Created by Chris Domino, this clock has Jack Nicholson’s head poking through the door every hour on the hour. You gotta LOVE THAT! It is also followed by him saying “Here’s Johnny!” Then Shelly Duval screams.

The Shining Cuckoo Clock by Chris Domino

Greetings Deadites,

It’s time for the next installment of Reading Between the Pages. In this segment, I’ll be looking at Jim Butcher’s Proven Guilty.

The White Council of Wizards has drafted Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden as a warden in Chicago. A warden is like the non-magical version of a police officer, and Harry takes his job very seriously.

This story opens with an execution or should I say a beheading of a warlock who has broken one of the laws of magic; the use of black magic and enforcing his will on others. The White Council gathers in an abandon warehouse in Chicago to carry out its sentence upon the seventeen-year-old Korean. And for Harry, he’s life is about to be thrown into chaos when he is asked to investigate the use of black magic in the Windy City.

If things weren’t complicated enough, Harry receives a midnight call from Molly Carpenter, the oldest daughter of Harry’s close friend Michael Carpenter. She calls Harry and asks if he will bail her out of jail which turns out to be a ruse. Upon his arrival at the police station, Harry discovers it’s Molly’s boyfriend, Nelson, that has been arrested. But it’s all in a day’s work for the wizard, his faithful dog and a talking skull named Bob.

I enjoy Proven Guilty by Mr. Butcher. It is part of his Dresden file series which I like to think of as Die Hard meets Harry Potter but with fewer explosions and car chases. What I especially like about the books is that even though Harry is a wizard, he struggles with his finances, his magic and his relationships. All these things give him human characteristics that the reader can relate to.

Next time, I’ll be looking at David Wellington’s Frostbite. Even though there’s been a lot of hoopla about werewolves lately, this is a tale with a very different twist. I’ve also got something special planned for the near future but for now, sit back, relax and rot away.

TwistedToybox.net is now offering a new service in 2010, LATEX LOGOS. We all have seen the shirts with latex parts glued into them over the years, but NOW YOUR HAUNT can have PERSONALIZED LATEX LOGOS to add to your shirts!

Imagine an ” I survived” shirt with a hole torn and your name cut into the skin of the person wearing the shirt! He can not only replicate your LOGO in latex, but is also able to add knife
handles, cuts, faces, bullet holes, whatever you wish…the possibilities are endless.

Just check out these samples so far:

This service starts at $175 which includes: sculpting your basic pre designed logo, mold making, and two finished sample castings. Extra castings are $4 each with a min order of only one dozen pieces. Now that is a steal!

This service is NOT yet on the TwistedTOybox.net website. Although he is offering this service now as a SPECIAL OFFER BEFORE details are posted on the TwistedToybox.net website next month. Just tell him Rotting Flesh Radio sent you.

To submit your logo or T- shirt insert idea email Chris Russell with an image of desired logo design to: flugmi@comcast.net and for more on Twisted Toy Box visit: TwistedToybox.net

HOW IT WORKS: Write an essay (500 words or less) answering the following questions:

“Who is Edgar Krawly? Where did he come from? What diabolical deed does he do with all the brains he steals? How does this strange man, circa 1900 – 1920, step into a modern day “haunted” building? Why do people who enter the “haunted” building see mind-numbing scenes of horror, of every variety? What is the significance of the cryptic number sequence “29.11”?

ELIGIBILITY: Contestants must be at least 18 years or older at time of Essay submission. Essays submitted by Contestants under 18 must be co-signed by a Legal Guardian. Contestants must submit a completed, legible entry form, a 500 words or less Essay and pay a $29.11 US entry fee either electronically, by money order or bank check for each Essay submitted.

DEADLINES: Contest is open from 09:59:33 p.m. January 16th, 2010, Eastern Time and will continue until 09:59:33 p.m June 16th, 2010 Eastern Time. Essays postmarked on or before June 16th, 2010 will be accepted after June 16th, 2010.

PRIZES: They’ve put together an exciting line-up of prizes to be awarded to the 1st Place Winner, 2nd Place Winner, 13 Finalists, Top 50 Entrants, and even a $100 “Golden Stinker” Prize for the “worst, best effort”.

CELEBRITY JUDGES: Bram Stoker Award winning authors Brian Keene and Jonathan Maberry, actress and screenwriter Brinke Stevens, actress Brooke Lewis, actress Kelli Maroney, macabre music masters Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka from “Midnight Syndicate”, director and FX artist Robert Kurtzman, “Rue Morgue” magazine creator and movie director Rodrigo Gudino, director and screen-writer Harry Bromley-Davenport, “Haunt Hottie” Jackie Steinert and Rotting Flesh Radio creator Jonathan “The Mortician” Johnson, and “Haunted Attraction” magazine creator and haunt guru, Leonard Pickel.

For more information, to register, read guidelines and more visit the official site at: www.KreepyKrawlys.com

Release:

PR Campaign:
The HHA is embarking on a new PR campaign that is solely owned and funded by the HHA. As you know last year we participated with America Haunts in their campaign, but now that we are on our feet and rolling we are prepared to launch our own campaign. As always our focus will be to protect and promote the Haunted Attraction Industry, and promote our members’ haunts. You can be assured that the knowledge of our board and members will give this new campaign great chances for success.

New Web Site:
As you know last year we developed a web site on the Hauntworld owned URL www.HauntedHouseAssociation.org. This year we are now creating our new site on the HHA owned URL www.HHAssociation.com. It is important to note that this is being done with the full support and encouragement of Hauntworld, who additionally donated funds for the NEW website. The HHA board will be fully in control of the new site at all times, and it is planned to focus equally on all projects and entities that help the HHA and the industry as a whole to protect and promote Haunted Attractions. It is hoped that the new site will be online sometime before TransWorld, keep your fingers crossed! This new site will be a great resource for haunted house owners and operators to come together and help the industry.

Safety Campaign:
As you know we began a campaign last year, an outreach to teach new haunters safety. This will be a big focus in the upcoming year, as we feel that safety education should be promoted and distributed where it is needed most, to start up or home haunts that often have no interaction with local officials. Randy Bates, our new President, is well known as one of the industry’s experts on this topic, and plans to address this fully. Also key to this is the Crisis Plan that Randy developed to help Haunt Owners and the HHA deal with assorted problems that could occur on both a local or national scale.

MEMBER BENEFITS:
Of course member benefits play a major role when it is time to join an association. Here are some of the benefits a membership in the HHA will bring your event:

Publications: Members will receive subscriptions to 3 publications while they are members – Tourist Attractions and Parks, Hauntworld Magazine and Haunted Attraction Magazine.

Vendor Discounts: Members will receive extensive discounts from many of the finest vendors in the industry. Use of just a few of these discounts can pay for your membership in short order. This list is growing all the time, but we will post an updated list soon!

Haunt Directory: Member haunted houses will be listed in our new Haunt Directory on our new web site, www.HHAssociation.com. Assorted campaigns like the PR and Safety Outreach programs will drive traffic to the site and thus to your event’s listing.

Membership Directory: Once a year HHA will produce a comprehensive listing of our members, vendor discounts, by-laws, and other important information. This will be mailed out to our members.

Heraldry: Members will receive the right to use our logos and imagery to promote that they are members in good standing of the Haunted House Association.

Exclusive Meetings and Functions: Members will be able to attend exclusive meetings and events such as the upcoming Ultimate Brainstorm meeting at TransWorld this year for members only.

Participation in the Association: Members who are the owners or operators of a Haunted Attraction can vote for the board of the HHA. Members who are Owners or Operators of a Haunted Attraction with 5 years of operation can run for the board of HHA. Members are also encouraged to participate by joining committees and helping us protect and promote the industry.

Access to Networking: Members can participate on our NEW HHA Forum and on our Yahoo Group. Plus more to come! As you can see there are many benefits to joining the HHA and many important REASONS to help us protect and promote this industry. We look forward to sharing more of our plans with you soon and having you stop by our booth and join the HHA at the TransWorld show in a few short weeks!

For more information about the association be sure to visit the current site at: www.HauntedHouseAssociation.com

Wednesday afternoon, June 2 buses will depart from the Hyatt Regency Columbus for the Cleveland area. We’ll tour attractions throughout the evening, spending the night in Hudson, Ohio. The next morning we’ll tour haunts in Northern Ohio; including returning to attractions toured the previous night for Lights-on tours. The Lights-on tours will give attendees an opportunity to see all the scene details and what goes on behind the scenes. The evening wraps up with additional haunt tours and a return trip to Columbus on Thursday late night.

Ticket prices for the two day tour start at $199 which includes all attractions, bus transportation, meals, snacks and hotel room. There will be five haunts with 14 total attractions.

Friday night the tours resume with shuttle buses transporting attendees to two haunts with four total haunted attractions in the Columbus area. Buses will start departing from the Hyatt Regency Columbus at 6:45 pm. Dinner stops are planned with special discounted meal options starting at just $3.99 and the haunt tours with a shuttle bus package for just $49. Buses return to the Hyatt for a Scary-Oke show starting at 11:30 pm.

The Midwest Haunters Convention offers fantastic haunt tours, outstanding educational seminars, exciting contests and an amazing costume party. The free weekend Halloween industry trade show is one of the largest in the country.

To Register and to Learn More Visit: www.MidwestHaunters.com or call Kelly at 614-203-4626.

As of today the 1980s child star Corey Haim has been found dead in Los Angeles. He was a mere 38 years old. The Los Angeles coroner’s office said that Haim died Wednesday morning at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and they are awaiting an autopsy for cause of death. Although rumors have been tossed around that it may have been a possible drug overdose.

Haim began his acting career in 1984 with the film “Firstborn” and then moved on to some of his most famous roles in “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys”. Once drugs entered the scene of his career it pretty much tanked it. And in the recent years with 80s making a nostaliga comeback, he was in some lower budget films and in the popular television series “The Two Coreys,” again with Corey Feldman.

Corey Haim & Corey Feldman

The show lasted two seasons and Feldman declined to do another due to Haim’s drug use.

Haim was currently working on a comeback to his career with films currently in production that also starred Mischa Barton in “The Science of Cool” and “The Dead Sea”.

Overall, Haim will be lost forever to Hollywood’s often childhood tragedies and us fans can remember him as part of the Lost Boys Team.

R.I.P. Corey Haim: 1971-2010.

Greeting all you Deadites, it’s time for the next installment of what I like to call Reading Between the Pages.

Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book reader Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend’s harsh and hurtful parting words. He buys an e-book reader and soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he never imagined and discovers literary riches beyond his wildest dreams…and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his worst nightmare. This is the plot summary for Stephen King’s latest work UR.

I love Stephen King’s work. He has a way of taking an object we take for granted, gives it life and then twist the realities in which it lives. The latest device is an Amazon Kindle. He has also done this with cell phones in Cell and stationary bikes in Stationary Bike. The last two I will reserve talking about later.

So for now let’s focus on the Kindle. But before I get back to the book, let me give you a brief history on my relationship with the writer.

I think it started when I read Misery. I was in college and had just finished mid-term exams. I went to the bookstore looking for something to occupy my time until classes resumed. I picked up the paperback not realizing it would lead to a 2 day marathon session. From the time I cracked the spine, I was riveted and barely took time to eat, drink or use the restroom. And in the two days it took to finish the book, I think I got about three hours of sleep.

Prior to reading Misery, I had read a couple of other books by Mr. King but for whatever reason, I wasn’t impressed. After I finished Misery and my breathing returned to a normal gate, I went back to the store and picked up a couple more books written before Misery. As before, I found myself in another marathon session as I consumed the words within the books as if they were food satisfying a wolfish appetite. Since that fateful day when I innocently walked into the bookstore looking for something to kill time, I have been a huge fan of Stephen King…maybe his number one fan.

UR is no different than Misery. As before, I was hooked before I could put a really good crack in the spine. I immediately liked Wesley Smith, the English instructor, and thought of some of the professors I had when in college. He is a likable nerdy guy who has enough social skills to relate to his students but seems a little retarded in other social scenes. Hell, I could have dated this guy….and have.

When Wesley receives his Kindle, I found myself smiling and grimacing as he fumbles with unfamiliar technology. I have found myself in numerous situations trying to help friends and family set up devices that are foreign to them. My parents spent six months doing nothing but playing solitaire before they learned how to use Windows XP. But when Wesley discovers the urs, my breathing sped up as if I were in a foot race, my mind flashed back to my college days and I read faster and faster before I finally reached the end, slammed the book shut and thought about calling the paramedics because heart was hammering so hard I thought it might burst through my shirt.
*Pause*breathe*relax*

UR is a suspenseful and horrific story about possibilities, alternate realities and trendy technology. It awakens the imagination to wonder what you would do if you had the knowledge and power to stop a catastrophic event. And if the catastrophe was thwarted, would you suffer the ramifications of stopping it?

I definitely recommend UR. While it’s not the same type of horror/suspense as Misery, Pet Cemetery or The Shinning, it will leave you breathless and make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention.

Next time, I will be switching gears and looking at Jim Butcher’s Proven Guilty. However if there’s something you are interested in and want to know if it’s good before investing the money, please drop me a line and I give you an honest review of it.

Indy Haunt Fest 2010

Since the end of Ironstock, Indy has been without a Haunters Event now. Well, fear not there is a new event for you Haunters in Indy and surrounding areas. The All-New Indy Haunt Fest 2010 is coming June 26-27, 2010.

This all new event is going to be the First Annual Indy Haunt Fest and will feature vendors, costumes, demonstrations on prop building and performance techniques for all levels of haunt enthusiast, a haunter’s auction of new and used props, special tours of the areas creepy attractions, networking opportunities, food and much more!

Registration has begun for Vendors and Attendees and it seems like it will be shaping up to be a fun weekend and event.

Right now you can save on registration as well. If you register Before March 17 you can register for the weekend for a mere $15.00! The Weekend Pass is good for both Saturday and Sunday admission.

If purchased January 15st- midnight March 17th
Adult: $15.00, Youth: $5.00, Child: Free

If purchased March 18 – midnight May 1st
Adult: $20.00, Youth: $7.00, Child: Free

At the Gate Weekend -from May 2nd to June 26th.
No pre sale prices available after midnight May 1st, At the Gate pricing will be the only option. Adult: $25, Youth: $10, Child: Free

Daily Dose good only for one day and only available at the gate. Adults: $15.00, Youth: $7.00, Child: Free

The Vendor list is growing to be a good one as well this year including: Frighteners Entertainment, Pumpkin Pulp Productions, SCAREVANIA Haunted House, The Iron Kingdom and more.

More information will come shortly, but stay tuned to RFR for all the details in this new event in Indy. For more information visit: www.IndyHauntFest.com