The Haunt at Hellizondo

Here it comes, like a semi-truck jack-knifing across the centerline barrier at 70mph. Halloween!

One week until opening day. I might actually have 100 things left to do on my to-do list. I am taking all of next week off of work. I will get it done.

Creating a whole new theme in one year is a huge undertaking. You can never know how long it will take to build something the first time you try. You can’t predict how much you can get done in a year. The only thing that will get it done is determination. Maybe determination and Meth. We’ll see.

To pile on my stress, people from my work are coming. People from the creative dept. F**k, now it has be sweet. I talk a big game at work, can I make come together in time? Will I be embarrassed?

Time to chill out. Have a drink. Calm down. No one knows what it is supposed to look like. Ahhh…I feel better.

Bullshit. I’ll know. Time to get crackin.

I’ll be posting pictures all day everyday starting tomorrow of the build progress and props as they get finished. Live blogging? Undead blogging?

I’ll also be posting to facebook so add me as a friend and “Like” the Hellizondo Haunt page.

Stay scary!

Usually this time of year its dry as a bone. Some where there is usually a giant forest fire raging. High winds whip through the yard into a tempest of ash and debris.

This year it has chosen to rain. Please let the 10 day forecast be true. 70f with clear skies.

This weekend was a birthday weekend, but we still got a lot done. It’s getting to the point where so much has to be crammed in to so little time that I forget to take pictures.

Zac and I build the candy shack, where delectably ghoulish treats will be available.

I stacked the skulls for Bowl the Skull in a permanent fashion while Russell and Kendra painted the booth for me.

Zac and Joe built a bed of nails for firebringer to sit on this year.

Joe helped me build a super sturdy table for the Museum of Oddities, while Patty turned an old groundbreaker into a puppet.

After installing wiper motors to turn the eyes of Rasputin, I started painting him. During the week Joe had painted the bridge with some polyurethane to protect it from all the rain we have been getting.

Tricia blinged some bling until it could be blung no more!

Colonel Cappy presided over the whole affair. He is concerned about the deadlines approaching but I reassured him it would all get done.

I painted Patty’s latex prosthetic. I came out pretty good, and the eyes look really real. Really.

Next week I’ll be on vacation from work so I can finish all the projects I have left undone and setup the haunted house.

I’ll be posting progress shots to facebook, so follow us if you haven’t already. You’ll be first to see the Scarousel finally finished and assembled and see this year’s Creep.

Good golly was Saturday a gross miserable day. By 9 am, the temperature was at 80°F with 75% humidity. It rained on our projects, and then the sun came out, evaporating that rain into a giant cloud of steam. We stuck to it, though, and got a a lot done.

On Saturday, it was just Kendra, Zac, and me. Joe jumped in to help, but just because he likes to tell me I’m doing it wrong.

Zac stayed out of the morning rain and finished the sarcophagus for his mummy baby.

With some help from Zac and Kendra, I was able to build the facade for the walk-through mouth. I spent most of the day with the scroll saw, cutting until my hands went numb and my head hurt. But I got it all cut out on Saturday and onto its frame. You can see it’s pretty close to my sketch-up design. I blew it up by putting the design on a 4 x 8 grid. Then I made a matching grid on my plywood, drew out half of each part of the design, traced that piece onto the plywood, and cut out the second piece.

Joe started building out the bridge that takes you from the yard through the flowerbed and onto the patio. Using my design to make it modular and easy to store, he got the framing done by Sunday.

I spent most of Sunday working on my puppet zombies. They will have their strings pulled by an FCG-style mechanism and will twitch at the beckoning call of their master. I spent a good deal of the day getting a test set up working. I realized I need to build a sturdy frame out of wood to hold up the two puppets along the walk that are not near the house or any overhangs. For the one by the house, I’ll just attach the rig to the awnings.  I cut up my groundbreaker from last year so he could be turned into a marionette-style puppet. Kinda sad, but then there were things I wanted to fix about him.

Sunday was the day when people were wrapping up their projects and had nothing to do, so they helped me with my projects. Courtney, Jay, and Joe helped work on the grinder, while Tricia, Patty, and Kendra helped prime the facade and my hot dog booth. It’s was so busy that I forgot to take pictures, so there are projects that are done, but I don’t have photos for them. Patty finished her Human Cannon Ball Gone Wrong. Kendra finished the giant hands she was maché-ing for the puppet master, and Zac finished his booth. Hopefully this weekend I’ll get more pics!

Here is a little bit of fun from sunday: