# Eerie Manor/Road's End; Carnevil of Terror 2015



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

This was the second year I had the awesome pleasure of teaming up with my good buddy and fellow forum member lewlew on a collaborative effort. We started putting things on paper back in February and began the actual off-site building in August. The carnival theme was one we’ve never done before but it was one of the most creative opportunities and really lent itself to a lot of great detail and fun scares.The front yard display was a circus arcade, complete with a kissing booth and face painting/tattoos for the kids waiting in line. Lewlew, myself, and two other actors dressed as clowns, worked the crowd, getting people excited (or nervous) about what layed ahead. Really funny how many people are terrified of clowns!The path to the actual haunt took them past a fortune teller, a pinhead, and our ringmaster greeter. Once inside, all bets were off as guests were assailed by several clowns, three drop panels, and an array of freak show oddities, including the wolf boy, snake lady and the elephant man, all of which were mere distractions for the real scares! We had over 650 visitors Halloween night along with TV coverage from two local stations. While we didn’t have any video footage we did talk to several patrons as they exited the haunt and the overwhelming consensus was that it was the best ever! Capped off by a picture perfect night and a fantastic staff of close to 20 helpers, all of whom played their parts to perfection, Halloween 2015 could not have been better! Here are some pics from the event. Hope you enjoy them!


https://youtu.be/qQ_pzh1td3c


----------



## xxScorpion64xx (Oct 15, 2011)

Pictures are awesome , quite evident that it was a great experience for all, everything looked on point, it's a shame you don't have video footage , congrats to the both of you and the volunteers


----------



## Paint It Black (Sep 15, 2011)

Fun! Fun! Fun! Love your set-up, and your actors were fabulous! I just love a good carnevil. Once again, you guys did such an awesome job with your theme. I always look forward to seeing your photos every year. Thanks for posting. Loved it.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

xxScorpion64xx said:


> Pictures are awesome , quite evident that it was a great experience for all, everything looked on point, it's a shame you don't have video footage , congrats to the both of you and the volunteers


We had hoped for video but were just too busy making sure everything went smoothly that we didn't have a chance. We're planning to get a dedicated video set up this year to capture the crowd reactions. They were priceless! Thanks for the kind words my friend!



Paint It Black said:


> Fun! Fun! Fun! Love your set-up, and your actors were fabulous! I just love a good carnevil. Once again, you guys did such an awesome job with your theme. I always look forward to seeing your photos every year. Thanks for posting. Loved it.


Thanks PIB! Appreciate it very much! Our crew was the best and got some outstanding scares/reactions! All of them want to come back this year too! We had a blast doing this and I'd recommend this theme to anyone who has not yet tried it!

Here are some more pics that didn't make it into the slide show




























































































IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p255/jdubbya2006/Halloween%202015/12109045_1087008167977091_7913110743266033589_n_zpsdfsb1gaj.jpg[/IMG]


----------



## Vandalay Industries (Sep 1, 2014)

Is the striped wall painted sheets or is it the table cloth rolls from Oriental Trading? I'm doing a psycho circus this year and want some inexpensive wall covering. Thanks.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Vandalay Industries said:


> Is the striped wall painted sheets or is it the table cloth rolls from Oriental Trading? I'm doing a psycho circus this year and want some inexpensive wall covering. Thanks.



They are Scene Setters. We got them from Spirit. Party City also carried them


----------



## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Phenomenal job.


----------



## punkineater (Apr 26, 2014)

Fantastic setup, killer clown menagerie, creeps and freaks! Nice touch with the AHS soundtrack, creepy carnival music and vid editing.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Garthgoyle said:


> Phenomenal job.


Thanks man! We had a great time with this!



punkineater said:


> Fantastic setup, killer clown menagerie, creeps and freaks! Nice touch with the AHS soundtrack, creepy carnival music and vid editing.



Thanks! We played the AHS soundtrack through the upstairs windows all evening. It made for a creepy mood. Inside we had a different track for the main hall then individual tracks for three different freak show scenes. I think the screams probably overshadowed the sound tracks much of the time! lol!


----------



## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

You can FEEL how much fun the whole vibe is!!
I love all the quirky humorous touches. Face Painting!?!? hahahahaha Uh. No thanks. I'll pass. 
Oh and the creepy stuffed animal 'prizes' at the skull toss?!?!?! hahaha Great job!
You know I'm a huge fan of your beautiful cemetery... but I bet this was TONS of fun for you to change it up so.
Thank you for sharing.


----------



## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

jdubbya said:


> ...While we didn’t have any video footage we did talk to several patrons as they exited the haunt and the overwhelming consensus was that it was the best ever! Capped off by a picture perfect night and a fantastic staff of close to 20 helpers, all of whom played their parts to perfection, Halloween 2015 could not have been better! Here are some pics from the event. Hope you enjoy them!


I_* did*_ enjoy them, immensely! I loved the creativity, the quality of the work (that sign at the entry-- jaw-dropping!), the obvious camaraderie of the people involved-- all of it looks fun and well-executed!
I also want to say how much I enjoy the entire _positive _tone of the post (much)! That is inspirational.


----------



## offmymeds (May 26, 2010)

Just outstanding!! What a great set up. Love your attention to detail and your actors were just awesome. Is that you in the Twisty costume? 
I am quite fond of the kissing booth


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Hilda said:


> You can FEEL how much fun the whole vibe is!!
> I love all the quirky humorous touches. Face Painting!?!? hahahahaha Uh. No thanks. I'll pass.
> Oh and the creepy stuffed animal 'prizes' at the skull toss?!?!?! hahaha Great job!
> You know I'm a huge fan of your beautiful cemetery... but I bet this was TONS of fun for you to change it up so.
> Thank you for sharing.


Thanks Angel! The entire evening's atmosphere felt exactly like a carnival. It's hard to describe but the energy from the crowd and staff was fantastic! We really had fun doing this and as lewlew said on the other forum, it was liberating to do Halloween in a totally different theme, away from the traditional, graveyard, zombies, ghosts, gore, etc.. We had a blast coming up with all the little details and the fact that guests had to wait in line to go through gave everyone a chance to take many of them in. We got a lot of great compliments.



ooojen said:


> I_* did*_ enjoy them, immensely! I loved the creativity, the quality of the work (that sign at the entry-- jaw-dropping!), the obvious camaraderie of the people involved-- all of it looks fun and well-executed!
> I also want to say how much I enjoy the entire _positive _tone of the post (much)! That is inspirational.


Thanks oojen! Truly appreciate that! Our crew rocked it that night and most of them are already committed to helping out this year!



offmymeds said:


> Just outstanding!! What a great set up. Love your attention to detail and your actors were just awesome. Is that you in the Twisty costume?
> I am quite fond of the kissing booth


Thanks OMM! Twisty was a friend of my sons who made his mom drive all the way to Penn State to bring him home just to be in the haunt! LOL! I was the one with the jester mask/apron. People heard the bells and started freaking out!


----------



## Attic Hatch (Sep 12, 2015)

I agree with ALL the positive comments here! Fun- funny - scary - what more do you want!?
I don't know how people change up themes from year to year; I can't imagine the effort/talent/teamwork that is involved (you _have_ a "build team", right ?")
Anyhow - Kudos!!


----------



## halloween71 (Apr 22, 2007)

Always perfect!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Attic Hatch said:


> I agree with ALL the positive comments here! Fun- funny - scary - what more do you want!?
> I don't know how people change up themes from year to year; I can't imagine the effort/talent/teamwork that is involved (you _have_ a "build team", right ?")
> Anyhow - Kudos!!


Thanks AH! Up until a couple years ago when I partnered with Mark (lewlew), I pretty much kept a similar theme each year, just moved stuff around and added a few things. We took the haunt in a different direction and built a free standing structure which serves as the walk through portion, in addition to the front yard display. We have a large warehouse that we're able to store the haunt panels in and we actually set it up in September so we can get the light/prop/scare placement just right. We then dismantle it and move it to my place the week of Halloween, set it up again and then tear it down the day after. Mark and I often do much of it ourselves but we had a lot of help this year between some our actors and their dads. Most of our scare actors are teen age high school/college kids who are friends of my son. They're able to help lift/move/steady stuff while we fasten it all together and it saves our backs!



halloween71 said:


> Always perfect!


Much appreciated! Thanks!


----------



## Attic Hatch (Sep 12, 2015)

What a luxury having a place for storage and trial setup! 
Awesome you have like minded collaborators as well.
SO - it wasn't_ that _much effort after all!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Attic Hatch said:


> What a luxury having a place for storage and trial setup!
> Awesome you have like minded collaborators as well.
> SO - it wasn't_ that _much effort after all!


Oh, it was THAT much and more! LOL!
Some pics of the build in the warehouse


----------



## Attic Hatch (Sep 12, 2015)

Okay . . . . 
That's it I'm leaving. 
You people is crazy. 
(sez the guy with a 25 ft spider breaking through his roof)


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Attic Hatch said:


> Okay . . . .
> That's it I'm leaving.
> You people is crazy.
> (sez the guy with a 25 ft spider breaking through his roof)


You say crazy like it's a bad thing!


----------



## Attic Hatch (Sep 12, 2015)

Hurumph! I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean.

signed ,
Mr. Pot


jdubbya said:


> You say crazy like it's a bad thing!


----------



## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

What a great crew...loved the last pic of all of you. I loved the mix of clowns, freaks, and the mix of ringmaster meets phamtom of the opera costume. Loved it. So original. A lot of original touches.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

matrixmom said:


> What a great crew...loved the last pic of all of you. I loved the mix of clowns, freaks, and the mix of ringmaster meets phamtom of the opera costume. Loved it. So original. A lot of original touches.


Thanks mm! We had quite the cast of characters to be sure. The ringmaster is a junior in high school and actually came up with his entire costume. When we asked him if he wanted the part he jumped on it and came up with all of his own ideas. We let all of the crew be creative and come up with theiur own stuff and they loved it.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

halloween71 said:


> Always perfect!


It's funny that we always strive for "perfect" but so many things can happen to make it less than that. In thinking back, it was as close to a perfect Halloween as we could have hoped for. The few minor things that may have gone wrong were so far overshadowed by all the good/fun stuff that they seemed insignificant. One of the things we noticed all evening were the number of photos being taken, both of the display and selfies with friends and even our cast. People were grabbing us for pics all evening. It was a hoot! I suppose "perfection" is a relative term but we came close!


----------



## Col. Fryght (Oct 23, 2012)

I am soooo jealous on sooooo many different levels. Everything looks done and complete. A completed vision is something that I never feel like I achieve. I missed seeing your cemetery set-up, but having the carnival booths in front seemed to add a more interactive experience for the people lined up on the sidewalk waiting to go in. I would suggest keeping the front yard on the interactive side.

I am just amazed that you get volunteers. I feel like I give it a fair go with just me, but damn, you got a staff of frigging 20! Plus, all those guests! 650 people stopping by is simply amazing. Not sure what your future plans are, but you are starting to creep up on being able to set-up at an off site location.

Thanks for posting.


----------



## McBernes (Mar 10, 2015)

Wow! Great haunt! The clown with a skelly dog on a leash was cool. The masks used as skinned faces at the face painting booth was a nice touch.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Col. Fryght said:


> I am soooo jealous on sooooo many different levels. Everything looks done and complete. A completed vision is something that I never feel like I achieve. I missed seeing your cemetery set-up, but having the carnival booths in front seemed to add a more interactive experience for the people lined up on the sidewalk waiting to go in. I would suggest keeping the front yard on the interactive side.
> 
> I am just amazed that you get volunteers. I feel like I give it a fair go with just me, but damn, you got a staff of frigging 20! Plus, all those guests! 650 people stopping by is simply amazing. Not sure what your future plans are, but you are starting to creep up on being able to set-up at an off site location.
> 
> Thanks for posting.


Thanks for all that CF! Truly appreciated! The arcade booths were a big hit with everyone, both in terms of the added detail but as you said, the interactive factor, not to mention great photo ops with the kissing lady!! I think we'll try to find a way to keep some interaction with the crowd and the front display if we can. No one complained about the wait which often lasted half an hour. The line stretched four houses down at the peak time! The cemetery will make a come back next year as we do a much darker, more gothic theme. It's something we can really "sink our teeth into"! We are blessed to have a great volunteer pool. Some of our kids have been with us for the past 5 years and we got a few dads to help out as well. They had a blast and all want to come back this year. We'll lose a couple kids to college but we actually have a waiting list of helpers who want to be part of this so we'll fit as many in as we can. We have discussed moving the show to a bigger place where we might accommodate more people but it's really fun keeping it as a neighborhood home haunt that has developed a good following over several years. No place I'd rather spend Halloween, really!



McBernes said:


> Wow! Great haunt! The clown with a skelly dog on a leash was cool. The masks used as skinned faces at the face painting booth was a nice touch.


Thanks! The masks were one of lewlew's many great ideas. We tried to add as much detail as we could in the space we had and it paid off in nice comments from the patrons. A lot of the kids kept talking to the clown figure thinking he was real and waiting for him to move. It was great!!


----------



## talkingcatblues (Jan 30, 2009)

Oh, *great* variety of hideously scary clowns, plus the other characters. And kissing lady was an awesome touch - she looks very different with/without wig and in the daylight vs. the dark! Ditto punkineater on the music and Hilda and McBernes on the face painting - not going to be able to think of that in the same way from now on!


----------



## The Halloween Lady (Jul 17, 2010)

Well mon cher you guys did it again!!!!! You and lewlew just keep setting the bar higher and higher. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna post your pics, and boy were they worth the wait! There is just so much I love that I couldn't possibly single out just on thing. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of your fantastic ideas showing up in one of my haunts!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

The Halloween Lady said:


> Well mon cher you guys did it again!!!!! You and lewlew just keep setting the bar higher and higher. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna post your pics, and boy were they worth the wait! There is just so much I love that I couldn't possibly single out just on thing. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of your fantastic ideas showing up in one of my haunts!


Thanks HL! Yes, we were late getting the slideshow together, mostly due to the fact that my son who is in college did the editing, etc and finally had time to do it over Xmas break. Feel free to use any ideas you like. We'd be flattered, and thanks again for the loan of the elephant Man mask. He was a big hit and a perfect set-up to one of the drop panel scares. It was awesome!!


----------



## nosefuratyou (Jan 11, 2016)

I can only second what everyone has said. You could have built a vacation cabin at the lake for all the work and lumber involved. But then you wouldn't have Halloween and where's the fun in that? 
Your Pain Brings Us Such Joy. Love it. Two thumbs way up!!!!!!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

nosefuratyou said:


> I can only second what everyone has said. You could have built a vacation cabin at the lake for all the work and lumber involved. But then you wouldn't have Halloween and where's the fun in that?
> Your Pain Brings Us Such Joy. Love it. Two thumbs way up!!!!!!


Thanks very much! Yeah, the structure is pretty involved and likely built better than some low income housing! For all the work involved setting it up and tearing it down twice, along with transporting it to and from our house, it's worth every minute of the two plus hours we spend getting scares, screams and laughs from our guests. Wouldn't have it any other way!!


----------



## foolishmortal42 (Sep 5, 2010)

The haunt looks great. The clowns are very creepy. It looks like you had a great time.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

foolishmortal42 said:


> The haunt looks great. The clowns are very creepy. It looks like you had a great time.


Thanks! It was really fun to see people's reactions to the clowns. A lot of folks are really creeped out by them! LOL! We had a great time with this theme. I'd recommend it to anyone who has ever thought of doing it.


----------



## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

Jdubbya and lewlew I swear I don't even know where to begin! Wow! The pictures look professional. Like art or post cards. I love the costumes! Wow! Loved that you used AHS music in the montage. Very fitting. Wish I could see it in person  great job guys!!!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

booswife02 said:


> Jdubbya and lewlew I swear I don't even know where to begin! Wow! The pictures look professional. Like art or post cards. I love the costumes! Wow! Loved that you used AHS music in the montage. Very fitting. Wish I could see it in person  great job guys!!!


Thanks BW! My son took many of the pics. He is really quite the photographer and has some mad skilz with his camera. He was also one of our scare actors or we'd have had some great crowd shots as well. We had fun putting costumes together and let everyone have some free reign in coming up with their own ideas. The AHS music was something we had to have from the beginning of the plannng stages and a lot of people recognized it while waiting in line. You should come see it this year! Minnestoa's not THAT far! LOL!!


----------



## oaklawn Crematory (Jun 25, 2010)

JDubbya, you out did yourself ! Your Haunt was awesome...Loved the video !


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

oaklawn Crematory said:


> JDubbya, you out did yourself ! Your Haunt was awesome...Loved the video !


Thanks my friend! We just finished the layout for this year's haunt which is actually larger and more involved, requiring even more scare actors. We'll have to "out do" ourselves again!!


----------



## Hauntings by Design (Jan 2, 2010)

Great haunt! love the kissing booth.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Hauntings by Design said:


> Great haunt! love the kissing booth.


Thanks! Wow, I thought this thread was dead and buried lol! Went back and read through it again and it was fun to remember all the little details of last year's set up. Yeah, the kissing booth was a blast. The actor really got into his role and interacted with the guests while they were waiting in line. Lots of fun! We're busy with this year's theme now and have started the mock build in our secret warehouse!. A much darker and more sinister theme for this year!


----------



## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

Well, jdubbya, your witch scene has always been one of my favorites and while I'm a little sad to see the old hags retire, you guys rule on the carnival theme circuit. I have never been afraid of clowns but after viewing your pictures, I think I am now. 

I'm sure you know this but I'll throw it out there anyway, Midnight Syndicate has a _Carnival Arcane_ cd that's a masterpiece.


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Tannasgach said:


> Well, jdubbya, your witch scene has always been one of my favorites and while I'm a little sad to see the old hags retire, you guys rule on the carnival theme circuit. I have never been afraid of clowns but after viewing your pictures, I think I am now.
> 
> I'm sure you know this but I'll throw it out there anyway, Midnight Syndicate has a _Carnival Arcane_ cd that's a masterpiece.


Thanks so much! As mentioned, we had a lot of fun planning the carnevil theme and we drew from what others and done as well. The witches are just on hiatus and will make a comeback in the next couple years! This year's theme is going to be awesomely creepy and the details will rival those of last year. Stay tuned!


----------



## Attic Hatch (Sep 12, 2015)

jdubbya said:


> Thanks so much! As mentioned, we had a lot of fun planning the carnevil theme and we drew from what others and done as well. The witches are just on hiatus and will make a comeback in the next couple years! This year's theme is going to be awesomely creepy and the details will rival those of last year. Stay tuned!


 Can't wait to see what you have in store!


----------



## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Attic Hatch said:


> Can't wait to see what you have in store!


Here's a hint!


----------

