Haunted Hangout has a new home

Last spring we left our home in Missouri to become permanent residents of New Orleans. Packing the miniature houses was a bit of a challenge. They went into storage with the moving company for several weeks, then were transported bout 900 miles on a large moving van to climate-controlled personal storage a half mile or so from our condo.

How to fit the houses into this much smaller abode is a challenge, but as Halloween is coming, the Haunted House made the move. I was eager to see how it had survived its adventure. The photos show the unpacking process. Much of the accessories and are glued in place, but the skellies were carefully wrapped in paper towels and stuffed inside. I neglected to take photos of that part. All of the skeletons came through perfectly.

The house was wrapped in bubble wrap and buffered with pieces of Styrofoam packing material. 

The house is sitting on Lloyd's mother's hope chest. Its turntable is in another box still in storage, but it is light enough to be turned manually for viewing.  The ceramic and Plexiglas sculpture beside it is one of Lloyd's pieces. The blue yarn pouring out from between the panels gives rise to its name: Cascade.

To view details of the Haunted Hangout, click on the Haunted Hangout link at the side.

Haunted Hangout Finished 4 - Reading and Pet Rooms

The photos of the finished Haunted Hangout appear in four entries.
Haunted Hangout Finished 1 - The Outside & Meet the Skeletons
Haunted Hangout Finished 2 - Outside Details & Attic
Haunted Hangout Finished 3 - Parlor and Game Rooms
Haunted Hangout Finished 4 - Reading and Pet Rooms


The reading room has a shelf full of skeleton treasures.

I'm not sure what is kept in this old metal cabinet. The hinges were hinky, so I glued all of the doors closed. I'm sure that's not a problem for the ghosts, who can reach right through the sides.

If' I'd realized this was to become a reading room, I probably would have included books in this hutch, but as the house evolved, the need for a kitchen faded. Never the less, it adds color and energy to the room and offers a place to store various herbs in bulk on the bottom shelf.

Talk about a plan evolving -- this was the stove room until a day or so ago when the rat cage moved in. Now it's the animal room. Hey, whatever!

The squashed pumpkin in the corner is wired for electricity, but since I can't imagine ever doing another seasonal house, I tucked it in here.

This flower display was a 2-minute brainstorm. This part of the wall needed something. I found the little shelf in my stash, added a flower pot and some snippets from real life plastic flowers, and the deed was done.

There are better pictures of the rat cage elsewhere. Its addition made this room a lot more interesting.

And so ends the saga of the Haunted Hangout. Now maybe I can get back to what I thought I'd be doing this summer: the Greenleaf Pierce Bohemian Inn and Tavern.

Before I do that, though, I've promised myself a grand clean out and reorganization of the craft area. I sure hope I can keep my promise, because man, does it ever need it.

Haunted Hangout Finished 3 - Parlor and Game Rooms

The photos of the finished Haunted Hangout appear in four entries.
Haunted Hangout Finished 1 - The Outside & Meet the Skeletons
Haunted Hangout Finished 2 - Outside Details & Attic
Haunted Hangout Finished 3 - Parlor and Game Rooms
Haunted Hangout Finished 4 - Reading and Pet Rooms

The skeletons are missing from these photos as they block out much of the detail in the rooms.

In the parlor, a large mirror over the sofa was added. I wonder about those little potion jars on the table. Are they meant to, uhhh, spice up the coffee?

Have you noticed the lack of electricity? Candles and oil lamps are in use throughout.

There's a shotgun over the door in the game room. I guess even skeletons need to have some kind of home defense at hand. The skirt on the table hides the cord from the ghost lights. It comes in through the window and pokes down through the floor. A little bit of it shows in the corner of the picture. The table skirt doubles as a hide-out for one of the house pets.

This skeleton is the only one who is not removable. It was easier to glue him in place than fiddle with posing him each time he moved.

I like this wall decoration. I sawed the back off of a plastic skull, glued two waste bits from Greenleaf Orchid window punch outs on a black backing, painted it and added the feathers. (No skeletons were harmed in the making of this item.) The feathers came with the dots.

Haunted Hangout Finished 2 - Outside Details & Attic

The photos of the finished Haunted Hangout appear in four entries.
Haunted Hangout Finished 1 - The Outside & Meet the Skeletons
Haunted Hangout Finished 2 - Outside Details & Attic
Haunted Hangout Finished 3 - Parlor and Game Rooms
Haunted Hangout Finished 4 - Reading and Pet Rooms

The little details outside the house and on the porch were fun to do. The bats are happy with their little house.

The ghosts dance and the leaves and moss add color and texture.

The suit of armor guards the door. Is there a skeleton inside? I don't know!

This sad little ghost is from a scrapbooking packet. Hmm ... looks as if a welcome mat might be in order.

 Our friend the smoker skeleton keeps an old chair on the porch.

The pumpkin critter was once an unpainted woodsie meant to become a greenery topiary. I like the spooky edge in this photo.

A bedraggled witch holds court on the roof and a raven keeps a watchful eye while a humongous bat and a wide-eyed owl in the attic wonder why they're awake right now. Strangely, the oversize items on the roof and in the attic don't break the spell when the house is viewed as a whole. I suppose once one's reality is suspended sufficiently to accept a houseful of busy skeletons, anything is possible.

While we're in the attic, check out the trunk full of Lemax wiggly snakes, the ginormous skull in the window, and the very large rat.

Haunted Hangout Finished 1 - The Outside & Meet the Skeletons

The photos of the finished Haunted Hangout appear in four entries.
Haunted Hangout Finished 1 - The Outside & Meet the Skeletons
Haunted Hangout Finished 2 - Outside Details & Attic
Haunted Hangout Finished 3 - Parlor and Game Rooms
Haunted Hangout Finished 4 - Reading and Pet Rooms

Hallowe'en is two and a half months away, but the skeletons and their friends hang out all year around in the Haunted Hangout. The building is mounted on a lazy susan for easy viewing and on display in the dining room. Don't forget to click on the pictures for larger versions.

Outside

I punched out a lot of little oak leaves while watching episodes of WKRP the other night. They're now scattered on the house and porch roofs, each one glued down. Lloyd said he's not up for raking the dining room.

Four rooms, an attic and the porch suit the skeletons well. Downstairs are the parlor and game rooms. Upstairs are the pet and reading rooms. Under the house -- well, your guess is as good as any! (Sorry this photo has a flare; will try to replace it soon.)

Meet the Skeletons

All but two skeletons have gathered for a group photo. One of the missing is an addicted pipe smoker who was out on the porch at the time and the other was inside reading the Kansas City Star and couldn't be bothered.

The pipe smoker on the porch.

The reader is comfortable in the bow window of the game room. I wonder if he's checking the entertainment section for card games in the area.

This lady is in the parlor, her coffee at hand, chatting with a friend.

Her friend got gussied up for their visit.

This fellow is holding a box of checkers in the game room. He's ready to play.

This fellow is moving the game table into place. They'll be ready to begin in a minute.

This fellow is in the pet room. This room has a nice coal stove to keep the pets warm during the winter. He's enjoying a cup of tea while watching the antics of the caged rats.

This fellow has his feet up and is relaxing with a home decorating magazine.

You may have noticed that the skeletons don't have names. They prefer to remain anonymous. In some cases, I'm not sure if they are male or female, but they assure me that gender is not an issue, especially among those who have been skeletons for a good long while, and even the ladies in the parlor will soon abandon their feminine finery and become comfortable in their bones.

The skeletons, by the way, are the only things in the house not glued down. I'm not too concerned about taking everything out at some point to dust. A little dust will add to the ambience. The next few posts will show you the room detail.

The Party Begins

Today I managed a few more hours on the Haunted Hangout. The skeletons are each playing his or her role, and many little touches have been added.

In the living room, two of the skeletons are having a cozy fireside chat. The picture over the fireplace is a sticker from the Dollar Tree. The tub of pumpkins are more putka seeds. The little mirror by the door is an embellishment that has been in the stash for some time. The little column table by the sofa was an old lipstick tube. It was ivory colored, so I toned it down a bit with my favorite raw umber and a little Seminole green. I see a piece of blue tape on the fireplace and a slot neat the ceiling that needs attention. That might be a good place for a spider web.

The ground floor room on the right is the game room. Two of the skeletons are getting ready for a game of checkers, while a third one has made himself comfortable in the bow window as he reads the Kansas City Star. The bench under the window sports a book on playing card games. There are some cards to be added to the scene. One of the pets thought he had hidden his bones here until they were uncovered when the table moved. The skirted table is one of those plastic triangle thingies that keep the box lid from falling on the pizza. I'm not pleased with the way it turned out. I believe I'll replace it with a rectangular table. A skirted table in that spot is good as it covers the ghost light wires as they come in  through the window and go under the floor.

Above the game room is another comfortable place to hang out. This skeleton is deep into something with a cup of tea at his elbow. The cupboard has a variety of jars and cans, although since they lack stomachs, I'm really not sure how skeletons eat. (The potential mess from the coffee and tea has also occurred to me, but hey -- let them clean it up.) The pot of what looks like dead flowers is actually peacock feathers. I think Heidi made this for a swap a while back; it hasn't aged well, which makes it perfect for this house.

The other upstairs room has a coal stove rather than the fireplace called for in the original plans. The wonderful chest was a gift from Lynette Lowery (nuttiwebgal) many years ago. The pumpkin in the corner and the bench were gifts from my friend Linda. I'm not sure what activity this skeleton is enjoying. Perhaps just some quiet time to think is what's happy for him today.

Up in the attic I added a new larger-than-life owl found at Michael's. The chest was scratch built by a lady here in Marshall who died a few years ago. The snakes in the chest are Lemax. The attic isn't quite this light when viewed in real life. The snakes in the shadows are something extra and unexpected for viewers.

While rummaging through the stash I found an unpainted birdhouse. A little raw umber and a slash of black for the opening and voila! -- a bat house. The bats are from a scrapbook packet.

The last skeleton is out on the porch, enjoying a pipe. The other skeletons sent him outside. This isn't a very good photo as the railing blocks his legs.

I needed to get a shot of his legs for you. They were one of the more challenging poses. Did I mention that it turned out that a combination of E6000 and super glue gel  were what was needed for the orthopedic work.

Here's a shot of the outside with a raven on the chimney. He's another larger-than-life character. He balances the big witch on the other side of the roof. (You can see the bat house on the far side of the attic window.)

A few more tchotchkes were added, but I'll save them for the final round of photos. The goal is to finish this house tomorrow. I haven't decided whether to add curtains or not. Stay tuned!