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jjmaccrimmonGreetings Happy Haunters!
“For you, in whom the spirit lives, we now invoke the blessed dead”
Thirty-three years is a long time to continue a family tradition that involves months of preparation and becomes more time consuming and elaborate each year. That is exactly what one of the volunteers at the Hallowed Haunting Grounds (HHG) told me. The display these wonderful folks have been putting on was never for profit and was consistently THE standard by which Halloween haunts of all types were measured by not only in southern California but throughout the US. This was inspired by the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland originally, but HHG took on a “life” of its own. From chats and letters, it can easily be said that they influenced, inspired and certainly impressed many thousands of visitors over a generation.
When our ‘tour’ got to the Haunting Grounds Saturday evening, there was a line that stretched across the front of the display and down the sidewalk about 60 yards past their home. On Sunday, (yes I went back) the line stretched around the block and a TV crew was filming. To explain the walk through of this haunt literally starts at on end of their front yard, continues along the sidewalk, up the driveway, past the front door and then back to the start point. All the displays and props were running flawlessly. As much as I truly hated the prospect of using flash to get many of these pictures, it was the only way to capture most images even using low light settings on my daughter’s camera. Flash not only was unfair to other viewers of the display, but is has a tenancy of removing some of the eeriness and ambience of the scene. In most cases here, I’ve reduced the brightness, adjusted contrast or simply “shopped” the photo to keep the ‘feel’ of the scene captured. Sorry, but it was necessary. I’d suggest that you compare these photos, versus the photos of the various parts of their haunt from their website.
The Guardian Angel – who watches the entrance and the exit of the graveyard of the lost
Notice something a little odd about her? Under a veil of stone, she has hair and remarkably life-like eyes.
The invocation
The 30th Year ‘Memorial’ Gravestone
Broken tombs and escaping residents
The Suicide Tree
The mournful banshee
A child’s grave – never letting go
I sense a presence…
Full of wary menace…
A spectral warning this way cometh hence…
Unmarked, unmourned?
Unfilled… Not all made it the hallowed earth…
A blessing before one seeking their lost love…
Her gliding stride never touching earth
Golden hair and empty gaze…
A monk knelt deep in prayer
In hopes of redemption for those bound there…
As we neared the exit, a chill breeze danced across the souls (living and dead) assembled around the site. Foreboding that this was the last we would ever see of this place and the spirits that dwelt within.
Prose aside, the webmaster who also watches to exit, told me that many of the part of this display would be going to another display which is run by a friend and supporter over many years. The other parts and pieces would finally be given their eternal rest. Given the lines, I’d say that the Corbs and their friends who’ve made this so spectacular will be well remembered for this masterpiece.
To get the full effect and view stock photos of HHG visit their website and take their tour
“For you, in whom the spirit lives, we now invoke the blessed dead”
Thirty-three years is a long time to continue a family tradition that involves months of preparation and becomes more time consuming and elaborate each year. That is exactly what one of the volunteers at the Hallowed Haunting Grounds (HHG) told me. The display these wonderful folks have been putting on was never for profit and was consistently THE standard by which Halloween haunts of all types were measured by not only in southern California but throughout the US. This was inspired by the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland originally, but HHG took on a “life” of its own. From chats and letters, it can easily be said that they influenced, inspired and certainly impressed many thousands of visitors over a generation.
When our ‘tour’ got to the Haunting Grounds Saturday evening, there was a line that stretched across the front of the display and down the sidewalk about 60 yards past their home. On Sunday, (yes I went back) the line stretched around the block and a TV crew was filming. To explain the walk through of this haunt literally starts at on end of their front yard, continues along the sidewalk, up the driveway, past the front door and then back to the start point. All the displays and props were running flawlessly. As much as I truly hated the prospect of using flash to get many of these pictures, it was the only way to capture most images even using low light settings on my daughter’s camera. Flash not only was unfair to other viewers of the display, but is has a tenancy of removing some of the eeriness and ambience of the scene. In most cases here, I’ve reduced the brightness, adjusted contrast or simply “shopped” the photo to keep the ‘feel’ of the scene captured. Sorry, but it was necessary. I’d suggest that you compare these photos, versus the photos of the various parts of their haunt from their website.
The Guardian Angel – who watches the entrance and the exit of the graveyard of the lost
Notice something a little odd about her? Under a veil of stone, she has hair and remarkably life-like eyes.
The invocation
The 30th Year ‘Memorial’ Gravestone
Broken tombs and escaping residents
The Suicide Tree
The mournful banshee
A child’s grave – never letting go
I sense a presence…
Full of wary menace…
A spectral warning this way cometh hence…
Unmarked, unmourned?
Unfilled… Not all made it the hallowed earth…
A blessing before one seeking their lost love…
Her gliding stride never touching earth
Golden hair and empty gaze…
A monk knelt deep in prayer
In hopes of redemption for those bound there…
As we neared the exit, a chill breeze danced across the souls (living and dead) assembled around the site. Foreboding that this was the last we would ever see of this place and the spirits that dwelt within.
Prose aside, the webmaster who also watches to exit, told me that many of the part of this display would be going to another display which is run by a friend and supporter over many years. The other parts and pieces would finally be given their eternal rest. Given the lines, I’d say that the Corbs and their friends who’ve made this so spectacular will be well remembered for this masterpiece.
To get the full effect and view stock photos of HHG visit their website and take their tour
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 12:40 pm (UTC)