Greetings Halloween Lovers! Welcome to the 5th Issue of the Fear Crafters Newsletter! This is our Biggest Issue so far! We need your help! If you would like to write and article or suggest a subject for the newsletter, please Click Here to send it to us! Please note all images and videos are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the owners permission! This edition's features: (click on article to go directly to that section) What's New Featured Haunt - The Beast & The Edge of Hell Featured Web Site - Twisted Visions Inc. Featured Product - Special Effect/Theatrical Contact Lenses Tips and Tricks - Various Tips & Tricks to help you this season! For The Home - Gonish, Dark Candles & Design Toscano Magazines/Books - Haunted Attaction Magazine (new look, new owner!) Recipes - Homemade candy corn/pumpkins, Halloween Punch, Hot Spiced Witches Brew, Pumpkin Pie Pinwheel Cookies Extra Goodies - Games and Movie Trailers Happy Halloween! Greetings to all! As the season is now HERE we hope everyones planning and project making is going great! Just a reminder to all of you busy little ghouls of the fun events we have planned for October! October 22nd - Haunted Bus Trip (up to Omaha and to 3 Haunted Attractions) *Deadline to sign up for the Haunted Bus Trip is October 14th!* October 10th - Fear Crafters Annual Kick Off Party! For more information on these events go to the calendar of events page! If you get the chance to visit with someone who shares the same enthusiasm we have about the Halloween season let them know about Fear Crafters! We love to welcome new members and meet more people who share the same hobby! We wish everyone a fun and safe Halloween! Happy Haunting! Brad & Tracy New Sections for the Newsletter! As you may have noticed I have added some new sections to the newsletter. These are "For the Home" and "Magazines / Books". As I enter different features, articles and such to the newsletter new sections will be added. They may not all end up at once in a newsletter but that is my goal! Transylvania Television (TVTV) This is a cute "adult" puppet show with a Halloween theme. You can go to tvtv online youtube channel to watch all kinds of episodes or you can watch the whole 1st season in the video below! Their offical web site is www.transylvania-tv.com A great video I came across showing how to make molds of skulls using "great stuff" spray foam! Spook House Dave Ok here is another Halloween puppet show I came accross. This one is more for kids (I would say junior high age), the main character "Dave" is 12 years old. He lives in a castle so of course you have frankenstein (Bobo), Hagatha, a vampire, a mummy and more for characters. The episodes are about going to a school dance, a science fair at school, and his lost backback. The episodes are pretty cool but you be the judge if it's appropriate for your kids. The link to the web site is www.spookhousedave.com They are suppose to have a new episode every day in October plus a Halloween Special, check out the web site for more information! Watch one of the episodes (school dance-episode 2) below! Now available! Hallowindow III Some of you have had the chance to preview Hallowindow I and Hallowindow II, now Mark Gervais has released his third version for the 2009 Halloween season. As always it looks great, take a moment and watch the preview video below. For more information on Hallowindow III, other dvds and videos available from Mark go to www.hallowindow.com The Beast & The Edge of Hell Let me start by saying....WOW! As some of you know Brad and I took a trip down to Kansas City to visit "The Beast" and "The Edge of Hell" Haunted Attractions and to go to the Reniassance Festival in Bonnersprings. So I decided to make these two both the "Featured Haunt" for this Special Extra Large edition of the Fear Crafters Newsletter! First lets start with a little background information. Both "The Beast" and "The Edge of Hell" are owned by Monty Summers who is the owner/president of Full Moon Productions. Monty started with "Summers Moonglo Theater" in 1974 then growing into a larger venue "The Edge of Hell" was born in 1975. "The Beast" was born in 1991. Many articles that have been written on "The Beast" and say that it is the best haunt in America. Now I know everyone has different tastes and will have their own favorite one whether it is this one or another great one somewhere in the US. Out of all the different ones I have been to either locally or out of the state through tours at conventions (and NO I have NOT been to them all) I do have to say this one is the best one I've been to so far, my favorite and the most impressionable. "The Beast" resides in a 5 story old abandoned warehouse that is about 1/4 of a city block wide/square. This place is HUGE! All of the scenes in this place are extremely detailed and you really feel that you are in a different place, time and realm. You will find yourself walking through a "london" town at night, a foggy forest with werewolves, a swamp (with a real alligator!), castle (complete with dungeon rooms) and many more! Besides all the different scenes there are also many different mazes, tunnels, rooms with trick doors and 2 slides to go down. During your journey through the haunt you get photographed and then at the end of the haunt as you are exiting though the gift shop you can see and/or purchase your photo. Unlike here in Nebraska they can have areas that are in complete darkness leaving you only to feel the walls to find your way out, of course all of the dead ends you'll run into won't make it any easier. "The Beast" has some aniamtronics but is mostly staffed by actors which gives you plenty of unexpected scares and startles! One of the things that amazes me and that I really enjoyed is that "The Beast" is not a gore house. I'm sure there was some blood and guts through out but I honestly can't remember seeing any besides a couple of actors in the dungeon that had a few body parts missing. We spent at least an hour going through "The Beast" so you really get your moneys worth. And considering the size of the building not suprising. As amazing as the haunt looked and how well it was put together I could seriously just live there and lead a happy haunted life! The Edge of Hell This haunt is different than "The Beast", and as it should be. "The Edge of hell" is also in a large 5 story building pretty much the same size as "The Beast", maybe a little smaller. In "The Edge of Hell" you spend a lot of your time going through mazes in pitch black darkness. "The Edge of Hell" has a few more animatronics than "The Beast" but, it also has a lot of actors. Through the sights and sounds "The Edge of Hell" gives you the feeling of being on "the edge of hell" and surrounded by the creatures of it. You will see flying actors, cross a swinging bridge, see vampires and go through a really cool room of stars that changes into a room of spirits. You will also have areas you need to crouch down or crawl through and a vortex tunnel to get across. You will get stuck in dark rooms, mazes, and just when you think you have it figured out, you don't and one of the unforunate souls in that room will help you escape. You will also find yourself going through a scene with many "live" snakes and one is extememly huge! One of the things I didn't like about this haunt is that in some of the mazes the way out was to go right next to props which were purposely set up to smack you or hit you as your made your way by. Keep in mind that the props that hit you are latex but, it was very annoying. As you make your way through various scenes, tunnels and trick rooms you eventually make you way up to heaven just to find that they won't let you in and you are sent by a 5 story spiraling slide back down to hell and into the gift shop at the bottom which is the end of your journey. Overall this was a great haunt but, I would have liked to have seen more eye candy and spend less time in the dark. Twisted Visions This web site is great it has all kinds of helpful information like, tips and examples of painting and air brushing. How to's on props - His how to's are very descriptive and have lots of pictures, the instructions are easy to follow and all the pictures help in seeing what he is explaining. Here are a few of the props he has instructions for - the Zombie, monster, six foot tall pneumatic vampire, the Death chair, tomb stones, the mummy, foam monster hands, & a candle flicker F/X unit using a dimmer switch. More information on How to do molding, Air Brush make up, Monstermud, Foam Sculpting, and a link to his ebay store where he sells props and supplies. He also has information and pictures of a haunted house he created with the local high school kids in his area and was open for 2 weeks! A web site well worth spending time at and checking out! Twisted Visions Inc. - Special Effect/Theatrical Contact Lenses A few of our members have been asking about the Special Effect/Theatrical contact lenses so I thought I would make them the "featured product" for this issue! If you do get a pair of these be sure to store them in a regular contact lense case with regular contact soulution/disinfectant. Clean them with new solution and gently rubbing the contact, then rinse again with soulution before wearing them the next time. I have used mine for about 3 years but, keep in mind that you are only suppose to use them for a year then get a new pair, for safety reasons. * If you plan on attending a Haunt convention and may purchase a pair of these, bring with you a case or two plus a bottle of contact solution/disinfectant to store them in as you can NOT put them back into the containers they come in! * The Basics: What exactly are they? Special Effect/Theatrical contact lenses are contact lenses that can completely change your eyes! They are made so you can see clearly through them (unless frosted or stated otherwise) and they are soft. They are also available with a prescription but, you will pay 3 times as much for them. They are made to go over prescription contact lenses - just make sure to keep you eyes real moist and place in cleaner/disinfectant when done to seperate your regular contact from the special effect one. They all come with NO prescription unless specifically ordered to have one. If you don't normally wear contact lenses, have no fear you can wear these! And being soft makes it easy. When you put them in for the first time, it probably will take you quite awhile and it will take some practice to get them in quickly. It also may take a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to them once you do sucessfully get them in. You may have a little foginess or irritability and/or your eyes may water but rest assured it will go away within a couple of minutes (if not try taking out the contact in the eye that is bothering you and while holding it on your finger tip like a little bowl, turn it over and press on the center to reverse the lense and try putting them in again. I know if you do have the contact inside out it will really make your eyes burn and water, I'm not sure why but it sucks! Types: As far as I know there are three types of these kind of lenses. One of our members have tried the Large kind and said the lenses rubbed/irritated their tear ducts and couldn't wear them, just a heads up. I know everyone is different but, just something to consider if you are thinking about getting these. Designs: There are many different designs and colors to choose from. Of course the more elaborate the design or complex the color the more they cost. Below are some samples of different types available! As you can see they come in a wide variety of colors, types and designs. Including, cat, creature, solid colors, frosted, mixed colors, symbols, and even blacklight reactive-these look like a normal eye color until under a black light then they glow, a great effect! I freaked out lots of people with these, I have the blue. Price: Ok price varies on the lenses, if you buy them at a "Haunt" convention you can purchase a PAIR for about $40 to $50 bucks a pair, of course if you get the medium or large ones you will pay more for them. If you buy them online be prepared to pay about twice that amount it will be about $50 or so for EACH LENSE not for a pair. If you look for these online please pay attention to the price making sure the price is for a pair or a single lense! I have heard (but I am not for sure) that lens crafters and walmart offer the Halloween Special Effect lenses but still not for the price that you could buy them for at a "Haunt" convention. * one of our members said that "Party America" had some pairs for sale last year* I do not know what the cost of these were or if they will carry these this year. The Look: These are a great addition to any costume or character! They make a huge difference especially if your guests are going to see you close up. Here are some photos of people wearing the contacts for examples: Various Tips & Tricks to help you out this season! For this newsletter Brad suggested that I put a variety of Tips & Tricks, ones that may help you with your haunt or display this year as you will be setting up soon! So here you go, I hope you find these helpful. For Spiderwebs: If using a hot glue web shooter, first hang clear fishing line across the area (tie, tape, use a dab of hot glue to secure) then apply your webs. The fishing line will give your webs something to cling/stick to and this will help prevent sections from falling off (while shooting your webs)from the weight of lots of hanging webs in one area before they cool. Another tip for spiderwebs whether you are using the store bought stretchy ones or shooting your own is to spray the webs with grey primer spray paint, before the paint has dried dust with mortar or dust to give a more "aged" realistic look. And one more web trick, if you are using a blacklight and the stretchy store bought webs, buy some rit brand "whitner brightner" (powder mix with one gallon of water, liquid is already diluted) place in a bucket with the spiderwebs and soak for a couple of hours, ring out and hang to dry. When ready put them up as normal - the webs will glow a very bright light blue. A lighting trick: If you are using a normal house light bulb, whether using a colored or a regular white one, you can use "heat resistant" spray paint on them to "dim" the light. You can purchase this paint at your local hardware stores it is typically used on BBQ grills - I believe it has a picture of one on the can. A trick for lab jars: If you need a quick way to make some jars of liquid that glow in a blacklight area/scene, get some jars and some highlighters. Take the back piece off the highlighter so you can remove the foam tube that has all the "color" in it. Place this into the jar and add water (don't fill all the way if you are adding items to the jar such as a brain, eyeballs or what ever) let sit for a 1/2 hour or so then pull the foam piece out and squeeze all the water out of it into the jar and presto, quick, easy, and effective! *You can also use tonic water all by itself it glows under a black light!* A lighting trick: GOBLIN LIGHTS - I came across this on the internet and this article is directly from www.halloweenonlinemagazine.com Goblin Lights, as we call them, produce a very eerie effect that we first used in the late eighties for one of our outdoor Halloween parties. Looking up, your visitors see strange glowing lights bobbing gently in the night sky with no apparent means of support. This effect is simple and really gets attention! We usually put up six or eight Goblin Lights at slightly different heights over our yard and house. All you need are some Light Sticks, 16" black balloons, helium and light weight fishing line. Light Sticks are usually considered to be light-weight, but compared to the weak lifting power of helium every gram of weight makes a difference. Generally, one 16" balloon filled with helium will lift one of the small Light Sticks, but to lift one of the larger ones you'll either need a balloon with a capacity twice that of a 16" balloon or two 16" balloons tethered together. Compare the two Light Sticks on the right. The small one is found just about everywhere during the Halloween season and weighs only 9.4 grams. The larger one on the right is a more powerful, 30 minute Light Stick that produces a very bright orange light. It weighs 21.2 grams, more than twice as much. This means you need more than twice as much helium to lift it. Helium for your balloons can be bought in disposable tanks or you can have the balloons filled at a local party shop. First fill a black 16" balloon with helium and tie it off. Securely tie one end of some light-weight fishing line to the balloon. Let out about twelve feet of line from the balloon and tie a Light Stick to the fishing line. The distance from between them helps to keep the illumination from the Light Stick from reflecting off of the surface of the balloon and giving away the secret. Just before you're ready to launch the balloon, snap the Light Stick and give it a good shake to activate it. Now let out the line allowing the balloon, with it's cargo to raise into the sky. When it's at the desired height, we like between fifty and a hundred feet, cut the line and tie it off the something stronger than the pull of the balloon. Obviously this effect will only work at night, preferable with little or no moonlight showing. Wind is a real problem, even a light breeze will push the balloon away and down towards the ground, preventing the balloon from raising straight up. Since Cyalume sticks come in different colors and intensities you can mix-and-match to create a great Halloween effect. Here are some items to help make you home more like the Halloween Holiday all year long! Dark Candles - www.darkcandles.com Do you want to have the aromatic delights of the season in your home? Something a little different than your regular pumpkin scented candles? With the variety of candles, simmering oils and body care available from Dark Candles you can enjoy the smells of Halloween, Autumn, spice and many more dark delights all year round. There are many creatively named and mixed scents, here are just a few...... Haunted house, bon fire, sage, Nosferatu, full moon, coffin, crypt moss, dark carnival, forbidden fruit, Liquored-Up Tart. If you would like to get a variety of votives to sample the different scents they have the option of you selecting your own choices to create a dozen or 1/2 package, this is great to sample the different scents they have! You can get the candles in a wide variety of sizes from tealights to pillars, they also offer their scents in simmering oil, body lotion, wax tarts, Sachets, silky body wash, lip balm, body mist and much more! Something a little different for any girl or ghoul! Gonish - www.gonish.com Do you like incense? No, not the ones that only have a scent to them before you burn them but once you light them they smell like the "punks" you get on the 4th of July to light your fireworks with. Gonish is a very popular brand known to be one of the best incense companies out there. As they have a wide variety of different scents to choose from they also carry Halloween and Autumn scents that smell great! The Halloween and Autumn scents are "Spooky Boo", "Autumn" and "Witches Brew". All three of these will fill the air with a wonderful mixture of holiday delight! You can order direct from Gonish's website or I found a Ebay store that sells them a little cheaper, here is the link, http://stores.shop.ebay.com/The-Scented-Realm__W0QQ_armrsZ1 . This store has great customer service and very fast shipping. When I placed an order with The Scented Realm Ebay didn't combine the shipping correctly (I purchased 6 items) the store owner sent me an email the next day to let me know and immediately refunded the difference to my paypal account all before I had the chance to email them with the question of if the shipping amount was correct! Definately an A+ in my book! Design Toscano - www.toscano.com Want some awesome items for your home? Here you can find a large collection of all kinds gargoyles, dragons, faries, vampires, and more in various forms such as lights, wall sconces, wall art, garden items, etc. Their product line includes Egyptian, Medieval, Gothic and other period pieces along with an extensive collection of garden fountains, statuary, authentic canvas replicas of oil painting masterpieces, and other antique art reproductions. A must see for anyone looking for something different for their home or yard. Haunted Attraction Magazine- New look, New owner! If you have had the chance to look at and read a copy of Haunted Attraction Magazine you know that it is a great magazine full of interviews, reviews, tours of Haunted Attractions and many differnt articles. It truely is a great source of information not only for owners but for anyone involved in the Haunt Industry. Leonard Pickel owned and was the editor of Haunted Attraction Magazine until March of 2009. He was approached by John Kennedy who wanted to purchase the magazine and was full of new ideas, avenues and new energy. Leonard after 14 years and 50 issues, knew it was the best thing for the future of the magazine. Of couse he is not leaving the magazine Leonard is still the Editor. In the new issue of HA that has just come out, you can see right away that it is different. New cover layout with a new design, which looks very nice! There are also new sections such as "Artist Spotlight", "Spotlights on 3 different attractions" which can be pro (profit), non-profit, or home haunts, "Truly"& "Icon Characters". Lots of full color pictures, information and don't forget the ads from various haunt vendors, haunt events and other related industry companies. Not only has the magazine changed but, the web site www.hauntedattraction.com has too. They have a totally new web design, sections/pages and features to help provide even more haunt information, some are still in the works. I love the new issue and of course I always have loved the Haunted Attraction Magazine, Leonard did an outstanding job! Homemade Candy Corn or Pumpkins Makes 1 3/4 lbs. of candy (recipe can easily be doubled) 1 c. sugar 2/3 c. white corn syrup 1/3 c. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/3 c. powdered milk food coloring (optional) 1. Combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup in pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and boil 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and add vanilla. 2. In a separate dish, combine powdered sugar, salt, and powdered milk. Add all at once to the mixture in the pan. Add food coloring if desired. Let mixture stand until slightly warm to touch, about 20 minutes (though could take longer depending on the temperature of your kitchen). To shape into traditional kernel pieces: 1. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces; place each piece in small bowl. 2. Add several drops of yellow food coloring to one piece of dough. Using plastic gloves to protect hands, knead food coloring into dough until smooth and color is even. Repeat using red and yellow food coloring (to make orange) with second piece. Leave last piece white; knead dough until smooth. 3. Roll each piece into a thin rope (don’t roll too thin or dough will break). Push three ropes together to form long rectangle. Using sharp knife, cut ropes into triangles. Using fingers, shape candy corn as desired. 4. Store at room temperature in airtight container, separating layers with pieces of waxed paper to prevent sticking. To shape into mellowcreme pumpkin pieces: 1. Add several drops of orange food coloring (or a bit of red and a bit of yellow--that's what I did!) to dough. Using plastic gloves to protect hands, knead food coloring into dough until smooth and color is even. 2. Roll out dough into small balls and set on sheets of wax paper. 3. Push a small green candy sprinkle into top of each ball for a stem (I used the holly leaves from a Christmas holly berry and leaf mix). 4. Store at room temperature in airtight container, separating layers with pieces of waxed paper to prevent sticking. Halloween Punch 1 large punch bowl 1/2 gal. of orange sherbert 2 liter of cream soda or club soda - use only 1/2 2 liter of orange soda or mountain dew - use only 1/2 grapes or marchino cherries Optional: 1 small chunk of dry ice (use thick gloves & do not touch with bare skin or fingers!) Mix ingredients together and if using dry ice add after other ingredients are mixed. Then serve Hot Spiced Witches' Brew INGREDIENTS 3 cups boiling water 1 pkg. (8 serving size) JELL-O Brand Orange Flavor Gelatin 1 quart boiling apple juice 8 cinnamon sticks DIRECTIONS: Stir boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in boiling apple juice. Pour into 8 mugs. Serve hot with cinnamon sticks. Pumpkin Pie Pinwheel Cookies Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup canned pumpkin 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/4 cup plus 1 cup brown sugar Whipped cream, for serving, optional Ground nutmeg, for serving, optional Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt together twice. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Combine egg, vanilla and almond extract and add to creamed mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add sifted ingredients and mix only until combined; dough should be stiff. Roll dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a 12 by 9-inch rectangle, using 1 long sheet of parchment paper that is folded in half. Make sure that you roll out the dough evenly. Cut the edges off neatly with a bench scraper to even them. Place dough in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes. Mix together the canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 cup brown sugar for filling. Remove dough from freezer and peel back the top parchment paper. Thinly spread the pumpkin filling evenly over the dough. Don't spread too thickly; you should still be able to see the dough through the pumpkin slightly. If you don't use all of the filling, it is okay. Starting at 1 end, roll up the ends in the same manner as a cake roll. Make sure that you keep it tight and even. If the dough cracks slightly, simply rub it together with your fingers. Wrap the roll in the parchment paper, seam side down, and place back in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour. Slice cookies 1/4-inch thick and place onto a cookie sheet at least 1-inch apart. Sprinkle brown sugar on the tops of the cookies and rub it in with your fingers. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the edges are turning brown. Serve cookies on a platter with a small bowl of whipped cream and nutmeg so that guests can make pumpkin pie pinwheel sandwiches. This makes it taste even more like pumpkin pie! Extra Goodies! Still hungry for more? Here are a few extra goodies for your hunger! A fun & addictive pumpkin game Instructions: The object is to hit the pumpkin as far as you can! Click the skeleton to drop the pumpkin from out of the tree. Click the skeleton again to hit the pumpkin before he hits the ground. You have to time it just right. Try to beat your best score. How far can you hit it? NEW universal pictures movie Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which hits theaters on Ocotber 23rd. Watch the trailer below New Movie! Well actually it has been made and ready to release last year and now it is finally being released October 6th! Check out the movie trailer for Trick R' Treat! The Twilight Saga: New Moon 2nd in the series, this one is to be in theaters 11-20-2009. Watch the trailer below The Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer in HD Zombieland Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other. Yes another zombie comedy but this one has the kind of comedy that only Woddy Harelson can bring! Watch the trailer below: Where the Wild Things Are This film will combine voice performances, live-action puppetry and computer animation to dramatize the ad-ventures of Max, a rebellious young boy who runs away from home after a fight with his mother and finds himself in a forest where the wild things roam. Warner Bros. will finally release this adaptation in theaters October 16th. Saw VI In theaters October 23 Watch the trailer below: Transylmania Arriving in theaters December 4th from Full Circle Releasing is a new horror comedy by the name of Transylmania.