Haunted Night - Halloween, haunted houses, costumes, corn mazes, pumpkins, Vancouver B.C., Seattle, Portland, Boise, Billings

Greetings, Fellow Haunters:

I had an enjoyable time at the International Halloween, Costume and Party Show last week. I was in Las Vegas from Sunday the 16th until Friday the 21st. This was my first visit to Lost Wages, a sprawling city that was seemingly plopped down into the middle of a vast, flat, treeless, desert valley.

When Fluffy and I touched down in Vegas, the weather wasn’t much better than the Cleveland variety we had said good riddance to four and a half hours earlier. Sunday was a chilly day and there were occasional sprinkles of rain. As the days went by, the weather in Vegas steadily improved. By the time we left for home early Friday evening, the skies were a panoply of deep blues and the temperatures edged into the upper seventies. Landing in Cleveland at midnight in a driving snowstorm brought the real world quickly back into focus.

The convention itself looked about the same, size-wise, as what we see in Chicago each year. The haunt section of vendors, which was in turn directly connected to the Dark Zone, was located in the furthest corner from the entrance doors. The trick to finding the haunt area was to always "stay to your right" as you walked through the building.

The show was on a single floor, contrasted to the two-floor affair in Chicago the past few seasons where all the haunt stuff was up the escalator. To my eye, it looked like the number of haunt vendors was somewhat less than in previous years. Hopefully, someone who tracks the number of vendors/booths from year to year will chime in here with hard data. The haunt vendors who were in Vegas last week were smiling and upbeat.

The Midwest Fantasy Show (MFS) is a weekend event, June 13-15, 2008 in Columbus Ohio, planned for family entertainers including professional Makeup Artists, Face and Body Painters, Airbrush Artists, Henna, Magicians, Balloon Twisters, and more. The Midwest Fantasy Show features education designed to appeal to a variety of audiences including artists, entertainers and business owners. The Midwest Fantasy Show is sponsored by Wolfe Face Art and FX and is held in conjunction with the Midwest Haunters Convention.

The Midwest Fantasy Show will offer classes taught by expert makeup, entertainment and business leaders through workshops and seminars being also made available at the Midwest Haunters Convention. Registration for the weekend registration is only $89; or $75 before April 1, 2008.

The Midwest Haunters Convention (MHC) is searching for Scary women to compete in the 5 th Annual Ms Midwest Scary pageant. The Pageant was rated by AOL Online as a Top 13 Freaky Attraction in the US; Fall 2006 and 2007!

Ms. Midwest Haunt 2007 - Nursery Girl, Leah Younk, Morgan Manor

The Pageant will be held Saturday, June 14, 2008 during the IAHA* Masquerade Party. Registration is open for 10 contestants to compete for the highly coveted title, along with cash and prizes. MHC will be at the Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio June 13 – 15, 2008. The Party will be held at the Hyatt Regency, our host hotel. *International Association of Haunted Attractions.

The Ms Midwest Scary Pageant provides haunted attraction female characters with the opportunity to perform on stage with a frightening appearance and performance! “ Crazy Bob” Turner, from the Haunted Hydro, will be the Master of Ceremonies. The MHC hosts several contests giving Actors and Actresses, Makeup Artists and others a chance to compete with their peers.

HAuNTcon – Houston, TX

April 28th, 2008 - Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime seminar where the Bad Boys reveal every trick, technique and method they have refined during their 20 year career in the Haunted Attraction Industry.

This special all-day seminar will feature several Bad Boys and a very special guest designer constructing a partial Haunt scene from start to finish! Witness how they incorporate a variety of different design techniques at every stage including Faux painting, distressing, LightScaping, sound and of course their signature Styrofoam Masonry! !

The Bad Boys will divulge secrets on sponsorship writing, their favorite places to buy cheap banners, posters, flyers and tickets. Learn how they’ve worked to get the community involved and most importantly how to haunt safely, creatively and successfully without forfeiting the fun.

Bad Boys Scenic Design is a partnership comprised of professional designers responsible for the vision, construction, staffing and operation of “Terror on the Fox”, one of the most successful haunted house attractions in the Mid-west.