Monday, January 4, 2016

Humble Beginnings And Welcome

What’s the best way to start the New Year and a completely new week? Make your new blog, of course! Greetings friends! I’m Brendan McLaughlin, and I’m here to welcome you to the new year of 2016 and the first post of the newest haunted attraction of Cape Cod, Chill-Shrill Estate.

Before we become acquaintances, a brief history. I live in Harwich, part of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As a lover of cartoons and the art of Voice Over, I started my career by having classes at Sandwich (MA) High school, going a VO workshop with Rob Paulsen in NYC in 2012, and training with the Lau Lapides Company in Wellesley, MA. I’ve also had a knack for audio editing, woodworking, sculpting, and animatronics. As most people could figure out, I LOVE Halloween, and make almost every effect and prop for decorating our front yard. Last year, I decided to create a much more elegant, dramatic, and ethereal haunted joint, which is called Chill-Shrill Estate,  with the eccentric, cabaret-esque, and life of the after-party, Lord Grimmore, Chill-Shrill Estate’s new owner and Master of the Festivities.

Backstory: In the mid-1800s, two childhood friends, Alistair Chill and Ezekiel Shrill, went into the real estate business, and their business was booming. So life couldn’t have been sweeter, and they both had their families staying with them. But on Halloween, October 31st, 1881, a catastrophic chain of events happened. When all of Chill and Shrills’ guests raised their glasses to toast their new fortunate future, a portal to an otherworldly realm opened, and Alistair, Ezekiel, and their families just simply disappeared. One hundred thirty-five years later, Chill-Shrill estate has been taken over by ghouls, ghosts, and goblins who have been allowed by Lord Grimmore to live in the residence…FOREVER.

What happened to Chill, Shrill and their families? How is it that Lord Grimmore inherited/took over Chill-Shrill Estate?? As a matter of fact, who or what is Lord Grimmore? Is he a human or a demonic entity? Ghost? Zombie? Vampire? We don’t know. We honestly don’t know. But one thing we do know is that some brave souls must find a clue to what happened to Chill-Shrill Estate’s demise on that dark night long, long, LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG ago.

I hope that you have enjoyed the first post tonight. Those people who’ve read it must come to Chill-Shrill Estate’s reception on the evening of October 31st, 2016. I hope to see you all again with the next post.

       Fun Facts:

-          Chill-Shrill Estate was inspired by Hanna-Barbera, who made my favorite cartoons of all time.


-          Lord Grimmore’s name is a play on the word ‘Grimoire’; a French word for a book of magic, spells, and sorcery, and his name was also inspired by characters from ‘’Corpse Bride,’’ such as ‘General Bonesapart’ and ‘Bonejangles’.