Group shot of all of us together!

Our next step took us the Fright Factory. I had seen their You Tube videos on line so I was really anxious to see how this attraction was, and I was not disappointed.

When we first arrived, Aven had his staff all prepared and ready for us. They had a large area that was completely setup for us complete with tables, chairs and a great theme. The entire area was dark....a huge evil tree (custom made by Aven and his staff) and broken statues littered this graveyard like atomosphere.

We learned about the history of Fright Factory, and as well as some of the design aspects while dinner was being prepared.....
- And speaking of Dinner!!!
The Food was incredible.....((I have to stop taking these trips, between Eastern State and Fright Factory I think I gained 5 pounds!!!)).

I had only learned this year, that The Famous John Burton's brother owned a B-B-Q company in New Jersey. It was only a short drive for him and his crew to have everything prepared for us at the Fright Factory.

The food was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH. I have honestly never tasted better BBQ in my life....the meat just melted off the bones and into your mouth. Hot buttered Jersey Corn, Fresh Bread, Chicken....I felt like I was at an incredible Gothic Picnic at Tara

Then, Aven unleased one of his specialties...the use of Video in a haunt. They had a beautiful huge backlit Video screen showing a 30+ minute video preshow of the haunt.

It really set the tone for the haunt. My hats off to the quality of the video....it gives you the feeling that you are watching your local news channel and that you are safe at home watching TV, looking at a horrific event. However, you are about to enter that horrific event!!!!

We toured all three of their events, and their staff were amazing....the attention to detail with their makeup department was superb (that girl with the cage head like the Jackel in 13 ghosts always got me!!!)

If you have never seen the Frightfactory, is a great and very long tour. They did amazing detail for such a large area......well worth the cost of admission.

Then, Aven gave us a lights on tour and you REALLY got to see the detail....I noticed so many more things I missed in the regular tour...I really loved that Pumpkin King foil type of statue in their cemetary....

Finally, we headed back to the Hotel for the meet and greet run by John Burton.


SATURDAY: CONVENTION
On Saturday morning, Michael got up early and did the full walk through to make sure everything was ready. I was busy preparing all the registration information and putting the last minute touches on my booths for the Museum of Mythology. For years I have wanted to display many of my items but there has never been a location or convention that made sense to do it. My market would be the four states near New Jersey (New York, PA, Delaware and Maryland) and I was really excited to get some feedback.

This was our first year so I really didn't know what to expect, and I'm sure many of the vendors felt the same way. I knew I was going overboard with my booths, but I was impressed by how many vendors were just as crazy as myself!!!

I salute Jeremy from the Creepy Collection for his booth......what a Crazy Setup! We had people talking about it all weekend long constantly!!!! The signs alone were enough to make you KNOW what a fun industry we have....Bloody Rabbits $15! ...as Don King would say --> "Only in America"

We were glad to see the bustle of activity with the vendors, and so many of the vendors had such a big hit that many of them signed up for next year right on the spot.

I thought there was going to be some fights at the Specter Studios booths with so many people rummaging through their bins fighting over what to purchase before it was gone.

We also got to learn about Halloween Scream, a great year round store selling Halloween product at incredible prices.....if you need large Foam Chain for example..this is the place to go. He was one of the nicest people I met the entire convention and it made my weekend.

So many vendors, and so many ideas swirling in my head from them all... Castle Blood debuted new statue lines that were incredible....Tatoo is already talking about driving down next year just to drive back with those!

Der Mord had some really interesting devices never before seen by the industry and the air cannons on display by Hollywood Controls were amazingly loud! Also, they had probably the best intense strobe light I had seen.

The Hot Wire Foam Factory was a big hit, and they even had to sell their display pieces due to the demand for product....they were a LOT of fun to talk to and I was so happy to show them many of the things I created for the museum out of foam.

One vendor I couldn't believe had so much product and variety was 'Rotten Jacks Creep Shack'. I heard quite a few people talk about hard to get items that they had in stock...the liquors shirt was a fan favorite....

Grendel's Den wowed me with their Cthulu style (and singing ability, as well as sense of humor - hehe..."Look, a Jedi!"), Safari Anomolous had a bee wall that would have made Disney jealous, and Mr Skeleton should have been Mr Order Talking Skeleton.

This was also the first chance I had to see F!@#!ed up stuff, if you get a chance to see them, really take notice of the quality of their work....even down to the detail of the eyes....I look forward to seeing more product of theirs in the future.

I also was able to pick up tons of contact lenses (I had not gotten a chance to see the Contact Lens company since 2004)....always a great great product.....we even got a few cool shirts from Kim's Crypt and won their shotglass on the Der Mord Raffle.

I think the best line we heard of the day though came from John Denley of Boneyard productions. He was talking to John Burton and told him, "I looked at my watch and I had made back the entire cost of this trip in the first 42 minutes of the convention"

The Eastern Haunters Convention is like a huge reunion that you look forward every year to attending. We offer many of the features of a large haunt convention without the large bite out of your budget. If you are a Professional or Amateur haunter, a Halloween home or yard haunter, or just plan the coolest Halloween parties among all your friends, then this convention is for you. If you like to visit conventions or have never been to one before we welcome everyone who is into Goth, horror movies, classic movies, animatronics, robots, makeup, prop building, airbrushing, or just plain anything to do with Halloween to attend. Our seminars are top notch, and you will find vendors that have products and services that will amaze you.

For anyone in the past 7 years who has been to a Pennsylvania Haunters Gathering (our predecessor) they will tell you: our event is about networking, learning and having a good time. The vendors are coming out in droves with a huge variety of products from Animations to Promotional Products. This is a chance of a lifetime for haunts of every size to meet the vendors and other haunters face-to-face, see products in person, stock up on supplies, and have a great time.

You will have the opportunity to participate in informative seminars with industry professionals, win great haunt-related prizes, and tour the historic White Horse Tavern, which is said to be haunted. You can also sign up for our pre-convention event - a bus tour that features breakfast, lunch and dinner over the course of an all day trip that takes you from the Eastern State Penitentiary, to the Terror Behind the Walls, to the Mutter Museum of the Macabre and the famous Fright Factory of Philadelphia.

We invite you to browse our website, learn about our seminars, the convention show floor, our soon to be famous costume ball, our vendors, and our events. You can purchase tickets online at a discount, or at the door the weekend of the event. We look forward to seeing everyone there the weekend of May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 2008.

Sincerely,