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.
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).
Department 56 Halloween pieces are high quality and well painted, but the price
also reflects that. If you would like your spooky village to have a few
highly-detailed pieces, this is the way to go. They have a wide variety of
pieces from cute and colorful, to spooky and haunted.
If you don't have to worry about a budget, Department
56 is the way to go.
Black Cat 8/25/2009
Lemax - Spooky Town
The Lemax Spooky Town Halloween pieces
may not be as highly detailed as Department 56, but if you have a limited haunting budget, I think Lemax gives the
best spook for your buck. Lemax has a variety of pieces, from spooky
to cute,pirates
to mummies,
Lemax has a wide range to suit any Halloween theme. This is what I use in my
Halloween village.
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 - Sounds of Halloween
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.
, 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.
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!
are high quality and well painted, but the price
also reflects that. If you would like your spooky village to have a few
highly-detailed pieces, this is the way to go. They have a wide variety of
pieces from 
, to 
.
If you don't have to worry about a budget, Department
56 is the way to go.
to 
,
Lemax has a wide range to suit any Halloween theme. This is what I use in my
Halloween village.
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.
. 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. 
