Archived Grave Happenings

May 25, 2012

West Coast Haunters Convention is coming soon!

June 1-3 at the Doubletree Lloyd Center Hotel, Portland, OR

There will be over 40 hours of classes and workshop over 3 days. All three days will showcase a large selection of vendors in the exibhit hall.

- A 3 day pass costs  $45 at the door.

- One day pass is $25 at the door.

- The West Coast Haunters Costume Ball starts at 8pm on Saturday.
   Tickets are $25 at the door.


We will be teaching a Projected Ghost Effects seminar on Friday 11am-12pm and a Foam texturing demo with Mike Krausert Saturday 3-4.

We will also be selling some of our older props during the convention.  Stop by our Home Haunter table to learn more and to sign up for our workshops for the summer.


We look forward to seeing you at the convention!


May 4, 2012

HAuNTcon Seminars

Here are the links to our seminar handouts. 

Foam Texturing
Video Ghost Effects


April 2, 2012

Summer Workshops Schedule

We have posted our summer workshop schedule on the Events page.  This year we are offering more workshops than we have ever done before.  We brought back the popular corpsing and Mud man weekend.  We've added a new crow cage and Mourner Monument weekend.  Plus our tombstone workshops and last years popular stacked books workshop.


March 25, 2012

Home Haunters DVD Collection Available

The Annual Home Haunters DVD collection for 2011is now available for purchase.  There are over 70 home haunts featured on this collection.   The set sells for $25 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.   If your haunt is on the disc the price is $18.75.

We have also updated the site with the style of the new cover for this year and a whole bunch of new details including the option to order older DVD sets.   Check it out here.

Haunters Video Awards website updated

We have recently updated the awards website just in time before the awards are announced next month.  Check out the new site here.


November 6, 2011

Halloween season comes to a close

We have taken the display down and packed all the decorations away.  We want to thank everyone to stopped by to take a look at the display and all the inspiration comments about the work we put into it.  We are happy with the response to the new Abbey and are already planning for next year.  Stay tuned for news of conventions and summer workshops.


October 3, 2011

The Display is up

The yard is officially up.  The lights come on at dusk till 10pm.  The full effects will run Fri/Sat/Sun dusk to 11pm (10pm on Sun).  Follow us on Facebook for updates about weather affecting our effects.  Have a safe and happy Halloween.

September 27, 2011

October Schedule posted

Check our events page for next months schedule.  We will be setting up the display the first weekend in October.   We have a few new surprises along with some of your old favorites.  Looking forward to seeing you all and having a happy Halloween.


September 7, 2011

New Products in our store

Just in time for Halloween prop making we have added a few things to our product page and started an Etsy Store.   Check them out of you are interested in making your own tombstones.   We also posted our 2010 DVD capturing the display in 2010.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook to get updated on the current prop building for 2011.  We will be setting up October 1st. 


May 25, 2011

Conventions are over and summer begins

We had a blast teaching people how to texture foam and make tombstones at HAuNTcon and WCHC this spring.  Now we begin work on our own props and start working on the display for this year.  We still have our tombstone classes in July and August too.

For those of you that missed our seminars here are the handouts from WCHC

Tombstone Workshop
Foam Texturing
 

May 11, 2011

Davis Graveyard Heads to Salem for the West Coast Haunters Convention

The WCHC is May 13-15 at the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem. We will be teaching our popular Tombstone Workshop and repeating our foam texturing seminar from HAuNTcon. We will have a booth where we will be selling some custom items and DVD's. We will also be talking about what we did for the Nightmare Factory remodel for Extreme Makeover Home Edition Friday evening.

Foam Texturing Techniques Seminar 11:30-12:30  (free)
Realistic Tombstone Make-n-take 1:30-3:30 ($30 fee)


Come join us for a great weekend!


March 25, 2011

Home Haunters DVD Collection Available

The Annual Home Haunters DVD collection for 2010 is now available for purchase.  There are over 60 home haunts featured on this collection.    The set sells for $25 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.   If your haunt is on the disc the price is $18.75.

March 12, 2011

Tombstone Workshop Schedule announced

We have set the dates for our 2011 workshops.  See our events page for details and to sign up.  

March 9, 2011

Home Haunters DVD Collection Coming Soon

The Annual Home Haunters DVD collection for 2010 is currently taking pre-orders for the 5 disc set.  There are over 60 home haunts featured on this collection.    The set sells for $25 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.   If your haunt is on the disc the price is $18.75.

Davis Graveyard Invades HAuNTcon

W
e will be at  HAuNTcon in Louisville, KY April 28- May 2nd. 

The invasion begins by us teaching 2 make-n-takes.
The first one is our popular Tombstone workshop the cost is $25.

The second one we will show people how to make a stack of foam books with a foam skull with a battery operated candle.   This class cost is $20.

Then we are teaching a foam texturing seminar.
We are going to go over some of the many foam texturing techniques we know for.

Monday we are teaching an all-day workshop
We are going to make a starter graveyard, based on many of the props we have in our display. The plan so far is: (the descriptions link to pictures of the individual props from our display.)

The best part? We will have a raffle at the end of the day and one lucky winner will go home with the whole lot.

The cost is $150.  We hope to see you there.



January 28, 2011

New Email List System

Our email list is getting too big for us to manage on our own so we are going to start using or web hosting services email services.   We will be sending out an email to everyone on our list.  You will have the option to unsubscribe or change your preferences for email.   You can also sign up for announcements  and periodic emails here at our website under Subscribe.


January 27, 2011

Haunters DVD deadline extended

The date for submitting DVD's has been pushed back to February 15th 2011.  You can check to see who has submitted or if yours has been received by clicking here


December 6, 2010

Haunters DVD submission

We are taking over for Paul "Propmaster" Venturella who used to produce the haunters video DVD set.  Please submit your videos here


October 30, 2010

Happy Halloween

Due to weather the effects might not be running on Saturday October 30th dusk till 11pm. 

Halloween Night October 31st we will turn on as many effects as we can even if it is raining.   The dancers will be performing from 5-10pm.  They will perform every 20-30 minutes, less often if it is raining.  

Remember the street will be closed on Sunday 5-10pm we encourage you to park in the business lots on Johnson Creek Blvd 2 blocks away.


October 22, 2010

Private Party

The private party we hold on Saturday the 23rd does not affect the display.  The party is held in the back of our display where the public does not have access.   The display will operate as normal on Saturday the 23rd but be aware that costumed guests will be coming and going and that parking will be limited.


October 11, 2010

Davis Graveyard Open House

Our annual open house is this Sunday October 17th from Noon to 5pm.   The MHS Dance team will be performing their version of "Thriller" throughout the day.  The Coffin Cruisers will be there with their hearses and the Living Dead Girls will be with them doing photos.  Come and enjoy the afternoon and see "behind the scenes" and meet the creators of the display.

October 4, 2010

The Graveyard is up!

The display is up and running with lights only Monday-Thursday dusk-10pm.   Full effects (fog, sound, animations, and video) run Friday-Sunday  dusk - 11pm (10pm on Sunday).   Check the events page for more details


September 27, 2010

Davis Graveyard Photography on display

Photography by the Graveyards  favorite photographer Marci Brandt will be on display at Wine:30 in downtown Milwaukie.   The opening of the display will on First Friday October 1st from 4-8pm.  The photos will be up the entire month of October and the place will be decorated in Davis Graveyard style.


September 26, 2010

Display setup has started

The 2010 display has started to be setup.    The main structures have been setup and after next weekend the display will be fully up.  Monday October 4th is the official open day.   Our first day of effects will be Friday October 8th from dusk to 11pm.


September 8, 2010

Extreme Home Makeover week!

Davis Graveyard is working with Bad Boys Scenic Design on the Nightmare Factory remodel for Extreme Home Makeover. Thanks to our crew and all the volunteers that helped us this holiday weekend. We will be down in Salem this upcoming weekend to finish up the project.

For those of you that don't know, here is what is happening at the Nightmare Factory.


Please check their donation page and let them know ASAP if you have any of the items they are looking for. They are also accepting cash donations to purchase any materials that are not donated. This is a great cause and the kids at the school that run the haunt appreciate everything that you can do.


August 1, 2010

Yearly Tombstone workshop attended well.

Thanks to everyone who attended our 2 tombstone classes on Saturday.  We had a great time and you all made some great tombstones.



Our next tombstone class is August 28th.  Space is still available, click here for details.




July 13, 2010

First corpsing classes a big success!

Thanks to everyone who attended our 2 corpsing classes on Saturday.  We had a great time and you all made some fine corpses perfect for scaring those trick or treaters on Halloween night.  Well done.

Our next class is our famous Tombstone Class.  Space is still available, click here for details.




May 23, 2010

Back from West Coast Haunters Convention

Thanks to everyone who attended our 2 seminars this weekend.  As promised here are the handouts for anyone who didn't get one.

How to Design and Build a Better Cemetery

Using Video Effects in your Haunted Graveyard

 


May 12, 2010

West Coast Haunters Convention May 21-23

We are giving 2 seminars during this event. There is no charge to attend these seminars. Convention admission is $10 per day or $25 for all 3 days.

WCHC is being held at the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem who hosts the successful Nightmare Factory haunted house. Directions are here.


Saturday May 22nd 12:30-2pm CSF building
How to Design and Build a Better Cemetery
This seminar will cover the entire process of creating an award winning graveyard. It will cover lessons learned along with some tips and tricks that will help anyone build a creepier graveyard. From large scale facades to detailed tombstones you will see some of the ways to use Styrofoam. It will explain how to do video ghost effects and talking busts. Find out what monster mud is and how to use it to build props that look great. Learn about casting with expanding foam. Hear about how animatronics are used to add to the overall feel. It will also touch on details like lighting, organic treatments and other small but important touches.

Sunday May 23rd 12:30-2pm CSF building
Using Video Effects in your Haunted Graveyard
This demonstration will show you how to use an LCD projector and a DVD player to project realistic ghost effects in your display. With easy to use video editing software and a digital video camera this session will demonstrate the entire process of creating a ghost effect from filming to projecting the final image in your haunt, including some advanced techniques to make your effect even more unique. If you have ever wanted to have the talking busts from Disney’s Haunted Mansion in you graveyard or a ghost hanging out in your mausoleum this session will show you how!

May 11, 2010

Workshops are starting to fill up  
We are getting good response on our planned workshops for this  year.  The 2 tombstone workshops dates still have plenty of openings.  The new skeleton corpsing workshop is almost full.  The Molding and Casting 2 day workshop is half full.

Check out our events page for details.


April 26, 2010

2009 Haunters Video Award Winners Announced 
The judges have voted and the winners have been chosen.   

2009 Winners

Best Yard Haunt - Spencer & Debra  Casa Fear

Best Yard Haunt (Vanguard)
- Guy  House Bloodthorn The Resurrection of Rose

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt
– Russ & Carol McKamey Manor Asylum

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt (Vanguard)
– Baron & Baroness Reuwsaat  Darkwing Manor Morgueorium Museum

Best Static Prop
– Craig  Haunted Tiki Island

Best Static Prop (Vanguard)
– Robert B. Brandywine Cemetery

Best Animated Prop
– Paul Jameson Monster Mouth Haunted House

Best Animated Prop (Vanguard)
- Brent Ross DC Cemetery

Best Party Haunt
– Kellie Ann Wirtz Party Haunt

Best Video Production
– Lynne & Shawn The Mitchell Cemetery

Best How to
- Noah Fentz  Katzper’s Haunt

Propmaster Award - Lynne & Shawn Mitchell - How To Haunt Your House


March 30, 2010

Come see us at West Coast Haunters Convention in Salem  
We will be presenting seminars on Graveyard Design Overview and Video Projection Effects on Saturday and Sunday May 22-23.  One day pass is $10 or a three day pass is $25.  It is being held at the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem home to  The Nightmare Factory Haunted house run by Ed Roberts.   Read more about the convention here.


March 24, 2010

We have finished our DVD and photo book for 2009  
Check out our products page for links to our 2009 photo book and DVD.


March 21, 2010

We have scheduled our workshops for this year  
After receiving feedback from our survey we have decided on the workshops for this year.   We will be holding 2 tombstone workshops and a new skeleton corpsing workshop and a Molding and Casting 2 day workshop.

Check out our events page for details.


January 19, 2010

Help us pick the workshops for this year  
We have several ideas for workshops this year but we'd like to hear from our visitors to see which ones would be of most interest to them.

Click here to take our survey


November 23, 2009

We Won the Haunters Association Home Haunt of the Year Contest  
Our video took 1st place in the contest held last week.  Here is what we won.

 - Mr. Skeleton MAX Full Skeleton (Mr. Skeleton)
 - 1 Yr Subscription to Haunted Attraction Magazine (Haunted Attraction Mag)
 - DVD Haunting Makeup by Geoff Beck (Haunted Attraction Mag)
 - Styrofoam Masons DVD by Bad Boys Scenic Design (Haunted Attraction Mag)
 - Costume Weapon—Double Bit Axe from Scream Line Studios (Haunted Attraction Mag)
 - Autographed Copy of “How to Haunt Your House” (HowToHauntYourHouse.com)
 - Midnight Syndicate Music CD (Midnight Syndicate)
 - Home Haunters Association Exclusive 1st Place Trophy (Home Haunters Association)



November 16, 2009

Home Haunters Association Home Haunt of the Year Contest  
We put together a quick video to enter in the contest and we need your help. Before Friday, November 20,  view the video all the way through (so it counts as a view) and rate it five stars.

Then, tell everyone you know to do the same! We need hundreds of entries to catch up!

If you have a yard haunt, be sure the sign up with the Association, it is free and they offer many benefits including merchant discounts.

We really appreciate your support!


 


October 29, 2009

Dancers Halloween Night Update 
The MHS Dancers will be arriving at the graveyard just before 5pm and will get their hair, makeup and costumes ready and perform as soon as they can.  Please be patient with us as they get ready. 

October 20, 2009

The Graveyard Dancers return Halloween night 
The MHS Dance team that performed the tribute routine from the "Thriller" video with a Michael Jackson lead.   The will be performing from 6:30pm to 11pm about every 15 to 20 miniutes.




October 8, 2009

We do not charge admission but... 
The display has always been free for the public and our Open house is also free to attend.  This year however we did build a donation box that we will gladly accept any donated amounts throughout the season.  At the Open house any donations collected will go to the dance team. 




October 6, 2009

Open House this Sunday 
Our annual fundraiser open house is this Sunday from Noon to 5pm.  The street will be closed for everyone's safety and enjoyment.   We suggest you park around the corner on Johnson Creek Blvd in one of business parking lots and walk up to the display.



October 5, 2009

The Graveyard is up! 
After 2 long weekends of setup the display is finally ready.  The lights will come on at dusk until 10pm Monday through Thursday and full effects (sound, fog, video, animatronics) are Friday through Sunday dusk till 11pm (10pm on Sunday).


September 8, 2009

We are featured in Haunted Attraction Magazine 
In the newly redesigned issue #51 the cover lists us as "one of the best home haunts ever!!!".  We are the first home haunt to be featured in the new Home Haunt Spotlight  section of the magazine.  There are also extra photos and information on the newly designed website too.

August 23, 2009

Our 2nd Tombstone Workshop 
We had 15 people attend our last workshop of the year.  Each person made their own tombstone.  It was a lot of fun and everyone learned a lot and enjoyed themselves and so did we. 


August 10, 2009

New Mud Man Workshop a huge success
We had 8 people make their own Davis Graveyard style mud men in pairs.    They finished the frames with chicken wire and mudded the burlap and the let it dry for 24hrs and came back and painted them black, dry brushed them and added polyurethane.  Our last workshop of the year is our 2nd Tombstone class on Saturday August 22nd.




July 26, 2009

Tombstone Workshop was fun
We had 7 people make their own Davis Graveyard style tombstones.    They went home with the first of many of their own tombstones for Halloween.   Our next tombstone class is Saturday August 22nd.  In the mean time we will be holding a Mud Man Workshop the Weekend of August 8th and 9th.



July 13, 2009

Fright-Fest Northwest was a huge success
Over 50 people joined us at Champoeg State Park for a long weekend of halloween fun.  We made Trash-Can-Trauma pop-ups, Skeleton Cages, toxic hands, corpsed skeletons, and an assortment of props during a prop-off.   We watched great horror movies each night and everyone dressed up and danced the last night.    Looking forward to next year.


June 28, 2009

Join us at Fright-Fest Northwest
July 9-12 at Champoeg State Park RV Loop
Programming will include 8 horror movies, 2 make-n-takes, seminars, socials, food, a costume street dance, and a raffle.  Tickets are $40 per car for the weekend if you are camping or $10 per person each day if you are not.


May 28, 2009

We are on Hauntcast
Our interview with Hauntcast just came out in issue number 7 titled "The Devil's Hangover".  We enjoyed talking with Chris Baker and support him in his very popular home haunter podcast.




May 6, 2009

Back from HAuNTcon
As promised here are the links to the 3-Axis Bucky Skull seminar.
Power Point Presentation  
Detailed Hand out


April 16, 2009

Workshop schedule available
Since our Tombstone workshop was such a big hit last year we have decided to hold it again this year and this time we are planning 2 dates for people to choose from. We are also going to hold a 2 day Mud Man workshop where you and a partner can make one of the monks that we have in our driveway.   Check the Events page for details

April 13, 2009

2008 Haunters Video Award Winners Announced 
The judges have voted and the winners have been chosen.   

2008 Winners
Best Novice Haunt - Patrick Prue - DHG Cemetery: Deaths Hallowed Grounds
    Finalist – Steve & Lisa Toby - Nightmare on Mitchelle Street

Best Party Haunt – Doug & Debbie Lowe - Lowe Manor: The Tomb of Ellery
    Finalist – Angie - Dead Spider's Party Canada

Best Indoor Haunt Noah Fentz - Katzper's Haunt
    Finalist
The Baird Family - Baird Manor

Best Yard HauntBrent Ross - DC Cemetery
    Finalist Toby Wrolson - Haunt 31


March 27, 2009

Article in Haunted Attraction Magazine
Jeff wrote an article about the projected  head effect that was featured in the latest issue of Haunted Attraction Magazine.

March 7, 2009

2008 Haunters Video Awards
The 2008 Haunters Video Awards for 2008 have arrived.  Many thanks to Ghost Ride Productions, sponsor of the awards,  for designing the Finalist award as well as discounting the cost of the awards.

2008 Haunters Video DVD Collection now shipping

Propmaster recently announced that the 2008 Haunters Videos are now shipping.   This year it is a 7 DVD set marking the 10th anniversary of the DVDs.  Click here to buy your set today.


March 5, 2009

2008 Haunters Video Awards website is up and running
Check here for information on the 2008 award status as well as information on past winners and a history of the awards.

February 24, 2009

2008 Haunters Video DVD Collection now Available
Propmaster recently announced that the 2008 Haunters Videos are now available for purchase.   This year it is a 8 DVD set marking the 10th anniversary of the DVDs.  Click here to buy your set today.


Announcing the Haunters Video Awards Website
To continue the awards for the Haunters Video DVDs we have created a new site for the awards and renamed them "The Haunters Video Awards".  Here is where we will post the winners for 2008 as well as archive information the previous winners.

February 5, 2009

2008 Haunt Video on YouTube
We have submitted our video for the Yard Haunt Video compilation and have placed the files on YouTube.  Check out the latest videos on our Gallery page.

2008 Yard Haunt Video

Last time we checked with Propmaster he had over 120 yard haunts on this year's video collection.  Be sure to order a copy of the 10th Anniversary edition of this collection (available soon.)  It is great to see yard haunts from all over the country! 


January 11, 2009

The Graveyard is Sleeping
But we are busy here at the Davis Graveyard.  

We are still working on our book and hope to have a good draft by April and ready for Amazon by September.  We will keep you updated.

We are working on coming up with new haunt awards for the Home Haunters Video collection.  The series is in its tenth year and Paul has a few specials planned.  If you have any photos or video of your haunt, no matter how small, send them to Propmaster.  We enjoy seeing our fellow haunters on our TVs. We are looking for donations for prizes for the winners and some cash donations to help pay for the awards and shipping.  If you, or if you know someone who, can help us out.  Just send us an email.

Leonard has just announced the haunts and events for this year's Hauntcon.  This is a great event for professional and home haunters.  Jeff and I have attended for three years and have a great time and meet interesting people. 

We are hosting (with a lot of help from our friends) FrightFest Northwest at Champoeg Park in July.  We are working out the details for an updated website, we hope to have that up shortly.  Check back for more details.

November 19, 2008

Thanks for voting
As most of you know, we got the most votes on the Today show contest, but we were not the winner :( I guess we did not have enough Christmas lights on the house ~grin~ I thought I heard the haunt was in Tennessee, but I could not find out for certain. It looks like they put in a lot of time and money into their display. Congratulations!

The winner of the FearNet $25,000 contest was a home haunt called Renee's Haunted Barn in Virginia. Congratulations, from their video it looks like they put on a spectacular show. We appreciate all the sympathy emails from our fans that thought we should have won. Thanks! It is all in good fun and it is great to see the community get together like this. I hope they continue the contest next year.

November 18, 2008

Winners!
The winner of the Mud Man from the Portland Center Stage raffle was Linda Barber! But, she decided it wouldn't fit in her condo, so she offered it up to someone if they would make a donation to the Vision & Voices program. So the Mud Man found a new home with Lisa Stockman of Vancouver, WA who made the winning bid.

The winner of the skeleton for the Milwaukie High School Dance Team was Paul Dieringer of Milwaukie. Congratulations to all our winners and thanks to everyone for helping us support our local charities.

Thank You!
Thanks to everyone who helped us with our fundraisers this year. We wanted to take a moment to thank the vendors that help us each year. Since 100% of the proceeds go to charity, we cover the expenses for all the events. We would not be able to make this happen without the help of these vendors.

Donations, these vendors donated items:

Oak Hill Bed & Breakfast (the place to stay in Ashland!)

Imageworks

Sendit Direct (The best mailing service in Portland)

Scream at the Beach

Glowing Greens Golf

The Sauvie Island Corn Maze

Discounts, these vendors gave us discounts for the event supplies:

Dobb's Estate Winery (one of our favorite wines)

Dark Candles (the coolest candles!)

Fastsigns Tigard

Cupcake Jones(Yum!)

Thanks to all our friends and friends of friends that got us "deals" when they could. We appreciate your support!

October 30, 2008


Halloween Night is our Last Night
The last night of the display is Halloween Night. We will be taking down the display starting Saturday morning. The MHS Dancers will be performing from 6m-9pm Friday Night and the street will be closed from 5pm-11pm for trick or treaters. We will be turning off the display at 11pm.

October 29, 2008

We are featured on the Today Show
We are one of 3 halloween displays in the nation featured in a photo contest on the Today Show. Vote for us HERE.

October 28, 2008

Voting is closed for FEARnet
Thanks to everyone. There is a lot of competition this year and we appreciate your support of Davis Graveyard.

Davis Graveyard Gallery Updated
Thanks so much to our friend who took amazing pictures of our yard. Check out the 2008 link on the Gallery page.

Davis Graveyard on KPTV Fox 12 Halloween Morning
Joe V from Good Day Oregon will be back at the Graveyard on Halloween morning. We will be up at 5:00 am getting everything ready, if you are up early check it out.

Chris Davis on KNRK Halloween Afternoon
Chris will be playing her "perfect playlist" on Friday, Halloween on KNRK at 5:00. She will be playing her songs and talking to Gustav about the Graveyard.

Jeff Davis on KPAM Radio Tomorrow
Jeff will be interviewd by Bob Miller at 7:10am on KPAM 860am about the graveyard display

October 22, 2008

FEARnet 25K Contest 2008
It is back again, the best yard haunt in the US contest from our friends at FEARnet. The voting on this one is very different from last year. Here is what you do.
Create an account, one per email - very simple

Find the Davis Graveyard entry (http://www.fearnet.com/HH2008/index.html)
Vote 5 stars

Tell everyone you know to do the same :)

You are done and we thank you!!

The judging is done by popular vote and a panel of judges who will pick from the top five.

VOTING END OCTOBER 27!!!

The winner's video will appear on GOOD MORNING AMERICA Halloween morning.

BTW - one of our favorite Haunts - Mitchell Mausoleum is on there - check out their video, there stuff is creepy and beautiful.

October 21, 2008

Davis Graveyard on the Web
People are blogging about Davis Graveyard
Raven's Barrow
Pumpkin Rot
Mom's Like Me (Portland area)
Hub Pages
Grim Hallow
Haunt Style
Oregon
Davis Graveyard Featured
In the first edition of Home Haunter New online magazine

October 20, 2008

PCS Fundraiser update
Last Friday was our fundraiser for PCS at the Graveyard. As of today we estimate we have raised about $1,100 from the event. We thank everyone that came and helped us raise money for the Promising Playwrights Program. There are still raffle tickets available for the Mud Man. Contact Jessy at (503) 445-3744 jessyf@pcs.org or flag one of us down when we are out in the yard and we will be happy to sell you a ticket or two or 10.

Update to the Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a new one - What do your neighbors think of all this? In general they are very supportive, but they are not happy when our visitors cars block their driveways. Please be courteous by not block their driveways even for a few minutes. The police have given tickets to visitors that block driveways or park in the street.

Graveyard Dancers will be back on Halloween Night
Please note that the street will be closed off from Johnson Creek to Roswell from 5:00 to 11:00 on Halloween. The dancers will be back performing from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

October 16, 2008

Fundraiser tickets still available

Help us support the Portland Center State Promising Playwrights program by attending our private party in the graveyard this Friday. Tickets are $50 each and 100% of the proceeds goes to the theater. There will handmade props available in our silent auction, as well as gift baskets and wine and each attendee will receive a gift bag full of goodies! Contact Jessy Friedt at PCS to reserve your space now. (503) 445-3744 jessyf@pcs.org

KOIN 6 News at the Graveyard

KOIN 6 news broadcasted from the graveyard from 5:00am to 7:00am. The dancers performed and the lights and effects were on.

Featured on Fox 12

The Graveyard was featured on the news on Sunday night talking about our open house. It was a beautiful day and the camera guy took some great footage of the yard and the dancers. Check out Chloe's blog.

Fundraiser October 12 was a great success

Thanks to everyone who helped up make our Community Open House Fundraiser for the Milwaukie High School Dance team such a great success. We had great time sharing our creations with the community. The dancers did a great job and we raised almost $400 for the dance team. Check out the dance team performance during the open house. To continue to support the dance team, we will continue to sell raffle tickets for the skeleton until the 25th (we will draw for the skeleton on the 26th.) We will be accepting donations through the 31st.

October 6, 2008

The Display is up

This is our 10th year of doing the display. We have added a few new things to the display and spent a lot more time on a lot of details you might not notice. You can view the display from sunrise to 10pm every day (11pm on Fri/Sat). The lights come on at dusk. The effects (sound, fog, video, and animations) run every Fri-Sun dusk to 11pm (10pm on Sunday). The first night of effects will be this Friday October 10th at dusk. Check our calendar for specific events.

Don't forget that this Sunday the 12th is our Open House where the graveyard dancers perform and we will be selling some tombstones and other stuff to raise money for the MHS dance team.

October 3, 2008

Win Me

This Monster Mud creation is on display at Portland Center Stage's Gerding Theater at 128 NW 11th Ave. You can buy tickets for $5ea at their box office or call (503) 445-3700. We will also be selling tickets at our upcoming open house and on the weekends. The drawing will be Saturday October 25th. Free delivery for winner within the Portland area otherwise pickup arrangements can be made. 100% of the proceeds go to the Promising Playwrights program.

September 12, 2008

Would you like to spend an evening at the Graveyard?

We will be hosting an exclusive fundraiser event Friday October 17th from 6-9pm to benefit Portland Center Stage's Promising Playwrights program.

You will be treated to a private performance of the Graveyard Dancers while enjoying light food and beverages. You will also get to meet and mingle with some the creators of the Display and be given a special "behind the scenes" tour. There will be a silent auction of many custom made props and unique season related items. Plus you will receive your very own Davis Graveyard gift bag with lots of goodies.

Tickets are $50 per person. Admission is limited. Contact Jessy Friedt at PCS to reserve your space now. (503) 445-3744 jessyf@pcs.org

100% of the proceeds will benefit the Promising Playwrights program.

August 19, 2008

Davis Graveyard was awarded a grant from Clackamas County Cultural Coalition

After many years of funding the Graveyard ourselves and with the increased popularity the costs of doing some of our events has risen. We decided to apply for a grant to help out with costs. We heard about this program and decided to give it a try. And to our amazement we were awarded the grant!

Awards Press Release

July 19, 2008

The Graveyard Supports Portland Center Stage

This year the Graveyard will hold a fundraiser for Portland Center Stages Promising Playwrights program.

Promising Playwrights are four exceptionally talented young writers, drawn from the PCS Visions & Voices programs at Cleveland,Lincoln, Wilson and Alliance High Schools FOCUS program. These writers spend all 10 days of the JAW festival working alongside professional actors, directors and dramaturgs, who show them the inside workings of the theater.

Watch here for more information!

Dance team fans don't worry! The team will be back this year to dance in the graveyard - we have great fundraising ideas in store for them too! We will keep you posted as things develop.

July 18, 2008

Both tombstone making classes are full

We added a second class on the same day, and it filled up right away. The two classes are on Saturday, August 2, the first one from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and the next class is from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m... If you are interested in class please email us and we will put you on the waiting list.

Now get working, it is only a little over 3 months until Halloween!!!!

June 25, 2008

Join us at FrighFest Northwest July 10 - 14!

FFNW is the the annual gathering for local haunters from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Canada. Come down to Champoeg Park (day passes are avaliable at the park) and meet other haunters and learn to make cool props!

Jeff and I will be teaching several classes including a corpsifying demonstartion (learn to make your own corpse) and how to do video effects.

There will be gift bags, door prizes and a dance on Saturday. Sign up for the group and meet everyone. See the site for more details FFNW


June 13, 2008

The tombstone workshop is already full!

We have created a waiting list. We will use this for alternates or if we get enough people we will hold a 2nd class.


June 10, 2008

You asked for it, you got it. We are going to show you how to make tombstones!

In response to requests for us to teach how to make our display tombstones, we are holding our first ever Davis Graveyard Tombstone Class!

After completing our 4 hour workshop you will go home with your very own custom tombstone and the know how to make a graveyard full of them.

What could be better? Sign up today, space is limited.

Saturday, August 2nd 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Maximum of 12 people in the class
Cost $25 per person (cost of supplies and tools that you can take home.)
Pay through our PayPal link or cash when you arrive

The first 12 people to respond get a slot in the class. If you respond after the class has been filed we will create a waiting list. If the waiting list has at least 12 people on it we will likely hold another class. The waiting list will also be used as alternates if there are cancellations. You must pre-register to attend.

Due to the sharp tools and lots of messy paint, no children under 12 please.



May 21, 2008

(Almost) Everyone should have their HauntX trophies - congratulations to all the winners! Special thanks to Propmaster and Robbie (the web guy), Will (the owner/creator of the HauntX awards) and to all of you that voted.

The 2007 inductee for the House of Pain Award is: Pumpkin Rot. (Sorry, we have no way of duplicating the custom award that Will makes.) The haunt got a certificate and we will get the information on the website. Well done!

Now get working..there are only 5 months until Halloween!!


April 28, 2008

We just got back from a 6 day trip attending HAuNTcon. Check out our blog entries of the trip. We gave a seminar on video effects in the graveyard. For those that attended here is the handout. We also mentioned a digital player called a DiGi Viewer DV-325 and lots of people wanted to know where we got ours. We had a great time and learned a lot.


Febuary 6, 2008

The 2007 Worlds Best home Haunts DVD set is now available for sale here.
We sumbitted a video to this set along with our FrearNet video. There are over 100 videos on this 5 disc set from all over the world. There will be a few contests starting soon that will be based on votes from people who purchase this set of DVDs.

We have also updated our Products page to include 2 DVDs for sale. We make DVD's each year for our family and friends that help us with the display. The DVD includes the video we submit to the larger set along with lots of content that didn't make it in the video. There are photos, news coverage, extended video and other extras. We are offering our 2007 DVD by itself or with our award winning 2006 DVD. The price includes shipping and covers our cost. Any money left over we will donate to the MHS Dancers for their great participation in last years display.


January 7, 2008

Thanks to our neighbors.
Thanks to our friends in the Ardenwald Neighborhood Association for recognizing The Davis Graveyard for "putting Milwaukie on the map on a national level" with our graveyard display. We love doing this for our community and appreciate all the support we have received from our neighborhood, we could not do this without you. Looking forward to 2008!

Workshops for 2008.
Check back here in early May for information on our "Tombstone" creating workshop. We are ironing out the details and will have a "how to" chapter from our upcoming book to help you create your tombstones. If you have not contacted us with your interest in the workshop, please send us an email through the contact page and we will add you to the list.

We have added a few new projects to the page and update the video effect project. Check back for more updates.

November 6, 2007
The graveyard is in storage.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this the best year ever for the Davis Graveyard. From the dancers to the photographers, from the helpers to the Hearse Club, from the press support to the police cadets and everyone else in between - We could not have done it without you.


November 3, 2007
Congratulations to the dance team at their win Saturday (with a little help from our props). They are great dancers and we enjoyed having them in our yard this year. They have a new competition coming up in a few weeks, join us in wishing them "good luck." We also want to thank the community for helping us raise over $1,100 for the dance team during the month of October.

November 2, 2007
We will be running the effects in the graveyard one last time before we take it down. The yard will have all the video, animation effects and fog running tonight from dusk until 10:00 p.m. We will have the donation box out for the Milwaukie High School Prancing Ponies - please help us support the team that did such a fantastic job "haunting" our graveyard this year.

November 1, 2007
Thanks to everyone who supported us in the FearNet completion. We are sorry to find that we did not win the competition, but it was a great experience to participate and the winner, DC Cemetery, puts on an amazing haunt and is quite deserving of the honor. Check our Links page for links to some of our favorite yard haunts.

October 31, 2007
Halloween night was a big hit. We had the street blocked off and the Milwaukie Police Cadets had 2 cars parked at each roadblock to keep traffic redirected. The Milwaukie HS Dance team performed their "Thriller" routine ever 20 minutes all night and hung out along the fence. There were 100's of people enjoying the view from the street. We even had a couple of Hearses show up for a little while.

October 30, 2007
We were on PDX 49 tonight from 6-9pm during the breaks betweeen shows.

October 28, 2007
We have a winner! Some lucky person won the Mud-man raffle. Now it is sitting on their doorstep to scare the trick-or-treaters. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets to help support the Milwaukie High School Dance team.


October 26, 2007
We are going to be on the news! KOIN 6 is broadcasting their earlier weather report from the yard tonight!

How does the FearNet voting work?
We feel your pain - they are using a pairing algorithm instead of just choosing. Here is how it works: got to this site and sign in with your Yahoo login, or create a yahoo login. You will then see a pair of haunts. Choose your favorite, and then another pair will come up...keep doing this all the time choosing "The Davis Graveyard" each time it comes up. You will see your entry count to the right - you want to keep voting until the unseen entries is "0" and in the "your favorites" box, Davis Graveyard is the number one. If you are going to pick a second choice, some friends of ours have Lowe Manor, vote for them, of course unless we are one of the pair. Make up as many yahoo accounts as you can. Don't sleep - just vote!

October 21, 2007
We are featured in the Oregonian Metro section! There is a great article in the Metro section of Sunday's Oregonian. We were interviewed on Saturday and there we are - Laura is fast. We had a great time, both Laura Gunderson and Motoya Nakamura (the photographer) were great to talk to on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The article talks about our support of the dance team and mentions Darkwing Manor - our fellow haunters in the Ashland area that were kind enough to talk with Laura during their busy weekend.

October 20, 2007
Fundraiser open house was a big success! Thanks to everyone that turned out for the fund raiser on Friday night and helped us raiser over $750 for the Milwaukie Dance team - The Prancing Ponies! Special thanks to the dance team who preformed not once, but twice in the rain!

October 19, 2007
Thanks Daria! Daria from the Buzz 105.1 took time to interview Jeff on Friday night about the graveyard and to help us promote the fundraising for the dance team!

October 17, 2007
So you want your own grim reaper?
We are selling raffle tickets for one of our large "grim reaper" type characters - 100% of the sales benefit the Milwaukie Dance and Drill team. If you want to purchase tickets they are $2 each or 3 for $5. You can purchase them at the graveyard (just stop one of us while we are outside) or you can purchase them online through PayPal.


KPDX filming today!,
Channel 49 will be filming a segment in the graveyard this afternoon and early evening. The dancers will be performing from 5:00 to 5:30 (at the latest - no promises!) so if you missed them this weekend, now is your chance.


October 16, 2007
We have a new website! Pretty much the same content but no more flash and easier navigation. (Thanks Allan)

October 15, 2007
Second Annual Open House a big success!
Sunday was our community open house day. We had hundreds of people got the behind the scenes tour of the yard. The Milwaukie High School Dance and Drill Team preformed a zombified dance routine to help raise money for their scholarship fund. 100% of the money donated at the event along with the concession and raffle ticket sales went directly to the dance team.

Special thanks to all the dancers (and their families), to the make-up man, Matt Huntley from Scream at the Beach, Cheryl and Roman for their photo and video expertise, and to all our volunteers who made this such a memorable event!

Check out YouTube for the zombie dance routine and our gallery page for pictures of the dancers.


October 13, 2007
New Driver
No, the driver did not come back. Thanks to Vern and Sue for helping use replace our driver (with fancy new alarm) and get some eerie cobwebs up in the yard just in time for our open house. Oh, yeah, and seven outdoor speakers were also stolen off the fence.


October 11, 2007
We are featured on Fearnet.com
Check out our Webisode on Fearnet's Route 666 to America's Scariest Home Haunts feature.


October 9, 2007
Graveyard robbery on FOX
Fox came out today to film a bit about our driver being stolen. May this will guilt the thieves into returning him. Check it out on their website.


October 7, 2007
The Graveyard was robbed!
Sometime in the night, the skeleton driver on our new hearse was stolen. If you see a very well dressed skeleton around, could you get him back to the graveyard - the ghouls are unruly without supervision.


October 1, 2007
The display will be up October 1st - November 2nd this year Sound, Lights, Fog, video, and Animations are on Friday-Saturday dusk-11pm, Sunday dusk-10pm and Halloween Night 5-10pm Thanks to everyone who helped! We could not do it without you!