The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn: October 2008

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Saturday - October 25 -- A HIT!!

Tonight we had a BUNCH of actors. I think we had 33 or 34 kids come out to volunteer last night. WOW!

The best actor award tonight goes to Sam as Santa Claws ...... we had a record number of peetalities last night and I think Santa had a bid hand in a majority of those!! Santa was so dedicated to his scares that he worked from 7:00pm - Midnight and didn't take one break!! We welcomed back Nick B as Psycho Bob last night --- he was a big hit last year in the butcher room and decided to jump back in to see how many peetalities he could rack up. You may have encountered him in the dark chainsaw alley at the end of the haunt. ....or did you make it through Chimi Chonga's lair? Yep -- Nick P is

back again as the terrifying Gorilla in the back of the haunted barn. Nobody plays Chimi up like Nick can! Oh wait ..... let's not forget that mischeivious Leprechaun -- Chipp. He was hunting down people that were threatening to take his pot of gold. No Chipp!! Don't SHOOT!!! ....and then we have our spunky little clowns -- Rachel and Taryn can play up just about any room and get screams but last night these two were doing great working off people's clown phobias. There were so many great moments last night and a LOT of great actors. We still have three days left. Tonight (Sunday) --- Halloween --- and next

Saturday. Who will be our star tonight? Will you experience a "Peetality" when you walk through our dark and scary Holiday House of Horror? All I can say is ...... watch out for the Easter Bunny ..... DON'T pet him ..... he bites.

Globe Gazette Visits the Dragon's Eye

On Saturday night Theresa and Laura from the Globe Gazette came out and did some interviews and took some videos of the haunt. Here is Theresa pictured videoing some footage with Santa Claws and Chipp the Leprechaun. Below Laura asks Scary Terry some questions about the haunt. Thanks ladies!! We really appreciate your coming out and doing a story on us last night!! We hope you had some fun during your visit!! :o)

Click here to see the complete article and video they took:

http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2008/10/26/news/local/doc4903e479b3eab133926306.txt

Friday Night - Oct 24, 2008

Well, it was a slow night. I think the rain coupled with the cold weather and the local high school football games all contributed to the lower numbers. Even though there weren't a lot of people walking through -- the monsters had one of the funnest nights they ever had. It seems like when there are less people the kids really put their all into the scares for the few people that do go through. One group went through that came out on opening night and then came back again on Friday and they said that it was 10 times better on Friday. We get different kids volunteering every night and the kids switch around in the rooms inside. Every once in a while a kid just clicks in a room and really becomes that monster. On opening night --- I would say Nick P as Chimi Chonga outdid himself --- people were screaming like babies when they saw that gorilla!! You also can't beat Steve in the Thanksgiving Terror room ..... that face ... that voice ..... he drives the teenage girls AND a few grown men into walls when he pops out!! On Friday night, it was definitely the Tooth Fairy -- hands down. Jaimee and Brianna V were unbeatable in that room. Jaimee was the nasty Tooth Fairy and Brianna was her victim. They were both so hoarse at the end of the night -- neither one could talk from all the screaming and wrestling around they did in that room. Wow --- talk about getting into character!! GIVE ME YOUR TEETH!!! ----- -NOOOOOOOO!!! HELP ME!!!!! ....... it was so great. If you were there on Friday night you know what I mean. They were fantastic!!

Click here for more pics from the Friday - Oct 24, 2008 : http://www.dragons-eye.com/october_24,_2008.htm

Here's a YouTube video showcasing some of the highlights of Friday night -- including some clips of our fabulous Tooth Fairy and her victim! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWNgrnE0RE

Friday, October 24, 2008

Monsters on the Air on KLMJ!!

A couple of the monsters from the Haunted Barn were seen out and about on the streets of Hampton last night. The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn was the sponsor for KLMJ's Last Chance Dollar Night for the animated movie "Igor." Peter Rottentail and the Gold Demon decided to go to town to try to scare some of the kids going to the movie. Here are some pics!

Click here for more pics of the monsters! http://www.dragons-eye.com/last_chance_dollar_night.htm

The Dragon's Eye Donates 2,032 cans of Food to Food Pantry!

Last night (Thursday) we took the last truckload full of cans that we collected on opening night to Nola at the food pantry. Dani posed as the Golden Demon and Zach dressed up at Rottentail and they both did a great job of scaring Nola!! :o) We raised 2,032 cans on Opening Night alone. We took the first truckload full in on Monday. That's a lot of cans of food so they wouldn't all fit in one truckload. We took the last batch in on Thursday. --- and we are still collecting food the remaining 5 nights we're open. Do you think we can hit 3,000? Maybe?!?!!! Click here for more pics! http://www.dragons-eye.com/last_chance_dollar_night.htm

Sunday, October 19, 2008

OPENING NIGHT --- A RECORD BREAKER!!!!

Holy Crap!! Record crowds on Opening Night - Oct 18, 2008!! I'm calculating a little over 700 people went through the barn, I had calculated once that our max capacity a night is around 500 - 600 people. 5 hours --- putting groups through every 3 minutes (groups of 5) = 500. Some groups have 3 or 4 .... some have 6 or 7 (if they're little kids). Some groups go faster and hit the mark in under 3 minutes and some walk slower but for the most part 500 MAYBE 600 on a really good night. We still had a huge line at midnight last night. We were shoving people through every 2-3 minutes. There could be 4-5 groups inside the barn at different spots at any given time. It was crazy busy. The actors didn't get a chance to breathe. Going to the bathroom was out of the question for some who were in elaborate outfits. They had to wait till it was all over!! I tell you ....... being a monster is a hard job. It's cold, dark, dusty, and dangerous to be in there. People swat at you when they're scared. They kick, they push, they start flinging their arms around. If you're too close to them, you'll get socked. They don't mean to hit but if you're good at what you do and you really scare them --- they might react by throwing up their hands and if your nose is in the way -- watch out!!

We collected 2,032 cans of food ---- a new record for 2008. We're taking our first load to the food pantry tomorrow. I'll tak pics when we deliver it!! :o) Click on http://www.dragons-eye.com/ for LOTS of pictures. Hopefully we'll have video up and running soon!! :o)

Friday, October 17, 2008

D and D Ranch TERRORIFIC!!

Have you guys heard that there's a haunted hike in Clear Lake? Well -- it's HORRIFYING!!! Dani, Russ, and I went to check them out and these guys really know how to scare!! If you're out and about going to various haunts in the area ---- don't leave this one out! Russ and I have been going to haunts for a LONG time ...... I'll admit, I scream like a baby at just about anything. Russ NEVER screams. These guys made Russ scream. (For those of you that know Russ, you'll understand why that is a very suprising thing....) Kudos to the girl in black at the end of the hike in the closet --- yes, you are the FIRST to ever make Russ Reynolds scream and flinch. You are a master. :o) I want to put a shout out to our hiking buddies that we met at the D and D Ranch.

Chloe, Brittany and Amy were in the line up behind us and we all decided to team up and face the fear together. We all made it through but not without a lot of screaming .... hyperventilating ..... pushing .... pulling..... running..... ducking ...... and dodging. I would rank this haunt as one of the best we've been to this year. D and D Ranch -- Clear Lake. Click here to read more -- http://hauntedhike.weebly.com/

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

KLSS is Coming on Saturday!!

Jared Allen from KLSS is coming out to do a LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST on our Opening Night -- October 18. He'll be here from 6:00 - 8:00pm broadcasting LIVE. If you want to go through the haunt with Jared on the air .... be here at 7:00 and we'll pick a 'lively' group for him to walk through with. If you want to hear the really neat commercial they worked up for us ..... tune into 106.1 - KLSS and listen. They are showcasing the way you win a free t-shirt (if you know what I mean ...... :o)

I'm BAAAACK!

Been kinda busy lately getting things all finished up for the haunted barn. This past week has been mostly stapling up ceilings that are falling ...... popping the sagging ceilings that are holding water coming from leaks in the arena ...... repositioning and changing out lighting when we think it's too bright or not bright enough ..... just small little 'tweaking' to make things PERFECT!! This past weekend the high winds really kicked our butts --- a lot of the tombstones in the graveyard outside ripped up out of the ground and blew into the field .... the blow ups were thrashing around and took a beating ...... a lot of the sheeting inside was torn down with the wind gusts coming through the cracks in the doors. Man - I hope is stays quiet from now till Halloween!!

ANYWAY, I've been working a lot on promo as well this past week. Getting all our OPENING NIGHT ads out and into the local papers ...... putting fliers up everywhere we can find .... and booking our radio commercials to push the FREE ADMISSION night coming up. We're really hoping to beat our record from last year in # of cans donated to the food pantry. Come out on Saturday and help us meet our goal!!

Seriously .... this year is going to be the SCARIEST year so far! We've got our forty I Peed My Pants t-shirts ready to go and the camera is charged and ready for those peetality photos!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Dragon's Eye Kids Go on a Field Trip!

We start the evening out by stopping at Kum N Go to get gas and to get slushes for the kids. Everyone got new "BOO CREW" shirts -- this year's color is "Green!" (...and a BIG THANK YOU to Jerome for getting our shirts ready in time for our field trip!! I know he had to put a rush on them and he didn't let us down!! THANKS JEROME!!!! :o)

Russ pumps gas while the kids fight over what truck they'll be riding in on the way over to Waterloo .... and no EVERYONE cannot ride in Dani's truck .... somebody needs to ride in the black truck with Russ and I. SO .... once we got that figured out ..... we were off. ....but then since everybody bought HUGE slushes it wasn't long before we had to all stop and pee. We stopped at a Kwik Trip in Waterloo that was kind of spooky itself --- but we all went to the bathroom and we all made it out of there alive and were off to our first REAL haunted house!

Our evening started out by heading over to Evansdale to visit Harris Haven (Horrid Hollow Productions). Pictured from left is Kelly, Jamie and her daughter (from Horrid Hollow), Nick (in back), Taylor, Taryn, Rachel, Bob the Clown (from Horrid Hollow), Kasi, Dani, Nick, Sam, Zach, and Steve. Not pictured is Russ who is taking the picture! :o) This year Gary has added a second story to his haunt and has increased the time taken to walk through. Even though they've added stairs to the haunt, they were very easy to maneuver up and down. I have trouble going up and down steps but had no issue in his haunt. The only drawback on this one was there was a short area where you must get down and crawl and I really can't do that with my bad leg so I missed a great part of the haunt -- the forest. They've added that this year and I heard from the rest of the kids that the monster in there was the best they've seen. This is a favorite haunt of ours that we visit each year and is definitely recommended by all our actors! Click on http://www.horridhollow.com/ for more information and directions.

After we got done screaming at Horrid Hollow, we all traveled over to Osage Road to "The Heart of Darkness". (*Pictured above is - front row: Taryn, Taylor, Rachel, and Nick -- back row: Kelly, Kasi, Zach, Sam, Nick, Dani, and Steve) The kids were really impressed with this one. Kevin and Dolly have gone all out this year and have included a live band out side in their line up area ....booths selling t-shirts .... concession stand .... outdoor television ..... this seems more than just a haunted house. There is a lot of entertainment going on at this location. LOTS of people coming in and LOTS of people staying to listen to the band LOTS of activity everywhere. Everyone agreed -- these guys know how to scare AND entertain people. I liked that there was a lot going on. Click on http://www.entertheheartofdarkness.com/ for more information. We HIGHLY recommend everyone attend this haunt this year!!

.....and then the gang went over to Front Yard Fright in Waverly. Click on http://www.fourthyearoffear.com/ to read more about Zach's home haunt. He's worked really hard converting his garage and yard into a pretty scary area! The kids were all really impressed considering Zach is still in high school and does this all himself!!

(Pictured in back row is Zach F, Nick (behind), Taylor, Sam, Taryn, Rachel, Nick, Zach W - owner of Front Yard Fright - standing next to Kelly, front row is Steve, Kasi, and Dani) -- and then the whole gang headed over to McDonalds in Waverly for a late night snack. Kasi bought all the Apple Pies they had .... Sam and Taylor bought out all the Pumpkin Pies .... everyone had a great time. We headed home after a very looooon night of screaming.

The Big Monster is Hung!

The big monster is up in the entryway! This guy takes us FOREVER to hang up cuz he's got to go so high in the rafters and both Steve and I are really bad up on ladders. --- but we got him up there and he looks GREAT!!

Justin and Amanda Come to Help

Justin and Amanda drove up all the way from Ames on Friday afternoon to help work on the haunted barn. They worked for several hours putting together Chainsaw Alley at the end of the haunt. Many of you may remember Justin as "Mr. Insano!!"

Creepy Crawlies In The Spider Room ....

The spider hallway is getting spookier and spookier. The cobwebs and the ceiling is on -- this one is done and it is CREEEEEEPY!!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Weird ....

If you've been following this blog lately you'll know why this is kinda creepy ....... ALL the lights are back on today in the arena. NONE are burned out. We didn't do anything to them. They all just came on today when we flipped the switch. Hmmmmm......