A little about me - R0adk1ll
:: Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles dealing with the experiences of a Home Haunter over the coure of a year::
I guess I should start with some background - a mini bio if you will.
When iamlegend approached me about blogging on their site - the first and only industry-wide site of its kind - I was taken aback. I have only been decorating my yard for about 3 years - what do I know about "haunting"? i know what I like and I know what gives me the creeps - I guess that is what I base everything on for my haunt.
I have always been a fan of horror - books, movies, even old radio mysteries, and certain TV shows. Not just the Stephen King style of horror, although I really enjoy how he is able to take the mundane and reveal a darker side all the while incorporating actual feelings about a given situation. I want my haunt to affect folks where their fears truly hide. I am just starting but I think that is the direction I am headed with my haunt. Almost as much as the macabre of E. A. Poe is also my fascination with special effects. I have always wondered how a certain visual image was done in a movie. Creating my yard haunt has been an ongoing experiment with effects. Among my favorite effects are the make-up effects. Changing the appearance of someone into something else - altering their face, making wounds, and giving an actor or prop the look of something that isn't.
Suspending disbelief is probably the most accurate (and most overused) description.
Lastly it is for the wonder. The look, not of fear, but of amazement when a child approaches our small yard haunt to see things actually in their face. Sure I get the occasional "stuck TOT" (trick or treater) and even the odd stuck parent neither wanting to approach the house any closer than the sidewalk or driveway. For them I will talk to them - break character and point out to them it's all fake. For the TOTs who come closer they will see and experience things they have seen only in movies or their imaginations.
Perhaps it is just my imagination I'm really toying with. It is my dreams and fears I am putting on display. After all, if I don't think something is creepy or scary I don't add it to my display. I want my haunt to be dark, eerie, and overtly spooky. I am using my time spent in art, graphics design, and stage design to get me started. I also take my experiences in stage make-up (very VERY limited) to add more depth to not only my props but to my character.
I guess every home haunter gets asked "Why do you do this?" and for me the answer is that I do it to have fun and to have something special for the TOTs. I want them to have fun. I want them to be a little scared - and when they realize it's all just images - they relax and enjoy it all. I appreciate the parents who express their thanks for all the time and effort it takes to do "all this" for the kids but I think the parents are having fun with it too.
Till next time,
Roadkill
http://www.roadkillscafe.com
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