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MHC Midwest Haunters Convention - My first haunt convention - Day 1

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  • MHC Midwest Haunters Convention - My first haunt convention - Day 1

    I arrived today (Friday) at MHC and I'm having a good time so far! Went on the Friday Night Bus Tour to the Costume Vault and then to the Scare-A-Torium haunted house. The Costume Vault seemed to be a large Halloween Express store. There were a LOT of pre-made, mass produced costumes, as you would expect in that kind of costume store. Still, there were a few items of interest, and a nice snack table. Speaking of which, I was standing in line for the snack table, and I noticed none other than Leonard Pickel standing behind me in line! I'm sure some of you will think this is funny, but he's kind of a legend in my mind, so I was too shy to introduce myself.

    I'm not sure what was happening when we got to the Scare-A-Torium. The cue line was tremendous, and moved at a VERY slow pace. Some kind of throughput problem? There were wandering cue line actors who did a pretty fine job. There was also a Ghostbusters station wagon (?) of some kind, with two Ghostbusters. One of the Ghostbusters wore the appropriate proton pack, but was dressed in some kind of purple pimp outfit. I didn't get it. They had very cool packs though...Very detailed, with good lighting.

    The Scare-A-Torium was a long haunt, in a partially empty shopping center. The haunt incorporated a lot of different themes divided into sections. There didn't seem to be an overall storyline, but I didn't really mind. It was kind of an odd experience in that main overhead lighting was very bright for a haunted house. I'm not really sure if that was considered a "lights on" tour or not? To me it seemed like somewhere between full haunt mode and a lights-on tour. The brightness level really didn't do any favors to the haunt. A lot of things intended to be hidden (outlet strips, etc) were clearly visible because the lighting was so bright. On the positive side, the actors were very energetic! There was an actor that slithered on the ground like a snake and scared the woman behind me half to death. I didn't know her, but she had a death-grip on the back of my belt for most of the haunt. It made it more fun actually. I enjoyed the section that had many different carved Jack-O-Laerns, and their morgue section. The black light section of the haunt was my favorite. At first we weren't sure it was a black light haunt, because again the overall lighting level of the overhead lights was high (by haunt standards), but there were moments of genius... The cotton candy wall was a particular favorite. There was some confusion about the right path towards the end causing the conga-line to loop back onto itself (causing us to repeat some halls/rooms) but I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to check out some of the cool toxic chemical sets a second time.

    On the bus on the way back to the convention I ended up in a seat right next to the guys from the Haunt House / BrainChow Studios! That was a big deal to me, because I watch their Youtube series: "A Haunter's Life" on a regular basis. They were all very cool, and very nice to me. So far my first ever haunt convention has been a very positive experience. We weren't able to book rooms at the Hyatt because they were sold-out before we were able to commit to attending the convention, so we're staying at the Best Western Port Columbus, which is about 10 minutes (at most) from the convention. Tomorrow I'll be hitting the trade show floor, the weekend seminars, and Allen Hopps' class on set design! I'll report more tomorrow.
    Last edited by DarkTikiEntertainment; 06-11-2012, 11:53 AM.

  • #2
    Great review! Thanks! Don't feel shy around this crowd LOL! Just start talkin' & asking questions! Hope you have a nice time at the con.
    missjayne
    Netherworld Haunted Attractions
    http://www.fearworld.com/

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    • #3
      I'm seeing on facebook some of the booths have sold mostly out the first day. Anyone have any before and after pictures?
      sigpic

      Another fabulous post from the U.S.Department of Wild Imaginings, now in spectaclar stereo, sponsored by the Adhesives and Sealants Council, suggesting ways to stick things together since the 1800s. Not fabulous in a gay way. Your results may vary. Illinois residents add 8% sales tax. These posts have been made by professional post makers, do not try this type of posting on your own without extensive training, lovely assistants and a trusty clown horn.

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      • #4
        It was great to meet you! We were exhausted when we got back on the bus. The 16 hour drive from the night before and nearly 2 hours asleep was creeping up on us. However with a good nights sleep we were back to normal crazy mode for Saturday. Hope you had a great weekend. This was our first time at MHC and we were thoroughly surprised how well our booth did.
        Bart Butler
        HobNob Productions
        http://www.brainchowstudios.com

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        • #5
          Saturday / Sunday

          Saturday started off with a bang, as I took Allen Hopps' class on designing "Sets That Scare". With all due to respect to the other seminars I took at MHC (and I took some other good seminars!), Allen's seminar was far and away the most useful and informative to me. I learned more about haunted house design in those few hours than I have in the past five years of working at pro haunts, reading the trade magazines and books, watching instructional DVDs, home haunting, and regularly traversing these forums. I picked up his new DVD, and I'm sure it will prove equally as useful.

          I finally hit the show floor after the seminar, and it was awesome! I could've easily spent my meager life savings in a matter of minutes, but I managed to control myself. All day Saturday just seemed to be a feeding-frenzy at most of the booths. I was thankful for my great height, otherwise I might've missed seeing things because the tables were so jammed with customers. It was truly a haunt shopper's paradise. Seeing items online is one thing, but seeing them in person (in large quantities) is quite another. My brother (who is also my business partner) and I ended up dropping the majority of our funds at the Hotwire Foam Factory booth. We've both been very interested in getting into foam carving (I do wood carving, my brother does stone carving) for quite a while, so we finally made the leap.

          I also picked up some fog juice from Froggy's (to avoid those shipping charges). I checked out some of their scent additives, and it was amazing how they truly captured the exact scent of so many different things. There was another fog vendor called "Master Fog LLC". They were actually handing out free samples of their fog juice. I will indeed try it, and give it a fair chance. You never know when someone MIGHT come up with a better product.

          I bought a cool spear prop from a vendor I unfortunately can't recall. Their booth was directly next to the entrance door. The prop has a wooden shaft, with a real animal jaw bone on the end. It reminded me of something a witch doctor might have, so I thought it would fit our tiki jungle theme. It is probably going to be set decoration instead of an actor prop, because it is made of real wood and bone, and therefore would make a decent real weapon.

          I admit that we did not attend the costume ball. Just not our scene. I'm sure it was a good time.

          Sunday I attended a few more seminars. The first seminar I attended was interesting. It actually felt more like a motivational speech than a class. It was pretty heavy on theories of how to overcome haunt problems (and life problems), and it was motivational... But I found it lacking in practical details, which is more what I was hoping for. Still, I don't regret attending.

          I did have one questionable interaction with a lecturer. He gave a decent seminar, then told us to come visit him at as booth after. I went to his booth, and I was interested in talking with him about a piece of tech he attempted to demonstrate during his seminar (but failed due to technical difficulties). I was interested in possibly buying one, but when I went to his booth, he was on his cell phone. I walked around for a while longer, then went back to his booth some time later. He was still (or again?) on his cell phone. I decided to try one more time on my way out of the convention, and the third time he was not at his booth at all. Perhaps he had some kind of emergency, and that's why he was on his phone so much and had to leave? I don't know. There were others at his booth, but I wanted to speak to him directly. Oh well, perhaps it was just unfortunate timing. It ultimately stopped me from spending an extra $150 - $200, so I guess that's not a bad thing.

          The last thing I did at MHC was take a seminar by Leonard Pickel. I had heard a lot of the information from him before via DVD or the internet, but it was excellent to hear it firsthand, and to be able to ask questions. He had some new information about Twitter and the internet, which was quite interesting.

          Great people, good classes, tons of vendors... I really don't know what more you could ask for out of any convention.
          Last edited by DarkTikiEntertainment; 06-11-2012, 10:27 AM.

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          • #6
            MHC-Master Fog LLC.jpgMHC - Hummer.jpg

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            • #7
              MHC-Tradeshow Floor.jpgMHC - Hot Rod.jpgMHC - Zombie Army bus.jpg

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              • #8
                This is just an observation here, but I've looked at many pics of people in costume at what is supposed to be a Haunters convention but the costumes are nothing to write home about. Even at transworld the exception is the professionally costumed folks, the vast majority of the costumes I see look at he same level or worse than the average costumed person you see anywhere. Shouldn't everyone in an industry that is all about costumed actors have the most highly detailed, over the top, movie quality costumes that would make non professionals drool? And why do so many women with average body types or many chubby girls feel the need to go naked and with body paint? The whole point of the sexy femme fatal is to look like a super model but be devilishly evil, you should dress for your body type. I'm just a little disappointed looking at how our industry presents ourselves and how poorly we costume ourselves when we should be the best costumed people around...

                DA

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                • #9
                  Wow.....

                  The sky is falling because I agree with Dark!!!!! I am not a fan...... NO I DO NOT LIKE the body painting stuff! It fits more into a fairycon than a haunt convention! Most of the girls that do it NEED to keep their ass covered up!!! Shane and it's leave the body painting out! Shane
                  sigpic

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                  • #10
                    Thanks Shane.

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                    • #11
                      i bet you 2 are a hit with the ladies ...
                      to me personally
                      women of all shapes n sizes are welcome to put on sum paint and show off and have fun at a haunters party...
                      in order to see the orchestra ...you must turn your back on the crowd...



                      www.HAUNTEDHOOCHIE.COM
                      www.DEADACRES.COM

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                      • #12
                        Bad

                        I have seen hot women that need their ass covered up too because they were showing way to much!!!!! Really it's not about the size or looks. What's scary about a basically naked chick with paint all over them? NOTHING!! IT'S MORE FOR SHOW! You can see that at any pole dancing club on any night in any city minus the body paint! People that come to haunts love to get scared and there is just nothing scary about that! Bad I would agree that at a haunters party yeah I mean it's is a party but at a tradeshow/convention dealing with Haunted Houses ummmmmmmmmmmm NOPE! That should be left for the porn convention in Vegas!

                        Shane and it's thinking about it there may be a few that would scare me just looking at it! Shane
                        Last edited by graystone; 06-12-2012, 08:49 AM.
                        sigpic

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                        • #13
                          Although there were a few costumes that needed a bit, I thought, overall, there were some really amazing costumes. Moreso than not. AND an ugly naked boobie is Still a naked boobie
                          Like a midget at a urinal, you gotta be on your toes

                          http://www.wellstownshiphauntedhouse.com

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by sean View Post
                            Although there were a few costumes that needed a bit, I thought, overall, there were some really amazing costumes. Moreso than not. AND an ugly naked boobie is Still a naked boobie
                            Not true. It's thinking like that that has every girl thinking that every guy automatically thinks they are hot regardless how unappealing they are. By your thinking there's no difference in seeing boob lady's naked breasts compared to a lingerie model's breast... Makes no sense I love women but if you're going to expose yourself make sure you can pull it off . No one wants to see a 10lb bag of stuff in a 5lb bag.

                            DA

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by badass View Post
                              i bet you 2 are a hit with the ladies ...
                              to me personally
                              women of all shapes n sizes are welcome to put on sum paint and show off and have fun at a haunters party...
                              I'm conflicted on this one... I agree with Badass that if people are wearing body paint, then ladies of all shapes and sizes should feel welcome to paint-up (beauty comes in many forms!), BUT I am not certain that body painting really belongs at a haunter's convention. It seemed odd to me.

                              Oh, and I saw a lot of great costumes at MHC!

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