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I’m currently a film studies student and my latest class explored filmmaking by actually making a film to explore the technical aspects from the inside. It’s been a nightmare with COVID and don’t have access to the fancy lab equipment, so I ended up postponing this class for later. But, I continued my own self-study using the book from class as well as various online learning tools. 

I asked the Eerie Elegance Scream Team to help me shoot a short at their fancy-spooky Victorian mansion. This worked out since Britta wanted a promo video for Halloween. In one week, Britta wrote the shooting script, we filmed it over 14 hours one Saturday, and then I edited it over the week. Just like that we had a  silly spooky short, learn a lot, and had fun making it. 

This was meant to be an educational experience and there was definitely a learning curve. I understand the need for a full crew as we all wore too many hats. I have a newfound respect for the industry and have seen first hand what it could be like “on set” with script problems, lack of equipment, working with passionate actors, and managing well-meaning producers. For my next amateur project, I will need to remember my biggest takeaways from this project:

1. Polish the script before shooting and write in all possible actions, sounds, effects. 
2. Storyboard all action and plan your shots.
3. Block & rehearse well ahead of shooting to let actors work out their process.
4. Shoot over several days & don’t exhaust the talent.
5. Sound is key – use a boom mic & hire person dedicated just to sound.
6. Learn video editing software well and feel comfortable with the basics.
7. Slow down and get it right – you cannot fix it in post!

https://vimeo.com/471809192

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I met my dear friend Britta Peterson while posting about Halloween books on my main site in 2010. I loved her book Enhanced Eerie Elegance and noted in the publication data that she was living in Santa Clara, CA where I had just bought a house. We met and have been friends ever since. We have even collaborated on projects as the Scream Team, alongside her husband Glen, a fearless engineer and mad scientist behind their technical wizardry of their home haunts. He tolerates my tomfoolery and happens to be a great guy with a sort of acceptable taste in horror movies. 

Her brand, Eerie Elegance, has been going through an evolution, and as a graphic designer I jumped the chance at taking a stab at her new logo. Even though she’s was wary to give up control, rightfully so since she’s been cultivating her brand for over two decades, she agreed to let me work my wicked magic. We came up with a great new look that I think will benefit her whimsical, spooky take on Halloween. 

Britta bought a dream house – a Victorian mansion – last Halloween and this year, we arranged for a spooky photo shoot.  I am very proud of this work and think the resulting images are quite stunning. Take a look at a few of my favorites:

You can find Britta at EerieElegance.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook page where she has been documenting the remodeling of her Victorian Mansion. And of course, she has written three Halloween books that are quite fun.  

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This meme has been driving me nuts! There are 40 horror films represented in this image. I missed or could not identify 7. And I call myself a horror fan?! The answers are below (no peeking)! 

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My Haunted Library is one of my prized possessions. With over 600 books in my collection, they cross multiple genres and include everything from Halloween history, cooking and crafts to scary movie companions, rare art books, and paranormal investigation. I add a handful every year, scouring Amazon, blogs and Twitter for updates on new releases. Here are some of my recent acquisitions for 2020:

Pumpkins and Party Themes

by Roxanne Rhoads

This book cleverly groups invitation, craft, pumpkin carving projects to explain how to carry a theme across a party.

Tricky Treats

By Vincent Amiel

A stunning hardcover book with recipes that cover all the courses with some really ghoulish recipes, like the eyeball truffles and syringe martini. 

The Wicked Baker

By Helena Garcia

This beautifully produced hardcover book is a wealth of creepy baking projects with gorgeous photos throughout. 

Fright Favorites

By David J. Skal

One of my favorite authors overviews 31 great horror movies giving historical context, photos and artwork. A really fun read for horror fans.

Trick ‘r Treat: Sam’s 10th Anniversary Collection

By Michael Dougherty & Various Artists

This hardcover book collects the previously release graphic novels into one wickedly delightful tome and those waiting for the movie sequel, its right in these pages.

World’s Scariest Places

By Michael Freeman

This compendium of some of the best haunted locations is chock full of photos and digest overviews – perfect for the paranormal enthusiast. 

Strange Frequencies

By Peter Bebergal

This is an absorbing read featuring stories of individuals at the crossroads of technology and metaphysical phenomenon. Can technology bridge the communication gap with the other side and really, should we be attempting this? (Thanks for gifting me this amazing read, Tarcher Perigree Books!)

Cursed Objects

By J.W. Ocker

A noteworthy collection of infamous things and their dreadful stories, filled with whimsical, monotone illustrations sure to appeal to teal fans. 

Séance

By Shannon Taggart

A large coffee-table book (now inexplicably out-of-print) is a celebration of spiritualism and features eerie images of mediums in trance states some with ectoplasm emissions.

Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances

By Lisa Morton

Another of my favorite authors impressively tackles the subject of communicating with the dead from its early instances to the rise of the Ouija board to the use of modern technology in use today. Fascinating!

The Library of Esoterica: Tarot

By Jessica Hundley, Johannes Fiebig, et al. 

This visual compendium of tarot art traces 600 years of history and tradition, explaining the meanings and the artwork used in cards. It’s a hefty tome to get lost into on a dark night. This is the first in a series. (Thank you Mike Mohebbi for this amazing gift. I will cherish it.)

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I’ve been wanting to make horror-themed tombstones for a long time, and working on Eerie Elegance‘s Day of the Dead display in 2015 gave me a lot of inspiration. I finally got started on my horror graveyard this year and plan to add a few tombstones every year! Here is my general overview of how I made my tombstones. While there’s many techniques I’ve yet to learn, this was my starting point. Beyond the standard crafting supplies, I used the following:

• Polystyrene insulation foam
• Hot knife foam cutter
• Plastic embellishments 
• Woodburning tool
• Plaster of Paris wrap 
• Lightweight spackle
• Water-based spray paint (MTN available at SprayPlanet.com)

Step 1: Plan the Design

First I looked through photos for inspiration and roughly sketched out the designs I wanted, keeping the lettering and embellishments in mind. Since this was a first-time project so I keep the design simple.

Step 2: Carve the Foam

I lightly drew on the foam with a Sharpie since I find it easiest to cover with paint. I didn’t add too much pressure knowing you can leave an indented lines that won’t be covered up easily. Using a foam cutter, I cut out the basic shape, knowing I would come back and refine that edge. 

Step 3: Add Standing Support

To help keep the tombstone upright, especially in windy conditions, the foam must be reinforced with a PVC pipe inserted into the vertical length of the tombstone. I created a channel for a PVC pipe in the center with a hot cutter and hot glued the pipe in place. I then hot glued two halves of the tombstone together creating a PVC sandwich. Later, I will hammer a galvanized metal rod into the ground, and slip this PVC pipe on it to keep the tombstone standing. Some add 2 PVC pipes for more support, but it makes it incredibly difficult to hammer rods in identical corresponding spots and angles. Instead, I bury the bottom of the tombstone in bark or dirt to help keep in place.

Step 4: Lettering, Embellishment & Texture

I didn’t trust the spacing to my amateur hand-lettering skills, so I drew out my text on wax paper (a few times) then taped the paper to the foam. I used a wood-burning tool to trace the letters onto the foam right through the wax paper, removing any stuck on bits.

With the wood burning tool, I also added cracks to my tombstones and refined every straight-cut edge to make it look weather-beaten and more realistic.

For my embellishment, I placed a plastic hockey mask mounted on a ball of paper and used plaster to coat the entire thing, making sure to keep the mask details. Once dry, I hot glued it to the foam and stuck several wooden skewers through the back of the tombstone to keep the mask in place. I used lightweight spackle to the cover the front face of the foam in uneven, rough patches for more textural detail.

Step 5: Paint, Paint and More Paint

Painting took quite a few passes. The first pass was all light gray paint which I let dry completely. Then came the shading. I would first mist the tombstone with water using a spray pump, then sprayed dark umber in patches. I quickly added some dark green patches and misted the paint again. It blended and ran down the tombstone. I let it dry completely then repeated the process with some darker grey and lighter gray. I sprayed black paint in the letters and misted again to dilute the intensity. Afterwards I traced the letters with some diluted black paint. Once it was completely dry, I sprayed it with a matte sealer.

Notes:

Foam cutters and woodburning tools get very hot and can be very dangerous– third degree burn dangerous. Proceed with caution and read instructions on your tools! And work in well-ventilated space.

Regular spray paint from the hardware store melts foam. Use a water-based, solvent-free paint, like craft paints. I’m a big fan of MTN’s Water-Based spray paint. They are fully foam same, have deep, rich colors, and drys to a permanent water-resistant finish. 

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While I love carving real pumpkins, sometimes a cheap plastic pumpkin will do the job. Department, grocery and hardware stores all carry those orange blow-form beauties in all shapes and sizes but they can be a little lifeless. With a touch of paint and dry brushing you can easily transform a plastic pumpkin into something truly unique. Don’t worry if you are not an artist. You will get great results because there’s nothing complicated or exact about the technique. The best part is that its takes only a few minutes and you’ll have them for years to come.

You will need:

• Plastic or foam pumpkin
• Liquitex Basics Red Oxide (dark red), Burnt Sienna (dark orange), Burnt Umber (dark brown) paints (any craft paint will do, but I love Liquitex colors)
• Flat, wide orange nylon brush
• Paper towels
• Spray bottle with water
• Spray matte varnish or spar urethane

The one minute video below shows you the simple technique:

Dry Brushing Tips

• You want a very light, quick touch with the brush, adding very thin layers rather than thick coats.
• You want to see some of the original orange color shine through so blending the colors by dabbing or lightly rubbing with a paper towel is essential.
• Work on with small sections, adding various colors at once and blend. Once paint starts to dry, it won’t blend. 
• If brushes become wet, use a fresh, bone dry brush. I usually have a set of brushes ready to go. 
• Use burnt umber along the ribs (vertical line segments) to really define the shape.
• Let paint dry completely before applying varnish. The varnish will seal the paint which is important if you are using the pumpkins outside. Rain, water from the sprinklers and the sun will wear on the paint. Also, because plastic is flexible, paint might flake off if the pumpkins bump or get smashed in storage. Sealing the paint will help. 

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One of my favorite memories of San Jose, aside from living between two of its oldest cemeteries, was having the Winchester Mystery House a few blocks from our house. The immediate area is now home to two major malls (sorry, one is an open-air, upscale, urban center called Satan’s Row, I think). It’s difficult to imagine this as the orchard-filled, rural area Sarah Winchester retired to for isolation and quiet – and spiritual mysticism. 

“The Spirit House” as it’s sometimes called is a stunning marvel of Victorian architecture and madness complete with a maze of over 500 rooms (160 rooms remain), 2000 doors (some with a steep drop), and10,000 windows (some with intricate web designs) sprawling across six acres.

I’ve been there for many tours and Halloween events, but the flashlight tour in 2008 left me a gasp. I was alone in the Grand Ballroom and witnessed a door open in front of me. I didn’t think anything of it and  thought a docent would appear but they did not. I called one over and she immediately called a supervisor. The door should have been locked since there was an accounting paperwork in that closet. And during a tour of the basement I clearly saw a construction worker among the duct work and again didn’t think much about it. Later the docent told us, the ghost of a man in worker overalls is seen there frequently.

The pandemic shuttered the house for the first time since 1923 when it was opened to the public, a year after Sarah’s death. It’s struggling like so many other organizations during this chaotic time. Lucky for us, they have created an Immersive 360º Tour for $8.99 (a fraction of the cost of an in-person tour). You get a subscription to the house and get to visit this virtual tour as often as you like. 

One of my favorite elements is a 3D model of the floor plan which they call “The Dollhouse.” You get a bird’s eye view of the entire house’s interior and you can zoom into rooms for a closer look or click through a virtual walk-through. It’s a stunning and unprecedented look at the house. 

Two books I recommend about the Winchester Mystery House are the souvenir book available only at the gift shop (or their online shop) which features 40 pages of photos and the special highlights covered on the tour. The book is a little dated, presumably produced before the organization fully leaned into the ghostly lore. If they put together a book today with stunning photography embracing this darker side, it would be a best seller (please note the gorgeous photo included at the top).

If you wanted to learn more about Mrs. Winchester, who was a compelling, pioneering woman ahead of her time, read the book Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune by Mary Jo Ignoffo. This biography is a deep dive into the Winchester family, Sarah’s upbringing, the subsequent heartbreaking story, and the eventual move to the West Coast to create the mansion. Please note that fans of the ghostly business will not be pleased with this book. 

The author opens the book with the “haunted mansion” lore then quickly dismisses any further exploration of Mrs. Winchester’s proclivities to spiritualism which was rampant at the time. There’s a clear bias to distance the work from such “fanciful notions” and in doing so, the author willfully ignores much of Mrs. Winchester’s widely reported interests from her later years. 

It’s a shame. The house itself is full of beautifully bizarre architecture and structural details that communicate to people like me who love the paranormal that something unusual was definitely afoot on the property. We may never know the details of what Mrs. Winchester actually believed (until that lost secret diary is found buried in one of the walls) but I believe that she believed in something extraordinary. There in lies the mystery of the Winchester House.

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I’m a sucker for bookazines from the market checkout lanes & Witches: The Truth Behind the Legends & Lore delivers a gloss overview of the history, lore, pop culture imagery & even an intro to being a spellcaster. It has some gorgeous photos, infographics & illustrations and perfect for that one person who loves everything witches. At $12.99 it’s pricey and I would preferred a softcover book that could stand the test of time. 

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I’m a sucker for bookazines from the market checkout lanes & Witches: The Truth Behind the Legends & Lore delivers a gloss overview of the history, lore, pop culture imagery & even an intro to being a spellcaster. It has some gorgeous photos, infographics & illustrations and perfect for that one person who loves everything witches. At $12.99 it’s pricey and I would preferred a softcover book that could stand the test of time.