Halloween on Brandywine
June 10th, 2009 by John Wolfe
The Brandywine Cemetery (named for the street where the haunt’s located) is an incredible piece of Halloween artwork. I could easily get lost in their yard haunt atmosphere. They have perfectly captured what I consider to be the true essence of Halloween: spooky scenes that evoke a feeling of the paranormal, without over-the-top scares or gore. I feel the sign of a “master” haunter is one who can create imagery that stimulates the imagination rather than annihilating the senses.
Anyone can distribute a few corpses throughout their yard, slap on fake blood, scream at the top of their lungs and jump out at trick-or-treaters, but it takes an artist to create an atmosphere that scares from the inside-out. Often times, attention to “background” details like fog, fences, leaves, lighting and headstones does far more for the imagination than several highly detailed zombie or skeleton props placed in the foreground. Of course, I must admit that I’m a mausoleum enthusiast (that sounds strange, I know). I’m fascinated by the architecture of mausoleums in cemeteries and I’m awestruck by haunters who can capture a similar style with their homemade creations.
If a homemade, gothic mausoleum in the yard isn’t enough, the creative folks at Brandywine have also taken their Halloween haunt a step further by creating a laser light vortex. The laser (as seen in this photo) is directed at billowing clouds of fog. The effect appears to be an opened portal into a ghostly dimension… great stuff! I highly recommend checking out more of their Halloween artwork. You can either swing by the Brandywine Cemetery site (it relies heavily on Java) or stop by their Flickr page.
Photos courtesy of Flickr user: Provia_17
June 11th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Wow! What an amazing find! WONDERFUL! Thanks for sharing this.
June 11th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Always great to hear from you, Victor! Glad you like this entry. Brandywine Cemetery seems to slip under the Halloween radar for a lot of yard haunt enthusiasts. They definitely deserve more attention.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Wow! THAT’S a yard haunt??? You must be joking me! I thought you were showing us photos of extremely creative stage work, or, something done by Universal Studios. Actually, I must say, Brandywine goes beyond what U.S. could create. Given my recent passion/addiction to an old historical cemetery where I live, I find the entire scene and feel of such place to be rather peaceful. Odd I know, and as much as any night-time adventure at such a location spooks me out big time, I would imagine such a look to be before my very eyes……the earth layer rolling of soothing fog, darkness to be all around and yet the headstones to be dimly lit. This is truly an excellent find my friend and I’m pleased you shared it with us all. Oh and LOVE the vortex!! You know how I am about the prospects of multidimensional levels and the spirit world so this image, plus the great green lighting, really fits the bill for me.
Off note, I found the article about Sandra’s evp transcript involving the Peterson case. Wow, again, the “folks” were right on the mark about many things and to read that Laci was already communicating and worrying about Connor (her 8 month old unborn son) was just heartbreaking, to say the least. Did you listen to her WAV samples John? It’s interesting how the “folks” seemed to each take turns using words to form sentences for her. It was a very unusual evp to listen to. I always knew Laci put up a fight for all her worth and to think of what she went through just pains me so. I hope she, and Connor, have found peace. Nonetheless, thank you for sharing this really awesome find John. You’ve got quite the knack, for many things
Much Gratitude, Goldie
June 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Woohoo, one of my top 5 favorites… thanks for the post!
June 13th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Goldie,
I was just as stunned as you are about this haunt being located in a neighborhood. It’s absolutely incredible! Neither my yard, nor the yard at my parents’ house is large enough to host a big cemetery setting, but if either were, I would absolutely create a cemetery walk-through haunt.
I didn’t listen to the actual recordings, but I did read the majority of the transcripts. Speaking of how the voices were coming through- I found a really interesting “ghost box” video today on Chris Fleming’s You Tube page. Most ghost boxes sound contaminated, but he was getting some amazingly clear, multiple word responses which were far stronger than the radio signals. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll give you the specific video title.
Dixie,
Glad to hear it. On another note, I hope you’re enjoying the t-shirt!
June 14th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Yes, I’m very interested, I’m surprised you would even need to ask
From what I’ve seen of the ghost boxes, the results never seem as for sure as the evp’s from the recording session. So if you’ve found one that you feel is worth mentioning, I would very much like the specific video title so I can look it up. I thought you might like his youtube a few weeks ago but I just assumed it’s one of the many you’ve already seen.
Oh, off note, Friday’s recording “at work”, yet again hardly anything was spoken. Clicking, as usual, and the “shhhhhher” was present but she seemed to have quieted the place down. I did pick up, “soon” and “it’s a secret” from her on Friday, oh and “she’s moving again” but out of the 3 hours or so of recording, it was mostly clicks sounding on the recorder, in the room, some that sounded in the kitchen and 2 times it sounded like my recorder was being moved. But other than that, another quiet day, which again, proposes more questions than answers. Seems my hot spot has cooled down. Odd huh?
June 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
You know me, just trying to be polite.
I’ve been to his channel a couple of times but hadn’t actually dug into all his videos. I can either send you the link or if you look through his vids, you’ll find it very easily. I believe he has two featuring ghost box recordings. The clips are short, but the results indicate real time, conscious communication and are very strong voices.
Have you noticed whether or not you obtain better results at the house by having a conversation aloud with the spirits or do they usually respond better when you don’t try to interact with them? Just wondering if this could account for their recent “inactivity?”
June 16th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I have experimented with that dear friend for the past 4 weeks or so. Most, like “my spot”, REALLY seem to enjoy my company there and are indeed very present when I’m having conversations outloud to myself or in prayer. This last weekend was classic example of that, of which you already know the results of. (Oh the young boy said “Just go with it” not “just let it go”….my bad, sorry)
At work though, I’ve noticed that they will NOT talk or come and go (the clicking?) if I, or the girls, am present in the room. They absolutely do NOT want to interact with me. However, all I have to do is step outside of the room (like the kitchen which is the next room over) and then they will begin extremely light whispering. They really like it when I’m at the other end of the location and no where near the main room, or as in last Tuesday, if I leave all together. There was so much chattering and CONSTANT clicking of all over the house, I was absolutely shocked!
The “Shhhhhh’er” must have alot of influence there because it’s always the same female voice telling others to “be quiet” or “shhhhhhhhh.” Upon reviewing some of my earlier recordings of that location from last weeks sessions I heard her say, “it’s a secret.” In fact, I think the more they understood I could hear them via the recorder, the more she stepped in and “shhhhhhh’ed” everyone down, which is ashame. Now with only 2 days left at work (kleenex) it’s been horribly quiet there. This evp research is really interesting stuff…..pandora’s box of questions
Off note, I finally wrapped up the video footage I took of the “old cemetery” from my trip a couple of weeks back, and JOHN, upon going over the footage (amazing how this works!) I found MORE voices, of which I highlighted for you so you could zero in on what is being said. In one video, I was zoomed in on a squirrel eating out the inside of those sweet oranges (it’s a great clip….you’ll see) and there was a male voice that said, “pick one!” Even at the cemetery, I had more one on one interaction with the spirits than at the location of work. They were calling my name, telling me to pick one, wanting to know what was “that” in my hand, what was I doing and so forth. I do wish you were encountering the same light hearted kind spirits John. It’s almost like we have to seek spots out and learn which are best to go to and which ones not to. But, Ohhhhhhhhh what fun it is to visit a place that is just jumping with kind activity. Oh, one more thing, I might have the chance to visit a very old cemetery that was built over 200 years ago and is located on a very steep hill about 50 miles out from the ocean!!!! I’ll take plenty of video and recording that day, believe me for it is truly one of thee most unique cemteries I’ve ever seen, not to mention the hills are just covered and surrounded with eucalyptus trees….love the smell!!!
P.S. I am sooooooooo sorry this is so long, please forgive me
June 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
A 200 year old cemetery? Wow, that sounds incredible. While many of the small towns we visit have been around since the 1600′s (assuming the cemeteries have been there that long as well), rarely do we find headstones older than the 1890′s. So many of the early graves were marked with wooden crosses and have been destroyed over time – it’s extremely unfortunate. Please let me know if you actually find headstones dating back to the early 1800′s.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Thank you for all the praise.
June 28th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
It was my pleasure, Robert. The praise is so well deserved. You guys do a phenomenal job!
June 28th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Guys?
Sorry John, It’s just ME. I have actors that come in and do the entertainment portion… but everything else, from the website to the sculptures on the foam columns is all my work.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Sorry, Robert, I wasn’t certain exactly who contributed to creating the sculptures and props. I probably used the word guys collectively because of the photos of all the entertainers. That’s even more impressive that it’s a solitary artistic endeavor on your part! Great job!
July 25th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I’ve just uploaded a bunch of 2009 photos to the website. Included is a progression from the repainting of the Mausoleum.
July 25th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Thanks for the update, Robert. I look forward to checking them out.