# book idea - need your help



## The Archivist (May 31, 2009)

I was planning on writing a book covering the change in attitudes towards Halloween seen through the eyes of the home haunter. Below is my criteria for the book. Just need to know if I've covered anything or if there's anything I missed.

Haunted America: An Insight to Halloween through the Eyes of Home Haunters

Overview: 
Traveling the American countryside, visiting folks who share the same eccentric love for a holiday steeped in tradition and memories. Halloween for some is a time to go from house to house begging for treats, others it’s a time to spend countless hours planning, designing, building and setting up scenes of their favorite and sometimes creative scenes designed to scare others. The following pages will cover the history of haunting the backyards, front yards, and other sites with homemade props, creatures and methodology to get the most screams from their guests. Then the book will progress towards the current trend of commercial haunts with its hired casts, set themes, and high budget construction. Finally, near the end will be the Gallery of various home and commercial haunters’ best props (with their proud owners) and/or scenes.

Timeline:
Early Times (ca 1900s – 1950s)
1950 – 1970
1970 – 1990
1990 – 2000
2000 – present

To include within the opening pages for each Time period:
Major advances in methodology (construction techniques, posing of props, etc)
Major advances in technology (addition of powered lights, sound, pneumatics, etc)
A short description of the American mood towards Halloween.

Photographs: 
Should always be in color wherever possible. The early years might not be possible.

Bibliography:
Full list in back of book, with each picture and quote numbered to corresponding source.

Other: 
Include the rise of online forums dedicating to the sharing Halloween home/commercial haunter information, such as Hauntforum, Halloweenforum, Hauntexpo (?), etc.
There should be a Table of Contents in the beginning of the book, with a dedication and color photographs tied to each Time period.
Front cover should be a collage of different haunts and props made to resemble a smiling pumpkin.
Include a glossary of terms in the back of the book.
Book should be mostly pictures with one or two pages of text per Time period.


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