The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn

Come and Visit Us on Facebook!

2008-12-05T15:03:00.001-08:00

We have just loaded up a new group on Facebook -- The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn -- and we're looking for as many "Dragon Fans" as we can find!! We've already welcomed several friends of all ages into the group and can't wait to see how many more we'll get in coming months!!

Hellooooo Everybody ....

2008-12-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted last. Seemed like the end of October got REALLY crazy!! We had a visit from the D & D Ranch guys and from Zach and his gang from Front Yard Fright. This season was a LOT of fun. Lots of great memories and many new friendships were made. Many pairs of pants were peed in and many kids were scared so bad they wouldn't quit crying. :o)

It took a lot of time to build ...... a lot of time to tear down and put away ..... and every year when we're building I say 'never again' and every year when I'm tearing down I say 'never again' -- it's just too much work and too much money to lose each year. Well .... the kids came up with several ideas for next year's theme. Some really great ideas that would be a shame to pass up and not do this thing ONE MORE TIME!!! :o)

Saturday - October 25 -- A HIT!!

2008-10-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

Tonight we had a BUNCH of actors. I think we had 33 or 34 kids come out to volunteer last night. WOW!

The best actor award tonight goes to Sam as Santa Claws ...... we had a record number of peetalities last night and I think Santa had a bid hand in a majority of those!! Santa was so dedicated to his scares that he worked from 7:00pm - Midnight and didn't take one break!! We welcomed back Nick B as Psycho Bob last night --- he was a big hit last year in the butcher room and decided to jump back in to see how many peetalities he could rack up. You may have encountered him in the dark chainsaw alley at the end of the haunt. ....or did you make it through Chimi Chonga's lair? Yep -- Nick P is back again as the terrifying Gorilla in the back of the haunted barn. Nobody plays Chimi up like Nick can! Oh wait ..... let's not forget that mischeivious Leprechaun -- Chipp. He was hunting down people that were threatening to take his pot of gold. No Chipp!! Don't SHOOT!!! ....and then we have our spunky little clowns -- Rachel and Taryn can play up just about any room and get screams but last night these two were doing great working off people's clown phobias. There were so many great moments last night and a LOT of great actors. We still have three days left. Tonight (Sunday) --- Halloween --- and next Saturday. Who will be our star tonight? Will you experience a "Peetality" when you walk through our dark and scary Holiday House of Horror? All I can say is ...... watch out for the Easter Bunny ..... DON'T pet him ..... he bites.

Globe Gazette Visits the Dragon's Eye

2008-10-26T09:20:00.001-07:00

On Saturday night Theresa and Laura from the Globe Gazette came out and did some interviews and took some videos of the haunt. Here is Theresa pictured videoing some footage with Santa Claws and Chipp the Leprechaun. Below Laura asks Scary Terry some questions about the haunt. Thanks ladies!! We really appreciate your coming out and doing a story on us last night!! We hope you had some fun during your visit!! :o)

Click here to see the complete article and video they took:

http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2008/10/26/news/local/doc4903e479b3eab133926306.txt

Friday Night - Oct 24, 2008

2008-10-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a slow night. I think the rain coupled with the cold weather and the local high school football games all contributed to the lower numbers. Even though there weren't a lot of people walking through -- the monsters had one of the funnest nights they ever had. It seems like when there are less people the kids really put their all into the scares for the few people that do go through. One group went through that came out on opening night and then came back again on Friday and they said that it was 10 times better on Friday. We get different kids volunteering every night and the kids switch around in the rooms inside. Every once in a while a kid just clicks in a room and really becomes that monster. On opening night --- I would say Nick P as Chimi Chonga outdid himself --- people were screaming like babies when they saw that gorilla!! You also can't beat Steve in the Thanksgiving Terror room ..... that face ... that voice ..... he drives the teenage girls AND a few grown men into walls when he pops out!! On Friday night, it was definitely the Tooth Fairy -- hands down. Jaimee and Brianna V were unbeatable in that room. Jaimee was the nasty Tooth Fairy and Brianna was her victim. They were both so hoarse at the end of the night -- neither one could talk from all the screaming and wrestling around they did in that room. Wow --- talk about getting into character!! GIVE ME YOUR TEETH!!! ----- -NOOOOOOOO!!! HELP ME!!!!! ....... it was so great. If you were there on Friday night you know what I mean. They were fantastic!!

Click here for more pics from the Friday - Oct 24, 2008 : http://www.dragons-eye.com/october_24,_2008.htm

Here's a YouTube video showcasing some of the highlights of Friday night -- including some clips of our fabulous Tooth Fairy and her victim! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWNgrnE0RE

Monsters on the Air on KLMJ!!

2008-10-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of the monsters from the Haunted Barn were seen out and about on the streets of Hampton last night. The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn was the sponsor for KLMJ's Last Chance Dollar Night for the animated movie "Igor." Peter Rottentail and the Gold Demon decided to go to town to try to scare some of the kids going to the movie. Here are some pics!

Click here for more pics of the monsters! http://www.dragons-eye.com/last_chance_dollar_night.htm

The Dragon's Eye Donates 2,032 cans of Food to Food Pantry!

2008-10-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last night (Thursday) we took the last truckload full of cans that we collected on opening night to Nola at the food pantry. Dani posed as the Golden Demon and Zach dressed up at Rottentail and they both did a great job of scaring Nola!! :o) We raised 2,032 cans on Opening Night alone. We took the first truckload full in on Monday. That's a lot of cans of food so they wouldn't all fit in one truckload. We took the last batch in on Thursday. --- and we are still collecting food the remaining 5 nights we're open. Do you think we can hit 3,000? Maybe?!?!!! Click here for more pics! http://www.dragons-eye.com/last_chance_dollar_night.htm

OPENING NIGHT --- A RECORD BREAKER!!!!

2008-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap!! Record crowds on Opening Night - Oct 18, 2008!! I'm calculating a little over 700 people went through the barn, I had calculated once that our max capacity a night is around 500 - 600 people. 5 hours --- putting groups through every 3 minutes (groups of 5) = 500. Some groups have 3 or 4 .... some have 6 or 7 (if they're little kids). Some groups go faster and hit the mark in under 3 minutes and some walk slower but for the most part 500 MAYBE 600 on a really good night. We still had a huge line at midnight last night. We were shoving people through every 2-3 minutes. There could be 4-5 groups inside the barn at different spots at any given time. It was crazy busy. The actors didn't get a chance to breathe. Going to the bathroom was out of the question for some who were in elaborate outfits. They had to wait till it was all over!! I tell you ....... being a monster is a hard job. It's cold, dark, dusty, and dangerous to be in there. People swat at you when they're scared. They kick, they push, they start flinging their arms around. If you're too close to them, you'll get socked. They don't mean to hit but if you're good at what you do and you really scare them --- they might react by throwing up their hands and if your nose is in the way -- watch out!!

We collected 2,032 cans of food ---- a new record for 2008. We're taking our first load to the food pantry tomorrow. I'll tak pics when we deliver it!! :o) Click on http://www.dragons-eye.com/ for LOTS of pictures. Hopefully we'll have video up and running soon!! :o)

D and D Ranch TERRORIFIC!!

2008-10-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Have you guys heard that there's a haunted hike in Clear Lake? Well -- it's HORRIFYING!!! Dani, Russ, and I went to check them out and these guys really know how to scare!! If you're out and about going to various haunts in the area ---- don't leave this one out! Russ and I have been going to haunts for a LONG time ...... I'll admit, I scream like a baby at just about anything. Russ NEVER screams. These guys made Russ scream. (For those of you that know Russ, you'll understand why that is a very suprising thing....) Kudos to the girl in black at the end of the hike in the closet --- yes, you are the FIRST to ever make Russ Reynolds scream and flinch. You are a master. :o) I want to put a shout out to our hiking buddies that we met at the D and D Ranch. Chloe, Brittany and Amy were in the line up behind us and we all decided to team up and face the fear together. We all made it through but not without a lot of screaming .... hyperventilating ..... pushing .... pulling..... running..... ducking ...... and dodging. I would rank this haunt as one of the best we've been to this year. D and D Ranch -- Clear Lake. Click here to read more -- http://hauntedhike.weebly.com/

KLSS is Coming on Saturday!!

2008-10-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Jared Allen from KLSS is coming out to do a LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST on our Opening Night -- October 18. He'll be here from 6:00 - 8:00pm broadcasting LIVE. If you want to go through the haunt with Jared on the air .... be here at 7:00 and we'll pick a 'lively' group for him to walk through with. If you want to hear the really neat commercial they worked up for us ..... tune into 106.1 - KLSS and listen. They are showcasing the way you win a free t-shirt (if you know what I mean ...... :o)

I'm BAAAACK!

2008-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Been kinda busy lately getting things all finished up for the haunted barn. This past week has been mostly stapling up ceilings that are falling ...... popping the sagging ceilings that are holding water coming from leaks in the arena ...... repositioning and changing out lighting when we think it's too bright or not bright enough ..... just small little 'tweaking' to make things PERFECT!! This past weekend the high winds really kicked our butts --- a lot of the tombstones in the graveyard outside ripped up out of the ground and blew into the field .... the blow ups were thrashing around and took a beating ...... a lot of the sheeting inside was torn down with the wind gusts coming through the cracks in the doors. Man - I hope is stays quiet from now till Halloween!!

ANYWAY, I've been working a lot on promo as well this past week. Getting all our OPENING NIGHT ads out and into the local papers ...... putting fliers up everywhere we can find .... and booking our radio commercials to push the FREE ADMISSION night coming up. We're really hoping to beat our record from last year in # of cans donated to the food pantry. Come out on Saturday and help us meet our goal!!

Seriously .... this year is going to be the SCARIEST year so far! We've got our forty I Peed My Pants t-shirts ready to go and the camera is charged and ready for those peetality photos!!

The Dragon's Eye Kids Go on a Field Trip!

2008-10-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

We start the evening out by stopping at Kum N Go to get gas and to get slushes for the kids. Everyone got new "BOO CREW" shirts -- this year's color is "Green!" (...and a BIG THANK YOU to Jerome for getting our shirts ready in time for our field trip!! I know he had to put a rush on them and he didn't let us down!! THANKS JEROME!!!! :o)

Russ pumps gas while the kids fight over what truck they'll be riding in on the way over to Waterloo .... and no EVERYONE cannot ride in Dani's truck .... somebody needs to ride in the black truck with Russ and I. SO .... once we got that figured out ..... we were off. ....but then since everybody bought HUGE slushes it wasn't long before we had to all stop and pee. We stopped at a Kwik Trip in Waterloo that was kind of spooky itself --- but we all went to the bathroom and we all made it out of there alive and were off to our first REAL haunted house!

Our evening started out by heading over to Evansdale to visit Harris Haven (Horrid Hollow Productions). Pictured from left is Kelly, Jamie and her daughter (from Horrid Hollow), Nick (in back), Taylor, Taryn, Rachel, Bob the Clown (from Horrid Hollow), Kasi, Dani, Nick, Sam, Zach, and Steve. Not pictured is Russ who is taking the picture! :o) This year Gary has added a second story to his haunt and has increased the time taken to walk through. Even though they've added stairs to the haunt, they were very easy to maneuver up and down. I have trouble going up and down steps but had no issue in his haunt. The only drawback on this one was there was a short area where you must get down and crawl and I really can't do that with my bad leg so I missed a great part of the haunt -- the forest. They've added that this year and I heard from the rest of the kids that the monster in there was the best they've seen. This is a favorite haunt of ours that we visit each year and is definitely recommended by all our actors! Click on http://www.horridhollow.com/ for more information and directions.

After we got done screaming at Horrid Hollow, we all traveled over to Osage Road to "The Heart of Darkness". (*Pictured above is - front row: Taryn, Taylor, Rachel, and Nick -- back row: Kelly, Kasi, Zach, Sam, Nick, Dani, and Steve) The kids were really impressed with this one. Kevin and Dolly have gone all out this year and have included a live band out side in their line up area ....booths selling t-shirts .... concession stand .... outdoor television ..... this seems more than just a haunted house. There is a lot of entertainment going on at this location. LOTS of people coming in and LOTS of people staying to listen to the band LOTS of activity everywhere. Everyone agreed -- these guys know how to scare AND entertain people. I liked that there was a lot going on. Click on http://www.entertheheartofdarkness.com/ for more information. We HIGHLY recommend everyone attend this haunt this year!!

.....and then the gang went over to Front Yard Fright in Waverly. Click on http://www.fourthyearoffear.com/ to read more about Zach's home haunt. He's worked really hard converting his garage and yard into a pretty scary area! The kids were all really impressed considering Zach is still in high school and does this all himself!!

(Pictured in back row is Zach F, Nick (behind), Taylor, Sam, Taryn, Rachel, Nick, Zach W - owner of Front Yard Fright - standing next to Kelly, front row is Steve, Kasi, and Dani) -- and then the whole gang headed over to McDonalds in Waverly for a late night snack. Kasi bought all the Apple Pies they had .... Sam and Taylor bought out all the Pumpkin Pies .... everyone had a great time. We headed home after a very looooon night of screaming.

The Big Monster is Hung!

2008-10-06T07:15:00.001-07:00

The big monster is up in the entryway! This guy takes us FOREVER to hang up cuz he's got to go so high in the rafters and both Steve and I are really bad up on ladders. --- but we got him up there and he looks GREAT!!

Justin and Amanda Come to Help

2008-10-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

Justin and Amanda drove up all the way from Ames on Friday afternoon to help work on the haunted barn. They worked for several hours putting together Chainsaw Alley at the end of the haunt. Many of you may remember Justin as "Mr. Insano!!"

Creepy Crawlies In The Spider Room ....

2008-10-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

The spider hallway is getting spookier and spookier. The cobwebs and the ceiling is on -- this one is done and it is CREEEEEEPY!!

Weird ....

2008-10-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

If you've been following this blog lately you'll know why this is kinda creepy ....... ALL the lights are back on today in the arena. NONE are burned out. We didn't do anything to them. They all just came on today when we flipped the switch. Hmmmmm......

Little Monsters!

2008-10-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Russ got a little carried away yesterday at Target and came home with four little halloween outfits for the dogs.

...and people think he isnt into Halloween ..... yeah, right.

Click here to see more pics!

http://www.knrarabians.com/jack_russells.htm

Christmas Room is DONE!!

2008-09-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas Boys and Girls!! HO HO HORROR!!! The boys did a SUPER job on this room over the weekend! This room looks just like a set out of a scary horror movie. A ratty looking Christmas tree is sitting in one corner with a severed head topper and eyeball lights. There are bloody guts strewn among the branches. The fireplace is burning the remains of a body -- it looks like the tenants in this house may be up to some evil doings!! The mantle also sports some bloody body parts and various scary items. Is that a phone on the wall? This room is SO realistic!! What is that hanging just outside the doorway? That's not good ....

Line Up Area --

2008-09-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to come together in the barn!! Here is a great shot of the main entryway --- this is where all the poor victims will ENTER and walk through the dungeon door with the big dragon head on the doorway.

Happy Birthday!!

2008-09-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

These clowns are here to see that you have a perfectly HORRIBLE birthday party this year!! Hey ....who doesn't LOVE a clown --- aren't these boys the sweetest faces you've ever seen?!

St Patricks Day Massacre

2008-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

This room is AWESOME!! The kids did such a good job this past weekend decorating this room all up. It's decked out in all green sheeting --- all the walls and the ceiling is green. There's green lights in there ..... bloody leprechauns hanging on the ceiling and laying on the floor .... an unlucky leprechaun is hanging in a stock on the wall. On one end is a huge Pot O' Gold that houses a suprise for all that enter this room .... "B'gosh and b'gora all ye' little ones that travel through this dangerous land of the leprechaun ..... beware of the pot o' gold ..... beware .....

The "Halloween Room"

2008-09-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

This room has been dubbed the "Halloween Room" because Jason rose out of all the "Halloween" movies. Creeeeeeppppy.......

Hall of Spiders

2008-09-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Hall of Spiders is coming along pretty nicely. Still have to get the big spider's lair full of cobwebs and we need to still cobweb up the hallway a lot more ..... scaaaaaarrrry.

Kung Fu Fighting ....

2008-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

You might run into Walter hanging in one of the corners of the haunt. We hope that he doesn't give you one of his famous Kung Fu kicks as you pass by!!

Ouija Board Story

2008-09-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

Since we're on weird and unexplained stories ...... let me tell you a GOOD one that happened here a few years ago. I had an old Ouija board that I had since high school in my room at mom's house. When we decided to do this haunted house, I remembered I had that in my old room at home and thought that would be a great prop to just set in the kid's room where we were putting a clown and a strobe. That would go really good in there, right? ....WRONG. My mom always hated that Ouija board and when she saw it in my hand she said --- WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT?! I told her I'm putting it in the kid's room in the new haunted barn. She said -- I wouldn't do that if I were you. I would leave that here up in your room buried where I had it. I told her she was nuts. It's a stupid game. So I brought it to the farm and stuck it in the room. After I stuck it in there, weird things started to happen. Mostly the electrical stuff that I was talking about before. Lights would go on and off. We'd go out and things we could have SWORN we turned off were turned back on in the morning ??? We thought it was kinda weird but always had an explanation. Then one night when we were open a lady walked through the haunt. She came back to the entry after she had walked through and pulled me aside and said ..."I see you have a Ouija Board inside there." I said ... Yep. She said that I needed to get that out of there as soon as possible because it will draw bad spirits. I kind of felt right away that this lady wasn't playing with a full deck so I humored her and said, no problem --- I'll get rid of it tomorrow. She got really agitated with me and said NO! You can't just throw it away ..... it'll come back! You need to BURN it and then celebrate its burning. She got really kind of angry at me and I knew it was time for her to go. I tried to put that incident out of my mind knowing that it was coming from a lady that was a little 'off' (if you know what I mean.... ;o) but I couldn't forget it. As time wore on, more and more weird things were happening. My mom chimed in and agreed with the strange lady that the Ouija Board was the cause. Ok --- so I finally gave in and said FINE -- We're gonna burn the stupid thing then. The haunted barn was over anyway and we were going to be tearing down the walls and everything so why not burn it and keep everybody happy. I went into the arena and started tearing down sheeting ---- there was a strange flickering coming from the kid's room --- it was the strobe. It was turned back on. Well, I freaked out cuz I knew that strobe was OFF at the end of the night. Everything was off because it was our last night. I looked around to try to find that Ouija Board and it was nowhere to be found. It was sitting right by the baby bed the day before ....... nope, not there. I asked everybody --- did you take it? Did you? Did you? Nope --- nobody had seen it. I eventually forgot about it and we kept tearing down the haunt. We brought in a big dumpster and one day when we were throwing out all the sheeting ....... I saw the Ouija Board. It had gone underneath a pile of sheeting (I think it was hiding ...... ok .... a totally irrational thought but by now I was freaked out when I saw the thing). I threw it in the dumpster with the sheeting. All is good. I felt better. The next day I was out throwing out more sheeting and um ...... you're not gonna believe this .... the Ouija Board was under another pile of sheeting .... across the arena ......out of the dumpster. Hiding again. Ok ...... I totally went off on Russ for pulling a fast one on me and taking it out of the dumpster and putting it under another pile of sheeting. I told him that WAS NOT FUNNY!! He swore he didn't do it and by the look on his face, I believed him. I told him we're burning that thing and we're burning it NOW. We tried lighting it on fire but it wouldn't burn. It was freaking cardboard but it WOULDN'T BURN!! We doused it with a ton of lighter fluid and it FINALLY started on fire. I told Russ ---- the old woman said we had to celebrate while it was burning. He said -- Seriously ..... you have gone batty. You believe that lady? I asked him ..... don't you? .....Well? ......So we started clapping and celebrating that it was burning. I danced a little jig for good measure. He said ..... I sure hope nobody's driving by here watching us cuz we look like a bunch of nuts.

Ok ..... Here's Another Weird Thing.....

2008-09-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

You know how they say that dogs can detect supernatural activity? Well, I don't really believe in ghosts and all that hocus pocus too much but I usually feel a little more comfortable when all my dogs are around me out in the haunted barn. If they're all laying around me sleeping or playing or licking themselves ......all is going well. I feel as if there are no 'unseen' beings floating around me. The other day I went out to work on the haunt and I was all by myself. I called all the dogs to come with me and away we went. I started working in the main entryway when the 4 puppies (Wednesday, Stripey, Boo, and Baby Girl) started barking at the door to the arena (where the haunt is). The wind was blowing a little making the dungeon door wave back and forth and some of the black sheeting was blowing out under the door. I told them ..."Stupid Puppies ...... Stop that ..... It's just the wind." They quit for a little bit then it seemed like something got their attention all of a sudden again and this time they started barking uncontrollably at the door and all their little hair was standing up on their necks. Ok ...... the door is blowing a little more and it's creaking now and I'm telling myself ..... it's just the wind ... yeah ..... just the wind so suck it up and keep working. I told them to SHUT UP again but this time they didn't listen to me. Then Wednesday let out a yelp and starting yiping like someone bit her in the butt and she went running up the ramp out of the barn all the way up to the house. .....while the other three were still barking uncontrollably at the door. Then two of the older dogs started in -- Happy and Jack -- and their hair was standing up on end and they were growling like there was something really bad inside there. Um .... ok .... that's enough for me. You don't have to tell me twice, --- dogs going nuts when nothing is there ..... that's not good. I'm outta here. (**FYI -- since that incident I no longer enter the lower barn without someone with me.)

UPDATE TO THAT STORY -- Now when I let the dogs outside the puppies immediately run down to the barn and line up around the arena door and bark like crazy at whatever is inside. Day or night. They won't go into the arena. Hmmmmmmm........and neither will I unless there is another person with me now.

Weird Things Are Happening ...

2008-09-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Every year when we start to put this haunted barn thing together weird things start to happen in the barn. We have two rows of 4 big light bulbs each (total 8) in our arena in the rafters. When we started putting up the beams and making the internal structure of the haunted house, Russ went out and bought a bunch of big light bulbs to replace all the burned out bulbs so we'd have plenty of light to build in. We go all 8 bulbs shining bright ....... about 2 minutes (....and I'm not exaggerating here ...) one of the lights he had just replaced started to fizzle and slowly burned out. We had the normal reaction -- we both swore, kicked the sand in the arena -- and I went and got another bulb to put in. We put it in and then the one beside it on another wire line fizzled and burned out. That's when we looked at each other kinda quietly and said .....hmmmm. Um ...... that's weird. We left that one out and went on about our work. It has been 21 days since we put all those new bulbs in. Yesterday when Steve and I went in to put the new chimney in place ....... all but one bulb was burned out. You might think --Oh your wiring is nutty ...... but seriously we had that barn all rewired just a year and a half ago because we needed so many extensions and plug ins. We had an electrician in all day making sure that the electrical work was all ok. Hmmmmm ........ SO .... when Steve and I went into the Bloody Merry Christmas room it was pretty dark in there without any lights on. So I went into the main entryway and dug around in the light box and found a brand new box of regular light bulbs. I unscrewed a blacklight bulb from a portable light fixture and brought it into the Christmas Room. I plugged it in along with a string of eyeball lights. Super! LIGHT!! We can see!! We started working on the chimney. I screwed in one screw and fizzzzzzzzzle ...... ssssssttttt..... the light bulb burned out. The eyeball lights were still going off that same extension so the extension wasn't bad. I looked at Steve .... hmmmm ...... well, let's go get another light ..... so I got another light out of the box and we screwed it in and it worked the rest of the time we were in the room. Hmmmmmm..........

Merry Christmas .......Muhahahahaha!

2008-09-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Steve and I worked all morning building the chimney for the Bloody Merry Christmas room.

It came out pretty good actually .... considering Steve and I are NOT builders!! :o)

This is just wrong ....

2008-09-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Got the "Little Brother" vest in the mail yesterday. A person wears a shirt or coat over the top with the front open and it looks like this weird, little, deformed baby is growing on the outside of someone's belly.

Reminds me of Austin Powers movie ..... "GET IN MA BELLAY!!"

Entryway is Finished!!

2008-09-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

This year our victims will enter the haunt and turn to the LEFT (last year it was right). They will be greeted by the massive blood wall with dear ol' Henry hanging next to it. An eerie red light will be casting shadows on the wall .... (** to all you prop builders out there, this wall is made up of skulls purchased at walmart, llama, and cow bones from a local breeder and Great Stuff foam. :o)

YIKES!

2008-09-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Good lord...... ROTTENTAIL IS HERE!!! .....or is this Kelly when she has a bad 'hare' day ..... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (sorry, I had to say it ... :o)

Pretty, pretty fairy .....

2008-09-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Looky at what came in the mail today!! They're PERFECT for the Tooth Fairy!!!! :o) Such pretty, pretty wings for a perfectly HORRIBLE fairy!!

Um......that leprechaun is a little bit bigger than I thought he'd be ..... uh oh....I bought 3 of those suckers ...... um ..... yeah, that's not gonna work.

Andromeda Decorates the Tree!

2008-09-21T14:16:00.001-07:00

Ok! The tree in the entryway is finished!! Unless I find some other neat stuff laying around to put on it!! Andromeda -- the feared half man/half dragon (read more about Andromeda in "The Dragon's Eye Legend" on the website -- www.dragons-eye.com ) is standing next to the tree decorating it. ( ...to make Andromeda, I took one of Lauren's riding jump brackets and screwed another 2x4 to it and then took my pirate dummy and wired him up to the pole so he stood 7 feet tall, then I crawled up on my stool and put Andromeda's costume on him - very carefully --- and walla! Andromeda comes alive!!! :o)

Chimi-Chonga Meets the Donkeys ....

2008-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Chimi was having fun today outside with the donkeys. Ellie the donkey just LOVED Chimi-Chonga!! She wouldn't leave him alone!! :o)

Santy Claws .....

2008-09-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Nick worked on his Santy Claws outfit a little today trying to get it looking 'SCARIER' .... the white trim is just a little too white ....... and we need some guts and blood and scary writing on the outfit .......

Meet.....CHIMI - CHONGA!!

2008-09-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

This year the kids wanted me to buy a Gorilla costume. We've never had a Gorilla in the haunt before. SO --- I listened. Again -- this has nothing to do with any Holiday but what the heck. We're doing this for the kids and if they want a Gorilla ... I'll give them a Gorilla. The kids finished up the Gorilla lair today so I broke out the new Gorilla costume and asked one of them to put it on. He has been aptly named ..... CHIMI - CHONGA. You will probably see many more pictures of good 'ol CHIMI in future posts. This costume really rocks! He looks REAL!!

Lothar, the two headed Dragon is BACK!

2008-09-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

The dreaded two headed bone dragon, LOTHAR, is back again this year. He's out in the open this year. We had him behind bars last year so he wouldn't scare people that much. This year he'll be sitting at the back of the line up area for everyone to see -- up close and personal.
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(**Just an FYI for those prop builders out there .... this one of a kind monster was hand wired and made out of llama, ostrich, emu, and calf bones. Kevin Stalder and his friend Mic from Jewell worked on this all summer back in 2006. It's really amazing to see up close. This is a one of a kind peice that we are very proud of. We can't thank Kevin and Mic enough for all the work they did on this giant!!)

The Tooth Fairy Gets a Home!

2008-09-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Dani, Brianna, and her friend Sam worked together on the Tooth Fairy room putting the bed together and the walls up. This one's gonna be a scary one, folks!! You might think the Tooth Fairy isn't that scary ....... but you haven't seen OUR Tooth Fairy!!!

2008-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

The kids worked on the Dot Room today and got it completely set up. This room doesn't have a lot to do with the Holidays but it's so darn popular that we have to bring it back year after year after year. Our guests really love this dumb 'ol room so what the heck --- here it is again !

Merry Christmas Boys and Ghouls....

2008-09-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

We've started decorating one of our many Christmas Trees for everyone to enjoy this Halloween "HOLIDAY" Season. This one is just started with black garland and spider lights. We're not done yet ..... you'll need to come and see what other horrible things will be hanging from these limbs!!

Thanksgiving Terror Continues ....

2008-09-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Steve sure went to town today on his room!! He's going all out back there. He's got 'Hitchhiker Stew' boiling away to go along with his Baby Back Ribs. Unfortunately not all of his Thanksgiving dinner guests liked his meal so they have met an untimely demise. Lucky for Steve, he now has a LOT of 'different meat' to work with now for everyone who comes to the haunted barn!!

BIG Decorating Day -- Sept 20th

2008-09-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

LOTS of stuff done today. It looked like a Halloween MESS in the barn today!! Props EVERYWHERE. A big thank you goes out to Nick B and his friend Nick ....and Steve and Dani ... and Brianna and her friend Sam. ...and also a big thank you to Kerry (Mrs. G's Kitchen) along with Megan and Kayla who brought in cheeseburgers and brownies and lemonade for lunch today. It was SO GOOD!!

Peter ROTTENtail

2008-09-18T11:17:00.002-07:00

Here comes Peter Rottentail ....... Hoppin' down the Bunny Trail ..... Hippety, Hoppety .... EVIL'S ON ITS WAY!!!

Oh yeah ...... this ain't your Momma's Easter Bunny ...... this is Peter ROTTENtail. This bunny isn't giving out candy boys and girls. This bunny is one bad dude. You DO NOT want to run into him in the dark hallways this year .....

Tooth Fairy Gets Her Revenge....

2008-09-18T11:17:00.001-07:00

Watch out for the Tooth Fairy this year boys and girls. She's been corrupted by the Dragons and she's out for BLOOD!! She's not content taking just one tooth ...... oh no ...... she's looking for ALL THE TEETH from EVERYBODY ..... and she doesn't care if there's a skull attached!! I just hope everyone makes it past her without anyone getting hurt .......

Thanksgiving Terror

2008-09-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Steve has taken over the Thanksgiving Terror room and has some superbly "EVIL" ideas to make it unforgettable. He'll be hanging babies from the ceiling and will be serving up real BABY BACK RIBS to his guests for dinner .... you'll get to see good ol' Steve up close and personal as he offers you some of his other Thanksgiving treats like his tasty "Finger Food". I asked Steve what he is planning on charging for this delicious meal ....... his reply ... "An arm and a leg." Muhahahahahaha .......

Major Build Session On Sept 13 & 14!

2008-09-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ok -- all the walls are up!! Now it's time to start sheeting!! Thanks to Nick, Luis, Dani, Zach, Maggie, Charlie, Steve, and Russ for working on the haunt this weekend. Also thanks to Kerry and Megan for bringing over lunch and brownies for all the workers!! We had walking tacos, brownies, and lemonade. YUM!! We got a LOT done and are now ready to start the sheeting and decorating process.

Scene Setters Are Here!!

2008-09-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Fed Ex man and the UPS Man came last week and brought all my Scene Setters for the Christmas and Easter room and also for the spider and Vampire rooms!! Plus I got my Leprechaun and Santa costumes and an Uncle Sam costume for the 4th of July room.

and I bought a weird little bone fence from Fright Catalog ........

DO NOT ENTER!

2008-09-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Steve and I have been working in the entry area. We cleared out the office yesterday and pulled up the carpet. Today we started sheeting and took a couple loads of scary stuff down to the barn. I put up the big banner on the front fence today and we plugged in a big pumpkin blow up and put that out in the front by the driveway to attract attention. Slowly but surely ........ It's coming together!!

Elf Ears are Here!!

2008-09-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

I ordered 3 sets of "Elf Ears" for our little Wicked Leprechauns and they came today!! Woohoo! They look really cool .... and they fit right over your ears really well. :o)

2008-09-08T12:51:00.001-07:00

2008 "THE DRAGONS TAKE A HOLIDAY"

THE DRAGONS AND ALL THEIR EVIL COUNTERPARTS ARE BACK AND NOW THEY ARE TAKING OVER OUR HOLIDAYS -- CHRISTMAS, ST PATRICKS DAY, EASTER, THANKSGIVING, and MANY MORE!!!

WHAT NEW WAYS HAVE THE DRAGONS COME UP WITH TO TERRORIZE THEIR VICTIMS? ARE THEY PLANNING ON RUINING ALL THE HOLIDAYS FOR THE CHILDREN?

WILL THERE EVER BE A WAY TO STOP THEM ??

HOW MANY PEETALITIES WILL THERE BE THIS YEAR IN 2008?? HAVE THEY REALLY TURNED SANTA, LEPRECHAUNS, AND THE EASTER BUNNY INTO EVIL CREATURES?

Come join us again for the 2008 Halloween season and walk through "The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn". Pass through the portal of darkness and explore what remains in castle Reynstone's dungeon.......if you dare. Will there ever be any hope for the community of Hampton to eventually destroy this evil once and for all? Tune in later to see what happens....!!

What horror awaits those that dare enter this place of darkness and death?????

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Have YOU ever seen a REAL DRAGON??

www.dragons-eye.com

...and even more building

2008-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

The building continued on Sunday, Sept 7th. Nick, Trevor, and Luis came over with Steve and the boys got all the wood out of storage and lined them up against the walls. They did that so quick that we had time to start putting up the main beams. By 6:00pm we had almost all the main beams in place and had started on some of the crossbeams. Plus they also got the mattress buried in the "Crazy Monkey/Gorilla" room.

Building Begins!!

2008-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

On Sept 6th we had Matt from Wyoming come out to help us prep the arena and the barn for building. He tells us that his parents used to participate in a haunted house back at his hometown in Wyoming. So he's not new to the process of building something of this magnitude. The only difference is that they start 3-4 months BEFORE the event. We have 30 days.

I spend the afternoon dragging the arena and getting the footing broken up and prepped for the boards. Matt and Dani started sheeting the perimeter of the arena. When that was all done we started taking off stall doors in the entry way and cobbing and sweeping. Yes .... I know .... spiderwebs are good for a haunted barn .... but not real ones. I HATE spiders. I can handle fake cobwebs but not real ones. The real ones gotta go. .....and then don't you hate when you're cobbing and trying to stay out from underneath the cobber so the spiders don't fall onto your head .... but then they always do fall on you and that is SO NOT RIGHT!!! EEEEWWWWW!

Hi Dragon Fans!

2008-09-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried this blog thing out during the Horse Show that Russ and I put on over Labor Day Weekend. It's quite a show and people were asking that I maybe think about writing down daily events that led up to the show. You can read more about the show by going to http://www.iowagoldstarfuturity.blogspot.com/ or go to my profile and you'll find the link at the bottom of the page.

ANYWAY .... as big as that Horse Show is (draws thousands of people) ..... believe it or not ... this dumb ol haunted barn is BIGGER. It will draw around 5,000 people in the 6 days we're open. PHEW! Who woulda thought 5 years ago when we had this idea that this thing would turn into the MONSTER that it has. I remember people telling me I was crazy .... NOBODY's gonna drive to the middle of nowhere Hampton, Iowa out in the country on a gravel road to walk through a stupid Haunted Barn. HA! I'd like to hear them say that now ..... suckers.

SO .... every year after the big Gold Star Horse Show finishes up, we immediately go to work building one of the SCARIEST haunted houses in Iowa in our barn. The horses get booted out to the top adjoining barn .... the riding arena gets prepped for the dark mazes and bloody sets ..... the outdoor paddocks are turned into graveyards .... and the fields are harvested to make room for the HUNDREDS of cars and school busses that come each night. A lot of work?? YES ... A LOT of work. Do we make a lot of money doing this? Nope .... we lose money every year. One year we came really close to breaking even but we decided to donate $$ to the local schools since so many kids volunteered their time. That has now become a tradition and no matter how much we lose, we still choose a local school and donate $$$. Is it all worth it? You guys take a look at some of the pictures that I start posting on this blog in the next month and you tell me. Keep an eye on the huge smiles that we get on all the kid's and parent's faces. Yes ..... it's so worth it. To stand outside the haunt and hear the screams ....the ear shattering, high pitched, bloody terrifying screams ..... to see the kids and adults come running out the back door and continue running to their cars with the monsters hot on their tails ....... yes...... it is all worth it. :o)

So Guys ..... here is the start of The Dragon's Eye Haunted Barn Blog for 2008. Since the Gold Star blog was so popular ... let's see how many hits I can get on this thing!! I'll be posting things daily and will be letting everyone know how the building process is going. Keep clicking in and also don't forget to click into the main site -- www.dragons-eye.com to get more details on when we'll be open this year, directions to the farm, more scary pics ...... and don't forget to read the LEGEND OF THE DRAGON'S EYE HAUNTED BARN and learn how this thing all got started!!