# What are some opinions on types of scaring?



## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

I just want to see what kind of opinions other people have about scaring. I know that one of the most common types of scaring in the haunt communities (at least the ones I've seen) tends to be jump scaring. I have no problem with jump scaring and, done right, it can make an entire haunt. Personally, though, I've always been one for presence scaring. I like to scare people with just the atmosphere of their surroundings. I try to build my haunts to make people feel transported to another, scarier, place. Instead of jumping out and scaring people, I like to stand relatively still or casually stroll around in a costume that is unsettling to say the least. Scaring large groups of people by just walking near them, staring at them, or waving to them is usually what I aim to do. Just wondering about some other opinions. Thanks.


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## Abunai (Oct 28, 2007)

Atmosphere scares are probably what most haunters strive for. 

But, for ease of implementation and effectiveness, startle scares are probably the most widely used. 

While everyone is afraid of something, not everyone is afraid of the same thing. That's why it's hard to pull off the atmosphere scare most of us would like to employ.

Catch someone by surprise, however, and a startle scare works every time. 

I saw a disappointing study recently, sorry I don't remember where and I don't have a link, but it said that today's teenagers (main haunted attraction demographic) are scared most by something startling, bloody, gory, and close-up. They are scared least by traditional monsters and "spooky" things.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

What a great insight on the subject! I agree, the fact that people's phobias vary so widely makes it difficult to do such atmospheric-esque scares. That's why I chose to do a carnival/clown theme this year. I know of many many people on my area who are coulrophobic on one level or another.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

I think the best scares are the ones that use a combination of built up anxiety by sights, sounds, smells, etc., and then startling the guests randomly throughout the rest of the haunt. Some of the problems longer running haunts run into are that they have actors who fall into a routine of hiding and jumping from the same place(s). For hour after hour, and even more for night after night, the guests, many who come back again and again, know where the scares will come from and they start warning their friends as to what's coming and where it will happen. Changing up actors or changing their duties and locations can help keep everyone fresh (and scary).

As an example, showing lots of cobwebs early on, and then getting the guests to walk through a hallway that has fine threads draped down at face level with skittering sounds surrounding them, then having a "spider" drop down onto them just when they start getting some visibility back. The initial views spark the basic fears, the sounds and draped threads reinforce the idea/fear, and the dropping spider(s) send them into a panic because it confirms their fears.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

That's a superb breakdown of effective scaring! Culminating all the senses into the atmospheric fear and THEN throwing in a jump scare. Brilliant.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

_*I guess I would say that to me what makes a great scare, is the fear of "not knowing". All of what has been said in these earlier post are true. The fear of the unknown in not knowing what is going to happen next when you enter a haunt. The panic and trauma that one can create in one's mind is what drives people to continue on inside a haunted attraction (also the fact that most of the time you can't turn around and go back).

I've always believed that just a simple touch on the back of someone from just a hand or something hanging down from a ceiling can make even the strongest person jump out of their pants. We used to attend a haunt that in one of the rooms the actors where dressed in all black. They would come up to you unseen, because of the poor lighting and would just whisper something like "hello" and people would just freak!

So I guess what I'm saying is that the simplest of actions in a haunt can have sometimes the greatest effect on people. Just from the fact of the unknown! They already know they are walking into a haunted attraction, but they don't know whats waiting for them. :jol:
*_


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

For me, the startle is fine, but some haunts overuse it throughout the entire haunt. It gets really old, and isn't scary at all after having numerous people jumping out at you. 

I like the casual slow stroll in a haunt that has the atmosphere and ambiance that you describe. An actor that is dressed and made up creepily that walks up to me and just stares is pretty unnerving. Sometimes the best scare is what your mind sets up for you. You see spooky surroundings, you hear and smell (smells are great!) certain things and your mind starts working on you for the build up and then a sinister being appears... 

Set the scene, and the mind begins the build up for what's to come.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

It does get repetitive. All of the professional haunts in my area overuse the startle scare. Its almost exclusively what they do. I also feel like atmosphere or presence scaring is sort of an affirmation to me of my own haunt. I could dress up as something cute and cuddly, but if I jump out at you from seemingly nowhere, you'll still be scared. I want people to be scared of the stuff I put my time and effort into, not just of people surprising them.


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## mrfoos (May 13, 2012)

I love this thread. I understand startle scares work and of course I use them in my haunt but it's like haunted attraction porn - it works but it's unimaginative and superficial.

Here is a 4 minute video I keep going back to trying to come up with more imaginative ways to creep people out:

2AM : The Smiling Man





The way that guy moves and positions his body is creepy weird. I need more examples like that to fill up my haunt.

Another example of a different kind of scare? One of my actors was a big dude - over 6' and built like a linebacker. One time he snuck up close enough to whisper into a girl's ear, she freaked out, and then said "it must be fun working here". He replied with a sinister smile "I don't even WORK here" as he withdrew back into the shadows. The girl reported it to the front just in case it was real... the creep factor was a little two high for her to know for sure. I thought it was brilliant. I need more edgy scares like that.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

Haha! That sounds great! Have you heard of the Northampton Clown in England? He gave me a few ideas for my haunt. Basically a guy dresses up like a normal clown but just wanders the city at night and waves at people. It's nothing malicious but people are so afraid of him and I believe he has gotten reported to the police a few times. He is a great example of presence scaring.

Here's the FB page for it:
https://www.facebook.com/spotnorthamptonsclown


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

mrfoos said:


> I love this thread. I understand startle scares work and of course I use them in my haunt but it's like haunted attraction porn - it works but it's unimaginative and superficial.
> 
> Here is a 4 minute video I keep going back to trying to come up with more imaginative ways to creep people out:
> 
> ...


Haha! That sounds great! Have you heard of Northampton's Clown in the UK? It's just a guy who dresses at a clown and wanders the streets and waves at people, except he does it all at night. Just his presence is extremely frightening. He gave me a few ideas for my haunt. Here's the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/spotnorthamptonsclown


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

TheatreOfThrills said:


> That's a superb breakdown of effective scaring! Culminating all the senses into the atmospheric fear and THEN throwing in a jump scare. Brilliant.


The spider subject was just an example, you may find additional scares by changing up where (and if) you have any "jump" scares/startles. When you have repeat guests, they start looking for the "jump" at set locations, but it also creeps them out when those things don't occur or if they happen at a much different location. You can add small fans down at ankle level when you do the skittering noises to help emphasize the feeling of something crawling over their feet. But you can apply this same formula to almost any theme, clowns, rats, roaches (not the kind you smoke), snakes, cats, dogs, etc. The intensity can build as the guests go further and further into the haunt. As already stated it's more their imagination getting away from them than the actual props you show. Play on their fears and build the intensity.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

I LOVE this clip






My absolute fav is the clown at the gas station...... LOVE IT. That would scare the heck out of me.


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## kauldron (Oct 17, 2011)

Headless said:


> I LOVE this clip
> My absolute fav is the clown at the gas station...... LOVE IT. That would scare the heck out of me.


That was hilarious. That would be great to do something like that if your haunt has a good size parking lot, to really get the customers riled up before they get to the main attraction.


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## Gallows_meat (Mar 14, 2014)

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=38868
I wrote down a lot of my ideas on the subject in this thread. I go for both jump scares and creep factor, generally apearing in front of someone when they're turning around, jumping up into their face, ducking back down and running around them to reappear in their face again. Freaks the crap out of people. Then I start twisting and moving as weird as possible while making gurgle-y screaching noises, flinging my eyes wide, and jutting my jaw out to the side.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

Great points, Gallows. I think the one i struggle with the most would be the body movements. You see, I'm generally pretty difficult to scare and can easily rationalize things, so to me I am just a Halloween lover dressing up and walking like I have two broken legs. I have a hard time visualizing myself as other people see me. I usually feel stupid trying to act less human, but when people start screaming and running and (my favorite) crying, then I know I'm doing an okay job.


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## Gallows_meat (Mar 14, 2014)

You'll slowly figure out what works. I got told by my boss that I wasn't scary enough my first day, and felt horrible, but the last couple of years he's said I'm among the top scarers, which is awesome. Practice in front of a mirror. It works. And also, you could have a friend tape you so you can see yourself in action. Generally, my own rule is to make sure that nothing is symetrical. I tilt my head to the side, throw one arm in the air, twist my back, etc. You have to figure out what works for you, but remember, you're not being a normal human, so try not to walk like one. In fact, try hard to let yourself go and "become" your character, like an actor does.  Also, use your surroundings. A lot of our walls are made out of pallets, so I figured out that If I put my hand in the cracks to support myself, I can essential walk while bent over backwards and my head and torso are practically upside down. Freaks the crap out of people.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

This year might be a little different. I am going to be a clown/ringmaster, so I'm not necessarily going to be inhuman. I want to still creep people out. What do you think you would do?


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

Try watching some movies of ringmasters to get an idea of how they act. Anyone know any moves that might have a spooky circus? Maybe Freaks?


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was, of course, IT. But he's not exactly a shining example of human, plus most of his movements are concealed as you don't see his full body much in the movie.


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## Darkwalker (Jul 4, 2010)

I'm aiming for atmosphere but there will be a few jump scares too. I'm doing a small home haunt and one of the biggest lessons I've learned is not to have too many scares. Whether it be a prop or an actor in costume. My first year I had too much going on and the scares were pretty week. They didn't have enough time to settle down between scares. Not getting away that easy, this year. :jol:


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

Darkwalker said:


> I'm aiming for atmosphere but there will be a few jump scares too. I'm doing a small home haunt and one of the biggest lessons I've learned is not to have too many scares. Whether it be a prop or an actor in costume. My first year I had too much going on and the scares were pretty week. They didn't have enough time to settle down between scares. Not getting away that easy, this year. :jol:


Yeah, jump scares can get old very quickly. Two of the biggest haunts in my area used them so much that I could literally walk into a room or hallway and pick out all the spots where actors would jump out of. It got almost boring. The non-jump scares weren't as startling but more interesting and artistic,


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

The mental scares are better than the physical ones. As noted, the shock value goes away pretty quickly with people jumping out all the time. The fear of the unknown is a lot more effective. Play on ALL of the senses when possible.


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## vernsburns (Sep 20, 2012)

I try to mix traditional scare tactics with some added tactile effects. Have people focus on something in a room, where they expect the "scare" to come from and do something behind them. I have people behind a fake wall, with compressed air to shoot at the backs of patrons. the noise and the feel of the air really shock people. Also flicking water when fake snakes lunge forward scares people pretty well. I think it's a mix of sensations that they are now prepared for that works best.


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## Shepherd of Fire (Oct 8, 2014)

First post... Huzzah!

So I wanted to chime in on this one. I have done a smallish home haunt; we do it in two phases, a party with about 50 or so guests (with a waiting list the last year or so!) and a garage walkthrough for TOT. The best scares I got were with a recent change to the walkthrough. The garage was surrounded in black plastic, with slits cut for actors. The TOT table was in the back center, with the candy spilled out of an old cauldron and lit by a blacklight led spot. A strobe and fogger behind the scene made it difficult to see. Directly behind the table I have an animatronic 6' zombie, and a zombie actor standing together in plain sight. As TOTs enter the garage, the visible actor mimics the animatronic; this eventually puts the TOTs at ease so they will approach the table. A jumping spider connected to a footpad awaits under the table, with the cheap jump scare setting the stage and drawing attention. As TOTs watch the spider and tentatively grab some candy, my actor comes alive and moves quickly towards them. This usually elicits a scream and a quick about face, just in time to see a second zombies actor who had quietly closed in behind them after they entered! Nether actors scream, yell or use loud props, but I have had to return countless candy bags and costume parts to frightened TOTs. I had one lady do three "laps" in my garage before she found the way out. 

Sometimes the patients to let your TOTs get the wrong impression first goes a long way!


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

Well, Shepherd, it is my pleasure to be the first to welcome you to the forums! I'm sure you'll love it here.


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## TheatreOfThrills (Jul 11, 2014)

As for the haunt, I have done something quite similar. It was last year, in fact. i set up my electric chair in my garage surrounded by white linens with some hardcore blood splatters (partially to scare people and partially to stop people rummaging around my garage and stealing things). I left just enough space to allow an actor to be able to remain unseen behind the sheets and move to the other side of the garage if needed. i had the candy bowl on a table behind me while I was shrouded in fog and had a strobe centered on the chair. (I wanted to force everyone to have to walk right by me, almost in touching distance to get their candy and that REALLY freaks people out) People knew I was real, but I would act calm for a while and then really surprise the next batch of TOTs. However, since I was the main spectacle of the haunt, no one expected my actor and they, too, got a few good scares that night.


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## MansionHaunter (Sep 20, 2006)

I'm with the atmosphere scare crowd. I'd rather use the visitor's own imagination and apprehension to do the scaring than try to force it through explicit scenery or startle scares.

This can be difficult to accomplish in the "minute theater" we have as Halloween haunters, as trick-or-treaters don't tend to linger to watch a long show, so it makes it all the more fun trying to come up with that totally scary haunt within the limits.


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

If your props are all static or low-tech (and it's a 1-man gig) you basically have to go for atmosphere rather than jump scares. It's still a haunt and you can get very strong reactions sometimes. When people aren't sure what they are seeing (if it is real or fake), it can be disturbing.


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## TheDarkestHour (Dec 5, 2014)

I've worked in haunts for a few years, but I've been scaring people my whole life. I'm working towards opening my own haunt in the next few years, and I have a very strong opinion on this. And some might disagree with me.

I personally think that dramatic, "creepy" dialogue has its place, however, I find many haunts overuse this. When I am haunting, I honestly barely ever say anything, because I've build a persona that works for me. Growling, guttural noises, chomping, hissing, etc... I find that when you "humanize" a character in your haunt, by adding silly, most of the time STUPID dialogue, all it does is make the patron realize that the person in front of them is just some drama kid from the local high school, badly acting a creepy part. (Some actors who are extremely talented can pull off dialogue incredibly! Always put your best actors in the positions that require dialogue)

That instantly removes you from the world you're supposed to be stuck in the middle of. It "Dumbs down" the entire haunt, because there is no element of danger or the unknown. If I'm just walking around, casually trying to be creepy, people just walk by, look at you, and most the time, wait for you to do something. If you don't do anything unexpected, they leave the room thinking, wow, that was disappointing. Thereby taking away from the experience again.

However, if a customer walks up to a dark closet that has a bunch of clothes hanging in it, and they realize they have to walk through the winding closet to get to the next part, they don't know what's coming, that element in and of itself is terrifying, and then, when they get about 6 inches from my masked face, I Charge their face, while at the same time flashing a strobe flashlight onto my face, while making a terrifying zombie like noise, and crashing around in the closet space, while still strobing myself, so they can see the show, it's totally dark. I can tell you, I literally had multiple customers pee their pants, and most scream at the top of their lungs, always stating "That was the best part!"

Here's a picture of me with my mask in the closet:









If we're being honest, people rarely come to haunts to look at the sets, and to listen to dialogue. They want to have the **** scared out of them by the unknown, the terrifying, the grotesque. They want the heart stopping scares that stop them in their tracks so they can scream at the top of their lungs. Though dialogue, or creepy characters can be required for crowd control, or to keep a theme going, I think a majority of scares should be jump scares, that usually end in the actor chasing the customers out of the room, on to the next scare!

It's just what people want! So, I figure, give them what they want.


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## SCEYEDOC (Aug 12, 2007)

I agree with the above post by THEDARKESTHOUR. Patrons come into our haunt expecting to get scared, not to casually observe the well made props or listen to a short story. They know we have clowns and the clowns will chase them out in the end. My Yard Haunts were for observing and interaction to a degree, but when you enter a haunt, you expect scares from everywhere or you will say that house sucks if you are not running towards the exit.


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