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Spyder’s Web: Haunt & Halloween Bloggers, Facebook Groups, & What Happened to Darryl?

Haunt Bloggers, Halloween Bloggers, Halloween WebsitesIn Episode 14 of HaunTopic Radio we spin our new segment “Spyder’s Web” where we wrap up with a few of our favorite bloggers, facebook groups & pages, and talk about the real trauma Darryl has suffered over the past few days.

Halloween & Haunt Bloggers are those passionate few that really enjoy sharing their dark adventurous lives with the rest of the world. Running a website/blog is a very demanding task if you are not enjoying what you are writing. That may explain why 95% of all bloggers stop writing or posting within the first 90 days. You must be willing to help others, enjoy sharing your daily/weekly experiences, and stay dedicated to your craft. These bloggers we have listed are just a few of our fellow friends who have influenced us in one way or another. They are all definitely worth a few minutes just to see if they can help you discover new ideas or maybe you can relate to their passion for all things scary…

Facebook Groups & Pages provide updates, ideas, & relationships. Here are the ones we tend to hangout at and a few of our picks where you can find information about Haunting, discover new friends to link up with, & join small communities that share ideas with each other. (We mentioned many on the podcast that are not listed here.)
Congrats to the winners of this month’s give away! Robert Dean wins a Copy of Fright Times Magazine & Mark Sloat wins a copy of Dark Ride from Prelude to a Nightmare. Make sure to play next month, we’ll be giving away more prizes.

What are Your Favorite Groups, Favorite Blogs & Websites, & Favorite Places to Hang Out?

The West Coast Haunter’s Convention: Tapping into the Mind of Ed Roberts

Haunt ConventionIn Episode 13 of HaunTopic Radio, we mind travel to the West Coast and share a few moments with Ed Roberts; the man behind The West Coast Haunter’s Convention. It will be held in Portland, OR on June 1-3, 2012 at the Doubletree Hotel. This convention is open to all Halloween fans, Home Haunters, Haunt Owners, Vendors, Artists, and everyone else who loves the Dark & Scary. And it only costs $40 for the whole weekend.

We’re talking Haunt Tours, Make & Takes, Pretty Hearses to look at, Haunters like You to talk to, Over 40 Classes, Tradeshows, a Costume Ball, and many other possibilities. Ed is also helping The Oregon School for the Def by using money earned from the Convention to support to those who need it most. Watch the video below: The Extreme Makeover comes to help out the school & their Haunt.

All of this….all on the West Coast…and for charity?

Oh yeah…he is offering all Home Haunters a FREE TABLE at the convention. 

 

More Information About The West Coast Haunter’s Convention:

Listen to Episode 11 to Enter The Contest for the month of May. Click Here.

 

The Midwest Haunter’s Convention: What You Didn’t Know & Why You Should Go

Halloween & Haunt Show

In Episode 12 of HaunTopic Radio, we sit down & discuss The Midwest Haunter’s Convention with Barry & Kathy Schieferstein. If you have questions about prices, classes, tours, events, or stuff to do at night…then turn this one up.

The Midwest Haunters Convention is located in Columbus, OH on June 8-10 and is a weekend event planned for Haunted Attraction Producers, Actors, Makeup Artists, Technicians and Home Haunters. The MHC goal is to provide you with educational seminars and workshops with experienced presenters, a 75+ vendor tradeshow with the latest in haunt offerings, and a place to network with others in the industry during their fun social activities. If you are involved in a haunted house in any way then MHC is the place to be!

Don’t forget to enter the contest. We are giving away a CD from Prelude to a Nightmare & another copy of Fright Times Magazine but you have to listen to Episode 11 to hear the rules. We’ll announce the winners on the Episode we release on May 26. The DEADline is May 24.

 

GO HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION:

The Midwest Haunter’s Convention Website: Sign-Up, Get Classes, Learn More…

Midwest Haunter’s Facebook Page: Get Live Updates.

Kristy Noble’s Saturday Class on Controllers : Using VSA and the Pololu Control Center from a Home-Haunters Perspective!

The Complete List of Classes at the MHC: Learn & Share Your Ideas With Others.

 

Creating Haunt Music with Prelude to a Nightmare..are you listening?

Prelude to a NightmareIn Episode 11 of HaunTopic Radio we talk with Scott Karan, the man behind the creepy & whimsical sound of Prelude to a Nightmare. A new generation of Haunt Music has begun…

Scott didn’t realize how massive the Haunt Industry was until he started composing music for a Haunt that he was trying to help out. One piece of audio flowed into another and before long his dark journey into the world of  horror began. Click here to listen to 3 Soundscapes of Scott’s Music & an Interview with the man behind it all.
 

 
Like any artist; we grab our tools, find our ‘place’, & go to create. Scott Karan does the same with his talent. Here are some of the nice things his customers have said about him:
 

“Showcases the same magical whimsy as a Danny Elfman Score…it definitely sets the creepy mood.”
Rue Morgue

“Spooky and atmospheric, it’s perfect music for your moldering sanctum!”
Chad Savage – Pumpkincult.com

“EVERYONE should have your Halloween album!”

Zombie Hot Sauce via Twitter

“If you’re a fan of music from folks like Midnight Syndicate or Nox Arcana then you’ll love the dark Gothic soundscape woven by Prelude to a Nightmare.”
Raven’s Burrow

 
Listen to the podcast to find out Where Scott Finds Inspiration to Fuel His Creativity, How You Can Start to Make Your Own Haunt Music, & How To Win A FREE CD from Prelude to a Nightmare. Just click that play button (you know you want to)…….

 

Find More Here:

How to Make Your Own Mask and Where to Buy One…just in case.

CFX Mask

In Episode 10 of HaunTopic Radio we discuss the essentials for Molding Your Own Mask, Where to Get the Supplies, & Where to Buy One if you don’t want to spend the creativity & time to do it. Making your own mask for the first time can be a rewarding and learning experience & designing another one will be too. With a little cash and a few hours you can have a few solid molds that you can replicate many masks from and hand them out to your actors. Make each one different with a unique paint job, tears, half-masks, hair, scars, etc. Heck, you can even let the actors design their own. It’s a Haunt….things are supposed to be strange.

What we discovered on this journey of mold making & mask vendors…..there is an endless supply out there! Information overload on how to make one and 100’s of stores selling them. So by no means is this ALL of the resources we found. We HIGHLY recommend buying from your local hobby stores & factories before buying online. But if you don’t have that luxury here is the next best thing. These are just a few from recommendations from our facebook friends and personal experiences. I had many more I wanted to list but I forced myself to stop. You’ll find videos, FREE E-Books, and How-To Guides to get you on the right track on making your own. We also provided a few mask vendors to check-out.

Please leave your feedback in the comments below to let us know where you get your supplies and 

have you ever made your own mask?

Facebook Comments from:

GutRot Effects with so many vendors and companies catering to the fx artist out there … make sure you do your homework on what web-sites and vendors you get your supplies from ,, there are many variances in quality and price . so look before you buy.. building a relationship with the right vendors for you haunt or sfx business is very important in many ways , from prices to shipping times to the quality of the product you get from them..”

Claire Brooksbank Supplies – Far West Materials, or Georgie’s (local pottery supply – has gallons of slip latex). Ideas…. my brain, generally. Lots of video game inspirations, though.”

Damon Carson Best mask company for quality, wearablity, comfort, and movement and price! Hands down Zaggone Masks! Chicago Illinois!”

Chris Haynes Mehron is where we order our liquid latex (by the Gallon) from. It’s Hollywood quality like everything else they sell. Makes any other liquid latex we’ve tried look like watered down junk! Also get the little bottles of coagulated blood from them too.”

Allan Bennett CFX for silicone, Death Studios for latex.”

Jeff Davis For masks I think Death Studios makes the best quality. For supplies I shop at Smooth-On.com. They are not the cheapest but the quality and consistency are top notch. They also have a large selection of products and are always coming up with better and more innovative ones.”

“Kyle Arruda I just my mold stuff from BITY like everyone else. They rock, and their YouTube videos are helpful! I also use Monster Makers, fx warehouse, and smooth on. Never had problems with any! They all rock!”

Jim Shackelford Clay and plaster we get from a local pottery supply place by the box/bag. Latex we order by the drum. Silicone and other smaller quantity products we purchase from a place here in Dallas called Bitty Mold Supply.

Alex Lohmann We by lots of stuff from Bity, Latex, silicons and tints, prosade, skin illustrator, etc…. We get some of our clay from him. He get most of our airbursh makeup at the hobby stores. We get a couple of things from the Wolfbros at trade shows and a couple of specific things we get at Norcostco in Dallas like the Ben Nye Thick and Scabby Blood that we like.

Beth Johnson We get most of our mold supply stuff from Douglas and Sturgis , Smooth-On and Monster Makers. Most of our make up supplies come from Frends Beauty Supply and a local store.

Katie Lane I luckily have a great local makeup shop (Jinxed), but I also order Mehron from Evilusions and mold supplies from Monster Makers.

Shawn Morse Ben Nye and Graftobian (I love their blood gel) stuff from local costuming store and simple supplies from local dollar store.

Auburn Haunted House Paint and Powder, Morris Costumes and Graftobian (for airbrush there is nothing better)

 

MAKE YOUR OWN MASK: (All sites listed sell products.)

BITY Mold Supply on YouTube: 114 Videos, 11,958 Subscribers, & almost 7 Million Views!

BITY Mold Supply: Supplies & More Info.

Smooth-On: How-To Articles on Mold Making & a FREE E-Book on Mold Making & Casting

Smooth-On: Over 50 FREE Videos of Mold Making & Special FX 

Monster Makers: Make Your Own Half-Mask

Monster Makers: Supplies & Links to More How-To’s

Douglas & Sturgess: Mask Making Supplies & Other Art Stuff

FX WareHouse: Special FX supplier that has been around since 1985.

 

OR BUY ONE INSTEAD: (These are just the ones we mentioned here. There are MANY more.)

1313FX Fright Zone: Large selection of Latex Half-Masks with a wide strap for comfort. Avg price: $20

Mostly Dead: Foam Latex Masks & Prosthetics that you can paint yourself. Avg price: $35

Zagone Studios: Movable mouth latex masks known for comfort and price. Avg price: $50

Trick or Treat Studios: Creative and retro vibe to these latex masks. Avg price: $55.

Death Studios: A reputable latex mask maker that ‘s been around awhile. Avg price: $75 

Shattered FX: Silicone mask maker with half-masks and full-masks. Avg price: $299 (half-masks)

Immortal Mask: Silicone mask maker that states they have the strongest masks. Avg price: $525

CFX: A popular silicone mask maker with very realistic masks. Avg price: $569.

 

 Buy Music Here from Midnight Syndicate has heard in the show.