Halloween 2012 — So Far
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
Many of us “Homers” love the Halloween season (or any other excuse really) to shop, decorate, dress up, party and show off our new items and styles. It’s pleasant if we can spook others, or even be a little spooked ourselves. And this year is looking really good for Halloween in Home so far: there are already updates and new items in the stores, plus there are a lot of old favorites available too. Plus, there are still two updates ahead before Halloween arrives — and another update will be on the day itself.
One update you may have noticed or heard about are the changes made to the Cutteridge Estate. The group at Juggernaut have made some deliciously scary changes, and if you don’t own this personal space, be sure to claim a visit from a friend, acquaintance, or Home Community Volunteer. There’s a new reward for guests and owners, by the way. While you’re there, be sure to watch out the windows, look closely at the mirror, stand in the front hall for awhile facing the stairs, and check out the other changes and scary happenings.
Another update is the new public Lockwood space, called the Gift Shop. This small, but jam-packed space has a holiday theme with Autumn colors, gourds, decorated pumpkins and a display of gift machine items fitting the theme also. It’s great to finally be able to see some of these items in three dimensions — but the items are not all life-sized; instead, they are larger than life. This makes them easier to view, but harder to estimate their “real” size. I like the wall of cut-outs with smaller items displayed there, such as the bonsai trees and gnomes. There are posters, a display screen with current information and a gift machine there as well. I’m looking forward to regular updates in this space, especially when there are new items. By the way, there are two doors with a hanger over them, which is the Lockwood symbol for clothes. Are we looking at possible “changing rooms” in the future, where we can try on items from the gift machine?
Lockwood has also updated their gift machine with last year’s seasonal items, such as Coffin Colin, Skinny Vinny, Midnight, the witch’s kitten and Cornelius the Warlock’s kitten, and the Gruesome Gunge fountain. While you’re there you might want to send Rachis, the cockatrice or Gribbler, the dragon to a friend, as a seasonal companion. More updates are promised for later this month, including Skinny Minny, which is on display at the Gift Shop.
X7 has also been updated with new Halloween items, such as Gallu the Ghoul, which will be available to the general public next week.
Speaking of favorites, don’t overlook the Halloween store in Konami (under the male and female tabs) that’s there year-round for costumes. If you don’t have them already, it’s there that you can pick up the $2.99 full-body costumes of a witch or warlock with animations. The witch rides her broom when you move and the warlock shoots energy balls at your command. Other favorites can be found in the Costumes store. Check the male Yeck tab for a “Toxic Doll” with a Jack O’Lantern head for $2.49 or under the male or female Toy Story tab for your choice of Zurg or Woody or Jessie full body costumes for $2.49 each. The THQ tab has an interesting outfit in both male and female styles for $1.99 called the Marauder outfit.
As a couple, she can be the Crying Lady of Cutteridge Estate and he can be the Cutteridge Scarecrow for $1.99 each; these items are found under the Juggernaut tab. Don’t forget the classics! Codeglue offers the Mummy suit for $1.99 in male or females styles. Look under the female Lockwood tab for a fancy-dress witch for $2.95 with tiny animations such as a spider on the hat and under both the male and female tabs for skeleton costumes. There are two types for both genders at $2.95 each. The Originals store has spiked demons for $1.99 each in both genders. And you will find Zombies under the Dead Island tab at $2.49 each for the ladies and the guys. If you’re looking for something a little lighter, the Originals store has clowns for $1.99 each, Gunslingers for $2.99 each, Hippies for $1.49 each, and heroes for $1.49 each also, in both genders. Lockwood just came out with three new outfits for the ladies and two for the guys under their Fool Throttle label. Invisible Keith is offered at $1.99 and Damon Allburn at $3.99 for the unique seven-piece pack for the guys. For the ladies, choose between Ella Vam Pire, a sexy goth five-piece pack; Skelly Kelly, a unique four-piece pack and Felicia “Feline Fine” four-piece pack. Each set includes a different hairdo and they sell for $3.99 each.
For classic-styled (scary) Halloween companions, there are a multitude of choices in various stores. The newest is a group of three candles for $1.49 from Heavy Water, called Bewitched Candles. Don’t forget to go to the Dead Nation public space for the Little Zombie companion at $1.49 also, if this fits your style. At $1.99, check out Home Originals for the Hannya mask or the Black Cat or Lockwood for Vane the cockatrice or Salvador the dragon or Loot for Toby the Tabby or Chairman Meow or Yeck for the Toxic Doll. At $2.49 you can find a Mummy Cat at Codeglue, a floating skull at VEEMEE, Thulu at Juggernaut, Al Cabone and Mr Ska Bones at Lockwood, or a Two-Headed Snake, a Phoenix, a Giant Spider, or a Chimera at Home Originals. For $2.99 you can pick up the Li’l Reaper or Benji or Nipper from nDreams or Zombies at Doublesix. For something lighter, Lockwood offers the complete Stitchkin line of 14 items for $1.99, by the way. And all of these are just a few of the many, many companions available. Pick up the one that fits your personal Holiday style.
Heavy Water has also just come out with a bunch of seasonal items for your avatar and your estate. They offer two truly gruesome zombies for males (Gunshot) and females (Brokejaw) at $4.49 each. Each five piece pack is also available by individual pieces. They also offer an animated spider web tattoo for $1.99 and an animated plastic pumpkin with candy hand-item for $.99 for both females and males. The items for your space are a flickering candelabra, instruments of torture such as an iron maiden and rack, a spooky stump, a pumpkin patch, a wrought iron fence, and a bed of nails for $.99 each. You can also pick up a hay bale for $.49. They are also offering three “window” wall items. For $1.49 you can choose between the Harvest Moon window and the Stormy window, both of which are rather spooky. But the really scary item is the Boarded Up window for $2.49 which has an arm reaching through at random and when you walk near it. I’m fairly certain that I need all of these items.
Hellfire Games is now offering animated wings that let you float and fly when you move. There are four styles (Phoenix, Angel, Dragon and Butterfly) in six colors for $3.99 each and one Dragon style for $6.99 in gold. The Phoenix is red and yellow flames, the Angel is white, the Butterfly is dazzling pink and the dragon is offered in red, green and blue, as well as the gold. Hellfire Games is also offering some special seasonal packs for Home Tycoon.
This is the start of it all — Holiday Season 2012. I’m especially excited about what will be offered with the next two, possibly three, updates and I’m looking forward to seeing Home filled with ghosts, goblins, spooks, zombies, witches, warlocks and other things that go bump in the night. I’m sure there will be at least one decorated public space, lots of free items and fun for everyone at parties, meetings and other places where we can share our seasonal items and good spirits.
October 12th, 2012 by Kassadee Marie | 5 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
As I look my article over, I can’t help but notice that I said the Bewitched Candles are a group of three and yet the picture shows four…
Good job as always Kass! I love your articles because it helps people find things so much easier when they are looking for a specific look.
Great list Kass. I’m curious about the picture you have of the Cutterige Estate at the top though -- it’s considerably brighter than mine, why? Is that your personal gamma and brightness setting you have on your T.V.?
I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to the ambient light in my virtual environments and for my Cutterige I have the gamma at about half, a notch below if I’m in there alone. Just coz I think the darkness gives it depth.
Unfortunately adjusting your gamma on your TV or Home settings, doesn’t work… I’ve tried it. The Loot searchlight can help in some places, though. But what I do is this: After I take pictures or find them from the developers ads, I upload them to my computer and then I brighten them with Adobe Photoshop before adding them to my articles. It’s fairly easy to do, but they can looked washed out if you aren’t careful.
I meant those adjustments don’t work for pictures, if that was unclear. Obviously they work for your TV… lol.