she'd laughed at the graveyard on one sip of wine

It's a crisp fall day. The leaves are turning, the spooky forests are growing thick and dark, there's some weird sort of flickering in the fog...so let's go see the Harrington Haunted House.



Seems simple enough. Walk into the spooky forest, stop at the gate. Open gate, go in. So far so good.



Hey, uh...whatcha lookin' at, puppy? Oh, er, you seem...stuck in the...you know what? You're probably fine. I'll just check out the house.



ohmygoodnesshellodon'teatme!

I swear, poof of flame, there he was. Never saw him coming.



Okay, so we've all seen this house before, right? Can't blame people, it's pretty hauntable, and if you pay that much to get it, well, you're gonna use it, right? Because Never Totally Dead isn't cheap.

On the other hand, with what they do make, up to and including this house--they have every right to charge more.



The TV is watching me.



Lovely. An abandoned kitchen, not a serial-killer kitchen.



Spectral horses in the backyard.



Oh, dear, the bathroom upstairs is not in good shape. But wait--blood dripping from the ceiling? We must investigate.



Someone ate the baby!



Oh, that's why there's blood dripping from the ceiling. Poor fellow.

There's a coffin teleport system that takes you to other places. The Dark Forest, a schoolhouse, the cemetary...I'd honestly give this one five out of five skulls. It's not overly spooky, but there's some creativity to the prop placement, and it's just grand fun start to finish.

am I free or am I tied up?

So back we go to Slaughter Creek, where I am going to adjust my settings and likely not get all the special effects possible, but may not lag out so bad that even relogging and clearing cache three times didn't make me able to stay on the land!



Some other things to keep in mind with this one. Much of this haunt is mesh. This haunt also relies on Media being enabled, and many scripted effects. Both of those things can cause additional lag, with or without the encoded HUD.



So let's go.



The first floor was pretty good overall, some expected sights, some props used in new ways, some props never before seen. They've put a lot of work into this and it shows.



But, I ended up having to cam through sections of the house, because I could no longer move. The only mesh I wore was lower-LI hair and heels, my clothing was entirely system layers, I was wearing a reduced-animation AO...I'd gone through and deleted at least two thousand items from inventory between my first visit and this one...and I'd lowered both my draw distance and my graphics settings overall...And I still had to stop in one room and just cam up and take random images. I never made it into the cellar.



I literally have no idea what else to do. Explore at your own risk, I suppose. Come with a high-powered computer or a way to reduce all known sources of lag. Good luck!

to the sounds of a bleeding ghost train

[19:14] Nixy (phoenix.milasevic) hands Temp a potato.
[19:14] Tempest Rage (tempest.heartsdale): BANANA
[19:14] Nixy (phoenix.milasevic): POTATO
[19:15] Tempest Rage (tempest.heartsdale): *buries Nixy* I SAID BANANA
[19:15] Emilly Orr: that escalated quickly

Twisted Hunt group. It's like that.

So, I finally came up with an idea for next month's NaNoWriMo writing challenge. It may even work, but I fear it's going to carve my soul into sections again. Still, it's nice to have a plan. It's nice to know that I'm going to be writing more, that I've crawled through at least that one, small bit of depression back to (some level of) functionality. It's a small thing, but I'll take it.

That's also been the (unseen by the public, mostly) push to get the blog more towards daily updates again. Still not there yet (though, currently, that's mostly due to picture-editing for haunt entries), but it's better than it was. Again, small things, small steps, but they're still steps forward.

In the meantime, group controversy, yet again:

[19:56] lxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx:

mandar a roupa para fotografa

[ღ leaving the little hearts in bracing the avatar's long display name ღ]

ate dia 21

vc escolhe oque vc quer divugar na revista
[19:57] vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: O,o
[19:57] axxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: omg alexya não pode spam no grupo
[19:57] axxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ler as regras por favor

Now, Miss A's answer was pretty perfect--essentially, responding in Portuguese to please check the group rules, and please don't spam the group. Fair enough. I'm thinking this whole thing was a wrong window, though, because what Miss ღ-L is saying basically translates to, 'please send me clothing until the 21st, so I may pick outfits for the magazine'--which makes zero sense in a freebie group.

[19:59] lxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: not a clue
[19:59] Axxxxx Rxxxxxxxx: omg must be the same in any language
[19:59] lxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: spam is spam? lol
[20:02] vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: spam shouldnt be spam in foreugn, should be oh... spamio or something

Clue massive facepalming. "Spamio"?? Seriously?? Let's hear it for garden-variety casual racism. And the inability to spell "foreign" correctly.

[20:03] Axxxxx Rxxxxxxxx: le spam? el spamo grande?
[20:03] lxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: laughs now i want a taco bel grande

I can't tell if that's more casual racism or fast food addiction. Maybe it's both.

[20:04] vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: el spamo grande... lol thats good
[20:04] 7xxxx Rxxxxxxx: LOL me too
[20:04] 7xxxx Rxxxxxxx: I think all the world has given up translating all the new puter terms

Um. "Spam" is a new computer term??? Since when?

Cue mass confusion on my part, but hey, I have pumpkin cookies, so you know, I can let this slide.

on a bed of spiderwebs, there's no room for innocence

Next up: Slaughter Creek Manor, apparently--or as the sign says, anyway--based on a "Real Life Haunted House". Now, do they mean a theatrical "haunted" house open to the public, or do they mean a house that is actually, for real, haunted? Information unclear.



I went to the wilds of Google and found three distinct categories: information on the SL attraction; information on Slaughter Creek fisheries; and one single entry for Slaughter Farms in Texas. Huh. Is that what this house is referencing?



Apparently not. I found a skull along the path with this information:

"About the history of Slaughter Creek Manor (Monte Cristo Australia):

"This historic two-story house in Slaughter Creek with its wide verandas and beautiful wrought iron work is now open to thousands of visitors each year - and they all want to know about the ghosts and tragedies associated with this sprawling mansion."

"The original occupants were Mr Crawley and his family in 1884 and it would appear that from the Crawley family most of the stories of ghosts and hauntings and many other tragic happenings seem to originate, In fact, the ghost of Mrs Crawley and her new born baby has been seen many times in her former room and in recent years, Everything from your dress, mannerisms or the way you talk can influence Mrs Crawley. She will either like you or not like you and she is the real maiden of the manor."

The manor’s long and dark history includes a stable boy who was killed from his injuries after having his mattress set on fire when he called in sick for work, a mentally handicapped boy being chained to the cottage for 30 years, Mrs Crawley leaving baby Ethel in the care of her nanny had left the house upon her return she found the nanny had killed the baby when a ‘supernatural force’ pushed the baby out of her arms and she fell down the stairs, A young man after watching and becoming obsessed with the movie "psycho" decided to walk to Slaughter Creek Manor and kill the caretaker Jack with a shot gun in his cottage...you can still faintly see the carving "Die Jack Die" in the door to this day."

This sounds pretty extensive. There's more info on the notecard, but they also linked this video, a retelling of medium Janine Louise's experience with investigating the manor.

Let's go inside and check.



...on second thought, after crashing--repeatedly--let's try this again and NOT use the specialty "NXT LVL" HUD. Catch up with things later.

find me 'neath the killing cliff

The Scared to Death haunted house ride is finally open! But...what's this? A ticket booth? With...buyable tickets??



I looked at the notecard:

"The Ride Tickets Cost Lindens To Ride For Admission. Please Purchase A Ticket From The Ticket Booth Located In The Front Of The Haunted House. The Ticket Will Enable You To Be Here For Approx. A 24 Hour Period. Once That Time Has Passed A New Ticket Must Be Purchased. You Must Wear Your Ticket And It Must Be Attached To Your Avatar To Register With The Server, The Ticket Can Be Removed And Unworn After The Message Appears From The Ticket That You Have Been Registered. Sorry But No Refunds.

"Upon Entering The Doorway To The Haunted House, Please Touch The Green Button On The Wall To Rezz And Select A Car, Please Be Patient And Wait For The Pumpkin Car To Rezz In For You, Once You Sit In It, A Menu Will Come Up To Start The Ride, The First Person Who Sat In The Car Will Then Push The Start Ride! Button. Only One Avatar Needs To Sit First In The Car For The Start Ride! Menu To Come Up. Upon Hitting The Start Ride! Button, The Ride Will Then Start In 60 Seconds."

Oh, HELL no. SEVENTY-FIVE LINDENS they want for this.

Nope. Nope nope nope. Not going to happen. Next!

when the world is burning

I was fine until I returned to the carnival.



That's not true. I've been suffering since you left, I've been tying myself in knots trying to figure out why, likely nursing and magnifying my hurts until it became hard to breathe, hard to function. It's what I do.



This hit deeper, though. Because I thought--because nearly everyone thought--that you were the good thing, that you were the shining exception that proved my bad luck with men was just that--luck and chance.



But you turned out to be the same thing. And when you left, I was told by those I loved that I owed you nothing. I was told to just walk away, leave you behind as I had been left. I was told you were just like all the others, and I shouldn't spare a single thought to your passing.



But the promises I'd made I still felt bound me, and I struggled for over a year to find my way through a path suddenly overgrown with poisoned thorns.



And the worst of it, the very worst of it was not you leaving. That was hard. That was unimaginably difficult to get through. But no, the worst of it was turning away from something else potentially as good, damaging it--perhaps irreparably--for the hope I thought you represented.



You were not hope.

You were mystery and abandonment. And I am still limping through the whole of my life, trying to make sense of everything after.



I finally have an idea for NaNoWriMo. But at the end of it--whether I succeed or fail--I will have whatever word count I have, and a manuscript that is absolutely unpublishable. And worse, I will spend a solid month in self-excoriation. I will reopen old wounds, perhaps cause new ones, because it's the only way I see to move forward.



I will not type your name, I still do not know what I will do to represent you, but I will not do that. I will only use my words, not yours, in the letters I will select to evaluate. But that does mean I will likely go through your words. Is it worth it?

I don't know.



But you'll be with me through one last harvest, and maybe this time I can set fire to the chaff and preserve the good things, and move on into somnolent winter to heal.



Happy Hallowe'en.

(Shot on the Heart of Darkness sim, as well as Disturbia [Adult sim], the Freak Show Gacha Carnival, the Carnival of Chaos at the Wash, and the Carnival of Souls.)

when your heart's rollin' home in the wind

We're now at Sinnister Rayne's Haunted House, and...while it's on moderate land, I'm confused by the place description. To wit:

Rayne and Sinnisters Haunted house.
A scarey good time
cuddle spots
all ages welcome
come
but watch out for the chainsaw.
Kid friendly
Halloween, sex, club,giggles,naughty

Save for centering it, because I couldn't figure how else to present their oddly-spaced description, I've made no changes. So...how can it be "Kid friendly" and also use terms like "watch out for the chainsaw" and "sex"?



Mostly, I explored the house, but it opens into a wide area with other attractions--a haunted forest, a crypt, some fog here and there.

It's another house-in-a-box, but the texturing on the walls is better than most. I didn't truly catch that it was just in a box until I pointed my cam up.



Some of the objects look a bit too clean--like this dining room set--but they're well within theme.



This is a nice touch. It's just a cut-out, prim piece, not mesh, but you know, not everything needs to be to be effective.


Okay, the Ouija board is moving on its own. I'm outta here.

I hear a chainsaw...



EEEEEEE!



And the traditional player piano...playing itself.

Upstairs, expected things--though the "sex" listing begins to make sense with the discovery of the "sex bookcase" on the second floor--but the house itself is so nice, it's good to just walk through. I had to track down the house, I was curious.

I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to be from ArmaDus? And if so, it is not cheap. Counting some of the set pieces that were also seen, to get everything this haunt seemed to have would cost over four thousand Lindens. Yeep.

But quality shows--and that house is most definitely atmospheric.

must be the season of the witch

Now we're at 7 NIGHTMARES AND DREAMS--yes, apparently all in caps--on the Dream Catcher sim. I haven't figured out yet if it's a shopping event, or a haunt.



Though you can get a free pumpkin by touching this crate.



Went into the first building, on the left of the landing point, and found I was on TV!



Discovered a living room full of haunted furnishings...



Then the couch killed me. Not an auspicious beginning...



If dinner is what's on the table...um, thanks, not hungry.



My apologies, sir, I didn't mean to interrupt.



Upstairs, everything's kind of chaotic--appearing ghosts, disappearing ghosts, floating beds, bloodied wheelchairs...



And next door, obviously Sweeney Todd's barber shop...

Thing is, I didn't do more than one home and one small shop. There's much more to this, including what looked like a full amusement park with Ferris wheel. Hopefully I'll get a chance to revisit it and figure out what the rest looks like!

you can dance with the devil, you can shuffle your feet

The Haunted Mansion at Funky Monkey is...well, first off, riddled with spiders. Or at least spider eggs and webbing. Ugh.



The sunroom is apparently now a sickroom, complete with patient? But the house is abandoned...isn't it? Also, sad bit of alpha issue on the hospital screen. Pity.



Piano playing itself, more webbing, more alpha issues...Oh, wait, no, those are tears in the back lace curtain. Got it.



Apparently this was an artists' collective before it was a hospice?



That bed looks like it's just infested. No, thank you, not even sitting down. Upstairs we go!



The voices, the voices! AKA, why is there a child-size padded cell in the bathroom? (Not that I'm child-size, I'm just short.)



Never what you want to see in a nursery...



The only touch of real color in the place.



All in all, for a single-shot house, it's not bad. We're seeing DRD's Mystery Mansion a lot this year (which I didn't know was out of a gacha event last year, but which is available again outside DRD's furniture department), but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it just means you need to be creative with the presentation.



And I firmly believe this haunt managed that. There are some questions--is it a private abandoned home? A long-term care facility? What's with all the spiders? Who's the wee homicidal child who used to be in the nursery upstairs?--but that doesn't detract from anything. Four out of five skulls.