# 2008 Blackthorn Manor theme



## Daddy's Little Corpse

*2008 Blackthorn Manor Theme- Updates!*

So last year for Halloween I didn't really have a theme-- just a cemetary and altar with some yummy gutted bodies and such. This year, however, I found a kids bike in the trash and BRAINSTORM!!

I want to do a nursery school type of theme for our yard haunt: Mumford Blackthorn's Nursery School for the Criminally Insane... or something. So we've got the corpsified rugrats on swing sets and a sandbox with "questionables" in the sand-- bodies, no hypodermics thanks! A skellie on the trike. A twisted little tea party and.....?

Any other ideas?
Think speared teddy bears. Think what kind of school resurrected/homicidal Gauge in Pet Semetary would've been sent to.

I don't worry about scaring off little ones and I certainly don't care about pissing the neighbors off. We're almost surrounded by empty houses this year (my Dad said I should set this up in one of those houses sometimes he just doesn't have much a sense of humor)and don't get many ToT's anyway...

I'm also looking for a tutorial on making your own fencing-- wrought iron-like or shabby picket fence type is best.


----------



## Tyler

Wow, thats an awesome idea. I am trying to think of some other ideas, some nursery school stuff. You will definatly need lots of toys around, how about some wicked little kid playing with alphabet blocks, but the blocks spell out some evil message or something. It would also be cool if you could find a old crib, paint it black, and put some twisted baby in it. haha. Definatly little kids with knives and stuff. Hope this helps.


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Ooooh. I like the crib idea. And definitely kids with knives!
I had another idea... If I can find one of those playskool playhouses I could have a little fun with that too.


----------



## Tyler

That would be sweet, there is so many different things you could do. I actually just recently took a old baby doll and painted her white. Then I painted her hair black, and painted really dark circles around her eyes. Something like this could work great in your haunt. I have a picture of it in props if you want to check it out. I also was thinking it would be cool to build like a Nursery school supervisor/teacher or whatever you want to call it, watching over the children. She could either be really wacky like them, or normal, and they coul be attacking her. haha. Im glad you dont care what your neighbors think, I think mine already think Im crazy. But hey, the people with the cool haunt get all the attention!


----------



## BadTable Manor

Spooky theme!
Howzabout one of those old-fashioned, creepy-looking strollers? Got any spooky nursery music? I know the Clive Manor cd has a nursery song.


----------



## jabberwocky

Great idea!
I'd go for an Orderly thats been bound and gaged in a chair.
Maybe have the Orderlys mouth over-flowing with medication that the little darlings have been force feeding to it, and another little one sticking hypodermic needles in its leg.
One other suggestion..... try putting a motor on the trikes rear wheel and fixing it in a turned position so the kid is just riding around in circles.
Goodluck!


----------



## Lilly

well you know litle kids love to play doctor..surgery anyone?


----------



## Bloodhound

The whole freaky kid scene is a fantastic idea. I think there is a How-To for fencing somewhere around here. Heres an idea: How about a freaky kids fort.


----------



## dynoflyer

First thought that comes to mind is a creepy playpen with a zombie kid version of a grave popper. An old playpen with the rails painted black with moss and spider webs all over it. Maybe red LED eyes. It could be standing with hands holding the rails like it's trying to get at the tots walking by. . . .


----------



## Aelwyn

Haha! What an awesome theme, and everyone's ideas rock! I don't really have anything to add....just can't wait to see the results!


----------



## ScaryBarryPerkins

you know haunted attraction magazine had a how to on a tricycle terror i believe that would fit perfect for your theme. it was a little "kid" on a tryc (sp?) that was of course decapitated, neck stump and all, with it's wheels stuck in a puddle of "blood". when you walk in front of it, it triggers a sensor and wham-o your hit with water hooked upto the tryc. with a little red light lighting behind the prop it gives it the "blood" look. disturbing, yet wonderful all at the same time!


----------



## joker

How about piecing some evil misfit toys together from other broken toys like in the movie Toy Story. Here's the best pic I could find.


----------



## DSTRONG61

I have a cool idea that i did last year, I took a full sized mask of all the creepy clowns that I could afford and made PVC frames for them and then put children's clown costumes on them. Pretty creepy and cool when you see them. Might be something to add to yours, they are cheap and easy to make - I did mine in a couple hours while watching the movie Halloween!LOL I call mine the insane clown possey. Stuffed kroger bags for bodies and water worm tubes (used as floatation devices for kids) for the arms and legs plus my grand kids old tennis shoes are the best.Here are a couple pics to go by. Hope it helps!
Denise
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/DeniseStrong/Halloween%20Monsters%20I%20made/porchclown.jpghttp://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/DeniseStrong/Halloween%20Monsters%20I%20made/yard15.jpghttp://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/DeniseStrong/Halloween%20Monsters%20I%20made/yard16.jpg


----------



## joker

DSTRONG61 said:


> I have a cool idea that i did last year, I took a full sized mask of all the creepy clowns that I could afford and made PVC frames for them and then put children's clown costumes on them. Pretty creepy and cool when you see them. Might be something to add to yours, they are cheap and easy to make - I did mine in a couple hours while watching the movie Halloween!LOL I call mine the insane clown possey. Stuffed kroger bags for bodies and water worm tubes (used as floatation devices for kids) for the arms and legs plus my grand kids old tennis shoes are the best.Here are a couple pics to go by. Hope it helps!
> Denise


Those are awesome!! I'm definately going to have to a do a CarnEvil theme in the near future.


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Wow. Some truly awesome ideas!!
I love the misfit toys, the crib and motorized trike ideas. And of COURSE I'm gonna make myself a couple of little kiddie-ghouls (thanks DStrong!!!) 

I was thinking of having a wall of baby dolls-- like they've been melted into the side of the house. MAYBE A FORT MADE OUT OF BABY DOLLS?!?! Ooooh.

Usually I dress up according to my theme. Maybe I could be the head mistress. I'm going to do our front picture window as the sign-- just silhouette cutouts, but something you can read from the street. Our front door where hypothetical ToT's go for their loot could be "admissions".

I better get cracking, huh?


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

My mom just asked what I'm gonna do with all my headstones (I'm a headstone addict). There's nothing wrong with having a bunch of random headstones in the "playground" right?


----------



## joker

Either that or use them for sleep mats in a napping area.


----------



## Tyler

Just came up with a new idea...........a high chair!! Feeding time at the nursery. And the kid could be eating a body part or something. Whataya think?


----------



## Haunted Bayou

I'm not depraved enough to come up with a single idea.
I'm so jealous!


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Tyler said:


> Just came up with a new idea...........a high chair!! Feeding time at the nursery. And the kid could be eating a body part or something. Whataya think?


It could spray pea soup at passers by!! :laughvil:


----------



## Tyler

That would be sweeeeeeet!!!!!


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

So I drove by the empty garage at the end of my street today and noticed a pile of tires left out behind the building. LIGHT BULB!!!

They aren't the huge truck tires, but I'm thinking how about a tire tube/climby thing like back in the day with some huge tentacly beast or something practically pouring out of it. Or at the very least a creepy pair of red eyes glowing from it's innards.

I really love it when my brain works.

Guess who's gonna be stealing tires tonight?!
Okay, okay. It's NOT technically stealing if they're left in the lot for all the world to see... MWAHAHAHAHAHA!


----------



## Revenant

Make some fairly large (so you can read them from a distance) blocks... you know, kid's alphabet blocks. Have stacks and rows and little structures built out of them, but all of them line up to spell the word "KILL" over and over and over again :cheesyvil:


----------



## joker

Daddy's Little Corpse said:


> So I drove by the empty garage at the end of my street today and noticed a pile of tires left out behind the building. LIGHT BULB!!!
> 
> They aren't the huge truck tires, but I'm thinking how about a tire tube/climby thing like back in the day with some huge tentacly beast or something practically pouring out of it. Or at the very least a creepy pair of red eyes glowing from it's innards.
> 
> I really love it when my brain works.
> 
> Guess who's gonna be stealing tires tonight?!
> Okay, okay. It's NOT technically stealing if they're left in the lot for all the world to see... MWAHAHAHAHAHA!


I like it


----------



## joker

How about an evil jack n the box or maybe even an evil looking toy box with an animated lid that opens and closes like a lot of people are doing with there coffins.


----------



## Aelwyn

Daddy's Little Corpse said:


> Wow. Some truly awesome ideas!!
> I love the misfit toys, the crib and motorized trike ideas. And of COURSE I'm gonna make myself a couple of little kiddie-ghouls (thanks DStrong!!!)
> 
> I was thinking of having a wall of baby dolls-- like they've been melted into the side of the house. MAYBE A FORT MADE OUT OF BABY DOLLS?!?! Ooooh.
> 
> Usually I dress up according to my theme. Maybe I could be the head mistress. I'm going to do our front picture window as the sign-- just silhouette cutouts, but something you can read from the street. Our front door where hypothetical ToT's go for their loot could be "admissions".
> 
> I better get cracking, huh?


Oooooo----there's a vid from Hollywood Gothique at Knott's Scary Farm.....let's see if I can find it:

Okay, here we go, starting at 21 seconds:


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Aelwyn said:


> Oooooo----there's a vid from Hollywood Gothique at Knott's Scary Farm.....let's see if I can find it:
> 
> Okay, here we go, starting at 21 seconds


Wow! Aelwyn that's bad ass. Thank you!! The baby doll faces on the walls is definitely one of the things I'm looking to do. EXCELLENT.*hits play, starts taking notes*

I am having the BEST luck with this years theme. I keep finding FANTASTIC kiddie things in the garbage by my clients houses (i'm a dog walker). So not only am I the odd girl that's always walking the neighbors dog, I'm kind of their surrogate trash girl. Today I found a little carnival horse just sitting there in the trash. It's perfect, practically brand new, so you know I had to take it. So neighbors woke up to me with a pomeranian in one hand and a horse in the other. I'm gonna have to start taking pics-- you won't believe this stuff!
Actually, I've even started taking things from the trash and taking it to the Salvation Army too. People **** me off sometimes. Total sidenote, but...


----------



## Tyler

Sounds like you are finding some great stuff. The horse should be awesome! Thats cool that you been finding things in the garbage. Some people just dont see the potential in things. I look at something and try to see how I could use it for Halloween.


----------



## Beth

Don't forget the "Class Pet". Cage with a bizarre animal inside!!


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Tyler said:


> Sounds like you are finding some great stuff. The horse should be awesome! Thats cool that you been finding things in the garbage. Some people just dont see the potiential in things. I look at something and try to see how I could use it for Halloween.


There was a futon frame sitting out on my neighbors curb for like a week. I was so tempted, but I couldn't think of anything concrete to use it for. I'll only take it if I have a definite plan for it, but I know what you mean! EVERYTHING has potential.



> Beth Don't forget the "Class Pet". Cage with a bizarre animal inside!!


Good call!



> Either that or use them for sleep mats in a napping area.


I've decided to make my cemetary a naptime area where all my little ghouls will be snuggled up in their eternal beddy-byes with blankies/pillows etc!


----------



## Aelwyn

Sounds very awesome...can't wait to see the end results!!!!

And you totally have to corpse the carnival horse!


----------



## Beth

Hope you don't mind, but I may have to "borrow" that idea for a room or two in our Haunted Barn!! That is absolutely a GREAT idea!!!:jol:


----------



## Ghoul Friday

Some sort of demented care taker (demon? Ghost woman? Corpse) reading from a big darkly-themed story book


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Ghoul Friday said:


> Some sort of demented care taker (demon? Ghost woman? Corpse) reading from a big darkly-themed story book


Oooh. Story time!
Poe's always a good choice. I even have a decrepit looking rocking chair that would be PERFECT!


----------



## Aelwyn

Creepy kid on Tricycle at 34 seconds.....


----------



## lowdwnrob

We found a rocking horse in the garbage also. Im going to hook a wiper motor to it and make it rock withan evil doll on it. My wife wants to do the baby theme also. She bought some CDs from virgil and it has some creepy childrens songs on it.


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

My to do list:

-front PVC "iron" gate w/ archway
-13 or so little kid bodies/demons
-sandbox with groundbreaker
-storytime ghoul in rocking chair-- I think I want her/him/it to have demon wings
-class pet (maybe a wolfman or piranha tank-- still thinking...)
-school sign, admissions sign
-corpse carnival horse? (it looks pretty bad-ass already... maybe just paint the eyes red. Depends on time)
-tire-tunnel w/ monster
-swing set
-naptime cemetery
-tea party with food
-fort/playhouse w/ surgery scene inside and wallpapered with doll heads
-"boards" for front window
-motorized kid bike (I think I'm turning this project over to The Brother)
-alphabet blocks/toys/dolls

Hmm. Did I forget anything? Probably.
I'm still considering playpen, stroller/pram, and high chair ideas, but I'd have to find them for REALLY cheap. I wanna stick mostly to outdoor kidlet activities and I can only build so much.

In a perfect world I could get all this done. Yesterday, I did get the basic frame for 3 of the kids finished-- two being siamese twins. I need to get some foam heads from the wig shop and some kiddie clothing-- Thursday's are 50% off all clothing at my favorite thrift store. Just need to remember that for next week. I also got three skulls started for groundbrakers and whatever else.

Only 83 days to go! *panics!*

busybusybusy!


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

lowdwnrob said:


> We found a rocking horse in the garbage also. Im going to hook a wiper motor to it and make it rock withan evil doll on it. My wife wants to do the baby theme also. She bought some CDs from virgil and it has some creepy childrens songs on it.


I was looking for wiper motors yesterday-- okay, so I did a half-assed browse at Wal-Mart. I'm such a girl sometimes... Where you do you find them? I want to get one for my storytellers rocking chair and maybe for a few of the kiddie demons.


----------



## ubzest

How about some kiddies playing catch with a head!? It would be good if you could figure out a way to have the ball(head) going back and forth between 2 kiddies.
And I love the idea for making a sign from the front room window.


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

ubzest said:


> How about some kiddies playing catch with a head!? It would be good if you could figure out a way to have the ball(head) going back and forth between 2 kiddies.
> And I love the idea for making a sign from the front room window.


NICE!!! A shrunken head would be fabulous for that.


----------



## lowdwnrob

Daddy's Little Corpse said:


> I was looking for wiper motors yesterday-- okay, so I did a half-assed browse at Wal-Mart. I'm such a girl sometimes... Where you do you find them? I want to get one for my storytellers rocking chair and maybe for a few of the kiddie demons.


I have wiper motors for sale. here is the topic.
http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?p=229458#post229458

Also today while getting more things from the dollar tree and then walking next door to Bigg Lotts, we walked out to get in our car and at the same time me and the wife saw it. In the back of a truck was an antique stroller. We sat there and waited on the people to walk out and asked them if they wanted to sell. $10. its rusted and has a couple small tears in the side but it rolls great and will be perfect. Im so stooked right now. They were like you can clean it up and it will be worth some money and we was like noway, its perfect. We told them what we were doing and they just lokked at us. I know you all understand.


----------



## Tyler

I get that so much, when you buy something at a yard sale or whatever, and they ask what you want it for. Then you say Halloween and they think your crazy. haha


----------



## Aelwyn

*gigglesnort*

Totally. My man's friends and family come into the house and just stare at the desecration of plastic skulls and foam wig heads in horror. All the while, MY friends (and roommate) think they are super cool.

Some people just don't get it. *sigh* LOL!


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Some piccies of things as they're being gathered...









The little bike that started it all!









Horsey needs a spring so he'll rock back and forth as I want him to. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to corpse him or not.









My thank you gift for my annual summer volunteer stint with a local kiddie theatre group-- foam scraps!!! I'm hoping the big pieces will get me a good size base for my "stone" fence pillars. The rest? Tombstones baby.

Got two more little demon bodies made, started/finished little zombie arm forms and two groundbreaker forms and started the corpsing process. The playhouse is getting drafted and my baby doll score is on it's way. We're looking good!


----------



## Tyler

All man, the bike and horse are awesome! Not sure about corpsing the horse, he may look cool with just his eyes painted red or something. But corpsing would look cool also. Its hard to say. hhmmmm....


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

That's what I was thinking. he looks kinda freaky already so I was thinking just paint the eyes-- maybe blacklight them-- and then possibly add some foam around the mouth so he looks good and frothy.

-OR-

If I have the time/energy I could completely repaint him black with a horse skeleton detail. Ooooh.....


And man, you should see what I found in the junk my neighbor cleaned out of their house today! These awesome pillars from a mantel piece that would look exceptional as part of my fence.


----------



## Tyler

Dang, you finding all kinds of stuff! And the horse, hes a tuffy. But hes freakin me out already so you shouldnt have to do much. haha


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

*update part 1*

Things are comin' along quite nicely. I'm turning this into an updating thread...

Got my groundbreaking torsos for the sandbox built, assundry skulls in many different stages of corpsification, two near complete little kiddie bodies-- and sadly, not a pic of one. And super sadly I'm out of town and away from my projects for three friggin weeks!!!

I did find these however and manage to get pics before I left:









Those who will be sacrificed....
See the one in the blue jump suit? Totally 80's and scary enough to be left whole.









The cream of the crop, set to be stars.
Chatty Patty says all sorts of things about playing that can be taken the wrong way when a knife is hot glued into her hand and she gets a nice blood splatter coating.
Not sure about her yarn haired friend-- maybe a Bride of Chucky makeover, though his expression is already quite priceless, don't you think?

(cont)


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

*Update part2*

So, okay, they aren't the most exciting pics, but wait! What's this?!
















*chomp chomp*








Aw, puppies already helping in the deconstruction process.








He kept running off with heads and torsos... he's so my dog.








Then his gums started bleeding... (see there on the neck? That's real puppy blood) Poor puppy and his 13 year old teeth/gums just can't rip a doll to pieces like he used to. All dolls were removed from his reach/jaws forthwith.


----------



## Hauntmore

Last year we had a little girl's bedroom in our haunt. We had a doll on the wall with "voodoo" markings wrote in highlighter, that glowed awesome under blacklight. I had a shelf with a barbie doll with her head cut off by a minature guillotine. And a skeleton girl ground breaker that looked like it was chained to a bed.

We also had one of our creepiest props. We made a stand for a doll and fixed her hand so it looked like she was eating a rat. Added some blood running down her lips. For pictures, click this: Scary Doll Eating Rat. This creeped a lot of people out. It's just so wrong.


----------



## Daddy's Little Corpse

Aw, poor ratlet! Very nice.
I love the idea of chaining a kid to a bed. I'm gonna have to incorporate that into my nap area.


----------



## RAWR

Last year this was my theme but not nearly as good as how yours seems to be turning out. I was dressed as a deformed baby with footy PJ's and and kinda resembled a big. Two of my friends dressed as dolls. What worked fairly well was the additions to the walls. My friend and I got burlap distressed it then had all sorts of bloody dirty toys hanging and attached to it. Plus we had a bunch of toys hanging and had a hanging teddy bare by a noose. 

In your napping area there could be a plate of cookies and milk. Yet the cookies could be all disgusting or covered with rats or cockroaches. The milk could be slightly green and clumpy looking. Maybe the source of their madness.
Or just do it Cookies and blood. sweet yet savory mmmm.


----------



## Professor Vlad

dude your a diabolic master of evil i bow to your greatness lol i got a feelin my haunt this season will be invaded by little demons and not just the costumed kind. Demonic toys and devil babies. Oh i love the possibilities. :devil::xbones:


----------



## Dark Angel 27

*shivers* i still would love to see pictures of how it turned out!


----------



## HauntCast

*Theme*

That theme is sick and demented.... so of course i love it!
As far as tutorial on a dilapidated type fence. Look around for anyone replacing there picket fence. Grab the old fence sections, knock out some pickets, bend some side ways and bingo, you have a fence. It's easy and free. That is what I did this year and it looked great.


----------



## fontgeek

How about "Nap Time", with the little bodies draped or in bodybags, maybe a skeletal foot or arm protruding here or there. The chalkboard at the front with "REDRUM" done over and over. Do or find the typical nursery rhyme tunes in minor keys, it gives a creepy feel to the familiar music. Look what it did for the wedding march used in the Haunted Mansion! 

Use kids blocks to build a toepincher or something equally creepy.

Make up a creepy name for the teacher and have it written in chalk or "blood" on the chalkboard.

Have the little rack of coats, scarves, and boots next to the doorway, but have the boots with remnants of legs sticking out.

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with Halloween, but if you are going with this as a theme, you may as well make the best of it.


----------

