This blog is moving!

Today I'm excited to announce that Haunted Mansion Collectibles is moving to a new home! Our new site will still offer the same material, but in a much better format in which to showcase my pictures more easily. Anything and Everything HMC will still be here for reference sake, but I will no longer be updating this blog. Please don't forget to update your bookmarks.

Our new home can be found at www.HauntedMansionCollectibles.com or click here.

Its time for "The Show"!

Greeting Ghost Fans!
Today I want to share with you all the many talents of Patrick Hurd. I first was introduced to Patrick through his website Doombuggy Productions, which sadly, is no longer on the internet. When I first started out looking for ideas and inspiration for my own haunted abode, Patrick's site was THE place to go. He offered many DIY projects with step by step instructions on how to make all sorts of Haunted Mansion and Haunted Mansion Holiday recreations. My favorite was the Jack head from the garland for Haunted Mansion Holiday. Thanks to his wonderful website and easy to follow instructions, I was able to create my own HMH decor. While I was influenced by the wonderful decor of the Haunted Mansion Holiday, Patrick was really the one who inspired me and gave me the means to create the decor of my dreams, er...or rather, nightmares!

Here's the Jack Skellington head



please don't chastise about the green garland. I'd always meant to spray paint it.. and then Michaels started carrying it! My new garland is black. I just don't have an updated picture.


You might have noticed the Scary Teddy Tree Topper. Patrick made that for me, and it probably gets more compliments than any other single item in our HMH decor. The candle that the toothy teddy is holding plugs in and offers just the perfect glow to the top of the tree. We plug ours into a flicker box when we want that extra special effect.



And finally, here's the video, with the tree all-a-flicker, and the jack head in place.


Ok, ok..so enough about me and onto "The Show"!!
Patrick is the host of "The Show" which can be seen on Youtube or iTunes. Here's more info about an upcoming episode which you won't want to miss!




On Friday May 1st, Patrick Hurd presents:

The Story of the Haunted Mansion.

You’ll learn how the wish of one man to provide a loving home for his family, became the nightmare that destroyed one generation after the next.

The 32 minute story is visualized through the art work of over 40 talented artists.

Nearly 300 original pieces of artwork were created exclusively for the story!

The short films voice cast includes actor Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser MD, How I Met Your Mother), Corey Burton (The Haunted Mansion Holiday’s Ghost Host), Peter Renaday (The Ghost Host from the classic 1969 Haunted Mansion LP), and voice guy extraordinaire Brian Sommer!

Find out how your favorite characters came to live and die inside Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion…and the surprising way their stories intertwine.

Visit the Window to the Magic video feed on iTunes on May 1 to download the high quality video for free…

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id(7955543

Or visit Patrick’s YouTube channel on May 1…

http://www.youtube.com/user/Doombuggy

So you think you know all about the Haunted Mansion…

You don’t know half the story!


Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes or Youtube and leave him some feedback love! His videos are hilarious and extremely well done. Be sure to check out Episode 3, the Halloween special. It's to die for!

And Patrick, thanks again for sharing all of your wonderful creations with us!

Fan made Staring Bust

First I want to thank everyone for their condolences for my broken heart, er, I mean gargoyle candle holder. I have taken all your suggestions to heart and have sought out a professional to have it repaired. The guy I hired works with these 'cold cast porcelain' type resins on a daily basis and has given me great hope that my gargoyle will look as good as new. I'll keep you posted. In case your wondering why I just don't do it myself? Simple. I have about as much grace and patience for this type of delicate repair as a bull in a china shop. I also think that some of the pieces might need to be pinned to add reinforcement to the repair. Just not my cup of tea.

I'm in much better spirits today however!  On the very day I posted that horrific story, I received a rather large package in the mail. On the outside were some very specific instructions telling me to 'cut here' and 'fold' there. I then saw the return label and discovered it was a gift from my dear friend and HMC blog reader, Gary! Remember Gary? He's the fabulous sculptor from Michigan who shared with Haunted Mansion Collectibles a video of the Hitchhiking Ghosts that he made for his Halloween yard display.

He has been working on a Haunted Mansion inspired staring bust and sent me the first prototype! Thank you so much Gary! This piece is amazing. And it wasn't enough for him to send me just the prototype - the package also doubles as the display piece, which explains all the cryptic instructions on the outside of the box. I basically had to make a few incisions in the protective tape layer (Gary was kind enough to have everything precut), plug in the power cord, and be amazed!

I'll admit it. I was intimidated by the box at first. 

But curiousity got the best of me, and I had to open it.  

There were all these other places to cut on the box. But Gary was so thoughtful and precut all these special areas.

Thank you, Gary!! 

This has got to be the coolest package.. 

and not for just what's inside....

but also because of the built-in cord storage.  What?!  I loathe stray cords and prefer my cords to stay neat and orderly.  Gary, you rock!

I really don't know why I was so concerned about opening the box. Gary sent very detailed instructions. Don't worry, Gary, I won't leave the box unattended! :)

But enough of the tease already.... hehehe

Take a look at what Gary made! I'm in awe and so grateful that you shared this piece with me.




email subscribers.. click on the blog to view the video of Gary's great fanmade Staring Bust!

One final note.. if this is just a prototype, I can't wait to see the actual finished product!!  

But of course, you'll have to hurry baaack to see it for yourself.

Handmade Props by Gary part II

I had tried to post videos of Gary's handmade animatronics with the original post, but Blogger must have been playing April Fool's on me.. Not a single video showed up.  

So I just went to youtube instead.  Problem solved.

Thanks again Gary for sharing your fantastic work.