One week from right now. . .

I'll be hanging with my ECHC Haunties!! Yeah baby!! Now, if only I can get all my pre-Gathering chores completed before then. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

In case you need a little info as incentive to attend:


When......: Saturday, August 1st
Where.....: Fright Kingdom, 12 Simon Street, Nashua, NH
Time.......: 10:00 am
Admission: $20.00** Ages 14 and over only please! **

So far on the agenda....
Haunter’s Hangout - Please bring one of your homemade props, decorations or special effects and be a part of the spooky show-n-tell. * This agenda item will depend on the amount of participation.

Ghosthunting 101 – by Laura Guiliano - Laura has been haunting for over 10 years and is also a part of Para-Boston Investigators, www.para-boston.org. She will show off some of her ghost hunting equipment and teach us the basics of this growing phenomena. She will also share some of the findings of the Para-Boston team.

101 uses for PVC… OK, more like 10 - By Victor Bariteau (AKA Halloween Zombie) - Victor receives a lot of “How did you do that?” questions in regards to some of his props and surprisingly many of the answers have been “PVC”. As haunters we have all used, or experimented with, PVC at least once – right? If not, why? It's light, easy to work with and best of all, not expensive. Most of us know PVC can be bent and shaped with heat, but this presentation will take you to the next level. Victor has made rib cages, rusty pipes, wing frames, a fancy-shmancy cemetery fence; he has even made a “water cylinder” for a barrel pop-up. Along with PVC, Victor will also touch on how to work with fiberglass for water-proof corpsing.
Victor is Systems Administrator for State Street Corp. and has been Yard Haunting for 13 years in Fairhaven, MA.

Let there be light! - By Jim Wieloch - Jim will demonstrate how to automate lighting and sound effects using computerized Light Controllers. These systems are designed to control simple or elaborate lighting displays. The presentation focuses on the 'LightORama' hardware platform. He will review the available types of controllers from stand-alone controllers to synchronizing hundreds of controllers, motion detectors, animation servos and other devices using a personal computer or master controller. The information is intended for both home haunt and pro haunt applications and will provide examples.

Action packed build it yourself Hauntfomercial! - by Steve O and friends - In a tribute to the late Billy Mays, Steve O from the Garage of Evil has volunteered (begged) a few great haunters into helping him present a live how-to on building not one, not two, but three (THREE!) props in one seminar. These are "must have" props/tools for any haunter and easy to build for all skill levels. As the haunters build the items, Steve will explain every step and give the technophobic among us the knowledge and confidence to build them. When the presentation is done, the 3 projects will be completed and operational so you can see what they do and how they work.
You'll learn how to build:

* Laser vortex - Maybe the best bang for your buck. You can build this cool special effect for your home (or pro) haunt for around $30 bucks.

* Foam carving tool with variable power supply - This is not one of those cheap craft store special, but a real variable foam cutting power supply on par with those costing upwards of a $100 for around $25 bucks.

* Flicker circuit - The one, the only (the classic) fluorescent starter flicker circuit. For the soldering newbies, this is a great and very simple project to get you started on building your own haunt effects.

Doing all the actual work will be home haunters Jeff Durette, GoE Labs chief mad scientist Pete Flaherty, and the head honcho of Haunt Forum, Zombie-F. Basically we're going to leverage Steve O's strong suit - non stop talking. Steve, Pete, Jeff and Dave will be available later for brain picking, but we suggest you pick Steve's brain before the after Gathering festivities begin.

Tour Fright Kingdom - by Tim Dunne and Fright Kingdom staff
Not only has Tim Dunne (the owner of the Fright Kingdom) asked to host this year's Gathering. He has also offered to give us a full tour of Bloodmere Manor and a sneak peek of the front room of the Psycho Circus.

Dinner & Magic Show - It has always been our intention to keep the party going after the Gathering day. For those of you that have been with us a while know that finding a place for all of us to get together, to eat, drink (yes Steve, I said drink) and/or just hang out, is not an easy task. So this year we put together a dinner and a show… a Magic show to be exact.