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Busting for a Cause

By: Amanda Jaskulski

As Matt Haynes and his friends approached the local haunted house on Halloween night, 1989, they could feel the admiring stares of spectators. Haynes and his group were making their debut as the Ghostbusters—costumes Haynes had spent the previous months researching and assembling.

The idea for the costumes came to them that summer during a group discussion over the upcoming holiday.

"Costuming was a big part of my life," says Haynes, who had just seen "Ghostbusters 2" for the first time, but hadn't considered it as an option for Halloween costumes.

"What about Ghostbusters?" a friend suggested.

"That's impossible, no way," Haynes laughed, a bit taken back by the idea. "There's no way to do that."

After some time, he found a way. He planned to create Ghostbusters suits and proton packs for himself and three of his friends. He faced several obstacles with his task. Resources to check for accuracy and authenticity were scarce. He didn't want to just throw together the costumes haphazardly. If he and his friends were going to be Ghostbusters, they were going to be the best ones possible.

"I made the best with what I had," says Haynes, who pooled his own sources together to gather materials. As a member of the Civil Air Patrol, he had access to flight suits. Additionally, his father owned and operated a vehicle service center, so various automotive parts were readily available.

The suits became the first hurdle for Haynes. The ones he obtained were green, and the ones in the movies were gray or tan. Another obstacle Haynes faced was assembling the proton packs the Ghostbusters are known for carrying on their backs. He used plywood to build the body of the pack and adorned it with automotive accessories for the details. He even made the wands capable of shooting silly string. After several weeks, he had all four suits, packs and rudimentary traps complete.

When Halloween night finally arrived, Haynes was anxious about the costumes working out.

"I was nervous and uptight about everything working and looking good, due to my perfectionism," says Haynes.

Much to his relief, the costumes fit and looked great. He wasn't the only one who felt that way. The crowd at the haunted house showed their support through cheers. Coincidentally, the local radio station, KZZP, was raffling off a "not authentic" Ghostbustermobile that night. Haynes and his friends couldn't have picked a better time or place to make their first appearance.

"We proceeded to huddle around the car while my parents videotaped us," says Haynes. "We tried to reenact scenes from the film."

Spectators immediately assumed that the group was part of the amusement for the raffle. At one point in the night, a small boy approached Haynes and his crew and asked for their autographs.

"At that moment, that told me that it was more than just a costume," says Haynes. "It was an image we could use to put joy into people of all ages."

In the years following that Halloween night, Haynes and his friends expanded their outings. They took trips to the mall in costume to hand out candy, have their pictures taken with children, and to quote scenes from the movies. They used their roles as Ghostbusters bring joy to people, eventually moving up to causes such as charity events.

Haynes' life changed over the years, though. He undertook the responsibilities that came with marriage and a son. With less time on his hands, and the costume falling off the "spectrum of authenticity"—rather, the inaccuracies becoming increasingly apparent—Haynes retired the four original suits.

"Even though I always dreamed of having an updated and authentic costume, I never had the means...until 15 years later," says Haynes.

In 2004, Haynes' luck changed when he met a professional prop maker, and expressed his desire to bring back the Ghostbusters and make the best suits possible. A year and a few hundred dollars later, they were able to make molds and castings to resemble accurate proton packs and accessories. They also found the exact suits as the ones in the films and bleached and dyed them to precise accuracy.

Research and development were key to authenticity, but it was also a roadblock. The prop maker had access to sources that possessed the necessary information Haynes needed, including exact materials and dimensions.

Once they had all the details they needed, they got to work. A master of the overall shape of the pack, trap and wand was made. From the master, they created a rubber mold. What they didn't manufacture out of metal machine parts, they cast out of fiberglass and resin. Details, such as the clipper valves, electrical conduits and polyurethane tubing were glued and bolted on, and everything painted. The bleached and dyed suits were adorned with accessories, and with that, the costumes were finally complete.

"I would dare to say the packs are probably more accurate than the real ones," says Haynes, referring to the fact that the original props are over 20 years old, and none of them from the movies were identical to one another.

Haynes takes pleasure in attending anime conventions, costume contests and Halloween parties, but his ultimate plan in bringing back the costumes was to do charity work. Aside from charity events, Haynes enjoys hospital visits and toy drives.

On a warm Sunday afternoon in late March of 2007, Haynes and his friends appeared at Hohokam Stadium during a Cubs vs. Angels game. They were there on behalf of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, raising money for an upcoming charity walk. They sold raffle tickets, where the winner won 50 percent of the total money raised. Haynes' group got the baseball fans riled up, many of them shouting, "Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!" in their direction. Haynes also had his picture taken with some of the fans, and in return they bought a raffle ticket or two.

"People bought the raffle tickets and didn't care about winning," says Haynes. "They did it for M.S. It made me feel really good."

The Ghostbusters raised about $1,450 that day. They got people involved and brought attention to a good cause.

"It was the best time I've ever had doing charity," says Haynes.

Wherever Haynes and his group appear, the response they get is overwhelming. People of all ages can relate. Many people who approach them remember the movies from when they were young. Haynes likes to think of the Ghostbusters as heroes.

"It's not a hero that's impossible to become, it's a hero that people believe to be real," says Haynes.
Haynes and his crew plan to continue using their costuming to promote charities.

They will be participating in a zombie walk at the First Friday art wakl Oct. 5th from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The zombie wakl is a promotional event for the Mesa Comic Con in January. On Oct. 20 the Ghostbusters will appear at the International Horror and Sci-fi Film Festival in Tempe to judge its costume contest. On Oct. 27 at the Loft Cinema in Tucson, they will perform a stage show before the screening of Ghostbusters at 7 p.m. Finally, on Halloween night, fans will find them patrolling Mill Avenue in Tempe.