They both grew up in very creative homes: Karen in La Mesa, California (near San Diego) and Ricky in Eatontown, New Jersey (at the Shore). Halloween was always the biggest holiday for them both, as it was the one time of year that they could "go play" out in the real world with the fantasy and fun characters they dreamed up.

They both learned to sew at an early age, and store-bought costumes were history before they were out of grade school. As they grew older, they discovered science fiction and fantasy conventions because of all the TV shows and movies they were into. Here was a place where dressing up was okay year round (!).

They met, finally, because of these conventions. Actually, they met while they both were shopping in the Los Angeles garment district the day before one of these conventions started. As corny as it may sound, they met at the rhinestone counter at Berger Beads, in downtown Los Angeles.

Both of them had been having good runs of winning costume competitions before they met, and once they got together, the success kept going.

After they got married and moved to Western Pennsylvania, it was the local community that started them on the path to haunting, by being such a great area for trick-or-treaters. They got so many trick-or-treaters that they started dressing up both themselves and their house. One thing led to another, and the display got more involved each year. Eventually, it took over the porch, the 1/4-acre back yard, the outbuildings, and portions of the house itself. (You’ve seen this "holiday decorations get out of control" plot on sitcoms such as Home Improvement and Roseanne, right? Only this is real life!)

In 1993, Castle Blood was born, and in 1994, a set theme was decided upon. And all of a sudden, people were asking for footage of the haunt (or attraction as it is now called) to be used on national video tapes, and the rest is lifestyle-changing history.