31 Days of Halloween - Day 2

I'm constantly amazed by some of the elaborate yard hauntings that people put together for Halloween. I try to go all out each year, and feel I do a pretty decent job considering that all of my creations are constructed out of papier-mache or plastic wrap and packing tape and that the only motion and sound they emit is it the wind blows them against the tree trunk. Still, it's better than taping a smiling cardboard scarecrow to my door and calling it quits.

Folks like animator, James Lopez are in a completely different league, and to be honest, I'm completely envious of their abilities and resources. Inspired by two of Disney's most popular attractions, James has continued to develop his own personal yard hauntings into elaborate spectacles evoking the Haunted Mansion one year, and last year, he erected a crashed pirate ship on his front lawn equipped with fully animatronic skeleton pirate and crow figures who exchange a well written, funny banter accompanied by computer controlled thunder and lightning effects. James has used the two characters (and previously, just the skeleton) in a variety of routines that are highly comical, and must amaze the trick or treaters who pass through his Glendale neighborhood. The sekeleton and the crow should be tv horror hosts.













I wish someone would teach me how to create my own audio animatronic characters as well as provided the software to run them.

James also builds all of his props and characters himself, and they all look amazing. It's not too surprising since his home office looks like this...





He has a website which features numerous photos and great videos of his creations in action,and a blog
I acn't wait to see what he does this year, and wish I were in Southern California so I could go check it out in person.