also a big hit. Cars full of kids would pull up to see the display and trick or treat then drive off, all from word of mouth among their friends. Next year... MORE OF EVERYTHING! It can now take up to 4 to 6 days (if ever) for me to get some posts to this list, so please excuse me from active participation in group discussions until I get a new service provider. Thanks all for sharing the ideas and the contagious enthusiasm!!! Denny Dahm Hmmm... where'd my wife hide the Butterfingers? From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 09:00:59 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Wed, 01 Nov 95 17:00:54 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Hallowe'en Debrief Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Hallowe'en Debrief Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/1/95 3:30 PM Well, it wasn't a party per se, even though we did have fun putting it on. Geared for the kids who come by, here's a debrief of our little Hallowe'en venture, done the only way I know how... :) - - - - - - - - - - << One of the most creative Halloween stories I've ever heard deleted >> Joe, Joe, Joe!!! You wild maniac! That is FANTASTIC! I knew I'd found kindred spirits when I subscribed to this list. It's nice to know there are other "sickos" out there. Whenever I hear someone tell me I've got to get a life or how I've got too much time on my hands, I can revel in the knowledge that it's me who already has a life and that hearing and seeing the creativity of my fellow halloween-l posters makes it a sweet one at that. Kudos to you Joe! Keep up the great work! ;) - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 09:01:05 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 06:41:54 -0500 (EST) From: "Donna J. Logan" To: halloween-l Subject: Have A Happy! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: _ ######### /\/\ / /\O/|\ GGGG###### ^___^ /\/\ /\/\ | / \ OO#OG#GGOOOO //|\\ /\/\ OOOOO#OO#OOO#O#OOO#OOO#OOOO (*) (*) /\/\ OOOOOOOO#OOOOO#OO#OO#OOOOO#OOO#OO#OOOOO//\O OOOOO#OOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOOO#OOOOOOOOOOO#OOOOO#OOOOOOOOO OOO#OO#OOOOOOO#OOOO#OOO#OOOOOO#OOOOOOO#OOOOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOOOOO OOO#OO#OOOOOO#OOOOOO OOO#OOOOOO#OOOOOOOO#OO OOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OO#OO OOO#OO#OOOOOO#OOOOO * O#OOOOOOO#OOOOOOOOO# * OOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#O OO##O#OOOOOO#OOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOO#OOOOOOO#OO#O OO#OO#OOOOO#OOOOOO#OOOOO#OOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO#OOOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#O O#OOO#OOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#OOOOOO OOOOOOOOO#OOOOOOOO#OOOOO#OOO#OO OO#OOO#OOOOOO#OOOO #OOO##OOOOOO#OOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#OO OO#OOO#OOOOOO#OOOO OO#OOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#OOO OO#OOO#OOOOOO#OOOOO OO OOO #OO OO OOOOOO#OOOOOO#OOO#OOO O#OOOOO#OOOOOO#OOOOO O#OOOOO#OOOOO#OOOO#OOO OOOOOOO#OOOOOOO#OOOO#O#OOOO#OOOOO#OOOO#OOOOO#OOOOO#OO OOOOOOO#OOOOOOO#OOOOO#OOOO#OOOO#OOOOOOOO#OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO#OOOOOO#OO#O#OO#OOOO#OO#OOO#OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO#OOO#OOO#O#OOO#OOOOO#OOOOOOO From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 09:04:49 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 16:40:26 -0800 (PST) From: "D.J. Johnson" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: I have a question about ratcakes Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Happy All Hallows to you all. I've been lurking silently for some time, exporting every significant idea into the same file (which is now quite huge, I'll tell ya) and I intend to edit it into a handy little guide for the halloween party I now promise myself I'll throw next year. You all have great imaginations, and it's been fun reading your messages. I think I'll hang out in here all year and see if anyone's about. Take care, y'all. Deej --------------------------------------- DJ Johnson Cosmik Debris E-Zine http://www.greatgig.com/cosmikdebris --------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 09:02:30 1995 Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 03:49:00 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com, glenn@zuni.chaco.com Subject: Re: "Instant" Costumes -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Scarecrows? Is this too obvious? You can be a "formal" scarecrow in a tux, or a jogging scarecrow, etc. Just put an old pillowcase over your head and draw a scarecrow-type face on it, then tie a rope around your neck. An appropriate hat would top the whole thing off. From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 09:37:33 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Wed, 01 Nov 95 10:31:04 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Is It Really Over? Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Well, I trust everyone had an eerie, ghastly, gruesome Halloween. We had a grand old time at the McIntire homestead. The kids started early this year - we already had trick-or-treaters by the time I got home from work. I was able, however, to rush most of my props out at the last minute (it had rained earlier in the day). The kids got a full dose of the sceaming door- mat, Halloween music and sound effects, mongoose box, dimmed lighting, tomb- stones, rats, Zombie Window Breaker (a Spencer's special), and a host (me) with nice long claw marks down the side of my face. It's fun to see the kiddies walking along until they see our house, then see them run full speed up to the house to get the full effect. Afterwards, two of my kids and I paid a visit to my friend (and fellow halloween-l poster) Bill Lewis's house. Bill and new bride Connie put to- gether some really great scenery. Two (make that three) thumbs up for a job well done! Bill had his graveyard thing going...check the halloween-l archives for a glimpse of what we saw in person. His Grim Reaper named Smiley (is that right, Bill?) was a nice touch...he looms nicely over the graveyard. Bill and Connie also had a nice skeleton on the porch along with his sound activated ghost. Not to mention the blacklight. Many thanks to Bill and Connie...especially for putting up with cranky kid Kevin. I'll make sure to give you all a full description of the haunted house at the kid's school next time around...if the server hasn't suffered Halloween meltdown by that time... Don't let the post-Halloween blues get you down! - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 14:12:14 1995 From: TonyGJr@aol.com Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 16:26:19 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Party Wrap-up Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Not sure abou;prop chainsaws. I always see people take real chainsaws then remove the chain itself. Of course, the effect is somewhat limited if you try this on an electri chainsaw... Tony G Watch for Samurai Shodown 3 this month. From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 14:18:06 1995 From: TonyGJr@aol.com Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 16:42:14 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Yow! The one with the most $$$ makes the most decorations (grin). Anyhoo, you build up tricks little by little. Little hint to save on your electric bill for next timne: Us *1* motor prolly running about 30 rpm, and a shaft that goes all over your setup, then run ALL your mechanical effects off it. Using a bunch of motors all over the place tends to make your electric bill go $$$. (last year, a friend of mine had wired up his house for Xmas in Florida, an incredible sight. The electric biull was just a tad over $1200.... Look at what your beighbor did, TAKE NOTES and ask what can you do better for next time? Tony G From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 18:09:16 1995 From: TheLazer@aol.com Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 20:35:00 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Hmm Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Who posted the think about the 5 Watt laser and all. Geez, what the heck did they do with that thing, shine it on a house and put a hole in it, then have some people come out in coustem saying that they were from OuterSpace and this was there "DeathRay" and now if the kids dont give up there candy they will KILL THEM ALL... Plus moveing lights, JEEZ Talk about MONEY.. Heck why not hire a band too! Anyways, my Halloween went well, but it seemed down some. This was the first year it didnt rain, or Snow in the last 3 years, yet we didnt seem to have as many kids. Maybe it was the 34 degree temp, but it has been like that before. Anyways hope to have the photos scaned in soon and posted, See you all on CHRISTMISS-1, or whatever it is called now. Jay -->Getting out those lights right now, and DARN IT I have to find the burnt out bulbs<-- From owner-halloween-l Sun Nov 5 22:17:06 1995 Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 03:01:27 -0700 (MST) From: Arlea Anschutz To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Find the Body Game Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Since we're doing Halloween reviews, I thought I'd share with you this game I invented. It was a big hit at my 1995 (adult) Day of the Dead party. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work as a kid's party game as well. Just hide the body in less obscure place or give the younger players a lot more time. Come to think of it, the kids might do just as well, considering that the adults at my party were a bit "tipsy" by the time the game commenced. Preparation: Obtain some sort of "body". I used a plastic 5' tall 3-D "lab skeleton" available from K-mart, Target, etc around Halloween 1995 for $15-$20. Hide the body in some non-obvious, but discoverable place. I stuck most of the skeleton down a small vent leading to the crawl space under my apartment building. I left the skull and one arm above ground, but covered them with dead leaves. Instructions: Tell the guests that they are detectives looking for a murdered corpse. You (their host) are a psychic they have called upon to help them find the body. The first person to grab the body and bring it to you wins the prize. Tell them that you have some strong impressions about places where the body is _not_ hidden, then list everywhere in your home that you don't want people snooping around or pulling things apart. I told them that the body was not in the bedroom (where I move all the mundane junk to make room for the macabre junk in the other rooms), not in any closet, cupboard, or drawer, and not hanging from the ceiling as a decoration (I have several "bodies" floating around the place). Give each guest a poker chip or other token. Tell your guests that if someone brings you a "body" which is not the body in question (i.e. one of your other decorations, another player, etc.), they will lose their token and be out of the game. Tell your guests that they will have opportunities to ask you yes/no questions about the location of the body. They are allowed to trade the information they learn with other players, but they should be warey that some folk may lie in order to win. Play: Leave all the guests in the main room and go into a separate room (bathroom if you live in an efficiency). Call in each guest in turn (or just ask for volunteers, but make sure you don't get the same person twice). Tell them they can ask one yes/no question. Answer it and go on to the next person. Use your judgement in answering ambiguous questions. For example, when one person asked me "Is the body human?" This could have meant, "Is what you are calling 'the body', one of my fellow guests" or "Is the prop you are calling 'the body' in human form or animal form?". I first asked for a more specific question, and when the guest couldn't seem to come up with one, I enigmatically replied, "no, the body isn't 'human'" -- with emphasis on the last word. Wait ten minutes after the last enquirer has asked their question. If no one has brought you the body, announce a second round of yes/no questions. It only took two rounds at my party, but if no one brings you the body after the second round, have another round of questioning and remind folk that they can share clues. If no one finds the body after a third round of questions, I'd suspect that you hid it too damn well, or that the guests are drunker than they ought to be (i.e. you should have started the game earlier). More Words of Experience: This turned out to be an excellent party-game according to my criteria. It took about 25 or 30 minutes from start to finish, so nobody felt that the game was over before they figured out what they were supposed to be doing and no one got bored. It encouraged, but didn't require guest-interaction, so that people who wanted an excuse to introduce themselves could use the game as a vehicle, but people who wanted to avoid each other didn't need to communicate. Best of all, the rules weren't too complicated. Next year I will, of course, use a different "body". Maybe I'll decide that one of the unsuspecting guests is the body. Maybe one of my cats. Anyone/thing will work as long as I am able to truthfully answer yes/no questions. Rules for "Find the Body" are also available on my web page, the Den of the Dead. http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~anschutz/dead.html ****************************************************************************** Arlea Anschu"tz Hige sceal the heardra anschutz@ucsu.colorado.edu Heorte the cenre |\ Mod sceal the mare |\ The ure maegen lytlath | --Bryhtwold, 10 August 991 ****************************************************************************** From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 07:19:46 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 07:01:34 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Hmm Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 5 Nov 1995 TheLazer@aol.com wrote: Hi Jay! > Who posted the think about the 5 Watt laser and all. Geez, what the heck did > they do with that thing, shine it on a house and put a hole in it, then have > some people come out in coustem saying that they were from OuterSpace and > this was there "DeathRay" and now if the kids dont give up there candy they > will KILL THEM ALL... Plus moveing lights, JEEZ Talk about MONEY.. Heck why > not hire a band too! Actually, he had a computer control hookup on it, with mirrors preset thru out the court. The guy is in the business I found out. He was makeing outlines of faces on houses and hit presetup mirror bounces that was great. He also had it do scans, where it must of covered a 90 degree wedge of sky. So it looked like a light wave or ceiling about 12 feet above your head. He had a diesel generator handling all the lazer out stuff. Yikes! > Anyways, my Halloween went well, but it seemed down some. This was the first > year it didnt rain, or Snow in the last 3 years, yet we didnt seem to have as > many kids. Maybe it was the 34 degree temp, but it has been like that before. I am glad to hear it! > Anyways hope to have the photos scaned in soon and posted, > See you all on CHRISTMISS-1, or whatever it is called now. It's actually call xmas-l@netcom.com, to subscribe send mail to listserv@netcom.com with: subscribe xmas-l in the body. And thank god, it looks like we are back to normal hear at Netcom with email. :) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> ftp.netcom.com ======\----------------||----------||----------------/=== /pub/be/bertino========\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 07:24:32 1995 Subject: Re: Post Halloween To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 12:45:35 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Cc: milwiron@ix.netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > It can now take up to 4 to 6 days (if ever) for me to get > some posts to this list, so please excuse me from active > participation in group discussions until I get a new service > provider. > Thanks all for sharing the ideas and the contagious > enthusiasm!!! > > Denny Dahm > Hmmm... where'd my wife hide the Butterfingers? > I don't think getting a new service provider will make much difference. I believe the problem is how netcom handles incoming mailing-list mail, not how it handles outgoing personal mail. My mail to the list gets delayed as well. Nathan nathan@theatrefx.com From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 07:29:43 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 07:18:35 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Post Halloween Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Thu, 2 Nov 1995, D.D. wrote: Hi Denny! > It's only me, the result of days and days eating > Butterfingers and Snickers bars. The blood? naw, just > chocolate. But hey, candy bars do provide the 4 basic > food groups... chewy, gooey, crunchy and munchy. Hahaha! > Halloween was a big success! The flying ghost was a > huge hit. The 260 feet of Kevlar thread, under 25 pounds > of tension, running over 5 pulleys gave me virtually no > problems for 3 weeks. I did replace the line once after two > weeks because of some fraying where the ghost hung. In > heavy rains the drive pulley running 3/32 diameter > urethane belting slipped a little, I'll machine a new one for > next year with a double groove. The system never went > down after the first day. (Thanks again Scott for the idea) Cool! > It can now take up to 4 to 6 days (if ever) for me to get > some posts to this list, so please excuse me from active > participation in group discussions until I get a new service > provider. I don't think switching providers will get the posts to you any faster. *Me* switching providers may... :) The great lag of '95 has seen to cleared up some. I will look to other ways of running this list if it does improve greatly. > Thanks all for sharing the ideas and the contagious > enthusiasm!!! Yes, thank you all! > Denny Dahm > Hmmm... where'd my wife hide the Butterfingers? *puts on candy swami hat* Closet, behind the vacuum cleaner. I know you looked there before, but she keeps move it to where you have already looked.... (ducks and runs) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> ftp.netcom.com ======\----------------||----------||----------------/=== /pub/be/bertino========\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 07:41:30 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 95 06:47:16 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Bill Lewis) Subject: Re: Is It Really Over? (not quite!) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Afterwards, two of my kids and I paid a visit to my friend (and fellow >halloween-l poster) Bill Lewis's house. Bill and new bride Connie put to- >gether some really great scenery. Two (make that three) thumbs up for a job >well done! Bill had his graveyard thing going...check the halloween-l >archives for a glimpse of what we saw in person. His Grim Reaper named >Smiley (is that right, Bill?) was a nice touch...he looms nicely over the >graveyard. Bill and Connie also had a nice skeleton on the porch along with >his sound activated ghost. Not to mention the blacklight. Many thanks to >Bill and Connie...especially for putting up with cranky kid Kevin. Thanks for the rating Stu! and Congrats on the Haunted Hall, excellent job. As for my yard, I hope to make next year even better (That is only if we don't do the *real* Haunted House). As Stu mentioned, one of my latest additions was Smiley, the grim reaper (look for a write up soon on how to construct one yourself). He was very cheap for me to put together, and he will store very easy too. I've still got my stuff up so I can take some pictures and send them in. I hope to do that over the next week so I can take everything down. Sounds like Don will have to make space for everyone's pictures (*.jpg) to go into the archives. I can't wait to see them all! Well it's MondaY morning, and it sure feel like it, so I'm not going to write up too much now, expect to see more in the near future when things dIE down a bit. Grusomely yours, Bill lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil You can beat a dead horse, but you can't make him drink. Even a blind nut gets a squirrel every once in awhile. If it's fixed, don't break it. From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 07:56:59 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Mon, 06 Nov 95 10:13:47 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/5/95 7:49 AM Scott writes: >663! Yeesh, you must spend a small fortune on candy. It was a very >disappointing year at my house. We share a long driveway set off >the main road with one other house. It is not very appealing for >the >kids to come down because of the low-candy-to-long-walk ratio. On top >of that we are at the end of a long dead-end street and don't get too >many trick or treaters on the main street. Our grand total for the >evening was about 18 kids. The house looked great with my new thunder >and lightning going. It really adds to the ambiance. I had the >fog machine running as well. Now you can see why I do parties instead >of the Halloween night thing. Well Scott, I'm not sure how long you've been at this, but my experience is that the longer you do this stuff and the more elaborate you get, the more your reputation builds. You've done so much great stuff, it's a shame you didn't get more rugrats than you did. It sounds like you're very much like me - you do a great deal of it for your own satisfaction....just remember, you are your own best judge. All the best creative talents do their work to satisfy themselves first and the public second (IMHO). Halloween is getting bigger every year according to retailers nationwide. Some are of the opinion that it's become second only to Christmas. After reading these posts and working at the Spencer's store at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland (#1 in sales for Spencer's Halloween stores/kiosks in the country this year), I can easily believe it. The theory is that we are the first generation to grow up with the Halloween holiday as we know it and we are now passing along our childhood experiences to our kids. For the first time, as the theory goes, parents AND kids are getting into the Halloween bit. I guess it will be up to this group to set new standards for others to follow. I for one am proud to be a part of such a creative "team." - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 08:14:46 1995 Date: Sun, 05 Nov 95 11:55 EST From: Donna_KENNY@umail.umd.edu (dk62) Subject: Re: Post Halloween To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Well, along that same line of others not getting a lot of kids this year (as compared to last year, for example): the same thing was true here, and hey -- we had a really HUGE tree that was in front of our house actually *cut down* this summer (it was half dead and becoming dangerous), and here we were thinking that we'd get *more* kids, not fewer. However, compared to last years whopping 75, we got only 29! We're in the DC suburbs and it was cooler than last year, but not horribly so (last yaer we sat on our porch in shorts, and this year we sat on the porch in sweatshirts), but there was no rain or wind. My friends in the area told me they had fewer kids this year to, for that old Trick or Treat night, but no one seems to know why, and it spanned through DC from MD and to VA. Donna Harrington Kenny From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 08:52:09 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 08:39:19 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Post Halloween Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 5 Nov 1995, dk62 wrote: Howdy! > Well, along that same line of others not getting a lot of kids this year (as > compared to last year, for example): the same thing was true here, and hey > -- we had a really HUGE tree that was in front of our house actually *cut > down* this summer (it was half dead and becoming dangerous), and here we > were thinking that we'd get *more* kids, not fewer. > > However, compared to last years whopping 75, we got only 29! We're in the > DC suburbs and it was cooler than last year, but not horribly so (last yaer > we sat on our porch in shorts, and this year we sat on the porch in > sweatshirts), but there was no rain or wind. > > My friends in the area told me they had fewer kids this year to, for that > old Trick or Treat night, but no one seems to know why, and it spanned > through DC from MD and to VA. I live in south of Sacramento, CA in a town called Elk Grove. In an area called Laguna Creek. This area didn't not exist 6 years ago and now boists around 3,000 houses. These are mostly first time or first stepup homes, so the people are all in the 20-30 range. Babies and kids all over, must be something in the water. :) They opened 3 elemetaries, one middle and one high school this year and their are all full. Anything to do with kids in this area and you get a crowd. Of course, being friends with the local newspaper editor that is always looking for articles helped alittle... :) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> ftp.netcom.com ======\----------------||----------||----------------/=== /pub/be/bertino========\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 08:59:37 1995 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Mon, 06 Nov 95 10:50:35 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Hmm Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Hmm Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/6/95 10:45 AM >And thank god, it looks like we are back to normal hear at Netcom with email. >:) Must've been that evil Halloween curse, Don! ;) - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 11:58:51 1995 Return-Path: Received: by mail2.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id LAA13672; Sun, 5 Nov 1995 11:52:05 -0800 Received: from ccnet.ccnet.com by mail2.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id LAA13605; Sun, 5 Nov 1995 11:51:37 -0800 Received: from lcanderS.ccnet.com (h96-228.ccnet.com [192.215.96.228]) by ccnet.ccnet.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id LAA03760 for ; Sun, 5 Nov 1995 11:48:04 -0800 Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 11:48:04 -0800 Message-Id: <199511051948.LAA03760@ccnet.ccnet.com> X-Sender: lcanders@mail.ccnet.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Len Canders Subject: strobe light advice Sender: owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Precedence: list Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: i'm new to the list so trust this subject hasn't been discussed to death, but having visited a local haunted house this past halloween, i'm convinced that i must have a strobe light for the great eerie effects it creates. thus, i was wondering if anyone has any advice/recommendations on strobe lights for home-based use (while i have a 220v line available if necessary, i really think that i ought to be able to get by with something less heavy-duty). specific info on brands, models, costs, capabilities (including what i ought to be looking for), and sources would be appreciated. tks, len canders lcanders@ccnet.com concord, ca From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 16:36:59 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 09:32:42 -0800 From: milwiron@ix.netcom.com (D.D. ) Subject: Kid numbers, was "Post Halloween" To: Halloween-L@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: We had over 250 kids show-up this year despite cold, wet weather. This is the best we've done in many years. I think the extra decorating has helped a lot since many people drive past on their way to or from work and see the house, giving them a reason to bring their kids back even if they had to drive 'em here. Denny 11-6 From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 18:13:10 1995 From: Usoff_P To: halxmas Subject: Re[2]: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Date: Mon, 06 Nov 95 14:19:00 EST Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Stu writes: >Scott writes: >>663! Yeesh, you must spend a small fortune on candy. It was a very >>disappointing year at my house. We share a long driveway set off >>the main road with one other house. It is not very appealing for >>the >>kids to come down because of the low-candy-to-long-walk ratio. On top >>of that we are at the end of a long dead-end street and don't get too >>many trick or treaters on the main street. Our grand total for the >>evening was about 18 kids. The house looked great with my new thunder >>and lightning going. It really adds to the ambiance. I had the >>fog machine running as well. Now you can see why I do parties instead >>of the Halloween night thing. >Well Scott, I'm not sure how long you've been at this, but my >experience is that the longer you do this stuff and the more elaborate >you get, the more your reputation builds. You've done so much great >stuff, it's a shame you didn't get more rugrats than you did. It >sounds like you're very much like me - you do a great deal of it for >your own satisfaction....just remember, you are your own best judge. >All the best creative talents do their work to satisfy themselves first >and the public second (IMHO). >Halloween is getting bigger every year according to retailers >nationwide. Some are of the opinion that it's become second only to >Christmas. After reading these posts and working at the Spencer's >store at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland (#1 in sales for >Spencer's Halloween stores/kiosks in the country this year), I can >easily believe it. The theory is that we are the first generation to >grow up with the Halloween holiday as we know it and we are now passing >along our childhood experiences to our kids. For the first time, as >the theory goes, parents AND kids are getting into the Halloween bit. >I guess it will be up to this group to set new standards for others to >follow. I for one am proud to be a part of such a creative "team." >- Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] It's not only the kids who come around trick-or-treating who like all the halloween decorating. My wife and I and some others I know just love to go around and look at all the Halloween (and Christmas) decorations. We go out several times at Halloween (and many, many more at Christmas) and give out our own "personal awards" depending upon the decorations. From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 18:39:18 1995 From: "BHendrsn@kirk.microsys.net" To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 14:30:53 +0000 Subject: Re: Re[2]: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > Well Scott, I'm not sure how long you've been at this, but my > experience is that the longer you do this stuff and the more elaborate > you get, the more your reputation builds. You've done so much great > stuff, it's a shame you didn't get more rugrats than you did. It > sounds like you're very much like me - you do a great deal of it for > your own satisfaction....just remember, you are your own best judge. > All the best creative talents do their work to satisfy themselves first > and the public second (IMHO). I can certainly relate. When I used to do *HUGE* haunted houses (pretty much enclosed my entire front yard, the driveway, used the garage, etc.) we used to get a lot of people through. Not 663, but quite a few at any rate. Now that I don't have all that room to use, I really can't get the draw that I used to. Heck, this Halloween, we had about 15 people all night. I agree, you have to do it because *YOU* think it's fun, not because you're trying to impress other people. > I guess it will be up to this group to set new standards for others to > follow. I for one am proud to be a part of such a creative "team." Hear hear! ;) -Brian From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 14:54:42 1995 Return-Path: Received: by netcom22.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id MAA07596; Mon, 6 Nov 1995 12:21:16 -0800 Received: from aisone.uage.com by netcom22.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id MAA07575; Mon, 6 Nov 1995 12:21:12 -0800 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Received: from [199.97.27.88] by aisone.uage.com id aa26611; 6 Nov 95 12:45 EST Received: from cc:Mail by ccsmtp.uage.com id AA815690796; Mon, 06 Nov 95 12:44:34 EST Date: Mon, 06 Nov 95 12:44:34 EST Message-Id: <9510068156.AA815690796@ccsmtp.uage.com> To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Post Halloween Sender: owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Precedence: list Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Post Halloween Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/6/95 12:22 PM Don wrote (much deleted): >Of course, being friends with the local newspaper editor that is always >looking for articles helped alittle... :) The wise man speaketh the truth...there was a family in the DC area who were slated to appear on the local TV news. I never saw any footage (too busy), but there's no better way to attract crowds, that's for sure. I've toyed with the idea of publicizing the haunted house at the kid's school, but we'd never make it through the night...I imagine our current "breaking point" would range from 600 to 650, and we did over 560 this year. - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> ftp.netcom.com ======\----------------||----------||----------------/=== /pub/be/bertino========\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 15:02:59 1995 Return-Path: Received: by netcom22.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id MAA07591; Mon, 6 Nov 1995 12:21:15 -0800 Received: from aisone.uage.com by netcom22.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id MAA07570; Mon, 6 Nov 1995 12:21:11 -0800 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Received: from [199.97.27.88] by aisone.uage.com id aa26593; 6 Nov 95 12:39 EST Received: from cc:Mail by ccsmtp.uage.com id AA815690452; Mon, 06 Nov 95 12:37:32 EST Date: Mon, 06 Nov 95 12:37:32 EST Message-Id: <9510068156.AA815690452@ccsmtp.uage.com> To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Post Halloween Sender: owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Precedence: list Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Post Halloween Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 11/5/95 11:55 AM Donna Wrote: >However, compared to last years whopping 75, we got only 29! We're in the >DC suburbs and it was cooler than last year, but not horribly so (last yaer >we sat on our porch in shorts, and this year we sat on the porch in >sweatshirts), but there was no rain or wind. >My friends in the area told me they had fewer kids this year to, for that >old Trick or Treat night, but no one seems to know why, and it spanned >through DC from MD and to VA. Too true, Donna! I'm in upper Montgomery County (Germantown, MD) and observed the same as you. Could be more community-wide act- vities such as the local "Mall-O-Weens" where the kids trick-or- treat from store to store (?). I know there are more and more haunted houses/hayrides/parties than ever before. I usually try to count the kids and in the past have had 80 or 90 max, but never bothered this year. I'm SURE we didn't get anywhere close to that this year though. Guesstimate? Maybe 40 or 50...I'm just not certain. At least it didn't rain! - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 19:33:27 1995 Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 18:45:58 -0800 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: fishcat@hooked.net (Trystan L. Bass) Subject: Re[2]: Being humbled at Halloween decorating Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Halloween is getting bigger every year according to retailers >nationwide. Some are of the opinion that it's become second only to >Christmas. After reading these posts and working at the Spencer's >store at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland (#1 in sales for >Spencer's Halloween stores/kiosks in the country this year), I can >easily believe it. The theory is that we are the first generation to >grow up with the Halloween holiday as we know it and we are now passing >along our childhood experiences to our kids. For the first time, as >the theory goes, parents AND kids are getting into the Halloween bit. This year I read two different newspaper articles commenting on Halloween as *the* big adult holiday, surpassing even New Year's Eve for parties. Both articles cited rising sales of adult Halloween costume & party supplies & more nightclubs sponsoring Halloween parties with cash-prize costume contests. Yeah!!! IMHO, Halloween is the supreme adult holiday. Kids only appreciate the free candy, but adults get really creative with the costuming and special effects (as this mailing list is proof of!). Besides, adults have fewer chances to play dress up, so they can appreciate it more! In retrospect, I think I didn't appreciate Halloween quite as much when I was little as I do today. I do miss the trick-or-treating, but I actually like the parties & clubs better! fishcat@hooked.net @->->-- Trystan L. Bass --<-<-@ TrystBass@aol.com http://www.hooked.net/users/fishcat/ From owner-halloween-l Mon Nov 6 23:34:00 1995 From: TheLazer@aol.com Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 19:48:12 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: strobe light advice Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Hmm you have a 220 line.. Get the LIGHTING STRIKES! Strobe.. Then again it is sort of coslty about 1000$ dollers or so, but hey you will blind the whole naborehood.. Then again you could just by one from your loca Spencers Gifts, or Radio Shack! Jay From owner-halloween-l Tue Nov 7 13:48:24 1995 Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 11:21:11 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: strobe light advice Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Mon, 6 Nov 1995 TheLazer@aol.com wrote: > Hmm you have a 220 line.. Get the LIGHTING STRIKES! Strobe.. Yikes!! > Then again you could just by one from your loca Spencers Gifts, or Radio > Shack! J & R Music World has four strobe light machines: NESS D-250 Variable speed egg strobe $14.95 Compact & portable - just screw into standard socket base - Adj. flash rate Comes in Blue, Clear, Orange or Red Lyte Quest SL-100 Mini Strobe $21.95 Up to 35 watts per flash - 1 to 10 flashes per sec - 10 million flash life variable speed NESS ML-15 Mini Flash $24.95 Mini strobe witn built-in reflector & 2.25' linear flash tube for maximum power flash rate adjustable from 1 to 15 flash per second. Lyte Quest SL-350 Aluminum Strobe $127.95 350-watt long-life helical quartz lamp - conivenient Par 56 case - 1 to 12 flash per second. 1/4" jacks for sync operation. 800-221-8180 These are the cheapest I have seen completed (not kits) strobes for. If someone has bought these, or has more info on them, please let us know. Nathan? What word have you heard? And what do you guys have? don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> ftp.netcom.com ======\----------------||----------||----------------/=== /pub/be/bertino========\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Tue Nov 7 18:57:08 1995