The Mansion's Dishes

There's always room for one more at the table, isn't there?

Well, someone was wondering where to get the goods to recreate the Haunted Mansion's beautiful dining table, and of course the internet responded!

Click here for an informative article from Inside the Magic!

The Haunted Mansion

Click on the pic for a nifty article about Disney's Haunted Mansion!

Rick Baker Art Prints? It IS a Merry Christmas!

"In Memory Of" art print, signed, copyright Rick Baker

If you're a fan of Rick Baker and his makeup effects, you may be surprised to know the man can paint, too.

Halloweentown just had an opening for their "Tribute to Classic Monsters" art show (which will be in their Parlour Art Gallery until the end of December), and boy, this kind of event is one of the few things that makes me want to live in Burbank again!

Aside from some of the giants of the dark art world, such as Eric Pigors, Bob Lizarraga, Queenie, and Chet Zar, Rick Baker contributed a number of paintings to the show, some of which are available to purchase as signed giclees!

Unfortunately for me, I have about run out of wall space, and have nowhere to hang something this cool at the moment. I guess I'll need to put an addition on the house...

Well, back to my vacation! See you later!

Yes. Do Drink the Kool-Aid...

It's funny that my neighbors were initially a little spooked when the graveyard first went up a couple of years ago. Then offers of help came, and a few mannequin parts (which I haven't gotten around to using, yet) and now, this year, requests for their very own tombstones! A couple of the guys have offered to help make some cool cemetery columns, as well, which is great, as I prefer not to use power tools because I am dangerous!

They're drinking the Kool-Aid, and I am so stoked!

One gal is involved with the high school I run my display to donate to, and there's a strong possibility that with them and the help of the local Rotary, I'll be able to help the school set up a haunt of their own as their yearly fund raiser! 

Husband, who is not a haunter and keeps asking silly questions like "Where the Hell are we supposed to store all this stuff?!" Has even mentioned he might make the 2 1/2 hour drive to pick up pink foam for tombstones this year! I thought I might help the neighbors do something similar to these Haunted Mansion tombstones:

The two of them are so lovey, that these would be perfect for them! And of course, we all know, you can't stop with just two tombstones!

Perhaps my dream of having a block-long graveyard will actually come to pass!

Haunted Mansion News

Via Creepy Cupcakes. Thanks for the heads-up, Carrie Mae!

Haunted Mansion

One of the things I've been fascinated with is the idea that in order to create one effect, you often have to create it in layers. A perfect example of this is the Haunted Mansion singing busts. Thurl Ravenscroft (a.k.a. Tony the Tiger) was one of Disney's go-to voice actors, and his is one of the voices on the Haunted Mansion ride. The song is done with three actors, video taped at the same time. Their facial expressions are wonderful, and looked fabulous on the final busts... Here's Thurl, who we'll call actor #1:

And actor #2:

And actor #3:

Here's the result with everyone singing their parts:

I think the technical term is "composite," but don't quote me. Isn't composite work part and parcel of what we do as haunters?

For those of you who love the Haunted Mansion, a little of "how they done it." Part one:

Part two:

Coming from a visual effects family, I love seeing the background and development of these marvelous ideas that became the basis for so much inspiration. It's neat to see the sculptures behind the "imagineers," and know they were a step towards such a creative and enduring endeavor. I am so inspired, every time I see this kind of behind the scenes work. It makes me excited to fire up my kiln, really soon...

Hurry back!