The Storm Before The Storm - 2015 setup

Last night began what promises to be several days of stormy weather. So I’ve been rushing to get most of the yard set up before the deluge. As a result, I haven’t’ taken many pictures yet. Expect more after things dry out late this weekend!

Guardians of the fence

The Pet is loose again

Every haunted house deserves a name, don’t you think?

View of the yard

I’ve moved the spiderweb this year to the side of the yard. I have something special planned for the spiderwebs on Halloween night. More to come on later posts!

Webbing in the daylight

Webbing at night, lit by a blue LED floodlight

Beef Netting

If you are curious, the webbing material is called ‘Beef Netting’ and is used to cover and protect sides of beef. It’s essentially a tube ot stretchy material. I love the unique look of the webbing it creates. You can’t buy it in stores; you’ll need to order from a company called Trenton Mills. If you want to give it a whirl for your own decorating, check out their web page here: Trenton Mills Spiderwebs.

I spent several nights trying to get the lighting just right but as you can see below, there are still some shadows that need to be taken care of. I will probably be fiddling with it right up to October 31st!

Adjusting the lighting

Rising from the grave!

We use mostly LED lighting at Stonehaven Manor, simply to keep the power requirements down. I built mini LED spotlights for the tombstones, which is easier to manage than bright floodlights covering the entire yard.

Homemade LED spotlights

If you are interested in making some of your own, check out this video from Allen Hopps, of Stiltbeast Studios here : Mini LED Spotlight Tutorial

You might walk by late one night to see a hunched figure muttering to itself. That’s just me, fiddling with the wires. (Don’t worry, that’s all low voltage, direct current wiring. So, even though it looks messy, its perfectly safe)