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Halloween Reviews

|Books|  |Decorations|  |Haunted Houses|  |Sound Effects|

Books

 

Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Let me be honest here - I don't love Martha, I loathe Martha. Her "good things" make me want to pluck my eyes from their sockets! However, Martha has other hobbies too, and boy does she do "bad things" well! I probably wouldn't have ever picked up Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living, but I received it as a gift (a joke gift at that). I flipped through and found an amazing assortment of gothic decorations and great Halloween atmosphere that can easily be made at home. Who knew that decoupage could be used for evil purposes? I would recommend this to anyone who likes to generate a horror atmosphere.

Black Cat 10/29/2005

Decorations

 

Dead Man Rising

For the money, I think there is no greater Halloween prop! Dead Man Rising consists of a head and two hands that are placed on the ground (so it looks like a zombie rising from the grave). This prop isn't very obvious, but I think the subtle effect works very well. I place this on the lawn near the door and spread leaves around it to make it blend better. In a group of trick or treaters, four of them will walk right past it heading for the candy, but the fifth kid standing in back begins to look around while waiting, notices Dead Man Rising, and screams!

Black Cat 10/29/2005
   
 

Halloween Tree

Several years ago, I searched the net looking for a Halloween tree to hang spooky ornaments from. Amazingly, there were only a few suppliers of Halloween trees. I settled on the four foot Black Barcana from Christmas Traditions and have been amazed every time I set it up. The Barcana tree is made exactly like a regular artificial tree (you know, like the green ones for that other season). It has a glossy-black look to it, and great coverage (no holes). The Barcana trees come in three foot, four foot, and six foot variations. If you are deciding between the three and four foot models, I would recommend the four footer, as the tree seems smaller than expected when you get it (artificial tree measurements include the base).

Black Cat 10/29/2005

Haunted Houses

 

The Haunted Shack

This was my first tour through The Haunted Shack, and I was nothing but impressed! This is truly what a haunted house should be. The line to get in was a bit slow and dragged on, but line-warmers circled and kept things lively (I swear the evil clown was Gilbert Gottfried!). The haunt had everything you expect in a good haunt - twists and turns that keep you guessing. A few sections seemed to be too dark. Not that too dark is bad in a haunted house, but I missed several great props just because I couldn't see them. I also had trouble navigating a few times, so the actors had to break character to say "Left, then another left".

Black Cat 10/29/2005
   
 

The Ship of Ghouls

Sorry to say, The Ship of Ghouls disappoints once again. Many years ago (when the UMD theater department was in charge), the Ship of Ghouls was a maze of horrors (especially the kitchen!). Great ambiance, great acting, and great props. However, the last few years, the scare-factor of the haunt has gone downhill quite a bit. The props and mazes are uninspired, and the acting is only mediocre (with a few occasional exceptions). On the bright side, this year the ship wasn't full of actors that would follow you around like zombies. Having a ghoul follow you isn't scary, it's annoying. Many years ago, the spooks working would count how many people they could make pee, now they count how many people they make yawn.

Black Cat 10/29/2005

Sound Effects

 

Goosebumps - Sounds of Halloween

I'm very particular about my Halloween sound effects. I get easily bored of the same old stuff: lightning, screams, menacing laughter, rattling chains - boooring. So when I heard the Goosebumps album, I knew I had stumbled onto something new. This has a great combination of scary music and effects, giving a truly freaky Halloween atmosphere. One part of the album has what sounds to be a Victorian girls choir made up of the dead. The different elements all fit together seamlessly. The only faults I have with it, is the inclusion of the Goosebumps theme and that all of the music is on one long track.

Black Cat 10/29/2005
   
 

Martha Stewart Living: Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween

I was amazed by Martha Stewart's take on Halloween in her book, so I thought I would get her Halloween album. I figured Martha must have a unique version of Halloween effects in Martha Stewart Living: Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween. Sorry to say, Martha does not have a unique version of Halloween effects, she has the exact same version that all of the other crappy Halloween effects albums have. Chains, screams, and spooky laughs, then more chains, screams, and spooky laughs.

Black Cat 10/29/2005

This page last updated: 10/01/06 07:06 PM

 

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