Hauntrepreneurs
Haunted Attraction Industry Trading Post
Blacklight Attractions
Haunt World
Professional Haunted House Buy/Sell/Trade
Scream Works
Your Custom Haunted House
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1. Molar Manor
$175,000 SOLD
This Custom Package Includes: Five year lease ending September 2006, Present monthly lease payment is $4,672.94, Option to renew lease contract for additional 5 years, 5,000 square foot warehouse, Two large swamp coolers, Air Conditioning for upstairs party room and offices’, One bathroom, Security Gates front and rear entrance, Telephone service to unit
20 Themed Areas:
Egyptian Tomb
Castle Area
Graveyard – Central Theme
London Backstreet
Alfred Hitchcock Room
Laboratory Tomb
Scientific Laboratory
Laboratory Torture Chambers
Slum Alley Backstreet
Haunted Victorian Front Yard
Victorian Haunted House
Victorian Foyer
Victorian Library
Victorian Fireplace Area
Victorian Music Room
Victorian Hallway
Victorian Kitchen
Victorian Pantry
Church Façade Entry
Church Drop Elevator
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2. Hospital
$50,000 SOLD
Built in 2017, by local contractors, as per design drawings by Leonard Pickel, this attraction operated as one of a 3 element combo ticket in October of 2017 and 2018. The 16-room attraction is a Pitch-Black style attraction themed as a ghost infested hospital and consists of 174 flame retardant 4’x10’ panels and includes a façade that is 20’ wide x 6’ deep x 30’ tall. It fits in a space of 40’ x 64’ with the entrance and exit on the long side. The patron pathway is 326 lineal feet. All panels are numbered for easy reassembly.
12 actors and 1 tech are required for operation and 10 costumes are provided with the unit. The sound system consists of 4 speakers and 1 amplifier playing a custom soundtrack on an MP3 player. Electrical is provided by quad boxes on 12/3 SO cord. Controllers, special effect and scenic lighting is included in the price. Along with 8 emergency lighting packs
The unit is complete with attraction signage, enough carpet to cover the patron pathway. There are 1 animation and 3 static props included in the sales package. 6 Fire Extinguishers are also included.
Room Designs Include:
Registration Room
Zombie Laser Room W Fog Machine and Laser Lights
Room of Doors
2nd Room of Doors
Corpse Room
Monster Over Wall
Boiler Room w/ Boiler Room Parts
Pipe Monster
Padded Cell
Asylum Doors
Shower Room
Claustrophobia Tunnel
Ceiling Dweller Zombie
PLUS! One 50’ road worthy semi-trailer for storage and shipping.
This attraction is in great shape. Mechanics, Props, Artwork, Electrical, and Cosmetics of the attraction are in Excellent condition.
Reason for Selling: Lack of Attendance
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3. House of Terror
$65,000
This Custom Package Includes: 19 rooms that takes ONLY 8 actors to operate, 4,000 square foot house, easy to set up in any parking lot, field, or inside of a building, Very Portable188 flame retardant wall and facade panels, Brand New 40’x 12’ Victorian house facade, Complete wire harness, Complete lighting system, including strobes, Costumes and masks, Complete sound system with tape deck amp and 4 speakers, All emergency lighting, exit signs, Fire extinguishers.
Props Include: 1 Air Cannon, Antique furniture and tons of decorating items, Distortions: Innocent angel, stone Lion head tomb, Pillar tombstone, Bride attack, Pneumatic Screamer, Chair Attack, Hangman, Scarefactory: corpsulator, econoline coffin, chairolator, Little Spider and Grotesque Studios Props, 2 gothic temples, 16 Morris Costumes portraits, Black dot room, Cameo netting, Trophy room with mounted mountain goat, deer heads, raccoons.
Extra Include: 40 x 100 black lent -made of certified, flame retardant material, 2 transport trailers, 30-gallon Air compressor with air distribution manifold, Complete with floor plans, wiring diagrams wall layouts.
Units are is in Excellent Condition!
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4. DOLL FACTORY
$50,000
Built in 2017, by local contractors, as per design drawings by Leonard Pickel, this attraction operated as one of a 3 element combo ticket in October of 2017 and 2018. The 13-room attraction is themed as a doll factory and consists of 127 flame retardant 4’ x 10’ panels and includes a facade that is 28’ wide x 6’ deep x 18’ tall. It fits in a space of 40’ x 64’ with the entrance and exit on the long side. The Patron pathway is 326 lineal feet long. All panels are numbered for easy reassembly.
10-13 Actors and 1 tech are required for operation and 10 masks and 10 costumes are provided with the unit. The sound system consists of 4 speakers and 1 amplifier playing a custom soundtrack on an MP3 player. Electrical is provided by quad boxes on 12/3 SO cord. Controllers, special effect and scenic lighting is included in the price. Along with 8 emergency lighting packs
The unit is complete with attraction signage, enough carpet to cover the patron pathway. There are 1 animation and 8 static props included in the sales package. 6 Fire Extinguishers are also included.
Room Designs Include:
Gift Shop
Laser Tunnel w/ Fog Machine and Laser
Arms Hallway w/ prop Arms
Elevator Shaft
Collapsing Hallway
Tool Storage w/ animated tools
Mask Room
Zombie Doors
Shipping Room w/ Custom Crates
Doll Room
Elevator Zombie
Ladies’ Restroom
Monster Overhead
PLUS! One 50’ road worthy semi-trailer for storage and shipping.
This attraction is in great shape. Mechanics, Props, Artwork, Electrical, and Cosmetics of the attraction are in Excellent condition.
Reason for Selling: Lack of Attendance
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5. HEARSE WITH ANIMATRONICS
$9,000 or best offer
Hearse has an 18 foot animatronics that pops up out of the back and has audio that you can chance to say whatever you wish. It has the demon holding a man while he is whaling around with two creatures holding on to each of the man’s feet. We put a new head unit and speakers in it last year. Car runs great. A/C blows cold. This car is great to drive around and randomly park somewhere to catch people off guard, scare there pants off, and advertise your haunt at the same time!
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6. The Grimstone Manor
$80,000 SOLD
The Grimstone Manor/formerly Haunted Mansion is a 5,000 sq. ft. Victorian themed “walk-thru” haunted attraction, which was built in 2001 by Rodney Geffert, 7 Floors of Hell. This unit was purchased by Michael Halas, Owner of Asylum Studios, Ltd. in 2006 and was set up & run for the 2007 season of “The Night Terror” Haunted Event in Streetsboro, Ohio.
The Manor was built inside a 50′xl00′ black tent (included); and was configured into eleven (11) rooms, each separated by Victorian hallways. The Rooms were set-up as: a foyer; library; granny’s sewing room; haunted attic; skeletal dining room; lady-in-tub bathroom scene; haunted sitting room; funeral parlor; coffin scene; grand hall w/ fireplace. The Manor can be adequately staffed by 6-8 actors and 1 ticket taker; handling a capacity of approximately 400 victims per minute (VPM). This unit is being sold as a true “turn-key” haunt and comes complete with:
One (1) 50′x100′ black tent w/ 8′ black sidewalls purchased new in 2007 (included).
225 4′x8′ framed plywood panels.
Eight (8) working animations including:
One (1) “Scare Factory” organ prop & organ player animation.
One (1) drop portrait attacker; animation head re-done in 2007 by Michael Halas.
One (1) Granny down stairway decender animation.
One (1) shutter descender animation; animation prop re-done in 2007 by Michael Halas.
One (1) bath tub girl animation; prop re-painted in 2007 by Michael Halas.
One (1) female she blaster on bed animation.
One (1) closet reaper animation.
One (1) sarcophagus attacker animation; prop figure & sarcophagus custom built in 2007 by Michael Halas.
ALSO included is one (1) air cannon; three (3) air/water “spitter” animal heads; & one (1) light-up skeletal portrait.
One (1) “Husky” 80 Gallon upright Compressor, wired, w/ 250′ of electrical line; purchased new in 2007 (included).
One (1) 55 gallon drum ofN.Y Fire-Shield Inspecta-Shield Plus fire retardant; unopened and purchased new in 2007 (included).
25+ taxidermy heads (elk, lion, bear, deer, etc.).
One (1) fog machine.
One (1) black prop cauldron. · One (1) “Vortex Pro” fog chiller purchased new in 2007.
Three (3) “Kidde #340″ multi-purpose fire extinguishers.
Six (6) prop hands.
Four (4) prop feet.
Six (6) plastic 5′ skeletons.
Two (2) “bags of bones.”
LOT’s of bagged spider webs.
25+ haunted antique portraits.
Misc. fabric & curtains. · Eight (8) black robes.
Twelve (12) black masks.
Fifteen (15) complete costumes including:
One (1) “Ghostly man.”
One (1) “Ghostly woman.”
One (1) old witch/hag.
One (1) zombie.
One (1) werewolf.
One (1) scarecrow.
Nine (9) black robes wi hooded “black-out” wraith face masks.
Three (3) sets of monster gloves.
Seven (7) prop bats. · One (1) prop cat.
One (1) prop rat.
Three (3) prop spiders. · Two (2) prop vultures.
One (1) large 50″ “FrightProps” tarantula.
One (1) 5 disk “Trutech” CD player wi remote & two (2) speakers.
One (1) 3 disk “Sharp” CD player wi two (2) speakers & one (1) subwoofer.
Two (2) “Crate” amplifiers.
One (1) “Optimus” amplifier.
Two(2) battery powered smoke dectors.
Three (3) electriclbattery back-up emergency exit signs.
One (1) box of glow-in-the-dark emergency exit signs.
Six (6) electriclbattery back-up emergency lighting packs.
Four (4) 6′ rope lights.
One (1) mini fogger.
Three (3) “FrightProps” motion sensors.
Four (4) “Fright Light Plus” lighting effects boxes.
Four (4) strobe lights.
150+ lighting fixtures including “can” lights; utility lights; black lights; candelabra lights; chandeliers; etc.
Three (3) cash boxes and Two (2) cash bags.
Twenty-one (21) flasWights.
Thirty (30) “Motorola” radios; purchased new in 2007.
Twenty-one (21) surge protectors.
Four (4) 100′; Five (5) 50′; and Twenty-six (26) 25′ extension cords.
Numerous Pieces of antique furniture, tables, chairs, lamps, chandeliers, portraits, props, skeletons, scenic lil!hts, misc. office supplies, and lots more!!
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7. The Castle of Carnage
$70,000 SOLD
The Castle of Carnage is a Gothic themed modular attraction was built in 2001. The unit comes with the Scare Fair in 3-D 2 long storage trailers and one short storage trailer, includes wall system, wiring harness and lighting (theatrical and emergency), tent, props, animatronics, pneumatic hose, filters and regulators, as well as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors.
Approx. 150 Stone Painted Walls (4′ x 8′)
Approx. 50 black walls for dark maze (4′ x 8′)
6 Stone Painted exit doors with battery back-up lighted exit signs
1- 40′ x 100′ black on black tent with fire retardant certification, metal poles inside and around, metal stakes (One top grommet ripped out due to 8″ of rain in a couple of hours collecting in a corner of the tent, can be repaired by tent manufacturer or repair company)
2 fog machines
5 or more strobe lights
Enough par cans with various colored bulbs to light up an airport (more than needed inside the attraction!)
Fire extinguishers
Smoke detectors
Electrical wiring
Pneumatic lines, regulators, filters
Screws, wood, pvc, misc. electrical components and hardware
Emergency battery back up lights
Numerous 4′ fluorescent work-light fixtures
Masks and costumes
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8. PHYRITE MANOR
$50,000
Custom 2,300sf Ghost themed modular attraction with 10 rooms.
The attraction was designed and built by owner in 2013 operated through 2021. Designed to fit in a 40’x60’ building. Room remodels and props added every year. Haunt is currently standing and is available for viewing but will have to be disassembled and removed once sold.
Attraction operates on 15 actors, 2 ticket takers.
This Detailed Custom Attraction Includes:
12’ tall x 32’ wide Façade, with attraction signage
Many panels are scenically painted or ABS plastic vacuform faces on wooden frames. Panels and props were sprayed with flame retardant annually before opening.
Electrical power supplied by a centrally located drop with 4 circuits.
Both animated and static props are included.
Main audio is provided through two 70 volt speakers. Mini amplifiers in each room provide sound effects.
The rooms are lit by LED Mini spotlights.
Mechanics of the props and the panel artwork are in good condition. Electrical is in excellent condition, panels are in good condition.
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9. 3D Chaos
$140,000
Attraction was enlarged & enhanced in 2006 for Ultimate Terrors. Additional artwork and façade added in 2007. Design: 3D Chaos is one long twisty, tourney hallway approximately 400 feet long. It contains 3D art and designs the entire length. It has 12 scares listed below in order (zigzag design allows actors to perform 2 scares without being obvious)
Max. Width: 45’
Depth: 80’
Max. Height: 12’
Usable Sq. Footage: 2500+
Capacity: 800/hour
Façade: 10’ wide by 12’ high, walk thru clown design
Number of Panels: 170+
Construction Material: 8’ plywood outer walls, 7’ high inner walls. Triangular style design for optimal utilization of space.
Number of Rooms: 400 foot+ hallway
Number of Actors Required: 8-10
Ticket Takers: 1
Tech Support: 0
Complete lighting: Blacklights and fixtures. Complete temporary electrical (“spider boxes”, extension cords & power strips). 115v single phase power, 200 amps min. required at installation site. Complete sound: 3 CD players with powered speaker systems. Complete costumes and masks. 10′ diameter by 20′ long spinning tunnel with vinyl liner (3D dots designs).
Condition: all very good to excellent
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10. Spook House
$46,000
WE MFG. WALK THRU HAUNTED HOUSES AND THIS WAS BUILT IN 2000 SO IT HAS PLENTY OF LIFE LEFT. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR SOME CUSTOM BUILT SEND ME AND EMAIL WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER SO I CAN CALL YOU BACK. UP FOR AUCTION IS A PORTABLE WALK THRU HAUNTED HOUSE. THIS IS A GREAT RIDE. THIS IS AN ALL METAL UNIT SO IT WILL PASS FIRE MARSHALL REGULATIONS. UNIT WAS USED THIS PAST OCT FOR A MONTH LONG EVENT. RIDE ALL PACKS ON ONE TRAILER TO TRANSPORT. BUILDS OUT TO 60 FT. LONG FRONT AND IS 20 FT. DEEP AND 18 FT. TALL. VERY EASY SET UP WITH 2 GUYS. UNIT HAS A MAZE BUILT IN IT WITH 6 TRICK BOXES WITH ROOM FOR MORE. NEW PAINT JOB ON THE FRONT SCENERY 2 years ago. . THE SPOOK HOUSE SIGN ON TOP DOES NOT GO WITH IT. HAVE A NEW ONE THAT SAYS HAUNTED HOUSE. UNIT HAS SPRINKLERS, EMERGENCY LIGHTING/EXIT SIGNS AND SMOKE DETECTORS. TIRES. DOES HAVE A 6 FT. WE HAVE WORKED THIS UNIT UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST WITH NO INSPECTION PROBLEMS. STORAGE AREA IN THE FRONT OR CAN BE CONVERTED TO MORE MAZE AND TRICKS. DOES HAVE LIGHTING, STROBE LIGHTS AND BLACK LIGHTS IN IT. BRAKES ARE OK AND TRAILER LIGHTS WORK. PROVEN MONEY MAKER. UNIT IS USED. NEEDS A LITTLE TLC AND SOME ELBOW GREASE. UNIT IS SETTING IN PA FOR PICK UP. DELIVERY AVAILABLE FOR AN EXTRA CHARGE. UNIT IS SOLD AS IS WHERE IS. THERE IS A $500.00 NONREFUNDABLE DEPOSIT REQUIRED WITH IN 24 HOURS AFTER CLOSE OF SALE SO I KNOW YOU ARE AN SERIOUS BUYER. ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK. THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.
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11. Code Blue
$140,000
Attraction was enlarged & enhanced in 2006 for Ultimate Terrors. Additional detailing, scenes & props added in 2007.
Max. Width: 30’
Depth: 75’
Max. Height: 12’
Usable Sq. Footage: 2100
Capacity: 800/hour
Façade: 16’ wide by 12’ high, industrial motif with fog flowing from fans every 30 seconds
Number of Panels: 100+
Construction Material: 7’ high plywood
Number of Rooms: 15
Number of Actors Required: 10-12
Ticket Takers: 1
Tech Support: 0
Complete lighting: Standard clamp fixtures, blacklights, strobelights, beacon lights. Complete temporary electrical (“spider boxes”, extension cords & power strips). 115v single phase power, 200 amps min. required at installation site. Complete sound: 3 CD players with powered speaker systems. Complete costumes and masks.
Animations: 2 kickers, air canon, ankle ticklers, Barrel Drop, Sagging bridge & shock wall
Compressor Size: approx. 8-10 gallon
Condition: all very good to excellent
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12. FrightHouse
$65,000
Originally built in 1993 by Stage Fright Studios as an annual major attraction at the Jacksonville Fair, the Frighthouse has received continuous upgrades by Sally Corporation, under the direction of noted Haunt Designer Drew Hunter. Built for inside use, the Haunt is 60’ wide x 45’ deep, with an inside wall height of 8’ and a 12’ façade height. Usable square footage is 2,600 and walk-through capacity is approx. 400 pph. The attraction is modular, allowing configuration changes.
9 animatronic characters and props are included; among them a unique Pepper’s ghost body in a coffin, a Corpselator and several swing-outs and spinners. 11 scenes include a witch’s kitchen, a disgustingly delectable banquet room, a (blood red) winery, a hallway of mysterious doors, a mad scientist and laboratory, mortuary, video spirit, monks, jail, corpse ladder, and art gallery with drop panel.
Professional voiceovers, music and sound fx are relayed through 20 speakers from 17 amplifier channels fed by a digital sound source. 8 actors are required, plus 1 or 2 ticket takers. 20 masks and 30 costumes are provided for performers.
The package includes 30 assorted light fixtures, 8 smoke detectors, 5 fire extinguishers, 4 emergency exit signs, 4 emergency lighting packs. Comes with 150 amp. electrical panel. Compressor for animatronics NOT included.
Exterior signage and free-standing decor complement the façade. Operated for only two weeks annually, the Frighthouse is in good shape. Technical training is available to purchaser. Video and photos are available for serious buyers.
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13. Haunted Manor – 13 Room Custom
$50,000 SOLD
This Custom Package Includes:
48’ Storage Trailer
2,500 square feet of walls
Room designs and scenic props for the 13 room walk-through
Theatrical Lighting
Sound System
9 Pneumatic Animations
Fire extinguishers
Fog Machine
Complete Pneumatic System for animation of props – 5 HP Compressor, Air dryer, Air Filter unit, New Valves, Air Cannon, Motion Detectors and Pressure Mats
Room Designs Include:
Study, Pepper’s Ghost Pop-up (Pneumatic), Hall of Doors (Pneumatic), Terror Kitchen (Pneumatic), Haunted Bedroom (Pneumatic), The Closet, Blood Drip Hall, The Lab, Trap Doors (Pneumatic), Cages, The Crypt (Pneumatic), Monster Overhead, Portrait Hallway, The Egress.
Extras:
16’x12’ Painted Mural
Extra pieces and replacement parts
Spare equipment and Props
Note: May need carpet for some installations!! Sale does not include the Name, Storyline or logo for Mayhem Manor®.
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14. Shock Walk
$90,000 SOLD
Shock Walk is a mobile Haunt designed and built by the owner into four 40’ road worthy semi-trailers. The trailers are set side to side and connected together to form a 1,300 square foot Haunted Attraction with a 100 hundred people per hour capacity. The interior walls are wood construction with flame retardant paint and the 13 room Haunt uses between 8 and 12 actors to operate. Each trailer has a 110 power cord and a 50 amp electrical service is required to power the attraction. The attraction has 16 hard wired smoke detectors, 16 fire extinguishers, 8 exit signs and 12 emergency lights with battery back up.
Extras include: a 10’ high by 40 ‘ wide façade with attraction name signage, 8 pneumatic animations triggered in various ways, and supplied by two 100 gallon compressors. A sound system powered with a 200 watt Yamaha Amplifier pushes 12 speakers and sets are illuminated by 16 light fixtures.
No Fire Sprinklers are provided.
15. Scarevania
$95,000
After 11 seasons, we have decided to permanently close our haunted house. We started as a hobby business and for enjoyment. We have grown both our attraction and attendance over the years but due to family and career conflicts, we have chosen to make 2024 our final season.
We are open to two options for sales currently. One for the haunted house business, in its current location with the property, all props, intellectual property, etc. We also are open to selling all contents, intellectual property, etc without the property.
-SALE OF ALL INCLUDING REAL ESTATE-
Our haunted house is located in a town of 5000-6000 per year in central Indiana. We are located about an hour drive from large metropolitan areas. Our attendance has varied between 1000 and 1500 in the past 5 years with minimal advertising efforts. There is growth potential in our market. Our nearest competitor is of comparable size and about 15 miles away.
We are currently occupying 3300 SqFt with another ~900 SqFt under roof that has been utilized before and could be utilized again.
We are more than willing to give you a tour of our current operation and storage areas to view the items for yourself. Also, if you purchase, depending on your location, we may be able to come onsite for 1-3 days to answer any questions that you may have.
All items will need moved but cannot be moved until after 10/31/2024 as we are operating until then. We can assist some with tear down / carry-out / loading of the items, this will be the primary responsibility of the purchaser.
We would like to see a haunted house remain in our community so will work with a buyer. We are not interested in a contract sale though. We would be willing to provide assistance and guidance in setting up and operating for the first year if the buyer was interested.
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p.s. Hey. So I’m finally able to announce that ROOM TEMPERATURE will have its World Premiere at Los Angeles Festival of Movies (LAFM). The festival runs from April 3-6. We don’t yet know the date, time, or specific venue of the screening, but I’ll let you know once I do. Tickets go on sale on March 10. Here’s a write-up on the festival at Variety if you’re interested. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi. ‘Sparta’ got caught up in a big controversy about the underage character aspect, so that might be why it’s hard to see there. I don’t know if we’re capable of a publicity blitz, haha, I wish, but we’ll be doing our utmost. ** Dominik, Hi!!! I think you’d like his films. They’re very dark and funny among other things. The general premiere is announced! We just don’t know the details yet. So, yeah, here we go. Green Day, I had to look that one up. I realise I only know a couple of their hits. Here’s a good one … I love the dead before they rise, No farewells, no goodbyes, I never even knew your now rotting face, While friends and lovers mourn your silly grave, I have other uses for you, darling, G. ** Misanthrope, Hi. Well, he’s scared shitless to get off. He knows it’s going to be very hard, and he doesn’t want to face the struggle. I don’t know how you convince someone to go through that. It usually takes a hard crash, and even then you have to get them in rehab lickety split because they’ll get scared again right away. Ugh. Gosh, I hope you get to continue working remotely. Such an insane mess. ** James, Not so much like Wes Anderson. Closer to Roy Anderson or Todd Solondz, but darker. Good stuff. I didn’t know there is a movie called ‘Laugh Clown Laugh’. I only know the saying. If everything was scary you wouldn’t be scared anymore. You’d be very cynical probably. I don’t like The Killers, but, yeah, I was just meaning their blah name. One reviews art shows depending on the venue and audience. I’ve written user friendly reviews and brainy as fuck reviews. It’s all over the place. I had better than 20/20 vision for most of my life, and then suddenly my eyes gave out and reading glasses joined my arsenal, which sucks when you have to give public readings because you’re stuck looking professorly whether you like it or not. Jeez, buddy, the back pain. I’ve had lower back hell/problems since I was a kid. It’s the worst. Poecilia had wise words for you. (Thank you, Poecilia.) I hope you’re at least 50% less pained today. Dare I ask? ** Steeqhen, Battle of the Bands! What did they win? Why did whoever won win? Luck with the poem. Sounds interesting, natch. Dildo machine fucking on film leaves me cold or I guess blank. Who knows why? I have a friend who really gets off on guys sucking themselves off on film. And, again, I don’t get it. We all have our little taste things. The songs Carole King co-wrote pre-‘Tapestry’ can be pretty top notch. GbV is fucking god, man. Go for it. Join us knowers and believers! ** Tyler Ookami, Thanks for being a pioneer of kawaii themed extreme metal bands. You make it seem like the water there is temperate at least. For me, Zappa’s ham-fisted, yuck-yuck lyrics worked okay at the beginning when he was parodying hippiedom. And then he thankfully stopped being such a lame comedian for a few years and got more interested in complicated structures, in the ‘Uncle Meat’ era, but then he went full on Adam Sandler after that forever. Thanks for the field guide. That’s super useful. Haha, right, gotcha on the Deathcore bands. I’ve dipped, just barely, but I think sufficiently. Thanks a bunch! ** Steve, Thanks. We’re very happy. We think it’s a really good fit. Let me know how it goes at the hospital, and I certainly hope they nail the whatever it is and start murdering it. Interesting, I was going to ask you if you saw the Markey film. I’m curious about it, obviously. Well, that’s bad news. I knew Bill Bartell just a little. White Flag wasn’t bad. Did you ever hear Vaginal Davis’s band Black Fag? They’re weren’t good, but oh what a good name. ** Lucas, Hey, buddy! I’ll be in LA through the first two weeks of April, but then I’ll be back. The Premiere is announced! Right now readying the film is life 24/7 because there’s a lot to do and time is running out. I’m not doing much of anything else. Excited to hear more about your projects in-progress when you’re ready. Enjoy Thursday! xo. ** Darby𓃰𓃰, Thanks, pal. You are so right. I only just peeked at the video, and I adore it. It makes porn seem like a Hallmark card. You are also so right about the related post. Let me see what I can do. Your new cassette player sounds very dreamy. What did you end up launching it via? I was young and malajusted, and it ended paying off by making me a weird and increasingly confident adult. You’ll see. It’s better to grow into regularity than start regular, I think. Wow, cops, yikes. You’re tough. They’re just too unimaginative to realise that. EyeHateGod, wow! I saw that they were playing around. How was it? Nice, envy. I love writing that looks like a crushed soda. I seek it out. So, no, thank you! ** Diesel Clementine, Well, hi there. New flat, nice, right? Whats it like? How is it different? I hope it has secret passages in its walls. Your illustrated chapbook sounds extremely intriguing. Want to see it when it’s real. I like the cover a lot! Um, I don’t know about that effect you ask about? Hm, I’ll think about it. It might be a very subtle effect for me? I’m fine, just really busy finishing the film and getting ready to present it, etc. A bit crazy. I’m very excited but also, of course, nervous about the premiere. Time to find out if our big confidence in it means what we hope it will. Lovely day to you! ** Bill, I think you might quite like his films if you don’t know them already. Based on my experiences with festival submissions, they’ll be relieved to only have to watch a trailer. Plus, they might actually watch it. At least with films, I think they watch the first ten minutes and then stop, which is deadly when you make complicated film. Best of all luck with that. ** HaRpEr, My friend is, like me, both a Blanchot devotee and a gigantic amusement park fan. I seriously wonder if she has really thought her proposal through, or whether she’s just just trying to chase her obsessions simultaneously. But we will see. That’s seriously gross about the Didion. It’s like the opposite of Bresson’s widow’s extreme stinginess. Haha, thanks about my bon mots. I sort of can’t imagine the giant chore of rereading myself in this context. Maybe I can hire an intern. Maybe I can find some way to afford an intern. Anyway, … thanks. I think you would be glad to try Seidl’s films. I do like the Elephant 6 bands, and I’ve even been curious to see that doc. And I will. Thanks a bunch for the tip. ** Dev, Hi, Dev! It’s very lovely to see you! Thank you about the premiere. I hope everything is going amazingly in your world. ** jay, I would try out his films, for sure. They’re what they are, but what they are might be your what. Whenever I come across a fucking machine video, it’s just watching paint dry, as they say. I like the mechanical, but that’s too monotonous, or something. When your legs misfire, do you just have to wait and let them remember how to fire? Or can you retrain them somehow? Dude, I don’t like that you’re in pain. ** Okay. Today is, I fully realise, a pretty niche post that may be only user friendly to people like myself who dream of owning a haunted house attraction but lack the funds to buy one and the room to situate it. But maybe the rest of you will charmed by it for some reason. Hope so. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
Dennis, Yeah, I hope so too re: working remotely. Most of the people I work with are in other states. Really stupid to sit in a car 3 to 4 hours a day to work with someone over Microsoft Teams who’s in CA or Puerto Rico. Gah.
I think if we could find a doctor/rehab that does that new protocol where there’s no bad withdrawals, he might be up for it. Even then, he’s like, nah, I’m good. Of course, he’s not.
I forgot to tell you that he’s always asking us to buy him a gun to kill himself. “It’s the last thing you’ll ever have to buy.” We’re just like, shut up, that’s not happening.
Hi Dennis! I’ve got a relevant personal addition to today’s post. My wife and I bought this very inexpensive, rundown old duplex in rural Missouri to shoot two horror features in. The place was covered in satanic graffiti and all sorts of haunted-seeming found objects, like old-timey photos and children’s toys. The first movie we shot there had a surprisingly successful festival run, and at one of those festivals we decided on a whim to auction off the duplex during our post-screening Q&A. Financially, it was probably a dumb decision because we made less than we paid for it, but it was pretty funny and we got some press out of it, which resulted in booking more screenings, so maybe it was worth it? Here’s an article about it: https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/517242/found-footage-directors-auction-off-their-duplex-at-late-night-screening/
Great news about Room Temperature! I wish I was still in LA to attend!
Hi!!
First of all: “Room Temperature” world premiere!! Dennis – congratulations! At long last!
So, if you had the funds, which haunted house attraction would you go for? I can’t decide between Phyrite Manor and Doll Factory.
Yeah, I’m not a huge Green Day expert either, but “American Idiot” came out when I was around 13, so it’s kind of woven into the fabric of my teenage years, to be very poetic about it.
Alice Cooper! What a heartwarming song, right?! The lady whom I feel maternal love for, Cannot look me in the eyes, But I see hers and they are blue, And they cock and twist and masturbate, Od.
Congratulations on RT premiere!
Congrats on the Room Temperature premiere! Unfortunately I’ll be in the mysterious orient, otherwise I’d be booking my flight/train already.
Thanks for the insight on submissions. It will be a scramble today (and possibly tomorrow, but I hope not), but I think the trailer will be unembarrassing.
I didn’t know haunted house kits are a thing. I’m most intrigued by Molar Manor. Since “free association” is my middle name, I immediately thought of Mariana Enriquez’s brilliant story “Adela’s House”, where teenagers explore a creepy house and come across (among other things) a shelf of teeth. It’s in her collection Things We Lost in the Fire, one of my all-time favorites. That London Backstreet set also looks highly intriguing, of course, bringing back memories of my misspent youth exploring such.
Bill
Haunted houses are something I respect and admire from a stance. I feel like I grasp their significance in any understanding of contemporary popular art, but I want to be inside them about as much as I want to be in Space Mountain — which is not much. My trauma-induced terrors are pretty much not popping up in daily life, but there are things that are, how do the young people say, triggers. Never had a problem being around actual corpses; I’ve been with people when they died. Just . . . don’t want them to pop up and say, “Boo!”
It’s funny cause in my capacity as big dream expert, I just recorded an interview in which I talked about how by far the majority of stories we have about creativity inspired by dreams are about nightmares, and why that would be. There’s an interview like that online but I’m not posting the URL here because I find these things so embarrassing. I did an introduction to Dreaming on the old blog; I ought to be able to dredge up something similar to send you. Right now I’m working on a presentation on the cartoonist Winsor McCay’s “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend,” an amazing series of nightmare-themed comic strips; I could out something together on that. (I know I’m always saying I can contribute a Day, but my schedule’s a lot more open now. I don’t know a lot, but what I know, I know pretty well.)
Of course I’m excited about “Room Temperature.” I expect in the growing cultural repression–it’s really head-whipping how quickly institutions are signing up to eliminate anything that smacks of dissent, sexual openness, values other than money, and especially the contributions of Black people, Indigenous, women, and trans folks to the very fundamental bases of culture in the US –we’ll see the emergence of a whole new system of samizdat, and everyone will go back to assuming, as they mostly did in the 1950s, that anything that is of interest, anything inspiring, will be purged from public official culture and will come to us through the avant-garde and its sub rosa means of transmission. And yes, it has certainly always been that way, but it is going to be more that way than it has been for most of us most of the time. As we say among the dreamers, the Shadow is in charge now, so we have to be the Shadow’s Shadow. (Don’t hold me to this, but I think that’s a Surrealist saying.) Which of course is sort of what this blog does. Dennis very cleverly holding on against all odds to under-the-radar status.
From a distance, not stance.
“I could put something together”
What is wrong with me? I’ve been a copy editor
My protest against intelligibility
Wow, Molar Manor has an Egyptian Tomb AND an Alfred Hitchcock Room? Sold!
I didn’t comment on it at the time, but in regards to all those death metal logos, I kind of want to see such a band do a logo using that favored Wes Anderson font, Futura Bold. Just to be a rebel ha ha. That was always one of the problems I had with a lot of the death/black metal groups. I remember when I was exploring the genre back in 2010-2013 or thereabouts, I had a book (whose name I can’t remember, I no longer own a copy) that was all interviews with bands from that genre, and so many of them talked about the impoirtance of individuality with an almost Ayn Rand zeal . . . but most of them were white guys in black clothes, and lyrically they were all covering a lot of the same ground (National Socialism, Viking mythology, Satan, black magic, death, whatever), and all of their band logos looked like systems of tree roots. After awhile I just had trouble taking it seriously, though I’m aware I’m painting with a broad stroke.
Hey, Dennis! Congratulations on the WP of ‘RT’! It’s all happening! Ooh, another lovely still from the film on the LAFM website. Today’s post is most welcome, obviously. I think I would pick ‘Scarevania’. It has a very attractive facade, and the attention to detail inside is nice. Which one would you ‘buy’? I’m thinking the trailer for ‘RT’ is imminent? Enjoy the frenetic busyness involved in the last steps of unleashing the film into the world!
Blog o’clock, as ever. Some of these do feel distinctly American. The spooky house doesn’t seem to me to be quite so big here in Blighty. These things are so tacky, so kitsch. Which I don’t mind. Yeesh, my eyes. That house of terror is incredibly humble. So small. The camo cover thing reminds me of the dark little area of my nursery where I’d always go and sit and read on my own. We didn’t have model corpses, though. Humanoid dolls are creatively inspiring things, I think. Ages ago read something on ROM (probably after a conversation with jay) in the 2nd person where ‘you’/the reader almost became a human doll, surgically speaking. It was a decent read. Plus I’m reminded of Welcome To The Game 2, which has this spooky dollmaker dude. The real horror are those fucking toilets with all that space above and below the doors. Hearses drive through my town quite often. I do wonder what working as an actor in these kinds of places is like. How very garish and lurid some of these get. I also wonder what pitching these kinds of places is like, too. I do think the lighting for some of these is quite nice. Conducive to sleep. A bit moody, too. Daresay I a tad sexy. Very spooky, blog. Haunted houses and things of this variety seem to be your thing.
Hi Dennis. Those Roy Andersson films do look similar, and nice. As much as I depend on reading, there is a visual satisfaction probably not reachable to shots as well-composed as those of such directors. Reading Roy Andersson made me think of Roy Ayers first. Not very similar, but nice music. I’m not entirely sure just how I feel about ‘dark’ art. Or what I classify as ‘dark.’ Apart from my fucking bedroom at my mother’s house, because the bulb has gone all dodgy and now I only ever get this Silent Hill ass dim flickering.
I didn’t know there was a saying that went ‘Laugh clown laugh,’ and my friend(?) the internet told me it was a film before it was anything else, so, that’s ignorance on my part. I can’t remember what the film’s about. Presumably a clown of some kind who laughs, question mark.
I hadn’t thought that if everything were scary, it would not be scary. That idea of becoming inured to things featured semi-often in my younger self’s brain, when I was thinking about going to Hell for some fucking reason. I thought, well, if I’m getting tortured eternally, I’ll probably get used to it, and it won’t be that bad. But in an ideal world I’d not have to find out.
There are 20 bands on my phone whose names follow the ‘The [(plural) noun]’ formula. I am fond of LCD Soundsystem (delighted to share the same first name as their frontman), and Arcade Fire, and Streetlight Manifesto. Their music and their names as bands.
Brainy as fuck things can be fun to read. But in my current mood I’d prefer something user friendly. Totally wiped, ach. I’d like to see how my friends would review art. We don’t talk about art much. They are not as artsyfartsy as I am, which is okay, if a little difficult sometimes.
I think I’d rather wear glasses all the time than just put them on for reading. I’m sure a professorly look isn’t too bad on you. I’m not sure if that’s the look I want to go for. I’d liked to have a career in that kind of field, but I don’t know if I should go all tweed jacket with elbow patches mode or teach students looking the way I currently do, which according to my friends is like a ‘twink.’ And the notion of a ‘twink professor’ just calls to mind porn videos. What silly things to think about, bleh.
The back pain was really very unpleasant on Tuesday. Wednesday it was alright. For most of today it was worse than Wednesday but not as bad as Tuesday, but as time went on and painkillers were downed it became more bearable. I very much appreciate Poe’s words, they were characteristically super nice and clever. Poe awesome!
Then I just had to deal with the usual insane fucking exhaustion and hunger that Thursdays leave me with. Thankfully when leaving I bumped into a friend who allowed me to shovel handfuls of some of his snacks down my gullet like some sort of undignified animal. But the tiredness hasn’t left me. I can barely keep my eyes open. I don’t know what to do with my evening. I got to talk with my geography teacher, which is always nice because we’re quite chummy. I’ve been worrying about fucking up referencing on my coursework and that causing me to be disqualified for plagiarism because I’m a paranoid and neurotic fool, but I learnt earlier today that it’s the best-scoring coursework she’s ever received. Which made me embarrassingly uncontrollably smile and laugh. The guys on my table were nice and funny as usual. Despite how tired I was they cheered me up. Things aren’t great but they’re better than they’ve been, and it could always be worse. I leave to do something with my evening. I still don’t know what. Listened to some new music this morning, enjoyed it. Oh, and yesterday I managed to work up the ‘fuck it whatever’ mindset enough to post some more fiction on my Substack. Byebye.
You’re both very kind to say so. I was only blabbing about blobbing (I said, blepping as you’re blogging.) Ha, ha jay and we be the chronic-pain-that-goes-away-sometimes club in the blog comments section. This is probably not what the expression “should’ve been at the club” means.
I suppose any house can be haunted if I got my chemise on and wandered about with a lit candle on some rainy night, and maybe it would defeat the point of the exercise if I already knew what a house could be haunted by but my old-fashioned guesses would be: arsonist ex-wife in the attic, secret first cousin suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy in the secret forbidden wing, magical oil-painting that is also somehow gay, a human skeleton the other human bits of which were lost to a futile search for amontillado in the basement, and/or some evidence of incest.
Hey Dennis,
Yesterday all went well; my friend who was running it was the main judge, plus her boyfriend in a fairly successful Cork band, and another guy in an equally successful Cork band (both lovely guys). It felt strange being sat with the judges and basically being one of the important people of an event that i only was involved in the day prior. It was the second heat, so 2 of the 4 bands got through, and the final is next Wednesday, though I will probably not be there as the launch party of one of my magazines is the same day.
I’m so exhausted after yesterday that I just spent the day today lounging and allowing myself to do nothing of merit. I needed it to be honest.
Self-fellatio kind of unnerves me, the idea of spines existing in general makes me uncomfortable and all i can imagine is it snapping. Everything about it feels like an accident waiting to happen!
Yeah whenever I find myself in a 60s pop phase, I have a lot of her and Goffins’ stuff on repeat like Locomotion and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. Also that other couple they were friends with who were songwriters, hate that I can’t remember because I was reading a whole book about it years ago. It’s funny how her peers in the 70s treated her like she was a generation older than them because of her prevalence as a songwriter.
Congrats on finally confirming RT birth/release/escape into the world!!
I made it to the hospital today and got a chest X-ray taken. They said they’d send the results to my doctor within an hour, so I expect to hear from him tomorrow or Monday. At this point, I think it’s likely I have walking pneumonia.
Re: Sypha’s comment on black metal guys all dressing and looking the same – back in the ’90s, I used to watch a public access show hosted by a member of the Church of Satan. He talked a big game about how the Cos is all about rebellion, individuality and thinking for yourself, but he looked like a clone of Anton LaVey, down to the black clothes, shaved head and goatee. (My favorite segment was his recipe for devil dogs! Casting spells for revenge was pretty unappealing.)
I knew about Black Fag, but I never heard them.
Are you still waiting for word from other festivals? Are any of the big summer fests still a possibility?
Hi Mr. Dennis Cooper !!
I hope this doesn’t come off as too corny but i guess I’m just pretty excited. I have been debating on writing on here and saying hi for a little bit now but I have been nervous haha . I just recently found out about your work , shortly after I decided to try to read books for fun again since being in middle and early high school . Lame right! I had read Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters and found it so shallow and predictable . Next moving on to Brontez Purnell’s 100 Boyfriends which blew my mind. I live in Oakland and see Brontez often out at bars , he is very good friends with some of my older friends but I am too shy to go up to him and tell him how much I enjoy his work. My roommate was ( and still is ) reading God Jr. She said I should check you out,,, she described you as a gay author which I have read you don’ t really like being categorized as , but I was interested. So I took myself down to the SFPL looked up what they had of yours, and found Guide in the LGBTQ fiction section hahaha. and WOW !! mind blown even more. I read closer, and then this week stole ( sorry) The Sluts from Barnes and Noble which I started and finished that day. I had read Necrophilia Variations in middle school after a recommendation by someone who I’d like to forget , and 120 Days of Sodom in high school almost as a joke bringing the book to school with me to see if any of my teachers would say anything to me ( which they did not) . I am so perplexed on how it took me so long ( I am 23 now) to find you and your work. Why why why why . I wish so badly I had found it sooner but I guess thats better than not finding it at all. What a special gift to also find your blog with so much content , and to be able to say “Hello Dennis Cooper!” . I guess I don’t know exactly all what I’m trying to say in all of this but I keep telling myself that I need to say something. Your writing makes me so excited and inspired to make art. 1 million thank yous . Its hard being young and gay and not fitting in with 99% of other young gay people who are so obsessed with modern pop culture and go to shitty clubs . Its been such a treat to escape into your worlds and although I don’t particularly want any of my appendages sliced off , it is nice to think hey maybe one of these faggots would want to keep me locked up in a basement for a day or two hahaha . Thanks again ,
P .
( going to try to make it to your movie premiere )
(also i think ur cute)
Woah, I think the hospital might be my favourite of these. That and the doll factory. I’ve gotten into collecting old dolls lately, really cheap and dishevelled ones from the 70s or 80s that I’ve found in charity shops. I don’t think I want to be one of those adult doll people, so I’m collecting ones that are really specific looking, sort of androgynous and scuffed. I think I want to collect the toys I was too scared to tell my parents I wanted as a kid or something like that.
Is there an Ulrich Siedl film you particularly recommend? The paradise trilogy strikes me as interesting and ‘Import / Export’ looks at a glance like something that would be up my alley.
In my experimental literature class today everyone had to perform these short theatre pieces somehow involving poetry (or something to that effect) which we’ve been working on. I adapted a poem I wrote about a homunculus in a glass phial into a monologue, including the prop of, funnily enough, a doll. My lecturer told me he really liked it and said that it genuinely shocked him due to some of the uncouth things I did with the doll. It’s weird, I don’t know if you ever feel this way, but I genuinely forget that certain things I write might be considered shocking. I understand the weight of working with certain material and the politics of doing certain things, but I guess it’s difficult to gauge audience reaction. Anyway, I was up there thinking I was doing something so awkward but apparently the silence was good silence. My lecturer said I ‘commanded the space’, so I was really happy about it. I’m thinking I might film it in just a single long shot and upload it to youtube.
Oh yeah, I checked in on my recent film and it has over 100 views and is still growing. I don’t know how that happened but gee, that’s certainly not something I expected.
Oh awesome, I actually went down a bit of a rabbithole of this artform/subculture recently and I watched a few PoV videos of people going through these scare attractions. Really interesting, in the same way as skydiving or bungee jumping, by which I mean cool to be able to exit as an experience by clicking an “X” at the corner of my screen.
Yeah, when my legs misfire it’s more like spasming, like a very mild seizure on my lower half. It’s painful too, but it’s overall more just embarassing to do in front of other people, but I can thankfully detect them coming from a few minutes away so it never gets awkward, unless people know me pretty well. Anyway, it’s sort of interesting at least, losing control of your body can be a sort of nice sensation if you just let it happen I think. Lots of good vibes from here, cya!
Typed out a message yesterday in the new flat’s bath but lost it- we’ve lived in a flat with no bath for like 5 years ! R doesn’t give a fuck really but wow it was so great getting to have one. There’s no secret passage ways proper but there is a little cupboard that can be used as an office. AND a dishwasher ! AND an indoor ceiling clothes line ! AND a built in booth in the kitchen ! We had dinner in the new flat last night it was really very lovely. Quite romantic to go from student halls to really shit flat, to okay flat, to fuck-me-this-is-beautiful flat with someone over 7 years. Its literally twice as expensive as the flat we’re getting evicted from, but we had a pretty charmed deal being in there for five years with no significant rent hikes. The biggest thing I’m excited for is a big kitchen. Every flat I’ve ever lived in has had the tiniest kitchen. Which is awful cause I spend so much time I’m kitchens (I’m a big cook). I’m so excited to host friends! Cook them beautiful meals! Life !
What’s the nicest flat you’ve ever lived in? What’s the shittiest? And what’s the big things you look for when moving ?
(Hope the comment isn’t too late lol)