Vacation officially starts for me in about 2 hours. With that comes the beginnings of the set-up process. This year, I’ve been met with a few hiccups that left me feeling further and further behind. Now is the time to hit the ground running, play catch-up and get things all back on track. There have been a few prop plans that have been removed from the to-do list for lack of time, but I still feel this will be our best year yet. I cant wait to see how it all pans out, and I’ll try to post updates along the way.

As haunters, we are often faced with the adversities of the weather on some level or another. Poor weather keeps Trick-or-Treaters at bay. Decor is often the victim of rain, wind, sleet and snow. This time of year is known for a wide range of weather conditions that many of us are forced to contend with. It is said that Mother nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress. While I as well have endured my share of weather woes, this has never been so evident as it was this morning.

On what was an otherwise beautiful morning, we were blessed with unexpected winds. While most of the time, these winds were no more than a stiff breeze, they were accompanied by these occasional, angry little bursts. I didn’t realize the winds had even started until we heard and dull “thump” from outside. Kristy quickly inquired as to the source of the noise, and then just as quickly realized. “Don’t tell me that was the…” she exclaimed, and before she could finish I was already at the window to confirm. “Yep, the gates blew over” was all I could say.

The gravity of the event didn’t really hit me at first. Even as i stood before the shattered wreckage of what was once my beautiful archway, the disbelief held fast. I’m not exactly sure why, but that sinking feeling of defeat just never struck me. Perhaps it was the fact that I never really look at the situation for what had happened to the piece, but rather I viewed it for I could do to remedy the damage. Another one of life’s little challenges. I guess I’ve always tried to view life’s challenges as an opportunity to grow.

When it feels as though life has knocked you down, you have two choices. You can lay there, accept defeat and wallow in your sorrows, or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and accept the challenge that lays before you. You might just find that you have what it takes to overcome, to endure or succeed. You might find that things were never really as bad as they might have appeared. Or you might find, when the door to the path in front of you was closed and you felt alone and in the dark, that all you needed to do was to look around to see that a whole exciting new path lay before you. And even if you find that, no matter how hard you’ve tried, you simply cannot overcome your given challenge, don’t view it as a failure, but see it for what you have gained, for what you have learned and how you have grown.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
~ Thomas A. Edison

This is a call out to any and all haunters, home and pro alike, in the New York State Capital region and outlying areas. We have established a group for local haunters to interact and communicate with one another. This group was created with the intent to bring together like-minded people of all different skill levels and interests so that we can all share with, and learn from one another. We’ve hosted a few events, and plan to host a few different types of social gatherings (meet-n-greets, drink-n-thinks and make-n-takes) and group trips.

This is a relatively new group, established in early 2015. While the group does not yet have a website, we do have a social media page on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group, so if you are interested in joining, visit us at NYcap Haunters on Facebook and and submit a request to join us.

It is with great pride that I get to announce that we took 2nd place in the 2015 Halloween FX Prop Building Contest with our Cemetery Archway.

It was a contest entry that almost didn’t happen. If it’s not evident from the lack of Vlogs and Posts, much of this summer was spent maximizing the time spent with my Daughter. Frequent trips to the Six Flags Theme Park, Lake George and other such destinations occupied much of the time that would have otherwise been spent building props. I’m not sorry for that, as it was a fantastic summer filled with a lot of fun, but it left me far behind on the project I had hoped to be able to enter into the contest. As Savannah’s Summer Vacation came to a close, crunch time began. With a lot of luck (and maybe a little bit of skill) the Archway project came together with amazing speed. As the deadline closed in, the stone pillar bases were still far from complete. The snide chuckle and condescending “Good Luck!” of a fellow entrant echoed in my mind and drove me to completion. With great focus and effort, I was able to finish off the bases and assemble the finished prop with about an hour of daylight left. Photos were taken and the entry made.

While I was confident in my accomplishment, the contest entries left no room for expectations. I was sitting in a pool of some of the most talented haunters in the community, and they were all bringing their “A Game”. In the end, The Davis Graveyard claimed the win with a beautifully crafted Tombstone Statue they called the “Kiss of Death”. It was a win most righteously deserved.

Hey everyone, if there are any of you reading this, I’m back. It’s been a long and rough off season this year. My intent to keep up with posts throughout the off season quickly became overshadowed by a number of life’s little tasks and road bumps, and the site has been left unchanged since the beginning of the year. With Halloween now just less that 2 months from now, and having done virtually nothing in the way of building new props, I have found myself re-evaluating my plans for new additions and changes for this year.

The year started out with my focus directed towards the restructuring of my Reef Aquarium, which had suffered a few problems in the preceding months. The efforts would ultimately be all for naught, as the aquarium was dismantled and sold off later in the summer.

The spring followed with the loss of my Grandmother, my last remaining grandparent, which was followed immediately thereafter by my wife’s surgery and recovery. All of this virtually extinguished my Halloween spirit and my drive to work on new projects. I began to focus more on my garden, which was a good outlet for my stress and frustrations, and the 28 Pumpkin plants kept the last of my Halloween spirit from fading like the flame of a spent candle. That until the Squash Borers struck. Needless to say, I’d seen enough misfortune for this year. It was time to get things turned around.

As it turns out, a Vacation was the perfect remedy. Earlier plans for a day trip out to Salem, MA were altered to include 2 extra days, and a campsite that overlooks Waikiki Beach on Winter Island. On August 23rd, we packed up all the crap, the kids, and a good family friend and hit the road. I’ll go into more detail later, but let’s just say that this trip was just what the Dr ordered. I am ready to get Halloween underway and not even Hurricane Irene could bring me down.