Just about every week, clients and other groups tour Inventionland to get an inside look at our 61,000 square foot creative space. It’s one thing to see our space in photographs, but to see it in person is a unique and exciting experience.

Over the last few weeks, in preparation for the Inventionland Halloween Party that took place yesterday, our invention factory became occupied by more ghouls and ghosts than Inventionland has ever seen.

We let you in on a little secret before about a new Halloween scene Michael otherwise known as “Spicy” (Special Operations) had in the works for the Halloween party and all groups who recently toured Inventionland got a sneak peek at the exterior of the scene – a new Inventionland haunted house set that was built in the Packaging department’s Creativity Cabin!

Halloween party-goers got to see and experience the Inventionland haunted house first-hand yesterday. It was full of tricks, but not without the treats, as Spicy was sure to equip “trick-or-treaters” with Rice Krispie Treats, Mountain Dew, Little Hug Fruit Barrels and other sweet surprises upon a visit to the haunted house.

Now, we have a treat for you – a virtual tour of the Inventionland haunted house!

Enter if you dare!

The haunted house was perfect for a Halloween scare. Spicy collaborated with Packaging Engineer Trevor to design and print the doors and windows for the house. So what was the special twist? Take a closer look in the windows and you’ll see ghastly ghosts that Spicy “photoshopped in.” Builder Jon played a huge role in helping Spicy paint all of the slats on the new house. This house still had a cabin feel, but just a little creepier.

REDRUM!

We all remember that bone-chilling phrase from “The Shining” – REDRUM (or ‘murder’ backwards!). Trevor added this scary phrase to a wall inside of the haunted house, right next to the demon that was strategically placed in the window. The creature is seemingly emerging out of a wormhole that Trevor designed out of PETG clear plastic that was stretched for a warped effect.

Beware of the skeleton!

What’s a haunted house without a skeleton? Inventionland Builder Jon vacuum-formed this scary skeleton from another skeleton’s face, in addition to some others that haunted house goers ran into in the haunted house.

Not scared yet? Here are some more photos from the Inventionland haunted house!

We think that Spicy said it best when he said, “This was the biggest Halloween surprise we’ve done to date! I often get ‘What are you being this year?’ as I always put a lot of energy into my costumes that are often award-winning. This year, I put my energy into the haunted house. It’s something everybody can enjoy.”

Keep an eye out for our Halloween party recap in the coming weeks!

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

The post Hauntingly Good: The Tale of the Inventionland Haunted House appeared first on Inventionland.

With our skilled designers, engineers, builders and other creative souls, we always knew that Inventionland was home to the inventive and innovative spirit.

As we speak about spirits, we have to admit that things seem to be getting pretty spooky around Inventionland!

Halloween is right around the corner and Inventionland’s own Michael otherwise known as “Spicy” (Special Operations) is jumping into action to mask Inventionland with its frightening Halloween décor.

Since 2006, Spicy has been the main goblin who is in charge of transforming our creative space into a spooky setting. This year, he’s planning something unique.

“Every year, we try to make at least one new decoration,” said Spicy.

While some of the decorations stay the same each year, such as a big spider web setting, the ghastly guests can always count on seeing something new!

“I try to make it fresh!” said Spicy.

But, Spicy can’t do this job on his own. In fact, it takes a lot of teamwork to decorate our 61,000 square foot space. In years past, the Packaging Department’s Shannon and Trevor have both lent a helping hand – or body – as Spicy once traced them to form the shapes for new dummies to be added to a scary set.

Prototype Builder Sharon played an integral role in creating the mummy!

“Sharon is amazing,” said Spicy. “She did a great job with spray painting and detail work.”

This year, Inventionland Builder Jon helped design the graveyard scenes.

With all of this help in making Inventionland into a BOOtiful space, Spicy likes to take in all of the excitement when guests arrive to the company’s annual Halloween party.

“I enjoy watching people,” said Spicy. “I like hearing ‘Oh, that’s really cool!’ and seeing people look around to see what’s different.”

However, his absolute favorite part of the entire process is seeing how Inventionland’s capabilities work seamlessly in the Halloween decorating and even costume-making.

Speaking of costumes, in years past, Spicy has won the best costume award for the “Spicetar.”  You may remember seeing a similar fortune-teller character in the movie “Big” – well, Spicy created the costume to near perfection.

This costume required woodworking, laser etching, painting, electronics and more!

Spicy even went so far as to reach out to the company who prints the actual fortunes that are dispensed from these fortune machines, so that every costume-admirer could have a fortune that comes out of the front of the machine just like the real thing!

So, between costumes and decorating, Spicy admits, “It’s a lot of work, but you can be so creative with it!”

A new Halloween scene is already in the works for this year’s party.  As for now, it’s under wraps, but Spicy promises a hauntingly good time for all!

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

The post A Spicy Spin on Halloween at Inventionland appeared first on Inventionland.