Ravencrest Cemetery

Hath but a mere half of a fortnight passed, since the glorious All Hallow's Eve... But why, prithee, dost thou tarry here still? Geteth, thou, thy ass to Ye Olde Gallerie of Still-Pictures, which doth bear witness to the marvelous festivities had, on this All Hallow's Eve most recently passed.

-Hauntingly yours,

    Lord Edgar P. Ravencrest (A.K.A. EEric)

So here we are...10 days from the party, 11 days from Halloween, and our yard is finally starting to look like something. Our temperatures have been 25 degrees below average for this time of year (in the 30's!!) and we had rain for 11 of the first 13 days of October (and more last night and this morning, and more later today, etc...).

But we've really pulled it together the last few weekends, you know...commiting to not being hung-over on Saturday and Sunday mornings so we can actually get up before noon and get work done...

And we got key contributions from a neighbor and new friend, Larry! He basically decked out our catacombs all by himself, freeing Missy and I to get other stuff done. Then another new friend, Paul, came over last weekend and helped with the beginnings of the witch's hut and finishing the roof of the mausoleum.

And this past weekend Missy and I had the opportunity to go to Worlds of Fun, the local amusement park, and drive our hearse in their Hallwoeen Haunt parade! They did makeup for us and we got to run around and scare people after the parade just like we worked there! It was a lot of fun, but holy geez was it freakin' COLD!!

We're doing it again Friday, I think. This time we know what to expect and we'll be better dressed...oh, and we'll have fangs this time...

Actually, they probably have more in common with the 3 Stooges... These will be three of the occupants of our catacombs. There will be one more, but he was resting in a coffin when this was taken, patiently awaiting his surgery to get new eyes. The two in the front are new additions this year...not bad for costing 1/3 of the other guys and weighing about 20 lbs less!

And here is Old Man Herbert:

He's our gravekeeper, also new this year. His lantern lights up and flickers, and he looks back and forth, surveying the cemetery to make sure nothing too evil is running about. He'll have an old rusty shovel soon...just need to procure it from a guy at work.

We have many more props to unveil in the coming week, and next weekend we should have the fence and columns up in the yard!

Hauntingly yours, 

-EEric

So yesteray was a good day...the rain subsided and we were able to finish our first two props of the year. Our "Dead Ringer" tombstone, and some flicker flame candles. We've got others in various states of completeness, but these two came out ahead. Check them out in the 2009 Photo Album.

Some Background:

Long ago, before medical science was what it is today... People were very worried about being pronounced dead when they really weren't, and then subsequently buried alive. The idea of "safety coffins" came about, which would have means for the not-actually-deceased inhabitant to alert the people above ground to their mistake, and they could then dig up the coffin and rescue the person (or unleash a zombie or vampire...). This tonbstone is an ode to this time, only in a cruel twist, no one cared enough to stick around to see if ol' Barry A. Lyve was actually burried alive or not...he rang and rang that bell, but eventually the string broke and he was left to die. Now he torments the living, by returning from his lonely grave to look for companionship, but he always warns you by still ringing the bell, from beyond the grave...

Sorry to disappoint, but there are really no Halloween props in this post...We are currently hanging out in our spider and dead bug-infested basement (did I mention it apparently has a very nice water feature?) waiting out a storm that, according to the NWS has "Hurricane Force Winds"...in Kansas...nowhere near a coast...figure THAT one out! And as I listen to the peaceful drone of water filling the sump, and the pump continually expelling it, Witchy Poo and Nosferatu are looking over my shoulder, proofreading...and wishing I would share some of this chianti with them. My Bride of Frankenshteen and our mini-monster are half with me...meaning the bride is nearly asleep and the monster is chewing on things to stave-off boredom. But it now sounds as if the howling winds that made the tree in our front yard touch its toes...again and again and again...are subsiding and we may yet squeeze some sleep out of this evening!

-Hauntingly yours...from the land of Oz...

-EEric

P.S. Where I come from, we eat munchkins for breakfast!! (Thank you Dunkin' Donuts!)

We got back from Joplin, MO Sunday, after our first Hearse Show! And we are very proud to announce that Rose won the 2009 People's Choice award at the show out of 16 hearses!!

And we had such a great time, that we are now happy members of The Chariots of the Dead hearse club!

Aside from all that excitement, I've got more supplies arriving this week, so more progress will be made on props in the coming days. I'm hoping to totally finish the first prop of the season (new skeleton FCG), and get a good jump on the second (animated grave digger)...right now he's only legs from the waist down. But they look so real it catches me off guard occasionally when I forget he's in our front room.

Hauntingly yours,

-EEric

So in trying to keep up better with this here bloggy thingie, I'm posting one. First of all, I posted a rough "how-to" on our rising Nosferatu prop in the Props section. Check it out!

Next, I'm pleased to announce that Missy and I will be taking Rose down to Joplin, MO for the Chariots of the Dead hearse show this weekend! Should be a good time!

And there are many props in various stages of being created right now, and more on the way! I'll post pics and how-to's as they are appropriate.

Hauntingly yours,

-EEric

I started my first prop of the new year the other day! Its our skeleton FCG! I got some great little motors form Surplus City for $2.99 each and these things are powerful and silent! Lots of possibilities with these...But I used some scrap wood I had laying around and built  frame, some scrap metal for the crank arm and viola! an FCG platform.


The ghost for this one is being made out of a blucky torso, bucky hands and a wig head carved to look like a skull!
       
Next I'll papier mache the whole thing to make it look uniform, and then paint with a base coat of off-white, some glow in the dark spray paint and then some black airbrushing and we should be good to glow! (HAHAHAHA!!! oh wait...that wasn't funny?...) Stay tuned!

Hauntingly yours,
-EEric

It has been a long time since I've been on here...I admit. We hit our quota on web content and I just recently upgraded to a real URL and got more space along with it! I've started planning some props, and once again, the expansionin ideas is already more than I promised myself I would allow...oh well.

So we plan on rerouting our TOTs in the yard to help provide a more "point A to point B experience. Last year we had people all over the place taking pictures and ogling our creations and kids running back and forth wanting to go see their favorite prop again. This year I think we'll use cornstalks to create more of a barrier and "maze" effect for the visitors, snaking them through the yard on a definite path.

Props planned:

• Two more FCGs. one made from a blucky carcass and one with three littel ghost on it. Our upstairs windows need some props too, you know?
• Gates for our columns. Found some almost ready-made at Big Lots!
• Dot room in the garage. Missy found a dot room setup at an estate sale last year for $35! Its time to put it to use!
• "Swamp" area with green laser "liquid sky" effect through fog.
• Creepy papier mache or monster mud tree.
• Maybe "rustify" the fence sections? Could look cool but could also be VERY time-comsuming!
• Maybe make more tombstones. We've got a ton we bought a few years back just to fill the yard, so I think its time we hit the cemetery and get ideas for realistic-looking custom tombstones!

That's not too much, right? We did a lot better job taking pictures last year, so we'll try to keep it up this year and do more regular updates to the site. 2008 Picture gallery to come soon! Oh, and WELCOME TO RAVENCREST!

Hauntingly yours,

-EEric

At least it may seem that way. We've been VERY busy! But pictures are slowly making their way onto the site from this year's workshop. I hit my web quota this morning, so I need to either delete a bunch, or upgrade...

But the fence, columns and cemetery arch went up last weekend...yes, I know. Mid September. We've got a lot to do and it keeps us from worrying about it later. I think we're gonna like being on a corner lot...


Hauntingly yours,
-EEric