Some photos of the scarecrow prop redo. In prior versions the post was made from wood and staked down into the ground. The staking portion had to be done minus the head and arms. Wind and rain usually would knock it down a few times prior to Halloween. It had to be taken apart before it could be put back up. A real pain.

The new version outside of the ribs and braches is all pvc. A 4 ft metal post is staked into the ground and the entire assembled prop is slid down over the stake. It can easily be removed if needed.

Great Stuff as usuall with all my props is smeared over everything to give it texture and have it appear rotten. The new scarecrow is much taller and comes in just under 9ft.

Looking at about mid October, the 16th or so for setup. In the meantime enjoying the cornstalks.

Blaze, Legends, and Horseman's Hollow

Tickets are now available to the general public for all Historic Hudson Valley Events.

Grab them while you can ...they sell out fast.


http://www.hudsonvalley.org


I'm in for Blaze as usual and Legends Day this year.

A new attraction has been added, Horseman's Hollow.

Seems like everywhere you go...it's all about the vampires nowadays.

Not sure how I feel about mixing Hessians and Vampires...I'll wait for some reviews on that one.

Still on Vacation

But tempted to pop in that DVD. Not even August yet.

I can't wait for the Fall, in need of some crisp weather.

Some minor updates I'd like to do this year.

Add way more height to the scarecrow, put it on par with those I've seen at Philipsburg Manor.

Have it stand up to October winds as well.

More fog - in the market for a good fogger to run through some irrigation PVC.

Enjoy the rest of your Summer.

Looking forward to our upcoming family vacation week at the Jersey Shore.

My girls....

10th Anniversary

Original release date of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow was 10 years ago today - November 19, 1999.

My wife and I were probably on our 3rd date at the time we went to see it.

McFarlane Horseman

Image Source:

http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=3489655613&size=large

Have to pick one of these up on EBay some day.

Read the legs on some of these were made of soft rubber and prone to rot.

Perfect.

Happy Halloween

Halloween Night 2009.

First time it wasn't sunny & 70 degrees on Halloween in a long time.

Warm but mostly rainy.

A small turn out but still better than last year.

We had a blast hosting a family party and our candy crazed little girls got to play with their cousins past 11 o'clock.

Hope everyone had a great night, Happy Halloween !

Steve

Legend Nights

Philipsburg Manor in a torrential downpour this past Saturday was a slop fest. Mud, mud and a heavy helping of more mud made getting around and enjoying the haunt rather difficult.

It was raining so hard at times you could not hear the actors, mostly stationed in barns or some type of enclosure. 2 witches who braved the elements, tried really hard to work the crowd amidst a terrible soaking. Drenchy Hollow!

Awesome Tim Burton inspired scarecrows through out. Really tall, 10 -12 feet high - burning real candles within. Definitely see incorporating more height to my own next year. Mine leans forward a little and comes in at about 7ft. By the way ...the little twerp was found later that night face planted from being monsooned upon. The burlap gets really heavy when wet.

The Horseman was great. Atop a giant black horse he came across as both monstrous and intimidating.

Legend Days

Lopped Off...Clean as Dandelion Heads

The Horseman grasps a freshly chopped head with the aid of some well hidden fishing line.

The Witch of the Western Woods

Overall darker theme this year. Days of wooden cut outs are long gone.

A few shots of an updated witch after moving some things to the front yard.

Veil material completely covers the body now, a creepier look I think. A necklace and some "smokey eyes" painted on by my wife. She hated how the eyes looked before. A cheap, plastic Friday the 13th prop axe repainted.

The Horseman still needs to be put together ....should be out this weekend.

Want to put a better effort into lighting this year...waiting on some LED's from minionsweb.

ScreenCaptures

Source:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://museum.enchanted-rose.org/pictures/albums/movie_sleepyhollow/screencaptures01/thumb_01sleepyhollow_008.jpg&imgrefurl=http://museum.enchanted-rose.org/pictures/thumbnails.php%3Falbum%3D86&usg=__cXgU65403mH2RlMIr1rlKFU2TdI=&h=55&w=100&sz=3&hl=en&start=53&um=1&tbnid=rgIfvUmzFEDtTM:&tbnh=45&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvan%2Bgarrett%2Bsleepy%2Bhollow%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN%26start%3D36%26um%3D1

A few cool screenshots from a place I recently came across.

There I realized how off base I was with the Crone's veil. It goes down to the floor! I'll have to fire my research department for that slip up. I'll see if it's possible to improve accuracy a little there without losing all of the dress details. I really hate being the only guy on line at the fabric store...maybe I can just use creepy cloth for it.

Family and I are making a trip to Van Cortlandt Manor for The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze this Friday night. We had a blast last year and we're looking forward to it again this year.

The following weekend it's minus the kids & back to Sleepy Hollow for Legend Nights at Philipsburg Manor & the ride of the Headless Horseman.

http://www.hudsonvalley.org/

We also will make our annual trip to Clinton Place in Hackensack, NJ. There you will find beautiful old homes on both sides of the long, closed street that decorate and go all out for Halloween. Original scary stuff and some really cute things for the younger kids as well...like The Great Pumpkin, Wizard of Oz and Nightmare Before Christmas. If you're in Northern NJ you should really check it out. Link to pictures below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_kay_1/sets/72157602675701646/