On the upside, I've been finding fun stuff I forgot I had, like these two Polaroids of my early Halloween yard decorating back in 1995. It was my second year after getting bitten by the haunt bug in '94.
What you see is pretty much the whole display. It's funny, I remember thinking it was so over the top and extreme then. Boy, I've come a long way since.
Fun Useless Facts:
- The electric chair is the one I use in my display today. It and the coffin mummy were dressing created for the SCI FI BUZZ TV show set I designed in the early days of the SYFY Channel. The mummy is also still around, although in countless pieces in the garage somewhere. The coffin is sadly long gone.
- That "charcoaled" blucky skeleton was the first I ever bought (and poorly customized in 20 minutes) His parts have since been repurposed into numerous different zombie creations over the years.
- Yes, I carved those gravestones. And looking at them now... yes, I was probably drunk when I did.
- I found the CAUTION:RADIATION sign at a local hardware store in Burbank. There were right there next to the usual BEWARE OF DOG and FOR SALE signs. Only now do I think about it and wonder if that store had plenty in stock for a reason.
Now that IS a bizarre coincidence. This is fun to see. Looks like you hadn't yet found the Dave Lowe style that's so distinctive now in all of the work you post here. Is that blucky's white hair standing on end?
ReplyDeleteZERO style... zero effort really. The last thing I ever imagined back then would be sitting in May of 2012, plotting, planning and building my display already. In those first years I just threw the stuff on the lawn in a couple of hours. And that even included making any props, as the blucky and gravestones illustate.
DeleteYeah, his hair is standing on end, in a sad attempt to make him look "electrocuted". But it served a dual purpose. It was attached to the chair, keeping his head straight.
BTW didn't realize I had a distinct style. Thanks for that.
Thanks for sharing these with us. As a beginner, it's really nice to see where the big haunters started. I decorated for the first time a few years ago and my display was just as sparse!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like. I also enjoy seeing early efforts by folks.
DeleteI think everyone's started sparse. As it should. It leaves room for growth, improvement and anticipation to the following year.
You inspired me to have my first Halloween party and haunt this year. My friend is adding in her style/stuff too...I'm really excited. It's great to see these early photos (amazing!) and read through your blog. I fear my front yard is going to be: a few sad tombstones, lame cobwebs, and some spiders...we'll see and hope for more!
ReplyDeleteNettle,
DeleteThanks, nice to hear I inspired. For what it's worth...just a few tombstones, some cobwebs and spiders can make for a really great looking haunt.
I have a nieghbor down the street who just has one tombstone and a zombie hand breaking up from the ground on their lawn every year. That's it, but it's effective being so simple.
The best thing about coming across photos of old work is realizing how far you've come since then. You should have saved these though for this year's Halloween Countdown. It would have been one post less than you have to worry about.
ReplyDeleteGood point about saving for the Countdown, but I've got a few things planned for this year's that should fill up the 31 days easily. But who knows... knowing the way my plans often go, I might find myself thinking "John was right" in Oct.
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