KEY NOTE - Friday June 1st at 9:00 am
Michael Krausert
Director
"America's Horror Scream Park"
The Fear at Fenway
www.redsox.com/spookyworld
Nightmare New England
www.nightmarenewengland.com
SpookyWorld
www.spookyworld.com
Bad Boys Scenic Design
Cutting Edge Scenic Design
Michael began designing and building attractions over two decades ago at the age of 18. Throughout his career he has designed and built for numerous charitable organizations such as the Jaycees, non-profit arts programs, the Optimist Club and he helped these groups raise millions of dollars in the process. During this time, he began to grow his own company and design team with other friends and haunt enthusiasts. This team has a well deserved reputation within the haunted attraction Industry as a group of talented designers willing to share ideas, techniques, and their collective experience to help novice and professional haunters alike learn how to raise the level of detail and realism in their own attractions.
As one of the founders of Bad Boys Scenic Design he helped to design and build their most well-known attraction--Terror on the Fox. During the 13 years operating Terror on the Fox, the Bad Boys continued to advance, promote, and elevate the artistry in the haunted attraction industry through teaching their methods of foam carving, sculpting, scenic design, and sponsorship writing.
In 2007, he co-produced the Frozen Tundra Fright Tour, a tour developed with the purpose of showing how the haunt industry could work together as one. The tour was an overwhelming success; it resulted in securing over 40 sponsors and raised over $25,000 for IAHA. (International Association of Haunted Attractions)
In that same year, he was the recipient of the prestigious Isabella Award which honors an individual whose achievement is measured by his/her contributions towards improving and strengthening the haunt industry as a community of artists and enthusiasts and who set a positive example for others to follow.
In 2008 he embarked on his new role as Director of Operations for Nightmare New England, an ambitious new scream park featuring 4 original haunted attractions. One year later the park acquired SpookyWorld and added three more attractions. In three short years, his guidance and experience has elevated Nightmare New England and SpookyWorld to be one of the largest most successful scream parks in the country. Today the park features 7 haunted houses, a midway, live music, restaurants, games, rides and more. He is responsible for the design, construction, marketing, and staffing of over 300 seasonal employees.
In September 2010, the producers of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition invited him to lead the scenic design team for their first ever Halloween episode where the haunt “Nightmare Factory” was redesigned, re-themed, and modernized to improve fundraising for the Oregon School for the Deaf. Working closely with show producers as well as film director and musician Rob Zombie, he guided a team of talented artists and volunteers to produce an incredible attraction. Extreme Home Makeover showcased to a national audience the level of artistry and innovation that our industry is capable of. The leadership that he brought to this challenging project was just another example of his ongoing commitment to bringing people together to work towards a common goal.
Mike Krausert continues to devote his time and energy towards advancing the artistry and professionalism of this industry. His expertise has been consulted and relied on to educate and inform the New England Fire Marshalls Association about haunt safety as well as the latest fire prevention materials and applications available to our industry. Mike adapted colleague Kelly Allen’s Employee Safety Handbook to reflect safety and emergency protocols specific to Nightmare New England and SpookyWorld. This handbook has been instrumental in serving two purposes beyond ensuring the safety within his attractions—it has helped to educate local, state and national inspectors about the importance emphasizing safety in the design of haunted attractions but also underscored the professionalism of our industry.
Last September Mike was a guest speaker at the annual meeting of the New England Fire Marshalls where the National Fire Protection Agency was also represented. Mike spoke passionately and knowledgably about the advancements within our industry, conducted a lecture on life safety in the haunted attractions and presented his version of the Employee Safety Handbook. The New England Fire Marshalls Association elected to make this handbook available online for fire inspectors nationwide to consult and reference. Mike continues to work with these important organizations at local, state and national levels to promote our industry in a professional manner and to work closely with them to evaluate, inform and develop the code for special amusement attractions.
Last March, Mike was the recipient of the Haunted Attraction Associations Presidents award, an award that recognizes an individual for their level of artistry, skill and leadership in the field.
This past season Michael and the team at Nightmare New England designed, built and ran The Fear at Fenway, a new and unique Halloween park located at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox in Boston Massachusetts.
Mike’s career in the haunted attraction industry has been chronicled through numerous industry and national magazines, newspapers, television shows, and the recently published book “Spooky, Creepy Boston” where he was featured and interviewed to show the connection between haunted houses and Halloween in historic New England. More than anything, Mike is known as someone who is intelligent, approachable, generous and sincere. He brings the passion he has for haunting to every aspect of his life and continues to share what he has learned with those around him.
KEY NOTE - Saturday June 2nd at 9:00 am
Ed and Marsha Edmunds
Owners Distortions Unlimited
Greely Colorado
Hidden in an industrial complex on the sleepy prairie near Greeley, Colorado,
Ed and Marsha Edmunds make monsters for a living. As the owners of
Distortions Unlimited Corporation, their quality props, masks and creations have
been the mainstay of the dark amusement industry for the last 22 years.
Long creative hours are spent in gray walled offices with brain-eating
hunchbacks, wall-scaling zombies and docile, 3-foot tall aliens, the working
environment looks more like Batman's lair than a place of business.
It all began in Long Grove, Illinois in the early 1960's. It was the days of The Outer Limits, The Time Machine and the original Star Trek. The characters in these television shows fascinated the fertile young mind of Distortions founder, Ed Edmunds. "Those shows created more than just an interest in entertainment," he explains, "It created a love of monsters." To Ed, monsters were more interesting than classmates, and more powerful, too. By creating and becoming a monster, Ed soon realized that he could leave the restrictions of his guarded personality behind and become a performer. In his mind Ed wanted to be a monster, and he would don an alien mask or convert his face into something out of this world with layers of 3 dimensional makeup. Ed would tell his cousins that he was a Martian or offer his sister tours of his back-yard spaceship, knowing she would be too scared to accept the invitation. By sliding on a costume Ed was able to slide off his coy demeanor.
Realizing that he could actually become a monster, Ed became content with creating them. "If I could not be one, I wanted to bring them to life and be a part of the Frankenstein-type process." Ed recalls, "I never saw monsters as ugly." Instead, Ed saw the monsters or at least their makeup as 'pieces of art.' "Those monsters were beautiful to me. I associated with these creatures much more than the human stars of the show." Looking back Ed says, "I do not believe in the correlation between ugly and evil, beautiful and good. Outwardly Mother Theresa may not have been considered beautiful, but she was good, and beautiful inwardly." Continues Ed, "Without naming names, we could think of an outwardly beautiful woman who is evil. According to Scripture, Satan was one of God's most physically beautiful creatures." In the interests of conveying good and bad so that they are easier to spot, Hollywood and storytellers have used this good is beautiful, evil is ugly relationship and inadvertently created a skewed reality. "There is beauty in all of creation from spiders to bunny rabbits." Explains Ed, "This skewed reality and people's negative reactions from the real life elephant man to Frankenstein makes me more empathetic and bonded to monsters."
Ed continued to experiment with makeup and soon realized that there was more to this hobby than just art. There was a dramatic side as well. After plenty of practice, Ed brought his hobby to school. Stumbling into gym class, Ed gripped a makeup-caked hand, which gushed blood from the remains of a severed finger. The gym teacher cringed, grabbed Ed and hurried him to the nurse's office for first aid. Both looked on in horror until Ed revealed his farce. With this realization the emotions of the adults immediately changed. They were relieved and amused. Ed was thrilled and enamored with the dramatic shift of emotion. Ed had decided "Scaring people is fun."
Through years as a 'practical jokester', Ed has learned that sometimes you can go too far. People enjoy pretend fear; it is an emotional rush, but the minute they think, 'this horror is real,' the enjoyment is gone. Ed found that fear is not a concrete thing. It changes with the audience. Maintaining a balance is difficult for some entrepreneurs in the haunted attraction industry, because what is designed to scare teen-age girls will not scare a forty-year-old. Generating just the right amount of fear and fantasy, pitted perfectly one against the other.
Fear would take time to master, but fantasy that was easy. Masks were pure fantasy, and Ed was proving himself to be a talented mask maker at a young age. Without instructions, molds or even advise, Ed meticulously sculpted a Frankenstein head out of oil-based clay at the young age of 14 and perched his first full head creation among a growing spread of collected masks. By the time his family packed their belongings in 1972 for a move to Pueblo, Colorado, Ed's artistic proficiency had been established.
Once settled in, Ed started a one-man company dubbed Modern Stage Craft. Working with the local theatrical productions that would pap up from time to time, Ed applied stage makeup and crafted props. The returns were limited but productive, and Ed would spend his spare time incubating his smaller, subsidiary company, a mask-making operation that he temporarily branded with the name Distortions Unlimited. It was more of a hobby that an occupation. "I never thought I could make money with masks." Ed recalls, even when the art department head at the University of Southern Colorado offered Ed a full scholarship to bring his talent for monster making to academia, Ed turned it down, still stern in his belief that there was no money in masks.
Soon after his high school graduation in 1974, Ed packed his things again, and headed to college, in pursuit of an art education degree at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. Distortions took on more vigor in Greeley, where Ed churned out masks from his one-bedroom apartment. He would start cheap, lack-luster masks, and would paint more intriguing faces and details on them to sell at Party Palace, a local retailer.
Still playing the role of monster, Ed crowned himself with an impressive Don Post wolf man mask in 1978, and strolled confidently into a Halloween costume party. Convinced that he had the first place prize, a stereo, 'in the bag,' he was shocked when the judges chose instead a friend who had come clad in one of Ed's own Frankenstein creations. Frustrated but encouraged, the bittersweet defeat inspired him, and Ed set out on a year long quest to create a costume that could not lose; a beast that no judge could overlook. For the next year Ed labored on a massive green alien that would shock any slate of judges. Jim Faust, a local costume shop owner, happened to see the alien mask in process and told Ed that his talent might be marketable. When Jim asked Ed to re-create the alien mask to sell in his shop, an idea surfaced that Ed had never thought of before, "I might be able to do this for a living." After all, if those cheap masks could turn a profit, why not good ones? So in 1978, the mask making company carrying the Distortions Unlimited name became more than just a hobby.
In its infancy Distortions was a diamond in the rough, making its first home in one bedroom of a two-bedroom apartment. Pumping out strictly masks, Ed worked to bridge the gap between the cheap masks he had previously painted and their high-priced American counterparts. He guessed that there would be some market for higher-quality masks at reasonable prices, and he was right. In 1979, Ed started advertising his growing array of Distortions masks in Fangoria magazine. Jim Lawrence of Morris Costumes saw the ad and contacted Ed about carrying his line of masks. When Morris picked up the line, the exposure took Distortions from an amateur project to a professional success, and Distortions Unlimited had arrived.
Exposure meant growth for Distortions, and the company pushed beyond the walls of Ed's apartment, filling a garage and basement in nearby Evans, Colorado. Movement also meant diversification, and Ed began experimenting with small props. He sculpted a severed finger, molded bloody hands and eventually became one of the first in the industry to sculpt cut off arms. Business flooded Ed's garage and pushed him to change locations again in 1981, planting his maturing business in Kersey, Colorado in 8,000 square feet of a three level building.
Ed was just settling into his new digs when he met Marsha Taub, a biology student from the University of Northern Colorado. After an introduction at church, Marsha came to work at Distortions where she quickly became part of every step of the operation. Ed quickly discovered that he and Marsha shared more than a workplace and a dedication to a faith in Christ; they shared an artistic passion, and a creative yearning. "It was the old two heads are better than one thing," recalls Marsha. The two would paint together, pour masks together and from the paint buckets and vats of latex; they started a relationship that lead to taking marriage vows in 1992.
The marriage of Ed and Marsha seemed to pump fuel into Distortions. Marsha took on more responsibility in the company. "We balanced each other out," Ed explains. Together, these 'two heads' not only thought better, they thought bigger. With growing foreign competition in the mask industry, Distortions changed its focus and soon found itself buried under a heap of new prop ideas; Full-scale monsters, Aliens, and Zombies. With the introduction of large props, the creative process became more complicated. "In order to make the large displays we had to start welding," explains Ed, "In order to make animated products we had to work with pneumatics and electronics." It seemed that whenever Ed learned these new mediums it opened the door, creatively speaking, to do more similar products and more complicated products, which required additional knowledge, which opened more doors, etc. Each creation would enhance and boost creativity. It was not long before you could not even open the doors at the studio and Distortions was forced to move again in 1989. This time to a 22,000 square foot facility with automated production equipment. Then, in the early 1990's, Distortions brought the homicidal queen alien, of the movie Alien, to life. "I thought: This is it," says Ed, "We went from a cut off finger o a queen alien and I figured we could not do anything more." He was wrong.
In 1995, the Edmunds started their first Haunted House, called The Dark Museum. The one-room exhibit in Greeley was a moderate success, but "cheesy" by modern standards. Distortions' foray with Haunted House production was not complete, however, and fueled progress far beyond the walls of the exhibit. The first haunt was a learning experience, an experience that gave birth to the now-famous idea of a realistic animated electric chair with smoke, sound and lights. In finished form, the Electric Chair was even more impressive that the Edmunds' had imagined. While the prop used a motor and not sophisticated pneumatics, it was a milestone nonetheless, and over 200 chairs were sold the first year at $3800.00 each.
The entire industry took notice. Haunted Houses from coast to coast made room for the chair, highlighting the morbid machine as their centerpiece. In the Electric Chair, entrepreneurs found the marketing muscle they had been looking for. For the first time, the industry had hard dark animation, and with that came publicity. When the smoke cleared, Distortions had become a fixture in the fast-evolving world of modern haunted houses. Moving once again to their current location also in Greeley, in an industrial zoned 24,000 square ft. facility, Ed and Marsha still wanted a chance to try their own seasoned hands at a large-scale, multi-media haunt.
Knowing that times were changing fast, the Distortions team looked to the future for help - to the teen-agers who they saw standing in line at Haunted Attractions around the country. In doing so, they set the ground-work for a revolutionary, rock n' style Haunted House called Brutal Planet. The event was a critically acclaimed success, being voted "worst place to take your mother" by the Denver Rocky Mountain News. Brutal Planet went off without a glitch, opening to the lauding of patrons and industry insiders alike. The bizarre marriage of gothic club life, traditional Halloween haunts and mind bending sensory stunts paid off. As a capstone to the wild circus, the Edmunds brought in Alice Cooper to promote the event, saying the legendary rock n' roll wild man was, "the perfect persona for the job." Brutal Planet was a tremendous hands-on learning experience for the Edmunds. It opened their eyes to the dark attraction industry and the needs of entrepreneurs of
dark attractions.
Unfortunately, the busiest time of year for Distortions coincided exactly with the busiest time of year for Brutal Planet. "Brutal Planet kept us up until 2 a.m. and Distortions got us up early," recalls Marsha, "The combination was a killer." After several years of no sleep during October, the Edmunds decided that their efforts were best incorporated into the creation and production of products rather than actually running a dark attraction. They still do provide creative advising on attractions, and plan to have many dark attraction concepts ready to unveil in the future. "We had originally planned to license the Brutal Planet concept, but Six Flags beat us to the punch," recalls Ed. "We realized that they could do immediately what would have taken many years for us to accomplish." In 1999, the Six Flags chain of theme parks asked Distortions to duplicate its Brutal Planet attraction in 16 cities across the country.
Distortions maintains a large year-round staff of designers, artists, carpenters, sculptors, painters, pourers, patchers, seamers, welders, woodworkers, mold makers, sprayers (foam, plastic, latex), shippers, seamstresses, cutters, electricians, assemblers, managers and office personnel. Not to mention numerous out of shop consultants and advisors. As with any successful company, there are many people who make the magic happen, and many of the Distortions employees have been with the company for years. Peter Galindo III has been with Distortions for 11 years, and is the supervisor for the paint department. Michael Glover supervises the fabrication of animatronics, Irene Gonzales oversees the shipping department and Ella Mae Margheim, the accounts analyst, has been with the company for 13 years. Ten-year employee Theresa Rodriquez supervises the prep area, and Janene Johnson is in charge of customer service. "We have a tremendous team of specially talented people, who together can make anything we dream up." Boasts Ed.
Ed and Marsha have four equally creative, artistic sons who participate in the business when they can. Adam is a 31-year old CMT (massage therapist), freelance artist and works part-time at Distortions in the sculpting and mold making departments. Adam is also a Documentary film maker. You can see some of his work at www.laquinceaneradocumentary.com. He was also the 'Clown' at Denver's Brutal Planet for 3 years. Ryan is 29 years old and he works full time at Distortions. He has two beautiful children and enjoys screenwriting. He was the "Freakin' Huge Zombie' at Denver's Brutal Planet for 3 years. Blake is enjoying success as a top chef in the Rocky Mountain region. Weston is going to school to become a minister in Oregon. Over the years, Distortions has evolved into a movie-like production studio. Their latest venture was the creation of the stage sets for the new Alice Cooper Brutal Planet Tour, including reworking Alice's original guillotine, a gutted car, numerous corpses, skeletons, two headed babies, and the 'ReCooperator,' (Pieces of Alice were put into it, then hewn back together in a haze of smoke, strobes and electricity). Age sometimes has a way of snuffing out creativity. As the years slowly tick by, youthful imagination is blanketed with a quilt of realism. Not so for Ed and Marsha, who child-like enthusiasm and imagination still reign supreme. With a new focus on cutting edge animations, developing technology and materials for props and molds, the worries of creative stagnation are gone. Plans at Distortions are in fact 'Unlimited'. For the future, "higher impact" and "more intense" animations are the key phrases. The Edmunds are enjoying this new incarnation of Distortions. "We used to have trouble dreaming up what would be next, now we have trouble crossing off things we just do not have time to produce prior to the show," jokes Marsha. Ed and Marsha now spend their days in a warehouse akin to a cannibal's buffet. Hands and feet top a line of metal spikes, a row of glassy-eyed zombies peer from behind a rail of severed heads. They are still making monsters, but now they make them by the thousands.
Leonard Pickel
Editor, Haunted Attraction Magazine
Owner, D.O.A. Design and Consulting Firm
Broker, Hauntrepreneurs(R) International
Owner, Mayhem Manor(R)
Director, Haunted Attraction National convention and Tradeshow (HAuNTcon)
Leonard Pickel has amassed a lifetime of Haunted Attraction Design and operations, from October seasonal events to year round attractions and dark rides. He has designed over 80 successful events since 1976.
As a sophomore year of college at Texas A & M Univer¬sity, Leonard produced his first commercial haunted house in 1976 as a fundraiser for the dormitory he was living in. He organized, designed and marketed the two night event. With a budget of $300 and a $0.50 per person admis¬sion price, the operation grossed over $1,000. He experienced similar success with two more dorm-sponsored horror productions in 1978 and 1979, before graduating with an architectural design degree in 1980.
In 1982, during his architectural apprenticeship in Dallas, Leonard volunteered his horror production expertise to the local March of Dimes Haunted House and as chairman of the charity Halloween Event from 1983 1986, Leonard was in charge of design and construction of the Haunted Attraction. During this time, Leonard formed the basis for what later became known as the “Pickel Theory of Haunted Houses,” a high startle, low gore, high throughput, low theatrics approach to dark amusements. This inno¬vative and non-offensive style of Haunted Attraction lead Leonard down a different design path than most of the industry, which generally relies on heavy blood and gore to “gross out” rather than to frighten patrons. These Haunting concepts are outlined in three room design idea booklets, written by Leonard for use by commercial haunted house designers. His creative accomplishments include the industry’s first turn-key Haunted House ‘kits,” the first adaptation of the “Field Theory” for Haunted Attractions (The Triangular Grid System), and the first to promote the multi-element approach to Haunting.
In 1987, Leonard created the name “Hauntrepreneurs(R)” when he formed his first haunted house design firm, and was granted a Registered Trademark for the name in 1992. During his long career, Pickel has designed over 80 original and creative Haunted Attraction designs for major venues including Madison Square Garden, Universal Studios Florida, Six Flags St Louis, Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags AstroWorld, Paramount’s Carrowinds, Paramount’s Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, and SCREAMS Terror Park. Leonard has designed Haunted Attractions in foreign countries including Puerto Rico, Canada Russia and India. Over 1 million people from Los Angeles to New York, Orlando to Seattle, have experienced the “Pickel Theory” first hand.
Leonard applied his October seasonal experience toward a summer seasonal haunted house in 1993, with Mayhem Manor® in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In the seven years that followed, Mayhem Manor provided Pickel a hands-on testing facility for new fright concepts, which were then implemented into new designs for his clients. Leonard learned a great deal about the differences between a Halloween Haunted House and one that needs to operate for the full summer season or year round. Decreasing overhead and maximizing the experience within a small foot print are key lessons Leonard implements into all designs.
Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, and Leonard has done extensive research in the field of dark amusements, both past and present. Each year in October, he travels around the country, experiencing as many Haunted Attractions as possible. In one year alone, he experienced over 60 Haunted Attractions. This research provides invaluable insight into the state of the haunting industry, and keeps him up to date with the latest trends.
In 1994, Leonard co-founded Haunted Attraction Magazine, the premier publication for the dark amusement industry, and as Editor in Chief, he is the driving force behind this growing publication. Today the magazine strives to provide information vital to the success of the industry, with in-depth articles on the country’s major attractions, “How To” instructions for the latest new effects, historical spotlights and commentary on timely industry news. An accomplished speaker, Leonard has given seminars on numerous aspects of the Haunted Attraction industry ranging from design and code compliance, to how to get started and effective scare techniques. He has spoken at Haunted gatherings and industry conventions including the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Convention (HAuNTcon), Midwest Haunters Convention, HauntX, Ironstock, the Pennsylvania Spring Amusement Ride Safety Seminar, both the Chicago and Las Vegas National Halloween, Costume and Party Show, North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association Convention, National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), Carolinas Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CARVC) the Global Halloween Convergence, Detroit’s Haunted Attraction Workshop, Design Lab, Horrorfind Weekend, Rue Morgue Festival of Fear, and the Texas Haunter’s Dinner. Pickel’s “Getting Started in the Haunted Attraction Industry” seminar has grown into a 3 hour annual favorite presented regularly to standing room only crowds.
In 1997, Leonard took on the task of forming the Haunted Industry’s first trade association, the International Association of Haunted Attractions (IAHA). Against heated opposition from some factions of the industry, Leonard was instrumental in establishing and organizing the fledgling association. In less than one year after IAHA’s non-profit incorporation, the association had an impressive 150 voting members and in the 5 years that followed the membership reached 500.
The worlds largest supplier or props for the haunted attraction industry, Philip Morris of Morris Costumes in Charlotte, North Carolina, contracted Leonard in 2000 to facilitate the creation of a muli-element October seasonal Haunted Attraction, that would double in the off season as a display case for the Morris Costumes line of Haunted Attraction Props and equipment. Leonard was in charge of all facets of the event, including design, theme, code compliance, construction, art direction, installation, first year operations and marketing. Opening on time and under budget for October of 2000, this event has more props per square foot than any Haunt in the world.
In 2004, Leonard launched the first national convention for the Haunted Attraction Industry. The Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Convention (HAuNTcon), designed for Haunters, by Haunters. This annual exposition moves to a new location each year and has become a must attend event for Haunted Attraction owners from a cross the country.
Called the “Godfather of Haunting” by others in the Haunted Attraction Industry, Leonard was honored with a question using his name in the Millennium Edition of the game Trivial Pursuit. He was also appeared as an industry expert in several television programs including the Travel Channel special about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida, and America’s Best Haunted Houses, where Pickel offered insight into what makes a great Haunted Attraction and the theory behind fright.
Leonard is constantly searching for new challenges and striving for new heights in his Haunting career. His vast 30 years of experience designing all types of commercial Haunted Attractions, and his unique vision for the future of Haunting, has kept Leonard two steps ahead of his closest competitors. His industry accomplishments, leadership ability and high moral character has garnered Leonard great respect from his peers and set a lofty standard for those who would try to follow in his haunted footsteps.
Jeff and Chris Davis
Davis Graveyard
Jeff and Chris Davis and their talented crew are the creators of The Davis Graveyard, a popular yard haunt in the Portland, Oregon area. The Haunt has been nationally recognized, winning several awards. The Davis Graveyard also sponsors the Haunters Video Awards. They were featured on FearNet.com’s Haunts Across America series and, more recently, featured as a key contributor in ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover Nightmare Factory Haunt makeover in Salem, Oregon. They are experienced speakers at haunt conventions and gatherings, and hold local summer workshops in Portland, Oregon.
Cliff Allen
Owner/ Director/ Consultant
Worst Nightmare Productions, LLC
An accomplished Actor and Director on stage and off. He has been haunting the public for over 13 years. Cliff has Actor/Director training from Western Kentucky University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He is currently attending the Art Institute of California-Sacramento for Film. Cliff was introduced into the business of haunting by Allan Clifford of Louisville, KY (Nightmare Forest). Since then, Cliff has been involved in various haunted attraction projects, such as Nightmare Forest (KY), Waverly Hills (KY), Deadman's Trail (TN), and Dr. Juggernaught's Castle (CA and OR), Darkwing Manor (OR), Heartstoppers Haunted House (CA), just to name a few. Cliff lives in Placenta, California with his wife of six years, Jennifer, two cats Pandora & Shortie, and two dogs Emeril & Roscoe. Currently Cliff is in production on his film directing debut, "The Haunting Truth", a Documentary.
Christina Kortum
Owner Ravenous Studios
Christina Kortum is the owner of Ravenous Studios, a Portland based SFX company supplying makeup and props for TV and film. The last year has been exciting, with Christina's makeup prosthetics being shown on Portlandia, props on NBC's Grimm, and several feature films being released. Her addiction to makeup, monsters, and all things scary started 18 years ago though, when she went through a haunted attraction and hooked instantly. Construction led to set design, acting, and finally the makeup team. This experience from the ground up has given Christina a unique perspective on the part makeup plays in the haunted attraction industry, and how to maximize its potential.
Tim and Tina Reuwsaat
Dark Wing Manor
Tim and Tina Reuwsaat, aka the Baron and Baroness of Darkwing Manor, have been home haunting for the past 30 years or so. Starting with home-made cardboard tombstones and a collection of antique props, each year they added a little more to the haunt. When the Baroness discovered the internet and the multitudes of other haunters, the haunt began to transform with more sophisticated props, animatronics, dressed sets and actors. A move to Manassas, Virginia found the Reuwsaats on an acre of land which allowed for more room to create additional scares. Another move to Medford, Oregon, now with a home on 2 ½ acres, has brought even more scenes to the haunt. The haunt includes 11 scenes throughout the grounds; however, there are 3 scenes inside the house, including the Morguetorium Museum, a collection of Victorian era mourning and funerary items. Darkwing Manor has garnered peer recognition with the 2007 Haunt X Award for Best Indoor Haunt, 2009 Haunters Video Award- Best Indoor Haunt- Vanguard, the 2010 Home Haunter’s Association’s Haunt of the Year and in 2011, the Home Haunter’s Association’s Haunt of the Year - Second place. These honors could not have been attained without the 100 volunteers who make it happen. Darkwing has also been featured in several books , BBC radio, and Haunt Cast radio. More important than the recognition is that Darkwing Manor collects admission which is then donated to a different charity each year. Contributions exceed $20,000 to date.
Missey Berliner
One of Darkwing Manor’s top Minions (an affectionate term for our volunteers) has been with the haunt since 2004. She has contributed to the haunt in many ways, including scene decoration, acting, and planning for each year’s setup. She also has taken an interest in makeup and gives one or two workshops a year to the other actors. It is the dedication of the committed volunteers like Missey which makes Darkwing Manor an award winning charity home haunt.
Mike Morley
Sketching Your Nightmares – Presented by Mike Morley
West Coast Haunters Convention, June 1, 2012: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Mike Morley has been a freelance artist for 25 years. In the past, he has performed sculpture and illustration for Wizards of the Coast (Producers of Magic The Gathering), Universal Studios Hollywood and more recently, DavisGraveyard.com and Fright Town (both of Portland).
In this workshop you will have the opportunity to receive help with visualization and the planning of your creative concepts from thumbnail sketches, to final artwork for your haunt, prop building, or for your own creative entertainment.
Various techniques and mixed-media supplies will be discussed and demonstrated during class. Time has been allowed to offer personal instruction for students as needed. This class is open to people of all skill levels.
Scott Kolling
Owner: KUBE 93.3FM Haunted House, Seattle, WA
Owner: KISS 106.1FM House of Terror, Lynnwood, WA
www.seattlehaunts.com
Scott’s adventure into haunting started when he was 8, running through his Dad’s Jaycee Haunted House. His father was the head event coordinator for the Marysville Jaycee Haunted House until the mid 80’s. They would find an old house or barn in town that was getting close to being demolished and turn it into a Haunted House. If it was a two story,
they would get you upstairs, and then send you down a slide from one of the windows. Things you don’t see these days.
Scott in the early 90’s, now a Jaycee himself, looked back at the earlier events and decided to bring back the Haunted House project. It was a huge success, and it actually won many National awards through the Jaycee’s, considering they got everything for the show donated. He chaired the event for the next 2 years, until there started to be a problem of finding enough volunteers from the dwindling Jaycee groups in the area. So he went pro and started his own company, Haunts Northwest, Inc. He hired the Jaycee’s that had helped him start and run the shows in the past. Many of the crew are still with him now.
Over the last 18 years, Scott has produced Haunted Attractions in 12 Puget Sound Cities,
and a popular Haunted Maze show at 3 local fairs.
Scott’s latest project is The George Town Morgue/KUBE 93.3FM Haunted House, which for the past 5 years has been located at 5000 E Marginal Way S, in Seattle, Washington. He has been producing the KUBE 93.3FM Haunted House show for the past 10 years, which has a 30 year history in the Seattle area of being the Premier Haunt in the Northwest.
Scott is one of the friendliest guys to talk to, ask questions, network and hang out with. He has formed great relationships with long time haunters from all over the country. So feel free to introduce yourself. He is willing to help if he can, in anyway to his fellow haunters.
Scott’s posse of Haunters is very family oriented. He now has his oldest at 15, running the chainsaw at the backdoor of the haunt for the last 2 years, and two more at 10 & 8 waiting their turn. Scott’s head staff has been with him through his whole ride, along with his wife, Deanna, who keeps all the financials going in the right direction.
If you’re ever in Seattle, go to www.seattlehaunts.com, and ask for a private tour! They would love to scare you anytime!
