HAuNTcon 2013

Well Kiddies I’m back in business. April 25^th-28^th was my first shoot back in the business and that shoot is none other than HAuNT Con at our old stomping grounds at the Sheraton DFW Hotel.

The reasons that I say that was our old stomping grounds is that many of you will know is that was the location of the Texas Frightmare Weekend from 2009 to 2011 so this was a location that I am familiar with and I have to admit that I know it like the back of my hand.

The weekend for me started out great…Actually it started out on a Wednesday for me hopping on a Bus for the Haunt Tour.

Thanks to Leonard Pickel and Steve Colberg for giving me the pass to attend the tours.

It was awesome to attend some of the Haunts that had come to the DFW area in the time that I was in Austin and to revisit some of the old Haunts that I attended in the past.

I was also included with the group that was in charge of the media and we truly enjoyed ourselves that week

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I was also not alone that weekend. I was joined by many of my old Frightmare brethren including Anjanette who is a longtime friend and has always been there for me when I need her the most as well as Parrish Randall who trust me we had a blast filming at HAuNT con.

I also liked reconnecting with many of the Celebrity guests that I have gotten to know that I had met at the last HAuNT Con in 2005 

Like Reggie Bannister. I had a great conversation with him and his wife GiGi. 

Here is a picture of us in 2005

As well as Edwin Neal that I have also met in 2005.

Parrish and I also went around on Sunday and shot the booths.

and then there was Godzilla.

I realized something this weekend.

I think that there were some points this weekend that I realized that I still have to talent to make something great. The videos that Parrish and I did honestly were just us goofing off and the videos turned out great. That was Parrish and I goofing off. I am looking forward to us working on something that we actually give 110% to.

I realized Saturday Night during the party that I am going to be ok after the Fire.

And then on Sunday HAuNT Con had the Haunter's Garage Sale where local Haunted Attractions sell their used collections. 

I did a walk through the first time while shooting and I did another and then I saw them. 

I had a collection of Universal Monster Cardboard Displays from when I worked at Blockbuster and they were some of my most prized possessions. When they were lost in the fire I was Devastated among the other treasures that I loved.

With the help of a add on Craigslist of a man in Florida and the help of my family I was able to regain Frankenstein's Monster as well as the Creature From the Black Lagoon for a reasonable price but the standups of Dracula and The Wolfman were going on ebay for $200.00 and I can't afford them. 

Dracula and The Wolfman were sitting on the wall for sale for $15.00 each. However the ATM did not work and I had no cash and that was all that they were taking. Then the owner of the Haunt recognized me    He was the owner of the Slaughterhouse Haunted House in Deep Ellum and he gave them to me for shooting his Haunt. Now the Gang is all here. It's nice to have something back that I lost.  

Now it is time to get back to work. 

By the Way please check out my Hauntshooter YouTube Channel and subscribe if you like it. 

Thank you. 

The American Scream

It is no secret that I am a Haunt enthusiast.

I grew up and started my career in Dallas which many will consider to be the Ultimate Haunt Market. Every year my friends and I would drive to Forney to visit the Haunted Verdun Manor. We even encountered the late Lance Pope a couple of times when we were there.

 

I started working professionally in 1997. Before that I would occasionally work in some haunts intended to raise money for different groups that I was a member of.

Then in 1997 my friend Rick and I were approached by the late Jay Korn to work his Castle Dragon haunt on Halloween night and we were hired to work again one year later.

Sadly for me I aggravated a back injury which ended my acting career in the Haunt Industry.

 

The other place that I was often found around Halloween was the Phantom’s Haunted House in Lewisville. My friends and I would attend that haunt every year…ok twice to three times a year. When I was in college my assignment was to shoot a documentary and I decided to shoot the Phantom’s. That is where I met my good friend Scott Reese who would call me a couple of years later to shoot his haunt when they went to the State Fair of Texas.

That is when the HauntShooter was born.

Link to the HauntShooter Channel

I began shooting not just the Phantom’s Haunted House but also began shooting at other Haunts around the DFW area and I would release a compilation DVD titled   The Best Little Horror Houses in Texas featuring some of the best Haunted Attractions in not just the DFW area but across the State of Texas as well.

Well you know what they say that technology changes and that you have to roll with the punches or be left behind which is where I decided to discontinue the DVD and began releasing the videos that I shoot on my brand new YouTube Channel titled HauntShooter.

I admit that you can frequently find me at the Transworld Haunt show in St Louis, Mo.

 

I have to admit that I have mostly been shooting the pro haunts and the charity haunts for the past few years and I have not been really checking out the Home Haunts which I have been hearing about and some of them I have met at the tradeshows.

Now you are probably asking, what is a Home Haunt?

 

A Home Haunt is a Haunted Attraction that is made from someone’s neighborhood home. It can be the house next door that the owner makes it into a attraction mostly for the neighbors.

Some of them charge admission others don’t charge it is at the choice of the home owner.

Now I know that there are some people that will say that that is weird but then I have to ask what about the people that go All Out every year on the Christmas decorations?

There really is no difference.

 

So it should come as no surprise that when Fantastic Fest announced The American Scream on their line up I had to check out this flick.

The American Scream is a documentary that follows 3 Home Haunters in the months leading up to Halloween Night as they turn their homes into Haunted attractions.

This documentary is produced by the same people that produced Best Worst Movie. I have to say that they did their research especially when they shot Hauntcon.

The people that are being followed are also as interesting as the haunts that they build.

 

The first family is a family of Halloween enthusiasts, The father and daughter in particular. The documentary showcases both the support from the family as well as the strain that the home haunt causes them. I don’t want to reveal the end of the documentary for this family but there was talk about a Kickstarter campaign for this man so please look out for that.

The other Home Haunters featured is a man who still makes his haunt even after Doctors ruled against it due to his heart condition, and a Laurel and Hardy type father and son duo that were my personal favorites in this flick.

 

Also featured in the documentary is a brief trip to Hauntcon, The yearly Haunted Attraction convention that is featured in different cities every year. As well as a interview with Leonard Pickel the owner of both Hauntcon and HAuntrepreneurs, a highly recommended Haunt consultation company.

 

I Highly recomend both HAuntcon and Transworld.

The American Scream premieres Sunday October 28^th on Chiller

Check your local listings.