April 2007 Archives

Welcome to the final day! The writers and editors of this Blog have come up with our own Top 5 list for the most sadistic deaths on film. The way you win this contest is by leaving us a comment on what you think we missed.

Leave us a comment today with a valid email address so we can contact you and we will pick out the biggest Death we missed and award that person a Hitcher prize pack from Universal Studios. It includes a Hitcher DVD, beanie and T-shirt. So get to reading and leaving us some comments!

#2 (Bonus) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre what can we say. It's the movie
that redefined what a Chainsaw was all about and introduced the world to what Ed Gein was all about as well.

And our #1 Sadistic Death on Film....Zombie Flesh Eaters

- iamlegend.

We have a new feature here at "The Haunted Report". Norm Glenn of theMansion of Terror has decided to join our little crew and chronicle his 2007 haunted attraction season. From buying props, speaking at HauntCON to finding a location you will get to see how the industry works from the inside. So stay tuned as we hear more and more from Norm throughout his 2007 season. You can check out his posts in this category and catch up on what he has written so far here.

Have we got a cool little contest going on for you. The writers and editors of this Blog have come up with our own Top 5 list for the most sadistic deaths on film. The way you win this contest is by leaving us a comment on what you think we missed.

We will pick out the biggest miss on Monday and award that person a Hitcher prize pack from Universal Studios. It includes a Hitcher DVD, beanie and T-shirt. So get to reading and leaving us some comments!

#3 The Hitcher - The scene where the boyfriend gets pulled apart by the 18 wheelers. Imagine just knowing that is going to happen to you as you are chained up.....s@#$!

#2 Alien. Now we are getting to the good stuff. This was brain exploding terror for 1979 and still damn good today. Just imagine feeling it move inside your chest.....

Coming soon #1 and a special bonus! Remember you have to leave a comment with a valid email address to win!
- iamlegend

Have we got a cool little contest for you. The writers and editors of this Blog have come up with our own Top 5 list for the most sadistic deaths on film. The way you win this contest is by leaving us a comment on what you think we missed. Over the next few days we will post the whole list.

We will pick out the biggest miss on Monday and award that person a Hitcher prize pack from Universal Studios. It includes a Hitcher DVD, beanie and T-shirt. Remember none of that faces of death crap, these are some of the classics.

#5 The film Dagon, a guy's face was totally peeled off all in one shot...

#4 In the Asian thriller "Tears of Kali" one of the main characters skinned himself alive through mind control..ouch...

- iamlegend

Enjoy! Through a cool little partnership the boys over at HorrorJunk are letting us run their videocasts and reviews over at out Blog. These guys rock. Watch as they review Skyggen...we will try and run these at least once every month.

- iamlegend

In a word, yes! This is something I have believed in for a long time. Ever since I sat down and played "The Suffering" on my XBOX. And the point was made even clearer when I sat down and played F.E.A.R. on my PC last year. Well done horror video games are the new medium for the 21st century. They simply crush movies when it comes to telling a great story or plain old scaring the crap out of you. Check out this link to a great article about this very topic over at Destructoid.

One of our readers sent this in from BoingBoing. David Nickle, the Stoker-award-winning horror writer, has just posted a bunch of his short stories to his website under a Creative Commons license. What that means is people can use them in their own works as long as they obey the CC laws. Pretty cool.

- iamlegend

Usually around July I get a few emails from haunters who want to start a professional haunted house and they ask for advice on what they can do in July to prepare for the coming October season. The answer is really you're too late and you need to start planning for the next year. By July we need to have all of our legwork done and begin our buildout process. A haunted house is definitely a year-round part-time labor of love. When our 2006 season ended, we were already planning for the 2007 season in how we stored our props, information we gathered from the season wrap up and exit polling, and how the workshop would be reconfigured for the next year.

Here we are at April 19th. In the off-season (From November until now) the managers have been meeting at least once a month to brainstorm new themes, new marketing strategies, new prop construction, and new prop purchases. One thing we do to stay fresh is to rebuild our haunted house from the ground up each year. We try to reuse existing props but in new ways with new theming and always adding in new elements to the production. Our customers definitely appreciate this and they always know they're not going to see the same haunted house over and over again.

So at this point in the year, we have our new themes for each haunted house. For anyone not familiar with Mansion of Terror, we run two haunted houses at the same location. Each haunted house has a completely different theme. It's more work to do this, but it's also a powerful market advantage and our exceptional growth year over year tells us it's a good thing.

Along with themes, we have our room designs and the major elements for those rooms. This lets us know early on what props need to be constructed and which need to be purchased. Our sound and lighting plans are finished. Phase I of the website overhaul will happen over the next couple of weeks.

We are gearing up for a road trip to HauntCon. Looks like we'll have a caravan of two vehicles to take 7 of us to Detroit for the show. I'll be presenting on Friday about our infrared flashlight haunted house from 2006. We'll also be purchasing some of our 2007 props at the show. Normally our managers and actors will split up at Hauntcon. Some will take in all the actor classes with the intent to imploy some of what was learned with actor training in September. The other managers attend the classes on haunted house operations, scares, and marketing.

It's going to be an exciting year...

- Norm

Editors Note: This is another in our ongoing weekly series of interviews with people who are changing the face of Horror/Haunted Attractions. This week we interview Scott Michael of Las Vegas who is selling one of his Haunted Houses for a dollar on ebay. Does this seems like a deal to you? If so check out everything that is included

Why did you first become interested in the Haunted House/Horror Business?
I was about the ripe age of 12 years old & lived in Garden Grove Ca. My brother and I were trying to sneak into our childhood playground, "Disneyland" as we had so often before. We had our usual shoe box full of Disneyland ride tickets with us (Yes they once had individual ride tickets) and a great desire to enter through the unprotected hand stamp gates. These gates were usually our free pass into Disneyland, but not this day. If we wanted to have some fun, we would have to ride our bikes even further across town to Buena Park. Knotts was always the plan B when it came to sneaking into theme parks as a kid. Getting into Disneyland or Knotts without having our mother called by security was our weekly quest and challenge. At that time Knotts had just begun their 1st annual Halloween Haunt set up. The area where we usually would get into the park was now blocked by a large green tent. The tent had an opening, so I decided to check it out.

It was the "Haunted Forrest" section of one of their haunts. I was amazed by what they were doing to the Knott's for Halloween. After about an hour of trying to get into the park without prevail, we decided to go home & bug mom for tickets to the Halloween haunt at Knotts.My brother and I went that year when I was 12, and I haven't been the same since.

What previous jobs have you had?

Officially, my career would be pool & spa technician as thats what I have been commercially trained although I went to school for art and music.

I mainly have been an entertainer my whole life in some form or another. I play drums professionally and own & operate a large DJ & Karaoke service. I also dabble in film & television occasionally.My other occupation is commercial arts & graphics.

What job do you do right now? Is the Haunted House/Horror Job your full time gig?
The haunt takes up most of my time now, but I still operate DJ & Karaoke shows (Did a private Karaoke party for Rosanne Barr last monday)and some times take a drumming gig to keep up my chops. (tried out for Blue Man group today)

The results are in, October 2006 was over all a good year for Haunted Attractions. A poll on the Haunted Attraction Magazine home page, found that over 54% of the attractions were up at least slightly over 2005 numbers and over 32% were up drastically. This bodes well for the strength of the Haunted Attraction Industry that has finally put the effects of 9/11 behind it and reached for record territory. Of course it was only a poll of 221 haunters,but they are an elusive group to track down..

- iamlegend

For more than a century, fun loving people have been turning to the “dark side” for entertainment. For the last six years the Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts group (DAFE) has been polling its members for their favorite dark attractions, that is “haunted house” and funhouse related attractions. DAFE recently released the results of their Sixth Annual Members Survey- Topping the list for the sixth consecutive year was Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, PA which received top honors as DAFE’s Favorite Dark Attraction Park.

Number one on the list of Top Ten Favorite Walkthrough Attractions was Kennywood’s Noah’s Ark, a large, rocking boat-shaped funhouse. Built in 1936 the Ark is the last of its kind in the US and one of two left in the world. DAFE Director Rick Davis notes- “The Ark’s construction was delayed in 1936 due to tremendous rainfall and flooding. When they decided to completely refurbish the Ark in 1996, the rains came to again delay its rebuilding.”

On the opposite side of Pennsylvania, the Haunted Mansion (also known as the Haunted House) at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA was again the number one choice in DAFE’s Top Ten Favorite Darkrides list. “Knoebel’s Haunted Mansion has been selected as DAFE’s favorite darkride for the last six years. Interestingly, the top three darkrides are all known as the Haunted Mansion. As a matter of fact, five of the top ten have the same name.”

DAFE (pronounced “daffy”) annually polls its membership on various issues, the highlight of which is asking members to name their favorite dark attractions-those walk through or ride through attractions related to funhouses and haunted houses from around the world. This year approximately 90 full-time and summer seasonal attractions worldwide were nominated. (Halloween seasonal attractions are not included in this survey.)

The Top Ten Favorite Darkrides- 2007

#10- Gold Rusher- Kennywood Park- West Mifflin, PA
#9- Revenge of the Mummy-The Ride© TM - Universal Studios Florida© TM-
Universal Orlando Resort© TM - Orlando, FL.
#8- Haunted Mansion- Disneyland- Anaheim, CA
#7- Whacky Shack- Waldameer Park- Erie, PA
#6- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror TM- Disney-MGM Studios-
Orlando, FL
#5- Haunted Mansion- Trimper’s Rides and Amusements-
Ocean City, MD
#4- Amazing Adventures of Spiderman- Islands of Adventure©TM-
Universal Orlando Resort© TM - Orlando, FL
#3- Haunted Mansion- Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom®-
Orlando, FL
#2- Haunted Mansion- Funland- Rehoboth, DE
#1- Haunted Mansion- Knoebel’s Amusement Resort- Elysburg, PA

The Top Ten Favorite Walk through Attractions- 2007

#10- House of Frankenstein Wax Museum- Lake George, NY
#9- Aladdin’s Lamp- Trimper’s Rides and Amusements-
Ocean City, MD
#8- Haunted House- Enchanted Forest- Turner, OR
#7- Ghostly Manor- Sandusky, OH
#6- Barl of Fun- Bushkill Park- Easton, PA
#5- Pirate’s Cove- Trimper’s Rides and Amusements-
Ocean City, MD
#4- Funhouse- Jenkinson’s Beach Boardwalk- Point Pleasant, NJ
#3- Pirate’s Cove- Waldameer- Erie, PA
#2- Frankenstein’s Castle- Indiana Beach, Monticello, IN
#1- Noah’s Ark- Kennywood Park- West Mifflin, PA

Editors Note: This is our first in a series of Film reviews done by our newest cast member John Cozzoli / ILoz Zoc of the excellent Zombo's Closet of Horror. So enjoy as he reviews "Alone with Her".

Meet Doug. Full-time profession: stalker.

In Alone with Her, a film by Eric Nicholas, we get to know just about everything there is to know about Doug. It isn't pretty, but we do get to realize that Doug is a loser; a loser in relationships, a loser in his approach to life, a loser that, simply put, has nothing better to do than to keep trying at creating artificial relationships with women to boost his superficial ego.

That's where Amy comes in. She's just coming off a failed relationship so she's vulnerable. Just the kind of woman Doug likes: someone he can fabricate a fantasy world of 'Doug the Magnificent around.' Maybe shes the one who will buy his fantasy world of perfection, maybe not, but in Alone with Her, we get to watch every sordid detail of Doug's relentless infatuation with Amy, and how he manipulates her to believe he's a nice guy; a guy that has lots in common with her.

But that's only because he's bugged her home and her life, and he's there every single minute, watching and listening.

We first see Doug as he truly is: a camera stuck surreptitiously in a black bag. He doesn't go anywhere without it. He sees through it, feels through it, even hunts vulnerable and lonely woman through it. In fact, his whole point of view is always through the camera's lens, and Nicholas films most of the story that way. We watch Doug through a camera lens as he watches Amy through his camera lens.

He first glimpses Amy in the park as she's watching lovers get it on. She starts crying. One failed relationship worn on a sleeve to go, please, and that's the hook for Doug. He's a sucker for stuff like that. A brief trip to the electronic surveillance store and Doug's next stop is Amy's apartment. He rigs it with cameras and microphones to pick up every conversation, every bathroom break, and every personal nuance of Amy's lonely life.

Through his camera and intrusion into Amy's life, we're forced to see and hear Amy as he does. But there's no voyeuristic pleasure in this because Nicholas also forces us to see and hear Doug as he contrives 'chance' meetings with her at the local coffee or spends alone time with her in her bedroom--through a small monitor that he watches constantly. In one chilling moment, Doug puts his head down to sleep as Amy, on the monitor, puts her head down on her pillow to sleep; an indication that he has no life without play-acting himself into believing she matters to him. And when she pleasures herself with the handle of a hairbrush, he's there pleasuring himself, too, but through the monitor: the epitome of safe sex.

That's right I saw Grindhouse this weekend. And you know what? I have no idea why this is not doing better in theaters! I laughed my ass off. Not because it was bad or not scary. I laughed my ass off because both of the films were really well done for 1970's homages. I think a lot of people have the idea that these are serious horror movies in the vain of Halloween or Psycho or something.

Guess what people? Your missing the point. These films are supposed to be homages to those cheap-sleazy-funny horror movies of the 70's. So when you go see Grindhouse just pretend that it's 1975 and your paying 4.50 for 2 films plus trailers. Oh and did I mention the trailers? They are awesome. My favorite two by far are "Don't" and "Thanksgiving". Yes, I did like Thanksgiving. I know it was done by Eli Roth (who I like to bash on) but on this he did a really good job. So congrats on that Eli. My other favorite thing is that several people got up and left after the first movie, not realizing it was a double feature! C'mon how thick do you have to be?

Other than that if you live in Central Texas you will see a ton of references in these movies from the Texas Chili Parlor to the Alamo Drafthouse. So go out and check out two funny horror movies for around 6.50. You can't beat a double feature......

- iamlegend

::New Editor's Note: This is one in a series of interviews that we plan to do every Friday with someone or something that is changing the face of the Horror Movie or Haunted Attraction Industry. This week's interview is with up and coming owner Norm Glenn. Ever since I went through "Pitch Dark" last year I knew I needed to talk to the man behind this Haunted Attraction.

Why did you first become interested in the Haunted House/Horror Business?
I grew up in Connecticut where Halloween and Haunted Houses were a big thing back in the 70s. They would take huge old tobacco barns in the winter time and turn out some pretty elaborate haunted houses for their time. As a kid I was hooked on the creativity and loved getting scared. When Halloween was over I was already counting down to the next Halloween season. That’s what really sparked my passion.

What previous jobs have you had?
I started college on an art scholarship so I think I’ve always had a creative side. With haunted houses, I’ve done pretty much everything over the past 18 years from set design to acting, marketing, the works. Other odd jobs I’ve had over the years…I’m trying to think of the more interesting ones. Room Service Waiter, Mall Security (yes, mall security. Not sure I should own up to that one), Banquet Manager, a Combat Medic in the US Army, a Technical Support Manager, and other technology roles.

What job do you do right now? Is the Haunted House/Horror Job your full time gig?
I’m a Technology Support Services Manager now. I’ve been with the same company for the past 10 years developing and implementing software for the education market. The haunted house is a combination hobby and part-time labor of love. It’s also my creative outlet.

How long have you been in the business?
I’ve been a haunted house owner for the past 4 years. This is my 18th year working with other haunted houses off and on.

How did you start?
Before I became a haunted house owner, I had already been researching starting my own business. I had first planned to go back to school to get my MBA but thought I’d start a small business that I could grow and still have a day job on the side to see if I liked being an entrepreneur. I think most people do it the other way around.

Just read this great article about the horror film "The Host" (see trailer below). It delves deep into why monster movies/horror movies actually reflect back on what is happening in our society. Now hang on with me for a moment. Think about it. How was Godzilla created/awoken from his hibernation in the Godzilla films? It was because of the Hiroshima nuclear blast that happened to end WWII.

The Godzilla films (and Godzilla himself) were an outcry on what the US had done to Japan and how man was changing our environment. It was also a social commentary on how man is creating things that can cause the planet to turn on us. (Think global warming and Hurricane Katrina). The author of this article delves into that and more surrounding the new horror film "The Host". Check it out over at Wired online. I think you will enjoy.

Wow. Where have these been all my life? Looks like the good folks at WizKidGames have updated their Horror Clix lineup. They just released a new expansion set called "The Lab". It contains a host of cool new horror characters based on popular sci-fi/horror themes. Being a big voodoo fan here is my favorite so far.

Here is a complete list of the characters that make up this Horror Clix expansion pack:
* Agony
* Angelique
* Archaeologist (good)
* Asylum Spirit
* Athena
* Brain Eater
* Candy Striper
* Carnage Bot
* Cloaking Predator
* Corp. Commander (good)
* Corp. Response (good)
* Doctor Von Raechter
* Evil Cosmonaut
* Frothwieler
* Giant Ameoba
* Grey
* Gyrus
* Hardhat Zombie
* Insect Man
* Irradiated Zombie
* Jigsaw
* Lab Assistant
* Lab Gorilla
* Little Damon
* Major Harper (good)
* Man in Black
* Mi-Go
* Morgue Attendant
* Muttering Igor
* Plague Vagrant
* Pod Zombie
* Pod-Mother
* Pride Warrior
* Proto Cyborg
* Pyromaniac
* Reptoid
* Reptosapien
* Scrubber (good)
* Tendril Queen
* Valerie Elle (good)
* Vat-Grown Clone
* Velociraptor
* Vlad the Impaler
* Werewolf Orderly
* Zombie Patient
* Zombie Trooper

Whew! Still with us? You can purchase all these bad boys online or at your local comic book store. So quit playing Magic: The Gathering and get off your ass and go check these out today. If your gonna be a nerd at least be a horror nerd...

- iamlegend

This looks pretty damn cool to us. Looks like Universal Studios Hollywood has a new Haunted Attraction called "Universal’s House of Horrors”. Featuring an award-winning line-up of the Studios’ 80-year horror film legacy, “Universal’s House of Horrors” reacquaints guests with such notorious creatures as Count Dracula, Nosferatu, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, “Psycho’s” Mother Bates, and the zombies of “Dawn of the Dead” and “Land of the Dead Zombies.”

Guests will encounter all of these fearsome figures as they navigate the dark passages of a Gothic castle. The multi-sensory attraction will even use olfactory sensation to produce its effects: the castle has been infused with scents that capture the pungent odors of Egyptian tombs, musty antechambers and decaying life.

The “Universal’s House of Horror” adventure begins at the entrance to the castle ruins in Soundstage 13. After being shepherded along the castle’s drawbridge, guests will enter a corridor laden with dozens of recognizable authentic movie props and artifacts including such cinematic icons as the original corduroy blazer worn by Anthony Perkins in “Psycho,” the Hannibal Lector mask from “Red Dragon,” the police uniform worn by Roy Scheider in “Jaws,” the books and necklaces from “Skeleton Key,” the original “Chucky” doll and the Billy doll from “Dead Silence.”

Original horror film posters will also adorn the area as a further introduction to over 20 infamous horror characters that now permanently reside within the “House of Horrors.” Guests will not have long to linger over these genre treasures. Attendants quickly usher them through a dark labyrinth leading into the themed areas that include Dracula’s Portal, Nosferatu's rat-infested Catacombs, the Burial Crypt of The Bride of Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera’s Lair, The Mummy’s Tomb, “Chucky’s” Good Guy Toy Factory, a “Psycho” Maze of Mirrors, the “Land of the Dead” Morgue, The Wolf Man’s Forest, Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab and the “Dawn of the Dead” Slaughter House.

:: Editor's Note: This is a series of interviews that we do with people in the Haunted Attraction/Horror Industry. This week we are talking with Jeremy Dalessandro of The Creepy Collection about his lifelike corpses and what it takes to make them::

why did you first become interested in the Haunted House Horror Business?

I was Attracted to horror since I was 5 years old. I was the only 5 year old waiting impatiently to get in to see Jaws. Every Halloween I had to have 4 or 5 different costumes. I loved to dress up and make my own horror movies.

I then I started home haunting in the late 80’s and was even awarded a scholarship to a Special effects school from the home haunting. But then one morning a Gas explosion set my house on fire. I was left with nothing more than the pants I was wearing and so I had to give up on my SFX dream in order to re-build my life. I was 21 at the time.

A few years later I discovered the Haunted House Industry and was immediately hooked. I right away knew that this could be an opportunity to finally live my dream of producing props and making them come alive in on my own haunted shows.

What Previous jobs have you had?

I worked as a stock broker for TD Waterhouse, worked as a clothing sales man and I worked as an usher in 2 movie theaters.

What job do you have now?

I work as a Media Marketer for Tribune/Newsday

How Long Have you Been in business?

It’s been 3 years since I started building my custom corpses and props.

How Did You Start?

I built my first corpse skull in may 2003 after winning the skull at a show.

what's the scariest Haunted House you ever been to?

Screamers Haunted House. Picture yourself in complete darkness and with no exit signs anywhere.

What Inspires you to create?

The Haunted House Customer Inspires me to create my gross and twisted props. Every single prop is built with a customer in mind. My purpose is to blow them away with a knock out punch when they see my props. I want them to walk away feeling and thinking about the creepy experience for days, weeks, months, and years to come. That can only effect my customers, the haunts, screamparks and even your not-so-every day as someone would say mom and pop Home Haunter.

HORRORFIND WEEKEND 8 AUGUST 10-12, 2007 MARYLAND

We are poised to have the biggest best Horrorfind Weekend ever with a guest list that is already and will be even more INCREDIBLE. If your interested in going as a a vendor and you have not reserved your tables, don't wait - they are selling like mad and we expect to be sold out in record time. Order your tables here.

Tickets are available now for attendees. As always we expect to have tickets available at the door but pre-purchase ticket holders have a special line to get in fast and this years convention will be Bigger than ever. Tickets can be ordered here. Sound like one badass little convention. Hopefully we can get someone to Blog live from the event.

- iamlegend.

Guess what? We promised you some sweet giveaways and here goes our first. We have 2 copies of Murder Set Pieces. This is a nice little DVD from the good folks over a Lions Gate Films. You can read some reviews of the film here.

All you have to do is answer this trivia question. Name one other movie Gunnar Hansen has appeared in. Email your answer to us with your vaild email address and you win! The first two people to do this will win the DVD.

news@hauntedreport.com

- iamlegend

Nice little video from CBS about "modern" Haunted Attractions. The owner of Netherworld makes a good point about "Animatronics" never replacing "flesh and blood" and boy does he have some bad-ass animatronics..