Is everyone going up the creek???

[Greg Chrise]

Each one would indeed require costuming, masks, hands and shoes that just get put over stumps. All of this can be outside in the weather whereas dummies filled out with foam rubber covered in tape over a frame need to be kept indoors and take hour upon hours to make.

These "accessories" are things from Goodwill or available from many vendors. Thus increasing the need for masks and hands in or economy. Or the do it your self crowd has a full body verson of a wig head to set their costume on, make a monster mud exterior and apply latex sculpt for heads.

[Spookyfinder]

Why couldn't it be foam filled with a silicone skin? Silicone being naturally water proof would allow these to be used outdoors! This is one of the things we are working on, making body forms ourselves. We'll be taking lots of pics and will put them up once we start with them! -Tyler

[Greg Chrise]

It could be foam filled with a silicone skin but, that sounds expensive. Every prop head like that retails for $30 to $45 or more each and so you are back to the $150 to $250 per dude scenario. A blow mold or vacuum form machine knocks one out every few minutes. Hard foam would be nice but tough to work with in small quanitities. Silicone and soft foam is two days per dude per mold and of course the crafts people would like to be compensated for their efforts.

In a month you can make a small army of forms, being cheap they will all sell as even pro haunters have costumes they would like to use as props and would save tons of money not having to create their own figure to put the costume on.

The quicker the better the lower the cost the better. There is certainly a place for the higher lines of figures as well but time is money whether you are starting from scratch on a display or fabricating a product. Slicone implies it might as well have a detailed skin that you would want to show. Or the screw ups could be sold for the purpose of filling prop figures?

Frankly most haunters don't have the budget of Macy's window displays or if they do have money could be spending it on far greater Square Footage or marketing really knocking the socks off of customers with the appearence of serious investment.

Once costuming is done you still might have $100 to $150 per dude but when every dude becomes a $450 end option there tend to be fewer made, purchased and so on. And I'm not talking about replacing actors, I'm saying it looks like there are 300 people working at even a small haunt.

[Greg Chrise]

There would be quite a market for such a thing as even home haunters struggle with making dummies and end up with semi retarded offerings or they try to make a 4 foot blow mold skeleton look like something scary.

Even Shane could have an army of posable Santas helpers with the addition of steel frames and costumes. Think really big rod muppets that can be outdoors for months. Of course in a haunt they are crawling a wall, in a chair, climbing a tree, floating lke a vampire sitting up in a chair, on a table etc. Only a certain portion would require some kind of stand to be out in a field.

I have to go to work

[Jim Warfield]

Across The BIG WATER...

In Stirling Castle in Scotland and in the Old Town Jail, next door, the "static prop "dummys" were very realistic with painted clothing and they are made out of a concrete or concrete-like material.
See oldtownjail.com I have never been there by my Wife has...
"Go ahead drunky, punch my manniquin."

[Speculo]

Shane funny you say that... I spend part of Christmas, usually 4-5 days in Sheffield Alabama just 30 minutes from you I recently realized. I was going you contact you in a week or so when we firm up our plans. Contact me off line at speculo@comcast.net and we can get in contact.

I go through Birmingham up and back at Christmas, we could always meet the Atrox guys then.

Thanks

[graystone]

Ben

I droped you an email. Maybe we all can get together! Shane

[drfrightner]

Jason,

Calm the hell down, I like many others felt your post was about the haunt industry, and in specific how things would shake out with haunts spending money on new products. You must remember this is the haunted house industry, not the energy industry, car making industry, financial industry or any other....simply the haunted house industry.


If the economy is affecting your normal job, I'm very sorry to hear that but don't blow off the handle like someone around here is against you because we are not. I was merely offering my opinion on THIS INDUSTRY...

My dedication is to THIS INDUSTRY, however I hope the banking industry, GM, FORD, and all the rest turn things around...that is surely good for everyone.

But the HAUNT INDUSTRY is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT affected WHAT SO EVER by the current situation. Tourism to Vegas might be down, but those local Casinos are doing good. Disney might have seen a drop but all those local Six Flags had a banner year.

Jason, I'm not sure your position with Screamline Studios, but if you are a part owner and again forgive me because I don't know, but if you are why would you be sitting here basically encouraging people not to spend money and basically run for shelter? Is that the way you promote your business, is that how you encourage spending on your new products... HEY EVERYONE DONT BUY ANYTHING BECAUSE I PROMISE YOU NEXT YEAR YOU WILL BE SINGING THE BLUES!

Jason let me tell you something you are DEAD WRONG I can assure you of that...

Do you remember a little thing called September the 11th? When did that happen? Hmmm... just before every single haunted house in America opened. Did that leave haunts SINGING THE BLUES as you put it? NO IT DID NOT! In fact Americans found some escapism by doing things like carving their pumpkins, trick or treating and yes going to haunted houses.

Now fast forward to October 2008... when did the WHOLE ENTIRE ROOF cave in on this whole financial mess? Hmmm that would be around the same exact time as 9/11 just before every haunted house in America was set to open. The media covered this like butter on bread, leaving PR for our industry a bit thin, not to mention a little thing like Obama vs. McCain and that non-stop debate about the economy.

Haunts survived, haunts thrived, and vendors sold product like before, in fact every vendor I talked to said they were taking orders almost through Halloween. I read your doom and gloom, which you said wasn't about the haunt industry, but now you say you'll bring this subject back in next October and say 'see I told you so' that haunts will do bad. You are dead wrong!

If haunts invest in their business, if the don't freeze up as basically your doom and gloom suggests they will thrive again, and I actually feel will do better than this year because there won't be any elections, and the worst news of this financial mess will be over. The ecomony will still be trying to recover but it should stabalize soon.

As for this whole financial mess and how it started in the first place, it was started by idiots trying to make a buck, loaning money to people who couldn't afford it, or people paying more for a home than it was worth. That is the whole problem in a nutshelll... the housing market was over inflated, inflated 4 times over the rate of inflation, and people paid those prices, and now they are paying the price. Banks gave the money for these homes, real estate agents inflated prices, and homeowners bought it and now a bank has more money out on the home than what the home is worth...there you have the crisis.

There is NOTHING we can do about but let the system weed the whole thing out and in the end everyone will be better off than before... home owners will get out from underneath home loans, banks will be bailed out by us the tax payer, and hopefully Obamma will do what he said he will do which is invest in construction projects, the same thing the first BUSH SR did towards the end of his Presidency back in 1992. Put all those contruction workers to work building schools, bridges, roads, this is what people need not some $600.00 check that won't pay one house payment. If Obamma fast tracks billions and billions of dollars in contruction projects this will help the economy put millions of workers back to work.

You can't always look at things from the doom and gloom side of things because that doesn't make anything better. Lastly, I want to be clear with you, from the start I assumed you meant the haunted house industry, as others pointed out to you. I own my own business, and I don't go around telling them 'are you sure you want to buy this because you know later on the bottom might fall out so...'. Things will get better, and I hope the whole thing will stablize by summer. I'm sure it will get worse, but then it will stablize and then it will get better. I have had rough rough rough times myself many times, and I've borrowed to survive. When you believe in yourself, your business, your employees, your products, and you have customers who like what you offer, you can and you will survive but only if you yourself believe first and foremost.

Screamline Studios has a great reputation within this industry, and my only suggestion is to make some new and very cool products and bring them to market, and start promoting YOUR business to and industry flush with recent financial success! If you don't take advantage I can only promise you others will.

Larry

PS: How did this subject change from the economy to making molds. LOL


Larry

[Darkangel]

Larry, very well said!

Greg, you are 100% correct people have been asking for cheap body forms for years and it is true that people have made some body forms, but someone needs to make these for less so that the average haunter can buy 10, 20 or more at a time to fill their haunts with costumed monsters! There is such a high demand for this product, keep them cheap but durable, posable would be good for simplicity for costuming and be able to crank them out quickly to fill demand....

Darkangel

[Monster-Tronics]

Back on topic

Just about every customer I have spoken to this last season said their numbers were up; some did record numbers this year. The haunts doing better in bad economy theory must be correct. I know many people that have pushed off their spending for big vacations and no doubt they are taking advantage of the local fun like going to a haunted house. Many friends that never have gone to a haunt before called me this year asking for recommending for haunts to go to and after they went they thought it was great and plan on going again.

I’m no economist, but I know consumer spending and their fears can add to the down swing. Remember the gas crisis where just the mention of a gas shortage cause 2 million people to go out and fill their tanks and that caused a real shortage. It sounds kind of stupid but every time I buy something now I feel I’m helping the economy move forward (at least that is what I tell my wife. lol).

As a vendor were are working hard right now to bring new and exciting props to help you all be successful and make it though these hard times. I’d like to see 2009 be another kickazz year for everybody!!!

Regards,
Jeff Londos
Monster-Tronics
Innovators in Haunt Technologies
www.Monster-Tronics.com
See us in St. Louis at TransWorld’s National Haunt & Attractions
Show, booth 714, March 27th -29th 2009
Proud Member of the Halloween and Haunt Vendor Association
www.halloweenhauntvendors.com
www.youtube.com/MonsterTronics
248-437-1135
Jeff@Monster-Tronics.com

[screamline studios]

Larry,

I would guess around 70% of your hauntworld veiwers are haunt actors, home haunts,make-up artists, or halloween enthusiast!!! what do you think will happen, When the world comes down around them!! Have you ever drove downtown and went down a side street (most homes are for sale because of foreclosure) we are talking hundreds of homes in your one little town!!This world is in alot of hurt and as a company in this indusrty i am trying to help it, and find a way to accommodate our times and peoples budgets, I dont want to see anyones haunt fail!!! but i refuse to be oblivious to the world around me!!! AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO SPREAD NEGATIVITY TO OUR LOVE but embrace the fact there could be trouble ahead and have the foresite to look beyond this moment!!! and find the hindsight that may help anyone that enjoys what we do....

Jason Blaszczak

P.S Larry this is not a chop on you but my feelings!!!

[drfrightner]

Jason,

You like me sometimes wear your heart on your sleeve and that is okay because atleast everyone knows where you stand. But again I believe that haunt owners had more success this year than any year before, and I believe that the haunt industry thanks to the PR efforts, thanks to the improvement of websites, marketing, the attractions themselves and the vendors for making some really amazing products have all helped to ensure our industry is simply going UP!

Outside of a complete meltdown I don't see any doom or gloom for this industry in the near future. Larry

[screamline studios]

Larry,

I do not mean to come across as a negitive nelly but if the BANKS AND THE AUTO MAKERS NEED HELP!! (BIG PLAYERS IN BUISNESS MIND YOU) What about the normal dude !!! In my own little world i see a problem with this and could translate it into a problem with all us haunters!! WE ARE NOT recession proof, but a pawn with in it!!!

Jason

[shawnc]

I agree that perception becomes reality. With Obama being sworn in soon the media will begin reporting how he has fixed things and we are back on track. And guess what? People will believe it, and act like it.

What I have seen among my family and circle of friends and acquaintances is that everyone is worried and are cutting back. But the vast majority are still working and don't see that changing. So they are making the same amount of money every month, but have cut back on their spending. They are paying down their car loans and credit card bills, just in case; and are putting money away in a savings account, for the first time in their lives, just in case.

In other words, they are doing what financial planners have been telling them for decades. It just took a crisis for it to sink in. Most will probably revert back to their old ways when they receive the official word that things have turned around, but in the meantime they are going to be much better off.

And I have serious concerns about how much consumer spending really helps our own economy. I'm sure it helps China's oodles, but I don't think Black Friday and Christmas shopping really does as much as everyone thinks other than for millions of minimum wage store employees. We don't really make anything here anymore, and service jobs are the whole economy.

Does anyone know of any websites that list or have links to copmpanies/catalogs with products made in America? I think buying American (in the very few instances you can) is what will really help our economy. That is one of the reasons I think haunting is good for the country and its individual communities. Much of the stuff we use is made here. That might actually be a good selling point in your advertising. Remember 15 or 20 years ago when Wal-Mart had a little feature in every week's sales circular about how many American jobs it had saved by supporting a small U.S. manufacturer? That was back when there were still some things not made in China.

[drfrightner]

Screw the auto industry if you ask me... they shouldn't have been making Hummers, and SUV's, instead of fuel economy cars. They went bigger and the Japaneese went smaller. The only people to blame is the people who run this companies, delving out to much money to workers, making cars no one wanted to buy. You talk about the economy, people were concerned with fuel economy cars and what did the BIG THREE MAKE... BIG TRUCKS, BIG SUVS and never came out with answers to those small Japan cars.

I think like many it would be better if they filed for bankruptcy and let them get out from under bad deals with the union, and let them start over with new leadership, and then an only then should the government bail them out.

Heck as a tax payer I'm miffed that we are giving money to wall street because they made bad investments, or banks who gave loans they shouldn't have...

Wouldn't you love to have the government come bail you out everytime your busness took a nose dive? Doesn't sound fair if you ask me.

Larry