VeggieMap is up using all the Haunted House Nation technology. Check it out, pretty cool, although mostly the same thing. Hoping to help people find vegetarian and vegan restaurants with this map. Only one so far, but more to come.
Hoping to get some more houses for HHN as well, but I’m in Houston right now waiting out Katrina, so it’ll be a bit.
Ok, everything has been replaced by a main library. Duplicating the site will be easy, but I wanna knock off a few things before I move to that point, and add some more functionality. What did get done is centering the map view for a state level by moving it to the center of all the houses. Not the best method, but it does pretty good so I’m gonna leave it that way.
I’ve decided the rating system and comment system do not belong in the map class itself, so those are back on the shelf temporarily(want them up in a few days for sure though).
Search by open houses will be there, and RSS feed generation support will be there as well because the mapping system and the RSS system are so closely linked(and require almost the same data).
The comments/rating system will tie directly into the mapping library though, so when you click on a house some random comments will show up on the left(gonna move some of those adds off/down/around to make some room). Events support will be coming shortly too. I want it added into the main library so we can have haunted houses, but say, halloween concerts, or things like the Dragon’s Halloween Ball.
Stuff is coming. Very cool. =)
The map seems a lot faster now, and opens the info window if you click “Locate on Map” or select it from the site.
I’m changing the system to depend on a central library to make maintenance, changes, and upgrades more maintainable for haunted house nation. Right now it’s not many changes, just trying to replace the functionality it has with a central library. This will also allow me to replicate the site as I’ve mentioned I want to do.
Here’s my current feature list for this main library:
For this site itself(All that above will be able to be replicated so to speak):
The only thing I really care about at this time is direct linking to a house and after that the ability to hit driving directions from the state view of the map.
Ok, I’ve added a driving directions link(based on the zipcode you’re searching from). I’ve also set the default map to show Texas. As soon as we’ve got 50 or 75 haunted houses it’ll show the nation and a select number of houses(random) or all of them(if the poor browsers can take it).
Next up are direct links to the Haunted Houses. Possibly a better way to ask for Driving directions, and a way to do it from the State Listing(since most people will be coming in via that path, argh).
Direct links to hosues will look something like this:
http://www.hauntedhousenation.com/Thrillvania/5/
as soon as I figure out the best way to do it, and will be mostly for the Haunted House Owners to link back to this site(so their visitors can get driving directions, an interactive map, and be sure to hit a few houses all at once).
Hey, we were mentioned over at the Steve The Bum Production Blog. Looking from what they’re up to, they’re making a documentary on Haunted Houses. You can keep up to date on their activities at their blog.
Steve The Bum Productions, from their website:
Steve The Bum Productions is Texas’ leading production studio with a penchant for
frightening subject matter and dark design. Our services range from Film and Video production,
Commercial Production and DVD Authoring to Web Design and Marketing/Public Relation Consulting.Steve The Bum Productions offers a full range of Film, Commercial Video, Web design and Marketing and
PR services catering to the dark industries. STB was created to serve smaller- to medium- sized businesses
with micro to larger budgets. Our professional graphics designers, web designers, and film crew will work
close with your company to ensure that you get exactly what you want and need.
I’ve also added them to the links and the blogroll so everyone can keep up with them in the future.
There is a new RSS feed for recently listed haunted houses. You can subscribe to it Here. That is a direct link to the RSS feed, so you need to use an aggregator like Firefox or something similar. Enjoy!
I’ve added several(Thanks to people submitting them online) in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Portland. Keep them coming, the more the better.
Ok, the search by radius is working, the zip codes are working(center to that zip code). I’m getting search by state going now. It’s working, but you have to edit the URL to get it to work properly. But hey, one step at a time.
Check it out at HauntedHouseNation.com and pass it around to your friends! We’ve only got one listing outside of DFW/North Texas(it’s in Alabama) and we need more! Feel free to add a site or tell a friend to add the site.
I’ll post more when I get a chance. Once I’ve got it up searching by state I’ll be mostly done. All that will be left is approving the haunted house listings(don’t want this to turn into spam central) and probably a driving directions link generator for Google Maps.
I also want to have a rating system for people to rate a House, and a system to leave comments/feedback, but that is more in the future. I wanna get the search by state up so I can call it stable and can focus on other features later.
I’ve been sick recently so work has been slow, but I got a boost this evening and added the search by radius and zip, so enjoy! Pass it around!
The national list is coming along at: HauntedHouseNation.com.
Entering your zipcode will take you to that place, but nothing else happens yet(still only loads local haunted houses). Feel free to add any haunted houses you know about or email the people running them so they can add them to this site. Anywhere in the US feel free to add it. That way when I do get everywhere else working there will be some content. =)
It’ll probably be the end of the week before I get it working, but it does work for dallas right now as it did before, so no worries there. And the links are upgraded to go there as well.
This site will be around for local dallas news, reviews, photos, events, and links. But for now it has news and development for the national site.
I’m taking this thing national. The new address is hauntedhousenation.com. All existing submissions will remain, and I’m working no getting the system set up to do Haunted Houses within 20 mi. from my location, etc…. So no national submissions yet(all will assumed to be Dallas, TX or close by) but soon.
As soon as I get it all set up I’ll let you know!
You can now add your Haunted House to the List with the Automated Form. Much easier on me. Now I just need to get the automatic Lat/Long calcs going, but I can do it by hand until I’ve got it up.
Ok, the list is working in IE now and has all the haunted houses from the previous list. Check it out and leave comments. =) Not done yet, still working on more functionality, but getting close.
Ok, the map has been updated, expanded, and I fixed the IE problems. Sorry, I’m still new to the Google API, but hey, check it out now.
The new list is Coming Online. Only two added so far, but more is coming. Gotta finish some of the features first.
I’m developing a list system so the list isn’t just a static page. Webmasters will be able to add their haunted house to the list(and all the current data there is). The system will also, in the beginning, support user reviews(how many people, avg review between 1 and 10 stars, maybe 5, not sure yet). It will say how many people reviewed it and what the rating is.
In the future, you will have the ability to add you own textual review to the haunted house, upload pictures, and it will have Google Maps support as well, as well as a downloadable CSV file and a “Select the houses you want to visit and hit Generate Print Page” with Maps, Directions, and Info. (As well as the links to the coupons so you can print those up) so you can plan your perfect night.
More stuff coming soon, and if you’ve got any advice, feel free to leave it!
Halloween is only a few months away! Let’s get started with some links and some stuff to look forward too:
Little Blurb on the Origin of Halloween, or check out the WikiPedia entry.
The Darth Vader Pumpkin deserves a smile. =) Even though this site is targeted towards the Adult Halloween Enthusiasts, I’ll be listing many Halloween Activites for Children in the DFW Metroplex. Contact Me if you know of anything! I will start a separate list if there is a good deal of want for one.
There is some info on the Palani Witch Trials as well as some good commentary.
Things to Look Forward To:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra does a Halloween Concert on Sunday, Oct. 30th. Family Oriented.
Dragon’s Halloween Ball - No Date Set, Not For Kids, but I’ve heard it’s always a big bash. I think it’ll be Oct. 29th this year, on Saturday, but I’m not sure.
Ok, I’ve gotten a new theme again. Let me know any feedback on it, ok?
I just saw this link over at ThriftList.
250Gig SATA for about $100. Hell yeah! Uh, when I’ve got some extra cash. My little 90gig is pretty full.
View The 2006 National Haunted House List
