10/25/2005 -

10/25/2005 -

10/18/2005 - Halloween Parade

So last night was our town's Halloween parade. Why its so early this year, I have no idea. But... besides the normal parade of fire trucks, corvettes, high school bands, and radio station suvs, there was a new entry this year. A haunted attraction joined in the parade and handed out coupons as they walked down the street. This haunted attraction is over an hour away. But it is a great idea when it comes to marketing. I am sitting in the best place to have a haunted attraction, I have a population of close to a million within 15 miles of where I am and want to put the business. Our closest haunted attractions are all an hour away at least. There are some yard haunts that are starting to get notoriety. Anyway- I've neglected props this year instead I am working on putting a haunted business together. I'm also within a couple weeks of purchasing a pizza business, its come down to the negotiations. Carry on faithful haunters- til next time.

10/9/2005 - I began and it has begun

So.. I am about 99% done with the writing part of my BP. Mostly what is left is financial crap, which just plain sucks. Are there any ghouls or boils out there trying to do the same thing I am?

I will make this work even though I already have nay-sayers saying there is no way I will be able to get financing for such a venture. There is land for sale near by off a main route of road. I sooooooo want it for my haunt. It has three buildings, farmstyle, 13 acres I believe. The two barn type buildings sit on top of a hill whereas the main building that used to be an ice cream shop/ convenience store sits below with a huge parking lot. If you saw this place you would say it has Haunted Attraction written all over it. Its probably going for a cool two million though. Its been sitting on the market for quite awhile so they may be asking too much. When I was a kid my folks used to load us in the car and take us to this place for homemade hand-dipped ice cream. Now it sits empty and getting more worn down day by day. If I only had a way to get the flow...

10/5/2005 - The Begins have Begun

Since my first writing I have been working away diligently on the Haunted Attraction dream. In my 'Favorites' on the internet I probably have well over 300 websites that I have visited and added related to Haunted Attractions. These encompass 'How to's' to newspaper articles, from yard haunts, to The Haunted Mansion, midis, fonts, graphics, you name it, I probably have it. It has been hours and hours of reading, watching mpegs, listening to sound effects, and printing out articles and such. I actually printed out a whole slew of things that I copied and pasted into WORD and it came to 160 sheets of paper covered front and back. I even knocked the font size down to about 8 to compress it. Thats a whole lotta stuff! If you have a question related to Haunted Attractions, I probably can answer it or point you toward an answer.

A really cool thing I have found out is: if you are handy with tools, you can probably build just about any kind of prop, saving you the thousands of dollars that it would cost you to buy from a professional prop seller. Or... If you are good you can build and sell the props you make. Just keep in mind that safety is a number one factor and if you build a prop, there are standards you should follow.

I really haven't found a professional prop out there that you can not find instructions on how to make somewhere on the internet. Don't get me wrong, you are not going to make a prop for free, but your cost is sometimes 75% cheaper then buying it made.

So anyway, not only have I been doing that, I also have been working on my business plan. Now, I have always been told that a business plan is a 'must have' 'must do' for any business. Mostly if you want to get financing of any sort. And it is a kind of manual to set down your goals and mission statement so you have something to follow as you run your business. I believe it is very important and I will do mine to completion. It's not easy though. There is a lot of financial gobbledy gook you have to wade through and demographic type stuff that makes you want to yank your hair out. But my point is two things: A well known business magazine says that only 28% of businesses have a business plan. And the other is, I have an acquaintence, who owned a business, had it for thirty-five years, recently closed it, went into a bank to get a loan to buy another business- no business plan- and the smallest offer a bank has made to him so far is $200,000. He has collateral but doesnt want to put it up. BUT ... its frustrating, because I have to put this BP together and will, but I know I am going to be struggling to get the money i need to get this venture rolling. And , I own a home and two cars, so I have collateral, but man, I haven't owned them long enough to be useful at getting a loan.

I have owned a business before, I started a coffeehouse up back in the day and it went for a good two years, but it was in a bad location, so I ended up selling. But in that case I started it with my own money and had no loans. Anyway, thats the nagging demon in the back of my head through this whole adventure--- money, money, money. BUT fearless reader, there is always a way and I will not give up uintil every avenue has been travelled at financing this op. (Legally of course)

I will at some point put up links to the hundreds of sites i have collected. Thats a project on its own. I'll categorize them and such. Meanwhile if you have a question, leave a comment or email me at maxknite@hotmail.com

Spater!

9/29/2005 - To Begin the Begin

Here we go... Of course its time for the "a little about me" section. I have been pursuing the Haunted Attraction dream for quite a long time now. Actually back to the time I was about 9 years old. My first haunt? My little brother who was 5 at the time was playing in our basement. The back part of the basement was a seperate room with no door seperating the two rooms. This is where the furnace and plumbing was and it usually was quite dark and forboding. I remember glancing a few times nervously at the darkened doorway myself as I played with my 'Guns of Naverone' playset. Anyway... he was sittin' on the floor minding his own business. We had a door that lead down to the back part of the basement, it was seperate from our stairs that lead down from the inside of the house. This was an exterior storm cellar door. I knew he was down there... I opened that exterior door so slowly as to not make a sound. I then crept down the steps to the back part of the basement. I could see him kneeling on the floor; acting out saving the universe with Eagle-eye GI Joe.

My first dilemma... Do I scream like a banshee, make loud crashing noises, and leap from the back room with the hopes of my little brother immediately soiling himself? Or... do I take a more subtle approach? A psychological terror if you will...

I spied a large pickle jar. My first prop! I picked it up and placed it over my mouth. And lightly, ever so lightly, I laughed an evil laugh. "Eh eh eh eh eh eeeeeeh"

My brother turned toward the doorway, all color had left his face, his eyes were as big as saucers, he squeezed "Eagle-eye" so hard that Joe's head popped off and rolled across the floor. Joe's lifeless body landed next to his head as my brother let out what I can only describe as a 'human dog whistle' kind of shriek and scrambled on all fours for the steps and he was gone! I shot up the back stairs and slammed the doors closed as my brother broke out the back door of our house and stopped. He looked at me, looked at the house. Looked at me, looked at the house. Needless to say I started laughing so hard that I gave it away that I was the evil laugh.

But.... I was hooked. I vowed right then at 9 years old that I would scare people some day, legally mind you, but scare them I would. Welcome to my journey as I try to make this dream a reality. Some 30 years later... but the dream is like a zombie, it just won't die! More coming soon!...