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JDW

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Posts posted by JDW

  1. Hey all I know I haven't been on in... well years. But that's mostly as I didn't go to HHN. 

    It was cost prohibitive, my podcast, and I had a small child. Such is life. I wasn't even planning on going after I saw the express pass prices this year. But I changed my mind and am glad I did. 

    My daughter is seven now, so we decided to go as a family and it was a complete blast. 

     

    First  a little background to anyone asking who this joker is:

    Well, I was a die hard HHN fan for the first 25 years. (26 th was kind of shaky and my last year)

    I was a moderator on this site, HHN rumors, and the vault back in the day. (I even designed the shirt for HNN at one point.)

     

    Yeah I was there for the 2005 scavager hunt, the 2008 LT craziness, the 21 tweet up. In fact I went to Fright Nights and every year religiously (mins 2004 because of the hurricane).

    So, I don't need a witch's broom to tell which way the wind is blowing. 

     

    I'll be honest. Burn out hit me hard. Crowds, rising prices, TWD, being a new dad, and just life. I was way too obsessed with the event and the break was a welcomed respite. 

     

    Long story short I was a whiny fanboy, now I'm not, and I went into this year's event nearly blind. I haven't followed it with any interest since 2015. SO in this review I will refer to houses how I remember them. I know they have like 18 word titles with tag lines and yeah... I don't care. I didn't even look at a map other than to figure out where the next house was. 

     

    Well let's begin.

    I went Saturday  9/11

     

    We did the Stay and Scream in NY. I'd Say Finnigan's but, well, its so much bigger than that now. I haven't gone since the years of the AP party and I honestly think the Stay and Scream was a better option. 

     

    Our first stop was

    Texas Chainsaw

    10 min wait - no posted time

    Decent house. Done to Death but still very detailed and good scares.

    7 out of 10

     

    Next was

    Bride

    15 min wait - no posted time.

    Meh... My least anticipated and it was exactly what I thought. Nicely detailed but the story was confusing. The entoruage had a good time so that's all I can ask for.

    6 out of 10

     

     

    The park was starting to open at this point an we headed straight for the only other open house

    ICONS

    15 min wait - Posted 25 min wait 

    Top notch. Great scares. Great scenes. Just an all around great house. My daughter says it was her favorite house. 

    9 out of 10

     

    Left the queue and immediatly went to

    Toothfairy

    20 min wait - 25 min posted

     

    Really neat sets and story. Good solid house .

    That smell at the end smelled like a giant catbox. really putrid. 

    9 out of 10 

     

    Headed through Seek and Destory and the scareactors were on point. Some great interactions with everyone.  Didn't really get the theme. 

     

    Picked up a drink, bathroom and then Crypt TV

    Nice set pieces. Pretty low on scares but got some good photo ops. I don't know the show (I know, sacrilege being a horror podcast) but the creatures looked cool. It was still light so not counting that against it. 

     

    Next house was

    Scarey

    20 min wait - Posted 35 min wait

     

    Oh the scares! Oh the Nostalgia! such a good house. one of the best!

    10 out of 10

     

    Another bathroom and drink break right into

    Wicked Growth

    35 min wait - 35 min posted wait

    THE HOUSE OF THE YEAR. Just the most amazing house. Fantastic scares. I would wear every smell it that house! The set pieces were really cool. The whole house exudes Halloween and the ending is perfect. 

    10 out of 10

     

    Bathroom (Hey it was a large group) Drink and into

    Puppets

    60 min wait - 35 min posted

    Oof brutal wait! Beautiful facade. House was really good. BABY POWDER! Had a Hello puppets meets Dead Silence kinda vibe I really digged. Good solid house. 

    9 out of 10

     

    We did the routine and headed to

    Beetlejuice

    30 min wait - 55 min posted

    Great detailed house. Not scary but didn't expect it to be. I was really nice to go through the movie. The face masks were distracting in this house. 

    8 out of 10

     

    Twisted taters (premade... very disapointing. No napkins. No condimants. No salt an vinegar), bathroom drink. Rinse wash repeat.

     

    Right to

    Hill House

    15 min wait - 45 min posted

    Again top notch house. Really great scares. Great ambience. 

    9 out of 10 

     

     

    You know the drill... (not the drill!) then through HHN 15 scarezone. 

    So very disapointed. It looked amazing but zero attempts to scare. Was my most highly anticipated scarezone. Really just wasn't happening when we went through though. 

    Also, Why is worm tounge hanging? I thought it would be a scarifice live show. 

     

    Straight to Hacktion

     

    Finally some scareactors in the streets again! Funny. Scary. Good sets. Good times!

     

    LT

    20 min wait - 15 min posted

    I really didn't know what to expect with this. Turned out a great house. Love the pulpy noir (nocturne) vibe. Wasn't even expecting to hit this house but it turned out to be a really great walk through. 

    9 out of 10 

     

    At this we were done. Went back through NY. (Still no idea what the theme was but the scares were even better)

    Tribute store. Picked up some stuff. Saw the line and promptly it all back. 

    Headed through the HHN 30 scare zone. Seemed to be winding down but some nice photo ops. 

    Gift store and out the gate by 1:30. Closed at 2:00.

     

    My entire party of 7 had a fantastic time with no express pass. Which completely shocked me. I dare say the best year I've been to since.... 2008? I dunno but such a great time. My daughter is hooked and wants to go next year. We are doing both Howl o Screams as wels but (maybe petrified forest), if we end up going to HHN next year we will probably forgo the others and do rush of fear or something. Relly no bad houses and I can probably chock up the scarezones to covid and just bad timing. 

     

    Well back to the shadows to work on the podcast. Now I've seen what HHN is like now, who knows, maybe I'll be more active in the future.  Yeah no promises

     

    As always: Be creative, stay Spooky, and spook on!

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  2. Hello dear listeners! All things must come to an end and in this "Squinkles Plays", we wrap up Hello Puppets. How will it end? Well to quote Frank Herbert - There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story. This couldn't be more true with Hello Puppets.

  3. So COVID did a number oon me. Twice now. But I'm still alive. 

     

    I'm slowly starting the show back up. I'm also posting my original music on youtube:

     

    and Spotify now as well :

     

     

    I plan to add a lot soon. 

     

    Most of my art (suclptures, paintings, ect.) are on Instagram 
    https://www.instagram.com/jwfearman/

     

    I recently have done several comissions and have three more to go. But man, This COVID aint no joke.
    https://www.facebook.com/scratchings/posts/3844450782246402

     

    anyway hope you horror freaks are all doing well and had a great holiday season. 

     

     

     

     

  4.  

     

    Here is the latest episode. Due to a publishing glitch, it went out early. I always try and keep growing in my story telling. It is very much a labour of love but, it is always nice when I feel everything turns out right. I'm very pleased with this one. Not as pleased as I am with my talented little actress of course. 1f60d.png I am so happy she is willing to do this crazy thing with her Dad.
    Let me know what you think!

     

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