And the 2010 build begins

Pulled the tarps off the stacks of haunt walls and found that despite my best efforts some water still got onto the walls and was retained there presumable since the last time it rained which was weeks and weeks ago. There is some rot on the wood frames and the weight of the water damaged some of the walls. I went to quite a bit of care to weather proof those stacks, so it was a bit of a disappointment, but the fact that I started the build early this year means there will be plenty of time for repair and patching.

Day31 haunt Tees

As of today the Day31 haunt 2010 T-shirts are in our posession. Looking forward to providing all my hard working volunteers with this cool freebie

Hmmm....what to wear?

...how about a Day31 shirt? Got the final proof on shirt designs for this year's Day31 volunteers. All volunteers will get a shirt this year. I will also be holding a raffle for volunteers who will all earn 1 raffle ticket for each hour they work for the haunt. The more hours worked, the better the chances of winning prizes.

The Beast Stirs

Working on updates to the website this month. Only 5 months left until Halloween weekend- an eternity to you, but the beginning of the race against time for myself and other professional and home haunters.

Trick or Treat

For the last several years we have charged an admission price of 3 pieces of trick or treat candy or 1 full sized candy bar in order to enter our haunt. We are usually pretty loose with that, as it was designed to prevent kids from entering the haunted house over and over and getting rowdy as they usually do once they know where all the scares are. Many of you probably wonder what becomes of all that candy. Well, our volunteers take quite a bit of it, but I am usually left with between 5-10 lbs of it to sort through and roll around in after Halloween. Sorting through all that sugary loot has become a post-Halloween tradition I look forward to. I particulary enjoy those few odd ball treats that fall outside the category of usual and mundane. While there was nothing this year that topped the chicken flavored crackers I found in last year's pot, there were a few noteworthy contendors.

Mystery Morsels. These are treats that are virtually unidentifiable. As pictured above, they certainly do appear to be candy, but it's anyone's guess as to what flavors might lurk beneath those clear, plastic wrappers.

Ok, so the admission sign reads 3 pieces of Trick or Treat candy or 1 full sized candy bar. I guess someone opening up a pack of skittles and dropping at least 3 unwrapped pieces into the bucket technically satisfies the requirement, but talk about cheap! Sheesh....

I guess someone didn't like these...

Gummy Goodness!

I'm not one to ever buy into all the media hype about the dangers of Trick or Treat candy. In fact, there have only ever been a few confirmed cases of such tampering ever in the history of mankind, but 2 unsealed cookies in a ziploc bag? C'mon...that's just asking for trouble.


A granola bar? That's almost as bad as getting fresh fruit or a Bible pamphlet. No wonder they unloaded this to gain admission.


Other assorted peculiarities.

Lost & Found

Each year I trudge through the corridors of Day31 on the morning after, and inevitably I find a treasure trove of personal effects and costume accessories that have been scared right off our patrons from the night before. Some people question our policy of not allowing hand held costume accessories into our haunt. Having to delay our line in order to walk back through with a flashlight to find these items when they are dropped is one of several reasons we do not allow them. Anyway, only one of the remaining unclaimed items falls into the hand held category. I feel sorry for whatever little bee had to navigate the rest of its night without its antennae. These items need to be reunited with their rightful owners. If you are the owner of one of these lost items, please email me so we can arrange pickup. RedRaven@Day31.net

Tear Down Day 2

Spent much of the day taking down the last of the props and the remaining electrical cords and air hoses. If I can get the South facing side taken down tomorrow there is a chance I can get the mountain of crap out of my driveway by quitting time. Managed to remove the ceiling from the South side before calling it quits tonight. It's a slow go removing all the staples so as not to damage the material. It will save a few hundred dollars if I can reuse the tarps next year.

Made several updates to the website tonight. Staff page is updated, and check out the awesome pics on the Photo Gallery page. I especially like the hidden camera behind the drop wall. Thanks to Julianne for having that great idea.