Victoria of FangirlNation.com recently met Johnny Curtis of Crumpkin’s Pumpkins at his Pie Cart during Scare LA 2015. Curtis offered candy to passersby, as well as glowsticks. Johnny Curtis recently spoke with FangirlNation.com about Crumpkins Pumpkins and what new sweet scares they are brewing up for Halloween.
FGN: For those not in the know, what is Crumpkin’s Pumpkins and how can one find the Haunted Pumpkin patch?
Johnny Curtis (Picture Courtesy of Curtis)
Johnny Curtis: Thank you, Victoria, for asking, and quite possibly for directing more Victims…Visitors our way! Very well, then, ahem.
“Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” is ‘a Halloween-themed virtual online entertainment environment,‘ which is a fancy way of saying it’s a spooky-fun website that anyone can visit on the Internet at www.crumpkinspumpkins.com.
“The Patch,” as it’s also called, is a place many of our Visitors say they enjoy spending a bit of time “wandering around in” … so to speak… soaking up some of our Hallow’s Eve rural ambiance, getting to know our mean little platoon of Poisonous Pumpkins, trying to make it through our “Hay Maze“ alive (did anyone hear Elvis?), or occasionally blowing up our Trick-or-Treat-filled “Gift Shop“, before or after spending some quality creepy TV time in “Terror Trailer Theatre,” or, playing our “Scratch-the-Patch” game.
And of course our cucurbitaceously-queasy, prognosticating pumpkin, “Hurly-the-Munificent” will disgorge a fatalistic Fortune or two for you (but don’t ask for more than three, or…, well, just don’t.) Fans of Retro-Halloween-Swing and radio show fun will find over six hours of quality lunatic “Cosmic Halloween Specials” which the Pumpkins have recorded with The King of Internet Cool, Java (Jason Croft), renowned broadcaster and podcaster of “Java’s Bachelor Pad.“ Plus, there’s always the scroll-along/sing-along link to the gleefully annoying “Crumpkin’s Pumpkin’s Pumpkin Song,” now with over 1,000,000 views on YouTube! Um, seriously – some people say they can’t get the tune out of their heads… Just sayin’, so it isn’t like your Readers weren’t, seriously warned…
Some Visitors even occasionally escape Crumpkin’s Pumpkin Patch — if they know how. Many who’ve escaped though, curiously return for a future visit (like moth-to-candle, poor things). And The Pumpkins are increasingly all aglow over the comments we’ve been getting, including a “The Herb Garden” viewer at YouTube, who called it, “One of the most well-written things penned in 50 or more years for a like genre.” (Our little ‘Dimly‘ fairly blew-out here when he heard that one, and had to be re-lit! Even with the hapless sacrifice, the incantations took hours…)
“Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” is a creepy, crawly, very dangerous bit of ground that may not be a real place (though I can personally attest that the Salem P.D. does indeed know of a certain address on a certain rural road…) and we’re working on making it more of whatever it is (wherever it is) all the time. So, our Visitors will discover more to, um, dig, in many future Halloween Seasons yet to come!
Viewing Note: We should play well for our Visitors on PCs in the Chrome browser, and on Macs in the Safari browser. Have your Sound up! Sorry, We don’t play well on SWF-restrictive mobile media, and suggest that our site be viewed on laptop, desktop, or large-screen tv/monitors.
FGN: What was your inspiration and how did you get started?
JC: It’s funny, but “Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” started out as a short film project, once upon a time, which it still is, actually. But, somewhere along the line the little promotional website that was built to pitch the movie took off on its own; eerie, huh? And before long the Pumpkins started doing just fine, earning Fans and selling Swag online… So now here we are coming around again, reviving the possibility of “The Crumpkin’s Pumpkins’ Halloween Special,” for collectible DVD or individual release online, if our Visitors let us know they’re interested in the idea; and some have!.
FGN: Do you have a favorite of the pumpkins you’ve created?
JC: I despise them all, equally. (Smiles) And The Pumpkins, I’m proud to say, are all proud to say that they were despicable long before those other, um, despicable whatevers sprouted on the scene…
FGN: What goes into the creative process of developing the individual characters and writing the rhymes that accompany the pumpkins? Did you have an idea of the type of pumpkins you wanted to have or did they just show up one at a time as characters are wont to do?
JC: You mean, psycho-actively, or…? Oh, I see… Actually, the ‘Dirty-Baker’s-Dozen’ Poisonous Pumpkins were sprouted pretty much at the same time as scripting and artwork for the “immersive” sub-domain site went up. The first “Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” page was only a single page promotional teaser, which then “went Theme” in the mid-Zeros, and became the narrative entertainment environment that “Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” is now. Scripting and artwork are combined in PhotoShop, and either optimized for the web, or imported into Adobe Premiere Pro for movie making. As for the rhyme writing, well, there is an old dog-eared, slightly-scorched Rhyming Dictionary that never completely cools-off around here…
FGN: Who voices the pumpkin Cyrano?
JC: I have the privilege of understudying Cyrano, which, on occasion, I have exor – exercised. Pitch is adjusted between 16 and 21%, through Audacity, which has produced all of the website sound and three two-hour radio shows.
FGN: Where would you like to take Crumpkins Pumpkins from here?
JC: Well you know, it’s best to get rid of ’em — they really start becoming, um, ‘ripe’ company not too long after Halloween (that is, until they re-grow again, next year…), so Lumpy usually guts them for Pies, especially the slow ones… Horrible, really… They all think that if they bring Crumpkin his “Quota Soul” each year, they won’t get carved up, but it’s really a con, and by the time they sprout again, they’ve forgotten they’ll get screwed by the Devil once more the next time around. Heh-heh…
But as for now, Halloween 2015‘s coming, and we’re gearing-up to offer our latest malicious merchandising to The Patch’s Fans. And speaking of, The Pie Cart hosted half a dozen interactive game and challenge Winners at “ScareLA“ earlier this month, who are now the proud owners of creepy “Crumpkin’s Pumpkins” coffee mugs and 2016 calendars. Eeek.
Also, “The Crumpkin’s Pumpkins’ Halloween Special” is getting a lot of, ah, fertilizer sprinkled on it here in The Patch‘s ‘Creative Development Barn,’ so that could also be something to look forward to, maybe a couple of Fall seasons or so from now…
We always welcome Visitor inquiries and suggestions as well, and are very proud of many of the kind Fan comments we’ve received. The Pumpkins of course are delighted when anyone unwittingly contacts The Patch. Always optimistic, one can say that for them…
FGN: Where can our readers see you and the pumpkin cart next?
JC: “The Crumpkin’s Pumpkins’ Pumpkin Pie Cart (& Portable Patch)” will be joining “Son-of-MonsterPalooza” this September 18th, 19th, and 20th, at the Burbank Marriott. And The Pie Cart will also be a part of “MonsterPalooza 2016″ — back again at The Pasadena Convention Center! (Good thing Pumpkin innards make great axel grease! But please don’t mention this to The Cart’s current Mascot Pumpkins, ‘Bud and Lou’.)
FGN: Where should our readers follow you and Crumpkin’s Pumpkins?
JC: The Patch is so virtually rural that there’s only one place to find us, at — www.crumpkinspumpkins.com.
Email inquiries can be sent to: [email protected]
And The Pumpkins are waiting…
Thank you, Victoria and FangirlNation, for the interview, and Most Sanguine Cheers to you and your Readers for a Happy Halloween!
