Greetings, Fellow Haunters:
I spent Saturday, May 5, 2012 at the HauntCon haunted convention, produced by Leonard and Jeanne Pickel. The venue this year was the Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, PA – a busy suburb of Pittsburgh. It’s close to a 3-hour drive from my home here in the Cleveland area.

The weather that day turned out to be really nice – lots of blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. But it sure started out spooky. Both the OH and PA turnpikes were mostly shrouded in fog that morning as I motored to the East. It was if the Halloween spirits already knew that I was coming to a haunt show and wanted to get me into the proper mood.

I arrived just after 8 AM – nearly two hours before the convention floor opened. But there were dozens of people there before me, getting ready to take classes. I saw four distinct tracks of classes throughout the day.

HauntCon took a different path for scheduling its classes than any other convention. Classes were held before and after the convention floor hours. For everyone who attended, there was nothing in your way to prevent you from spending the hours of 10 AM to 5 PM talking to vendors. From a vendor’s point of view, this was the royal treatment.

Overall, I have little knowledge about HauntCon and its history of eight annual conventions before this one. My only previous connection is that I attended the 2007 HauntCon, in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday.

That HauntCon has survived all these years, while never in the same place twice, is evidence that there are plenty of haunters who really want to get better. Some of the lecture classes had nearly a hundred attendees that day. The make-and-take seminars seemed to be completely filled up. The traffic on the convention floor was leisurely and friendly.

For the first time in many years, I stopped and chatted with nearly all the vendors at a haunted convention. Unlike most conventions I visit, I didn’t have anything special to do at HauntCon. I was there as an ordinary attendee. I paid my 35 bucks, got a clear plastic name badge, got a purple wristband and was treated just like everyone else there.

I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Very truly yours,
Rex B. Hamilton

Originally founded in 1934, legendary British film studio Hammer has delivered a hugely successful run of films over the years including Dracula, Frankenstein Created Woman, One Million Years B.C. and The Vampire Lovers. Since 2008, the company has been part of Exclusive Media, which is reinvigorating this beloved global brand through investment across both traditional and new media.

Not in production since the 1980s, Hammer marked their return to features in 2010 with the release of the critically acclaimed Let Me In, an adaptation of the highly praised Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in. The film was written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road).

In 2011, Hammer released Antti Jokinen’s The Resident starring two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry, Million Dollar Baby), Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee, as well as the critically lauded Wake Wood directed by David Keating and starring Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle and Timothy Spall.

February 2012 saw the theatrical release of Hammer’s first ever feature ghost story The Woman In Black, directed by James Watkins, adapted by Jane Goldman from the book by Susan Hill, and starring Daniel Radcliffe. The film has taken over $ 100mm worldwide making it one of the biggest indie horror films.

Hammer recently launched a new publishing imprint through Random House which has already published eight books. In February 2012 the imprint published its first original title with the much-praised “The Greatcoat” by Helen Dunmore, which will be followed by an original novel about the Pendle witches, by Jeanette Winterson, and “Coldbrook” by Tim Lebbon. Also publishing in 2012 are further new novelisations of classic Hammer films.

Hammer is also broadening its reach, with plans for a Hammer Theatre of Horror and a Hammer visitor attraction, as well as continuing to honour the company’s legacy with re-releases of classic films, official histories, merchandise, screenings and social media engagement.

For further information about Hammer and its parent company Exclusive Media, please visit www.hammerfilms.com and www.exclusivemedia.com

Hammer, Alliance Films, and Cross Creek Pictures re-team with acclaimed author Susan Hill on follow-up to The Woman In Black

2^nd April 2012:  Simon Oakes, Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media and President & CEO of Hammer and Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, Co-Chairmen of Exclusive Media, Hammer’s parent company, announced today that Hammer and Talisman are in development on Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, a new film which continues the story of The Woman in Black 40 years on.

The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake) has become the highest grossing British horror film of the past 20 years, grossing over $33 million in the UK and recently crossing the $120 million box office mark worldwide.

Screenwriter Jon Crocker (Desert Dancer) is now developing the screenplay for the next instalment in the series, The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, based on an original story by Hill, under development for the past few years and now complete.

The Woman in Black was set in the early 1900’s and based on the tale of a young lawyer who is ordered to travel to a remote corner of the UK, to sort out the papers of a recently deceased client. In the eerie setting of Eel Marsh House he discovers the vengeful ghost of The Woman in Black.  This next instalment, The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, will continue this story four decades later and focus on the concept of a couple and the experience they have when they encounter the haunted setting of Eel Marsh House.

The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death will be brought to the big screen by the same production team behind The Woman In Black. The Film will be produced by Exclusive Media, Talisman, Cross Creek Pictures and Alliance Films, in addition to Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, who will serve as Executive Producer.

Simon Oakes, Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media and President & CEO of Hammer Films said: “We are proud and honoured to be working with Susan again on The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, a wonderful new tale every bit as atmospheric and terrifying as its predecessor The Woman in Black.”

Nigel Sinclair Co-Chairman and CEO of Exclusive Media added: “It’s thrilling to be able to work with someone of Susan’s literary calibre on such a fascinating project. It’s also fantastic to have Jon on board again to help bring this new story to life on the big screen.”

For further information please go to:

Natasha Vickers / Natasha.Vickers@freud.com / 020 3003 6428

You can subscribe on the HauntCast website: http://hauntcast.net/subscribe/

I don’t work for HauntCast, of course. I am just one of thousands who enjoyed the show.

Many of you were fans of HauntCast, and were sad to see it go. This is a chance for the “hardcore” fanbase to bring it back from the dead. If they can get 250 subscribers by March 8, they will do another year. If they do not reach 250 by then, anyone who subscribed will be refunded.

If you never listened to HauntCast for whatever reason, PLEASE go to the website and at least listen to some of the older shows. http://hauntcast.net/2011/10/hauntcast-35-witchs-brew-1031/

HauntCast kept us current on upcoming events, reviewed movies, covered all aspects of haunt production and prop creation, and of course had interviews with successful home haunters.

The archived shows entertaining, informative, and just good fun. If we really want the haunt community to thrive, we need to support quality productions.

We cannot ask professionals to work for free. I hope Haunters will really step up and make HauntSpace one of the biggest supporters of the new HauntCast!

Bring back HauntCast! Subscribe TODAY @ http://hauntcast.net/subscribe/. If they get 250 subscribers by March 8, HauntCast will return!

Subscribers will receive discounts at these great Vendors:

Juneau Studios ~Save $50 of their DVDs. You pay $19.99, retail price $69.99.Receive a $250 certificate for any order of $1150 and save 60% on freight orders.

DC Props ~15% off his amazing props and mechanisms *except sale items, not valid September and October.

Fright Theatre ~15% off all product *except sale items, not valid September or October

Dark Imaginings ~20% off our changing portraits, $75 off custom changing portraits, as well as other discounts on our other products and services (graphic design, web design, video effects, etc).

Mini Spots ~15% off all lights

Vox Noctis Voiceovers ~$50 off any custom made voice over.

Shellhawk Creations ~15% her amazing hand-made pottery and FREE shipping.

Isher Creations on Etsy ~25% off

DBGgraphix is offering 50% OFF a logo or poster design for their haunts.

Monkey Basic is giving 20% of all their software.

Necrotic Creations ~

15% off their entire productline

With the $50 off Juneau Studios DVDs and $50 off Vox Noctis Voice Overs, you’ve made your money back and the show is basically free. Not to mention all the other discounts.

DC Props is donating a spitter mechanism, Fright Theatre is donating a prop, and Mini Spots Lights some LED lights to give away, raffle style, to subscribers if we reach the goal.

The weekly goal is 63 subscribers, if they aren’t half way to the goal in 2 weeks the plug is going to be pulled and Hauntcast will be gone forever. Don’t wait until later. Go right now to Hauntcast.net/suscbribe and subscribe right now!

HauntSpace member Shellhawk says: Victor the Undertaker of Haunted Hot Sauce has promised to create an new “Hauntcast Hot Sauce” if the show is resurrected!

ShellHawk also re-posted the following information that was found on YouTube and on the HauntCast Minions page: Chris poted a video to clarify things on YouTube and the Hauntcast Minions page.

Again, this is a fan-based thing, it doesn’t come from us.

That being said, both Juneau Studios and D.C. Props have stepped forward and offered significant discounts to subscribers. Chris has sweetened the pot by saying if you reach 350 subscribers by March 8th, he will drop the subscription price to $75 and refund the difference to those who paid $100 for the subscription.

Here are my honest feelings, and please understand, I’m just a regular person who doesn’t have a handler (though maybe I should!) or someone writing my press releases or whatever, so I don’t mean to offend anyone here. (Well, maybe one person, but, never mind…)

One our biggest detractors when we were asking for $1 per episode-citing how little money he had to spend- has been posting on the forums about how he just booked his hotel for Transworld. Hotel runs $115 per night to $89 per night , depending on hotel. Assuming the hotel runs $89, that’s a cost of $178 for Friday and Saturday night. If you have to fly, add the cost of plane tickets and a rental car or shuttle to get you there. You pay for two to three meals a day, plus overpriced booze at the hotel if you drink, and if you drink like the Scream Team, that’s a minimum of $300 per night bar tab! D I would guess that 80-90% of home haunters can’t afford to buy the props, which can run into the thousands. So that person, a douchebag who will go unnamed, who wouldn’t pay $12 a year and bashed us for going to a paid subscription is dropping a significant chunk of change to hang out with the cool kids, because he certainly won’t be buying props because he can’t afford them.

I’m not saying that a bunch of people out there aren’t having some really tough times. Some genuinely can’t afford the $100 for the year because they did the responsible thing and cut everything out of their budgets that wasn’t a necessity. But some people say they “can’t afford it” when they have all sorts of unused crap in their houses and garages that they could sell to go towards a subscription if actual cash flow was an issue. They could stop buying Starbucks every day and brown bag lunch. They could be taking glass, plastic and cans to the recycler or do any other of a multitude of things to raise the subscription money. ($100 a year breaks down to $8 a month, which is less than a movie ticket out here on the West Coast-that runs between $12 and $15 per ticket!)

What they’re actually saying, is “We love your show, and we want you back, but we want you to work for free again, because we really don’t value your work as much as we say when push comes to shove.”

This is why Hauntcast Show closed down in the first place: lack of real, tangible support when the chips were down. We’re not in it to make millions, folks. We just want to make at least minimum wage for our efforts.

Support HauntCast

Last year Matthew Freyer Productions hosted a contest like no other. We wanted to put a spotlight on some individuals who sometimes get overshadowed by the large commercial Haunted Attractions. Yes, we are talking about the extremely hard-working, do-it-yourself, “some of my neighbors hate me” – HOME HAUNTERS!

These guys do it for the love of doing it. Some Home Haunters put as much time, and a huge chunk of their own change, into developing their Haunts as commercial Haunts do. So we thought what better way to show these dedicated individuals our appreciation than to hold a contest where the winner would receive a custom, professionally designed website to show off their Home Haunt to the rest of the world.

Well, it’s back! Welcome to “The Second Annual Home Haunters Website Giveaway!” Be creative and represent your Home Haunt to the fullest. We are very excited to receive your entries and to see all the incredible talent out there.

Good Luck!

 http://www.matthewfreyerproductions.com/contest.html

Just like horror movies, haunters have become a predictable breed. Anyone that frequents haunted houses on a regular basis can usually tell you where the scares will come from as soon as they enter a room. This tends to detract from the experience as a whole. Sure, the lighting, soundtrack, actors, makeup and sets might be exquisite…but, if it is all predictable, it loses its effectiveness.

The only problem is that the industry, as a whole, was born of predictability and has grown from it. We, as haunters, are able to predict what will scare our patrons, where to place triggers and what the patrons will do once they are scared.  You may have heard the saying “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. So, I guess the real question at this point is; Are we sure it isn’t broken?

I believe it is. Sure, it works…but, does it work to the level you really want it? For me, that answer is a resounding NO. Startle scares, a staple of the industry, are all well and good, but I want more.  I want patrons to leave my haunt so terrified that it becomes a challenge to brave it again. I want college kids betting each other that they can’t make it through without getting truly scared. I want to introduce them to TRUE terror.

So, how do I do it?

Well, you can’t completely eradicate startle scares. They are still an effective tool to get a patron’s heart pumping but, you can’t rely solely on them or on animatronic props. Let’s face it…the majority of us do not have the budget to purchase animatronic characters of high enough quality to avoid them looking animatronic. They always seem to have that mechanical movement to them. Is it possible to minimize the use of these two staples of haunted houses and still maintain a terrifying haunted house? I believe so and I’ll tell you how.

You need to keep people in a position where what they expect to happen never does, and what does happen is something they would never expect.  It’s a lot like stage magic. It is the classic art of distraction and misdirection. Put those choppy moving animatronics to use as a distraction. Set them up in such a way as to catch your patrons’ attention and make them believe that this will be the source of the scare…BUT bring in a separate scare altogether.  It doesn’t even have to be from a different direction…it could come from directly behind the animatronic. The key is that you are catching them off guard and creating a scare that they did not expect.

Another concept to consider is to make the room itself the prop and the source of terror.  Imagine the effect you would have if, as your patrons walked down a seemingly normal hallway, the walls…floor…or ceiling suddenly came to life and chased the patrons towards the exit.  Now, I’ve seen the “Hallway to Hell” and other such setups that, in my personal opinion, are more suited for a traveling circus spook-house type setting than a true haunted house but, that is not what I am talking about. I am thinking more along the lines of the room becoming a living entity where, as the patrons near the end, comes to life and serves to push them out the exit.

Every haunted house has murderous lunatics, killer clowns and/or other life-taking villains in it, but what happens when the house itself becomes the villain? Imagine the possibilities and the fear you can create if you put your patrons inside the fear…instead of just having the fear running around them and popping out of the shadows? Imagine the terror you can fill them with if every time they THINK something is about to happen, something completely different happens…or nothing at all. If you can throw them completely off balance and put their senses into a tailspin.

Now, the old faithful startle scares can still be used and should be used…but need to be used not as the foundation of the haunt but rather as an accent piece.  Use the other methods to scare your patrons to death and use startle scares to put the nails in the coffin.  I don’t think any haunt will ever fully get away from startle scares. Even the state-of-the-art facilities out there using video screens and full robotics still use startle scares…they just do it in a high tech way.

One way to look at the difference between creating true fear and just startle scares is to look at the difference between horror movies in the 1930’s and horror movies from the 1980’s on. Think back to the first time you watched the Universal classics. If you have been watching horror movies ever since you should notice a difference pretty quick.  In the classic movies such as “Dracula”, “Frankenstein” and “The Mummy” there are two things you never see; you never actually saw anyone getting killed and you never actually saw blood. Nowadays, horror movies seem to be nothing but death and dismemberment. But, in their day, those classic movies inspired more fear than anything today has to offer.

These movies illustrate the point that sometime it is what you don’t see that provides the real shock because it lets your mind fill in the blanks and your mind fills those blanks with the scariest images it can conjure up to fit the situation. Movies today leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. This is the same scenario that we, as haunters, need to be aware of in our haunts.  Don’t put EVERYTHING out there…let your patrons’ imaginations work for you. Make them scare themselves by letting their imaginations work overtime.

My point in all of this is that scaring your patrons a few good times as they walk through the extravagantly designed hallways of your haunt is all well and good but, I want people to walk out of my haunts truly filled with terror. Raw…crippling…fear.  I want my patrons to be afraid to take the next step; not because of what might pop out at them but because the fear of the unknown will not let them take another step.  I want them to experience true fear; to be filled with terror from the moment they enter my haunt all the way until they run screaming from the exit. I do not want the occasional frightened shriek follow by the laughter of amusement. Maybe it’s just me, but laughter is not something you should hear a lot of in a haunted house.

Well, I think I have rambled on long enough now and hope that I have given you all a little insight into how to create an experience of terrifying proportions for your unsuspecting patrons and that we can begin to change the way that haunts nationwide approach their craft.