# The 2016 Spooky Town/Halloween Village Thread



## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Cats can be destroyers 

Does anyone know a good place to get some fabric for a display? What type of fabric is best? I bought some of lemax's 3 piece display foam and 3 foot of their moss/fabric hybrid stuff. I did not like it that much. Very messy and it fell apart easy. I did like the look of it in my graveyard though.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I use black felt and then add leaves, moss, whatever, depending on the area.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks for starting a new thread - can't wait to see what's in store for this year!

I've used this type of wire cube shelving to make tall sides of a cage before:










You may need to add a few additional supports (usually skewers/2' skinny metal posts zip tied mid-way through), but it worked really well.

As far as base fabric goes, I've used lightweight black fleece and actual pieces of landscape fabric before, but now that I don't do a big display, I tend to use black handkerchiefs &/or cloth placemats/table runners if I want landscape coverage.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

These are the 2 pieces that are already out that I would like to add to my display. 1 is reasonable the other one might be out of my reach based on what my wife will let me spend


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, after yet another "mishap" with the cat, wife and I took down the display before we lost something expensive. We're currently discussing options. Leaning towards doing shelf displays with individual scenes.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

I've decided this year I want to start a Spookytown collection. I never made it to Michaels for after season sales so I guess i'll be starting with the fresh lot!

Excited to buy my first...would love to know which ones you guys started with.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Kenneth said:


> I've decided this year I want to start a Spookytown collection. I never made it to Michaels for after season sales so I guess i'll be starting with the fresh lot!
> 
> Excited to buy my first...would love to know which ones you guys started with.



First house I purchased was Castle on Spooky Hill back when these first came out. Still one of my favorite pieces.


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## Weird Tolkienish Figure (Jan 3, 2013)

Checking in. Have a lot on our plate this year. First up is a Disney Cruise vacation! 

Have some good ideas on what I want to do this year. I want to grow my collection slowly, so I'll have to make due with only a few pieces at first. I want to go heavy on scenery, lichens and such, light on buildings. 

My Xmas display was actually a lot more of what I wanted for my Spookytown one.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Last year was my first year and I really loved finally building a Halloween Village. What's nice about this year is that I got all the "start-up" stuff last year so this year more of my budget can go to buildings!

Department 56 has started announcing new stuff for 2016 already. You can see a few items here - 

https://www.department56.com/catego...40&pp=15&sortby=newArrivalsDescend&sortType=1

There is also another site that has a few houses (like a house made entirely of Candy) from 2016 but I cannot find the link. Someone posted it on a facebook group over the holidays and I can't find it, sorry :\

Lemax does all of their announcing in March typically, yes?

One thing I'd love to see is spider themed stuff. It seems neither company has really done much with that motif.


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## Weird Tolkienish Figure (Jan 3, 2013)

I'm not a fan of the carnival motif, either for Spookytown or Xmas. I prefer the more gothic looking stuff.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Lemax does all of their announcing in March typically, yes?



Usually, yes. I'm anxious to see this years offerings.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

is there a discount at any online sites on 2015 items before the 2016 comes out?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Godcrusher said:


> is there a discount at any online sites on 2015 items before the 2016 comes out?



Ehobby will sometimes have discounted items. I usually check their site once a week for any deals.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Thanks. I just checked Ehobby today and they had some on figures but not buildings. The good deals are sold out already  I will check regularly though. Thanks for the tip.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

Hello all. New to the Board. Long time collector and fan of Lemax Spooky Town.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

Kenneth said:


> Excited to buy my first...would love to know which ones you guys started with.


My first piece was Greaves Manor from back in 2000.



Shadowbat said:


> Well, after yet another "mishap" with the cat, wife and I took down the display before we lost something expensive. We're currently discussing options. Leaning towards doing shelf displays with individual scenes.


Shadowbat - I've seen your videos on Youtube of your Spookytown display. Very impressive 

Unfortuante that your cat was starting to mess with it. I may run into a similair issue as one of my bigger displays is on my tv stand that is about 2 ft high (tv is mounted to wall), and have a 5 month old who will be 14mo by next October and it will be within reach. May have to figure something out.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

Weird Tolkienish Figure said:


> I'm not a fan of the carnival motif, either for Spookytown or Xmas. I prefer the more gothic looking stuff.


I agree. Although some of the carnival pieces are kinda neat, I am not into making a carnival scene either. 

The gothic looking pieces are cool. I am thinking about picking up the Gothic Haunted Mansion if I can find one in good shape at a decent price.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Steve_T said:


> My first piece was Greaves Manor from back in 2000.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks. 

Yeah, we have a new plan though. I'm not doing a new build until probably July when the new pieces start hitting Michaels, and they will be scenes using shelves as opposed to a table display.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

In case anyone is interested, there is a new village collection coming form the Bradford Exchange based on Americas haunted houses. Check it out:

http://www.bradfordexchange.com[url... let me post a direct link to the collection.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Oh man, I can lose hours browsing that site. Not sure if it's the one you mean, but this looks awesome: America's Most Haunted

This is pretty cool too: Stalking Dead Country

Am also in love with Burton's Carousel - dang I wish I'd win the lottery.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Oh man, I can lose hours browsing that site. Not sure if it's the one you mean, but this looks awesome: America's Most Haunted
> 
> This is pretty cool too: Stalking Dead Country
> 
> Am also in love with Burton's Carousel - dang I wish I'd win the lottery.



Yep. That's it.


We should see the 2016 Lemax offering here in the next month.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

Some cool stuff. The Nightmare Before Xmas Carousel is really neat. Pricey though. 

I'm excited to see the new 2016 Lemax stuff next month.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Oh man, I can lose hours browsing that site. Not sure if it's the one you mean, but this looks awesome: America's Most Haunted
> 
> This is pretty cool too: Stalking Dead Country
> 
> Am also in love with Burton's Carousel - dang I wish I'd win the lottery.


I love that barn! I also like the idea of the real-life haunted houses like the Amityville house. If I just had the room, I'd go for those too.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ehobby has a few lighted houses reduce for around the $30 range if anyone is interested. They are mostly sold out of everything but they usually are around this time. Getting ready for new inventory.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

I loooooooove the "America's Most Haunted" house idea, would buy it in a heartbeat but i've read horror stories on the Bradford Exchange so 
that really put me off on buying from them....anyone ever buy anything from them?


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Kenneth said:


> I loooooooove the "America's Most Haunted" house idea, would buy it in a heartbeat but i've read horror stories on the Bradford Exchange so
> that really put me off on buying from them....anyone ever buy anything from them?



I was excited for Stalking Dead County last year but was leery because they don't just show everything up front and what is shown came off as fancy renderings and not actual product. I saw pictures of the pieces from people who did purchase them and they were pretty underwhelming considering what the original artist depictions looked like on the website. They also look pretty small. 

While that isn't technically personal experience, I would wait until you see pics from someone else here or on a Facebook group. Good ideas yes, but seeing the Barn and Cornfield from Stalking Dead County they were pretty lame.


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## mariab1299 (Aug 18, 2008)

Based on my experience with Bradford Exchange village collections...I have to agree with thisdougsforyou.Many years ago,I fell in love with their mailer showing illustrations of the Munsters collection.I immediately signed up for it,and couldn't wait to get that first building....only to be really disappointed once I received it.So much so,that I dropped out immediately.Sight unseen....I thought it would be neat to incorporate a "Munsters section" within my Lemax and Department 56 village.....but due to the overall quality AND size......it just didn't seem to fit for my taste.Now this was many years ago....so perhaps one can give them the benefit of the doubt that they've improved over the years....but yes.....I agree that before purchasing one of the village sets...I would try to find some actual pictures or videos on the internet first.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback! I agree...thing is they won't start making them until there's enough interest. But I can't show my interest until I buy! So I would have no idea what the quality would look like. It's a shame, though, because I think that is a fantastic idea...would love to have a village set up with those houses. It'd definitely be a conversation starter!


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

That's disappointing to hear mariab1299 & thisdougsforyu. Be great to get the word out about their size & all the other stuff everyone's brought up. Please consider starting a thread in Reviews (I would but I've had no experience with them.)

Agreed, if they don't fit with the scale/style of your village, it might be a waste.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Does Dept 56 announce their new stuff around this time as well? I know it goes on sale in June so I'd think so. 

Last year I decided sort of late that I was going to finally build a Halloween Village and therefore was sort of all over the place. This year I plan on getting various Spooky Town pieces as well as one whole collection of D56 stuff. It's either going to be the train OR a new set they offer if one is particularly cool.

I just wish someone would make something spider themed already!


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## mariab1299 (Aug 18, 2008)

Department 56 already announced their new 2016 stuff.......you can see it all on their official website!!!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

mariab1299 said:


> Department 56 already announced their new 2016 stuff.......you can see it all on their official website!!!


I must be missing something. I see Christmas 2016 but I don't see the Halloween stuff. What's on there is from 2015.


EDIT - I see it now, I just had to download the PDF of their catalog. Hmm. Looks like I'll be starting on the train I guess as not a lot interests me this year save for a couple pieces that they sold last year which I already own.


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

Anyone looking for Sookytown on sale check out lemaxvillages.com under specials, mostly Christmas but some Spookytown.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Can't believe there hasn't been anything on the Lemax front. Even asked on one of their social media pages and got no response.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

One of the "insiders" on the tiny village group facebook alluded to the fact she knew what was coming but couldn't say anything (hate those kind of "neener, neener!" posts and implied that early April was when we'd see it.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> One of the "insiders" on the tiny village group facebook alluded to the fact she knew what was coming but couldn't say anything (hate those kind of "neener, neener!" posts and implied that early April was when we'd see it.



That's why I stay away from most groups on anything. Too much crap like that.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

I'm excited to see some of the Spooky Town collection in person at Michaels this year. Their coupons always help with the costs.


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

Thanks Shadowbat, wasn't able to see the collection, turns out Bradford Exchange USA no longer allows Canadians access we get sent to there Canadian site. I did an image search so have seen the Amityville and Franklin houses, you folks get all the best stuff


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

The Lemax 2016 Spookytown Collection is getting revealed this Friday, April 1. Sounds like they put the youtube videos up today and a few people saw them before they made them hidden. Sounds like one building has flying ghosts!

Only a couple days to wait, at least.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Def. will be on the lookout - thanks thisdougsforu! Hoping they have some nice, smaller light up table pieces this year.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Someone who saw the video before it was pulled also saw a cool looking swamp themed piece.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Been wanting them to expand to include more classic Halloween themes and monsters, so this sounds really interesting. Would be easy to fit into a display with any of their more decrepit buildings.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> The Lemax 2016 Spookytown Collection is getting revealed this Friday, April 1. Sounds like they put the youtube videos up today and a few people saw them before they made them hidden. Sounds like one building has flying ghosts!
> 
> Only a couple days to wait, at least.



About time! lol
Can't wait to see this years line up.


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## TnHorrorFan (May 18, 2014)

Wow can't wait, but fear the date is a joke


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

TnHorrorFan said:


> Wow can't wait, but fear the date is a joke



I'm with you! lol Hope it's true!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

I guess this is over my head, but what is "Fear the Date?"


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## spookydave (May 14, 2014)

April fools day


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

Spookytown 2016 is up!


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

As in the recent past most of the stuff we saw at Michael's last year is "new" for 2016. The cathedral and belfry are OK but look too much like others I already have. I'm not alone in the where am I going to put more buildings dilemma so I may pass depending on prices. Hopefully Michael's has something interesting to offer us. I'm sure I'll pick up a few of the figurines I see but have to admit I'm not exactly thrilled with what I saw.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Bummer that almost everything "new" on the building front are just the Michael's exclusives. I guess we will have to wait for Michaels to release their stuff to see what really is new.

At least the Belfry is very cool though. I'll be picking that up for sure.

If you look at the banner pic on the SpookyTown 2016 page there appears to be a couple unlisted pieces including a trick or treater house.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Like the R.I.P. train. Really like the All Hallows Cathedral. Reminds me of something out of a Hammer horror movie. Definitely be adding that one. Monster on Maple Street I think could have been executed better. Just not a very clean design. Also glad to see Wandas Cupcakes is back as I never did get around to picking one up last year. I see a couple of the new figurines I will add also, but overall, not really impressed with this years line up. Especially since half of it is last years pieces.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Shadowbat is that train completely new? I know I've seen a train in the Lemax lineup before.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I think it is. Would have to compare pics, but it looks like it.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I have that train along with the newer one. Looking at the photos it does indeed look identical to the Michael's exclusive version from years back. My box to it is buried to check the year it was originally released as a Michael's Signature item. I took a close look at the Cathedral myself. Out on a fence on that one as it seems to be so similar to the 2nd mausoleum version with stained glass windows added.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

I guess i'm a bit confused as this is my first year really looking at starting a Spookytown collection. How are these new if they were in Michael's stores?


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Kenneth said:


> I guess i'm a bit confused as this is my first year really looking at starting a Spookytown collection. How are these new if they were in Michael's stores?


Last year was my first year getting into Spooky Town (its freaking awesome, by the way) so let me explain -

Lemax has their standard 2016 items, which were announced today. Spooky Town hits Michaels stores in late July, and at that time the "Michael's exclusive" pieces are announced. You cannot buy them anywhere but Michaels. Going by the past two years patterns, in 2017 many of those exclusive pieces will get slight recolors and be part of the standard line then. Rinse, repeat. Hopefully that makes sense!

For reference, last year's michael exclusive's that are rebranded as "new" for this year are Wanda's Wicked Cupcakes, the Zombie Fortress, the Clown building, and the bumper cars.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Looking over the Spooky Town 2016 lineup, I think the belfry is pretty cool. Excited to see all of these in person.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I uploaded my revamped spooky town display if anyone is interested in seeing it. Got tired of sorting through the pictures so my apologies for any duplicates. I put it in an album under my profile as It ended up being 39 pictures so it's not for the weary. I didn't want to overtake this thread and bore those that have no interest.


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

We've bought at least one piece every year ever since the beginning, not this year . I will be buying some of the figurines really like the fountain.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Has anyone seen the new banner on the Lemax Youtube page? I don't recognize the house that is pictured. Could this be a yet unseen exclusive piece?


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXd8ozAzASHJr1iy-G41JgA


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

didn't really see anything that stood out to me. I got the Zombie Fortress last year and love it and would like something that fits that theme.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Boy, Lemax is really taking it on the chin in social media land for the mediocre lineup. The bizarre thing to me about it is they wanted to sort of make a big deal and have a "reveal" date and then pretty much just use retreads. I work in marketing for a product company and...uh..yeah it was a weird choice.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I think what's really disappointing is the fact that they keep redoing the same things over and over with just a few changes but the similarities are so striking that unless your set up is huge why would you want to buy it? The Zombie cafe-zombie eatery. The coffin cafe- graveside diner. Grisley's greenhouse-Hemlock's nursery. I have the witch countdown. They then did a reaper version last year and this year it's ghosts. My haunted grove looks exactly like the cave of skulls with a reaper looking ghost inserted instead. The haunted belfry has at least 6 different strikingly similar same size, look, and shape versions. I could go on and on. I understand there is only so many things you can do but it seems like they are redoing over and over and each time it is becoming less and less detailed. The biggest reason I purchased Banshee's BOO-B-Traps last year was because it was actually a new and different building. Most of the older buildings are easily found, much better done, and usually cheaper than their new pieces so even new collectors have a choice. I love my Spooky Town collection and add to it every year but have to admit the older stuff is what got me addicted. 
Shadowbat, I did notice that house on their 2016 preview banner and tried to zoom in on it but can't read the sign. Wonder if it may have gone the way of that warlock building that never got produced a couple years ago. I was actually excited for that one. The video looked more like the multi motion detail of the past but it was taken down and never seen. I don't think they would have included any Michael's items that will be out this year. Those will be "new" next year. LOL


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Arriving late to the reveal announcement. I agree that it's a bit disappointing to see so many reruns from prior years. But I'm kind of excited about a few of the figurines this year. I'll definitely be buying the "Evening Promenade" figure - that's really nice! And I think I'll get the "Delicate Balance" figure to go with my witch themed section. "Vampire Blood Run" might look cute on the Main Street section. And I'm sort of digging the "Former Cat Lady" figure, that's just fun and I might park her outside on the porch or yard of my haunted house to greet the TOTers. Other than that, I guess I'll be waiting to see what Michael's comes out with later in the summer. Another chance for a surprise...let's hope!


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## tzgirls123 (Mar 22, 2016)

I haven't bought any of these yet...but have been looking for a few years...I just can't get over the lame voice in the videos, lol...is that what the sound like? or just the background noises?


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

tzgirls123 said:


> I haven't bought any of these yet...but have been looking for a few years...I just can't get over the lame voice in the videos, lol...is that what the sound like? or just the background noises?


It's a mixed bag to be sure, some are better than others. I tend to turn the sound off on all of mine and just keep the lights/motion going, or just have one piece with volume but turned down low. When I hear everything screaming and chattering all at once, it makes me want to stick a fork in my eye, LOL! But they are so fun to collect and display. Beware though, they can become quickly addictive!


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

I turn the village on and within two minutes my better half says "turn it off, It's driving me crazy ", I now turn the sound off on most of the pieces, a problem I have now is some pieces is the noise from the motors.


Spookywolf said:


> It's a mixed bag to be sure, some are better than others. I tend to turn the sound off on all of mine and just keep the lights/motion going, or just have one piece with volume but turned down low. When I hear everything screaming and chattering all at once, it makes me want to stick a fork in my eye, LOL! But they are so fun to collect and display. Beware though, they can become quickly addictive!


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I turn my sound down low so I only hear it when I walk over to the display. The problem is when u have too many buildings with sound they just overwhelm you.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

thisdougsforu said:


> Shadowbat is that train completely new? I know I've seen a train in the Lemax lineup before.


The R.I.P. Railroad train set was a Michael's Exclusive from 2011. Instead of releasing it to the regular line the following year, Lemax waited until this year for some reason.


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## Steve_T (Dec 15, 2015)

Cloe said:


> I think what's really disappointing is the fact that they keep redoing the same things over and over with just a few changes but the similarities are so striking that unless your set up is huge why would you want to buy it? The Zombie cafe-zombie eatery. The coffin cafe- graveside diner. Grisley's greenhouse-Hemlock's nursery. I have the witch countdown. They then did a reaper version last year and this year it's ghosts. My haunted grove looks exactly like the cave of skulls with a reaper looking ghost inserted instead. The haunted belfry has at least 6 different strikingly similar same size, look, and shape versions. I could go on and on. I understand there is only so many things you can do but it seems like they are redoing over and over and each time it is becoming less and less detailed. The biggest reason I purchased Banshee's BOO-B-Traps last year was because it was actually a new and different building. Most of the older buildings are easily found, much better done, and usually cheaper than their new pieces so even new collectors have a choice. I love my Spooky Town collection and add to it every year but have to admit the older stuff is what got me addicted.
> Shadowbat, I did notice that house on their 2016 preview banner and tried to zoom in on it but can't read the sign. Wonder if it may have gone the way of that warlock building that never got produced a couple years ago. I was actually excited for that one. The video looked more like the multi motion detail of the past but it was taken down and never seen. I don't think they would have included any Michael's items that will be out this year. Those will be "new" next year. LOL


I agree. Another similair one is Forgotten Souls Cathedral-All Hallows Cathedral. Forgotten Souls from 2010 is better. The older Lemax stuff from say 2005-2012 is just better and more creative. There have been a few cool pieces in recent years, but not comparable to the older lines. 

The warlock piece that was supposed to come out was Blackroot's Wizard Academy in 2014. Can still find the video of it on youtube. Very cool, creative piece. Had multi-motion. Disappointing that it got cancelled.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ehobby has the 2016 line up for pre order!

http://www.ehobbytools.com/contents/en-us/d186_spooky_town_2016.html


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

Checked Lemax villages but don't see the new items up yet. Though they do still have some sale items as someone on here mentioned earlier this year. There seems to be some I don't remember seeing before too. Their in stock selection of a lot of the hard to find buildings can't be beat. American sale also has pretty good prices on a few older buildings right now, and I don't recall much mention on here but another place to check for those looking for older pieces is Dollhouse, trains and more. I don't think I've ever seen a sale there but still cheaper than a lot of people waste their time trying to sell for ridiculous prices on Ebay. Let's face it other than the original mausoleum, and a couple of the early carnival rides most things are still easily found. I'm the type that prefers to space my purchases out not get slammed with the full charge in August when it comes to prior releases that aren't in stock. Though I'm trying to control myself on the 3 (just 3) older buildings I still have on my wish list due to space!! I also looked closer at the building on their preview picture and I can't make out the name on top but it's followed by what looks like voodoo manor. Hopefully it will show up at Michael's as it is finally something different. Oh American Sale why do you have something I want on sale and IN STOCK????? Don't you know I'm cramped for space?


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Where is a good place to find display backgrounds?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I use those party scene setters. I have a roll of the purple skyline with the black tree silouettes.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Thanks Shadowbat, I looked them up and I've found some good stuff. I'm building a permanent display table for them this year with a back to hang a background.

So I'm scouting my new pieces this year and I'd really love to nab that Ghost Containment Unit (lights are freaking cool!) but I can't really figure out what the heck it would go with. Did they make any specific accessories for that piece?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Thanks Shadowbat, I looked them up and I've found some good stuff. I'm building a permanent display table for them this year with a back to hang a background.
> 
> So I'm scouting my new pieces this year and I'd really love to nab that Ghost Containment Unit (lights are freaking cool!) but I can't really figure out what the heck it would go with. Did they make any specific accessories for that piece?



I don't think so. Not that I remember.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

thisdougsforu said:


> Where is a good place to find display backgrounds?


I ended up using black landscaping cloth that I painted fluorescent stars and a moon on for mine as I have a blacklight bulb in my porch ceiling light. I actually purchased a large chunk of material at Joann's that I never used. I thought it looked like what Billy Bones used. Who by the way has an absolutely awesome display. I used his and one other forum member whose name slips my mind who had an awesome pirate display, as inspiration though I sadly couldn't achieve the same level. I couldn't get the material to look right for me so I'm not sure if it is the exact thing he used or not but it did look really nice on his. I guess a lot depends on where you put your display and whether it's backed to a flat wall or not. There is some nice scene setters out there that would work too as suggested.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Steve_T said:


> The R.I.P. Railroad train set was a Michael's Exclusive from 2011. Instead of releasing it to the regular line the following year, Lemax waited until this year for some reason.


I think this might be the year I finally buy the train. I've really like it in other displays I've seen in the past. Will wait to see what Michael's might be coming out with, but if nothing else grabs me, I think this is the year my village gets some public transportation!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

This pic was show off on a facebook group. I guess its from some kind of ad Lemax recently did. That house hasn't been announced yet to my knowledge and looks like a Swamp style getup. I really like it. I'm guessing that's the swamp piece that some who saw the 2016 Lemax Release Day videos early claim they saw before everything was pulled down. The alien lights as well.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

Thanks, thisdougsforu, for posting that close up. I like it as well and hope to see that building at Michael's maybe. That swamp shack type of building would tie in with the other voodoo one we saw. But the alien lights? Seems a little odd to just throw those in. Now I'm wondering if Michaels is going to have some type of alien invasion.
Spookywolf I'm going to give my opinion on the two trains that might help with your choice. Unlike the buildings, you can't turn the sound off of the train. The RIP railroad has a very annoying soundtrack. Not that a lot of things don't but it gets irritating real quick, more so than the Spooky Town Express one. I like the seesaw better than the circling witch. Especially since if you have any type of tunnel in your set up it has to stay off since it needs too much clearance but I chose to have the Spooky Town Express one in my setup. I like the engine better and as said I can't deal with the RIP soundtrack for more than a couple minutes. Might want to compare them on you tube for yourself.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> View attachment 277283
> 
> 
> This pic was show off on a facebook group. I guess its from some kind of ad Lemax recently did. That house hasn't been announced yet to my knowledge and looks like a Swamp style getup. I really like it. I'm guessing that's the swamp piece that some who saw the 2016 Lemax Release Day videos early claim they saw before everything was pulled down. The alien lights as well.



That's the house that's also on the banner for the Lemax YouTube page. I'm going to guess it's a Michaels piece. I really like this one and will probably buy it. The alien light posts are different. I never thought about it, but an alien theme would be something drastically different for Spooky Town.

And something I would be totally down with.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I hate the wait so much!!!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

New D56 Haunted Rails car for this year (as well as ghost catcher figure)! These look badass. I guess I need to finally start collecting the Haunted Rails set as I've been meaning to. This is gonna get expensive.

https://www.enescobusiness.com/category/d56+-+brands/villages/snow+village+halloween.do

A couple other new pieces (and more pics of the train car) at the link above.

EDIT - Just scored the pumpkin and CaBOOse train cars for 100 together on ebay. And so it begins. hehe.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Sorry for the double post but I forgot to put on here the piece I scored several weeks ago! A friend of mine from out of town had this piece and traded it to me for some car parts lol. I work in the racing industry and look forward to picking up all the spooky town cars/trucks to go with it as well as the gas station.

Looks like this season its all Trains & Hot Rods.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Cloe said:


> Spookywolf I'm going to give my opinion on the two trains that might help with your choice. Unlike the buildings, you can't turn the sound off of the train. The RIP railroad has a very annoying soundtrack. Not that a lot of things don't but it gets irritating real quick, more so than the Spooky Town Express one. I like the seesaw better than the circling witch. Especially since if you have any type of tunnel in your set up it has to stay off since it needs too much clearance but I chose to have the Spooky Town Express one in my setup. I like the engine better and as said I can't deal with the RIP soundtrack for more than a couple minutes. Might want to compare them on you tube for yourself.


Cloe, thanks so much for the heads-up about the soundtrack on the trains. I really appreciate it. I didn't realize you couldn't turn the sound off on those, and that's kind of a bummer for me. That means I'd have to leave the train turned off a lot of the time on my display, since the sound effects drive me bonkers after a while. Wish they would have made that with an option to run without sound. I'm off to find some Youtube videos of them in action. Might need to ponder this for a while.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

thisdougsforu said:


> View attachment 277283
> 
> 
> This pic was show off on a facebook group. I guess its from some kind of ad Lemax recently did. That house hasn't been announced yet to my knowledge and looks like a Swamp style getup. I really like it. I'm guessing that's the swamp piece that some who saw the 2016 Lemax Release Day videos early claim they saw before everything was pulled down. The alien lights as well.


thisdougsforu, thanks for sharing the pic. I like the looks of the new house. I'm trying to build a swamp section in my display and that might fit in great. Will need to see that in person. I'm also really liking the new Haunted Birdhouse- that's got some great details. But what I'm trying to figure out is what is that piece in front of the house, down at the bottom of the pic? It's mostly cut off, but it looks a sign with part of a pointed witch's hat in it.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Spookywolf said:


> thisdougsforu, thanks for sharing the pic. I like the looks of the new house. I'm trying to build a swamp section in my display and that might fit in great. Will need to see that in person. I'm also really liking the new Haunted Birdhouse- that's got some great details. But what I'm trying to figure out is what is that piece in front of the house, down at the bottom of the pic? It's mostly cut off, but it looks a sign with part of a pointed witch's hat in it.


I assumed that was Wandas Wicked Cupcakes.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

I scored the D56 Haunted Fun House last weekend at a garage sale! What a killer piece!

You know, that and the discussion about Lemax's 2016 stuff on the last few pages makes me ask this question- as a person who has really only been into this hobby for less than 2 years it definitely seems like all the cool stuff is from previous years. Why is this? While their are certain exceptions, it sure seems like both companies were really firing on all cylinders in years past. So many awesome looking, intricate pieces. Are the good ideas just all used up? I don't necessarily buy that theory, but even if that was true couldn't they re-release some of the best ones? Just odd to me.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

thisdougsforu said:


> I scored the D56 Haunted Fun House last weekend at a garage sale! What a killer piece!
> 
> You know, that and the discussion about Lemax's 2016 stuff on the last few pages makes me ask this question- as a person who has really only been into this hobby for less than 2 years it definitely seems like all the cool stuff is from previous years. Why is this? While their are certain exceptions, it sure seems like both companies were really firing on all cylinders in years past. So many awesome looking, intricate pieces. Are the good ideas just all used up? I don't necessarily buy that theory, but even if that was true couldn't they re-release some of the best ones? Just odd to me.


I also just got into this hobby a couple years ago. I used to love going into Menards and seeing their display. This year they had nothing and Michaels were underwhelming. I hope this years offers are better. If not Im going to shift my buying this year to some older stuff.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

My real life Forgotten Souls Cathedral. Every time I drive by this, it makes me think of Spooky Town, LOL!


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

I need some help from my fellow village architects on the Forum. I saw this Youtube video of someone's display - might even belong to someone on here. It was listed as a combination of Dept 56 and Lemax, and this piece in particular really caught my eye. This is a screen shot of it since it was only in the video for a few seconds, but I can't seem to locate anything about it. It's a bit hard to see at first because of the low lighting in the video, but it's a witch flying on a broom with a skeleton hanging off the end of it. Can anyone on here help me identify this piece?


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Cloe said:


> I uploaded my revamped spooky town display if anyone is interested in seeing it. Got tired of sorting through the pictures so my apologies for any duplicates. I put it in an album under my profile as It ended up being 39 pictures so it's not for the weary. I didn't want to overtake this thread and bore those that have no interest.


I just now got a chance to go look at your pics, Cloe. Holy smokes! That's one amazing set up!! I'm assuming that it's a permanent display and I'm very, very jealous. Your water features are fantastic. You might have to give us a tutorial on how you made the water look so realistic. You have so many cool buildings and it looks like you made a lot of custom platforms too. Did you make the sidewalk pieces as well? That's something I'd like to incorporate into my display, but it's cost prohibitive for me, since I'd need to buy so many pieces of it. You did an amazing job - a really jaw-dropping display. Very impressive!


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

Spookywolf said:


> I need some help from my fellow village architects on the Forum. I saw this Youtube video of someone's display - might even belong to someone on here. It was listed as a combination of Dept 56 and Lemax, and this piece in particular really caught my eye. This is a screen shot of it since it was only in the video for a few seconds, but I can't seem to locate anything about it. It's a bit hard to see at first because of the low lighting in the video, but it's a witch flying on a broom with a skeleton hanging off the end of it. Can anyone on here help me identify this piece?
> View attachment 278041


That's a department 56 piece, I got the same one about two years ago. I don't remember the name of the piece off the top of my head. Mine is currently still up so I can get better pictures if you want them. I can also see if the store that sells department 56 pieces near here still has the piece for sale if you like. They usually have them out and for sale all year.


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## Dogmom (Oct 18, 2007)

Spookywolf said:


> I need some help from my fellow village architects on the Forum. I saw this Youtube video of someone's display - might even belong to someone on here. It was listed as a combination of Dept 56 and Lemax, and this piece in particular really caught my eye. This is a screen shot of it since it was only in the video for a few seconds, but I can't seem to locate anything about it. It's a bit hard to see at first because of the low lighting in the video, but it's a witch flying on a broom with a skeleton hanging off the end of it. Can anyone on here help me identify this piece?
> View attachment 278041


That looks like my display. It's called Dead Weight by Dept 56.


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

Dogmom said:


> That looks like my display. It's called Dead Weight by Dept 56.


That sounds right! For the life of me I couldn't remember what it was called and didn't have time to go digging through my boxes lol. I do really like the piece though!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Shouldn't be too long now before Michaels unveils their exclusive ST pieces.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Itzpopolotl said:


> That's a department 56 piece, I got the same one about two years ago. I don't remember the name of the piece off the top of my head. Mine is currently still up so I can get better pictures if you want them. I can also see if the store that sells department 56 pieces near here still has the piece for sale if you like. They usually have them out and for sale all year.


Thanks! How much does it go for? And where can I find Dept 56 pieces? I don't think I've ever seen any in a retail store. 



Dogmom said:


> That looks like my display. It's called Dead Weight by Dept 56.


Thanks Dogmom. And if that was your display video then my hat's off to you! Awesome display. I actually watched that video several times. You've got a lot of cool things in there. Loved the skeletons pushing the railroad car back and forth. I really liked your "civilian" section of town too and loved how the trees at one of the houses got TP'd.  And thanks for filling in the blank with the name of that piece. I swear I searched every combination of "witch and skeleton" I could think of and came up with nada.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Shouldn't be too long now before Michaels unveils their exclusive ST pieces.


I can't wait! I'm already antsy to start setting up my village again.


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

Spookywolf said:


> Thanks! How much does it go for? And where can I find Dept 56 pieces? I don't think I've ever seen any in a retail store.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks Dogmom. And if that was your display video then my hat's off to you! Awesome display. I actually watched that video several times. You've got a lot of cool things in there. Loved the skeletons pushing the railroad car back and forth. I really liked your "civilian" section of town too and loved how the trees at one of the houses got TP'd.  And thanks for filling in the blank with the name of that piece. I swear I searched every combination of "witch and skeleton" I could think of and came up with nada.


The only store I know of in my area that sells department 56 is a small hardware store (weird right?). They sell department 56's Christmas and Halloween villages. I have also seen them sold in a store in North Carolina and a store in Michigan. I don't remember how much I spent on that one but they usually give me a deal on their pieces since I go in the "off" season. Next time I am near the store I will go in and see what pieces they currently have and what they are asking for them. I need to see what the 2016 pieces are anyways!  One of the biggest differences with department 56 is I have not seen any pieces with sound. They have light and movement but no sound while spooky town has movement light and sound.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

The only piece I've seen of D56 that has sound is the Haunted Rails Train Station...and maybe Monsters of the Deep?!

I'm really excited for the coming season as well as once Memorial Weekend passes that means early Halloween stuff starts to pop up! My local D56 dealer gets their 2016 stock in early June, and then obviously Michaels in July. I'm really hoping that several of the new exclusive pieces are nice!

And hey, I've been working on a pet project of mine the last couple weeks and I'm finally ready to show it off on here - SpookyVillages.com! I'll be reviewing a different piece at least once a week and hopefully can get a few other contributors on board to help with content from time to time. It gives me an excuse to talk Halloween Villages 365, as well as shoot detailed pictures/video!

Since we are in "off-season" right now and waiting on the new stuff to release, my first review is of the classic Dr. Stretch & Pull's Torture Factory. Take a gander if you would. I also just did a small right up on the My Village background that I just purchased recently. I have several infamous pieces coming up for review the next few weeks while we wait!

http://spookyvillages.com/

Again, anyone looking to contribute detailed reviews in a similar style and/or anything else would be appreciated. Within a couple years I'd like it be a great database for someone looking to get a specific building, but that isn't sure what exactly one does. Some of you guys & ghouls have rare pieces so sharin' the knowledge is always great!

Thanks!


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Dept 56 question for the veteran collectors... Being relatively new to Dept 56 in general, when do the new 2016 items come out for this line? I'm really liking their "Witch Hollow" series and wondered if they create a new house every year? And what are the best websites to check for the lowest prices on Dept 56 Halloween? 

On a side note, I made an impulse splurge on EhobbyTools.com this weekend for some older Lemax items. They had some things discounted and I had a bonus check burning a hole in my pocket...terrible, terrible combination.  I don't think their orders are due to ship out until early August, according to their site, but I'll post pics when I receive my stuff. I couldn't resist the discounts for pre-ordering, and they had some older buildings available that I just couldn't pass by.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

Department 56 stuff previews are out already. Usually earlier than Spooky Town. I have quite a few accessories but have shied away from the buildings as they are pricier. I'm sure you are aware that their people are not proportionate to their houses or Spooky Town's. The quality though is admittedly superior. I have ordered from here with good luck http://www.countrynmoregifts.com/Halloween+Series-22.html?sp=onsale&gclid=CKO56rmi3cwCFVhahgodTYcIiA. There is also a store near me that sells quite a bit on Ebay. I have to admit (by choice lol) I have never been in there. I'm sure others can give you suggestions also.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

I'm local to a big D56 dealer and their Halloween stuff is due in late May to early June. The Witch Hollow stuff is very nice!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

I got a MAJOR craigslist score yesterday! A local man was moving shortly to a different state and wanted to sell his collection of Spooky Town stuff for $600. All of it is close to mint and has original packaging. I'm still sifting through everything! It's over 30 buildings, 40 accessory pieces, and then a big collection of figurines, display material, and misc stuff. There are some real gems here! Happy my wife gave me the ok to pull some cash out of our savings to take advantage of it! I raced across town and beat several others to the punch!


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

thisdougsforu said:


> View attachment 278203
> 
> View attachment 278204
> 
> ...


Wow!! Lucky you I'm totally jealous!!!!


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

thisdougsforu said:


> View attachment 278203
> 
> View attachment 278204
> 
> ...


Awesome find. Now the fun part. Building a landscape to display all those pieces.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

thisdougsforu said:


> View attachment 278203
> 
> View attachment 278204
> 
> ...


Oh wow, what a terrific haul! Now you need to post an inventory list for us of what you brought home. I see a "Witch's Lair" in there that I had to scour Ebay for to get a semi-decent price on. I also see a water feature in your near future, LOL. How fun and exciting. Keep us posted as you sift through the goodies.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

VERY NICE haul.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Thanks all. Yes, I have managed to finally put together a list of the haul, at least the buildings/accessories. I have a ton of figures with it as well, but I didn't archive those.

BUILDINGS
island of doom
dead mans point
the pillager
pirates pub and grub
forsaken prison
cursed tomb
tingles laboratory
d56 the creatures lair
witches lair
nightmare on oak street
costume contest
monsters ball
zombies café
dry gulch hotel
witches coven
my boot-iful balloon
werewolves den
agathas costume crypt
vampire castle
dead as a doornail morgue
hillside mausoleum
peters pumpkin patch
bluebird acres
leslies pie and bake shop
Madame Viola
Torture Factory

ACCESSORIES
cooking up a ghoul
the mummys tomb
the mummys curse
treasure map trouble 
pirates treasure chest
candy thief
hungry tree house
tools of the trade
the gate keeper
witches laundry day
clumsy witch
spooky haywagon
spooky tree with vultures
be careful what you wish for
peek a boo
a little night music
grim reaper graveyard
phantom of the opera
rat attack
haunted grove
dungeon
trick or treater eating tree
on the lone prairie
haunted stage coach

It's a great haul at a great time as I'll be reviewing all of the main buildings and cooler accessories on SpookyVillages.com. I'll then look to trade off a few of them though. I'm not big into Witch or Mummy stuff so I'm hoping I can find someone on a facebook group or maybe here with something cool that I'd be interested in (I love vampires, werewolves, spooky farms, frankenstein/mad scientist stuff the most). 

While I haven't opened everything yet, once piece I did check out was the Monster's Ball. Holy cow that buliding is incredible. The light show is crazy, the monsters dancing are awesome, and the creepy organ music is perfect. It's probably the most impressive that I've seen and I'm so happy I nabbed one.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

That was a heck of a deal


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

Anything your looking to trade post here I'm sure someone would be interested.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Itzpopolotl said:


> Anything your looking to trade post here I'm sure someone would be interested.


I haven't been into everything I have from the haul just yet, but if someone had a Frankenstein's Factory or Blood Bank I'd potentially be interested in trading something. Once I get a chance to run through everything I'll hopefully have a better idea.

I just posted a new review to Spooky Villages- the Cursed Tomb http://spookyvillages.com/2016/05/19/review-lemax-cursed-tomb/

I gotta say I never was feeling the Mummy theme until I set this thing up. It's a killer piece and now I want to get the Pyramid to finish off the collection of that whole getup.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

thisdougsforu said:


> I haven't been into everything I have from the haul just yet, but if someone had a Frankenstein's Factory or Blood Bank I'd potentially be interested in trading something. Once I get a chance to run through everything I'll hopefully have a better idea.
> 
> I just posted a new review to Spooky Villages- the Cursed Tomb http://spookyvillages.com/2016/05/19/review-lemax-cursed-tomb/
> 
> I gotta say I never was feeling the Mummy theme until I set this thing up. It's a killer piece and now I want to get the Pyramid to finish off the collection of that whole getup.


Loved reading thru your list - got a lot of nice things there! In all the displays and videos I've seen posted, I rarely if ever see the Mummy/Egyptian theme in anyone's collection. I say go for it! I'd love to see that incorporated into a display. Very unique and reminds me of the classic monsters.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Getting all of these old pieces makes me a bit sad for the stuff still coming out. 

I'll be posting it this weekend, but I have gathered scans of every Michael's Lemax ST catalog from 2002-2015 with the exception of 2006, and those mid-late 2000 years were amazing. Last year it fell off a cliff. I really hope their are some good Michael's exclusives this year, particularly in their two or three large buildings they seem to annually have.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Here's a link to the archive. I'm missing 2006 and 2011 if anyone has access to them!

http://spookyvillages.com/2016/05/20/lemax-spooky-town-michaels-catalogs/


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## Halloweiner (Oct 2, 2003)

http://www.lemaxcollection.com/villages/spooky-town/view-all

Michael's used to put out long rolls of black felt that I use as a backdrop for my villages. Michael's also have little fluorescent stars in their child craft section that I used.


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## Halloweiner (Oct 2, 2003)

Here's a website that has a database of photos of every Lemax piece ever released:

http://kerstdorpen.piwigo.com/index?/category/1006-lemax


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Here's a link to the archive. I'm missing 2006 and 2011 if anyone has access to them!
> 
> http://spookyvillages.com/2016/05/20/lemax-spooky-town-michaels-catalogs/



Have them in this thread here: http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/136086-historical-walk-through-spooky-town.html

I believe 2011 is on the last page, but they are there. Feel free to use the images.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> Have them in this thread here: http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/136086-historical-walk-through-spooky-town.html
> 
> I believe 2011 is on the last page, but they are there. Feel free to use the images.


Thanks Shadowbat. Those are nice scans. You've been collecting awhile, do you have a favorite year?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Thanks Shadowbat. Those are nice scans. You've been collecting awhile, do you have a favorite year?


Not one particular year, but definitely the first 5 years. Everything was new. It was exciting. What helped too was the store displays you would walk in and see. The support for Lemax Spooky Town was so much more than what it is now.


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## Fletch (Jun 5, 2016)

My first piece was the high school five years ago. Sister gave it to me as a gift. Now it's a obsessions!


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## Hallow-art (Jul 20, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> In case anyone is interested, there is a new village collection coming form the Bradford Exchange based on Americas haunted houses. Check it out:
> 
> http://www.bradfordexchange.com[url...and house from The Exorcist would be great :D


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## Hallow-art (Jul 20, 2015)

After doing some research on the Bradford Collection, I thought they were doing houses based on horror movies but it seems like they're sticking to real haunted houses. Cool concept though


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Welcome fletch! Do you do a display, or just put out a few pieces/scenes? 

Yeah, Bradford Exchange has the right idea, but it's a weird outfit & it sounds like they're not to scale with Lemax or Dept. 56 (back on pg. 3 there was some discussion about them). Like the artist renderings, but would want to see them in person before buying them.

Anxiously awaiting seeing the new Lemax pieces & Micheal's exclusives in person soon!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Fletch said:


> My first piece was the high school five years ago. Sister gave it to me as a gift. Now it's a obsessions!




Just takes one! lol

Welcome.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Anxiously awaiting seeing the new Lemax pieces & Micheal's exclusives in person soon!



Yeah, me too. I asked on the Michaels Facebook page when we would see their exclusive line up, but just got an answer of "we should see them hit stores mid summer". Well, duh. That wasn't what I was asking.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Ugh always tease, tease, tease. Went to Michael's and tried to sneak a peek at their aisle layout for seasonal to see if there was anything for fall but didn't have enough time to flip through the whole packet. Need to take a friend to keep a look-out next time.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> Yeah, me too. I asked on the Michaels Facebook page when we would see their exclusive line up, but just got an answer of "we should see them hit stores mid summer". Well, duh. That wasn't what I was asking.


Going by past threads on here it's normally right around July 7-10 that they post them to their site. Right around a month left!

I've already started on my display this year as I'm doing my first big one. I have a 4x8 table built and am in the process of building shelving to elevate the rear pieces. I'm sort of just meandering about with it though as I'm waiting to see if I need to add anything via Michaels!


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## jecarl2 (Aug 12, 2015)

These look great but the size of them is very disappointing. Way too small for my liking (Bradford Pieces)


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## PunkinGal (Aug 2, 2014)

Hi all,

I normally don't post, I'm more of a lurker.. But I was poking around on the Lemax site and found this. Looks like they have the Michaels exclusives posted! Enjoy!

http://www.lemaxcollection.com/information/collectors/product-exclusives/michaels


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

PunkinGal said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I normally don't post, I'm more of a lurker.. But I was poking around on the Lemax site and found this. Looks like they have the Michaels exclusives posted! Enjoy!
> 
> http://www.lemaxcollection.com/information/collectors/product-exclusives/michaels


Great catch on that! It's funny I was just looking for info 2 days ago and found nothing. Skipped yesterday. Now this morning you find this. Excellent. 

Trick or Treat house and Ghostly Manor will be mine. Assuming I can find them. Last year both our area Michaels didn't get in some of the exclusive houses. I could have ordered them online, but I didn't want to pay the full price plus shipping. Looks like I'll be getting quit a few pieces this year.

I'm still not seeing that swamp house though.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

ooooo i'm a fan of the doll shop!


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

I love the cemetery gate!


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

Not a carnival collector but I like all three houses. Thanks PunkinGal. Hmm. I'm sure they'll be more. At least figure and table top pieces. Still no hint of the Voodoo store or anything related to those alien lights.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Cemetery Gate and Ghostly manor are the 2 I want from that set.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Wow, I checked in on the thread at the perfect time. Thanks PunkinGal for the link! I'm really liking Ghostly Manor and the Cemetery Gate. I like the original idea of the Creepy Doll House store, but not sure I'll have room for it. But at least they are coming up with some unique shops. Shadowbat, I'm with you...where's that swamp house? (And can I put in a request to Lemax for a really cool, wicked looking swamp hag to go with it? ) We're getting closer now. Guess I need to start cleaning out the dining room and making a space for this year's display.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks & welcome PunkinGal! Especially interested in Ghostly Manor - that looks really cool. C'mon release date!!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Lemax knocked it out of the park this year IMO. Those are some amazing pieces. Every single one of those exclusives is top notch and Ghostly Manor is particularly amazing. I just ordered Last House on the Left yesterday so that will go perfect with it. Totally makes up for the off-year last season. Nice job Lemax!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> Great catch on that! It's funny I was just looking for info 2 days ago and found nothing. Skipped yesterday. Now this morning you find this. Excellent.
> 
> Trick or Treat house and Ghostly Manor will be mine. Assuming I can find them. Last year both our area Michaels didn't get in some of the exclusive houses. I could have ordered them online, but I didn't want to pay the full price plus shipping. Looks like I'll be getting quit a few pieces this year.
> 
> I'm still not seeing that swamp house though.


I have 3 Michael's stores within a 20 mile radius (one 5 mins from work, another 5 mins from my house) so if you can't find one of the exclusives local I'd be happy to ship them to you from my work (huge commercial UPS discount) if you paid me paypal.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

The one preview picture that was posted here was the only place the swamp shack was shown. I did notice the voodoo store is still clearly on their 2016 site banner. Another production problem maybe? I personally would prefer the voodoo store to the doll shop. Here it is again on their site,upper dead center building.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Lemax knocked it out of the park this year IMO. Those are some amazing pieces. Every single one of those exclusives is top notch and Ghostly Manor is particularly amazing. I just ordered Last House on the Left yesterday so that will go perfect with it. Totally makes up for the off-year last season. Nice job Lemax!



I agree. The exclusives really made up for the bit of disappointment I had for the initial 2016 line. This will be a good year for Spooky Town.


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## slaz (Aug 18, 2008)

I think the building for the doll shop is cute, I just think it is sad that the dolls don't look a little bit more interesting/demented. I think the dolls from the movies (The Boy) or (Dolls) and (Dead Silence) or something kinda like that would have been nice.  



Kenneth said:


> ooooo i'm a fan of the doll shop!


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## slaz (Aug 18, 2008)

Shadowbat, have you seen Crowley House from a few years back? I kinda like it better than Ghostly Manor. Some of the older ones are nicer.
Just a thought....



Shadowbat said:


> Great catch on that! It's funny I was just looking for info 2 days ago and found nothing. Skipped yesterday. Now this morning you find this. Excellent.
> 
> Trick or Treat house and Ghostly Manor will be mine. Assuming I can find them. Last year both our area Michaels didn't get in some of the exclusive houses. I could have ordered them online, but I didn't want to pay the full price plus shipping. Looks like I'll be getting quit a few pieces this year.
> 
> I'm still not seeing that swamp house though.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

slaz said:


> Shadowbat, have you seen Crowley House from a few years back? I kinda like it better than Ghostly Manor. Some of the older ones are nicer.
> Just a thought....



I have seen it, and it's actually one of the ones I keep an eye out for on the cheap. lol


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## FreakinFreak (Aug 27, 2010)

Shadowbat said:


> I agree. The exclusives really made up for the bit of disappointment I had for the initial 2016 line. This will be a good year for Spooky Town.


Ya really gotta see em in person. I've seen seemingly crummy pieces turn out nice in person, and vice versa.


Looking forward to August.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

WHy is it not August yet?


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Does anyone know if there are any figures that are close to Lemax scale that are in the likeness of Jason from Friday the 13th or any other slasher/horror icons?
I know Lemax makes the slasher chasing piece and slasher rentals (which I cant find).

But im looking for maybe a stand alone piece/s


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Hawthorne Village had a slasher set, I have the Elm St. house. They are a bit under scale from the Lemax pieces though. Depending on how you set it up it can work however.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> Hawthorne Village had a slasher set, I have the Elm St. house. They are a bit under scale from the Lemax pieces though. Depending on how you set it up it can work however.


those look really cool. Ebay only has Freddy abd he is $50 just for the figure. Im going to have to keep looking for the Jason I guess, The whole set looks great though,


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

I just finished a write-up for one of the new D56 pieces this year, Halloween Party House - http://spookyvillages.com/2016/06/28/review-department-56-halloween-party-house/

I really, really like this house. The price is hard to swallow but with 20 or 30 percent off (my local shop does discounts on certain weekends) it's not too bad. The quality is definitely there, that's for sure.

I'm starting to love both companies traditional decorated trick or treat houses and next year may get into that theme.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Does look pretty cool but $130 is steep.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I just call my local Michaels(Indiana) and they said the new Spookytown would be on a trailer to be delivered this week and should be on display for sale the following week.

Its getting close 

I hope they have a 50% coupon valid when they are put out to be sold.


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

Hi! I don't do a Halloween village but I was looking at a catalog I received in the mail & saw a little Halloween mini-garden set that might be of interest here. 

https://www.ltdcommodities.com/Gard...en/288e/prod2250320.jmp?categoryId=cat2280006

I'm not sure how the size works out to other miniature village pieces, but I thought it was a neat idea to sit the house on a pumpkin stand. Also, their spring mini garden set has some fencing & an arbor that would probably work in a Halloween cemetery or yard - https://www.ltdcommodities.com/Gard...&categoryId=cat51924&catalogBookId=visibleLTD

Be sure to check measurements though.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

ˆSeems like you have to be quick these days. The last couple years here they haven't seemed to cary much inventory and they cleared them early. We used to be able to pick stuff up on clearance on November 1. But the last few years it seems like ST was cleared to make room for Christmas in early October.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Last year I was able to pick up some figures week of Halloween but that was it, Display was down and all the buildings were gone. I'm going to make sure I get what I really want early this year and use the coupons I hope.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Yep, was like that last year as well. Spooky Town is pretty much picked over by early October. Best bet to get what you want is late July / early August.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Yeah, last year was low inventory and neither of my area Michaels even got in all the selections. I was also told it probably won't be out (in our store) until the last week of July or first week of August. They still have a ton of Summer clearance.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

These were posted by a member of the I Love Lemax Spooky Town facebook group I'm a part of. Taken in Minnesota. Should be out very soon in most stores!




























Interesting to see what prices are shown there. Trick or Treat House is around 25 dollars with coupon, not bad at all!


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Thanks for posting the pics ThisDougsforU. I'm going to check my local store this weekend just to see if they are up a week early.

I don't see the price on the Cemetery gate. I really want that and the Ghostly manor.

Trick or treat house, costume shop and the gas station look good too and might try to get them on clearance.


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## Weird Tolkienish Figure (Jan 3, 2013)

I like these way better than the BoobBtraps one offered last year! These are pretty good.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I called out to our local store today to see if they had any out today. Wanted to take advantage of that one day 50% coupon. Nothing.  They told me probably not until the first week of August. My store is always behind.


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## tzgirls123 (Mar 22, 2016)

Shadowbat said:


> I called out to our local store today to see if they had any out today. Wanted to take advantage of that one day 50% coupon. Nothing.  They told me probably not until the first week of August. My store is always behind.


One of My stores said they were scheduled to put out the spooky village pieces this weekend!! (my store doesn't have any halloween out yet at all, just fall)...hope she is right!


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Friday is the actual scheduled release of Spooky Town.

Thanks to spending a massive amount of money this year on a ST haul, building my first big display, developing the SpookyVillages website and also wanting to purchase other Halloween goodies (not to mention I don't have room to display half of what I have, haha) I'm going to be pretty selective on what I buy this year. Trick or Treat house is a for sure purchase as are several of the figures. The rest I'll have to see what I can get away without my wife killing me.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I hear you about the room. I always just preplan to buy just that 1 but when I get to the store I lose control . I was going to head to Michaels today but even AC Moore only has a 40% right now . Joanns actually has a 30% right now. I'm hoping they are not hoping to start a trend hoping the other stores follow suit and just routinely offer that instead of 40%. I'll just stay out of the store till I see a 50% to be safe.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, we stopped into Michaels this evening and they had the display platform set up and all the tags up. I have to say that once again I am very disappointed in the selection. All they are carrying are the exclusives. Nothing more. Mine has always carried 2 or 3 of the other houses as well. Not this year. Which means I'm going to have to rely on online ordering. And the prices. Last year they weren't too bad, this year it seems like they went back up again. $54.99 to $129.99? The lighted house being the cheapest? Thank goodness for the coupons. That will be the only piece I purchase from the store this year. They do have a couple of the figurines that were on our list so we'll pick those up as well, but for house pieces, very disappointed. Every year it seems to get worse with Michaels.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

After talking to the manager last week at our local Michaels I was informed they should be out this week. I called last night and the manager on duty said they did not receive them and sounded like she had no idea what I was even talking about and was quick to get off the phone without even offering to check on a delivery date.

Customer service at its best.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I remember a couple years ago calling one of our stores and being told it wasn't out before she actually finally asked what is that? It was in the store by the way.


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## djgeneral (Aug 13, 2008)

Got stuff today! Yay. My store had no booklets out though. Did they stop them this year ? They also didn't have a display out. Just threw everything out there. Does anyone have a booklet or ad scan? Or could someone post pictures of everything with the prices if not too hard to ask? I forgot to do this as I was in a hurry. Thanks so much


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

My local store didn't have the display all setup, but they had the items out on the shelf. Picked up Trick or Treat House. Going to head to another store tonight and use the 50% coupon again!


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

My store decided to join suit with some of the others here in the I don't really feel like pulling that stuff out mode. Normally it's out when everyone else starts picking it up. Had a bad day today and was hoping for some retail therapy with my 50% coupon in hand but sadly I walked out with a candle and cauldron majorly disappointed.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

My store just got them in! So by this time tomorrow I will be the proud owner of Ghostly manor and either the Trick or Treat house or Cemetery Gate.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I called out there today before I wasted my gas. I do want to pick up Trick or Treat House. They still haven't put anything out.


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## Neuf350Z (Feb 12, 2006)

They're probably waiting until this week's coupons expire and then when they issue new ones they will list Spooky Town as items that are exempt from the discount.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Rockstar Graphics said:


> They're probably waiting until this week's coupons expire and then when they issue new ones they will list Spooky Town as items that are exempt from the discount.


I can totally see that happen at some of the stores.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

Well we weren't really impressed with a lot of what we saw online  . We're old and persnickety and set in our ways. But we went to Micheal's tonight and were really surprised. It seems like a smaller selection this year, but the stuff they had all seemed decent. Probably the last 7 or 8 years we've found most of it to be just way overdone for our tastes, but this years stuff seems a little more subdued. To me there did seem to be a big difference in the quality of the painting between the different displays models. But aside from that, I think we'd be happy to add almost any of the pieces to our collection (except for the circus plane ride, because we don't have any of the rest of that theme.)

We actually got a physical coupon in good ol' snail mail, with 50% off one item until August 4th, 30% off your entire purchase from the 5th to the 11th and 25% off sale and regular price stuff from August 12 to 18th. So we took the 50% off on the withered mansion and the cashier was kind enough to scan another coupon for 25% off for the little figurines we bought. So can't complain.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

We bought the ghostly manor.. I love it. The same principle as the last house on the left which I still want to get. I also want the withered mansion GobbyGruesome.


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## Neuf350Z (Feb 12, 2006)

Just came back from my local Michael's and ended up picking up Ghostly Manor ($110). Looks like other people beat me to some of the other pieces that I was looking to get because there was hardly anything left in terms of the buildings - especially with the 50% off coupon. I asked about brochures and they didn't have any.


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## Weird Tolkienish Figure (Jan 3, 2013)

I don't get why people are complaining, these are wayyy better than last year's. 

I prefer the gothic motif to the carnival one anyway.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

Whoops. Here's the brochure (I scanned and posted it in the Micheals thread). PDF format.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6iZqsFxjrgUTzR4TU1saFNjWVk/view


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## PunkinGal (Aug 2, 2014)

I posted this in the Michaels thread as well, but here are some prices of the bigger items incase any one was curious. I just stopped at my Michaels and they had everything out. I grabbed a booklet but I see someone has already posted it in the Michaels thread. Here are the prices (USD) of the bigger items:

Flying school: $54.99
Cemetary gate: $47.99
Gas n Ghoul: $49.99
Sabrina's Costumes: $54.99
Carnival Plane Ride: $129.99
Ghostly Manor: $109.99
Doll Shop: $79.99
Trick or Treat House: $54.99
Withered Mansion: $79.99
Bloody Belfry: $99.99


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

I'm glad to see Michaels bringing back some older pieces for those of us that missed a chance to get them before. Withered Mansion was a nice surprise for me. I've debated that one before over on Ehobby Tools, but never pulled the trigger. With a 50% off coupon, that would make that piece a good deal. I think all displays need a few quiet "haunted" looking houses, just to add some ambience.  Gas N Ghoul was also a surprise bring back. I already own that one, but it's a fun piece to add to your "business district" section of the village. Ghostly Manor is a nice new go-with for the previous Last House on the Left piece. But, I'm leaning toward getting Trick or Treat House, because I'm trying to build up a civilian section to my village. With coupon I'll only be out $27.49 to get that one, and it's nicely done. And of course Withered Mansion might find its way home with me before all is said and done.  Overall, a pretty good assortment of offerings.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

For anyone that lives a good distance from a store or store doesn't have what you are looking for their Spooky Town is available to purchase online. They will stack a reduced shipping and a percentage off coupon codes. Only the Withered Mansion and a couple figurines say in store only.

https://www.michaels.com/search?q=lemax spooky town


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

For anyone that lives a good distance from a store or store doesn't have what you are looking for their Spooky Town is available to purchase online. They will stack a reduced shipping and a percentage off coupon codes. Only the Withered Mansion and a couple figurines say in store only.

https://www.michaels.com/search?q=lemax spooky town


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Spookywolf said:


> I'm glad to see Michaels bringing back some older pieces for those of us that missed a chance to get them before. Withered Mansion was a nice surprise for me. I've debated that one before over on Ehobby Tools, but never pulled the trigger. With a 50% off coupon, that would make that piece a good deal. I think all displays need a few quiet "haunted" looking houses, just to add some ambience.  Gas N Ghoul was also a surprise bring back. I already own that one, but it's a fun piece to add to your "business district" section of the village. Ghostly Manor is a nice new go-with for the previous Last House on the Left piece. But, I'm leaning toward getting Trick or Treat House, because I'm trying to build up a civilian section to my village. With coupon I'll only be out $27.49 to get that one, and it's nicely done. And of course Withered Mansion might find its way home with me before all is said and done.  Overall, a pretty good assortment of offerings.


I had never really seen Withered Mansion before (probably seen it in pics but never paid attention) but it's really cool! Already got Trick or Treat House yesterday with coupon so today it's probably going to be that piece.


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

Here's a video of the Spooky Town taken at Michaels. 
https://vimeo.com/175976861


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TheNextMartha (Sep 3, 2011)

Today I picked up the Doll Shop, The Costume Shop and the Zombie Plane Ride.

My display has part town, part cemetery, and part carnival. 

I'm pretty excited that the doll shop sound says "mommmmmy mommmmmy" Creepy good. 

I also have my eyes on the cemetery gates and a few of the accessories. I think this is one of their best years yet. 

::Thows all the money at Michael's::


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

My new additions 









Don't mind the x-mas stuff in the background.  My wife love Christmas more than anything in the world......besides me.....I think


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

Called one of my Michael's stores and was told they put it out yesterday. I used an AC Moore 55% for both the Ghostly Manor and the Trick or Treat house. Was looking for the skull mason jars and no purple left in the store so stopped at the one near my house and they had their Spooky Town out too, Nothing set up just the boxes. I picked up the costume shop there and the purple skull. Really hard for me to decide as I really like the withered mansion and don't have that one either. The $$ difference helped sway me I guess.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Didn't see this posted yet. Here's the official Lemax / Michael's Spooky Town video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg_fqkIS3wo


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

My son and I went yesterday and used the 50% coupons and picked up a few things. Bought the Trick or Treat House and Sabrinas Costumes, which I really liked once I saw it "in person". Also picked up a couple of the figural pieces. Not sure if we will get any other houses due to the prices and the fact that a couple we really wanted is part of the regular line and isn't being carried by Michaels. 

Also, I scanned our 2016 pamphlet and added it to the Historical Walk Through Spooky Town thread if anyone wants to take a look at it.


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## Hallow-art (Jul 20, 2015)

I stopped by my Michael's today and they had their Spooky Town display up along with their usual lighted/animated props. I liked alot of the houses and might even consider purchasing one if I have the right coupons/funds available. The paint jobs on some of the figures were shoddy unfortunately but the houses themselves were pretty great


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Okay, somebody shine a light for me; I'm a bit confused. I've only been collecting for a few years so I'm still new at a lot of this. I've seen Withered Mansion and Gas N Ghoul on Ehobby Tools for the last couple of years. I actually bought the Gas N Ghoul the year before last. I looked online and found the Withered Mansion had been released in 2014, but I didn't see it anywhere in the booklets that Shadowbat posted. And now they both pop up at Michael's this year. Is there a separate list for items that aren't carried at Michael's for Spooky Town? And if so, is it typical for Michael's to offer them even years later? What gives?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Michaels use to always carry non exclusives and rereleases from past years. Over the years though they slowly started carrying only their in store exclusive line. I was shocked to see Withered Mansion to say the least.


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## Kenneth (Feb 14, 2014)

Withered Mansion is my favorite, honestly. It's actually the start of my collection!!








I actually also purchased the Ghostly Manor but I think I'm going to return it. The way they designed the lighting really makes me not love it. It's very "top heavy" lighting wise. And while I could just add a light, couple that with the fact that the motor is noisy makes me have second thoughts.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I ran in and used another 50% coupon and bought the Graveyard Picnic piece. Way over priced at $24.99, imo, but $12 is just right. There remains a couple figurines we want to grab and we will be done for this years in store purchases. There are 2 pieces from the regular line we want to get but will have to buy online.


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## Cloe (Mar 18, 2013)

I was kind of surprised there wasn't any exclusive figures or a couple table pieces. I placed an order online for some of this years figures and in scanning the display end at Michael's there was nothing that wasn't available elsewhere. Saved me running back and forth with coupons but it did think it was odd. I was up in the air on the ghostly manor but my daughter was with me and really liked it so I caved. I had the 1 day AC Moore 55% and thought If I get this piece today would be the best price so home with me it went. I am still trying to control my impulse to pick up Withered Mansion.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks Spookywolf for sharing the Spookytown video link. Seeing them set up always make me want to get everything /o\

Happily used a 50% to get the costume shop - love the green skulls & the copper witch windvane. Having been trying to decide between the doll shop & the ghostly manor. Will have to see if another 50% coupon comes out before Micheal's puts them with a percent off so you can't use the coupons.

Also wanted to add I can't wait to see everyone's set ups!


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

Well, for the first time in 11 years of collecting, I resisted the urge to use that 50% off coupon for a new building! I almost bought the Trick or Treat House but I stuck to last year's promise of only buying pieces that would work in my witch's village and only display those pieces. The house was cute and eye-catching but not witch related really, so back on the shelf it went. Same for the costume shop. Even at half price, I can't justify the price if it's not something I really love. 
Now that I think about it though, the costume shop could work...


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

Madame Leota said:


> Well, for the first time in 11 years of collecting, I resisted the urge to use that 50% off coupon for a new building! I almost bought the Trick or Treat House but I stuck to last year's promise of only buying pieces that would work in my witch's village and only display those pieces. The house was cute and eye-catching but not witch related really, so back on the shelf it went. Same for the costume shop. Even at half price, I can't justify the price if it's not something I really love.
> Now that I think about it though, the costume shop could work...


I think the costume shop would work great in a witch only town.  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Micheal's has a 55% off coupon. Good through today - & it would bring the Ghostly Manor into my price range.

Also, go for it Madame Leota! It would fit very well I think


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## Michele Kowalczyk Tomecko (Jul 30, 2016)

ooooh...I need some bigger pieces! These are awesome!!!


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## Michele Kowalczyk Tomecko (Jul 30, 2016)

Seems like Lemax got a little cheap with their stuff...in terms of how they are made and painted. There was a time...and I have all the old ones to prove it...that the paint and details were very comparable to Dept. 56. Now they just look a little mass produced. Still love them anyhow though!


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

ˆI never expected the Lemax stuff to compete with he Dept. 56. They used to be a lot more expensive, but the prices seemed to have climbed.

But yeah, this year looking at the display in the store, there were some that looked great and and a couple that looked like they tried to paint them and missed. Don't really understand the inconsistency. The Trick or Treat house on display looked kinda awful but I don't know if that's representative of the whole batch. We might have picked it up if it had looked better, because it was lower priced and we like to have a few "regular house" mixed in with the spooky stuff.


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## BR1MSTON3 (Jul 31, 2010)

Well between the 55% off coupon and a gift card I had, I broke down and started my collection today. I am now a collector!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

These have been my Michaels additions over the past 2 weeks. Everything has been bought with coupons. $100 total. I may pick up a couple more sets of the purple spotlight but other than that my in store purchases for Spooky Town are done for this year. Rest will be online.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

I agree GobbyGruesome, some of the paint jobs are hit or miss. They must of had a different process for production in the first few years - the paint jobs & details were nearly impeccable. Of this years' crop, the Costume shop really looked well designed & had great details. It's def. my favorite for this year.

Lol BR1MSTON3 - one of us, one of us! 

Nicely done Shadowbat. I know I'm looking forward to seeing how the new pieces fit into my current line-up.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

Those little purple spotlights are GOLD!


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

Ordered my pieces for this year, going with regular TOTers


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I picked up the street sign, hearse and Gas N Ghoul today to go with the Withered mansion, Ghostly manor, Costume shop and cemetery gate I picked up last week. Used 55% off last week and 60% off this week.

Think I'm done buying the bigger pieces this year I think. Still will pick up a couple accuracies. 

Now I'm going to start working on my base and set up.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Finally got to Michael's with coupons in hand yesterday. I had planned on buying Trick or Treat House but it just didn't grab me at the store. But Sabrina's Costume Shop really caught my eye. So many details and very nicely done! And I wasn't going to get Withered Mansion either, but that 60% coupon made it a really good deal so I had to jump on it. I love the "old haunted house" feel to it. My store won't allow you to use more than 1 coupon per visit, so I walked out to my car, tucked Withered Mansion in the trunk, then came back in for the Costume Shop with my 55% coupon. I took the last box they had, so I'm glad I got it when I did. After seeing everything in person, I think Sabrina's is my favorite piece this year. It's funny how your opinions can change once you get to the store to see them up close. And now it's officially kick-off season to building the village time.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Spookywolf said:


> Finally got to Michael's with coupons in hand yesterday. I had planned on buying Trick or Treat House but it just didn't grab me at the store. But Sabrina's Costume Shop really caught my eye. So many details and very nicely done! And I wasn't going to get Withered Mansion either, but that 60% coupon made it a really good deal so I had to jump on it. I love the "old haunted house" feel to it. My store won't allow you to use more than 1 coupon per visit, so I walked out to my car, tucked Withered Mansion in the trunk, then came back in for the Costume Shop with my 55% coupon. I took the last box they had, so I'm glad I got it when I did. After seeing everything in person, I think Sabrina's is my favorite piece this year. It's funny how your opinions can change once you get to the store to see them up close. And now it's officially kick-off season to building the village time.



That's funny. I'm uploading a video review of Sabrinas now and I say the same exact thing.


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## Screaming Demons (Sep 15, 2008)

I noticed my store doesn't have as much inventory this year. Some of the big pieces only had one or two in boxes on the shelf, and most of the smaller accessories didn't fill up the space like years past. I hope they have more stock in back. I can't afford to buy everything at once.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

My review of Sabrina's Costume Shop


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Screaming Demons said:


> I noticed my store doesn't have as much inventory this year. Some of the big pieces only had one or two in boxes on the shelf, and most of the smaller accessories didn't fill up the space like years past. I hope they have more stock in back. I can't afford to buy everything at once.


My store had very few of each larger building as well. I don't know if others had already come in and bought some of them before I got there or not, but there were only two of the Withered Mansion - one of which I bought. And I had a moment of panic when I saw that there was only one box left of Sabrina's Costume Shop. I knew I had to leave and come back after buying Withered Mansion so I could use another coupon, so I tried to hide Sabrina's behind two other boxes of the Gas & Ghoul until I could get back to buy it, LOL! Spooky Town addiction at its best.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ours also had limited stock, but they did last year as well. By October there was only the display and a few pieces left. The rest of the rack was filled in with other Halloween merchandise.


I did order Grimsley's Halloween Décor from Ehobby for only $25. They have some good deals on there right now. I'm waiting until the end of August to get the couple other pieces we want as they are pre order now anyway.


Also, here's my review of the Trick or Treat House.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Ours also had limited stock, but they did last year as well. By October there was only the display and a few pieces left. The rest of the rack was filled in with other Halloween merchandise.
> 
> 
> I did order Grimsley's Halloween Décor from Ehobby for only $25. They have some good deals on there right now. I'm waiting until the end of August to get the couple other pieces we want as they are pre order now anyway.
> ...


Dang it, Shadowbat. Now you're making me want to go back and buy that house after all.  If another good coupon comes out, I might head back. And I might check out the figures again too. I bought a few, but put a few back. I guess I think that if I'm not spending as much in one big purchase, then it doesn't hurt as badly.


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## Jezebel82 (Oct 4, 2007)

I went into Michaels on Saturday fully intending to use my 60% off coupon on another skelly and what do I walk out with? Withered Mansion!! I ordered Ghostly Manor online a few weeks ago. I'm not even a collector!! I just couldn't resist though. I love love love the lighting on Withered Mansion. These are my very first Spookytown purchases and I have a bad feeling they won't be my last. Now just gotta figure out where the heck I'm gonna display them. My 3 year old already tried to have Darth Vader and C3PO take over Ghostly Manor.


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

Jezebel82 said:


> I went into Michaels on Saturday fully intending to use my 60% off coupon on another skelly and what do I walk out with? Withered Mansion!! I ordered Ghostly Manor online a few weeks ago. I'm not even a collector!! I just couldn't resist though. I love love love the lighting on Withered Mansion. These are my very first Spookytown purchases and I have a bad feeling they won't be my last. Now just gotta figure out where the heck I'm gonna display them. My 3 year old already tried to have Darth Vader and C3PO take over Ghostly Manor.


I do a pretty big (what I think) village at Christmas and I want to collect the Spooky Town houses, but I just don't have the room lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jezebel82 (Oct 4, 2007)

RichardG said:


> I do a pretty big (what I think) village at Christmas and I want to collect the Spooky Town houses, but I just don't have the room lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's pretty much where I was until a couple of weeks ago. I inherited a huge Christimas Village from my grandma. It has a lot of sentimental value to me because some of the pieces were gifts from me and I always helped her set it up. Because of that I knew how quickly a little village can turn into a sprawling city. Oh well, no turning back now.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Shadowbat, love your reviews. I'm going to share them on the spooky villages facebook and put a post about them later today or tomorrow. 

I've been out of town because of work, but i did manage to snag Trick or Treat House and Gas & Ghoul last week. I definitely need to get Withered Mansion as well though. That piece looks so really good as I love a good old fashioned scary house.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

thisdougsforu said:


> Shadowbat, love your reviews. I'm going to share them on the spooky villages facebook and put a post about them later today or tomorrow.
> 
> I've been out of town because of work, but i did manage to snag Trick or Treat House and Gas & Ghoul last week. I definitely need to get Withered Mansion as well though. That piece looks so really good as I love a good old fashioned scary house.



Very cool. 


I've been debating Withered Mansion. It's coming down to budget. We still have so much we need to get for both the haunt and the party plus the 2 other ST pieces we need to order. Ugh. Where's the money tree?


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Jezebel82 said:


> I went into Michaels on Saturday fully intending to use my 60% off coupon on another skelly and what do I walk out with? Withered Mansion!! I ordered Ghostly Manor online a few weeks ago. I'm not even a collector!! I just couldn't resist though. I love love love the lighting on Withered Mansion. These are my very first Spookytown purchases and I have a bad feeling they won't be my last. Now just gotta figure out where the heck I'm gonna display them. My 3 year old already tried to have Darth Vader and C3PO take over Ghostly Manor.


Welcome to the Spooky Town addiction, LOL! I dipped my toe in the water a few years ago and I'm been on full binge ever since. It's really fun to create a little village set up with your pieces. Once you start, you'll want trees, and people, and...


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Okay let's get to the bottom of things - so to speak. My spooky town village is calling to me from the boxes in the basement and the new ones are waiting for their debut. So, my thoughts are turning to display options. I'm curious about what everyone does for their displays. Do you have a dedicated space or use a table? And what do use underneath your set ups? I have some of the moss covered bases Lemax sells, but was debating on adding to or trying something else this year like black fabric or maybe material with some kind of interesting design or something that looks like terrain. Any ideas?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

My main display was a full sized table display and we would remove certain houses for small shelf displays during Halloween. I use black felt and scatter moss from Dollar Tree with some bushes, trees and whatever else. Now I had to take down the table display due to our cats, so this year I'm using those plastic grey utility shelves and doing scenes.


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

Jezebel82 said:


> That's pretty much where I was until a couple of weeks ago. I inherited a huge Christimas Village from my grandma. It has a lot of sentimental value to me because some of the pieces were gifts from me and I always helped her set it up. Because of that I knew how quickly a little village can turn into a sprawling city. Oh well, no turning back now.


I mean I could use the same spot I set my Christmas village up on, but that's more totes and boxes I don't think I will have room for. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

Spookywolf said:


> Okay let's get to the bottom of things - so to speak. My spooky town village is calling to me from the boxes in the basement and the new ones are waiting for their debut. So, my thoughts are turning to display options. I'm curious about what everyone does for their displays. Do you have a dedicated space or use a table? And what do use underneath your set ups? I have some of the moss covered bases Lemax sells, but was debating on adding to or trying something else this year like black fabric or maybe material with some kind of interesting design or something that looks like terrain. Any ideas?


We used to use burlap as a underlay for our village but it was pretty messy. My wife now uses sheets of floral foam, and lots of the Micheal's moss, grass and fabric, and a sometimes some pebbles etc. It can still be a real mess to clean up. She grabs branches from the yard and paints them black and uses them to create little forests, etc.

I guess our one revelation is that we could use the bins we store the village as a base, with just some sheets of plywood overtop. Then we put fall coloured table clothes over top and set the village up on that. We set it up in our dining room...the bins are quite low bt it's perfect height for the little ones to peer down at. But I have to be super careful that I don't forget something in a bin that I need for the village. That gets super dangerous super quickly.


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Last year I used a counter top, but this year having added a massive amount of buildings I built an 8x4 table and have started working on the shelving. I know how a problem though that due to a recent furniture purchase (got a new computer and desk, which we needed) I now have no place to safely put the table so I'm going to be using a the counter top again, as well as various smaller displays on tables/shelves. Next year I'll debut the big table setup.


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

Our spot is the sunroom, table as the base then plywood finished it's 8'x5'.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

in the JoAnns topic there is a pic of unpainted village pieces. 1 looks very similar to the coffin saler Lemax piece. I wonder if it would fit in with a good paint job?


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Is it common to have a loud motor sound in the older pieces? I've looked at some of the older buildings on Ebay, but run into a lot of comments about loud buzzing noises, etc. and it scares me off. Is it just that the motors are getting older and need to be oiled, or were they always loud right out of the box? Sound effects are one thing, because I always turn mine off and just leave the the lights and motion on, but if the motor is making a loud noise all the time I'm concerned that it would ruin the effect of the piece in my display. What is your experience with the older pieces?


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## thisdougsforu (Jun 30, 2015)

Spookywolf said:


> Is it common to have a loud motor sound in the older pieces? I've looked at some of the older buildings on Ebay, but run into a lot of comments about loud buzzing noises, etc. and it scares me off. Is it just that the motors are getting older and need to be oiled, or were they always loud right out of the box? Sound effects are one thing, because I always turn mine off and just leave the the lights and motion on, but if the motor is making a loud noise all the time I'm concerned that it would ruin the effect of the piece in my display. What is your experience with the older pieces?


I suppose it depends on what you define as older piece, but I have vast majority of buildings offered from 08-09 (as well as an 04 Torture Factory) and it is quite common for them to be noisy. Most of mine were never opened before me so its not a worn motor. 

To break it down a little better, from what I've seen the ones that have opening/closing doors are the really bad offenders thanks to the mechanism that is used. 

Ones that having rotating animation (like monsters ball, vampires castle, etc) aren't really that bad.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

The ones I wanted were from 2002 and 2003. I know that's getting older for display pieces, especially if they were previously used. It's hard to find a good deal on the older pieces that still have their parts and are in good working order. So many of them are listed as defective or missing pieces.


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## MissT (Dec 18, 2013)

Spookywolf said:


> Okay let's get to the bottom of things - so to speak. My spooky town village is calling to me from the boxes in the basement and the new ones are waiting for their debut. So, my thoughts are turning to display options. I'm curious about what everyone does for their displays. Do you have a dedicated space or use a table? And what do use underneath your set ups? I have some of the moss covered bases Lemax sells, but was debating on adding to or trying something else this year like black fabric or maybe material with some kind of interesting design or something that looks like terrain. Any ideas?


Our set-up is small, so we just use the boxes everything came in as a base. We also have pets that chew dried mosses, so I put down a sponge-painted groundcloth on top of the boxes. Will look for the photos so you can see what I mean. Everything sits on the floor, since jumping pets would likely cause more breakage than they would if they simply walked through town (which they *will* do).


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

MissT said:


> View attachment 284659
> View attachment 284656
> 
> 
> Our set-up is small, so we just use the boxes everything came in as a base. We also have pets that chew dried mosses, so I put down a sponge-painted groundcloth on top of the boxes. Will look for the photos so you can see what I mean. Everything sits on the floor, since jumping pets would likely cause more breakage than they would if they simply walked through town (which they *will* do).


Oh wow, Miss T, I love your display! I like the idea of using the boxes they come in, plus it keeps them out handy for when you're ready to pack up again.  I'm on the hunt for fabric or a tablecloth to use underneath the display. Last year I used a big piece of felt and the bagged moss, but boy oh boy what a mess. And the moss clung to that felt like superglue. I'm trying for something a little less messy this time.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Oh my gosh, guys. I'm so excited! I just got a package and I'm doing the happy dance. I'm been after this piece for a while and finally found a good deal on it. Can't wait to add this to my village this year.


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

Hello Everyone! My dream has always been to put together a Halloween Village and this year I am finally taking the plunge. I purchased most of the Michael's pieces this year with the exception of the Ghostly Manor and I ordered some stuff from Ehobbytools. So far I purchased the Mortis Theater (fell in love with it), The Gate, 13 Ghastly Lane, Pumpkin Patch, living dead cemetery scene and lot's of little things. I bought Lilith's doll store from Michael's but when I put it out I just couldn't fall in love with it so I took it back. It doesn't seem like there's much enthusiasm for that piece on these boards (and they still have a ton of them at my Michael's store where the others are getting picked over).
I also have been checking on KSL (Utah's craigslist) and found a lady selling some older one's for $35 each. From her I bought Forlorn Cemetery, Witches Brew Haus, House of Wax, Vampire Caverns and Phantom's Opera House. I talked her down to $28 each. Felt like a steal but a few aren't in the best shape. Brew Haus's sound doesn't work. 
So as someone building their village this year (and becoming a little obsessed) any tips on how to find many of these pieces cheaper? There are so many I want but the kind of money you can spend becomes crazy.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

auteur55 said:


> Hello Everyone! My dream has always been to put together a Halloween Village and this year I am finally taking the plunge. I purchased most of the Michael's pieces this year with the exception of the Ghostly Manor and I ordered some stuff from Ehobbytools. So far I purchased the Mortis Theater (fell in love with it), The Gate, 13 Ghastly Lane, Pumpkin Patch, living dead cemetery scene and lot's of little things. I bought Lilith's doll store from Michael's but when I put it out I just couldn't fall in love with it so I took it back. It doesn't seem like there's much enthusiasm for that piece on these boards (and they still have a ton of them at my Michael's store where the others are getting picked over).
> I also have been checking on KSL (Utah's craigslist) and found a lady selling some older one's for $35 each. From her I bought Forlorn Cemetery, Witches Brew Haus, House of Wax, Vampire Caverns and Phantom's Opera House. I talked her down to $28 each. Felt like a steal but a few aren't in the best shape. Brew Haus's sound doesn't work.
> So as someone building their village this year (and becoming a little obsessed) any tips on how to find many of these pieces cheaper? There are so many I want but the kind of money you can spend becomes crazy.


Hi there! Welcome to the Forum and our thread. And I guess I should say welcome to the addiction club as well.  Sounds like you've made a nice haul for your first set up. You're hitting all the right places. Ehobby is always a good one and of course you've tried Craigs List and the like. Ebay is an option, although they tend to be pricier, but they have pieces you can't find anywhere else. Amazon has listings too. It's really sometimes luck to be in the right place at the right time. I bought Mortis Theater from Ehobby earlier this year too. I'm a huge movie buff so I had to have a theater in my village. The coolest part about this hobby is the uniqueness of everyone's set-ups and how personalized you can make them. No two are alike. I look forward to seeing your display when it's done.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

auteur55 said:


> Hello Everyone! My dream has always been to put together a Halloween Village and this year I am finally taking the plunge. I purchased most of the Michael's pieces this year with the exception of the Ghostly Manor and I ordered some stuff from Ehobbytools. So far I purchased the Mortis Theater (fell in love with it), The Gate, 13 Ghastly Lane, Pumpkin Patch, living dead cemetery scene and lot's of little things. I bought Lilith's doll store from Michael's but when I put it out I just couldn't fall in love with it so I took it back. It doesn't seem like there's much enthusiasm for that piece on these boards (and they still have a ton of them at my Michael's store where the others are getting picked over).
> I also have been checking on KSL (Utah's craigslist) and found a lady selling some older one's for $35 each. From her I bought Forlorn Cemetery, Witches Brew Haus, House of Wax, Vampire Caverns and Phantom's Opera House. I talked her down to $28 each. Felt like a steal but a few aren't in the best shape. Brew Haus's sound doesn't work.
> So as someone building their village this year (and becoming a little obsessed) any tips on how to find many of these pieces cheaper? There are so many I want but the kind of money you can spend becomes crazy.



Welcome to both Halloweenforum and to Spooky Town collecting. There's no turning back now! lol 


For current "in store" purchases definitely use the coupons and utilize sales. Checking Ehobby is also a good way to pick up deals as well as what has already been mentioned.

For setting up your display it's all down to your individual style. What type of set up do you want to have, where can you set up, how much space, etc., all these factors will determine the way your ST set up will look.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Spookywolf said:


> Oh my gosh, guys. I'm so excited! I just got a package and I'm doing the happy dance. I'm been after this piece for a while and finally found a good deal on it. Can't wait to add this to my village this year.
> 
> View attachment 284673
> View attachment 284674



I bought this piece last year off ebay for around $30 and love it. It's the only non Lemax village item in my collection.


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

> Hi there! Welcome to the Forum and our thread. And I guess I should say welcome to the addiction club as well. Sounds like you've made a nice haul for your first set up. You're hitting all the right places. Ehobby is always a good one and of course you've tried Craigs List and the like. Ebay is an option, although they tend to be pricier, but they have pieces you can't find anywhere else. Amazon has listings too. It's really sometimes luck to be in the right place at the right time. I bought Mortis Theater from Ehobby earlier this year too. I'm a huge movie buff so I had to have a theater in my village. The coolest part about this hobby is the uniqueness of everyone's set-ups and how personalized you can make them. No two are alike. I look forward to seeing your display when it's done.


Thanks for the warm welcome Shadowbat and Spookywolf. I also bought the Mortis Theater because I've spent a significant chunk of my life inside movie theaters. I couldn't imagine my town being without one. What I'm trying to do now is slow down my spending. Everyday I wake up I just want to buy another piece. It's hard to order off of Ebay because the shipping always adds so much to the item. Hoping I can make another craigslist score sometime this year.

So I'll be out of town last week of September and some of October. So I won't get to enjoy my village as much this year during the season. Because of that I"ve decided to put it up 2nd to last weekend in August. Anyone have any opinion when is too early?


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

auteur55 said:


> Thanks for the warm welcome Shadowbat and Spookywolf. I also bought the Mortis Theater because I've spent a significant chunk of my life inside movie theaters. I couldn't imagine my town being without one. What I'm trying to do now is slow down my spending. Everyday I wake up I just want to buy another piece. It's hard to order off of Ebay because the shipping always adds so much to the item. Hoping I can make another craigslist score sometime this year.
> 
> So I'll be out of town last week of September and some of October. So I won't get to enjoy my village as much this year during the season. Because of that I"ve decided to put it up 2nd to last weekend in August. Anyone have any opinion when is too early?


My philosophy, it's yours. Who cares what others think. As long as you want to enjoy it then set it up!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

auteur55 said:


> So I'll be out of town last week of September and some of October. So I won't get to enjoy my village as much this year during the season. Because of that I"ve decided to put it up 2nd to last weekend in August. Anyone have any opinion when is too early?


I'd already be working on mine, but I need to clear off my dining room table to make room first.


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## whynotgrl666 (Oct 12, 2003)

So I'm not the only one mixing spooky town and dept.56 right?


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## Dogmom (Oct 18, 2007)

whynotgrl666 said:


> So I'm not the only one mixing spooky town and dept.56 right?


Nope! I have both. My first piece was Lemax then my 2nd and 3rd were Dept 56. I think I have about 60 or 70 buildings now and the majority are Dept 56 but so far this year I bought 2 Lemax buildings and no Dept 56. I just buy what I like. Most of my figurines are Lemax because they are less expensive and I think a little more to scale.


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## Dogmom (Oct 18, 2007)

Spookywolf said:


> I'd already be working on mine, but I need to clear off my dining room table to make room first.


Last year I was out of the country all of September so I set mine up before I left because I knew I wouldn't have time to do that and get the outside done and have time to enjoy any of it. One year I started in March because I was doing a lot of Styrofoam carving and painting and I didn't want to be rushed. If it wasn't for Christmas I would probably leave mine up all year.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I'll be starting on this years display here shortly. While at Menards I picked up one of the display shelving units I'm going to be using.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

whynotgrl666 said:


> So I'm not the only one mixing spooky town and dept.56 right?


I'm 99% Lemax Spooky Town, but I bought my very first two Dept 56 pieces this year because they were awesome and I couldn't resist. I think anything goes as long as it fits into the display. One of my houses is actually an incense burner that I bought from Collections, Etc. the year before last.


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## Stringy_Jack (Oct 28, 2011)

Spookywolf said:


> I'm 99% Lemax Spooky Town, but I bought my very first two Dept 56 pieces this year because they were awesome and I couldn't resist. I think anything goes as long as it fits into the display. One of my houses is actually an incense burner that I bought from Collections, Etc. the year before last.
> View attachment 284920


I love this one.


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## Gashlycrumb (Sep 26, 2015)

So, I've always seen these around but have never taken the plunge. I love decorating our place for Halloween (apartment for now, so can't do much with the outside). I may have just talked my wife into letting me start collecting these. Any recommendations on where to start? I love the idea of everyone's town being a different and just picking out the pieces you like from each year's collection. As cool as some of the pieces look what excites me even more is the idea of creating a little diorama or village out of them. Lol this could be a dangerous path to go down.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Gashlycrumb said:


> So, I've always seen these around but have never taken the plunge. I love decorating our place for Halloween (apartment for now, so can't do much with the outside). I may have just talked my wife into letting me start collecting these. Any recommendations on where to start? I love the idea of everyone's town being a different and just picking out the pieces you like from each year's collection. As cool as some of the pieces look what excites me even more is the idea of creating a little diorama or village out of them. Lol this could be a dangerous path to go down.


Welcome to the thread! I started at Michael's using their 50% off coupons. But if you're lucky enough to get a Craigs List or local seller, you could score a lot of stuff on the cheap. It pays to look around. Just make sure to take good coupons if you go the Michael's route. But as everyone says on here, be warned, village building can be extremely addictive. They're like Lay's potato chips - nobody can have just one.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Gashlycrumb said:


> So, I've always seen these around but have never taken the plunge. I love decorating our place for Halloween (apartment for now, so can't do much with the outside). I may have just talked my wife into letting me start collecting these. Any recommendations on where to start? I love the idea of everyone's town being a different and just picking out the pieces you like from each year's collection. As cool as some of the pieces look what excites me even more is the idea of creating a little diorama or village out of them. Lol this could be a dangerous path to go down.



Best advice I can give is to start with this years offerings at Michaels. For older pieces, you can browse through this thread : http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/136086-historical-walk-through-spooky-town.html and see what catches your eye. Ebay, Craigslist, and Ehobby or a few places to try and find the older pieces. And yes, it is a dangerous road. lol


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

Can anyone share with me what they do for all the power cords. Do you just use a strip? or is there a better way.

I just spent a small fortune on E hobby tools and I can say that I am done and can't spend another dime. I bought the Last house on the left, scariest Halloween house, graveside diner and the cupcake house plus a ton of characters and mid priced displays. I think my wife may flip when she see's all this stuff. Because I'm tapped out that means I can only use tables will be a flat display this year. I'm trying to figure out what kind of table cloths I can get that would work well with a Haunted Village. Any suggestions or stores that can help me Autumn up the display?


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

auteur55 said:


> Can anyone share with me what they do for all the power cords. Do you just use a strip? or is there a better way.
> 
> I just spent a small fortune on E hobby tools and I can say that I am done and can't spend another dime. I bought the Last house on the left, scariest Halloween house, graveside diner and the cupcake house plus a ton of characters and mid priced displays. I think my wife may flip when she see's all this stuff. Because I'm tapped out that means I can only use tables will be a flat display this year. I'm trying to figure out what kind of table cloths I can get that would work well with a Haunted Village. Any suggestions or stores that can help me Autumn up the display?


It's easy to create different elevations on your table top just using things you find around the house and covering them with cloth. Last year I used the Styrofoam inserts from the boxes and sometimes the boxes themselves and covered them with pieces of burlap for a rugged looking landscape. No need to buy or build special base pieces and most importantly, take up prized storage space with them. 
I can't help with the cord issue though. Mine's a mess of strips and extension cords that I just hide behind some fabric.


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## MissT (Dec 18, 2013)

auteur55 said:


> Can anyone share with me what they do for all the power cords. Do you just use a strip? or is there a better way.
> 
> I just spent a small fortune on E hobby tools and I can say that I am done and can't spend another dime. I bought the Last house on the left, scariest Halloween house, graveside diner and the cupcake house plus a ton of characters and mid priced displays. I think my wife may flip when she see's all this stuff. Because I'm tapped out that means I can only use tables will be a flat display this year. I'm trying to figure out what kind of table cloths I can get that would work well with a Haunted Village. Any suggestions or stores that can help me Autumn up the display?


We use several outlet strips for the power cords, then make small snips in the groundcloth to snake through the volume controls. The groundcloth is just yardage from Jo-ann or Hobby Lobby, sponge-painted to give a grassy or rocky look.


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## BR1MSTON3 (Jul 31, 2010)

has anybody used the blue insulation foam and carved their own bases? Interested in trying this


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## disembodiedvoice (Sep 24, 2011)

Sorry guys if this has already been discussed. I don't really set up a village so I'm not caught up on this thread at all. I just wanted to put out the alert that Tuesday Morning has quite a bit of Dept 56 pieces , some of the larger pieces and then some of the little "accessory" pieces. I didn't get pictures because I had forgotten my phone at home. I wasn't sure if this was just a spooky town thread or a village in general thread. 
Forgive me and carry on


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

disembodiedvoice said:


> Sorry guys if this has already been discussed. I don't really set up a village so I'm not caught up on this thread at all. I just wanted to put out the alert that Tuesday Morning has quite a bit of Dept 56 pieces , some of the larger pieces and then some of the little "accessory" pieces. I didn't get pictures because I had forgotten my phone at home. I wasn't sure if this was just a spooky town thread or a village in general thread.
> Forgive me and carry on


Did you happen to notice any of the prices? There is a couple of these stores about 25 minutes from my house but if the price is the same as the Dept 56 online store I can just save the trip and get free shipping.


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## Backfromthedead (Oct 10, 2012)

Got these today off of craigslist. My first dept 56 pieces. The quality is excellent on these. Both were brand new in the box. I wish lemax did a cool fence like this one rather than the plastic ones. I would be willing to throw down more cash for a nice piece like these than some of the junk lemax is slopping together these days and still charging the high amounts. Sorry for the mini rant. Haha water tower and retired black fence.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Backfromthedead said:


> Got these today off of craigslist. My first dept 56 pieces. The quality is excellent on these. Both were brand new in the box. I wish lemax did a cool fence like this one rather than the plastic ones. I would be willing to throw down more cash for a nice piece like these than some of the junk lemax is slopping together these days and still charging the high amounts. Sorry for the mini rant. Haha water tower and retired black fence.
> View attachment 285919
> 
> View attachment 285920



The pumpkin tower is a must for any Halloween village.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

BR1MSTON3 said:


> has anybody used the blue insulation foam and carved their own bases? Interested in trying this


I haven't used Blue foam to make a base but this year I have used Styrofoam and carved some bases and painted them. Its my 1st try but I think they came out pretty good. I will upload some pics when I can.


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## BR1MSTON3 (Jul 31, 2010)

Michael's has 30% off spooky town, which isn't great, but if you are signed up for their emails, they have a 25% off everything including sales which would make all spooky town 52.5% off until Aug 20


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

It wont let me post my pics because I have cookies turned off. But if I turn them on I cant log in  I will keep trying


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

I got an email today from Micheal's that said their Spooky Town is Buy One Get One Free - August 12th- 18th. (I'm in Canada but I think the sales are pretty much the same.) Don't know why I'm just seeing this now.

May want to check the website with your local store chosen to see if it applies.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Our Menards now has its Halloween out, including limited Spooky Town. The only thing from the 2016 line is the Bloody Belfry ($72). They had 2015's Wanda's Wicked Cupcakes ($39) & Pumpkin Patch ($49?), as well as 2013's Scariest Halloween House & 2010's Black Cauldron Bootique. If you missed any of them, get to your Menards asap.










Shoot, should have gone back to our Micheals today to see if there was anything worth getting with the BOGO. 

@Godcrusher - have you cleared cookies & tried logging in again? It's happened to me too. I do that, & if it doesn't work, I go to an incognito window & log in. That usually allows it to work.


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

Find Lemax stuff now online at Kmart.com. 
If you're a member and have points saved up those will help too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

added some more paint and a few make shift trees since this pic. Also made 2 more bases. I will try to add the complete pics this weekend.

@Ween12amEternal. Thanks for the advice. I tried that last time and didnt work. Tried it again and it did 

its sideways but at least I could upload it


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

My store is only offering 30% off on ST this week. When do you normally see the big discounts/clearance happen on these?


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks RichardG, will def. check it out 

Spookywolf it seems like whatever's left by mid Oct. starts to get clearanced at that time, at least at our store. I wanna say they start putting it at increasing percentages off near the end of Sept.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Here are the 3 bases I made out of Styrofoam, painted and added some dollar tree accents.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Nicely done! Like the placement and mix of the pieces. Can't wait to see it lit up!


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Nicely done! Like the placement and mix of the pieces. Can't wait to see it lit up!


Thanks . I have 2 new big pieces and some figures to add. I also have a huge graveyard and pumpkin patch not shown in the pic.


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## Dogmom (Oct 18, 2007)

auteur55 said:


> Can anyone share with me what they do for all the power cords. Do you just use a strip? or is there a better way.
> 
> I just spent a small fortune on E hobby tools and I can say that I am done and can't spend another dime. I bought the Last house on the left, scariest Halloween house, graveside diner and the cupcake house plus a ton of characters and mid priced displays. I think my wife may flip when she see's all this stuff. Because I'm tapped out that means I can only use tables will be a flat display this year. I'm trying to figure out what kind of table cloths I can get that would work well with a Haunted Village. Any suggestions or stores that can help me Autumn up the display?


I use those 4 foot power strips with the 12 plugs because they are spaced far enough apart for the transformers. I zip tie the power strips underneath the tables (I use those 6 foot folding tables from Costco) and then I use twist ties or rubber bands or zip ties to tie all the loose cords up so they aren't hanging everywhere. On each table my village is sitting on a piece of that blue foam that has been carved and painted and is up off the table on 2 x 4s. I then cut holes under each building and drop the wires through. It's the battery boxes on the old Dept 56 accessories that are a pain and mostly why I do it that way. I had my mom sew me a skirt for each table that I pin to the foam to hide that gap. My dream village wouldn't have any wires but would be some kind of base that powered your buildings just by setting them on top of it!


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## Greenewitch (Jul 26, 2013)

We buy the twin cheap! sheets at wal mart ($5) Black for the base, then use power strips on the back edge covered by pieces of black cloth after all set up to hide them. We have cats and the advantage to cloth is that they dont shred or bother it like plastic. you can use beige or other colors depending upon what look you are going for


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

$40 for all my new additions. have to re-think my set up now though.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Godcrusher said:


> View attachment 293817
> 
> 
> $40 for all my new additions. have to re-think my set up now though.



That's a steal for all those.


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## MissT (Dec 18, 2013)

godcrusher, I got that Target witch house (the one with fiber optics) at a garage sale a couple of years ago. The changing colors bugged me, so I took a purple permanent marker to the little circle of acetate inside the house to make the color change less jarring (to me, anyway).


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Godcrusher I'll echo Shadowbat that those are a major find at an amazing price! You might have to add another level!

MissT that's a great suggestions. Gotta love how innovative our members are  

Also I remember when Target sold those buildings - that seems so long ago. Wish they'd continued the line.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Godcrusher I'll echo Shadowbat that those are a major find at an amazing price! You might have to add another level!
> 
> MissT that's a great suggestions. Gotta love how innovative our members are
> 
> Also I remember when Target sold those buildings - that seems so long ago. Wish they'd continued the line.


I did add a small table side piece for the chop shop and using the half wall behind the village for another tier  Almost ready to go live with it I think. Im just looking for a back drop now.

MissT thanks for the advice. Im going to use that house with some of the Goodwill houses I found and painted. Maybe with some of the Dollar Tree houses too in a separate area.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Anyone started their set-up yet?


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

Has anyone ordered from Lemax-spookytown.com? I ordered a few things I couldn't find anywhere else on there and it's been 7 days and my order still hasn't shipped. Doesn't look like contacting someone there is very easy. Every time I check the status it just says "not shipped" but there's no estimate when it will. Anyone order from them and have an ok experience?


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

I'm in the midst of clearing space and sorting, so hopefully the weekend after next I'll be able to get started. Happily it's supposed to start cooling down soon too, so that'll help get me in the mood. 

Hmmm, auteur55 did you get a confirmation email? I would think (& hope) that it would include some kind of contact/customer service number.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

auteur55 said:


> Has anyone ordered from Lemax-spookytown.com? I ordered a few things I couldn't find anywhere else on there and it's been 7 days and my order still hasn't shipped. Doesn't look like contacting someone there is very easy. Every time I check the status it just says "not shipped" but there's no estimate when it will. Anyone order from them and have an ok experience?


Haven't ordered from there before, sorry. Haven't heard anything about them either.



We're starting set up tomorrow on our stuff.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

auteur55 said:


> Has anyone ordered from Lemax-spookytown.com? I ordered a few things I couldn't find anywhere else on there and it's been 7 days and my order still hasn't shipped. Doesn't look like contacting someone there is very easy. Every time I check the status it just says "not shipped" but there's no estimate when it will. Anyone order from them and have an ok experience?


I saw that site in my searches. Their updats were all old from early 2000s and they were promoting only 2014 so I assumed it was just a dead site.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

I ordered a big order from them years ago - many years ago. Might have been 2005? I seem to remember they ran into trouble due to hurricane Katrina? My stuff shipped Ok. There was one piece that was slightly damaged but I don't think it was related to anything they did. I remember the woman I went back and forth with via email was quite sweet.

I was receiving periodic newsletters from them - the last one I got was in 2014. And it looked like they had maybe taken a bit of a hiatus in-between. They used to be really good about getting the new stuff listed on the site as soon as the info was available so the fact that there's nothing there from 2016 is not a good sign.

I'd try emailing the "[email protected]" and see if you get a response.


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

Well they definitely took my money. I emailed them early yesterday and still no response. Getting a little nervous about this one.


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## PunkinGal (Aug 2, 2014)

auteur55 said:


> Well they definitely took my money. I emailed them early yesterday and still no response. Getting a little nervous about this one.


Hi there! I ordered from there earlier this year and had a similar experience. I never got any confirmation emails from them. They took my money and it was weeks with no status change. I gave up and figured I'd been ripped off (I too thought the site looked dead, but you never know, right??).

Almost 2 months later I got a package I wasn't expecting and there it was! My order! It arrived in perfect condition and was just what I wanted- the psychic piece! Way less expensive than eBay and I was happy I hadn't gotten ripped off, but the experience was too weird for me to ever order from them again despite the good deals. 

Good luck! I hope yours ends up arriving too!


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Any word on your order yet?
How did you pay for the order?
Is there any way to have them contact the seller on your behalf?


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I hope you get what you paid for from them.

My village set up is almost complete. Im pretty happy with how its turning out.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

By the way, does anybody have access to any actual stores (brick-and-mortar vs. e-commerce) that sell Lemax _Spooky Town_ aside from Michaels stores?

I miss the days when there were several other stores I could go to and see what else they were carrying, but those stores were either either small-chain stores that went out of business or were stores that just stopped carrying Lemax for the holidays.


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## RichardG (Jul 21, 2014)

xmscity1225 said:


> By the way, does anybody have access to any actual stores (brick-and-mortar vs. e-commerce) that sell Lemax _Spooky Town_ aside from Michaels stores?
> 
> I miss the days when there were several other stores I could go to and see what else they were carrying, but those stores were either either small-chain stores that went out of business or were stores that just stopped carrying Lemax for the holidays.


There's a store in Clearwater, FL called Roberts Christmas Wonderland. They had Lemax and Dept 56 pieces for Halloween and Christmas. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

xmscity1225 said:


> By the way, does anybody have access to any actual stores (brick-and-mortar vs. e-commerce) that sell Lemax _Spooky Town_ aside from Michaels stores?
> 
> I miss the days when there were several other stores I could go to and see what else they were carrying, but those stores were either either small-chain stores that went out of business or were stores that just stopped carrying Lemax for the holidays.



Menards carries Spooky Town and our area Super Kmart will actually get in a few pieces.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Shadowbat said:


> Menards carries Spooky Town and our area Super Kmart will actually get in a few pieces.


I wish I lived somewhere near a Menards. (According to web site, the closest location is about 385 miles from me.)
There's a K-Mart about 45 minutes away, but it was pretty small and dated when I was last there (years ago).


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I just scored a huge deal on Offer UP website. All this for $150 total. Most have never been opened. Im getting ready to open each one and see what I got and where Im going to put all this


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## Hallow Girl (May 8, 2015)

Godcrusher said:


> I just scored a huge deal on Offer UP website. All this for $150 total. Most have never been opened. Im getting ready to open each one and see what I got and where Im going to put all this
> View attachment 325785
> 
> View attachment 325793
> ...


What a killer deal!!!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Godcrusher said:


> I just scored a huge deal on Offer UP website. All this for $150 total. Most have never been opened. Im getting ready to open each one and see what I got and where Im going to put all this




That's an amazing score, buddy.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Started working on the basement display for Spooky Town over the weekend. I'll have to redo it in November as there are a few pieces that are displayed in the dining room that will need to be worked back in. Will probably have to do another shelf, we'll see. I still need to finish up landscape details and get some batteries for a few of the items.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> That's an amazing score, buddy.


Thanks WickedChick and Shadowbat. Took me about 1.5 hours just to unbox them all. Some had minor damage and 1 of the bases music didnt play but other than that all in great shape. I just had my set up complete now I have to create a new area but im not complaining 

Shadowbat your set up is coming together nice,


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## MissT (Dec 18, 2013)

Very nice buy, godcrusher! Be sure to be extra careful unboxing the one with the ghosts swinging in the tree (forgot the name). Mine is unusually fragile (even for Lemax), such that my cats break its branches just brushing up against it 



Godcrusher said:


> View attachment 325793


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

MissT said:


> Very nice buy, godcrusher! Be sure to be extra careful unboxing the one with the ghosts swinging in the tree (forgot the name). Mine is unusually fragile (even for Lemax), such that my cats break its branches just brushing up against it


Thanks for the tip. Lemax looks great but boy are they fragile. I broke one of my 1st pieces last year just trying to get it out of the Styrofoam packing.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Godcrusher said:


> I just scored a huge deal on Offer UP website. All this for $150 total. Most have never been opened. Im getting ready to open each one and see what I got and where Im going to put all this
> View attachment 325785


Any duplicates of things you already have?

(Maybe you can resell any duplicates and really cut your cost!)


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

xmscity1225 said:


> Any duplicates of things you already have?
> 
> (Maybe you can resell any duplicates and really cut your cost!)


Luckily no. Almost all are from the 2003 collection. I only started my village last year so most of my stuff before now is from the last 5 years or so.


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## auteur55 (Aug 6, 2016)

Just an FYI that I had a great experience with Lemax-Spookytown.com. I received a reply about 48 hrs after I emailed and they said they were preparing my order and sent me a fed ex tracking. About 10-12 days after placing order I received it. There were some pieces I ordered for $15-$16 that I see going for over $40 on Ebay so I'm happy. 

I can't believe you got all that for $150.00. I paid someone $160 for just for pieces earlier this year and people really try to sell this stuff for crazy amounts on Ebay.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Got most of the new stuff set up. I came up with a great idea (IMHO) to create the small water looking area needed for the ship.

I will post some pics of the unlighted display soon then hope to add a video of it in all its light-up and moving glory.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Godcrusher said:


> I came up with a great idea (IMHO) to create the small water looking area needed for the ship.


What will your "water" be made of?
There are many different ways to do faux-water . . . sometimes simply using a blue plastic bag with rocks and stuff around it can be sufficient, though also using paint and caulk will allow you to create more active-looking water.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

I used blue micro fiber cloth covered with a shinny see through costume skirt from the dollar tree. I had to cut the skirt and remove the elastic but I like how it turned out. Also added some black rocks for the shoreline. 

I will post the pic I took when I get a chance.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

While I've been buying _Spooky Town_ figures / accessories for many years now, I did finally buy a _Spooky Town_ building from Michaels: 65134 - "Sabrina's Costume Shop", which is really a reworked version of the old "Agatha's Costume Crypt" from 2007 but with a different paint job and without the added exterior lighting.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

xmscity1225 said:


> View attachment 331257
> 
> 
> While I've been buying _Spooky Town_ figures / accessories for many years now, I did finally buy a _Spooky Town_ building from Michaels: 65134 - "Sabrina's Costume Shop", which is really a reworked version of the old "Agatha's Costume Crypt" from 2007 but with a different paint job and without the added exterior lighting.


I knew there had been a previous costume shop and I thought this one looked awfully familiar! I must say, I like this year's version better than the neon colored one. Still, I resisted buying, as I have sworn to only adding to my collection if it is specifically witch themed or a really good cemetery addition.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Madame Leota said:


> I knew there had been a previous costume shop and I thought this one looked awfully familiar! I must say, I like this year's version better than the neon colored one. Still, I resisted buying, as I have sworn to only adding to my collection if it is specifically witch themed or a really good cemetery addition.


Well, it does have a witch on top of the building, and "Sabrina" is the name of a Teen-Age Witch.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Here is my new ship and its watery base 

How is every ones set ups coming along?


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Water looks nice . . . can't wait to see how the whole display looks put together.

By the way, looks like Lemax Spooky Town at Michaels (at least here in the U.S.) will be at 50% off starting on Sunday September 25th.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Thanks for the compliment and the info.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Bought 2 figurines and the 3 pack base today. I will have my village done by the end of the weekend.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Godcrusher said:


> Bought 2 figurines and the 3 pack base today.


Which two did you get?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I should have everything finished up this weekend and have a video.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

xmscity1225 said:


> Which two did you get?


Witch holding the pumpkins and the guy and girl skeleton taking.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I still have to edit the photos and video of my Spooky Town, but here is a video I did showcasing my display of all 3 years of Dollar Trees Tombstone Corners.


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## Weird Tolkienish Figure (Jan 3, 2013)

So the motor on my Ghostly Manor stopped working when I put it out for display. I guess I try and fix it? I'm pretty handy with electronics luckily.

I'm sorta wishing I went with the Dollar Tree villages, and could even find a train scale to use with them. Lemax is kinda pricey to get hard core into them.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Weird Tolkienish Figure said:


> I'm sorta wishing I went with the Dollar Tree villages, and could even find a train scale to use with them. Lemax is kinda pricey to get hard core into them.


But when I went to a Dollar Tree recently, the only "village" stuff I saw were those smaller buildings (maybe three or four of them?) with really bad paint jobs. There was a witch figure that wasn't too bad (might even work with Lemax figures height-wise), but the others weren't very memorable.
As for the pricey-ness of Lemax, yeah, it can add up if you buy too many of the buildings with sounds or other effects, but maybe it's not as bad if you try to stick more to the buildings with just the light bulb inside?
(Another way to feel better on Lemax pricing . . . check out the cost of Department 56 _OSV Halloween_ villages! Yeah, they've got some quality finishes, but the cost . . .  )


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## disembodiedvoice (Sep 24, 2011)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Oh man, I can lose hours browsing that site. Not sure if it's the one you mean, but this looks awesome: America's Most Haunted
> 
> This is pretty cool too: Stalking Dead Country
> 
> Am also in love with Burton's Carousel - dang I wish I'd win the lottery.


Did anyone else order the Americas Most Haunted collection from Bradford Exchange ? I ordered it back when I first saw it posted at the first part of this thread. I love the Amityville story. I read the books when I was young , back when the story was still believed to be true and it scared me silly. But then later I got an email saying it had been delayed indefinitely so I cancelled the order. Well today I received it in the mail, not sure what happened exactly but I'm going to keep it ( just gotta figure out how they charged me for it) It's not huge but not tiny either and the paint is decent. It lights up and has pumpkins subtly on the grounds. I like it overall. Not great but cute enough. The actual thing looks better than the pics, the flash highlights it's flaws lol







I wish the top front windows lit up as well, not sure why they made it like that since the upper side windows light up


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

While I don't have (nor plan to get) 65071 - "Creepy Doll Shop" that's available from Michaels this year, 
if I did own it, I'd be tempted to add a few non-Spooky Town figures from Lemax to go with it.









* 62431 - New Doll for Christmas
* 52354 - Doll's Day Out
* 82525 - Doll Maker

And there are a few others to also choose from.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Bought the 3 piece base from Michael's and used it to finish my village for this year. I have 2 areas this year and 1 has multiple levels per area. Will upload pics tomorrow. Video over the weekend.

Anyone else ready to post?


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## Sificts (Aug 12, 2015)

Not trying to hijack the thread but I made a build log last year that I would like to share again. I have added a few pieces since then and an entire new area! posting pics in the next post. 

http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/142959-spookytown-2015-display.html


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## Sificts (Aug 12, 2015)

Here it goes. 

Sorry these pictures are slightly blurry, I don't know what happened. Anyway...I have two new additions this year. 

First is a new archway going into the cemetery...Second is an expansion of "land". I added a new area for my three houses that cannot fit in the main area. More photos to come with the houses in place once the grass dries... Sorry for the junk on the right side. This is in my basement that is unfinished. 








Left side of village







General overview of what I did last year...New addition is the archway going into the cemetery. Wired it up yesterday. 







Close up of archway/pumpkin patch with "Great Pumpkin"














Spooky lighting







Town at night time







Town at dusk







New addition this year







Again new addition







Whole village with new addition







Dittos.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Very cool. Really like the new bases.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Hi everyone. I posted elsewhere on the Forum about this, but I suffered a major flood of my basement right before Labor Day and lost pretty much everything down there, including my HVAC, water heater, and washer/dryer, not to mention a ton of my Halloween gear. I've been out of the game for almost a month now trying to clean up, replace, and recover what I could. But I've sure been missing checking in on this thread. I'm very hopeful that tomorrow I will finally finish the last of the repacking and putting away, and then Sunday I can start focusing on getting my village set up. I was able to salvage most of my Spooky Town, but the outer boxes for a lot of them are history (major bummer). Good thing the inner styrofoam shells are good quality and could handle being cleaned. My set up will probably take a while, since I now have stuff scattered everywhere and it's not as organized as before the flood. But, I will post pics when I get to the more complete side of things. In the meantime, I'm enjoying seeing pics of everyone's set ups so far. Please keep 'em coming. I need the inspiration. 

And by the way, Godcrusher, I loved what you did to create water in your display, That turned out really cool.


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## Spookywolf (Aug 4, 2012)

Oh, btw, Michael's has Spooky Town at 50% off plus they have a Saturday only coupon for tomorrow for an additional 25% off including sale items. That's 75% off and a really good deal if anyone had some Lemax items in mind that they still need.


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## WOLFPACK7483 (Apr 29, 2013)

Spookywolf, so sorry to hear the news. Thank you for continuing that Halloween Spirit. Good luck to ya !


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

Weird Tolkienish Figure said:


> I'm not a fan of the carnival motif, either for Spookytown or Xmas. I prefer the more gothic looking stuff.


I love the carnival stuff...I have close to 30 linear feet of these little buildings. I start out, going left to right, with my carnival, then morph into my downtown area that then leads to my neighborhood that then starts the junk yard, trailers, swamp....I then go into my grave yard and end up with mortuaries and tomb stone mine and makers. I have a short video of it from two years ago but haven't taken the time yet to figure out how to post it yet. I have been collecting for years and really enjoy making the houses come to life. Being a grandma has eaten into my time putting up the village every year so I have been on hiatus for the last two years. This year however I have told my kids to back off until I get it set up. I will baby sit in November again


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

Ween12amEternal said:


> That's disappointing to hear mariab1299 & thisdougsforyu. Be great to get the word out about their size & all the other stuff everyone's brought up. Please consider starting a thread in Reviews (I would but I've had no experience with them.)
> 
> Agreed, if they don't fit with the scale/style of your village, it might be a waste.


I have bought one or two things on eBay and the size difference turned me off....for the life of me I can't understand why they would not keep their scale close to Dept 56 and Lemax...a very poor business decision if you ask me. The only thing that you can do with them is put them pretty high up in your display to make them appear far away and even that is a stretch.


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

Spookywolf said:


> Okay let's get to the bottom of things - so to speak. My spooky town village is calling to me from the boxes in the basement and the new ones are waiting for their debut. So, my thoughts are turning to display options. I'm curious about what everyone does for their displays. Do you have a dedicated space or use a table? And what do use underneath your set ups? I have some of the moss covered bases Lemax sells, but was debating on adding to or trying something else this year like black fabric or maybe material with some kind of interesting design or something that looks like terrain. Any ideas?


Take a look at YouTube.com. There is a lot of inspiration on that site......from 'making stairs and bridges from styrofoam' to making waterfalls. I enjoy looking at what others have done...get many ideas to fit into my village. Don't ignor the Christmas Viilage either...you can pick up some ideas from them also on YouTube . One gal has the California scream machine roller coaster in her Carnival and it looks great! I found a used one on eBay for not much money, painted it brown, black and gray and it fits nicely with my Halloween carnival.


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

whynotgrl666 said:


> So I'm not the only one mixing spooky town and dept.56 right?


Correct! I use anything I feel looks good. Some of the Fairy stuff at the garden centers work too. One of the things I had to over come was to take a non Halloween item and make it "Halloween". Working on the dept 56 Golden Gate Bridge now...got a killer price on it because it wasn't perfect.....I will make it creepy for next years display.


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

If you don't mind a little Dumpster diving you might want to check out some of your local furniture stores....I had a local furniture store located a few miles from me and went and talked to the store manager and asked permission to "recycle" the styrofoam in her/his dumpster out back for my Halloween village. I was able to get some HUGE pieces for nothing. Just a thought.


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

I have a fairly large grave yard in my village and have bought many tomb stones from Skinny Bones Designs.....a great place to buy from. It is worth checking out....I buy their stuff thru eBay and have never been disappointed or had any problems. Worth a look.


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## xmscity1225 (Oct 15, 2014)

Spookywolf said:


> Oh, btw, Michael's has Spooky Town at 50% off plus they have a Saturday only coupon for tomorrow for an additional 25% off including sale items. That's 75% off and a really good deal if anyone had some Lemax items in mind that they still need.


Actually, unless it's an additional 25% off the original price, it doesn't work out to a full 75% off.
Usually, those additional discounts are 25% off the sale price, so that wouldn't add up to a total 75% off.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Went to Michaels to pick up a Lemax candy shop exclusive for my Wife's Christmas village. While there I picked up the witch riding the 3 wheel cycle for only $6 after coupons and sale price. 

Pics of my completed village in the day light will be coming today. Hope to get a full motion lights on video tonight and pics as well.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Ok so here are pics of my village. Its in 2 different areas of the room. I didnt get a chance to do the night pics or video with everything on but will post them when I do. It really comes alive at dusk 





















































































Anyone else ready to post their village pics yet?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Looks spooktacular!


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Shadowbat said:


> Looks spooktacular!


Thanks Shadowbat.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

No one else ready to show? Starting to feel lonely


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Mines done. I just have to get the pictures and do the video. Been super busy and have hardly been on.


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## WOLFPACK7483 (Apr 29, 2013)

Godcrusher, 
Now that is a collection. Nice


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Thanks. I have some pics I took with the lights on and a video. Does anyone know how to embed the video?


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## FreakinFreak (Aug 27, 2010)

Selling a few Lemax and Dept 56 pieces, thread located HERE.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Still waiting


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## Dreamgoddess313 (Aug 30, 2016)

*Tombstone Corners*

My Tombstone Corners village


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Dreamgoddess313 said:


> My Tombstone Corners village
> 
> View attachment 358681



Very nice!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Godcrusher said:


> Still waiting



I know. It hasn't been a very good couple weeks with a lot of personal issues going on. It's actually taking wind out of our Halloween sails.


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## BillyBones (Aug 17, 2011)

So here's our village for this year, a few changes and some new pieces.
https://youtu.be/7YGgv2o2gE8


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Shadowbat sorry to hear that. Hope it turns around for you.

Dreamgoddess313 and Billybones great job. Both look really cool.


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

Trying to post picture...trial run


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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)




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## zo6marlene (Oct 20, 2011)

These are my Mah Jongg Ladies....looks like they are having a great time, don't they. ��


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## MissT (Dec 18, 2013)

zo6marlene, it looks great
!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Great set ups, everyone. I have been so behind on taking pictures and video of this years set up. I'll try to get mine up in the next day or so. Been super busy getting the haunt ready, our party, the parade, etc. Never enough time in October.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Very nice set ups everyone. Im uploading 3 small videos to youtube of my village. Will post links when its finished.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Here are the 3 small videos of my village in motion.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Why is my last video showing as a link instead of the video?


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Love seeing these videos. Hope to get some pics up of my abbreviated village at some point.

MOD note: Godcrusher, I edited it to show up. Not sure what happened there.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Love seeing these videos. Hope to get some pics up of my abbreviated village at some point.
> 
> MOD note: Godcrusher, I edited it to show up. Not sure what happened there.


Thanks for the fix. Cant wait to see your pics.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

love looking at everyone's villages.. I need to get some of mine up. just so tired


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Unfortunately my village display, as well as most my indoor decorating, was a little spartan this year due to family emergencies and having to spend a bunch of time helping a family member move, plus arrange & make college visits. On top of all the usual craziness. It got away from me, but the nice thing is, it proved that I can do more with less and still enjoy what it ends up looking like. Also, hopefully I can use it to take a objective look at my hoard and begin to see what things should go.


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Ween12amEternal said:


> Unfortunately my village display, as well as most my indoor decorating, was a little spartan this year due to family emergencies and having to spend a bunch of time helping a family member move, plus arrange & make college visits. On top of all the usual craziness. It got away from me, but the nice thing is, it proved that I can do more with less and still enjoy what it ends up looking like. Also, hopefully I can use it to take a objective look at my hoard and begin to see what things should go.


very cool pics


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks! I've been enjoying going back and looking over everyone's set ups. So many talented village!masters here


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## Godcrusher (Sep 21, 2015)

Yes there are. I love when people plan out a real village setting. I know it takes alot more space but I think its worth it.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I've been trying to figure out a new display lay out to incorporate the 3 houses that we had upstairs over the Halloween season. I'm thinking I'm going to have to just start another shelf display. It will leave space, but that will make it easier when adding any new pieces for 2017.


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