Valhella

Skeletons In The Closet!

2010-10-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

and now for my latest Halloween creation...

www.chelseadigital.ca/SkeletonsInTheCloset/

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

As you all are celebrating the best of all eves in the Northern Hemisphere it is already November here in the land of Oz.
We managed to put together a halloween housewarming party despite the many challenges of hosting the dark month in this land of sun and beaches. Some of the compromises included green and blue pumpkins, as the traditional orange ones cost 25$ each here since it is not the right season for them at all. No need to bundle up as it was a hot summer day outside, but we shuttered the windows and lit the lanterns!
The green and blue ones carved up OK, but were very soft and brittle so it didn't allow for any intricate designs. Made me feel pretty good about the whole thing though when a new friend said it was the first time he had ever seen a carved pumpkin in real life! Whoa, blew my mind. For many of our guests it was their first ever Halloween party! Pretty crazy.
I went pretty oldschool for the decor, Jack-o-lanterns, candles, webs and ghosts.
Now I can't wait to see the aftermath of Halloween madness that is happening in North America right now! I can almost hear eerie echoes of trick-or-treats! shouted across the seas...
Happy Halloween to you all!

Bereft of a true Halloween

2010-10-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot capture the Halloween spirit.
For the first time ever.
But it's not me, it's where I am. I never would have thought that I could ever make it to October without the fever hitting me, the monster madness, the all consuming passion for the dark month. But I also never truly conceived of what October meant in a place like Australia.
I call it oppositeland for good reason, and the sunny skies, the spring flowers, the flipflops - none of these things say October to me.
I miss the smell of damp earth, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the brisk air and crisp mornings, the fog and pumpkin patches. So I guess I should have always said that Autumn was my favorite season, instead of saying October was my favorite month - but that doesn't work either because Halloween is part of what makes it dear to my heart.
But hard as I may try I feel like it just won't work here.
Case in point - I put some spider webbing up on the door this morning and caught a bird trying to eat the fake tarantula! It makes sense since there are GIANT spiders here - so of course they must be food for someone, but I've never had something prey on my decor before.
The dollar store Halloween section was about a 2 feet square and sadly disappointing. I tried to look up haunted houses and only found listing for actual hauntings!
I will continue to try - but my heart is not in it. I will have to be a voyeur this year and bask in the glory of a true Halloween from afar through all of you dark creatures out there spinning up a dark night for All Hallow's Eve.

a host of little ghosts visiting my apartment.

Momento Mori

2010-10-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

The fog rolls in...

2009-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist setting up the front yard a bit.
I have had a lot of comments so far, even saw a man lifting his daughter up to see over the hedge, so adorable.
Her face was lit up like a kids at Christmas, only as we all know...with a darker sort of light..haha
Perhaps a little haunter in the making.
Funny that this is actually me not doing Halloween!
I painted Skelly with detergent this year to give him an eerie glow.
I had to do something nice for him after breaking his spine in half accidentally!
He just couldn't make it up the stairs this year...

Halloween creative

2009-10-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Art by Heather Gleason

Hey kids...want some candy?

2009-10-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Created a Halloween candy display last night. yummy.
I also made fresh corn chowder and Pumpkin chocolate chip bars.
The kitchen smells fantastic!
So delightful to actually have time this year to do the more domestic Autumn things.
Normally I would be frantically working away in the monster factory.
Alas, no new monsters will rise this year. I will be on a secret Halloween mission all season.

Summer Ending

2009-09-02T14:44:00.001-07:00

Boudoir

2009-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

A bedroom set for the dark at heart.

http://www.harvestmoon.co.uk/moulin-noir/coach-house-moulin-noir-bedroom-furniture.html

2009-06-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

http://darkpassagetravelogue.blogspot.com/

Photography and decay, and excellently thoughtful writing. One of my favorite posts:
http://darkpassagetravelogue.blogspot.com/2008/09/buried-in-woods.html

My Photography

2009-01-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

to remember it by...

2008-11-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Some more photos from this years haunt.

http://picasaweb.google.com/danthon/0810_halloween

My biggest regret is that I didn't have time to take some myself.

Pumpkins

2008-11-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mike, Lindsay and Lesa for helping to carve all 8 pumpkins in about half an hour!

Haunt photos - the Haunted House

2008-11-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

If the kiddies made it through the yard and still had some heart to carry on, we sent them into the Haunted House.
The door was ominously barred with the metal spiderweb my friend Graeme made for me, much to my delight! (and in August too!)
Once the door was opened you could hear the overwhelming sounds of a tinkling nursery rhyme, heartbeats and babies crying. Red strobes revealed...
The Nursery
With it's bloodied walls and gortraits, they would see a woman with long dark hair holding a baby, but what a baby!

From the Nursery the went into a dark hallway and felt their way through to the..
Dot Room
Mike did a great job of staying hidden until they came right to the end, and then the walls started to move towards them. He was so hidden that there was even one unsuspecting couple that took advantage of being "alone" and started making out. They were quite surprised when the dots started walking towards them!

He scared them back the way they came, or so it seemed, but then they walked right into...
The Spider Room
With it's spider strings creepily brushing up against them, they walked towards the spider victim, all webbed up. Touch sensitive spiders would drop and then suddenly someone was right there, screaming at them to "GET IT OFF ME!". A woman with a giant spider over her face, trying to rip it off and screaming.
Tonia rocked this room for the first little while, and I took over when she left. Though I couldn't bring the same level of classy spideryness to it, I did get pretty into my role and screamed until my throat was raw. It was the most startling I think from the amount of screams we got from the ToTs. Very satisfying.

From the spider room they shot out the door to the outside. I worked the entrance for a bit, and loved seeing the excitement and glee of people coming out. There were a lot of Whoas and Wows, and it really made it all worth it. We ran the haunt well into the night, and even much later for late arriving friends.

By far the most challenging to have built, the haunted house portion was a maze that snaked through my basement. Building it required 100 feet of black Poly and lots of black gaffers tape.
I had to build it to avoid all the furnace ducts and low portions of the basement, and I dearly hoped those walls would hold. I had visions of walls toppling and ducts getting knocked off, but even though people were wary and excited, they were also really respectful.
There was only one group of teenagers that were so scared in the dot room that they ran right through a wall! But after 5 minutes we were repaired and running again! (Thanks Mike!)

Everyone loved it and there were lots of gasps and screams.
I ended up working in the Spider Room for most of the night, and the strobes almost killed me.
I'm surprised I have a voice left from all the shrieking I did at unsuspecting groups of people.
Great to see the wide eyed thrills we gave people though.

Lesa and Mike were invaluable, and they helped make the whole experience a great one.
Thanks you two! I know it was really hard to stay in those dark and flickering rooms for so long.
Dan managed to get great photos even in that crazy place.
Sure made it hard to get to the laundry room for awhile though!

Haunt photos - The Cemetery

2008-11-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

I went with my standard Cemetery setup for the yard, except with areas for the Gravedigger and Witch to work their magic. (literally, haha)
Because I was opening the backyard up to the public for the first time, I decided that a hay path would protect the grass and let the ToTs know where to go. It worked really well, and made it so the yard zombies and actors knew exactly when to expect people.

I had my 3 groundbreakers from last year, that I made with help from Mike and Nick, using SpookyBlue's method. This year I made two more, (see previous post) and adopted 2 more, one that crawled and moaned, for a total of 7.

Walking down the path, people would first be met by Kirsty the crawling Zombie.
She liked to lurk in the fog.

Next they would come to the Witches Hut.
She was crooked and cackling, stirring her cauldron and mixing her potions.
She had put a spell on her sister that made her unable to move. (see Witch Prop)

Right after the Witch they ran into the Gravedigger, with his unearthed coffin and his love of bodyparts. He was fantastic, telling them they had beautiful eyes and showing them his bag of bloody eyeballs. He would measure you for a coffin fitting or light fire in his palms. Then he would give the kids a candy body part to take along with them.

Heading back they would hear and then see a Zombie eerily playing a Saw.
Haunting and beautiful. Another lovely surprise from my volunteers. Thanks Brad!

Finally they reach the Candy (and Sodapop!) at the end of the straw path....
and if they are brave enough they head on.....
to the Haunted House!

aftermath

2008-11-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

It's done. Over.
The Haunt was a huge success, kids and adults alike were awed and frightened.
My volunteers were spectacular, and I could not have pulled off the night without them.
Having live spooks really makes a difference from just having a creative setup.
They really shape the experience, and I think they were having more fun than the trick or treaters.
The rain held off, and it was even kind of warm for October.
The only good thing about Halloween being over is that I get to checkout all the photos of other haunts and see what they got up to.
I just checked over at Pumkinrot and his Hollowman are fantastic.
I am saving the others for after I finish this post or I'll never get my photos up.
My only regret was that once again I was too busy to take photos myself. Crazy, considering that I'm a photographer by trade, but Halloween is the only time I never manage to take photos.
Luckily, I know this from past experiences and got my talented friend Dan to get some shots for me. My lovely and hideous witch Bryn also took some good shots that I'll be posting so you can see what was going on.

Luring the children

2008-10-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

I put my signpost up in the front yard yesterday. It turned out really well and I think it will help get the neighborhood kids (and adults!) excited for Halloween.
Today my Mom dropped off some vines and I made a scarecrow to put up by the signpost too.
Only 3 more days of work and then I can throw myself into Halloween preparations fulltime.
I keep having to talk myself out of finishing up the basement maze until the final week. We still have to be able to do laundry! It is hard enough to move down there right now as it is, every time you turn around you bump into a corpse!

signs and crosses, ghosts and coffins

2008-10-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

I felt like I hadn't done anything in the last week, but when I went to take some photos of props today there was more than I'd thought.
This sign is for the front lawn to get the neighborhood kids interested.

Also these signs will go on a post in front of the house.

I made some primitive looking crosses to go in the cemetery.

I got an $11 ghost that flies along a string, and it wasn't spooky looking so I updated it.
Before:

After:
The head is two sided, skulls on both front and back so it will look rad not matter which way it is flying.

Yesterday I built a toe pincher coffin out of old boards. It was a complete pain in the ass but it will look pretty cool. I still want to get a cross carved in the front of it, but not sure I have the tools for it.
My brother is going to be the gravedigger in Cemetery 666, so I wanted a coffin to bury in the yard for him. He will be great I think. He used to be in a goth rock band and he's done improv acting before too. The perfect combination for a yard spook.

This guy is waiting for his grapevine body to be harvested and built.

Woke up in a Pumpkin patch

2008-10-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

Drove out in the early dark hoping to get a foggy shot of a pumpkin patch yesterday. A stormy day but alas no fog. I did get some nice shots as the sun cracked through the clouds. It was lovely just standing in between all those soon to be jack'o'lanterns.

beautiful bones

2008-10-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Checking out The Art of Darkness today and came across the art of Kris Kuksi. My mind is officially blown. I can't describe his works, you have to see them.

The dark month is upon us

2008-10-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

Bride's Head Revisited

2008-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

(I couldn't resist that title)
Last night I updated my flying corpse bride's head. She had been one of the originals and had a horrible styrofoam wig head that had been mutilated and then hastily fixed up over the years.
She looks great flying from the clothes line with her corpsed son's body clutched in her skeletal hands.
Old head

New head:

Gargoyle pedestal

2008-09-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

I made a entrance piece this weekend, a gargoyle pedestal stand.
It will go at the front entrance gate, under the Cemetery sign.
Constructed out of Styrofoam and a cement form.

Corpsey

2008-09-26T15:25:00.001-07:00

Digging out all the Halloween creations and I came across Corpsey, my first mache creature.
He is starting to fall apart, but I know I'll stuff him a body anyways.
He's been scaring ToTs with me for a long time now.

head on a stake

2008-09-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Saw this setup at the Halloween Train a couple years ago.
Fantastic way to give depth to your Halloween scene.
If I can source some animal skulls I might try this in my cemetery this year.

under the skin

2008-09-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was looking around for Halloween inspired tattoos and came across Kurt Wiscombe.
His art combines tattoo aesthetics and Halloween themes.
I love this 3D version of one of his pieces:

scary things in coffee sacks

2008-09-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Just found another project I want to try inspired by Grimvisions.
Like I need yet another Halloween project to add to the ever growing list,
but I have an abundance of coffee sacks and this will be perfect to use them for!

Check out his Etsy shop.

Corpse inspired clothing

2008-09-24T14:15:00.001-07:00

A classy take on the skeleton suit.

found here on ebay

Corpse Paint

2008-09-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hands crusted with paper mache, and another pair of pants ruined
because I'm too anxious to get started to put on my coveralls first.
and so another night ends.
I finally had some time for my little corpses once again!
Tonight I worked on a body and gave my new corpse a paint job.
I thought I'd actually break out my proper oil paints and try to get a nice crusty skin, glossy bone look. Turned out pretty Ok.

balancing act

2008-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

ahhh Fall.
Always a busy time for me, so many projects on the go, Halloween preparations and excitement building, and of course, I still have to go to work.
Luckily I work here:

Pretty funny working at a Castle. It makes me wonder if this is really just Halloween creeping into another area of my life. History and mystery and all those good things. They even say the Castle is haunted but I haven't seen anything, except for a tiny sleeping bat once. The one day I leave my camera at home.

army of darkness

2008-09-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

It was a productive day in the monster factory.
The witch got new limbs and an outfit made of coffee sacks.
People will be frightened but also strangely craving a cappuccino.

Got to work on some new groundbreakers. Last years were thrown together in the last two days before Halloween so they weren't quite how I pictured them, though they still looked great at night. I think I've found a method that is working great for me so far, involving paper rolls and paper towel mache strips. You can scrunch the paper towel roll so that it looks like two small parallel bones., which works great for arms.

I installed one of my new props over the door to the monster factory and it fits perfectly!

So much to do!

Forest of Fear

2008-09-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Wow. What a morning!
I met up with a fellow haunter today who has to liquidate all his Halloween props. Sad for him, awesome for me. He ran a haunt just out of town called the Forest of Fear. It was on an acreage, and was a huge walk through haunt.
I met up with him at his storage locker where all the Halloween goodies live. It was crazy picking through all the limbs and rats and bags of spiders. A dream come true. I got an amazing deal and a carload of stuff. I even scored a homemade fog chiller, which will save me having to make one. I also got a rotisserie motor so I can attempt a Flying Crank Ghost this year! What a great day. I have the next 2 days off too, so I'll be downstairs in the monster factory, creating my army of darkness.

swank

2008-09-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

I adore this woman's photography,
Gorgeous and grotesque all at once.

www.vonswank.com

facelift

2008-09-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Gave my witch a facelift today and I'm pretty happy with her so far. Originally I had tried giving her dark green skin, but it wasn't very realistic and it got lost in the dark Halloween night. This year I got her some eyes which were off of one of those uninspiring eyeball headbands. Cool thing is that they light up red, but they also flicker and dim so it doesn't look as silly as straight lit up eyes.

Also, threw some more paint on the new tombstones.
I wish I didn't have to work this weekend so I could get more projects going.

haunt photos

2008-09-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

Some pics from last years setup.
This year is going to be a huge improvement I hope.
Hopefully I'll take some proper photos as well.

the obsession started early.

2008-09-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I was making my childhood sticker book into a witches spell book awhile ago and found these inside, go figure. The love of Halloween is something that festers and grows.

old soul

2008-09-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Came across a photo I took a few years back.
He was in a garage haunt along the Parade of Lost Souls path.

tin smile

2008-09-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Got these little guys today, I couldn't resist.

Friends with torches

2008-09-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

I got an awesome gift from a friend yesterday. A great entrance to the basement monster factory. I may leave it up as the entrance to the basement haunt this year, or maybe move it to the gates.
So wonderful to have friends who understand my madness.

my Gorgon

2008-09-01T22:01:00.001-07:00

Medusa is almost finished. Busy weekend so I didn't have much time to work on my props.
Gave her another coat of Monster Mud, and painted her with black spray paint for those hard to reach places, and two shades of gray latex. I want to do a coat of stone spray paint, for a bit more texture and seal her with something. More research to do, but thankfully there are such amazing haunters documenting their processes. I see so much rad stuff out there, and I want to make it all!

her blood has the power to raise the dead

2008-08-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

My first experience with Monster Mud, and Medusa is looking quite awesome. I need another coat of Mud and paint treatment is still to come. The guys at the hardware store thought I was quite hilarious when I was explaining what I wanted the drywall joint compound for. The one guy was begging me to come back and tell him if it worked, bring photos. I may have inadvertently created a future haunter.
She has mirrors for eyes and it looks great even in daylight. You kind of catch movement reflected in her eyes and it is quite spooky. I am going to try to shove some glow sticks inside her head on Halloween, and it should light up the mirrored eyes a bit as there is a small gap between the mirrors and the eye socket.

and there was light

2008-08-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

WOW.
Amazing photography, and the chandeliers blow my mind.
especially the medusa one, obviously.

http://www.adamwallacavage.com/photo/

Medusa

2008-08-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

The thing I love most about getting ready for Halloween is the ingenuity it brings out. hmmm...what can I do with a mannequin torso, an old tripod and some chicken wire? Why, make a Medusa statue for the cemetery obviously.
Here she is in the first stages:

yep, there is an exposed breast. Medusa is quite saucy.

Canadian Haunted Attractions

2008-08-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

listed here
Too bad I'm always so busy with my own evil projects to get out to any of them.
Maybe this year since I started early.

desecration

2008-08-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

I hate graveyard vandalism, so senseless. But lovely photo.
I am considering making a giant stone angel for my cemetery this year.

viewing the dead

2008-08-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

a beautiful photo of a frightening subject.

some old nightshots

2008-08-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

I need to get back out soon, haven't been shooting a lot lately

painting with light

black and gold

2008-08-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

my new wallpaper looks lovely

Two new tombstones

2008-08-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just another Friday afternoon in August...
still need to be painted and mounted

Witch's Kitchen part 2

2008-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

More witchy stuff
(inspired by aranamuerta)

dreamcar

2008-08-25T15:58:00.001-07:00

Couch of the afterlife

2008-08-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Coffin Couches

Spell Book

2008-08-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

a Spell Book I made yesterday.
Pages created in InDesign, fonts - Rothenburg Decorative and Rose, edges hand torn

crumpled up and soaked in strong coffee (just like I like it)

hang them to dry

old suede skirt made into dust cover, cardboard inside for rigidness
pentagram drawn on top with lighter fluid and then torched
my neighbours are getting worried

bound pages in with twine
the finished book:

Witches Kitchen

2008-08-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Inspiration from aranamuerta

More to come...