And the Winds Blew!

Working in the garage getting preparations wrapped up for the day-late haunt when the storm peaked.

The winds were supposed to top out at 40 but the tree benders that came through were easily in hurricane range (72+) at times.

Made for a very unusual and pretty eerie Halloween.

We received one group of kids - right in the midst of the winds.

I hope they return tomorrow..

Here is a sneak peak of one of the scenes we tuned up..

The Spooky Franklin Poem

Spooky, aka Nancy lives year-long in our upstairs window. Come Oct the red light comes on.. And it's quite a creepy view for anyone walking or driving by...

This is her tune..

Spooky loves the little children

All the little children of the world

Be they yellow, black or white

Spooky eats one every night

Spooky loves the little children of the world...

Happy Halloween~

A Day Later

Two posts back I spoke of not screwing with Halloween..
Well the one person that can override it - has done just that.

Mother Nature

In any other scenario I would vote on the side of keeping the fun on the actual night of the 31st, but the soggy stuff has arrived and we celebrate Halloween on All Saints Day (Nov 1) instead this year.

My neighborhood has switched things at the last minute as well so we proceed as though we got an extra day of the season...

Safe Haunting~

Spooky Setup Snaps

 Here's a few sneaky setup snaps for Spooky Franklin 2013 - with some funky iPhone fx for kicks. The finished arrangement will be entirely different but since nobody gets to see these much...  A pre setup - then await the storm's passing - and resume..

Halloween is almost upon us!

Halloween Extended due to The Devil's Pecker

The Devil's Pecker 

These storm fronts that swing across the nation from north to south border are referred to as The Devil's Pecker.

This year the Pecker swingeth 'cross the valley on Halloween.

Obviously this ruins any haunt plans for the 31st. Fortunately Nov 1 appears to be spooky perfect. Despite the date change I predict the best haunt to date.

Can't wait to snap some shots with the new camera this year!

Frankenstein Invades Franklin Pumpkinfest

This year we brought out 8' Frankenstein to Franklin Pumpkinfest.

Some unsuspecting kids were totally freaked out by him and a few crusty morality snobs turned up their noses but for the 300 or so folks who stopped and took a photo with Frank, including The Dude and even a few other Frankensteins, he was the perfect modern promethetic hit!

*Frankenstein was a summer project this year that took probably 3 months to finish. He looks to be a cornerstone of Spooky Franklin moving forward...

The NFL's Ghoulest Duds - Ever!

The Cleveland Bulldogs wore this outfit around Halloween 1927. The Bulldogs DNA is now part of the NY Giants.

I never thought a team could be more "Halloween" than Cincy when they sport those all-black-&-orange duds but this takes the cake. If someone these days had the balls to sport this during a game they would immediately be a team I followed.

Just add a blackout helmet with a white skull profile and hot damn! you got one great set of football duds!

The Great Halloween Rainout

With a massive cold front bearing down on the south on Halloween night, bringing  an 80% chance of thunderstorms it appears Spooky Franklin will have to be set up the next night (Fri Nov 1).

Fortunately, Friday looks to be a perfect weather.

I am not happy about any of this. 

Argh.

Don't Screw With Halloween!

Came across this article today via MSNonline:
Why I Hate Halloween

Which of course reminded me of the blowhards I encounter who not only choose not to participate in Halloween (which is fine by me - but don't expect me to stop any kid from flinging TP in your trees or tossing eggs on your roof) but have to make it known "publicly" that they don't want anything to do with Halloween or kids ringing doorbells. This has happened face to face with neighbors who obviously don't understand me or our yard haunt - and just recently encountered a person who was specifically moving to "un-scary" their neighborhood for Halloween night, decreeing by way of mailbox notice that neighbors were not to put up items that were too scary.. F to the U.

What gives? Did some bully snatch your candy bag when you were a kid?
You probably hate dogs too.. Even bulldogs!

Well guess what, if you hate Halloween - that's just fine. It's a free land and you can dislike whatever you wanna dislike. Just don't bother taking time to put to paper reasons why you feel you have to shit all over stuff that other people cherish and expect me not to fly the finger your your direction.

PS. Halloween is on Oct 31st every single year, folks.
Not Nov. 1st or Oct 29th or whatever night 'seems' better. Argh!
Don't screw with Halloween!

PPS.. Schools that send kids home with "Why Halloween is bad" flyers can suck it as well.
Don't screw with Halloween!!

PPPS... Neighbors that put notes in neighborhood mailboxes directing people that they not to put out items that are "too scary", well, there's a special place for you and your lame sweater vest in my crawlspace.
Don't screw with Halloween!!!

The Witches of Old Franklin TN

I found this epic old pic of old Franklin TN with the infamous Coven of Dozier. They are rumored to still haunt the old Dozier House (now being renovated) and surrounding grounds.

These old gals were up to some serious witchery and were said to have frozen several dozen yankee soldiers with a mere stare, allowing Confederate soldiers to do them in during The Battle of Franklin.

After the war a group of freed slaves confronted the witches and put an end to the evil once and for all. 

They say there is a secret cemetery where the coven is buried, each facing downward so they cannot look to the night sky and conjur a way out of their graves. As no one knows where the cemetery is maybe they have already escaped!

The Dozier Coven

The fires are set and burn into the night, the fear is strangling the mobs, their eyes filled with fright. 

They call it justice when they take her to the stand, another trial of absurdity, dishonesty, and demand. 

What were her crimes when she did something odd, is she really a sinner, a witch, and a betrayer of God?

I think that she is a victim of an age old hate, perhaps another casualty of the world of fate. 

“If you are a witch, you’ll survive all these tests, if you die in the process then you are innocent, and we wish your soul rests.”

 So the proclamation is set, she’ll die either way… where’s the fairness in that, just who is the evil one today? 

 I would like to come to her defense, stand there by her side, she is quite lovely, maybe I’d make her my bride. 

 But I cannot move for I’m merely an observer, unable to take a stand or make a move that will serve her.

 I know that there is more than hatred at play, she indeed might be special but a witch, no way. 

 In all humans are traces of an age old power, but for some reason it is in women that the ability will flower. 

 Perhaps that is the reason that the trials began, and in the town of Salem, forced the betrayal of man.  

Finally there are murmurs, the hatred from people’s eyes have fled, she didn’t survive the trials and another innocent is dead. 
- Morgan Carlson 

Tell them BORIS sent you..

This new Karloff Frankie Super Magnet has been selling pretty good in the first week of availability.

Yet another hard fought battle to get a likeness correct. Did ya know Boris had a gaping bridge cavity on the right side of his face that he sucked in when he was under the layers of makeup.

I'm in the process of making a bunch for Franklin Pumpkinfest 2013. If you're in town we'll see you there!

Own this big 6" x 4" monster!

Bela Never Drinks..... Wine

All new in the Evil Pumpkins store! It took a few hours to finally capture (sculpt) the elements that make Bela look like Bela but in the end I think it's pretty close.

Blue is a good color for Bela and the white out eyes add a twinge of evil.

Own this in a large magnet form!

Halloween is for The Children!

This is the Hendershot Family of old Franklin, TN. The children’s names were Lily and Ebb. As a Halloween joke, all the kids in the neighborhood were going to get a dummy and pretend to chop its head off. The Hendershot children thought it would be hilarious to actually murder their mother, so when the kids walked up to the door, they got an axe and slaughtered her. Once everyone figured out what they had really done, they called the Franklin town constable, but the kids were long gone by then.

The only picture of them was this photo, taken by a trick or treater. Their mother's body was later found half-eaten. She is rumoured to be buried in two separate graves at the old Franklin Cemetery. One for the body, one for the head! 

The Process of Making a Skull

I am often asked about the process and what goes into making one of our creations.

What follows is the entire process of creating a resin-cast item by Evil Pumpkins.

"BIG SKULL" is hand-sculpted using a soft polymer clay
which is hardened in an oven at 270 degrees

Once cooled and hardened the object is placed inside a made-to-fit corrugated
plastic box - made to fit as close as possible without touching a side.

A two-part liquid silicone is measured and mixed in a cup.

The mixed silicone is carefully poured in a manner as to avoid air
or not to disturb the placement of the item.

The silicone hardens over several hours.

Once hardened, the object is removed and filed away (if it's not too
busted up during the process).

A two-part liquid plastic is mixed and poured into the cavity.

Within a hour hour the item is fully hardened and cooled (the chemicals
get quite hot when mixed).

A process of layer painting using acrylics creates a colorful depth.

The final piece - after attaching heavy duty magnets...

The Zandor Vorkov Plastic Fang Society!

Who the hell is Zandor Vorkov?

Why horror's gravest Dracula, that's who.

Zandor, otherwise known as Roger Engel, accountant for Al Adamson infamously renamed by noneother than Uncle Forry himself during the filming of Dracula vs Frankenstein.

Zandor, the Facebook page?

The Zandor Zorkov Plastic Fang Society is a fun little group of (currently) around 200 folks who love absurd horror.

Admined by yours truly, 'Vinegar' Tom Bagley aka Jackson Phibes, Nashville Horror-host Dr. Gangrene and a few other fine folk The Order of The Plastic Fang is available for anyone who know who Zandor Vorkov is.

We're talking monster kid stuff and posting pics of obscure horror flicks!

Sounds ghoul? Join up!

facebook.com/plasticfangsociety

The Jiggler

My first AHI Frankenstein jiggler was purchased at JM Fields in North Palm Beach around 1977. I collected all of the Super Monsters and loved them dearly. They all had names - Frankie, Wolfy, Kongy etc and were always with me at school or at home.

Over the years they were destroyed or stolen or simply lost, but when Ebay came around the first item I sought was the Frankie Jiggler. I have managed to secure 6 of them since that time at a reasonable price but now they are being listed at a preposterous $200-$300 regular rate.

A great toy but there's no way I'm shelling out that kinda dough.

I have recently recreated 'Frankie' as a solid flat-back Super Magnet piece to be sold in the Evil Pumpkins store..

It was a total jazz to get to paint these up. I had long pondered the 'Hong Kong assembly line" imagining some 12 year old having to hand paint 40

Frankies per hour, 23 hours a day or suffer some torturous reprimand but getting paid with one Frankie at the end of the month.

Well worth it!

Frankie Jiggler Super Magnet on Etsy

Guarding the brewskis!

Evil Pumpkins Jiggler Super Magnet (left) and a real AHI Jiggler

New Evil Pumpkins Super Magnet Items are Here!

Brand new for The Season of The Witch we have some spooky super magnets hand-made with evil intentions. Click the link below a pic for purchasing options..

Be sure to check out EvilPumpkins.com for everything Evil Pumpkins has this year!

Pumpkin Sentinel Super Magnet

Zombies Don't Run Super Magnet

Daryl Dixon Zombie Killer Super Magnet

Karloff Frankenstein GIANT Super Magnet

Horror Hootenanny 2013 is in the Books

Dr. Gangrene's Horror Hootenanny 10 is in the books! This year, along with my band The Creeping Cruds we had our fiends Dead Dick Hammer, Alucard and The Koffin Kats.
What a great show this year up at The End in Nashville. Packed house and an evening of fine Horror Rock!

Our 10th year! Time sure flies..

Here are a few snaps by RayWen Photos of my band The Creeping Cruds.

  

Pumpkin Sentinels for 2013

Here's a serious teaser for this year's Spooky Franklin haunt. One of several handmade Pumpkinrot styled Pumpkin Sentinels.

I wish there was time enough to make an army of these guys..
More than I wanted to show, but they do look different at nacht!

We are well excited about the extra ghoul-ness these fine fellows bring!