Heartstoppers Haunted House

I've been searching for inspiration for props for this year, amongst all the other things I've got going on: finishing a sweater for Mr. ShellHawk (It's only been two years since I started it. I've just been busy...), waiting for the weather to break so I can plant the rose hedge that just got shipped to me from Jackson and Perkins (The 14 bushes couldn't possibly have shown up last month like they told me. After all, it wasn't raining then!), making pumpkins, housework, fertilizing the orchids, etc.

I've found it to be a little tough to find good video of haunts here in California to share with you. I did find this one, though, located not so far from me:

Heartstoppers Haunted House presents The Deadlands from Hex on Vimeo.
I ran across this haunt awhile back (before my last laptop crashed and fried the drive, losing all my bookmarks. Apparently backing up my files had nothing to do with actually, you know, backing them up...). It looks very professional and scary. Here's the story, in their words:

"Welcome to the historical site of the 1881 Disappearance of Cane Hex.

Hex was a former rebel with the southern cavalry during the Civil War, who became a bounty hunter with violent success, he had killed more men then Hell has souls. And on Halloween, exactly 126 years ago, Hex met his maker.

About 15 years after the Civil War, Cane found himself following several bounties out west to California. He was getting on in years, and his list of enemies was too long to read. While tracking a fugitive heading towards the hills of Auburn, he ended up in a small 'railroad town' called Roseville.

As he entered the small village, night was falling and a storm began to close in and a strange, uneasy feeling settled down around him. There was not a sound, even the falling rain and winds were silent. Several lightning strikes, but with no thunder claps. Suddenly an incredible pain shot down his back as he is struck from behind by what feels like a shotgun blast. He screams, it echos through the valley. He turns to face his attacker and sees several hulking forms of what look like men. But they are standing oddly, arms and legs at angles they normally don't go, heads on non-supporting necks, flailing around. Another lightning strike and Hex sees to his horror who his attackers are. He recognizes some of them right away, he saw these men hung at the gallows, years ago...

Then they all slowly come into view, out from the buildings, out of the alleys, scores of creatures all heading his way. How did this happen, who did this? All those lives he took, somehow escaped the deepest pits of damnation, to exact their revenge on Cane Hex again and again...

If you dare, join us this Halloween to unearth some answers about what became of the bounty hunter and his undead opponents."

I must say, I am looking forward to taking a crew out to Roseville to see the display this year. Oh, and get the brownies scared out of me!

Heartstoppers home page here. MySpace page here.