| A Murdock's View A blog by the webmaster, who is also a character in the Pataskala Haunted Forest. |
| BLOG #3, SEASON 20, OCTOBER 18, 2009, 7:24 PM Week 3 has come and gone and WOW. This week had everything. Action, Suspense, Drama, and thats outside of the scenes. This has been by far the worst weather I have seen in October on consecutive weekends at the haunted forest, but it really hasn't slowed us down. Walking in the mud is not really a big deal, I can even handle the cold October air, but adding rain on top of all that REALLY SUCKS!!! This is not really that big of a deal, I live to be in those woods every October to scare for charity. MOVING ON!!! I had a fun thought this weekend as I walked through the woods, I made a cheesy suggestion to some Lions Club members suggesting that we change the name from the Pataskala Haunted Forest to the PataskGHOULa Haunted Forest.... A chuckle was had by all but I don't see it happening anytime soon. lol As we have now reached the half way point of our yearly adventure, Its time to announce this years categories for the annual PATASKALA HAUNTED FOREST WEBMASTER AWARDS!!! These awards are given to the hard working volunteers of the haunted forest by myself. I choose the categories, I choose the winners. I watch every scene in the forest many times as the season goes on and I watch how the scenes progress. At the end of the season I announce the winners of each category. These awards are meant to be fun so lets not take it personally um kay? The categories are as follows. BEST LIVE ENTERTAINMENT BEST COSTUME(S) BEST DIALOG BEST PROP(S) MOST BELIEVABLE BEST SCARE(S) BEST IMPROV MOST POTENTIAL BEST BANG MOST AMUSING BEST TIE-IN MOST INTIMIDATING MYSTERY AWARD The awards will (hopefully) be announced at the Pataskala Haunted Forest Wrap Party at the end of the season. Thats all I have for tonight, hope to see you all next weekend as the 20th haunting season continues MURDOCK OUT! BLOG #2, SEASON 20, OCTOBER 4, 2009, 11:37 AM Well, where do I begin this one? Our 20th season has begun and I have to say i am very impressed with everything I have seen this year as far as all of the changes I have seen in the forest. Every scene in the woods has changed and I love everyone of them. The end of season webmaster awards are going to be a tough one as far as who wins what award. I am going to have to watch each and every scene over and over to decide, because as of right now its a toss up. New Scares, new fears to warp minds, new characters, new scenes, new everything. Friday night we hosted Shadow Prophets on stage. Shadow Prophets has gone down in history as the very first band to play at the Pataskala Haunted Forest. In the 20 years the forest has been in operation, they were the FIRST band to play their. I felt that they did a great job and many others I spoke with in the woods feel the same way. Saturday night we hosted HSR - High Strung Rock-n-Roll on stage. This power trio was awesome. Bringing classic rock to the woods along with a touch of their own flavor. Great tunes to scare to. All entertainers this season are volunteering their time to the Pataskala Haunted Forest just like everyone else out there. I am proud of every entertainer that has or is going to perform this season. They could easily go out and perform their craft for cash on a weekend. But they understand the importance of the haunted forest and what the money goes for as we are a charity haunted attraction. No one gets paid to work in our woods and the money goes to a good cause. On that note, I understand that some people fear change. I realize that the music being played is a new distraction. I take full responsibility for this new distraction. We all have the same goal at the Pataskala Haunted Forest. To raise money for charity and entertain the guests for about an hour as they walk thought our woods. I brought up the idea of having live entertainment outside of the woods to keep our guests entertained as they stand in line for a long time before they enter the woods. This idea was presented to the Pataskala Lions Club and with their full support, I began booking entertainers to perform. The idea behind having these entertainers at the forest is the same reason we change scenes from time to time, come up with new ideas from time to time, etc. This is all for the betterment of the Pataskala Haunted Forest. I don't think anyone in the woods has the goal of making things more difficult or worse for the forest. This is a work in progress, this is the first time we have ever done anything like this, it is going to be trial and error, as is everything else out in the forest, we figure out what works and what doesn't work and we keep pushing forward. I have a saying. "SAME TEAM, SAME DREAM" I truly believe in this motto. This motto holds true in the forest as well in everyday life, weather it be work, family, church, whatever. We are all on the same team, we all have the same dream. So at this time, I will apologize to anyone that feels that these entertainers are a distraction to you, However i do not apologize for having them at the forest to entertain our guests. This venture has the support of the Pataskala Lions Club as well as the Pataskala Haunted Forest. It is trial and error and when it is all said and done, we will know if this works for us or not. With this being said, I feel that the forest is only going to get better and better this season. Honestly, I love our forest and I love everyone in it, no matter how some may feel about me. The Murdock's are my 2nd family and the forest is my 2nd home. Just a reminder, on Friday October 9th the Pataskala Haunted Forest will be hosting DJ Louie on stage spinning your favorite hits and taking requests. Saturday October 10th we present a 2fer. Heroes You Hate & Seconds From The Storm performing LIVE!!!!! MURDOCK OUT!!! BLOG #1, SEASON 20, SEPT 20, 2009, 12:38 PM 11 Days and counting until the Murdocks begin their REIGN OF TERROR upon the City of Pataskala. It is during this time that we Warn anyone that is fool enough to enter them woods at night... Then you... Will... Be... Next. The Pataskala Haunted Forest along with the Pataskala Lions Club & Southwest Licking Youth Sports and Cheerleading is VERY excited to begin it's 20th year of terror. The Pataskala Haunted Forest has ALWAYS been a charity haunted attraction, supporting the youth of Licking County since the Haunted Forest's inception in 1989. Everyone that works at the Pataskala Haunted Forest is a volunteer. This includes actors, parking lot staff, ticket booth workers, food vendors, guides, etc. I can honestly say that there is something about working in this environment. Working long hours 2 nights a week for no pay and sometimes harsh weather (heat, rain, cold, etc) does not seem to bother anyone working their. Most volunteers at the haunted forest have full time jobs and full time families as well as putting in over 100 hours at the forest for charity. This 100+ hours includes setting up the month before. Repairing scenes from the vandals and elements from the year before as well as adding new attractions and scene ideas for the upcoming year. We also encourage the youth of Central Ohio to volunteer their time during haunting season. If it wasn't for the youth that volunteer their time every year, I doubt the Haunted Forest would be as good as it is. The Haunted Forest gives the youth of the surrounding area a safe and fun place to spend their weekend evenings while also contributing to charity. This also is accepted by schools that require volunteer hours by the students. Now onto the FUN PART. I can't give away too much, but I can say this. The Pataskala Haunted Forest will have a NEW FEEL for the 20th season. New Scenes, new scares, LIVE BANDS, and the NEW Murdock 'Shine Energy Drink. Someone actually claimed that they saw Billy Mayes advertising this product... How silly is that. Speaking of LIVE BANDS, We have compiled some of the BEST musicians in Ohio. Some coming from as far away as the Cleveland Area. These artists also realize how important this charity attraction is as they have volunteered their time as well. So a BIG Thank You goes out to all of our featured musicians. Friday October 2 - Shadow Prophets Saturday October 3 - High Strung Rock-n-Roll Friday October 9 - Saturday October 10 - Heroes You Hate & Seconds From The Storm Friday October 16 - Shadow Prophets Saturday October 17 - Sneeky Peek Friday October 23 - Severance Saturday October 24 - Hate to Cry Friday October 30 - Saturday October 31 - Shadow Prophets Thats pretty much all I have for now as far as haunting season goes. I do need to pay some bills tho, so let me start with the different ways you can interact with the Pataskala Haunted Forest. The Pataskala Haunted Forest has a few different ways to interact with us. 1: The Pataskala Haunted Forest Website. www.pataskalahauntedforest.com 2: The Pataskala Haunted Forest e-mail. themurdockclan@yahoo.com 3: The Pataskala Haunted Forest Webmaster e-mail. webmaster@pataskalahauntedforest.com 4: The Pataskala Haunted Forest myspace page. www.myspace.com/thepataskalahauntedforest 5: The Pataskala Haunted Forest Facebook group. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56982026716#/group.php?gid=56982026716 WOW, you would think that Facebook would make that link a little shorter...hmmmmm. Thats it, thats a wrap, Next Blog will be after opening weekend. MURDOCK OUT!!! |