$840.44!
I didn't know quite what to expect and my hopes would have been fulfilled if we had reached $500.00 but the generosity of the people visiting was amazing, above and way beyond what I expected. We presented the money Saturday and they were surprised, very surprised. The Humane Society being a non-profit organization here, all of the money will be used for food, medicine, vet bills and shelter for kittehs and puppehs until they can find a good home (8 of my 10 pets are either strays we picked up on the side of the road or adopted from the shelter; it's against my religion to allow an animal to suffer if I can help it). Here's some shots from the Cemetery:
Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of pictures but I did take video out of the wazoo. It'll take me a couple of days to compile it.
I didn't tell anyone but I was secretly testing this year to see if it was all worth it. One person putting all this stuff up is a lot of work, much less creating it during the year. I was tired, whiny, and had to take the yard down for rain once and reinstall everything and wasn't really sure if this was going to be appreciated or not. All I heard and saw all week was 'Fall Festival', 'Harvest Festival', 'Trunk or Effing Treat' (well, creative license added on the effing) and the like. Was Halloween dead? Was the magic gone? Did people need Halloween anymore? Would people come to my little neighborhood and see what I did? And would they like it? It's not gory, it's playful and almost Disney-esque. I knew my own brother wouldn't bring his kids (if it's an inconvenience to him then forget it) and my folks had bribed me before with a week's all-expense paid vacation to Disneyworld...that week (They hate Halloween, people worship Satan on Halloween, put razor blades in apples, poison children, worship the Celtic god of death Sam Hain with human sacrifices, and do all manner of evil to good church folk on the devil's birthday). Would it be worth it? Do people still care?
Yes, a resounding glorious yes!
I had people thanking me for bringing back the feel of the old Halloween times, of making it so their young kids could come and see it and not be scared and mostly for helping the Humane Society (they lost a lot of funding recently which is sad). People would crawl in the coffin to have their picture taken (although a LOT of people were genuinely creeped out by it no matter if I told them I made it or not). Lots of kids were too scared to come into the yard at first but after a bit of coaxing came in and then didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I met some other Halloween enthusiasts and saw tons of smiling faces, it was wonderful!
So I'm sitting there on our retaining wall and I see a mom and her daughter approaching me, the little girl having something in her hand...she handed me this:
THAT alone made it all worthwhile and more so. Have already started planning for next year, hope yours was as happy as mine!
Mr. Macabre
I didn't tell anyone but I was secretly testing this year to see if it was all worth it. One person putting all this stuff up is a lot of work, much less creating it during the year. I was tired, whiny, and had to take the yard down for rain once and reinstall everything and wasn't really sure if this was going to be appreciated or not. All I heard and saw all week was 'Fall Festival', 'Harvest Festival', 'Trunk or Effing Treat' (well, creative license added on the effing) and the like. Was Halloween dead? Was the magic gone? Did people need Halloween anymore? Would people come to my little neighborhood and see what I did? And would they like it? It's not gory, it's playful and almost Disney-esque. I knew my own brother wouldn't bring his kids (if it's an inconvenience to him then forget it) and my folks had bribed me before with a week's all-expense paid vacation to Disneyworld...that week (They hate Halloween, people worship Satan on Halloween, put razor blades in apples, poison children, worship the Celtic god of death Sam Hain with human sacrifices, and do all manner of evil to good church folk on the devil's birthday). Would it be worth it? Do people still care?
Yes, a resounding glorious yes!
I had people thanking me for bringing back the feel of the old Halloween times, of making it so their young kids could come and see it and not be scared and mostly for helping the Humane Society (they lost a lot of funding recently which is sad). People would crawl in the coffin to have their picture taken (although a LOT of people were genuinely creeped out by it no matter if I told them I made it or not). Lots of kids were too scared to come into the yard at first but after a bit of coaxing came in and then didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I met some other Halloween enthusiasts and saw tons of smiling faces, it was wonderful!
So I'm sitting there on our retaining wall and I see a mom and her daughter approaching me, the little girl having something in her hand...she handed me this:
Mr. Macabre
13 comments:
finally! been waiting to see your pics but now completely understand the time lag. congrats on a very cool looking haunt and esp. for collecting all the $$ for the humane society. what a very special and excellent idea...think I will do something similar next year. looking forward to video
Love "The Arts in America" tombstone!
And congratulations on such a successful fundraiser! That's fantastic. The critters will love you for that.
Congratulations on a successful night. Glad to hear your faith in Halloween has been restored. :)
I was wondering how this event went. You've done a wonderful thing and a lot of furry critters say "THANK YOU, MR. MACABRE!"
How can you ever stop doing what you do, after getting such a heartfelt letter like that?! You rock and have inspired me to donate proceeds from next year's haunt to my local animal shelter. Thanks for the lift this morning.
Kudos to you, Mr. Macabre!!!
Can't wait for the vids... LOVE your style and spirit- congrats on a successful night! :D
"'Trunk or Effing Treat' (well, creative license added on the effing) "
Now I have a new phrase to express how I feel about the trend that is growing in my town.
So happy for you and the critters. It looks amazing and I can't wait to see video.
Oh, I'm just going to say it: I love you.
This post made me so very happy. Thank you for raising so much money for the little critters (I'm going to hug my little melting poodle rescue pup as soon as I finish writing this).
And thank you for keeping the 'spirit' alive, sir. You're one of my heroes.
Great success! Thats a lot of loot, well done sir. I'm a big dog lover and I thank you for all you did to help our furry friends.
Don't ever give up on Halloween! I got 7 kids on the 30th and 5 kids on Halloween. "We are the magic makers... and we are the dreamers of dreams". If we don't help to keep Halloween alive who will? If I give one kid a memory of Halloween that he or she will keep and share as an adult or look back on fondly, I've done what I set out to do.
I know it gets stressful trying to complete all of the projects we decide to take on, but thats our own fault for being over achievers. I usually don't get half of the Halloween stuff I plan in my head done each year. I just prioritize, make cuts, and move on. I also learned not to tell my plans to anyone unless I'm sure I can complete them, so nobody knows I cut anything.
I have been waiting patiently to see your haunt this year, so get off the Internet and get that video edited! J/K!!! ;)
That note is the best!
Awww thanks everyone, I appreciate it! I will honour Halloween in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.
Ok, ok, so the Christmas Carol joke fell flat. Still, Halloween 2010 has taught me that it's still needed, enjoyed and loved. And I will keep raising the dead hopefully for years to come!
Thanks again all!
Another Lone Haunter! You inspire me with all you've done by yourself. I've been a little whiney about trying to get it all down and stored somewhere, even though no one makes me do all this in the first place. You do it alone and have Discouragers, too, yet you've done such an awesome job, people felt moved to donate so much money for your cause.
Hats off to you, Sir!
Great Job! I would cherish a letter like that forever. You should feel really good about yourself and I can only imagine how many kids are going to remember that when they grow up. Why can't you live in my neighborhood? lol.
Catching up on blog reading (kinda behind, lol) That is so wonderful, congrats on raising so much money! That letter is just darling, and your pictures are awesome! Can't wait to see what you have in store for next year.
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