# Cave Theme for 2010



## Dark Carver

Devils Chariot - What are your thoughts on a cave theme? I'm planning on having the cave go from the front, to the back, and back to the front through the house. I know you did a section like this so I figured you'd be the best person to ask. I am also planning on making it a maze or at least a kind of confusing walkthrough. I will be using gore galore's "The Cave" CD. I'm going for a cave/swamp overgrown by plants, animals, and monsters. There will be a (small) cemetary in front of it. Now I know what your thinking, "You've already got it all figured out!" But, I don't. I don't know what I'll need, how I'll build everything, and when I will actually do this. I might do it in a few years or this year. I don't know. Any ideas?


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## Dark Carver

I'm really new to this so I'll keep it brief. I'm planning on doing a cave/swamp theme in the following years. Check out Gore Galore's "The Cave" CD (sample) to get a feeling of what the atmosphere will be like. I will be using that CD. I'm seeing low fog, vines, swamp creatures, and a long, twisting, confusing, dark, eerie cave. This thread will be relevent in years to come so don't feel like it's a stale thread. Much input is needed. I'm electronicaly and pneumaticaly impaired (retarted) so don't get all nerdy on me. Thanks.


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## Allen H

Your not really asking a question, would you like ideas that fit the swamp theme?


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## Hauntiholik

Moved post to new thread so discussion did not hijack Devils Chariot's haunt thread.


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## Dark Carver

Thanks Hauntiholik. And yes Allen I'm looking for ideas. Ideas on anything involving a swamp/cave theme.


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## robp790

may I suggest you look into buying fog scents from somebody like Sinister Scents. Get a swamp scent or something mildew like. They sold me 5 gram sample packs of scents and I chose one and bought a two ounce fog additive. I get more comments from the odor than anything else.


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## Dark Carver

*Already on the list*

yep, I know about those and I might use them. Thanks.


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## skeletonowl

Watch the Descent! 

And wouldn't it be cool to give out hard hats with flashlights taped on to the younger ones or really frightened kids? Just a thought. It may compromise a lot of the stuff you want hidden and ruin the atmosphere but you know if someone was REALLY frightened haha.

Try a paper mache vine monster with led red eyes too. That could be really cool.


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## Dark Carver

Yeah! Why didn't I think of that? Vine monster has been added the men- I mean to do list. Thank you.


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## Dark Carver

I'm thinking thick limbs, little vines meandering all around it, and arms kind of like the Cloverfield's. And the red eyes of course. Any other suggestions before I start planning this thing?


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## Toktorill

We've done lots of props and scenes that could translate well to your theme. And everything cheap, and simple. Check some threads I've started to see examples:
Cardboard, paper mache and paint. Look at the $20 prop entries.
Cardboard, plastic tablecloth and paint- faster and cheaper than mache
Large standing figures with wooden frames, masks and cloth
Vines from rope or wire, green tissue paper and fake leaves
$1 Ritt dye from Walmurt + $1 cheesecloth from dollar store = moss/web
Spiderweb. Cheap. Found everywhere.
Make a bridge out of old wood pallets. (at own risk!)


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## DarkLore

You could add in a mine shaft sort of decor. Lots of timber supports with rusty lanterns. A dead canary cage hanging with lots of cobwebs. Cave spiders and such meandering through dead (corpsed groundbreaker) miners. If you don't want hard hats on the tourists...hard hats on the dead miners could light the way.

I totally agree with the vines and moss. You could add lots of areas of stalagtites and stalagmites. How do you do the walls of the cave sort of depends on how permanent this cave will be.

Ohh.....I'd add lots of echoing sounds.


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## Dark Carver

Yeah. The echoeing sounds will come from the CD I mentioned. That mineshaft ideas not too bad! I'll consider that. It would be something good to add to keep it more interesting. Thanks. Keep 'em comin' guys!


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## debbie5

papery, dried-jelly, lining of diapers+ lots of water + dye = gelatinous slime mold. One small diaper = about 2 gallons of goo.


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## lewlew

debbie5 said:


> papery, dried-jelly, lining of diapers+ lots of water + dye = gelatinous slime mold. One small diaper = about 2 gallons of goo.


I don't even want to think about how you know that. Ewwwww!


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## nixie

debbie5 said:


> papery, dried-jelly, lining of diapers+ lots of water + dye = gelatinous slime mold. One small diaper = about 2 gallons of goo.


Isn't that stuff amazing??? At a family gathering last summer, the gelling portion of a diaper was left next to a wading pool (I think a diaper-happy dog was involoved), the result was astounding....


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## Haasmama

Where in Phoenix are you, Dark Carver? I also thought about an abandoned Mine theme; Lots of abandoned mines in Arizona off Table Mesa Rd., in the Lake Pleasant area and near Wickenburg for inspiration. As long as you are not my neighbor, I will be happy to share haunt ideas. (We can't have two mine themed haunts in the same neighborhood. )


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## jaege

Spiders and thick webs, vines and spanish moss, snakes, lizards and rats like these here http://www.cindybob.com/halloween/ratfeast/. Something I have done with some success is to hang lots of strands of black thread from above long enough that it will touch the faces of people walking past. It feels like webs. Sort of spooky.


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## Dark Carver

WOW! You guys are freaking awsome. Ok... Well I've never heard of the diaper thing I'll try that out tomorrow. Hassmama, I live in North phoenix and I've never seen them, I'll check them out. Jaege, thanks for the suggestions. Those types of creatures could go in the first few segments of the cave and in the mine section. I think once you go in deeper it turns into a freakshow of freaky transparent insects and I like those worms that produce strings of slime(hot glue). 
I also recently looked at the enviromental and safety aspects of mining and realized how great this could help me if I incorperated it into the haunt. I could have barrels of "methane gas" leaking out cold fog and have a character (probably animatronic) telling about the "affect of "intermediate" or "junior" mining on his cave dwelling comunity and that you will die for what "your people" have done".


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## Dark Carver

I have a very small front yard so this year I will have a small cemetary and a upsidedown U or W shaped cave in the garage. Gotta start small. Gotta start somewhere. I'll try my best to fit as much as I can in there. I WILL grow. And it will eventualy be all that I imagine. 
I'm currently building a fog chiller and then moving on to the vine monster. The vine monster will be as realistic as I can make it. Good luck with your guy's and girl's haunts!


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## Darkmaster

This is the first year I am going with a cave and mine theme in part of our haunt. check out my album for some lighted pics of the scenes. This has a great effect in the dark with lighting. You are making a good choice for this theme. Good luck with it and post some pics of your progress.


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## Haasmama

DarkCarver- I am off of I-17 near the 101. We could in fact be neighbors!

One of the props that I had considered building for the funny factor was a kicking skeleton stuck in a "honey pot". A honey pot is the portable toilet that ran on the tracks for the miners to use. Miners that were less than honest would try to hide gold they found (rather than turning it in to the owner) in the honey pot and would climb in to get it out before it was dumped. Not everyone would undertand it though so I haven't actually built it yet...

For the mine walls, I was trying to find away to 'texture' canvas drop cloths to look like mine shaft walls. I was going to use PVC pipe to form the structure, but use string at varying lengths to hang it so that the walls and ceiling were not flat or level. I was thinking of using buttons and fender washers to secure the string to the canvas, and would tie the other end of the string to the PVC. Foam "beams" for the entrance and a papermache cave in with a ground breaker type of prop trying to get through. I like the idea of lighted hard hats for lights.


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## Dark Carver

Ok are you talking about making a basic doorway-like frame and tying string to the top (and sides) and hanging the cloth on that? because if you are I'd say your my neighbor AND you can read minds.... ..... I'm watchin' you.... I'm not lying. I'm a very honest person and I would lie to a fellow haunter. I had the very same idea. Ok seriously here's my address. (I P.M.ed you)


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## Dark Carver

Thank you DarkMaster and nice job! another CD I REALY like is "Creepy Crawlys" (vol. 14) by Gore Galore. It would be perfect for the insect section. The senses would be pushed so far if I combined the CD, thread, and minimal light, and of course a few insect props if time allows.


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## Brett Baker

What are you going to make your tunnel out of? Styrofoam? how are you going to arch the roof?, we had some simple tunnels on the farm made out of corral panels which are heavy wire grids used in animal fences, covered with what you have, we used black plastic for expediency the first year, (imp a black plastic hatter, it got me started, but when it burns and drips it sticks to kids like napalm) what are you going to use for vines? We had a ton of twine, tied to the cage for dripping vines; I think it would be cool to dip them in carpet latex to fatten them up. If you are using solid wall panels, you could do great things with foam and monster mud. I’m thinking about how to make stalagmites and stalactites, rope sprayed with foam in layers, does anyone know a good how to for these?


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## daBOOhouse

It would be cool to have the exit hidden by a wall of vines/foliage that makes you look around for the exit. Of course, dead ends and scary monsters are there too.

Should keep people jumping...

Got someplace for someone to hide up high? They might not expect someone above them reaching down and taking their hat or touching their head (if touching is allowed).

Have someone made up like a tree trunk or part of a tree trunk or even a rock formation.

I mentioned a moving bats idea in another mine thread as well.

Good luck and send pictures...


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## Dark Carver

Fearshire- Everything will be exrtremely cheap. One section will be made of two frames for each side/wall, the arches will be made of wood or something else, and the entire interior will be covered with two peices of burlap ($10). The vines are to be made of (that glossy ad paper you get with news papers) paper twisted into a vine shape and (probably) diped in either some sort of latex or latex paint. As for the stalactites I could use some of those cone shaped disposable cups and smear a little layer of great stuff. Or how about using them for molds? Also, I could make some out of hot glue strands.

DaBOOhouse- "It would be cool to have the exit hidden by a wall of vines/foliage" Yes it would. I'll see if I can fit that in.

It would be really cool if anyone could tell me a place to get get wood or something else to build the frame for either a cheap price or free.


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## Dark Carver

You also aked how I was to arch the roof. I will cut wood (if I do use wood) to fit together like this 
-____
/-----\
|------|
|------|
|------|
And line the inside with burlap.


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## Dark Carver

Well guys... None of this stuff happened. I did manage to START a few props but hardely anything new was displayed this year. There was a lot of blank spots and it was really all quite sad... But I think this year I'll be hard at work with new props and I'll check back at this thread every now and then... Thank all of you for your suggestions. They have reinspired me.


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## Allen H

I had to make a bunch of Icicycles for the year I did a yeti haunt, if you painted them different then they would work great as stalagtites I bought the long foam cones that they sell in craft stores for floral arrangements.
I then bought a roll of industrial (resturant style) aluminum foil. I then crinkled the foil as I wrapped it and left a flange on the bottom for stapling up. Many I left like that and just painted, but the ones that were close to the guests I then painted a few layers of fiberglass resin on and then painted. The foam was just a mold and i made about 200 icicles from three different sized foam cones. Its not a great how to, but thats how I did it.
Several layers of duct tape woul be a good strengthener if you dont want to mess with fiberglass.


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## Dark Carver

*Progress*



Allen H said:


> I had to make a bunch of Icicycles for the year I did a yeti haunt, if you painted them different then they would work great as stalagtites I bought the long foam cones that they sell in craft stores for floral arrangements.
> I then bought a roll of industrial (resturant style) aluminum foil. I then crinkled the foil as I wrapped it and left a flange on the bottom for stapling up. Many I left like that and just painted, but the ones that were close to the guests I then painted a few layers of fiberglass resin on and then painted. The foam was just a mold and i made about 200 icicles from three different sized foam cones. Its not a great how to, but thats how I did it.
> Several layers of duct tape woul be a good strengthener if you dont want to mess with fiberglass.


Sounds like a great, cheap, little solution for that. I'll be looking into things like stalactites and vines pretty soon. Right now I'm working on the cauldron creeps' cauldron (never got done). I put some great stuff on the top lip. Man that can was a brute to unseal (old can)! I'm fighting a cold (currently winning!) and homework so I won't be too productive until this weekend. 
Anyways, I think it's very important that I look into the setting and atmospheric type of stuff. I still don't know exactly what to use for the cave structure. I've been looking at office cubicles, wood frames, PVC frames... Can someone please tell me the absolute cheapest way to do this? Thanks Allen!


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## Allen H

I did a tutorial on making vines last haunt season. here it is





Also I was thinking about stalagtites this morning as I went in to surgery. If you were monster mud savvy then you could use the foam cones as a form (leave the plastic on) spray the plastic wraped form with pam and simply wrap the burlap around the form and leave that lip at the bottom to attach it, then when the mud dries remove it from the form and make another one.
Im on meds right now so If it dosent make sense I will fix it tomorrow.


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## Dark Carver

It makes sense. Thank you for the how to! That backer rod is pretty cheap! I'll definitely try this!


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## Darkmaster

Our caves worked out great last year. I had to change the haunt this year and made the tunnels longer. I used the same method and came together fast.
Dark Carver, if you need some help with this send me a message.


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## Moxlonibus

The hard hat and "head light" sounds cool. Maybe make a story that only enough for one person per group. I have also heard of a R/C flashlight that you can cause havock at the "Best" time.


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## Moxlonibus

This is the closest thing to a delete. I found the clip I was going to refer to, O well.


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## Dark Carver

Haha! You mean cut the power of the light and scare them? That would be awesome!


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## niblique71

Here is my solution for a cave and ceiling. If you can find a way to stabilize some PVC Pipes, they make a nice arch for a cave or tunnel.

Impossible folding front facade

Scroll down about 1/2 way for pics.

I have some hints and tricks to add if your interested


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## Dark Carver

This is awesome. It really helps a lot. I would love to know more. Like how to bend the PVC and what you used (the square tube) to attach it to the wood sides. Thank you so much for sharing this with me.


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