From the undead letter office…
Minion “falafel” writes in, “Can you suggest a brand of carpet latex- I seem to be having a hard time finding latex base adhesive out here on northern vancouver island.”

Howdy, farrel8,

Wow… Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Isn’t that area a kind of wildlife refuge? A refuge for … um … vancouvers, I guess. They’re sort of like voles or marmots, right? We just call ’em “critters” around here. And they’re excavating a subway system under my front yard. Stupid vancouvers.

As to your question regarding a brand of carpet adhesive that I recommend: I have always used Roberts. I suppose that is mostly due to the fact that it is the brand I see most often at Home Depot. You should be able to locate “carpet adhesive” at any hardware store, though. Other brands to look for are Dap, Henry, Liquid Nails, and TEC. If the clerk gives you a blank stare when you ask for latex carpet adhesive, leave out the word “latex”. If you ask for a tap and die, and some WD40, then you’re on your own.

Have fun, be careful, and don’t pet any critters when your hands are full of carpet glue.

Headspook

By the way, this stuff is for sale online, too…
Roberts 3300 Carpet Adhesive
Henry Sheet Flooring And Carpet Adhesive
Liquid Nails (AWP40 Outdoor Carpet And Turf Adhesive)
DAP (186 Weldwood Carpet Adhesive)
Note: Always read the label, stick to latex-based products that list “water cleanup”, and wear gloves when you’re working with this stuff.  Mittens are practically useless.

Category: From The Undead Letter Office, Halloween   Tags: carpet glue, carpet latex, roberts 3300 carpet adhesive

Minion Scott McCarty sent us these pics some time back, and I’ve been saving them. How better to brighten a cold February day, and take one’s mind off of other things, than with the wicked creativity of our haunt f(r)iend Scott?

In other news, your old pal Spook has been ruminating the possibility of teaching a class on (psychotic) paper mache for our local parks department. Mrs. Spookyblue and I enjoyed teaching a digital photography class for them some years back, and the itch never really went away.

The director lady in charge of arranging such things, herself a haunt fiend, loves the idea of a Halloween theme. However, there are no available indoor facilities in which to hold the class over the summer. If the class is to be held, it would start in mid-September.

A two-hour class, held once a week for four weeks, would finish up right smack in the middle of final preparations for Spooky Hollow’s opening night. Right now my brain tells me to do it, but the question becomes: In what condition will the ol’ noggin be come October 15? (Heh… I’m reminded of a scene from “Animal House”, that is totally inappropriate for this venue, in which Larry’s good and evil sides battle over what to do about the drunk girl, Clorette, passed out on Larry’s bed.)

Who am I kidding? I’ll probably do it. There’ll be time to sleep when I’m dead. In any case, if there are any interested minions within driving distance of Clarksville, Indiana, here’s your head’s up.

No, I’m not posting it here. You’ll have to look it up yourself on IMDB. If you don’t know the scene, or you’ve never heard of “Animal House”, then you’re probably too young for such things anyway. Go watch a Donald Duck cartoon or make a nice card for your mother.

Category: Guest Haunters, Halloween   Tags: Animal House, ghost, guest haunter, Monsters, scarecrow, scott mccarty

Here’s a page out of the sketch book. I promised Mrs. Spookyblue that I’d frame it so she can keep it on her desk.

Category: Halloween  

The Moth Brothers, our garrulous gourds, guarded the entrance to Halloween Hall this year, each perched atop his own corn shock.

Despite the smoldering smiles, neither shock nor squirrel caught fire, though you might’ve caught a whiff of freshly popped corn when the breeze was just right.

These full-sized punkin-shocks were popular, and simple to make, but the guys have begun to suffer a bit of collapsing jaw syndrome over the years. A consequence of too few paper mache layers and too many soggy nights. I wonder if this ever happens to Stolloween.

Moth Brother Punkin Shocks

Category: Halloween   Tags: corn shocks, moth brothers, punkin shocks