Thursday, March 26, 2009

Haunted Book Review Thursday

Thursday was always my favorite day in school because it was library day. Contrary to most of all my friend's deeply held beliefs, I DO and CAN read (albeit, we won't go into content). Some of the books that I have on haunting, Hallowe'en and scary decorating are great, and some would have been better saved for, oh, let's say a 780 calorie venti Vanilla Bean Frappuccino at Starbucks. Dang, I could really use one of those right now.

I'm going to go through my haunted library each week and give a review of a book as it pertains to all things Halloween. Maybe you will agree with me, maybe you will be wrong and just need to quit being difficult and see things my way!

Just kidding.

I'm going to rate them the following way:
You're going to need a cigarette after reading it! (No question, sell the kids if you have to but buy it!)
You can get some good ideas and use out of it with a little effort. (If you have the dough laying around, buy it.)
You can put it on the coffee table for decoration. (Your discretion, there might be something in there that you can use.)
You can brag how many books on Hallowe'en you have (Stays on the shelf after one flip through after you get it)
You should have bought a Starbuck's coffee instead. (Don't bother with it)

I really hate to start out with this book because I just got it a couple of days ago but it begs to be hailed as one of the best.




This book can be purchased at Howtohauntyourhouse.com.

My Humble Review...
Very few books available on Hallowe'en and do-it-yourself haunting have new and innovative ideas and techniques.
This book is quite different.
Written by a husband and wife team, Shawn and Lynne Mitchell, the
Mitchell Cemetery is all about ambiance and atmosphere, and they show you how they did it. Fresh new ideas and techniques are laid out simply and easily, using everyday, easy to obtain items. It leaves me thinking sometimes as I read it "dang, why didn't I think of that?". The book is printed in full color throughout, with loads of pictures and diagrams and many, many beautiful photographs. They explain each effect and the construction in layman's terms including the (in)famous Pepper's Ghost effect and variations thereof.

The book is a tad on the expensive side in comparison to other books on the market, but actually worth more in information than 90% of the other books in my library.

The rating for this book: You're going to need a cigarette after reading it!

7 comments:

Carrie Mae said...

Hmm... My library experience in school always, always consisted of 2 books:
-Opt, and Illusionary Tale
-some incredibly cool book on Haunting for kids that I wish like heck I could remember the name of, because it was fantastically Edward-Gorey-ish in its presentation and full of fun 'tricks' and experiments for weirdly kids like myself (also, the first project was how to do the "severed finger in a box" trick... I was so amazed)

...this is a great idea for a recurring blog topic, by the by. :)

Mr. Macabre said...

I went straight for the science section, mainly the stuff for science projects, and the Danny Dunn series. I was a weird kid and was all into making stuff.

I have a ton of DVD's on haunting that I've bought over the years that will be put through the wringer too.

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

I really like the book review idea and look forward to reading them!!! Thanks!

That is a great book and the haunt is beautiful. I am so glad to see more haunt books on the market. Watch for the Davis Graveyard book this September :) Sorry for the shameless plug!

Cheers!

The Captain said...

GREAT!
Now I have to figure out how to convince my wife that I really do need that book, and that $38+shipping is a great deal.

I’m very excited for future reviews!

Mr. Macabre said...

I can't wait for the Davis Graveyard book! And Captain, you simply have to use the 'that old thing' trick. You sneak the book in, hide it for a few days and when the spouse confronts you, you simply say 'that old thing, I've had it forever'.
Did it with my tattoo. Didn't work, still got blessed out.

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I just can't WAIT to get this one... have been hearing so much about it in the last few days, its making me want it NOW even worse! ;)

(Love the rating system!)

Diane said...

hahaha! i love your rating system!

and, hey, i don't know if you'd be interested but i started a new blog. just tonight. it's pretty bare. but i'd love it if you stopped by sometime.

seesomethingstrange.blogspot.com