Planning

Well, it is that time of year where we start planning for additions to the Haunt. As it stands right now, we are making a few additions that should be interesting.

Finally, got the old make up kit cleaned out and inventoried so now I know what I need to replace for next year. Really low on blood and I really didn't like any of the blood recipes that I used last year. Looks like we will be going back to buying blood unless I can find some killer recipes.

Going to the Haunt Convention in St. Louis this year. Should be pretty good. Hope to get some ideas for the Cave and really amp the action up for this upcoming season.

Problems for any Haunt

The key to a good Haunt is the personnel. The people that you have working for you must be willing to work together and actually do what they are supposed to do: Scare customers. It doesn't matter if you are a charity haunt, or a for profit haunt. The job is scare the customers.

One of the biggest problems that we had this year was making sure that actors stayed in their assigned areas. This became hugely noticeable about half way through the season. I had actors roaming the Haunt, going into others areas and ruining scares. This is pretty ridiculous. Now, we have a lot of kids that volunteer down there, but the adults that we had were just as bad. Especially on the last weekend. Now to me, the last weekend is just as important as the first weekend. Those customers are paying for a show, and a show they should have. Unfortunately, there were quite a few actors that felt it was time to play and have fun for themselves. From a customer service aspect, they really failed.

Now, I mentioned kid actors. Well, actually, most of our kid positions are behind the scenes. This is where we run into problems. The kids get bored, and don't want to do their jobs. My philosophy on that was to get rid of them. I would rather be short handed then have someone in their not doing their job. But there are others that are: "Oh, they are kids, let them do what they want to do." What, we are not supposed to expect a certain kind of behavior out of kids when it is a volunteer situation? Whatever happened to responsibility? You are going to benefit from the work that is going on, at the very least you should do the best of your ability. With the problems that I encountered this year, I am actually of a mindset to make an age limitation on who can work at the Haunt. My proposed age would be sixteen and older. That or automate it even more and take more kid positions out of there.

Season is Over

Last night was the end of our Haunt season. Quite a few accomplishments for the Lewisburg Haunted Cave and Cave Crew. Ohio Valley Haunts, the most prestigious Haunt Raters in our area ranked us 2nd place in the tri-state area. Active Dayton ranked us 1st place in the Dayton area.

This was a great year and an even better learning experience. I chronicle all that I have learned over the next few months. The main things that I will concentrate on are volunteers, children, and of course, stars.

I hope to work more on props, make up techniques, and a few other things that I wasn't really happy with this past year.

Welcome to the Cell

Welcome to the Jail Cell. First chance that I got to post some new pictures of this years season at the Lewisburg Haunted Cave.

Igor is Done

Igor is finally done. Another great job by my partner in crime Michael. Now it is ready to attach to a head.

Satan Completed

Satan is done. Can't wait to see it on the actor.

New Directions and Changes to the Cave

Working on our new make-up techniques has been an eye opening experience. This year, we are trying out many new additions to our make-up kits.

The first big change is the use of Watermelon Prosthetics. Not only are they applied with alcohol, but they are also made up with an alcohol based liquid make-up. They tested well under some very hard testing situations based on ease of use, longevity, and durability and they held up quite well.

The next big change was the use of full facial prosthetics. Not only is this a good way to cut down on our make-up cost for the future, but it will add a lot of versatility to some of our characters. We will see how well they hold up this year.

We have added a lot more props this year. Although we are not prop dependent like a lot of other Haunts, I really do think that this year will add some versatility to some of the actors, ie. talking points for characters, but they also do a great job of filling in dead spots. I think our customers are going to be constantly hit with startles, scares, and technology from one end of the Cave to the other.

Haunted Cave

The Lewisburg Haunted Cave will be opening on September 25th at 7:00pm. This is going to be a great season and I hope to see all of you out there. We have spent a lot of time down there making sure that we changed so much that you will think it is an entirely new Haunt.

What is scarier than a Cave? Find out on September 25th at the Lewisburg Haunted Cave.

Finished Troll

Troll is finally done. All he needs is a face to be applied to. The blood effects around the mouth were created with Blood Gel. Once again, Michael has created a masterpiece.

Up close shot of cheek bone wound

In Progress

I began the make-up job on my prosthetic tonight. I used deep wound red, red, grave mold, corpse flesh, purple and yellow to begin the deep wounds for this prosthetic. I will show the end results when I am totally done.

Newest Project

We have been very busy the past few days working on a new project for down in the Cave. We have been trying our hand at plaster casting to make a mold. So far, the weather has not been cooperating, so our drying time has really become an issue.
We have used about 150 pounds of plaster and we are still waiting on it to dry. I will keep updating our progress and hope to have pictures of the mold by Friday.

In Progress

I probably didn't mention this, but all of the prosthetic make-up jobs are in progress. There is still much to be done to them. Igor needs stitches and touch ups, the Demon needs his horns and some spikes added with some additional touch ups, and Troll here needs a few more touch ups and his teeth added.
Keep checking back for more updates. I will begin working on mine here shortly.

Celebrating My Birthday Cave Style

My Birthday was celebrated not only with some great gifts from my family, but my partner in crime, (our make-up guy) Michael, made me this awesome birthday cake. Knowing how much I admire the comic book character, Ghost Rider, Michael did a great job on this cake. That is why I love Michael so much, he keeps me sugared up.

My other surprise came from my good buddy, War, (aka Greg), who gave me a can of my favorite dip.
Thanks go out to everyone who made my birthday a great day. I really appreciate all of you!

Tools

Most of the tools I work with down in the Cave are either hand held or battery operated. I like using DeWalt's 18 volt battery operated tools. They carry a long charge, and the 18 volts have plenty of power to drill all day long if need be, saw holes in walls, or cut sheet goods.

If I know that I am going to be cutting a lot of wood, I have an old Craftsman 10 inch chop saw that handles the cutting chores.

None of my battery operated tools seem to be affected by this, but the chop saw loses it's automatic brake after a while down there. I believe that is is due to the high moisture content because if I take it up top to dry out, the brake begins to work again.

When you are working 80 feet underground, you require tough tools to get the job done. DeWalt has done me proud down there and I plan on continuing using them down there.

Almost Ready

We have been down in the Cave now for about nine months getting ready for opening day. We have added so much to the Haunt, that I think even last years customers will be surprised at how many changes we are going to have this year.

What is really funny is that for as much work as we have gotten done down there, there really has been very few people involved. The crew has been a core group of about five to seven people coming whenever they can, to build, run wire, run air lines, move props into place, and work on lighting. We haven't even begun working on the sound yet.

Our Igor's Face

Once again, Michael came over and began working his magic on the facial prosthetics. This is going to be the face of our Igor character. There is still a lot more to be done to it before we are finished with it.

Jebenezzer Law's new Face

My prosthetic has been given a coat of Pro-Adhesive and has been powdered. I am still waiting on the make-up. When it comes in, I will go into detail on how we are doing the make-up job for this one. I will be going into a lot of depth on this project.

Lewisburg Haunted Cave's New Face of the Devil

This is the Devil's new prosthetic. My good friend and fellow Haunt enthusiast, Michael, is doing the make-up work on this one. This one has all ready been coated with one coat of finish and the base coat of color has been added. Michael has also began highlighting it.

Beginnings

We began working on the prosthetics yesterday. This is going to be a long process so I will be updating with pictures and hopefully video soon.

Play the Game. It's A Riot

Count Down For Cave Opening Night

Make your own Countdown Clocks

My New Face

Take a look at my new face before we do all the work that will make it even more gruesome. Keep on coming back to check out our progress. We will be doing video and picture updates of our progress. Only 38 more days until the Lewisburg Haunted Cave opens!!!!!!!!

Trying New Things

This year, there are going to be some new additions in our make-up department. We have decided to try out some full facial prosthetics.

I haven't had a chance to begin working on mine yet, but I think that will be the first one that we will be working on. Some of the colors that we will be using are: corpse flesh, clotted blood red, red, and black and white for highlights.

We have used prosthetics before, but this is the first time we have used full facial prosthetics. Stay tuned for updates.

Blood Pool

This was done in a black and white shot dripping off a table at a height of about three feet. Notice the tight splatters of blood and how it stays close to the actual blood spill. I actually think that the blood looks better in black and white than in color.

Excitement

I am so excited about this new Haunt Season. We are going to have the best Haunt in the tri-state area.

The changes that we have made are really going to ramp the scares up for this year.

We put in a ten hour day today and got a lot accomplished. Some of the dead areas from last year are going to scare the pants off some people.

I cannot wait until the opening day of the Lewisburg Haunted Cave on September 25!

Follow Up to the Watermelon Prosthetic and Make-up Application

After wearing it for over 13 hours, the prosthetic did start showing it's flaws. These are supposed to be reusable, but mine came off splitting at the inner seam of the wound and the edges stayed on my skin. This is after spending ten minutes soaking it and rubbing it it warm soapy water. I am going to try to repair it with white latex and see how that goes.

The make-up did come off my skin with warm soapy water, but it had soaked into the prosthetic and it will not come off. That's okay if you are going to reuse and just touch up with make-up.

I am pretty old school, so I like the old style prosthetics that all ready come pre-painted and all you have to do is attach and blend.

I will post an update as to whether the white latex did repair the damage.

Overall, not bad if you are trying to save money or if you like make up your own wound color schemes.

Watermelon Prosthetic and Make-Up Application Video

Not the most epic video around so give me a break when it comes to quality. This was my first time editing.

Which is Better?

This is the untouched original from the previous shot. Which looks more realistic? Let me know.

Hand in a pool of blood

Just some more photographic fun done in black and white. Somehow, the effect is less fake looking.

New Prosthetic Colors Used

This is a whole hand shot after cutting the grass. The colors that were used to make the wound were magenta, red, and yellow. I think the yellow gives the skin around the wound a pus-like coloration. You use the magenta to give the wound depth. These are all airbrush colors that were dipped on with applicators.

Some of the comments I got while wearing it, were: "What happened to your hand?" "Did you know that your hand is bleeding?" and my favorite: "Wicked cool! Will you do that to me?"

The above comments were made in broad daylight. Imagine what it looks like in the subdued lighting of the Cave.

New prosthetics

We have been working with some new prosthetics down at the Cave. I have had this one on for five and a half hours, cut the grass and ran some errands with it on, and it shows no sign at all of coming off. This shot was taken after cutting the grass in 85 degree weather.

Outside Line Entrance at the Lewisburg Haunted Cave

Me without a mask.

Should You Where a Mask or Make-up?

Although this all boils down to a personal choice, the real question is what are you going to be most comfortable in. I wear glasses, so it is an easy choice for me, make-up of course. I don't have to worry about my glasses fogging up, and to me, it looks more natural, and let's face it, you can build a character out of make-up, but the mask is all ready a character.

Masks will also hinder your vision so working in dimly lit areas, you need to be aware of how much a mask will interfere with your sight.

Masks are also extremely hot. You will get pretty sweaty and uncomfortable if you have to spend a lot of time in one.

The final reason that I don't like wearing a mask is that they are very restrictive when it comes to your ability to breathe. The nose holes never line up with your nostrils and you will probably be breathing through your mouth most of the night and physically that is very inefficient.

So, you make the choice whether you are going to spend hours getting your make-up on, or spend hours of being uncomfortable in a mask. Decide wisely Grasshopper!

Underground

A lot of people have asked me what it's like to be underground for an extended period of time. I can honestly say it does not bother me at all. We have power and lights so it's not completely dark down there. The ceilings are relatively high, so I do not feel claustrophobic. And the weather never really affects us working down there.

It does make building sets a bit challenging since virtually nothing is level down there, but you adapt and do the best you can with situations like that.

The moisture content really adds quite a few unique situations when it comes to props, especially electronics. We bag up the electronics and just hope for the best. Usually, we do not have much of a problem, but there are times that we do end up having to replace equipment that the moisture has damaged.

Overall, it not much different than being above ground except for the total darkness we drive into until we turn the lights on. Who's afraid of the dark? Not me, not yet.

The Lewisburg Haunted Cave

This season, the Lewisburg Haunted Caves hours will be:

September 25-26
October 2-3
October 9-10
October 16-17
October 23-24
October 30-31

The Haunt starts at 7:00pm and goes on until 12:00 the Witching Hour.

I am looking forward to incarcerating all of you in my cell!

Props

Props are a very important part of a Haunt. They can add to a scene, become a talking point for an actor, or are just too cool to not have.

There are a lot of different props out there on the market and choosing the right one for you is important. For actors, a prop can be part of the costume, or something that the actors character has an interaction with it.

Static props can also be a good choice. Bob is one of our static props and he is just to much fun. He doesn't do anything but stand there holding his guts in with his hand stuck out trying to introduce himself to everyone.

Home made props can also help out, especially if you have a budget that you really need to stick to. Making your own props can save you a lot of money and at the same time, can really turn out to be one of the best additions to a scene. By making it yourself, you can customize it to fit into a scene, or make it work with an actor.

So if you decide to make the big leap into acting, figure out what kind of props you will need or want to make your character stand out.

What really scares you?

Some people are afraid of clowns. Other people have fear of the dark. Some fears can be intensive and debilitating. Fear is the only tool for anyone that works in a Haunt.

Did you ever wonder why most Haunts have trails or pathways that are close together so that you have to walk single file if you are with a group? They are using peoples natural fear of having no escape, or of being closed in.

Personal space invasions are also very intense. You take someone that you do not know, and invade their personal space by getting in really close to them. Sometimes, the customer will try and push you out of their personal space. Just continue moving in on them. Especially if you are tall. This is really intimidating.

Atmosphere and mood are very important when trying to scare someone. Spooky music, dimly lit places, even total darkness will play into peoples fears. Use them to your advantage.

What really scares you?

In 54 Days...

In 54 days, the Lewisburg Haunted Cave will be opening it's gates to the most horrifying underground Haunt in Ohio. There will be blood, scares and special effects for even the most jaded Haunt Customer. Join us September 25th at 7:00pm for our opening night. You will not be disappointed.

Rat Bait

While pulling himself out of his grave, one of our rats decided to have a snack.

Jail Cell Victim/Decoration

One of the few head honchos I let hang around my cell block!

Work Session

Looks like today we will be working on all of the stuff that I haven't gotten to this week. Felt bad most of the week, so I haven't been down there until today. I will be working on topping off some of the trees in the chainsaw area and whatever else comes up. Heading down now.

Hanging Around

Just some of the critters you will see hanging around at the Lewisburg Haunted Cave.

My Favorite Blood Recipe

There are several types of blood effects that you can go out and buy. Liquid bloods are for sale all over the place and I can tell you from experience, they taste terrible. I like to have the blood in my mouth to spray out, or let it drip down my chin into my beard and down my shirt. Well, if it tastes bad, then you are going to spend a lot of time spitting out the effect that you were trying to get.

One of my favorite blood recipes is as follows:

Chocolate Blood

You will need:

1/2 a cup of warm water
1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder
4-5 tablespoons of white corn syrup (I use Karo)
1/2-1 tablespoon of red food coloring
2 drops of yellow, green, or blue food coloring (This is optional and depends on what type of blood coloration you are going for)


Begin by mixing the cocoa powder with the warm water making sure that you stir the concoction so that it all becomes a liquid. Add your white corn syrup making sure that it mixes well and doesn't clump up. Mix your food coloring in blending it well and then let it settle for a bit, maybe ten to fifteen minutes. If there are still bubbles on top, either skim the scum off using a paper towel, or pour it into another container. The longer your blood sits, the more that the cocoa tends to separate out and settle to the bottom of your container.

Now, some of the fun stuff that you can use this for is blood spatters, which look very convincing. You can also let it drool out of your mouth and let it dry. It will actually look like clotted blood. I do this and let it drip into my beard and it looks like I have been enjoying a little bit of cannibalism.

A note of caution: any of the concoction that you do not use, throw it away since it will ferment.

What is a startle scare?

A startle scare is exactly what it sounds like, a startle. You set up, what for your customers to get in exactly the right spot, you pop out, startle them, and reset for the next group. It's as easy as that.

If you are a startle scare, there is no need for a lot of intensive make-up. The customers are barely going to see you, so no need for a four hour make-up job.

One other caution, if you get caught out with the next group all ready piling in, don't look at it as a wasted scare, do what you can to at least get a few of them. When I was a startle, I got caught out a few times, but I would cling to the wall, be as motionless as possible, and then nail the few that did not catch me out.

Cartoon Warp

Another fun thing that you can do with Photoshop. I made a cartoon out of one of my favorite Haunters from last year.

Make-Up II

I briefly touched on make-up earlier this week. Now we are going to go a little more in depth. We will begin with a few simple rules on doing make-up. First and foremost, always do a skin test to make sure that you are not allergic. Nothing is more irritating, or possibly life threatening, than having an allergic reaction to make-up, or latex prosthetics.

Another good thing to remember is to apply make-up thinly and wait until each layer dries before going on to another layer. You can use a blow dryer to hurry the drying process up, but make sure that you have it set on cool. That way you won't be causing a potential burn or even catching your face on fire.

Speaking of fire, never apply make-up, prosthetics, or latex appliances near an open flame. You can actually flame your face off since some of the fumes are volatile. It's just not a good idea to do anything like that near an open flame.

Another good rule of thumb is to never mix different types of make-up, and only use make-up that is approved for being applied to your face or skin.

Now that we have gone over some basic safety tips, let's explore some of the basic types of make-up.

1. Cream Make-ups or Grease Make-up. This is what I primarily use. It is very easy to apply and mixes well if you want to blend colors. The cream make-ups are also a lot easier to remove than traditional grease paint. Another good thing about cream make-ups is that they usually come packaged in character packs. These are all the make-ups that you need to create a specific character like a skeleton, zombie, witch, etc. Cream make-ups can be applied with sponges and for some really neat blending techniques, try using a stipple sponge.

2. Liquid Make-up. This is what we primarily use on the characters that are not being showcased. It's quick, easy to apply, and gives you just a bland make-up job. The fact that it is cheap, also helps out a lot. There is also another type of liquid make-up that is used primarily in airbrushing. You can get very elaborate with an airbrush, but make sure you are using the liquid make-up that is specifically made for airbrushing.

3. Pancake Make-Up. This is usually used for a foundation, or set up. It comes in a powdered form and is applied with a powder puff. If you use pancake make-up, make sure you used a setting spray, so that it stays in place all night.

4. The final make-up that I want to talk about is stick make-up. This would be lipsticks, etc. This type of make-up is great for outlining, shadowing, and highlighting.

Now that you know a little bit about the different types of make-up that are availiable to you, find the one that you are most comfortable using, and get to work. Practice as much as you can until you get the look that you were after or until you like what you see in the mirror.

Since we are still talking about make-up and set up, I would like to address adhesives. The most common adhesive out there is spirit gum. You can also use liquid latex as an adhesive. Make sure that you, or the person that you are making up, is not allergic to the liquid latex. Liquid latex also has ammonia in it, so do not apply it up around your eyes. The fumes can actually burn your eyes and I can tell you from experience, that if you get it close to your eyes, they will tear up. To help it dry faster, you can use a hair dryer set on cool to facillitate the drying process.,

You will need an adhesive to apply any prosthetics to your face or anywhere on your body. Some of the prosthetics that I use are scars, open wounds, and screws, stakes, and spikes. You can make your own wounds using liquid latex and a paper towel, but more on that later.

Now that you have the basics, let's prepare for the application of your make-up. The first thing you need to do is decide whether you need to have your costume on before you put your make-up on. You can really screw up a make-up job by pulling a shirt over your head.

After you decide on whether you need your costume on yet, or not, then you need to clean your face. I use Sea Breeze to clean up my face before I apply the make-up.

Your face is clean, now you need to find a spot in front of a mirror with adequate lighting. Lighting is very important in making sure that you apply the make-up correctly. Especially if you do a lot of blending.

If you are going to use prosthetics, now is the time to begin applying them. Spirit gum does not adhere well to make-up. Apply all of your prosthetics, let them dry thoroughly, and then you can begin applying your make-up. To help blend the edges of the prosthetic a little more naturally, use flesh colored latex. Apply it with a sponge and build it up layer by layer until you are satisfied with the results.

Now that you have your prosthetics on, apply a foundation. I use grey since I am basically a corpse or one of the living dead. If you are a vampire, use white. Apply it lightly and then pat it with a sponge to blend the make-up.

When you have the foundation done to your liking, it is time to highlight. This is when a make-up brush really comes in handy. You can also do your shadowing now.

The next step is texturing. I like to use a sponge, especially a stipling sponge to get the look that I want. You can also use a make-up brush to have a smoother texture. Here's a tip: If you load the front of the brush with a light color and the back of the brush with a dark shade, you can stipple with the brush to get an uneven look.

Shadowing and highlighting are the last step that you need to do. This is why the lighting is very important. To shadow properly, you take a darker color than your foundation and apply to the natural areas on your face that are shadowed. And example of this would be under the eyes.

To highlight, you want to take a lighter shade than your foundation color, and hit all the areas that you want highlighted. An example of the areas that you will want to highlight would be the wrinkles on your face, whether real or prosthetically enhanced.

The final step in the make-up process is setting the make-up. The cheapest way of doing this is with baby powder. Just dust your face with the powder and it will be set. It is important to set your make-up so that you do not sweat it off during your performance.

Baby powder can also be used to in your hair to make you look older. I personally like to use the easy to wash out hair sprays to add any color to my hair. It washes right out when you are taking your make-up off in the shower.

Cave Ceiling Drips

Interesting formations on the ceiling at the beginning of the entrance tunnel. I believe it is the beginning of a group of stalactites. It is also a type of drip stone. Not only is this blog fun, but educational.

Prep Work

The prep work is still going on. We still have a lot to do but we are currently waiting on props to come in.

This year is unusual in the fact that we are going to more props in areas that we considered dead. It will be interesting to find out how well that goes for us this year.

Distorted Couple

Some more fun with Photoshop!

Acting

Our actors, or human characters, are divided into two categories. Actors and Startles. Actors have a very definite role, like the Devil, the Undertaker, or my character, Jebenezzer Law.

Actors either make a back story for their character, or they all ready have a back story like the Devil.

If your character that you are portraying is well known, such as the Devil, you will still have a lot of room to make the character your own. You can be a scary Devil, a smart ass Devil, or a combination of both.

The other acting is Startle acting. Startle actors do not need a back story. They can be zombies, grave diggers, or chainsaws. These are just a few of the many startle actor positions. And it is just what it sounds like, your job is to startle the customer. If you are a startle actor, you are hidden behind a wall, a door, or some dark crevice. You wait for the customer to get within your range, and then bam, you are out there scaring the heck out of them. Then you pop back into your hiding place and set up for the next round of customers to come into your domain.

Startle actors rely a lot on timing. If you are off just a little bit, then your customers will not get the full effect of your scare. I cannot emphasize enough that timing is very important for your startle scare to be effective.

Also, when you jump out and do your startle, if you have to use words, don't use Boo! Not scary, and it really comes off kind of lame and let's your customers know that you have no clue on what you are doing.

I mentioned chainsaws. One of the easiest startle scares in any Haunt, but a very important scare. If you aspire to be a Chainsaw, make sure that you know how to start it. There is nothing worse than a chainsaw that pops out and he or she can't get the doggone thing started. You lose the impact of the scare, and you look pretty silly yanking on the starter cord while your customers are gawking at you.

Prosthetics

It is no secret that I like using prosthetic appliances with my character. I find that they add a bit of make believe realism to my character.

I started out using small scars and puncture wounds and graduated to bigger appliances that took up more of my face.

The two types of prosthetics that I primarily use are latex, and home made. I have yet to use any of the foam prosthetics that seem to be taking over the market place, but when I do, I will write about them. If cost is not an option, I would go with the foam prosthetic appliances so that you can create a very distinctive look, without too much time involved.

Using latex prosthetics, you must use something to attach them to your skin. For the past few years, I have been using spirit gum. It's not too complicated of a process. Figure out what appliance that you are going to use and apply the spirit gum to the back of the appliance. For more sticking ability, I also spread spirit gum on my skin where I am going to put the appliance. I make sure that I use my finger to get it nice and tacky on my face, and then I apply the prosthetic.

I let it dry for approximately thirty minutes. During that time, I apply the rest of the prosthetics that I will be using. After it is all dry, then I begin applying the make-up,

Now, there are a lot of people that do not like using spirit gum. I can tell you from experience, if it is applied properly, it can last up to eight hours without pulling away from the skin.

There are other adhesives that are on the market, but since I do not have any experience with them, I cannot comment on them. If you choose to use another adhesive, let me know how it works out for you.

Bob

Me just messing around with Photoshop and a picture of one of our props, BOB. You can come up with some great effects with pictures that you take of your Haunt that can be used in your advertising or just for fun.

Make-Up

We have covered character development and now it is time to move on to make-up. Make-up is one of the most important ways to set your character apart from everyone else, and really sets the mood for your character's scare.

The first thing that I want to get out is that rubber masks are not at all your best choice. They are hot, uncomfortable, and impair your vision. Down in the Cave, we need as much of our vision as possible. So rubber masks are not ideal for costumes. Plus, most are very unrealistic.

There are many types of make-up and many components. First you have your cream and grease paints. These are best if you want to layer and blend your make-up. I like to use them with my character. They come in wide variety of colors so your ability to blend is up to your imagination. For a base, I like to use gray. I used to use white, but the gray helps me create the dead flesh look that I like.

Another make-up type is liquid creams. This we use for quick character fill ins and for the kids. It is so quick, we call it the raccoon look. White base, black around the eyes and lips, maybe a little red. If you are an adult, try to be a little more imaginative than the raccoon look.

Airbrushing is another technique. You can get into some quick and original effects with an airbrush. The start up, is a little more costly, but you can efficiently make up quite a few people in a short amount of time. This is something that we are changing to this year.

Powder make-up is more intensive and has a few more steps to it, but the results can be quite subtle and really add to your character. You need to make sure that you use fixative agents to make sure that you do not sweat it off halfway through your performance.

One thing that I would like to add, is lighting. Make sure that if you are going all out on make-up, that your character has plenty of lighting. What is the point of doing a first rate make-up job if your audience cannot get the full effect of your effort.

Cave Floor

Not a picture of the moon landing, but a shot of the Cave floor.

July 25, 2009 Set Up

Heading out to the Cave in about a half an hour. If the storms hold off, we plan on doing the tree work that we expected to get done yesterday. If not, then we will complete the changes over in the Dark Maze. I think that this is going to be one of the best changes for this year.

Not expecting too many volunteers today, but maybe I will be surprised.

Have to work on getting the make-up order together. The big rumor on the net is that make-up will be in short supply this year. I did notice that the prosthetics that I like to use cannot be found anywhere yet. I will keep looking around.

Other than that, it is time to load up the truck and head out.

Spider Area

Looks like the Cave has a really bad spider problem.

Developing A Character Part 3

Creating your Costume

Making your character's costume is really just as important as the story line. Your costume is what adds to your character's ability to come to life.

What environment does your character dwell in? My character, Jebenezzer Law, lives in the Haunted Cave. I take my last pair of work pants and make sure that they are covered completely with cave dirt. Then I add any blood that I may be spilling down there.

Since I work in the Jail Cell, I have a set of manacles that I use to either portray me as confined and then I escape to wreak havoc, or I use them to shackle up my victims and drag them into the cell.

Cover where they are going to live. If they are a butcher, then you can go with a butcher's cap, an apron, and lots of blood.

If it helps, sketch it out on piece of paper or brainstorm with a buddy. You never know what you may come up with in a good brainstorming session. I personally think that if you make your own, your originality will show through and make your character shine when compared to the latest costume from the Halloween Department in your local store.

Another thing to take into consideration is dark or light clothing. Does your character cling to the shadows and then make an entrance, or is he spotlighted from the moment he enters the scene? Going back to the Butcher example, of course you want to have cooks whites on. That compliments your character. My character takes advantage of the darkness, so I want to blend in with the shadows. Some of my best scares occur when I am standing in the shadows and people walk within a foot of me and they do not notice me until I pop out of the shadows.

Do not forget the shoes. You can have the best Demon costume in all the land, but if you are wearing the latest pair of gym shoes, you have just destroyed the illusion that you are trying to perform with your character creation.

Your costume is a reflection of your character. Make sure that it enhances and does not detract from your performance.

Developing A Character Part 2

Research and Background

Every successful character in a Haunt has a name. Give your character one. Try to steer clear of Freddie's, Jason's, and Michael's. These are commonly associated with known Hollywood characters. Chuckie would be a bad one too. Come up with something catchy that says something about your character.

After you name your character, create a back story for them. A backs story is very important in fleshing out your character. If your character is a butcher, then make up a storyline where they worked and what made them go wrong. Or if you are a Demoness, then come up with a really good name like Desmoanna Demon of the Shadows. Tell how she fell from grace, what kind of powers that she has, etc.

Creating a name and a storyline will help you in designing your sets and props and it will bring your character to life or death, whichever realm they dwell in.

Developing A Character Part 1

Developing Your Character

Inspiration:

The first thing that you need to do is get inspired. There are many avenues to explore if you are looking for inspiration for your character.

One of your best sources are movies. Find a character that was in a movie that really scared you or gave you something that made you say, "Oh my gosh, that guy is really freaky. Glad this is just a movie." If you find something like that, go with it, expand it, and make it your own.

Other good sources would be books, magazines and even the internet. Just go with the medium that you are most familiar with.

Another approach would be, What scares your friends? Is it Zombies, vampires, or evil little girls with baby dolls? What ever your friends are scared of, tak advantage of it and work some magic developing that character into something that you would want to portray.

Once you figure out what you want to be, then you can start looking at your strengths to see what you can do to make your character stand out. If you are big, or slightly overweight, how about a freaky Santa. Yeah, that's right, you can use Santa as a character in a Haunt. What is scarier than a Santa who is chopping up someone on his naughty list? Maybe you are tall. Use your height and invade their body space by just looming over them. Very effective and you usually do not have to say to much.

Some people like to draw on their own experiences. Maybe you are a short order cook and you have an idea for a new recipe that involves serving up people as the main course. What about a crazy old lady that does not like it when you are too noisy, so she whips out her chainsaw and begins chasing you around the room. Model her after the crazy old lady that lived next door to you and made sure that you knew that she did not like anyone. Experiences can be just the right ticket to creating a very popular character.

There are hazards in trying to copy a marketable Hollywood horror icon. Number one, it's not very original, so that is not scary in itself. Then you are setting yourself up for the higher standards of make up and effects, that frankly can get very costly and be very time consuming in prepping for your role. Your audiences expectations are also so much more higher when you are trying to step into the shoes of an icon.

One of the most important things to remember is for you to be as original as possible. Not only do you not have any legal problems like copyright infringement, but this character will actually be a lot better if you can make it your own and not be someone who was just copying and al ready.

Just remember to let your creative juices flow, have fun with it, and make the character yours. Not only is it cheaper, but it is more fun, and lets face it, more realistic if you and your character are original.

Today

Not much really got done today. Moved in the new compressor and that was about it. All the chainsaws that we hoped to use were broken within minutes and we didn't get the trees cut down like we wanted to. Oh well, there's always tomorrow, but still it was a disappointing day.
We did begin the change in the Dark Maze that we wanted to get done. Hope to get that completed tomorrow.

Fun Facts about the Lewisburg Haunted Cave

1.The Lewisburg Haunted Cave has been in operation for about thirty years
2. The Cave is home to about 30,000 bats
3. There are about 42 miles of tunnels down in the Cave
4. It was a fully operational Limestone Mine at one time
5. It is the only underground Haunt attraction in Ohio

More later, it is off to the Caves for me and the Cave Crew!

Beheaded

Victim or prop? You be the judge. LOL.

Cave Entrance

This is where we begin our journey into the Haunt.

The Haunted Life

Four years ago, I began an adventure that would keep me underground for long extended periods of time. Yeah, it does sound kind of weird, but there is a lot to explain so hang on to your hats because the journey begins here.

I volunteer at one of Ohio's premier Haunts. What is a Haunt you ask? Well a Haunt is a place that people go to during the Halloween Season to have the yell scared out of them. Most Haunts are haunted houses, warehouses, etc. The Haunt that I spend time scaring up is the Lewisburg Haunted Cave, located in Lewisburg, Ohio.

The Lewisburg Haunted Cave has been in operation for about thirty years and is located in an abandoned limestone mine. Yes, an actual mine. Once you hit that gate, you are descending eighty feet or more underground. It is the only underground Haunted attraction in Ohio.

I am one of the characters deep down in the Cave. My characters name is Jebenezzer Law and he has a very interesting back story. Jebeneezer (JEB) Law: He ran the detention cells during the Coal Wars back in 1980 at the Lewisburg Mine. Slowly went crazy down in the mine after prolonged exposure to bat guano. He was found to have a hankering for inmate flesh. When his cannibalistic tastes were discovered, he took off and hid down in the 42 miles of tunnels down in the mine and later surfaced when the mine was converted to a Haunt. After years of just having bats to eat, old Jeboneezer has decided that he would like to see if customers are as tasty as the inmates used to be.

Well, for the next sixty-three days, me and the Cave crew will be working our collective tails off to get the Haunt ready for this season. This will be a daily journal of what we do and how we get ready for the Haunt Season.