# Anyone planning to attend Eastern Haunters Convention?



## Redneck220

Just wondering if anyone here is planning this year to attend the Eastern haunters convention?

I loved every second of it two years ago and met a lot of great people. I really wanted to attend this past years gathering but my sister scheduled her wedding that day. I tried so hard to figure a way to do both, but couldn't do it.

Mr. Bruner puts on a great event and I look forward to this years event!


So,,,,who else planning to attend?


----------



## slightlymad

We are seriously considering it. basically 30 minutes from the house.


----------



## Toepincher

I am trying to plan it out as I type this. It looks pretty good so far just by how many haunted house sites they are planning to attend. I'm about 2 hours down the turnpike so the ride won't be bad at all. 

Anybody get information about room rates yet ????

Toepincher x x


----------



## Gorey

We had hoped to booth at the show, but I will be in China for EHC and HauntCon....


----------



## Joel

I'll be there at least on Saturday and maybe Sunday. Don't have the money for staying at a hotel or to attend the multi-haunt tours. It's only about 1.5 hours away for me. Hopefully it's nice and I can take the motorcycle...


----------



## Redneck220

I'm not very far as well, so no sense in staying at the hotel for me either. I can save the monies for haunt goodies. The last time I went I didn't bring much cash, I didnt think there was gonna be much there,,,,,boy was I wrong


----------



## evileyes

when and where is it?


----------



## 3SpookyChicks

I'll be there Saturday definitely-haven't decided on staying yet though!


----------



## Redneck220

http://www.easternhauntersconvention.com/


----------



## ylbissop

Don't have the money to attend the multi-haunt tours either(god how i wish i did). but we will be there as we live like 10 mins away. any secret tips for a first timer at this con?


----------



## Gorey

Bring a rolling bag, for catalogs, samples and items bought that will fit.
Bring a spare carry bag for overflow.
Cooler, full of cold ones, munchies too.

Bring a sheet of address labels (peel n stick) pre-printed with your name address, phone/fax email and URL, vendors will appreciate that!

Comfortable walking shoes! and weather appropriate clothing, it wil likely be warm on the showroom floor.


----------



## ylbissop

Gorey said:


> Bring a rolling bag, for catalogs, samples and items bought that will fit.
> Bring a spare carry bag for overflow.
> Cooler, full of cold ones, munchies too.
> 
> Bring a sheet of address labels (peel n stick) pre-printed with your name address, phone/fax email and URL, vendors will appreciate that!
> 
> Comfortable walking shoes! and weather appropriate clothing, it wil likely be warm on the showroom floor.


sounds pretty standard. thanks Gorey!


----------



## Gorey

OH YEAH, bring cash (easier to haggle) and a CC of course.
Also be prepared with your email login info and paypal login info.

Smaller vendors may only use paypal, and you will be much happier completing a transaction if you remember your urls for email and login/pw info ahead of time.

Also doesn't hurt to where a name tag that identifies you to others from lists, forums, & groups you normally associate with only in writing.


----------



## JonnF3

I'll be there with my son! Looking forward to it!


----------



## Sacrilegium

My wife and I will be there on Saturday.


----------



## Redneck220

*what to bring to convention*

As far as any conventions go I found these items to be especially helpful:

* daypack, bookbag or something you can sling over your shoulder to carry literature, small goodies and the rest of the list

* Notebook and 2-3 pens to take notes at seminars

* Camera and extra set of batteries ( the batteries in your camera will of course be fully charged but murphys law says you will leave it on and drain them four minutes after using it for your first shot

* Bottle of water or something to put water in

* The all important absolutely essential can't leave home without it thermos of coffee and travel mug

* At the conventions of my hobby I have business cards made on computer of the club I am with and my contact information. Think I'll make some up with my name and contact info to hand out if anyone asks

* Roll of Tums, some advil. It really sucks to try and muddle through the day with a headache that inveriably will come if you don't bring anything.

* More Cash

* Dress comfortably. Especially shoes. Realizing about an hour after opening at the NMRA show that my cowboy boots had a nail from the heel working it's way through into my heel was not fun.

* If you remotely think you might be buying a lot or anything large, bring a hand truck or folding cart. I have one of those large luggage carts that's saved a lot of hassle at different shows from time to time for me.

* Make sure your cell phone is charged 

I'm sure there's something I missed


----------



## Johnny Thunder

I may attend - I live very close and work about 5 minutes from there.


----------



## Redneck220

and the count so far is-

3 considering

6 attending


----------



## ylbissop

Does anyone know if anything will be happening on friday other than the haunt tour? will the venders even be set up? I see that there are no panels scheduled before saturday i guess what confuses me is it says "Saturday 10:00 AM 1st Day of Convention" "Sunday 10:00 AM 2nd Day of Convention" but on the tickets descriptions it always says "This ticket gets you into the convention for all three days." wheres the third day? or maybe they are counting the meet and greet? but that is "FREE to anyone and everyone interested in finding out more about the convention". I assume the three is just a typo but if anyone knows what the basic ticket gets you on the first day let me know.


----------



## Sacrilegium

So, who else went? My wife and I went Saturday. This was our first haunt convention - how did it compare to others you've been to?


----------



## ylbissop

we went and where fortunate enough to go on the haunt tour as well. I have to say for a first year con it truly was amazing. I wish they had more vendors(but it's a first year convention) but at the same time the fact that it was still small was also a benefit because we got to know a bunch of really cool people. there where lots of giveaways and once you got talking with the vendors lots of info and freebees including cool little $5 chips that where good for any of the vendors given away for answering trivia in between panels. The panels needed more space(again it's a first year convention) but you couldn't overlook the quality of the speakers and most where useful for yard haunters as well as industry pro's. most of the people we talked to ended up spending more than they had planned once they where at the convention but again and again they where happy to have done it. we didn't make it to the Cadavers Cotillion because we had to see friends for a birthday but heard it was crazy. I can't stress enough tho if you plan on going next year try and make it on the tour. it was horrific from the start and you cant beat not having to stand in lines for the haunts and then getting behind the scenes with the people who run them. I'm gonna say it was worth every penny.


----------



## Sacrilegium

I actually spent less than I'd planned. I brought $500 and ended up spending about $40. I was hoping for more vendors. But the seminars were pretty cool.

I wish I'd known more people here. I would've introduced myself. If you saw a chubby dude wearing an "I (heart) Zombies" t-shirt, that was me. 

I'll paste my post from another forum here, just to give a wrap up of my experience at the event:

--------------------

Saturday was the big day. Around 8:45 a.m. we set out for Frazer, PA.

We were less than two miles from the house when the GPS died. Kaput. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Dead as a doornail. Well, ****. We still had the driving directions from their website as a backup, so we proceeded with those.

On the way there, we drove through Bryn Mawr. We've never been to that area before, but it looks nicer than almost anything else around here. Lots of unique little shops and exotic European car dealerships (which Lina drooled over) and stuff like that. We'll have to go there just for the shopping one day.

As we were nearing our destination (as well as nearing the time of the first seminar, timing it perfectly), we hit a bit of a snag. It became clear that we were not in the right area at all. A consultation of the map showed that the website's driving directions were wrong. It had put us 13 miles in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go. *sigh*

After cursing out the GPS and the website both, we turned around and made our way. We'd miss the first seminar. Figures.

Once we got there, we noticed several hearses and other vehicles in the parking lot like this one.










That's the only pic I took at the convention, though I should've taken more. I wonder what the "normal" guests of the hotel thought, with all these zombies and bloody people running around in May.

The hot foam seminar was already underway (and packed beyond the room's capacity), so we just hit the vendor tables. I was actually disappointed by the lack of vendors. There were maybe a dozen different vendors there, but I had expected more. Still, there was plenty of eye candy to be found. The Creepy Collection booth was the best one, with its incredibly gory displays of corpses being put through meat grinders, impaled, fried in frying pans, etc. They even had a couple nude female corpses wrapped in plastic, very reminiscent of Laura Palmer. Jeremy Dalessandro from Creepy Collection gave the most entertaining seminar of the day as well.

We made it in for the second seminar, which was centered on scaring people on a budget. Pretty interesting, but then something very cool happened. Someone in the audience asked a question, and his voice stood out to me like crazy. Then it hit me - he sounded like one of the hosts of the Skeptics Guide To The Universe podcast. I mentioned it to Lina, and she concurred. Then I remembered that one of the hosts was away doing something big for Halloween last year, and I knew it had to be him. Had to be either Jay or Bob Novella.

After the lecture, I approached him.

me: Excuse me.
him: Yes?
me: Is your name Jay, by chance?
him: No, but I have a brother named Jay...
me: Ah, then you're Bob!
him: Yes...
me: Aha! I thought so! I recognized your voice from the SGU podcast when you spoke.
him: Haha! No way! I can't believe someone recognized me by voice alone. People do get Jay and I confused a lot on the audio, so that makes sense. That's so cool. But yes, it's me.

We got to talking about Halloween and haunts and such, and maligning the "paranormal research" group at the festivities. I tried to convince him to do a skeptical report from their seminar, as he was planning on just skipping it. His wheels started turning when I mentioned it to him, so maybe he'll at least do a blog post about their lecture. He was nice, and it was just very cool to unexpectedly meet someone that you have that kind of admiration for.

(As an aside, his brother Steve has a pilot for a skeptical TV show that might be picked up soon. W00t.)

Later in the day we talked to the rep for the Museum Of Myths & Monsters (I hope I'm getting that right). They had some displays there - incredible life-sized museum-quality stuff. The one of Cerberus was particularly impressive. Anyway, he said they also have a 13-foot Cyclops and other stuff for when they open up. They aim to have pieces of all mythological creatures in exact detail. Where are they going to open? As it turns out, like five minutes from my house! I couldn't believe they're going to have something like that in Woodbury. We'll see how it does. The opening isn't slated until 2010.

We did make a few purchases. Some stuff was dirt cheap (Lina picked up three crazy bat/spider bras for $1 total). Other stuff was definitely discounted, but a bit out of our budgetary range. We're getting to the point now where we're pressed for space to put all of our displays, so new stuff has to be either small, functional or something we really love. There was a lifesize fiberglass corspe statue thingy for $250 that I would've loved to have, but at this point I can't justify spending that much on another prop that big unless I reaaaaallly love it. Where would we put it? We already have another lifesize animatronic prop shipping in July.

On the way home, we stopped at Senora's Mexican Restaurant for dinner. A little overpriced for what it was, but it wasn't bad. The jalapeno queso poppers were the best thing.

There's more going on today, but I think we'll skip it. There is one seminar we'd like to see, but...I think we're done. We got stuff to do today.

All in all, we had a good time. I wish we'd caught that seminar, but oh well. **** happens. The GPS is now plugged into the wall in the house and seems to be working here. Maybe it's just the cord for the car or something, I don't know. Further research is needed. But here's some pics of our finds. Oh, and my Sangarlo's shirt. Not Halloweeny, yet delicious


----------



## ylbissop

HA! I grew up in Bryn Mawr the "main line" is really nice but often very uptight there are a couple of neat things there tho any chance you drove past radnor henge?








I often get a what the hell is that out of people who haven't been past it before.
also by any chance is this the fiberglass corpse statue thingy you where talking about? cause i was eyeing this one all weekend.


----------



## Sacrilegium

I must've missed Radnor Henge, but that's the corpse I was talking about! $250 is a very good price for it, but I just can't justify that much floor space anymore. Maybe if it wasn't bronze. Or maybe if I just had Halloween stuff up at Halloween instead of all year around, like a freak


----------



## 3SpookyChicks

I bought some Hot Wire stuff and a big gargoyle. It was pretty cool but I was hoping to see more animatronics. I think I was spoiled by the Transworld pictures!


----------



## ylbissop

we got a bunch of hotwire stuff too. I've finally got myself a 3d table coming great price and free shipping WOO! 

you gotta remember transworld has been around for years the vendors all know it's established as good. there will be more next year i'm sure seeing as one vendor had made back the entire cost of this trip in the first 42 minutes of the convention.


----------



## 3SpookyChicks

I'll sure be back next year, I had a blast!


----------



## Redneck220

NO NO NO NO NO NO WHAT THE(*%@()*%@)_*(@%_)( N%@)*%@_(%@_+$(%@_$(%^@ was I thiniking??????????????????????

WHyyyyyyyyy whyyyyyyyyyy whyyyyyyyyyyyyy did i write it wrong on my calendar???????????????


If anyone needs me I'll b eoutside banging my head against a tree


----------



## ylbissop

sok rednecck they are commited to do three years already think of it as more time to work on props.

p.s. regarding trees careful of the kite eating variety


----------



## Redneck220

well after fuming for a good bit on my own stupidity i finally calmed down. 

I'd really like to hear about some of the seminars and wonders if anyone took notes they could share. I paid my admission, I just didn't go  (note to self: Hire personal secretary)

I was hoping to apply a lot of what they were having to help a community haunt (they need it)


----------



## ylbissop

well the seminars are listed here  we went to many and while I didn't take formal notes i'd be glad to answer any questions i can remember. most of them where used to talking to an audience of pro haunters but allot of the info can be used by yard haunts as well. many requested that they not be recorded so i doubt you could find audio. any specific questions?


----------



## Terror Technologies

*Eastern Haunters Convention*

Hi, 
Greg here from Terror Technologies, 5 of us attended the EHC and it was a blast! Next year I will be one of the vendors, and I hear already there will be a ton more getting involved as well. 

I read on here that somebody said Creepy Collection was the hit of the Con, it's true, Jerry had an awesome display, I ended up buying the 7' life-size slaughtered pig, pig head platter, 2 slaughtered pig heads, all of his DVD's, my partners loaded up on his bags of flesh, and some butchered small furry creatures. 

There was a vendor selling contact lenses of all kinds, and just about everybody in the costume ball was wearing them, it was a riot!

If anybody has photos, let me know where to view them, I have over 800 loaded up at myspace / Terror Technologies check them out and join our army of haunting friends...

A friend had Rotten Jacks Creep Shack as a vendor at the EHC and he did a killing, at least from my group! We will be a vendor at the annual Rotten Jack's Creep Show in Sept in Buffalo NY. We will have working 7 foot Guillotines, working Electric Chairs, Ripped Torso props, How-To Haunt Discs, and a whole bunch more...


----------



## ylbissop

in case anyone is interested heres my pics

the tour
08 EHT

the con
08 EHC


----------



## Terror Technologies

*great EHC pics*

great photos! is there a site that you have these posted at that i could copy them from? i have over 800 posted on myspace / terrortechnologies

thx,
greg


----------



## ylbissop

the pictures can be downloaded one at a time from that flash gallery just keep clicking on the selected picture till it opens full size in a popup then save as. if your looking for print quality of all of the pictures you can download a zip here


----------



## Terror Technologies

downloaded the zip to my hd, got the 126 pics or so & video in one folder, question about the _MACOSX folder with 77 items, they don't open, are they just dupes of folder 08 EHC, or should they be viewable? thanks, greg


----------



## ylbissop

Terror Technologies said:


> downloaded the zip to my hd, got the 126 pics or so & video in one folder, question about the _MACOSX folder with 77 items, they don't open, are they just dupes of folder 08 EHC, or should they be viewable? thanks, greg


126 and a movie sounds right
the _MACOSX folder is just thumbnail/folder info used by macs you can delete it


----------

