Mae
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Posts posted by Mae
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Oh, my second thought was Shel Silverstein's EPIC "The Devil and Billy Markam"
The Devil walked into Linebaugh's on a rainy Nashville night
While the lost souls sat and sipped their soup in the sickly yellow neon light.
And the Devil, he looked around the room, then got down on his knees.
He says, "Is there one among you scum who'll roll the dice with me?"
Red, he just strums his guitar, pretending not to hear.
And Eddie, he just looks away and takes another sip of beer.
Vince, he says, "Not me, I'll pass, I've had my share of Hell,"
And kept scribbling on a napkin, some song he was sure would sell.
Ronnie just kept whisperin' low to the snuff queen who clutched at his sleeve,
And somebody coughed -- and the Devil scoffed -- and turned on his heel to leave.
"Hold on," says a voice from the back of the room. "'fore you walk out that door.
If you're lookin' for some action, friend, well, I've rolled some dice before.
Mae
ps It's an awesome tale that I highly recommend, even if it isn't relevant.
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All I can think of is
BLACK JACQUES SCHELLAC
Mae
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Eek...I don't remember when I first heard of it, but I do remember when I made my mind up to attend. I got a flyer from Spencer's, I think, back in 1994. I called my buds (one of whom had gone since Fright Nights) and we went that weekend.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Mae
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Yes! For anyone wanting to check out the premit, Chad has posted it up and you can view it HERE! Nothing in the way of hints, just the fact that FAKE Productions is involved again!
Oh, good. A much better ending to a truly lousy day.
Mae
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I absolutely love Villian's Way, especially the "Night on Bald Mountain" ride. I would pay for an annual pass so I could go see it once a month!!!
Mae
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I'm hoping to see HAVOC and CATACOMBS return in some form this year, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if they failed to show up (after all this year is supposed to be a NEW era of darkness). On another note: when I go to HHN this year I'll officially be 21, I can't wait to finally try one of those rad looking Jello shots. I'm not gonna get drunk, but I'll definently get my buzz on while I'm there.
Alas, you will be disappointed by the jello shooters. They are horribly weak for what you pay.
Mae
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But wouldn't those be SPOILERS for the scares?
Go on, ruin all our fun.
If it was done in a non-descript area, and all we could see were the people's reactions, it might work.
Ever see the America Haunts that went to The Beast in St Louis? They had a great scare involving a video screen, an animatronic, and a sensor. I could see something like that working...
Mae
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Looks like a pink nightmare!!!
Mae
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This is what happens when you like something on Facebook at the same time as one of your friends:
LIKE
Mae
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Typos can be fun. I have had people wish me "Happy Eater" today!
Could be Freudian....just sayin'...
Mae
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Does anyone know who hhn-collective is on ebay? Are they a member of this forum? I only wonder because I believe I was the victim of shill bidding last night by him/her. I was run up from 2.25 for a poster to 10 which was my high bid in the last 30 seconds of the auction. Someone outbid me at 10.50 then I immediately got a second chance offer from the person saying I could buy it for 10. The same exact thing happened for another poster at the price of 17 originally and up to 20 (high bid) I was outbid for that item too at 20.50. Then get an immediate second chance offer from the person. The kicker is I didn't know I got the offer and my wife called me happy saying I got you those posters from that guy for 30 dollars plus 8 dollars shipping. She had already paid the person so there really isn't anything I can do but warn other people that he/she may try to shill bid you. Anyone else have this problem with this seller?
Also I am in the market for some event posters or bar signs. If anyone wants to help me out PM me and let me know.
I've gotten several items from HHN-Collective and never had any problems.
There is, however, someone poaching the auctions. I've lost several things in the last minute of the auction...little things, too, like a couple of flyers and a button. I haven't received any second-chance offers, so I'm wondering if the poacher over-extended themselves and had to cancel out some bids. It happens, quite often.
Mae
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This... Sucks...
More than anything has sucked before.
Mae
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I actually like the buttons as long as you don't start advertising them or putting giant "PRESS ME GUESTS!" signs over them. The thing that made the Psychoscarepy button so great was that the only ways you found out was learning from fans, watching someone do it, or going on the behind the scenes tours. It made it a neat surprise to show newbies when bringing them for the first time and could even help a guest scare someone in line behind or in front of them (like triggering a scare about 1 or 2 people ahead/behind).
I like the sneaky aspect of the buttons, too.
In fact, why can't they have some in line, with video of the scares as they happen playing for our amusement while we wait. THAT would be some great line entertainment!
Mae
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I kept asking and talking about the roof in houses subject last year, I said that even if they used plastic sheets, even a plastic bag as a roof would be better than nothing
someone said it was a fire hazard,
I agree, the houses really need roofs, even if is ratty cheesecloth (lol) I agree, anything on top would be great, and it would work better at scaring you, I HATE seeing the roof of the building,
but, like someone told me, fire hazard or something...
I swear I remember 'ceilings' in other soundstage houses; NOES:DW (I even have a photo of the ratty cheesecloth from this one!), Creatures!, Psyschoscarepy:HFTH...what changed? It doesn't have to be much and there are tons of products out there that are fire resistant, if not fire retardant. I can't see how it would become a fire hazard with so many options these days.
Mae
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The "Replacement Scareactors" is a joke from rehearsals last year when we heard about the "Guest-Triggered Scare." FYI, that's what the buttons are considered.
Zombiegeddon won't return, because it was already a "franchise" of the North American Zombie Invasion from 2009. I'm 95% positive Havoc will return, because it won HotY while being the "cheap" house. It uses minimum costumes and make-up (seriously, each DoW costume probably cost $20 to make) and succeeded in a reused house. That has to be the greatest thing management has ever seen, especially on the financial side of things. Catacombs, I'm 70% sure is returning in some way. A&D LOVED the Plague Doctors, and its success with guests (one of the highest approval ratings) and its popularity among fans bodes extremely well for its future. The Plague Doctors are, most likely, going to be filling the Body Collector role for a couple more years.
Intimacy is hard to pull off in a "congo-line house." It requires deliberate pacing, familiarity, freedom of choice for the guests, and a ceiling (the lack of a ceiling is the easiest way to take a guest out of an experience). It can be done, and I imagine Alone pulled it off (knowing the guest's name helps a lot), but a traditional house requires a few more tricks.
It is possible to "break" a person's psyche though, I believe, and I think Universal has already shown us how. Find the commercial for 2004's HHN ("What's Your Breaking Point." Imagine a house that has a short hallway, followed by a room. You exit that room, go down a short hallway and find yourself in the same room. The scares are in the same place. Short hallway. Same room, different scares. Hall. Same room. Different Scares. Hall. Same room, backwards. Different Scares. Hall. Same room. Same scares from first two rooms. Hall. Upside down room. Structuring a house this way kills any feeling of progression, and the later rooms can have different effects (completely dark, steady strobe shows glimpses of a murder). It forces familiarity and uncertainty because the guest starts to have an expectation, and the trick is challenging those expectations. It would be extremely risky (and probably quite difficult). Making it the longest house of the event (12-13 "scenes" rather than 10) causes even more unease because it causes a feeling like you cannot escape. It could, easily, be the most effective "Mess with Drunks House" without needing elaborate strobes or effects, but rather just clever design.
Call it, "Deja-Vu" and watch the confusion.
Oh....
That's good.
Really good.
I wonder why they didn't use any sort of 'ceiling' last year. It was a bit off-putting, I agree, to look up and see the rafters of the soundstage. It doesn't take much, even some ratty cheesecloth is better than nothing!
Mae
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BAD IDEA. Very bad idea.
I thought the exact same thing. How much fun, tho, would that be for a theme?
Mae
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Awesome! Thanks for the in-depth stuff Zombieman! It would be awesome if you posted a guidemap from 1992.
On a side-note, I just ordered a DVD off of GhostRide Productions that show a flow-through of all of the mazes from 1999-2000 including the Buffy maze. Thanks for sharing!
Ooooo....that sounds good too!
Mae
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It's really not fair to call 1996 Year I of HHN Hollywood. According to the archives, it's technically not correct to call 1992 the first year, either. There was a one-night event way back in 1986 (even before Fright Nights in Orlando).
But for sake of argument, let's focus on 1992 for a minute.
While I didn't discover the Orlando event until 2004, I've been haunting California since 1986 (Knott's) and have also been to every HHN Hollywood event. I still have my 1992 ticket stub and event map (including the showtime insert) from the darned thing. I'll try to upload an image if I can dig it out of my boxes.
(edit for space!)
I was much younger then, and the event is more legendary in my mind than it probably was in real life. I'd say about 10% of what I remember didn't actually happen...
In any event, it was a whole lot of fun, and I never left a show or attraction saying "that's it?".
That sounds just fantastic!!! Please upload the flyer and ticket soon; I know I'm not the only person who'd love to see those!
Mae
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I was doing a bit of thinking today...cuz I'm an HHN nerd and that's what I do...that the newer of the horror movies that make impressions on people's psyche's are very, very intimate (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, REC). They were some of the scariest things I've seen in years. I wonder if HHN can get that sort of intimacy into a house? Can anyone think of how they might be able to recreate that sort of environment?
Mae
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An interview and article relating to the maze when this premiered 2000.
http://www.cityofangel.com/behindTheScenes/bts/halloween.html
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From a purely realistic perspective there isn't a whole lot Universal can do to make "new, ground-breaking" event. Every theme-park Halloween event across the nation is essentially the same thing: monsters in the streets and a haunted house. Short of adjusting the structure of the event to tell a story throughout the night (ala Terra Cruentes) it's going to be the same. That idea can be expounded upon to an insane degree, but the general public probably won't get it or care. All they care about are the monsters in the streets, a haunted house, and booze.
Now, what Universal can do to be "new and ground-breaking," is making an attempt to expand the types of houses and scarezones they have. Again, Catacombs, Havoc, Esquileto Muerto, and Saws and Steam hint at that. Catacombs was an historically/locationally accurate house (a first for the event). Havoc was a military house (a first for the event). Esquileto wasn't intended to be scary but mesmerizing (completely changing the tone at the front of the park). Saws and Steam took away the "kill everyone" motivation for the scareactors, and gave it a story of survival (risky, and shockingly poignant). They weren't monsters, just desperate. I really feel that is what the future of Horror Nights holds.
Don't expect the "New Era of Darkness" to bring about a new structure to the event, but more an attempt to have "darker" themes. Don't expect the joke houses or zones. And don't expect "human" icons for a while. That's what the future is probably going to hold.
EDIT- Edited to remove my kick-@$$ idea. You're not getting me to give up all my cards just yet...
I like your point of view, especially your observations of SnS. I guess my hopes are that we don't fall back on the 'mindless monsters' again. Yes, they are fun (and I'll be first in line for another Fred Krueger house any day you want), but the thought and deliberate provocativeness of last year's houses and zones were splendid. I don't know what the general public thought of them. though...is there any light to shed on that?
Still, structurally speaking, I could see them changing some things for future events that would be considered 'new era'-like; the possiblity of age requirements (and the enforcing thereof), a no alcohol night, extension of event dates...more than just the layout of the park or the subject matter of the offerings.
Mae
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Am I allowed to excited about the fact that Universal is probably getting a miniature golf course? I think that's exciting.
I do too, tho I would rather it be one of the indoor, blacklight versions. They're fun!
On the HHN side of things, since things are due to spin up here in the next few weeks, how 'new' does everyone think it will be? Honestly, do we really expect something groundbreakingly different?
I'm not really sure how I feel about that 'new era' business. We know that they've had a hugely successful run with the current formula and that they look at the numbers more than anything else; how much does that allow for much change? Not much, especially in the current economic climate. I wonder if we aren't working ourselves up over the prospect of something new and will be bitterly disappointed when it doesn't follow through, even more than last year with Fear.
Mae
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I know it's all about money... But I don't get why Creative doesn't get...well more creative. Do the in queue videos really have to match the houses if it costs too much to produce? What about just addressing the theme? How about having a contest and let fans create their own videos that we can watch while we wait... Once the theme gets out, let the future autuers get crackin'. Get the creators to sign a release (which of course they will) and maybe have a place to vote for a favorite which can be announced Halloween night.
Just a random idea...
Wow, I'm not sure how I missed this post but THAT is a GREAT idea!!! I'll have to remember to add that one to the HHN surveys from now on!
Mae
This... Sucks...
Random Pictures
in General Discussion
Posted
Went traipsing around Tarpon Springs tonight with friends and found some nifty spooky buildings.
and saw this one the way down...
Mae