# Yard Haunt Entryway



## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

I do a new theme for my main yard haunt every year. I like the challenge of developing all new props and stories plus it mitigates a growing trend of people in the neighborhood heavily borrowing from the ideas in my haunt to their benefit. I add a fog chiller, another five+ houses have almost identical fog chillers the next year (that one's not paranoia: I developed my own fog chiller design completely removed from the online community and these houses had everything but the same paint job on their fog chillers); I make a nightmarish garden haunt, another four houses have killer plants the next year. But I digress.

I've begun building elements I can reuse with some alterations each year. The sun dial from last year can easily be converted to a tree stump, for example, or I can change out the clothing on my child figure from last year and have two new props right away. This idea goes beyond that.

My plan last year was to actually have a walkthrough in the front yard with a designated path. I ran out of time so I never had to implement the two path system through the yard. The master concept is a "Brave" path--the walkthrough--and an "Afraid" path--the actual walkway to the house. How I could have achieved it I wasn't sure of until very recently.

This is the concept sketch:









The two arches will be 7ft garden trellises from Collections ETC, altered to look a bit more Gothic. I like working with wire, so I might be able to extend the floral pattern over the entire arch or remove their minimal pattern pieces and create something even stranger. A fresh coat of paint (black and rust, perhaps? or whimsical Halloween colorings?) and some clearance fake plants and they'll work. The signs will hang off of the top of the trellises.

The Information (might be renamed) booth is the fun part. It will be a crystal ball illusion done with a TV (the Big Scream TV method). The face will be explaining the rules of the haunt and introducing the basic story. I already have the perfect garden ball and a wide selection of working-but-not-plugged-in tube TVs to work with. I also have what I believe is a large enough sheet of plexiglass for the reflection. I haven't settled on a color or design scheme for inside of the booth. I will say the booth will be shorter than in the drawing to make sure most of the ToTs can easily see it. The sign beneath the window will look more like a picture frame with a space to insert the placard for the year's haunt. As you can see, I will be basing my yard haunt this year on The Red Shoes, borrowing heavily from the Kate Bush interpretation more than the original Hans Christian Anderson story.

The fencing on the sides will be cheap snow fencing painted to match the rest of the color scheme. It will go all the way around the yard to prevent ToTs from barreling through the haunt and breaking props (again) and to make a clear distinction between the Brave and Afraid paths.

I'll try to steal some time on the weekend to start working on the signs, at the very least, but I'm in the throws of music directing a production of _Anything Goes_ that opens next week on Wednesday. It might be a while before this starts to come to life.


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## morbidmike (Sep 11, 2009)

looks like a great idea good luck i hope you can finish it


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

I really like your whole idea here with the 2 different arches and the "information booth" in the middle of them. I like the trellises you are looking at and looking forward to seeing your vision come to life


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## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

As I expected, I did not get a chance to steal some time during production week. However, I did get to process information when not running around like a crazy person and formulate a better plan for the signs over the trellices.

I'll be using scrap insulation foam. I plan on "drilling" out four holes in each sign to stabilize it in the arch. The top two holes with receive actual hanging hardware--rings, I suppose, and some "chain"--to attach to the top of the arch. The bottom two holes with be as small as possible to hide some fishing line tied to the sides of the trellices to loosely keep the sign hanging down and readable. I'm aiming for a wood effect on the signs, so much carving, sealing, and detail painting will be involved. I know I want the "Brave" sign to be a bit more menacing and worn than the "Afraid" sign, though I haven't figured out the details. I'm going to add to the signs to make them clearer:

BRAVE
Ready for Tricks & Treats​
and

AFRAID
Treats Dead Ahead​
When I do tombstones out of foam, I use dimensional foam stickers and have bags and bags of clearance stock Halloween shapes from Michaels. I'll use the same trick here for detail. I can probably do the "Afraid" sign up with all different candy and pumpkin shapes and the "Brave" sign with the skulls and bats. The letters will be carved (probably raised letters on recessed background). I'm waiting on just the right shade of oops paint to pop up at Home Depot before starting the paint job. They just tossed out the older stock this morning before I got there (boo).

I'll probably get to start cutting the shapes out tomorrow for the signs.


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I would love it if my neighbors were to start decorating up to my level. I see lots of pumpkins, the odd scarecrow, some of the Gemmy lighted items, but not much else.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Jaege, I hear that... I'm the only one in my neighborhood that does anything beyond pumpkins and inflatables (mostly the former and like one of the later). Hopefully wherever Kaoru and I move to in the next few months offers a little more competition from the neighbors.


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## Erebus (Jul 28, 2009)

Try going to estate sales or garage sales, even curb shopping (or put a listing on craigslist saying that you are looking for an old rusted arch), and look for an old arch. I found one at a house that my parents in law moved into and they didn't want it because it was old and rusted. It turned out great, and with the minions web gun sprayed all over it, it was a great prop.


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## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

I'll leave it at there's a difference between imitation as flattery and removing/going around barricades in my haunt to take photos of how I put props together and then presenting an almost identical prop the next year and bragging about coming up with the idea. It's not as polite or well-meaning as you might assume.

Progress on the signs is slow. Here are pictures of Brave and Afraid at the moment.


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