A sad awakening
November 19th, 2009
I was awoken this morning by my mother, who informed me that Carl Orbach recently passed away at the age of 80. For those of you who don’t know, Carl and I had a jokingly love/hate relationship. He, along with his wife, Lila, graciously agreed to appear in my Haunt film, “Haunt on the Hill: a tale of bloody rivalry”.
Mr. Orbach, as I referred to him, was a kind and gentle old man with a wacky sense of humour, which I loved. In fact I recently saw him just one month ago outside of a Halloween store, where he told me that I was free to borrow his cane and use it to beat up my fiance if he ever refused to help with my Halloween set-up.
I will miss the e-cards Mr. Orbach would send me, one of which depicted him as a witch and me getting turned into a rat.
My thoughts go out to his family.
Rest In Peace Mr. Orbach. You will be missed by many.
Rachel
Heya
November 10th, 2009
For most of you Halloween is over and not a thought in your mind. I however am still in the exceedingly long process of cleaning up and while doing so, I am beefing up some props that could use improvements. I noticed with the strong winds this year that my MANY tombstones were having trouble staying upright, so I took the opportunity to remedy this situation before storing them away for the year.
I also have a major new idea for the haunt next Halloween. This year the electric chair was a hit and I’m sure my newest idea will be just as big if not bigger. It will at least be higher (hint hint) and involve windows.
You’re probably wondering if I have a life outside of Halloween and the long and the short of it is yes and no. Next month I am moving with my fiance to our new place (I’ll still be haunting the hills though). I am also in the midst of developing a top secret iPhone app, which I can’t discuss right now, but it is not Halloween related. On the job front though, I have none at the moment. It’s not something I’m happy about, but I figure you never know who will read this blog, so if you’re looking for someone who is incredibly creative, can use power tools, build things, paint, writes really well, great with kids, good with video work, etc… here I am. I am ready to be a slave to the man, as long as you understand that I require the 31st of October off!
And a reminder that pics and video of the Haunt will be up soon.
Yours truly,
Rachel Brown
Post Mortem
November 1st, 2009
OK so just for the record, I am writing this at 11:45pm on October 31st, so I am extremely exhausted and somewhat delirious. I will try to include some of my usual humour, and I will definitely try to make sense, but right now I am bruised and have cuts all over my hands from building and setting up.
Usually I start by saying how, “this was my best year yet”, unfortunately this can’t be said this time around. Wind and rain plagued the haunt, making it impossible for me to set up everything until the very last minute. However, what really upset me was the lack of visitors. I received half as many kids as last year and it was all because of the fear of H1N1. I even had a neighbour put a sign on her door saying, “H1N1, come back next year!” I mean really now! Your children go to school every day where they are ten times more likely to catch something then they are on Halloween night. Take precautions, but don’t shield your kids from the world around them. There will most likely be many more serious illnesses to come around and you can’t just stop living your life people!
Ok, ranting aside, it was not all bad. The new electric chair was a huge hit and kids were actually afraid to pull the switch! The lighting worked out great. Audio was amazing. People loved my pumpkins, although I was sad to see just how many kids today have no idea who Count Von Count is! Sesame Street anyone?
While this was not my best year, it was definitely a learning year. I picked up new tips and tricks and came up with new decisions for the future. I also collected some money for charity and have new ideas about that as well.
I went into this year thinking it would be my last, but have since been talked out of that idea by my fiance, who I might add was never that into the whole, “my girlfriend is a weirdo” thing. Now he wants me to take one more stab at it, and I agree. If I end the haunt, I must end on a bang and this was not a bang, it was merely a whimper.
Pictures and video of the haunt will come in the coming weeks, but for now I would like to thank the following people:
- Pops - Even though you abandoned me to go to Mexico this Halloween, I forgive you. You helped me hang the spider and you did all my math!
- Mommy - You are truly there for me when I need you and you are also there when Bubbles the Vicious Spider needs you. I could not have pulled any of this off without you.
- Mike - Lights, audio, beer. What more could I say! You helped me in so many ways and you will continue to do so for years to come because I am wearing your ring and you are stuck with me! Mwahahaha!
- Marc - Relays for electric chairs don’t just happen on their own!
- Sam and Rosie - technically you two did nothing, actually I think Sam broke some things, but you are my nephew and niece and amuse me greatly!
- Most importantly I would like to thank my neighbours for all their years of continued support, except for that one kid who said there was a better haunt nearby. I didn’t care much for him!
Oh and a big shout out to the kid with the curly blond hair. I’m really sorry, but I don’t remember your name, but you visited my haunt at least 1001 times and you are the coolest kid in the neighbourhood!
Now, normally I spend the day after Halloween in bed, tired and depressed that the fun is all over, but alas, I am moving out of my parents’ house next month and will be spending my Sunday at Deblin’s picking out thread counts for bed sheets. So, to all I bid adieu until next Halloween, when Haunt on the Hill will truly have its, “best year yet”, because I have already started plotting away! New things to build, old things to make better!
Sleepy time for me!
Rachel “Wednesday” Brown
Happy Halloween!
October 31st, 2009
As Haunt on the Hill ventures into its second decade of haunting, I feel I must reminisce on all that has been achieved over the years. What started out as a simple graveyard with only 3 tombstones has evolved into an elaborate handmade display that has won accolades from newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations, but most importantly, from you; my neighbours, friends, and family. I thank all of you for your words of encouragement over the years. My neighbours are amazing and I love my neighbouhood.
From all of us at Haunt on the Hill, we would like to wish you a safe and Happy Halloween!
And with that, I leave you with the following lyrics from a classic Halloween song:
“When the crypt doors creek and the tomb stones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
and begin to vocalize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize” - Grim Grinning Ghosts (Disney’s Haunted Mansion)
Rachel “Wednesday” Brown
