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  • A Sensitive Subject

    Tis I. Empress Nightshade.

    I know some of you thought me to be dead, but no. I am alive although not kicking as I use to.
    I disappeared from this site as I did all others. I threw haunting out of my life due to disappointments in my abilities and society as a whole.
    Okay, okay....
    Put the violins back. There will be no sob stories here. But, I do want to express a bit of what happened to me and where I am today. Care to listen?

    They say "Be careful what you wish for.." Well, I got it and to be honest, I didn't like it one bit. The acknowledgment, the pro haunt, the customers, the advertisement -- I got it all, but at what cost? My health. The last year of the Scream Extreme Haunted House, I did everything in a leg cast. Doc said I needed surgery on my tendons. When I refused saying I had something more pressing to attend to (Haunting), she put me in a cast and there I remained. I ruined the first one due to construction, so I was put in another one. This one was ruined as well since the haunt was outdoors allowing the constant rain to soak in. I shook my head at my own self when I looked down at the plastic bag and duct tape I had surrounded it with in an attempt to keep it dry.

    My health began to decline and my spirit for haunting diminished. Sending thousands of dollars in props to the city dump, I vowed to never look back and I kept this promise to myself. Even the times when a classic horror movie was on television or that special smell of sawdust and spray paint would hit my nostrils, I would think about the negative and thank the heavens I was no longer involved. That was until this past October....

    My eldest child -- my precious one and only daughter -- came to me in July and said, "Mom, would you haunt my garage?" She'd just purchased a lovely home with a two car garage and began to reminisce about the old days when she and her brothers were kids helping out a budding haunter Mom. "...would you haunt my garage?" Those words set a fire under me. A fire I'd dowsed and thought never to burn again. But, it did and before I knew it, I was taking snaps of her garage, creating a floor plan and making purchases. Like a previous bicycle rider, I jumped back on and began to pedal ignoring my body's warnings. It wasn't until after it was over that I collapsed into a huge ball of pain. What lasted for only an hour took me weeks to recover from. I wanted to scream, "It's not fair! I don't want it to be over. There's still so many scares and haunted ideas here." What is a disabled haunter to do?

    Yes. That is my question: What am I suppose to do? I feel like an old woman on the outside who still wants to party and shake her booty on the inside. I want to haunt! I want to be deeply involved in all aspects of it. I want to build something unique and sit in my wheelchair in the corner and laugh my ass off as people fall to the floor in fright. Where do I put this? Is there a place for me....?

  • #2
    Couple things... first and foremost welcome back you were missed. I'm also wondering what happened to Jim Warfield does anyone know if he's okay?

    Anyway let me say this first and foremost and I hope you don't mind me talking about me for a moment... I got into this business when I was 19 years old. I use to do everything, I built every scene, painted ever scene, I acted, I managed, I did the marketing, I made the flyers, there was very little I didn't do myself. I acted in my haunted houses well into the days of Darkness and Creepyworld I'd say mid-30's I stopped.

    I'm now 44 years old... where did the time go? Who has my original how to video look back on that and see how young I was holy cow! Time just flies!

    I feel a bit old myself, I don't really have the energy to act anymore, climb up walls, carry wood around, or any of those things... I'm more of a delegate type of guy now, I work on marketing still, but I no longer make my own flyers (LOL). I feel worn down from the grind of it all myself. In the old days the minute the haunt closed I was in there myself working the following day on new stuff... that hasn't changed other than the fact I don't do the work myself anymore.

    I find just as much joy in the fact that I still create things, and guide others to great things, and teach people what I know without having to feel the need to show everyone I can still paint something or build something, or whatever. I have a great crew who are much better than I am at many things, so we work as a team to accomplish everything. But I'm sure they would tell you without me we couldn't get it done, and I would say without them we couldn't get it done, and without my partner we couldn't get it done and blah, blah... its team work. Everyone who works with me we all know what we do and we stick to those roles for the most part to do our part in making things great.

    So your not in the same condition as 10 years ago... that is expected. But that doesn't mean you can't shake your booty and let everyone know your stamp was placed on that that... you just adapt and change what you do and I think like myself you'll feel like you are doing more than before!

    And for the record you mentioned wheelchairs... we had an actor in our que line rolling around in a wheel chair he was the scariest guy in the place! And for the record our scariest actor of all time is a guy who's only 3 feet tall, has all kinds of medical problems has to be carried to his scene, and he still gets it done!

    I'd say find the inspiration to do what you think you want to do, find great people to work with you and as a team you'll fine more joy than ever before.

    Larry

    PS: Glad to see you are still alive in kicking.
    Larry Kirchner
    President
    www.HalloweenProductions.com
    www.BlacklightAttractions.com
    www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
    www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

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    • #3
      I have also missed you, we haven't spoken in a couple years.

      You know,
      Larry could NOT have said that better.
      I read your post trying to figure out how you could still do it with your plight, but Larry is right.
      You can still make your vision come true, just delegate getting it done.
      Allow others to be involved in your Dream.

      Last year, I started cross training some of our employees how to sculpt.
      And this year, I am letting them do even more.
      It is still my vision but others are more involved in the dream, and that makes even more people happy.
      Kevin R. Alvey
      info at gore-galore.com
      www.gore-galore.com
      www.halloweenmusicgalore.com
      www.youtube.com/goregalore13
      www.facebook.com/goregalore


      sigpic

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      • #4
        Well said Larry!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by drfrightner View Post
          Couple things... first and foremost welcome back you were missed. I'm also wondering what happened to Jim Warfield does anyone know if he's okay?
          If you mean "Gym Whourlfeld" (year-round haunt in Mt. Caroll, IL), he still posts regularly over at HalloweenForum.

          I'm kinda new here, so I'm not sure if these are the same folks or not.
          Fright In Falcon Haunted Maze
          http://frightinfalcon.com

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          • #6
            Welcome back! Funny thing is I was just reading through some old posts on here last week and was actually wondering "where does someone like Empressnightshade go?" Why do they disappear from the forums. Well, now I know.

            I occassionally get calls or emails from local charities or theater type organizations looking for someone who knows how to setup and run a haunt. Most likely they have the man-power... they just don't have the know-how. You have something they need. And perhaps they can provide you what you are missing. Maybe some well places Craigslists posts could hook you up with the perfect setting. Good luck and keep us posted.

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            • #7
              Yes, That's the same Jim.....I noticed he's been a lot more present at Halloween Forum lately too....No worries Larry he's still posting anyway....ZR




              Originally posted by Abunai View Post
              If you mean "Gym Whourlfeld" (year-round haunt in Mt. Caroll, IL), he still posts regularly over at HalloweenForum.

              I'm kinda new here, so I'm not sure if these are the same folks or not.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by drfrightner View Post
                I'm now 44 years old... where did the time go? Who has my original how to video look back on that and see how young I was holy cow! Time just flies!
                I've still got a couple of them Larry....Do you still have a VCR I can borrow to look at em?....LOL.......ZR

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