Halloween Asylum News

DEAL OF THE DAY

2011-08-04T10:32:00.001-04:00

This week we have begun running a Deal of the Day program. Each day we will feature a different item at great savings. We are three days into starting this and it's going quite well and we've gotten some great feedback from everyone. We will rotate between halloween props, masks, and costumes as specials. Be sure to check Halloween Asylum each day for our latest promo posted in the left hand column. Below is an example of the first Deal of the Day we ran. We plan to run this program through Halloween.

2011 New Halloween Masks

2011-07-03T20:47:00.003-04:00

Somehow, every year the mask industry (well, at least the smaller independent companies within it) deliver new and amazing latex masks. This year is no exception. There are clearly amazing artists out there who design, sculpt, and paint these beauties. We carry masks from many different companies, including the huge costume companies, but the best is always from the smaller guys. They put more time into their work and they actually care about the quality of what they deliver.

First, I'd like to highlight a couple new masks from Trick or Treat Studios (designated on our website with the prefix TT in the item numbers). First up is the amazing Uncle Creepy mask. I predict this to be the hottest Halloween mask of 2011. Creepy was originally an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host character, Uncle Creepy. Now for the first time in almost 20 years, we are proud to offer the Offically Licensed Uncle Creepy Halloween Mask, sculpted by Justin Mabry.

Next up from Trick or Treat is Dr. Deadly. Another retro mask, yet still amazing among the creepiest masks available today! Appalling to parent groups in the 1970’s, Dr. Deadly and his wares were aggressively protested and ultimately banned from store shelves nationwide.

Decades later, the devious doctor and his deranged dungeon have been raised from the dead. And now, sculpted by Justin Mabry, we bring fans a first-ever offically licensed mask of the infamous Dr. Deadly!

And yes... these masks actually look this good! High quality, hold their shape, you could not ask for more.

Next, let's take a look at some of my favorites from Ghoulish Productions. If you're not familiar with their masks, let me say they are fabulous. With their

own factory in Mexico, Ghoulish not only turns out their own line of great masks, but they're also the factory behind many other small mask companies. All of their work is top notch (look for prefix GP on item numbers to know it's a Ghoulish mask).

I think among their lineup this year that Captain Lester will be among the favorites. Complete with an attached WWII style helmet this one makes a great zombie mask or a great head for that prop you've been wanting to build. We say... You can't keep a good man down... Captain Lester will forever roam the battle fields. This full over the head latex mask is just amazing with tons of detail. Zombies are definitely "in" this year.

Those of you who love scary clowns, you won't be disappointed this year either. We've got several new gruesome members in this line, but the most unusual is Coulrophobia (the abnormal, exaggerated, or irrational fear of clowns). What lurks behind all that clown makeup? Good question! Unleash the demon within with Coulrophobia!

Lots of choices this year. We have 235 halloween masks on our website this year, 76 of which are new for this year. Actually, we still have about a dozen more new masks to add! If you have any questions about our masks, please give us a call or send an email to Nancy@halloweenasylum.com and I'll give you any info I can.

Clowning Around in a BIG Way

2011-06-30T16:02:00.010-04:00

Coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) effects a LOT of people and that's great news for haunted house owners! Lots of haunts feature clowns and we've always seen interest in our scary clown masks and props over the years. So this year, when we came across some amazing GIANT clown heads we did not hesitate to pick some up for our line of Halloween Props . We will have four of these heads - three are made of fiberglass and one is latex. They're ideal for marking the entrance to your haunt. Since the heads are 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide, they will definitely get your haunt some attention.

First up is our favorite - the 5 Ft. Deluxe Scary Clown Head. This one has a highly detailed paint job, with a nice glossy finish. This head is made of fiberglass so you can hang it outside your haunt with no worries about it getting wet in the rain. With proper care, this prop will last for many, many years.

Notice the cat-like eyes and small horns protruding out around the face. Those teeth look moistened with the saliva of one hungry clown! A menacing sign for your haunt to be sure.

Next up is the 5 Ft. Giant Latex Clown Head. The prop has very vibrant colors, from the shaggy red hair to the polka dot bow tie. The eyes are like enormous buttons. Big fangs and quite possibly the largest clown nose on the planet add the finishing touch. Like the other clown heads, this one is flat on the back for easy hanging. Because the material is latex, this is best suited for indoor use. It can certainly be displayed outside, but it will be more vulnerable to the elements than the fiberglass heads.

This next 5 Ft. Fiberglass Scarface Clown Head definitely has that retro feel to it. You can just picture this one hanging outside the funhouse taunting you to come inside. Or perhaps it belongs over the entrance to the sideshow tent. Come one, come all to see the freaks of nature inside! Yeah, I can see that! This clown himself looks pretty freaky with his one light up eye. The other was of course lost in a most unfortunate incident.

Last, but certainly not least is the 5 Ft Fiberglass Yellow Hat Clown Head. Also done with a retro style, this clown would look great outside of any circus themed haunted house. With two lighted eyes, this prop will light the way, beckoning the bravest of souls to step forward. All others will no doubt be dragged in kicking and screaming by their supportive pals.

Any way you slice it, all of these clowns would look great at a haunt. To truly appreciate their size and detail they really have to be seen in person. Haunt patrons will definitely be in awe of these characters. So stop by Halloween Asylum to check out these great new props - all in our Scary Clown prop section. We expect to have these giant heads in stock by mid August.

SCARY BABIES WILL SOON BE HERE!

2011-06-27T12:56:00.010-04:00

I have to apologize... it's been several months since I posted anything new here. Admittedly I've been caught up in our facebook page. I find it so easy to post short daily updates there, post videos and pics of new products, and it also allows for quick feedback from our customers. But the blog does allow for more in depth posts, so here I am today... breathing new life into the Asylum blog!

2011 not only marks our 10 year anniversary in business, but it also marks our venturing into some exclusive products for Halloween Asylum and we're very excited about this! Our first line of exclusive items are a line of new Scary Babies! Coming in August will be our seven fiendishly-adorable babies that would just as soon bite your arm off as give you a hug! All of these little devils are made of latex and have a metal armature inside that allows them to be fully posable. You can have them sit, stand, bend their arms, and turn their heads. You can even change their clothes to suit your taste.

The above shot is the whole gang! They will be up on our website later this week. We just got this photo from the factory a few days ago so you're seeing them almost as soon as we are. The clown (2nd from left) is undergoing some revision to make him creepier!

For more detail, you can see closeups of Carl Cadaver and Betty Bloodthirst. He looks pretty sweet in his bib overalls and dead-guy grey skin tone. She is about as cute as a scary baby can be in her bloody lace dress with her hands and face smeared in her latest victim's blood! Faces only a mother could love? We don't think so!

Zombie by the Carload!

2010-09-12T22:03:00.002-04:00

Stop by and check out our amazing new line of life-size Zombie Props.

$5 Flat Rate Shipping!

2010-08-25T15:35:00.002-04:00

Today through the end of August, 2010, we are running a $5 Flat Rate Shipping special on all orders over $50 that ship via ground service. This applies to orders shipping within the 50 contiguous United States (not available to Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico). No coupon needed, simply select the Flat Rate upon checkout.

So stop by HalloweenAsylum.com and place your order today to take advantage of these great savings!

LUCKY 13 CONTEST

2010-07-30T11:59:00.000-04:00

Fans of our Facebook Page are eligible to win 13 Weeks of Prizes! Each Saturday from August 7th - October 30, 2010, we will draw one lucky winner from the people who "LIKE" our page on Facebook. Please watch the video for more info or visit our LUCKY 13 CONTEST INFO page for details. See you on Facebook!

Videos of All of Our Halloween Masks

2010-07-09T10:30:00.005-04:00

In an effort to get one step closer to making online shopping as close to shopping in person, at Halloween Asylum we've decided to video tape all of our masks rotating a full 360 degrees so you can see them from every angle - front, back and sides. We've posted one sample (Clowning Around) so far to our site.

At this point, we have created videos for about 75 of our Halloween masks and we will have these posted to our site next week. The rest of the videos will have to wait until our big mask shipment arrives later this month. But all videos should be completed by early August.

We'd love ...to hear your opinions! We think this will make mask shopping better than ever... what do you think?

Here's the actual video for this mask:

4th of July Sale Starts Today!

2010-07-02T11:32:00.003-04:00

You've asked for it, so we're doing it! 15% OFF Storewide July 2-5th!

Customer Service So Good, It's Scary!!

2010-05-17T13:44:00.004-04:00

At Halloween Asylum, we really care about customer service and today I want to share a story with you about the cooperation of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers that goes on behind the scenes that hopefully leads to greater customer satisfaction.

Last week we received a large shipment from one of our suppliers, Morris Costumes. We have a great relationship with this company and I always deal with Scott Morris, who has always treated me well and is just a really nice guy. In this particular shipment there were many Frightronics animated props that we had ordered. This line of props is distributed by Morris, but made by Distortions Unlimited in Colorado… good old American made products! The props in this group include Rocking Granny, who was very popular last year, along with seven new characters – Crotchety Grandpa, Bones, Twitch, Psycho Sam, Buzz, Creepy Cathy, and Twisted.

We started opening up these props, setting them up one by one, to test them. We wanted to see what they actually do as opposed to what we saw them doing when we ordered them at a tradeshow months ago. All of these props are accompanied by a cd soundtrack that goes along with the movements of the prop. So we set each one up and prepared to video tape it with the sound so our customers can see what they are actually getting when ordering from us (if different than the video already supplied by Distortions).

Right out of the box the prop Buzz was quite different than expected. At the show and in the video provided to us, he gently rocked back and forth during the “electrocution” sequence on the cd. I set him up on a table (mind you he weighs 33 lbs.), plug him in, reach around his back and turn the knob. Well, I nearly got head butted into unconsciousness when Buzz started to violently flail back and forth! Gone was the gentle rocking I’d seen at the show! If only the video were rolling right then, we’d all have a good laugh today. Believe me, trying to restrain a full size human prop that is violently thrashing around while you let go with one hand in order to reach for that knob again is not an easy task!

After reading the instructions, I realized that Buzz is sound activated and the knob that I turned was meant to be adjusted slowly until he responds to the electrocution sound, not just cranked full blast. Armed with this new knowledge, I set out to get Buzz to respond only when needed. But I had a really hard time… his soundtrack was not the same as I heard at the show – instead of speaking with a soft southern drawl, he now had a gruffer, meaner voice. In my opinion, that was a good improvement (he is a prisoner after all), but it seemed the volume of his voice was too similar to the volume of the electrocution and he was moving when he shouldn’t be. I’d turn the knob a hair in one direction and he would do nothing, turn it a hair in the other and he moved non-stop. I futzed with the prop for about an hour and got it to the point where he moved only a little while talking and then did his violent thrashing when getting zapped.

The video of Buzz as received last week:

I sent a quick email off to Scott to tell him what a pain it was to work with this prop. I knew my customers would be as frustrated as I was in trying to get it to work correctly. Scott then forwarded my email off to the good folks at Distortions. A day and a half later they responded saying they recorded a new soundtrack that will correct the problem and they’d send it right out. WOW! They listened and responded, fixing the problem faster than I could have imagined!

As we continued to test the rest of the props, we thought they were all great, but if their soundtracks had slight improvements, they’d be even better. There were long lag times between the tracks and the tracks themselves were fairly short. Most of these props are not sound activated… they just keep moving, pausing here and there, and the soundtrack runs in the background. It just seemed a little odd to me to have the prop moving and not saying anything and you could hear the motor humming along making some clicking sounds as the prop went through its various motions. So I dashed off another email to Scott. Once again, there was a super fast response from Marsha at Distortions that said after reading my suggestions they looked at all of the soundtracks again and are now reworking them. They should have them completed in about a week. They are making the tracks longer and adding continuous background noise to cover any motor sounds. For example, Crotchety Grandpa is made to sit in a rocker and rock back and forth, so he will have creaky rocking chair sounds running continuously that can be heard between his spoken phrases. This will add to his overall effect and hide any motor sounds. There will be a similar change for many of the Frightronics props. The Psycho Sam soundtrack was already set up like this with breathing and heartbeat sounds running continuously on his cd – I think it makes an incredible difference.

We also passed along suggestions to change the box size for a couple of the props. If you’ve ever shipped anything with UPS, you probably know that the bigger the box is the higher the price is. Once you get over a certain size box, UPS has a formula to calculate the dimensional weight of an item and that’s what they base their charge on, not the actual weight of the box. For example, Buzz weighs 33 lbs. but due to his box size, UPS is charging as if he weighs 80 lbs. We found it would cost about $108 for us to ship one Buzz prop to the west coast – we’re in Massachusetts. But we also found that there was a lot of excess space in Buzz’s box and that if we just trimmed it down a few inches, the shipping cost dropped to $58. So for a little bit of effort, we can save our customers a lot of money and in this economy, who wouldn’t appreciate that?? Customers that live closer will still see significant savings in the neighborhood of $35. We also repacked all of the Creepy Cathy props for the same reason. She’s a lot smaller than Buzz, but by buying smaller boxes and simply repacking her in these, we will save our customers about $20 on each one sent out. We spend $2 on a smaller box, you save $20 on shipping… not a bad deal, right? I believe Distortions will be packing both of these props similar to this when they leave their factory in the future.

So kudos to Scott Morris for caring enough about my concerns to tell the manufacturer. And kudos to Distortions Unlimited for listening and taking amazingly quick action to improve their products. Their efforts are much appreciated.

I just thought you might be interested to know that some retailers and manufacturers really do care about customer satisfaction… Halloween Asylum is proud to be one of them!

It's Official, Halloween Asylum is on Facebook!

2010-04-21T11:01:00.002-04:00

It's official, Halloween Asylum is on Facebook! I see this as a great opportunity to be more interactive with our customers on a regular basis. We will use facebook for more than just plugging our great merchandise, we want to hear from you! Tell us what you like, what you don't like. Share your photos and videos of your Halloween displays with us and we'll feature them on the page. I am hoping through your suggestions, that we can make Halloween Asylum bigger and better than ever. Your feedback is crucial for this to happen.

So stop by our page (just click the facebook link at the top of this post), click that you "like" the page, and we can stay in touch. Be among the first to know about new products, upcoming sales, enjoy the camaraderie of others who love Halloween, strike up a conversation and give and get great ideas.

See you on Facebook!

NEW HALLOWEEN MASKS FOR 2010

2010-03-29T15:25:00.025-04:00

Alright, it's time to take a look at a few of my favorite new masks that will be available for the 2010 Halloween season on our website at HalloweenAsylum.com. I expect to see these coming in during mid June. First up, and shown at the top of the page, is Mega Franky - an awesome full over the head latex mask that extends fully down onto the chest. I absolutely love this mask! The details are amazing - the jaw actually looks like steel. The muscles and veins all over the creature look extremely realistic as well. Definitely in my top five favorites for this year.

This old soul is called Wicce. This is another superbly detailed mask with fine wrinkles, coloring, and I especially love the blind eyeball! This ol' gal should give all the neighborhood trick-or-treaters the heebie jeebies! I think this makes for a fantastic mask, but also for those of you who use masks for the heads of full-body props, this would make an incredible witch! I can just picture her sitting at her cauldron stirring slowly... eye of newt, wing of bat... and just cackling the night away!

Now for you fans of clowns, or especially for those who hate clowns, I bring you Pennywise! The classic killer clown that has scared both kids and adults for years!! This clown will bring nightmares to life for both young and old. Simple, yet oh so evil. Again, nothing but the best painting details on these masks. You can't go wrong with Pennywise! Click here to see all of our Halloween masks.

Another mask that I was really impressed with is the Evil Scarecrow. There aren't a lot of really good scarecrow masks on the market and I don't know why. I think scarecrows in general are pretty creepy so why not take them one step further and really bring out the darkness within. This particular scarecrow mask features a full latex hat with what appears to be a crow's skull on the front. The eyes are rather unusual - sort of murky, but not blind... oh, definitely not blind. This scarecrow is watching... and waiting. Just dare to enter his fields and watch the terror unfold. Another great mask that has potential as a prop head as well. Truly terrifying!

And last, but not least, I have selected Fangs as a favorite. How can you not love an evil creature with so many hideous teeth? This is the type of beast you'll find hiding in the corners of your darkest dreams... or at the least in the darkest corners of a haunted house! Sure to make them jump and scream, this is a finely crafted latex mask. I really like the yellow eyes... very creepy.

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peak into my favorite masks for 2010. There will be many other new masks of course, but I wanted to highlight just a few here. Hopefully these will be on our shelves in about 2 months, so please check back to the website very soon - Halloween Asylum!

NEW ANIMATED PROPS FOR 2010

2010-03-23T13:42:00.007-04:00

If you liked 2009's Rocking Granny, which was probably the hottest animated prop of the year, then you'll LOVE the expanded product line for 2010! We are expecting Creepy Cathy, Twitch, Buzz, Crotchety Grandpa and Twisted to arrive within the next month!

First up is Creepy Cathy. This little girl was definitely getting the most attention of everyone who walked by her at the tradeshow. Her face is very creepy, she pivots at the waist, and the screams and groans she makes caught everyone off-guard. I plan to take more photos and video of her when she arrives (very soon!). If memory serves me correctly, I'd estimate her height at around 4 feet.

Next up is Twitch. Although this zombie has been ripped in half, he's not going down without a fight! He moans and groans while lifting his head up and down and his spine wriggles back and forth... disgusting! I apologize for the short video... I thought I got a better one, but for now this will have to do! He does go on for quite a bit longer than shown and growls and groans throughout the whole movement.

Have you ever wanted a great electric chair prop, but at a reasonable price? Where let me introduce you to Buzz. He is a lifesize character, with excellent details - his eyes are bloodshot, his prison outfit is impeccable, and his sarcastic humor is a hit! He says a few phrases before and after the switch is thrown, during which he violently jerks back and forth in the chair.

Now we have Rocking Granny's hubby... Crotchety Grandpa. This is one ornery old man! He says some crotchety old man type phrases and like Granny, put him in your own rocking chair and he'll rock back and forth all night!

Lastly we have Twisted. A gruesome gal if there ever was one! While her head spins around, she moans and groans. She's straight out of the Exorcist movie.

What I like most about these props is their quality. These are not made of plastic tubes and plastic gears that are prone to breaking easily - these are made of heavy duty steel parts. And the bodies are ALL latex, not just the head or hands, but all the way from head to toe... if they have a whole body of course! These are super reliable and will run for hours and hours without fail. We have all the confidence in the world with this line and we are very happy to be able to offer this to our customers.

NEW HALLOWEEN PROPS FOR 2010 - ZOMBIES!

2010-03-16T16:06:00.019-04:00

As promised, here's our first sneak peak at new products coming soon - this one is a line of standing and seated zombies, or ghouls if you prefer, that we will have for Halloween 2010. Expected arrival date on these is late July. First of all, let me say I was blown away when I saw these! They are full body, gruesome props - more blood and rotting flesh than you typically see in Halloween props, unless specifically made for the high-budget haunted houses. And the quality is fabulous!

There are two main styles for these ghouls - a standing version for women and men, and a seated version for both as well. Different head styles means there will be about 5 women and 3 men available in each configuration.

Both seated and standing have completely posable arms, hands, and fingers! Their fingers curl quite well around a small object, so they can easily hold something light. The only difference in seated or standing is that the legs are not bendable in the standing version. There is a solid rod that runs through the leg. Because the seated style does not have this, it cannot support it's own weight in a standing position.

But as you'll see in one pic, the seated ghoul can also be placed in a crawling position. He or she can also cross their legs. With a few of these, you can create almost any zombie scene imaginable! When I saw these, two zombie guys were seated at a bar holding a cigar, plastic gun, and a beer bottle.

These are amazing props - usually standing ghoul props have only their heads and arms visible, while their bodies are covered by clothing because their body consists only of a long pole and metal base. Not these guys and gals - full latex all around, so dress them as you please, no wires or poles to hide! Our expected retail price will be around $200 each.

What's New For 2010

2010-03-11T21:01:00.002-05:00

Hey guys,

Finally, after a few months I have time to blog again! The start of the new year kicked off a very busy time in our office. In early January, we began moving our office/warehouse. We are still in the same industrial complex we've been in for about 5 years now, but we made the move to a larger space... allowing us to stock even more great Halloween products than ever before! We did loads of painting, followed by tons of packing, dismantling of pallet racks AND THEN rebuilding it all in our new spot. It took almost two months to get the job completed! And at no time during the move did we ever stop shipping orders... quite the task when products were spread across two locations at some points! We are now happily settled into the new digs and it's back to business as usual.

Also in January we attended two tradeshows and had a ball seeing all of the new product offerings available for Halloween 2010. I will be posting photos of some of the new masks and props that we've ordered in the coming days. We picked up a fabulous line of new zombie props - full size, free standing zombies... awesome! There will also be many new animatronic props at very reasonable prices this year. We're talking about props that move, light up, and have sound that will retail in the $60 - $100 range! And if you loved the Rocking Granny prop from 2009, then you'll love the additions to that line of deluxe animatronics - there's a new Crotchety Grandpa, a prisoner being electrocuted, a screaming toddler, and a great half-body that squirms around and moans. This line of products will retail in the $300 - $350 range, which is amazing for these high quality, all steel and latex construction props.

I will try to have photos and videos of many of these new items up soon. We are expecting some of these to start arriving in late March or early April. Most of the others will come in during June - August. I'll keep you posted!

40-75% OFF Sale Starts Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T20:22:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all of our customers for a busy Halloween season! We're already busy at work making decision on what to buy for next year... it just never ends!

As we move into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, we're launching another fantastic sale - 40% Off storewide AND over Thanksgiving weekend ONLY, an additional 35% off nearly 100 select products. This is the largest discount we've ever offered! Help us clear out the old inventory so we can make room for all the great new products coming for 2010! Sale runs from November 26 - December 31st.

50% OFF CLEARANCE SALE STARTS TODAY

2009-10-31T08:05:00.004-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! I hope everyone has a great day today! I know I will enjoy setting up the rest of my decorations at home and then passing out the candy tonight... and of course scaring the hell out of some trick or treaters!

Today starts our annual 50% OFF CLEARANCE SALE! Stop in by November 9th and enjoy spooktacular savings on everything in stock. Valid on new orders only.

20% OFF ALL CREATURE REACHER COSTUMES!

2009-10-21T21:29:00.003-04:00

More big savings at HalloweenAsylum.com - All Creature Reacher Costumes, Night Terror Costumes, and the Peter Rottentail Costume are now 20% OFF! We have these costumes in stock and ready for immediate shipment. Delivery everywhere in time for Halloween! Don't miss out on these amazing costumes while supplies last!

20% OFF ALL HALLOWEEN PROPS NOW!

2009-10-19T19:31:00.006-04:00

We've started a 20% off sale on ALL Halloween props on our site. Supplies are limited to in stock items only. Plenty of Rocking Granny, Face Ripper Clowns, Count Drac, tombstones, body parts, etc. still available! Order soon and you can still get in time for Halloween delivery.

25% OFF Storewide at CostumeVixen.com

2009-10-17T12:03:00.005-04:00

Our sister site, CostumeVixen.com, is having a storewide sale - everything is 25% off now through Halloween. All sexy women's costumes, shoes, hosiery, accessories - if we sell it, it's on sale! Stop by for incredible savings on excellent quality ladies costumes.

Halloween Asylum on New England Dreamhouse TV Show

2009-10-04T09:36:00.005-04:00

Just over a week ago I got a phone call from a producer at New England Cable News (NECN) out of Boston, MA. They have a program called New England Dream House where they highlight interesting homes throughout the New England area. They wanted to do a segment on decorating for Halloween and they asked if Halloween Asylum would like to display props in the studio and if I'd like to come out and talk about them. Of course I said yes! It was great fun, everyone in the studio was fantastic to work with. To see the video clip of our portion of the episode, featuring yours truly and host Jenny Johnson, click on the photo below. If you're in New England, you can also see the full episode Sunday, October 4th at 10:30 AM and 7:30 PM. It will also air several times throughout the month.

Free Shipping at HalloweenAsylum.com

2009-09-22T10:19:00.003-04:00

For this week only, orders over $50 on HalloweenAsylum.com qualify for free shipping! This applies to orders shipping within the U.S. via UPS Ground. You must enter the coupon code: FREESHIP50 during checkout. Coupon is valid until 9/26/09.

New Site - CostumeVixen.com

2009-09-22T09:53:00.005-04:00

Sorry it's taken so long to update the blog, I've been crazy busy preparing for this Halloween season. I wanted to take a minute to tell you about one of things that has kept me busy all summer - launching our new sister site - CostumeVixen.com - this site features all women's costumes. We hope you have a chance to check it out. We stock everything on the site at our same warehouse for Halloween Asylum, so you'll get the same great service and fast shipping.

July 4th Sale

2009-06-29T23:04:00.006-04:00

July 4th Sale starts after midnight on June 30th (eastern time) and runs through July 6th. This is our LAST pre-Halloween sale!! Don't miss out on a great discount! You must enter discount code FIREWORKS during checkout.

25% OFF Memorial Day Sale

2009-05-21T21:04:00.008-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to say we're having a 5-day sale starting today, May 21st through Monday May 25th. Everything on the website is 25% OFF - all Halloween props, masks, and costumes.

Halloween Mask Maintenance

2009-05-12T12:01:00.013-04:00

Have you ever gotten a Halloween mask that has a bent nose, a creased face, or some other issue that shouldn't be there? Well, with 15 minutes and a hairdryer, you can fix it!

At Halloween Asylum, almost all of the masks we carry come right out of the box looking absolutely perfect. They were packed with care when they left the factory, so they hold their shapes and look just like you expect them to. Occasionally, however, some masks arrive at our warehouse flat as pancakes - this is more typical of those made in China as opposed to Mexico. My favorite masks are from Ghoulish Productions out of Mexico - they are of the highest quality. Opening a shipment from them is like opening presents on Christmas; it's always exciting to see how cool they are!

But I digress... today we're talking about problem masks. Most Halloween masks are made of latex, which is a material that can be molded to take on various shapes. A good and bad property. It's good because when the masks are made, latex in liquid form is poured into a mask mold and when the latex dries, it has perfectly formed into the design of the mask. The bad part comes when that mask is packed for shipment into a box with a bunch of other masks piled on top of it. It then has to travel for an extended period of time, probably via container to the U.S., then sit in a distributor's warehouse for who knows how long, before ultimately getting shipped to a retailer, such as us. During that process, if the mask has not been packed with paper to hold its original shape, or even worse, if it's been folded down the center so it lies flat, the latex takes on that new bent shape. And it will stay like that unless it is reformed... here comes the fun part with the hairdryer!

My first photo shows the worst example of a mask bent in shipping that I could find in our warehouse. This is the Pit Witch mask. I have placed the mask on a styrofoam head so it will sit upright - the mask is quite oversized so the head doesn't fill the interior fully. You can see that the front of the face is squished and completely bent to the left.

The first step to fix this problem is to stuff the mask with something so that it will fill out. You want to get the mask to look like you want as the end result. I'm just shooting for fixing the bent face so I stuffed the whole head with paper to give it a fuller, round shape. For about 15 minutes I heat up the latex in various places with the hairdryer, focusing on each problem area a few minutes at a time. Be careful when doing this - the mask gets quite hot to the touch. Never try to do this while wearing the mask!

On this mask, the problem areas were around the nose and mouth and the crease on the top of the head. I hoped that if I could soften the crease, the mask might resist trying to fold flat which effects the whole face. As you warm up the latex, you can feel it get softer and it becomes more willing to bend to the new shape. I used a ruler at times to keep the nose straight while I kept the hairdryer on it because it was too hot to the touch with my bare hands.

After a total of about 15 minutes I turned the hairdryer off. I let the mask cool while it remained stuffed. This took another 10 minutes or so. I did hold the ruler against the nose for the first few minutes of cooling to be sure it remained straight. It is while the mask cools after being heated that it takes on it's new shape.

Once cool, the mask definitely looks much better. My final picture shows the mask with only the styrofoam head in it, the same conditions as the fist photo, and you can see the dramatic difference. The face is no longer squished and the awful bend to the left is gone! All of these principles would apply to fixing any small crease or dent in a mask. I just picked a worst-case scenario for demonstration.

When you're not wearing your mask, it's important to keep it stuffed to hold the shape. Also, try not to store it where it will be exposed to direct sun or extreme temperatures, such as in an attic. This can decrease the life of the latex making it brittle. It's also a good idea to lightly dust the inside of the mask with baby powder after wearing to absorb any moisture.

I hope you have found this information helpful! Please stop by our Halloween Masks section on our website to see a great selection of some amazing masks!

New Animated Halloween Props for 2009

2009-04-08T20:06:00.007-04:00

I am still in sneak preview mode and this week I have set up some short videos of some new animated Halloween props we'll have this year on our website at HalloweenAsylum.com. There will be more than these of course... this is just a sampling of some videos I took at a trade show earlier this year.

First up are two new motion-activated Face Ripper props. The first is a bride who pulls her lovely face off to reveal a bloody face with flashing eyes and she says -I'll make him suffer for what he did to me!

The second face ripper is a clown who after removing his face with his eyes flashing and laughing he says "I feel so much better without my makeup!" These are great animated props and will be priced at only $149.99.

Next up is an awesome prop that I just had to add to our selection - Rocking Grandma. Using your own rocking chair, you add Grandma into the seat and she'll make the chair rock back and forth. She's creepy looking and comes with a cd which plays in the background with her laughing and saying things like "you kids better get off my porch!" I'll think she'll be great fun to put out on Halloween night! This lovely ol' gal will retail at about $359.

Lastly are two more animated props shown in one video - Uncle Ralph and the Spinning Head Baby. Uncle Ralph is a great looking grave buster whose head rocks back and forth while he makes moaning sounds. The baby's head spins with flashing eyes and I believe it also makes crying noises. Uncle Ralph will retail around $239, while the baby will be $79.99.

We already have Grandma in stock. She is not on the website just yet, but will be shortly. The other props are expected to arrive June-August. I hope you enjoyed a look at some upcoming items. Be sure to stop by to check out our website at HalloweenAsylum.com - thanks!

New Clown Halloween Masks for 2009

2009-04-02T13:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my first blog! As the owner of the retail internet site HalloweenAsylum.com, I attend a few Halloween trade shows and get to see tons of new products that will be coming out later in the year. I thought I would create a blog to offer a sneak preview of some of the hot, new products that we will be carrying this year. This is the first post of many to come... weekly at least I hope! In the future, I would also like to use this space to offer how-to info such as mask care, makeup tips, etc.

At HalloweenAsylum.com we specialize in everything scary - no cute products on the site whatsoever! In this first post, I want to highlight just a few of the new killer clown halloween masks. What I'm showing here today has not even been added to the site yet! This is definitely an advance preview.
In the first picture you will see several masks - we have purchased all but one (the one that looks more like a mime than an evil clown). We already carry a few in the photo as well, so I will outline each here. Far left is Lust Clown, in the top row from the left is the new Buffoon, Craky, and Bobous who is also new. Bottom row from the left is the mime (not carrying), then Booba and Vago - both new, and at the far right is one more new one - Rico the Clown. Rico will be available with the costume shown as well.

This next photo shows Buffoon and the matching costume for that as well. All of these masks are of the absolute highest quality. I am certain that you will be very impressed with the amazing detail on them - nothing is overlooked - paint is perfect, eye detail is awesome, teeth have creepy discoloring, skin has wrinkles and texture, mouth and teeth look wet - these masks have it all! They are all also made of a thick latex and hold their shapes perfectly!

There will be several other new scary clown masks available, this has been a highlight of only a few. We will be adding all of them to our website in the next couple months. For the most part, these masks will start arriving in June and July.

Thanks for stopping by!

Nancy