# Halloween 2021: Grim Guardians



## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

With everything all taken down and put away, it’s time once again to catalogue the year that was.

This year only saw a few new pieces built, but most were larger undertakings, and hopefully helped continue the goal of ‘deepening’ the display. I’m trying to continue merging the house and landscape into the display, and to make it all as coherent as possible.

To aid in that effort, in addition to several new cemetery monuments and effects, this year included

Gothic ‘stained glass’ inspired overlays
Large-scale gargoyle / grotesque
Skeleton corbel
Gothic cemetery arch
Haunted shovel
Tree Stump (fogger hide)
Assorted monuments
Anyway, below are several pictures (both night and day) and the 2021 haunt video.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

*Theme Art (Cards, Beer Labels, etc.)*










*Night Shots:
















































































*


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## Michael__Myers (Sep 8, 2019)

Absolutely gorgeous!!! Hauntingly beautiful


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## Malicious (Sep 8, 2014)

Everything here is just so classy ( if that makes sense) your lighting is superb. Love it all!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

*Day Shots:































*


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## Keltset (Oct 1, 2020)

Very well done! Looks awesome! Love the lighting work, something I seriously need to improve upon in my display!

-K


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

For some reason, the post hiccupped, and didn't want to include the big guy here:


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Sorry about the weird spacing and odd stretching of some of images....I don't know what's going on.

Anyway, here's the walkthrough video for 2021 for any interested parties:


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Always one of the best and most beautifully detailed haunts. Every year, even the small additions add such depth. I love the skeleton corbel. I'll re-visit this thread many times to scour the details. You always check all the boxes sir!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

jdubbya said:


> Always one of the best and most beautifully detailed haunts. Every year, even the small additions add such depth. I love the skeleton corbel. I'll re-visit this thread many times to scour the details. You always check all the boxes sir!


Thank you, sir! 

I'll let you in on a secret that I didn't tell any of the other props....the corbel is my favorite piece in the display. 

If you're interested, here is a Flickr photo stream of the tomb where I 'borrowed' my inspiration. It's truly beautiful stuff.


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## J-Man (Feb 1, 2011)

Over the top fangtastic my friend!


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## DandyBrit (Sep 6, 2013)

Awesome as always. I always feel slightly jealous when I see other haunts.


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

When your daytime photos look as awesome and creepy as your nighttime, well can’t improve on that!! Always a delight to see your house and work.

Glad to see those Eerie Eyes guys are still a part of your garden. I just find them creepy and finally bought my own. Am curious how heavy the corbel skeleton is and how you ended up suspending it. Thanks.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments....believe me, they're appreciated! 



Ghost of Spookie said:


> When your daytime photos look as awesome and creepy as your nighttime, well can’t improve on that!! Always a delight to see your house and work.
> 
> Glad to see those Eerie Eyes guys are still a part of your garden. I just find them creepy and finally bought my own. Am curious how heavy the corbel skeleton is and how you ended up suspending it. Thanks.


Thanks GoS! 

Before I address the question, I'd like to take a quick second to say how much I always appreciate your encouraging and positive comments. 

It's always gratifying to hear from the visitors to the haunt, but there's a different sort of gratification when it comes from people that know what goes into these displays every year, and I really appreciate that kind feedback...it's very energizing!

Anyway, that corbel clocks in at about 30 pounds, which is primarily because he's on a 1/4" plywood backer, and because his draping is all coated in monster mud. I tried to keep the rest pretty light (plastic skeleton, foam and plastic accents, etc., but he's still got some heft.

He's supported with a heavy-duty French cleat that's rated up to 300 lbs. 

That provided an invisible / seamless hanging method to the viewer, allowed for easy mounting and removal, and also allowed me to go directly into the 1 X 4 trim boards under the eaves / soffit. 

Plus, it also makes storage pretty simple...I can just pull the cleat down, and put it back in the shop, and hang him right back up. 

Below is the view from the shop on November 1st; all of the major arcana were right back in their respective homes, including Mr. Skeletal Corbel:


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

French Cleat, interesting choice and a good one.

That storage area looks too organized…and even elegant 🤣.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

The large sitting gargoyle; a Distortions piece? Impressive!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

jdubbya said:


> The large sitting gargoyle; a Distortions piece? Impressive!


Yep, he's from Distortions! 

I'd initially thought I was going to try to make something from foam, but then I took on making the corbel and a few other things, and decided I'd see if it could be outsourced. And, of course, my first stop was Distortions. (I've been getting something new from them pretty much every year for the last several, and have zero regrets)

Turns out they had pretty much exactly what I was looking for. He was the right size / scale, and had the right look, etc. He was even flat backed, which was perfect for what I was looking to do. 

Since he'd have to be mounted overhead, and be sturdy / stable, and he was also going to have to be modified to have some nice glowing features, it was also going to need to have some kind of access cavity. Luckily, the back was already open, and had plenty of room for all of that stuff!

First, I cemented a piece of wood in the bottom of the cavity that had two holes in it to receive some PVC, and then used that to run threaded rod through (that was then used to bolt everthing down to the shelf when overhead). The goal was to create a connection mechanism to the shelf, but also to add some rigidity. 

In this picture, you can just see the cavity that leads into the back of the head at the very top of the image, too. That allowed me a place to insert LEDs, and to secure the connections and waterproof them:










(He's naturally pretty dense and sturdy, but I didn't want to the wind to get him rocking too much, so foam inserts were also run behind the PVC to offer some additional stabilization after the above picture was taken) 

From there, it was just a matter of inserting some LEDs behind the eyes, and close enough to the surface that they would show through and the last layer of latex would diffuse the light. For the eyes, 5mm did the trick, but the mouth needed 18mm to get it to look right for me:💀











Anyhow, I think he's pretty great, and I love the several Distortions props that I've got now. 

As much as I enjoy making stuff for the display, it's nice that there is someone out there making stuff with high enough quality that you don't always have to!


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## MasqAddikt (Jun 19, 2019)

That is an incredible setup.


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## mr.macabre (Oct 7, 2020)

Nicely done, the glowing roses in the urn were a nice touch. I've never used any life-size skeletons in my display, just a couple of skulls and some assorted bones, but that's going to change next year. Even my wife, who's not a big fan of Halloween, said we should add more bones to our cemetery, so that's what we'll do.
Any suggestions as to who has the best skeletons that don't cost an arm and a leg(get it?).


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## pacman (Oct 18, 2009)

wow your setup oozes Gothic atmosphere , in the night time photos it really really looked ultra creepy , i loved the daytime shots so i could see the detail and quality of the props , brilliant , makes me want to create a haunted graveyard theme next Halloween now , excellent setup really is , well done .


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## PSBearcat (Oct 27, 2009)

Defenestrator said:


> With everything all taken down and put away, it’s time once again to catalogue the year that was.
> 
> This year only saw a few new pieces built, but most were larger undertakings, and hopefully helped continue the goal of ‘deepening’ the display. I’m trying to continue merging the house and landscape into the display, and to make it all as coherent as possible.
> 
> ...


Not only a great setup but a perfect use of color scheme. Outstanding.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Thanks folks, the feedback is always appreciated! 



mr.macabre said:


> Nicely done, the glowing roses in the urn were a nice touch. I've never used any life-size skeletons in my display, just a couple of skulls and some assorted bones, but that's going to change next year. Even my wife, who's not a big fan of Halloween, said we should add more bones to our cemetery, so that's what we'll do.
> Any suggestions as to who has the best skeletons that don't cost an arm and a leg(get it?).


Thanks for that...I really like the roses, too. It's a small detail, but I'm tickled by it. 

As for the skeletons, they're definitely more readily / broadly available these days, and the prices have come down quite a bit vs. the early days. There are a couple posts here on the forum that might help you out, and our very own Internet Troll put together a vide you might benefit from:

Thread- 








Static: - posable skeletons - which one?


I thought there used to be a thread a few years back that highlighted the pros and cons of the posable skeleton offerings from different retailers, along with some words wisdom on how to get the posable skeletons to stay in the desired poses (e.g. cable ties, screws etc.). But... after a...




www.halloweenforum.com





Video- 







pacman said:


> wow your setup oozes Gothic atmosphere , in the night time photos it really really looked ultra creepy , i loved the daytime shots so i could see the detail and quality of the props , brilliant , makes me want to create a haunted graveyard theme next Halloween now , excellent setup really is , well done .


Thanks, and I hope you go for it....in my mind, it's the quintessential Halloween display, but still provides so much room for personalization and creativity!


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## Daphne (Aug 11, 2007)

Ok let’s just start with OH. MY. GOSH!!! That is absolutely beautiful! Then let’s move on to that corbel everyone is drooling over! Wow! Love how you did the pumpkin patch and the moving grave is the most effective one I have ever seen. What did you do on that? 

How many nights do you have everything out? I figured you were on the other side of the world but it sounds like we are possibly neighbors. If all that is out more than Halloween night I would love to come see it in person next year if you are comfortable sharing your address via PM. I’m happy to share mine back but the lion share of mine is only out on Halloween and all of us have a standing commitment that night ha ha! I love visiting fellow haunters displays. Even when we have the same themes, everyone has completely different interpretations. Another haunter in the area I became friends with through the forum has several similar themes to mine yet there are zero similarities.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Ha, thanks! 

Hmmm, I'm not sure what's different about the breathing grave? All I can say is that I do try to put it right up front for folks to see (since the movement is a bit subtle), try to use other elements to call attention to it (e.g, the lightning flash and glowing flowers), and maybe most importantly, the light source is directly parallel from the installation, which basically makes each leaf visible as it churns?

Unfortunately, we're a one-night affair....we do a slow rollout over the course of the month with things 'manifesting' in the wee hours (I never want anyone to see how the 'magic' happens), but the only night where it's going full bore (effects running, lightning, fog, audio) is on the Big Day. 

I'm always super-impressed with haunters that can get it all out there for the whole month, and keep it running, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to pull that off. 💀


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## Daphne (Aug 11, 2007)

It must be the lighting on the grave. It looks really great!

It sounds like we have similar approaches. I’ll just have to enjoy it via pics and video like everyone else ha ha. Most of my cemetery is up almost all month but my big pieces, all the animatronics, fog, sound, and several entire scenes only come out on Halloween. Everything also disappears Halloween night after the lights go out. When the sun comes up on November 1, everything is gone. There is a fall garden flag, fall leaves are wrapped around the mailbox pole and all the dead flowers in the bed at the mailbox are gone. And what a joy it is being up on a ladder at midnight pulling webbing out of trees! You would never know anything had been out there though. A few years ago, a neighbor I don’t know came by the next morning while I was outside and looked like somebody had slapped him and asked “Aren’t you the house that does all the Halloween stuff? I came by to check it out.” I just looked at him like he had 3 heads and was like “Huh?” Totally freaked him out ha ha! Never admitted anything but it was clear he looked like he had entered the Twilight Zone. Magic of Halloween!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Defenestrator said:


> *Day Shots:
> 
> 
> View attachment 757144
> *


Yeah, that right there is going in a folder to steal.


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## djjerme (Oct 17, 2019)

No joke, that photo sells it and makes me want to build something similar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Yeah, that right there is going in a folder to steal.





djjerme said:


> No joke, that photo sells it and makes me want to build something similar.


That would be awesome! I'd LOVE to see other takes on it.

For ease of reference, I did my 'borrowing' from Guidi Domenico, and the work in the tomb of Louis Phelypeaux...namely, this specimen:


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Defenestrator said:


> That would be awesome! I'd LOVE to see other takes on it.
> 
> For ease of reference, I did my 'borrowing' from Guidi Domenico, and the work in the tomb of Louis Phelypeaux...namely, this specimen:
> 
> View attachment 757566


All the better. I love it when we get back to the classics, much like my tomb is an amalgamation of a number of Transi Tombs. 

And that sculptors name just led me down the rabbit hole to a lot more inspiration: https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/08/the-sculptural-skeletons-of-rome.html


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

I agree with GoS, when your daytime pics look just as spectacular as the nighttime....well you are in pro status in my opinion. Its not easy to do, I have been trying for over 10 years lol. Defen, I always look forward to your new additions, and themes. They are always so well done, and clever. You always share on how things were done when anyone asks. Totally Imagineer status my friend! Bravo.


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Silly question, did you shoot the video on your phone?


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

matrixmom said:


> I agree with GoS, when your daytime pics look just as spectacular as the nighttime....well you are in pro status in my opinion. Its not easy to do, I have been trying for over 10 years lol. Defen, I always look forward to your new additions, and themes. They are always so well done, and clever. You always share on how things were done when anyone asks. Totally Imagineer status my friend! Bravo.


Thanks so much, MM! 

I'm thrilled you liked some of this year's stuff, and very much appreciate those extraordinarily kind comments.

And yes, all video (and photos) are courtesy of my trusty Samsung Galaxy S9. 🎃


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## sharijefferson62 (Oct 7, 2021)

Truly AMAZING work! I just love your creations!


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