Taylor County Haunt

Haunt Crew

hauntfreak — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:17:32 +0000

Here’s one of the posts I was talking about. I thought I was going to have to do something and have to wait a day or two to post again. Well, here I am posting right after the last one. Anyway, since it is getting so cl0se to being Halloween (yes, I’m almost as bad as the Mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas when it comes to considering the time left till Halloween), I am planning a few things for the haunt crew to do. Before I choose to do any “official” trips/events, we need a name. I started thinking about names for the haunt crew, then I thought, “Why should I decide? I need to let the members decide what they want to be called.” (You all will love this typo: I wasn’t paying attention to what I was typing and instead of putting “called”, I put “killed”.) So…to give the members of the TCHaunt haunt crew something to do, let’s have a contest. There will be two stages. The first one will be the Ideas round. In this round, I ask that each person submit their ideas for what the haunt crew should be officially called. I will give 1 week and 3 days for everyone to get their ideas in. That means that all your ideas are due next Friday. After that, there will be a 1 week span for everyone to vote for their favorite name. The winner will have a blog entry posted here and will also have their name with a brief summary of what they did on our website (http://tchaunt.frih.org/). The winner’s idea will be used for the name of the TCHaunt scare crew. Email your ideas to me at tchaunt@yahoo.com.

Haunt Crew

hauntfreak — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:05:23 +0000

Okay guys. Here’s a little update about TCHaunt.
Guess what time of year it is? The answer is nothing specific. In fact, it’s pretty vague. The answer I’m looking for is this:
It’s the beginning of Summer almost. And with that, it means it’s too late for this year. Any quality haunt would have to start work by now. We have hardly anything done. Of course, I figured we couldn’t start this year, but I still had that human weakness of hoping for a miracle. Anyway, right now, our list of products we have that we can use is pretty low:

1 Strobe light
Black-out mask
A bad, cheap mask

And that’s about it. There’s no hope for the fog machine. It’s broke beyond repair that I can do. And I don’t want to pay the money to get the low-quality thing fixed. Anyway, be expecting an update about the Haunt Crew. Until then, happy hauntings!

Random Update

hauntfreak — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:45 +0000

Hey guys! It’s me again! I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting much. Sadly, there’s not been too much going on with the haunt crew, or even the haunt it self.
Right now, I’ve been planning a few more fundraisers. I actually have this massive page on our main website with a list of small things I can do. Here is the page:

Write a poem:
Price could range from $.50 to $2.50. It will mainly depend on how long, and how complex the poem is.

Write a short story:
Price could range from $3 to $10. Again, it’s based on length and complexity. Also, the more characters that are involved (main characters and secondary characters) the higher the price will be.

Design a logo:
Price:
$2.50 for the concept art (traditional sketch)
$5 for a digital b/w png file
$7.50 for a colored digital png file
$10 for the png and psd file in color
$15 for everything: concept art, b/w png file, colored png file, colored psd
If there’s anything else that you want, ask me about it and I may offer it to you.

Icon/Avatar:
$.50-$5
I can make either an animated icon or a static icon. I can make it for any site (any size and almost any file type). If you choose a static icon, the price will automatically be cheaper. I will charge $.10 per additional frame, some money for my time, and based on complexity.
For example, if you want a circle that bounces around, I’ll charge maybe $.75. But if you want a highly detailed crucifix with a pulsing aura, I’ll charge about $4 or $5.

Website:
$10-$250
This one has the biggest price range. Obviously, I will not make the new MySpace, but it won’t be a cheap website either. I will charge based on complexity. I will also charge based on the number of pages you want. I will charge if I have to make the images. I will charge for any scripts or forms that I write. I will also charge based on the time I put into the creation. After I finish your site, I will update any pages you want for $5 a page.

Signature Banners:
$1-$2
I can’t do things like…using anime characters or video games. I do not have the legal rights to use those images for commercial purposes. I can do some pretty fancy effects in photoshop and make a pretty cool image with your user name or whatever you want.

Character Development:
$2.50-$10
Have you started making an original character, but you’re stuck? I can help add the dimension that your OC needs to be as realistic as possible. Or, if you’re trying to make a game and need help with making good minor characters, or even main characters, I can also help with that.

Web Banner/Advertisement:
$2.50-$5
I can make a web banner for your website or any of your accounts.
If you purchase a banner, you will get 50% off the advertising rates on this site!

Screen Saver:
$1-$15
I can make a screen saver of nearly any type for you. Obviously, the more complex it is, the more it will cost.

(Video/Computer) Game Concept Art:
$2-$15
I can sketch up or fully draw out anything you need for your games. I can do quite a few things. Just ask and I’ll tell you if I can do it. Obviously, if you only want a sketch, it will be a lot cheaper.

Song:
$5-$25
I can attempt to compose a song for you. If I personally feel that it didn’t come out good, I will give a pretty big discount on the price. Just describe in detail what you want.

Face Edit in Photoshop:
$.50-$5
If you provide me with a photo of your self or one of your friends, I can edit the face nearly any way you want.

Design a game:
Card Game:
Concept: $1.50
This is just the idea about the card game.
Concept+Rules: $3
This is the idea about the card game, and the rules on how it’s played.
Concept+Rules+Card Design: $7.50
This is the idea about the card game, the rules, and cards that have been drawn out and fully colored.
Board Game:
Concept: $2.50
This is just the idea about the board game.
Concept+Rules: $5
This is the idea about the game play of the board game, and the rules on how it’s played.
Concept+Rules+Board Concept: $8.50
This is the idea about the game play of the board game, the rules on how it’s played, and how the board should look.
Concept+Rules+Board Concept+Board Design: $13
This is the idea about the game play of the board game, the rules on how it’s played, what the board is supposed to look like/represent, and the actual board (the rough draft).
Concept+Rules+Board Concept+Board Design+Final Board Design: $20
This is the idea about the game play of the board game, the rules on how it’s played, and the full process of board design.
Other: Varies
This is basically any other type of game that is random that you need help with. Just ask, and I’ll give you a price.

Haunted House Design:
I realize that most people wouldn’t be interested in this, but I’m still going to offer it.
Per room: $2
Simply put, each room will cost $2.
Actor Advice: $3 per actor
This is like, suggested costumes for each actor, scare tactics, where to hide in each room, etc.
Suggested Props/Effects: $5 for the list

Color Line Art: $5-$20
I can take your black and white lines and turn them into colored pictures using photoshop. If it’s clean, digital lines, it will be a lot cheaper. If it’s just a pencil sketch, it’s going to be a lot more.

Custom Emoticon: $.50
I can make you an emoticon. For now, I’m just going to stick to making static emoticons.

NOTE: If you purchase anything from the above list, I’ll put a text or image link in the database of ads that will be displayed on my site for a week for no cost to you. If you wish to keep the advertisement on the site for a month, I’ll charge only ten additional dollars. That’s a savings of $15!

NOTE2: The first two people to purchase something will also get 50% off!

So far, I have had absolutely no one buy anything…from any of our fund raisers. Also, the person who was going to provide the majority of the haunt’s money is gone. There were disputes, and it was obvious to me that the person is childish and immature, and has no idea of how life works. Someone who is that……..challenged…..is not going to be a good person to start a business with. So, though they want to claim to be the co-founder, they are not. If anyone by the name of Jacob Coomer claims to be the co-founder, do not trust them. They are no longer affiliated with TCHaunt. Please do not go through him for any fundraisers. It looks like the real co-founder is going to end up being Robyn Clark. She is a creative person, has a level head, isn’t arrogant, and she has done a lot for the haunt so far. I think there is no one better to start the haunt with.

I think I may set up a miniature haunted house in my garage for this season and just invite my friends who aren’t in the Scream Team. I may possibly do small advertising to try to get donations or something. Until then, TCHaunt is not going to be able to do much. Oh well.

Epic Fail

hauntfreak — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:40:37 +0000

The Goody’s in my hometown in closing. Well, they were like mannequin pimps. They had tons of then. You could’ve made an army out of them. Anyway, from where they’re closing, they sold the mannequins. When I went to go buy them for $2 each, they were all sold out. It really sucked having to miss out on such a great deal.

TCHaunt’s Official Website

hauntfreak — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:09:55 +0000

Okay guys! The website is now ready for all of the public to see! Here’s the link to it: [LINK]

New Members

hauntfreak — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:22:43 +0000

Yesterday was the perfect day for me (excluding one event). I now of four people who might be interested in joining TCHaunt. Three of which I know personally.
The one person I don’t know used to work for a Jaycee’s haunt. They offered to help out. I found them on my community’s message board.
The next person in line is the youngest person that I’ve looked into recruiting. She is my sister’s friend’s little sister (only half a year younger than me). She is really into making her own movies. Why is that so important? Well, I’m sorry. I forgot to mention she likes to make her own horror movies. Am I the only one to see the hidden potential here?
At about eleven ‘o clock last night, I started chatting with one of my friends (a different one this time). She casually asked me what I was doing. I told her about my website that I’m going to be release to the public soon. She really wanted to see it, so I gave her the URL. She looked at it for a little bit and then I noticed a new email in my yahoo email (tchaunt@yahoo.com). She had filled out the survey. It turns out that she wants to be a make-up artist. I will eventually try to drag her into scare acting, but she says that she won’t be any good at it…I still don’t believe her.
The last person who I may ask to join TCHaunt also wants to be a make-up artist. She plays around with dark make-up style a lot. She also wants to scare act.

As you can see, my army is growing larger by the week. Hopefully, if we can keep growing like this, we’ll have enough support from people to get the haunt going this year!

A few random updates

hauntfreak — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:13:19 +0000

Do you remember that first member of TCHaunt who was no longer a member because of certain reasons? Well, that no-longer member is no a member again. The issues have been solved and he will be able to help. You will see him on here as C-Ville Haunt.

Also, I have already had someone contact me about donating items. Believe me, I would love it if anything that can be used in a haunt that you don’t need/want anymore could be donated to TCHaunt. Just contact me for more info: tchaunt@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.

Um………what else……..hm……….My website is even closer to being launched. There only only a few more updates left. I’ll post the link when it’s ready.

First Donation

hauntfreak — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:52:59 +0000

I have now officially began TCHaunt. I have a professional website set up. I have spent well over 40 hours working on this website. I am very proud of it so far, and only have a few tweaks left. I will officially release it to the public by the end of the week.

Another thing that makes me very happy is that TCHaunt has received its fist donation. We now have $100 to use. By the old rule of thumb –Be expecting to pay at least $20 per square foot– TCHaunt’s first haunted attraction can be–drum roll please–5 square feet!!!!! I know. I know. The haunted attraction will be so incredibly long……if we go with that plan. Do you get where I’m going? I think not.

I am going to cheat the system. “How?” you may ask. Well, I am going to search craigslist like it’s never been searched. I will also be watching my local newspaper for any cheap items that I can use. I’ll also hit Goodwill as much as I can.

The most important thing about me is that I’m not afraid to look stupid. I will lick the sidewalk clean for donations. Well, maybe not. But I am desperate for anything. I will gladly accept donations.

Here’s a quote from oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR (a member of Haunt World):

Ok Guys. I along with almost 3000 other viewers have seen the dedication that TCHAUNT has. Newbies like me have learned so much from his thread and I think he has renewed some old passion with this industry that some of you may have lost a little of. I know for a fact that a[ ]lot of you have crap that you don’t need

* old masks
* old useless props
* signs
* tombstones you don’t use anymore
* etc.

I think if you pros out there just donat[e] a mask or a skull or a fog machine or t[w]o[,] this kid could have a b[****]en home haunt this up coming season……Please res[p]ond if you’d like to donate something and would like some more information.

Note: I edited some of the quote. Any changes are in “[ ]“. oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR posted the above thread without me asking. Just in case you have no idea of what he’s talking about, here ya’ go:

“…I along with almost 3000 other viewers…”
The very first thread I posted on Haunt World under a month ago has already received quite a few views. It is already the longest thread on the forums.

“…have seen the dedication that TCHAUNT has…”
In under a month, I have already posted over 100 times on Haunt World. I do not spam any forums. To me, it is rude. All of my posts have been made so I can learn about the Haunted Attraction Industry.

In reply to oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR’s post, I said this:

Thank you so very much for this topic. I appreciate how much you are planning on helping me.

Guys, here’s a little more info about me, just in case you haven’t read my thread.

Name: Jonathan Kyle Bailey
Alias: Jon-Kyle. Why did I choose to go by Jon-Kyle? I don’t know. I always have been and always will be weird. But that’s a good thing in this industry.
Age: 13 17/24 (Sorry. I love statistics)
Why should you donate anything to me?
Well, I am very dedicated to this industry. I have been studying the industry for almost a year now. I only recently (on Dec. 21st) joined these forums. In under a month, my very first thread is the longest on this forum and I am already considered a senior member. If you look at my history on Mozilla Firefox, 98% of the pages are Haunted House related. In case you haven’t figured out, I love this industry. Right now, I am creating a website for my “haunt”.

Why use quotations around “haunt”?
Well, no matter how much you love something, there are limits. For me, those limits are money and space. I don’t have a free space to set up a large haunt nor do I have the money to do a home haunt. My website is primarily for fund raising right now. I have a haunt already planned, I just don’t have everything I need to start building it.

What is this website you keep talking about?
http://tchaunt.frih.org
I would appreciate it if anyone purchased something from one of these fundraisers.

I still don’t see why I should donate?
There are very few kids [my age] who are dedicated to anything, let alone equivalent to the amount that I’m dedicated to this industry. My generation is the future of this industry and I want to get started now. I don’t care how much money it takes, I will somehow, someway get my haunt. With your help, I can open my first haunt and begin walking the path of the haunted industry.
So please, please donate anything of yours that you no longer need. I will also accept ideas and advice.

If you need any more information, PM me or email me at:
tchaunt@yahoo.com

Again, the one change I made is marked in “[ ]“.
I would appreciate any old props, special effects, sound systems, lights, costumes, masks, or anything else that you don’t need. Just email me at tchaunt@yahoo.com or leave a comment for more information.

Fundraising

hauntfreak — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:10:03 +0000

If you are able to read, then you know the cold hard fact that nothing is truly free. You either have to go pick up your “free” item and pay for the gas, or you pay for the shipping charges. Well, starting a haunted house is very far from being free. You have to buy a building to set the haunt up in, the props, special effects, costumes, masks, make-up, wood, etc. I need to get a lot of money with in the next 284 days. I have been looking around and I still can not find a building that’s at least 2,000 square feet and that would be cheap/reasonable to rent. I have also been looking into building my on props to save money. I have already designed one prop that is an illusion that involves scare actors…but I don’t have the wood to build it yet. I have also been looking into prop-1 controllers. Obviously, the props and controllers will cost money.

I have a few plans to help raise money:

Logo/logotype Fundraiser
I will design logos (or logotypes) for the person asking. I will then require a donation of at least $5. I will offer different packages. The more money someone donates, the better features they will get.

Donation:
I am going to simply set up a program so that people can donate as much as they want.

Magazine Fundraiser:
I have set up a magazine fundraiser online. It will give me 40% of the profits

Those are the fundraisers that I will do for sure. I may do a few others. Here’s a few I may do:

Haunted House Room Design:
I may be somewhat new to the industry, but I can easily design rooms. I will charge something like a dollar or two for a basic room where the person provided a lot of detail about what they wanted. I will charge $5 in a situation where the person threw me out in the dark and said “Design it”.

Write Stories:
I’m not sure how good this one will do, but I may write stories and sell them online. I may charge like $5 a story or something. But I will also allow someone to request a story. I will charge $10-$30 depending on the length of the story.
I will probably set up all of the fundraisers with Pay-Pal. If you have any ideas for fundraisers, please contact me at tchaunt@yahoo.com or leave a comment below. Also, if you would like to go ahead and participate in one of the fundraisers, you can e-mail me and I’ll go ahead and get everything set up.

And Life Loathes Me Now

hauntfreak — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:48:27 +0000

This will be somewhat of a gloomy post. You know that first official member of TCHaunt besides me? Well, scratch that. I recieved the awful news jsut a matter of minutes after I posted the thing about the first offical member. He told me that by the time we were planning on opening the haunt, he won’t be able to help anymore. I won’t say why, but he won’t be able to help me very much……if any. So, I’m pretty much back to myself as the one haunter in TC. Well, I guess if you feel the need, you can post a comment.