2024's Haunt (Day)

2024: Haunted Cemetery (Version Three)

I spent 2024 expanding on the cemetery theme, building several props (including the corpse skull and skull topiary) to give the display more interest beyond the store-bought items. Presented here are images of the haunt by day (always less atmospheric than their nighttime counterparts, but the best means to reveal detail). 

"Halloween Party" (A Poem)

After the success of his first children’s book, The Aliens Landed at Our School!, Kenn Nesbitt published a collection of poems in 2005 which explore the daily lives of children, from falling asleep during boring lessons to the horrors of vocabulary tests. In his poem “Halloween Party,” the narrator’s joys of showing off their costume to their peers are quickly dashed by a harsh realization – they came to school prepared for Halloween a week early.

We’re having a Halloween party at school. 
I’m dressed up like Dracula. Man, I look cool! 
I dyed my hair black, and I cut off my bangs. 
I’m wearing a cape and some fake plastic fangs.

I put on some makeup to paint my face white, 
like creatures that only come out in the night. 
My fingernails, too, are all pointed and red. 
I look like I’m recently back from the dead.

My mom drops me off, and I run into school 
and suddenly feel like the world’s biggest fool. 
The other kids stare like I’m some kind of freak— 
the Halloween party is not till next week.[1]

Works Referenced

Nesbitt, Kenn. “Halloween Party.” When the Teacher Isn’t Looking and Other Funny School Poems. 2005. Running Press, 2010.
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[1] Nesbitt.

Little Buddy’s Door Cover

$5 - $10 (based on 2016 prices) 
Makes one door cover

 

When I began this blog about a decade ago, my initial idea was to have it focus on Little Buddy. The plan was to have him go on silly adventures and make spooky decorations. I made content for three posts before I abandoned the concept because it was too time consuming to stage the skeleton. In February of 2016, I featured one of the three posts: Little Buddy’s First Day of Work. With the blog turning ten in a few months, I decided showcase the one tutorial I made using Little Buddy 

• Three rectangular vinyl tablecloths (52” x 70”) in black, blue, and yellow
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One Styrofoam tombstone

1. Measure the height and width of the door. Then, measure its thickness. You will want to add that measurement, plus at least two to three inches, to the dimensions to ensure the cloth fully covers the front of the door and can easily warp around its sides.  

2. Stretch the cloth across a clean, smooth surface and use a pen to mark the measurements from step one. If the cloth has significant creases or folds from its packaging, you can gently iron or steam them out; however, if you pull the cloth tight enough in step four, they will not be as visible.  

3. Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut out the cover. If you want, you can cut the cover slightly larger than its measurements to give you excess fabric to guarantee the cloth with wrap fully around the door.

4. Starting at the top of the door, tape the cover down, folding part of the cloth over the edge. Once you have done this, tightly pull the cloth and, working downward in sections, tape it to the remaining portions of the door. The type of tape you use will depend on your door and its location: for an outside door, you may want to use duct tape or some other form of waterproof adhesive.  

5. Cut out an opening for the handle, lock, and any other type of necessary hardware that makes the door operational. If this is for an interior door, you may consider removing the knob first to give the cover a smooth, uninterrupted surface.

6. Use the black and yellow tablecloths to create silhouettes and glue them to the door to fashion your scene. For the haunter who feels uncomfortable with their drawing skills, you can use Halloween-themed cookie cutters.  

7. You can further embellish the display by gluing a foam tombstone to the door, draping shredded creepy cloth along the upper edges, or affixing rubber bats or spiders. Additionally, you can easily transition this prop to a window, where you can make an elaborate scene using old sticks and stretchy cobwebs.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.