At what speed must I live, to be able to see you again?

I can't believe I forgot Haunted Saddlemead! I swear, my head would fall right off if it wasn't stitched on so tightly.



Haunted Saddlemead has been a holiday fixture since I started doing these reviews, at least. Miss Lora Chadbourne runs the place, and she has a little more space this year. Did she go crazy with the scripts, did she throw in a lot of busy screaming monsters to leap out at people?



Unexpectedly, no--she's kept the quiet autumnal beauty of Saddlemead, and just added a few more spooky touches. Glowing red eyes here and there, a few more sounds, just that--nothing overt, nothing extravagant. Her precise and elegant touch pervades.



There's a glowing hanged man off in the orchard, and one of the floating candelabra in the house swirls around avatars, asking in an earnest child's voice, "Aren't you scared?"



But the pumpkin patch is still there, and the house with the haunted attic, and the hayride, and it's all just...pastoral and charming. I don't know how long it will be up, and I'm dreadfully abashed I didn't mention it sooner, so go and see!



In the meantime, as we're all of us scattered far and wee, I had to take the brief time I had (between extended bouts of limbo) to try to explore the Falln Sanitarium for the FallnAngels Brain Hunt going on currently (and ending in just under, or perhaps just over, a day from now!)

Of course I ran into zombies in trouble.

[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: >>:[
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: Hello there.
[20:09] Emilly Orr: Are you having trouble?
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: I am having a blast.
[20:09] Emilly Orr: Good!
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: What do you really want to talk about?

Trust a zombie in a mental hospital to ask leading questions.

[20:09] Emilly Orr: Are you stuck?
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: Do I seem like it?
[20:09] Emilly Orr: You seem trapped.
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: Do you mind if I tell other people you say I am trapped.
[20:09] Emilly Orr: Please.
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: OK I will tell them when I see 'em.
[20:09] Emilly Orr: Fantastic. Can you get out?
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: That's an interesting question. I'll come back to that in a minute.
[20:09] Emilly Orr: Right.
[20:09] My Pet Zombie Loves Brains: I am glad we agree.

I was too, the problem, though, was I was talking to a zombie trapped in a green-painted service locker in an abandoned psych ward. This had the potential to go downhill, I thought, so I wandered off looking for more brains.

I found them--but I also found a zombie pushing a gurney into a side corner. Rather forcefully.

This didn't seem like it was the best plan.

[21:20] My Pet Zombie Nurse: >>:[
[21:20] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Hello there.
[21:21] Emilly Orr: You're stuck again.
[21:21] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Once more? I will tell my botmaster you said I am stuck.

They talk to their botmaster--Azriel Demain, owner of Fallen--a great deal. He reads them stories and gives them instructions. We should all be happy they work as well as they do--after all, they are zombies.

Then the zombie got existential.

[21:21] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Where are you located?
[21:22] Emilly Orr: Here.
[21:22] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Where is here?
[21:22] Emilly Orr: The Sanitarium.
[21:22] My Pet Zombie Nurse: What is that?
[21:22] Emilly Orr: Well, it's where you go when you're crazy.
[21:22] My Pet Zombie Nurse: How about that. I can understand that sentiment.
[21:22] Emilly Orr: Thought you might.

I admit, telling an undead nurse about psychiatric care, that was a new one for me.

[21:22] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Do you really think so?
[21:22] Emilly Orr: I think so. Come out of the corner.
[21:22] My Pet Zombie Nurse: I think so too. Where is out of the corner ?

This wasn't working. I took a running leap to try to climb over the gurney, and push the zombie away from the corner section. I failed, and ended up on the pose on the gurney.

Lots of flailing ensued before things got really odd.

[21:23] Emilly Orr flails a lot on the gurney
[21:23] My Pet Zombie Nurse: YOU? That remark was either too complex or too simple for me. We were talking about defchan.
[21:23] Emilly Orr: We were talking about defchan? When were we talking about defchan?
[21:23] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Ah yes, I remember now, it is the subject. It was back in the old days, long ago.
[21:23] Emilly Orr: When we had woodburning cats?
[21:23] My Pet Zombie Nurse: I am not sure I agree with your assumptions.
[21:23] Emilly Orr: Probably not.
[21:23] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Why the uncertain tone?
[21:23] Emilly Orr: Because I'm flailing on a gurney.
[21:23] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Good reason. It's good to meet someone who is flailing on a gurney.

I sensed limbo approaching again, so I scrambled off the gurney and went home. Far as I know, the zombie nurse is still pushing aimlessly into the corner of the Sanitarium.

Least he has a defined task. The other zombie in the locker has it worse...

So, all in all, sort of a lost day. I did manage to get my bat tokens in for the Deader than You tour, so yay for that--and I've worn the DV8 outfit (the Geishurai latex set in orange and black) more times in the past two weeks than anything else, so it was worth it. And I did find a few brains, and may find more tomorrow.

Still, I missed all the dances and all the costume contests. Ah, well. I'd say I'm becoming a recluse but I've generally been too busy to notice.

Is that a good thing?

The fires grow brighter. Heated metal heavy on the air. Smell of burning oil and coal heavier. I've been here before. Stupid to think a few months of peace equaled a lifetime.

Ah, the next installment of the haunted house run...this is all about the last house we visited.



OneDom had a haunted house this year in Jai. Strangely, we'd already seen some of OneDom's work--the haunted spirit mirror and the brain buffet seem popular this year, and OneDom makes them.



This house is dangerous? Well, I know it's creepy enough--the statues watched me as I walked up the stairs, the painting hissed one of Freddy Krueger's lesser-known aphorisms, and the crashing sea behind the island house was red as blood.



Impressive, though. Lots of physics effects, so expect occasional lag. And did I mention the statues? Simple effect, but it really got to me.



It's a gorgeous build, and really, when you think about it--considering it's entirely stocked with OneDom products--a very focused advertisement for everything they sell.



If this is the quality of stuph they sell, though, bring it on. I want half of what I saw, it's very well made.



And some rooms seem to be there just for the pretty. I'm fine with this, mind, but I liked that they had just darkly beautiful places, as well as disturbing ones.

(And if you've noticed the small pale android with the holographic face with me, this is Autogenic Alchemy's next project--hopefully soon to be released! Expect news...at some point...on the shop blog.)

Overall, high marks for OneDom. Since nearly everything is a sculpt, do give lots of time to rez. But some very fun rooms, and--if you find the bathroom--don't forget to flush.

This may be the haunted houses for the year; it's been mostly slim and disappointing all around. But there are some odd gems in all the schist. It's worth digging for them if you have the time.

Update on the hunt at Lady Disdain: I now have a signboard up with all the things in the hunt that aren't poses. (Of course, you can disdain the hunt entirely, and buy directly from the sign, but that won't get you the items for a Linden per.)



So yay! Now folks can come to the store for the hunt items, at a Linden per, or--if you'd rather not bother finding, you know, big green glowing bats, you can pick and choose from the non-pose prizes. After the hunt closes, the two outfits will go on the walls as new products, and the Rag Doll, the horns, and the thirteen eyes will be shuffled off into Limited Edition Storage.

(I haven't decided how I'm displaying the poses yet, or if I'm going to do more than the occasional novelty pose now and again.)

Meanwhile, onto Truck's Place Halloween Tour. It spans more than one sim, and it starts off at the back of a small Chinatown district, so automatically, we start off the exploration creeping through small overcrowded spaces, redolent with the smell of smoked fish and dim sum, incense, ginger and spices.

Burning Life 2009 ended, and the reputation of the Burn went up in smoke.

This is how it goes.

Tateru Nino over at Massively and Stroker Serpentine, the mind behind SexGen, broke the story about the massive cases of copyright infringement that were plunked right in the middle of Burning Life.

And I was sad because I hadn't wandered the virtual Burn. Now I'm glad I didn't go.

To repeat information you will find there, this is a partial list of everything that was lifted from various designers on the grid, hacked into notecard segments, and passed out in one full-permission box (apparently previously owned by Damen Hax, a long-time resident, who says otherwise, he has zero connection to the infringement):

3FX (Jasmine Godenot?)
FNKY! (Funk Schnook)
CobraTech (BlckCobra Shikami)
**Kabuki Creations (Naku Nishi)
AQUALOVE Zen and Serenity (Luigi Dickens)
Raziel Foggarty Sexbeds (Raziel Foggarty)
Luna Animations (Jennifer Brennon)
::Bloodlines:: (Mars Bracken)
Zyngo (Aargle Zymurgy)
Bojan Allen Sexbeds (Bojan Allen)
CM Designs (Corrin Maitland)
Eclectic Randomness (Winter Ventura)
Bits and Bobs (Craig Altman)
[.::CHASE::.] (Ocean Lane)
Damania (Damanios Thetan)
Lovebirds Paradise Furniture (Bird Lilliehook)
Shiny Things (Fallingwater Cellardoor)
Stiletto Moody Shoes (Stiletto Moody)
Midnight Lotus (Hasuko Kuramot)
Quantum Products (Darling Brody)
5ifth Order (Jonny Dusk)
AKEYO (artoo Magneto)
Arcane (Eyllen Allen)
MystiTool (Mystical Cookie)
Ce Cubic (mirari Jun)
BARTLETT & NIELSON Furniture (Belle Bartlett)
Vamporium (Trijin Bade)
.:MAD Studio:. (Maddox DuPont)
SixtyNine(Kumii Yoshikawa)
:SEY (risey Arai)
SiniStyle (Krius Misfit)
SineWave (Easy Babcock)
VISTA Anim (Vista Barnes)
Henmations (Hendrik Schroeder)
Abranimations (Abramelin Wolfe)
Armidi (London Armidi)
@HOME (nightlife Overlord)
SOREAL (Kwarney Pinion)
[ hoorenbeek ] (Limer Kosten)
Gritty Kitty (Noam Sprocket)
Blaze Nielson (no store name, no classified ads taken, resident since 2006?)
TOM Burt (no TOM listed, just tom Burt and Tomae Burt, and no one has anything on their profiles?)
kowalski Erin (Neither kowalski Erin, who is German, or Erin Kowalski, who is not, have anything on their profiles?)
Redgrave (no idea whether "Redgrave" is first name or last, thus no other name to search for, thus no further information--anyone know more?)

Note, this is only a partial list.

From Ciaran Laval:

Linden Lab really need to make an example of someone here. They need to send a loud and clear message that exploits won't be tolerated, it's time to stop playing nice over there in San Francisco and go after those who encourage content theft.

It also hit over on Shopping Cart Disco, where Tenshi Velle sounds shocked and appalled, start to finish. (There's also an open discussion on copyright infringement that's worth reading through.)

Today, the creator of the Neillife viewer responded to the allegations that exploits in his viewer allowed this major hack. He denies any culpability...then spends a minorly exhaustive time detailing, in that post, simple hacks he's okay to tell others about, on how to get gestures, animations, system clothing layers, particle streams, and prim objects.

Lovely.

The march for IP protection and copyright security goes on...neither side is winning, yet, nor likely to do so for some time.

The ultimate vampire comparison chart. (Though I note, there are mistakes on this list. But it's fun nonetheless.)

Speaking of ultimates, this is cut paper. No, seriously. All of that castle is comprised of folded and cut paper. Incredible.

On my way somewhere, I came across mention of a haunted house in Pirandello Bay. Imagine my intrigue when I saw this:



Oh my.

It's good food for thought, though, and it is a true statement. Plus, it forever amuses me that in keeping with PhotoBucket's draconian nudity policies, I have to 'mask out' nipples--therefore making them even more obvious--but the whipmarks across those lovely breasts? Will likely be just fine.

Hypocrisy, I tell you.

But more on them later; in the meantime, we move on! To...Chateau de Mort! Thrills! Chills! Zombies! Undead!

...wait, next event October 14th?!?



I admit, I love the concept of the Teleport Booth. That was a nice touch.

There were a lot of nice touches at Chateau de Mort, but very little coherency.



The Hell Hole was new this year, but overall rating...eh. One out of ten skulls? Too many things happening for no reason, way too many sounds overlapping, but the build is nice. Which brings us to...

Bloodmoon Manor. Which, oddly, was the same build as the Chateau, and many of the same props. What the hell? Mostly dull, but there were interesting moments:



The ballroom, for instance. Took a while to rez in, but once it did, it was eerily beautiful. Another lovely little touch is in the front room of Bloodmoon--a ghostly radio that plays themes from horror films, classic and modern, on the parcel stream. Again, elegant little touch.



This was also an interesting touch. Not truly connected to the rest of the house, but a nicely laid out room on its own. The burning body was a nice touch.



The attic was rather good, as well. The fellow with the chainsaw was overkill, but the torso on the table was reasonably grotesque.

Yes, my hair has eyes. It also blinks on occasion. But we'll move on.

Then we went to Pirandello Bay. This is an adult-rated sim. They're very interesting. They have an ice dungeon. It all sounds fascinating.



You may have to port in to the welcome center and find the teleport down; I'm not entirely sure it's not on a default beam-in point. Luckily, there's usually someone hanging around ready and willing to help out, in whatever fashion they can.



The house itself is well-built, and nicely laid out for a small haunt, but....honestly, there's one rat. I think the biggest terror in there is that there's dust. And the one rat.



And not enough bondage equipment in the dungeon. The horror!

Onward to Quark, where I ported into a table. This table:



Ick. On the positive side, we finally have a table setting for upwardly mobile zombies?

The house itself is amazing--all 750 prims of it. It's Ulysses Cabaret's "Crooked Steamer" house, and this place is just packed with neat nooks and crannies and small rooms and gearpunk tweaks--including the slightly curving smokestack that is the house's tallest feature.



But--apart from the brain buffet downstairs, and a single ghost roaming upstairs, there...wasn't anything else in the house.

I climbed the ladder to the attic and saw this after I drew close to the single pumpkin adorning the attic floor:

[23:32] Halloween Contest: BOO! Emilly Orr has survived the haunted house and have been entered in the Halloween Zyngo Contest! Your high scores will now show on the contest board! Visit Ill Faire to play

AAAAAAH! ZYNGO!! RUUUUUUUN!

Okay, that was scary.



"About the history of Slaughter Creek Manor

"This historic two-story house in Slaughter Creek with its wide verandahs 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 Andrew Mills and his family in 1884 and it would appear that from the Mills family most of the stories of ghosts and hauntings and many other tragic happenings seem to originate.

"In fact the ghost of young Mrs Mills and her new born baby has been seen many times in her former room and in recent years. It is believed that after Andrew Mills was murderd by their former stable hand leaving behind his beautiful wife and newborn son in 1910, Mrs Mills only left the house on two occasions and leaving her son in the care of her nanny had left the house upon her return she found the nanny had killed the baby by dropping him down the stairs and then killed herslf , This was the last straw for poor Mrs mills whome had become so very depressed and was soo distraught at the loss of her family she hung herself from her bedroom closet no wonder her presence still lingers. A new family had since moved into the empty home and had felt a bad evil pressence that took over the father and he when mad till he killed his whole family with a knife in thier sleep and turning it on himself...one family had tried to live there but lasted only a short time their experience: "We moved into Monte Cristo on June 3rd 1963 blissfully unaware of the Homestead's often gruesome history, those dubious revelations would be some time off..."



It goes on like that, for a really long time. Like, a lot of exposition. And while I've shortened it for blog inclusion, I haven't corrected any spelling errors or run-on sentences, so you can see the back-story is about as scary as the house!

Still, the actual haunt is rather fun.



The best part? They have a creepy haunted tip jar doll that chases you until you pay him! RUUUUN--or pay the kid, and then he'll go away!

Couple more from tonight's run through the haunts to come. Stay tuned!