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Halloween Reviews
|Books| |Decorations| |Haunted Houses|
|Sound Effects|
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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This page last updated:
10/01/06 07:06 PM
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