# Does your haunt tell a story?



## MansionHaunter

After putting away my props and scenery I got to thinking about what story my haunt is telling, and I wondered if anyone else considers story an important part of establishing their haunt.

My haunt has a graveyard, spiders, ground fog, ghosts projected on the fog and graveyard, a ghost in an upstairs window, a number of skeletons, candles and a few other various props. I am hoping to add more... but I had to ask myself what I would add, and how it would support the story? What do each of the props and scenes have to do with each other?

I did finally come up with a cohesive story for my haunt and I intend to build toward supporting it in years to come, but I'm curious as to how others feel about the necessity of back story.


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## RoxyBlue

We also have a graveyard and have never come up with a backstory for it. However, we do occasionally use mini-themes or ideas within the display for a particular group of props. 

Examples:

1) Last year was poker player year for a number of our skellies. We had a central group of players in one part of the yard (next to Frankenstein's monster so he could play, too) and card holding props in other parts of the yard.

2) Last year we also had two skellies wearing caps we bought in Gettysburg - one northern and one southern. We posed them with hands on each other's necks so it was clear they were in conflict. This year they were friends since the war was over. They stood next to each other with a hand each on a bottle of Gettysburg wine.

3) This year we set up one skellie with two dog skellies on leashes. We had a cat skellie facing the dogs, representing the universally recognized dog and cat conflict.


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## Rahnefan

Mine told a whopper but it is on indefinite hiatus and only the gallery is live now.


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## austenandrews

I'd love to tell a story with mine, but there's not really much room or face-time to pull it off. It's worth considering again though.


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## Dead Things

I have a backstory to my haunt. My witches tell the story and as they go thru the haunt (especially the garage walkthrough) that story is re told from different perspectives. Once I developed the backstory, it helped with prop building, and with what types of props I would use. I wouldn't build an electric chair as it wouldn't make sense in the story, but a hanged man would. I found it took my haunt from looking like a Walmart vomited on my yard to a cohesive whole.


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## booberry crunch

Definitely. I think a story, or at least a consistent theme, is absolutely necessary. It keeps me focused on the whole of the haunt, rather than individual props.

Of course, now that I've got a garage full of "haunted carnival" scenery and props from this year, I feel the need to get at least a few more years' use out of it all. So, then I'm sort of stuck with that story, even though I'm currently thinking, "Hmmm...how about a nice, old-school graveyard setup for 2015?". Maybe a _clown_ graveyard? Gotta think on that one


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## Bone Dancer

I have tended to stay with the same theme or style over the years. Adding new stuff as time goes by. I have lots of yard space so there will all ways be room for something new.


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## akalerb

I never did have a theme. I always considered it, but I found such cool ideas for scares that never seemed to be related to each other. I sort of intended to add a theme at some point, but in 5 years never managed it. We were heavy on actors and startle scares. Now we're moving and have to sell it all. Makes me so sad!!


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## ryschwith

Anyone interested in sharing what their haunts' stories are? (I'm)


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## ryschwith

I'm still quite new, and thus will likely spend several years just making stuff before worrying about a specific theme or story.

(Also, I apparently can't edit posts after I accidentally hit enter.)


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## Creepitreal

The haunt where I work tells a story of a little girl of a little girl that is said to have died in the building. 
(The haunt is on the upper lever of a historic downtown building that was a bank at the time of the backstory occurrences.)
The backstory goes into pretty good detail, describing the horrors that guests experience as the energies and apparitions that the girl generated as she was dying.


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## GothicCandle

my haunt doesn't have a back story that toters really know about. I've come up with back stories to my props and they can all fit together but to a toter my haunt doesn't necessarily have a story or plot. In the past it has been "the ghost crossing" and just been a big eclectic mix of creepy props(who all have back stories in my head). Last year we built a pvc pipe tent and called it "Mrs. Fitz' Haunted Cottage"(I still have yet to edit together my video, I've been so busy) which is a reference to one of my props. Mrs. Martha Fitz original storyline when i first built her was that she is a crazy(zombieish) cat lady who hunts down neighborhood cats for her dinner, she is a widow but no one is quite sure whatever happened to Mr. Fitz. For 2014 my boyfriend created a new prop, Yonda, as a sister to Martha and so we expanded upon the storyline to where Yonda and Martha were part of a freakshow/circus and are now retired(and have lots of time for cat hunting). Yonda is more serious, and grumpy while Martha is dingy, spastic and crazy. Yonda collects/kidnaps fairies(I have a lot of skeleton fairies) All the larger props are friends of the sisters and they stop by to visit or live with the sisters and thus the toter is unlucky enough to come upon all manner of strange creatures in Mrs. Fitz Haunted Cottage muhahahahah  However, I haven't really found a way to convey any of this to the toter other than a sign that says "Mrs. Fitz Haunted Cottage" on the entrance.


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## The_Caretaker

I have a grave yard also and have put together a back story;
http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=20195


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## scareme

My haunt has a story if you know how to read it. This area is the story of when Grandin Road had 20% off and free shipping before Halloween. This area over here is the story of when I went to Spirit's 50% off after Halloween sale. And this rather large area is when I got lucky and hit Big Lots 80% off and filled a card and a half. Hodge podge? Yes, but I have to go by my pocketbook first, then try to get it to make some sort of since. So far none of the tot's have complained.


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## printersdevil

Love it scareme!


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## Archie Swindle

I'll use some short ghost stories and fairy tales. Keep your props in mind and design your settings accordingly to tell the story in different settings (like chapters) after an introduction at the start. This may even give you new ideas, for new props you may have never thought of before.


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## Otaku

scareme said:


> My haunt has a story if you know how to read it. This area is the story of when Grandin Road had 20% off and free shipping before Halloween. This area over here is the story of when I went to Spirit's 50% off after Halloween sale. And this rather large area is when I got lucky and hit Big Lots 80% off and filled a card and a half. Hodge podge? Yes, but I have to go by my pocketbook first, then try to get it to make some sort of since. So far none of the tot's have complained.


Laura, I'm still chuckling over this post...


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## elputas69

The inside of my house resembles an oddities shop combined with a mad scientist lab. It's really a fruit salad of odd and macabre things. 
The outside is just a mix of traditional Halloween staples like pumpkins, ghosts and scarecrows. No story yet...yet.


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## jdubbya

scareme said:


> My haunt has a story if you know how to read it. This area is the story of when Grandin Road had 20% off and free shipping before Halloween. This area over here is the story of when I went to Spirit's 50% off after Halloween sale. And this rather large area is when I got lucky and hit Big Lots 80% off and filled a card and a half. Hodge podge? Yes, but I have to go by my pocketbook first, then try to get it to make some sort of since. So far none of the tot's have complained.


Too funny
We don't have a set back story, but we will develop a small story to tell people in the que line. Mrs. dubs, who normally hands out the canduy and gets the crowd organized into groups to go through, will have a few lines to tell them to set the stage for what they'll see. We have come up with different scenes throughout the years so try to prime the guests a bit prior to them going through.


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## DeathYard

Our haunt has taken the "Friday the 13th: The Series" approach. Since we are in a series of warehouses, we designed the haunt to tell the story of cursed objects that have been stored here. Allows us to have a disjointed scene list and still tell a great story.

For this year...well...we will have to see


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## Pumpkin5

:jol:I'm trying to develop and write a backstory for my 2015 haunt, but this is the first time. It will be nice to have a theme to stick to, instead of the hodgepodge of props I have always just displayed. Hopefully it will keep me in one direction and centered on a single theme. Fingers crossed.


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## CrazedHaunter

I never thought of using a story till Pumpkin5 cajoled me into naming my cauldron creep. since then I have been working on a story about a haunted graveyard that once a year on All Hallows Eve a witch (Malus) raises the dead in hopes to catch a Toter and cast a spell that will allow him to come back to life for eternity.


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## WingThing

We did a story that got told as you went threw the haunt a few times. But mostly did themes. Had a hard time with the stories with young actors. (Teens enough said.)


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## mrfoos

We do a continually evolving storyline. It's very important to me to maintain a living breathing storyline. I don't plan a costume, scene, sound effect, or anything until I know where the storyline is going for the following year. Here's our from 2014.


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## Troll Wizard

_*I used to have a storyline attached to my haunt when I first started. But after awhile I went away from it, and my haunt just became a graveyard which I change from time to time.

For me anyway, it became a hassle to come up with an addtional tale to tell when I would make changes to the display. So after a few years I stopped and no one even seemed to care if I had a story or not to tell.

I created a good atmosphere for the people who come to my yard haunt and it seemed that everyone accepted it for what it was. 
*_


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## wandererrob

I have a back story for my home haunt that serves as the framework for my vision of the haunt. However, I've never felt like the haunt directly tells that story. It's really not known to anyone but myself and whomever I've told the story to. I'm not sure how to relate the tale to the average hauntgoer though.


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## WillieTheBatman

I have a graveyard haunt and within the graveyard the tombstones are based off the classic monsters. I use the literature/history, when I can, for the basis of the information on the tombstones. Example, in the area for my vampire prop, I have a tombstone for Vlad Trepes. The epitaph reads - Prince of Wallachia, Born 1431, Died 1476, Rose 1897 and forever lives as Count Dracula. 

I give a tad of historical knowledge about the "real dracula" and a bit about the literature.

I try to add a new stone each year, I am working on an H P Lovecraft spot for this year.


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## tallula.d

I really like theme's I think I have a touch of OCD so I like everything to go together. I love planning parties and I would always go with a theme and everything goes along with that theme (colors, foods, decor, etc). I like to do decorations this way because it is easier to stay on track when everything goes together (for me at least). It's also easier for me to continue adding when I know throughout the year what kind of items I should buy. I buy a lot at auctions because I work at an auction and I hit a lot of yard sales and thrift stores. If I know exactly what my theme is I can zero in on items that will go with it. I don't really come up with a back story, I just stick to a theme. One year I had a vampire party, one year I had a Poe yard haunt, and this year I have to pick a theme.


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## LucDarque

I find that a backstory really helps me to develop the overall look and feel of the haunt and it really helps my actors with their character development. I'm sure not everyone gets the whole story but in themed entertainment i find that a rich story is necessary. Most people will only get that everything ties together but some will figure out the deeper storylines. 

In our haunt the principle characters are the Darque Family but there are many more supporting characters as well. Each one has something to do with the Darques and their terrible history and are bound to the family in some way.


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## Grimm Pickins

WillieTheBatman said:


> I try to add a new stone each year, I am working on an H P Lovecraft spot for this year.


I'm very happy to see Lovecraft having more and more of an influence on the builds within the haunt community!

For years and years we were 'lawn decorators' and our primary display was a large number of carved pumpkins (running around 50-60 for the last several years). We began the move into a cohesive haunt last season, and this year we plan to launch a full fledged walkthrough. We have gathered quite the crowd for Vermont, breaking 300 ToTs last year. We started to feel like we owed them, and ourselves, something... well... more.

After watching countless haunt videos and reading lots of posts, we bonded to the concept of storyline based haunting. We are working primarily with an 18th century basis about a German witch family who settled up on our hill and demented the landscape, and eventually tore the fabric of time when a mad scientist experimented with forbidden arts combined with steampunk-esque technology (written in to give us some time period freedom).

Rather than working the Satanic end (which is great, don't get me wrong) we're pushing towards twisted Grimm fairy tale creatures (also the name of the family) and gibbering and cyclopean Lovecraftian mysteries.

We are finding it difficult, admittedly - things like graveyards and zombies become less easy to tie in (the graveyard is becoming a family plot, and ghost and statuary plans are in the works). I'm considering making the landscape itself the oldest of the evil here - a corrupter of mankind.

So, yeah, we have a story - but it might be years before it is fully incorporated... I fully believe that stories make planning easier and execution more difficult in a lot of ways. Luckily, after a decade of growing our helpers, we have enough folks to try and make this happen.

Grimm


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## Palmdale Haunter

We have a back story for our walk through. When it was just a yard display it did not seem as important.
Once we started having to design rooms, characters, sound, and etc. it became a real help to have a story to guide that process... Now if it isn't part of the story it doesn't go in...


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## Deadlands

We do have a story that we're telling. Wether or not the general public gets it, I highly doubt. I mean, it's expertly crafted, we have pre-show audio that prefaces the story, a character bible that's used for actors to live by, and each scene supports one aspect of that story. But seriously, I sometimes think, "If people are too dense to pay attention to the obvious story going on, then why not go mish-mash and just throw everything in but the kitchen sink?"

But then I remind myself as a filmmaker... story is king. Some people love Kubrick, but far more people pay to see Michael Bay. I'd sleep better being like Kubrick, and everyone ends up scared in the end and having a good time.


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## primalpanic

I have to have a story. It's in my nature. It has to make sense. But I have found it limited what I could display. I would love a witch and cauldron, but it doesn't go with my story.  wish I was a little less OCD.


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## DarkTiki

We are a very theme-driven haunt (tiki/tropical island theme), and we have a backstory on the first page of our website, but the haunt itself doesn't really try to expand upon the story (other than having the missing explorer from the story appear as a zombie greeter at the start of the haunt). We really need to do a better job of working the storyline into the haunt itself, or rather having the haunt reflect the storyline more.

Our story is found on the first page of our site (link below), in the section called "Legend of Dark Tiki Island".

http://www.darkrealmshaunt.com


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## jaege

Unfortunately, with a story, the only person who will know it is you. Unless you go to some extreme measure to get the story across and frankly, that would probably bore your TOTers. Most people probably do not even know your haunts name. I know no one knows mine, even though the entrance column has a nice brass plaque with the name on it. I should do a big arching sign like I saw someone on the site do. But a backstory is fun for the creator at least. I have a bit of one and most of my props revolve around it in one way or another.


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## hawthornemanor

*Not Necessary but Helpful*

I use my backstory to brand my haunt. I use pictures and catchphrases from my backstory for flyers, promo vids, Facebook and YouTube. For example: "She Saw It All Happen". Well, what happened? Hmmm. And when it comes time for a new prop, I ask myself what would fit the backstory and overall theme. It helps to build a cohesive attraction instead of randomly placing decorations and scares.


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## nategilby

We are actually trying the story thing this year. We have a main clown character that is being played by 4 different people throughout the haunt, same costume, same build on the 4 guys. We have a waiting area in our asylum that has a video introducing you to the character and then he will reappear throughout the haunt when least expected. It is exciting, yet hard work to get it all to work right. We'll see!


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## Doc-Dead-Inside

Sounds like an awesome idea!


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## Hobz

I've been wanting to start a haunt for a few now but circumstances have prevented it from happening. As such, I've had plenty of time to think and daydream about my haunt but haven't built anything. I've got 3 or 4 unique stories written in my head so when it happens, it'll definitely be built around a coherent storyline.


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## mikeythemars

IMHO, backstories are most effective if they (1) are simple (e.g., can be summarized in no more than two sentences) and (2) leave some level of apprehension or mystery after they are put in front of an audience. As an example, the one for my haunt is as follows:

- Every year the spirit of a famous local hermit (a real historical one) comes to life in the old graveyard my haunt represents.

- Since she was buried in an unmarked grave (true fact), she perpetually has sought a more acceptable resting place, but can only find it on the 31st of October, assuming she can overcome centuries of resistance from the other local spirits .

This one works because I have taken an actual local figure and built an unresolved situation around her fate. That allows me to develop all sorts of dramatic tangents, in terms of the setting (a ghost "battle" that erupts for one night every year). Some of my animatronics support this storyline the same way every year, while I make some changes in others to keep things somewhat different. That allows me to easily deal with the perpetual "_what new stuff did you add this year?_" crowd.


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## busmonkey

I think a story helps hold to a theme, and avoid the effect of "Walmart vomiting on your lawn"... at least for the home haunter. That said, it probably doesn't matter if your town TOTs don't know the story. The yard has a cohesive look, and whether it was or wasn't, it looks intentional. Our home story has evolved over the years, and next year I hope to add some timing into the mix. Jack is a 13 foot scarecrow that shows up every year. Shortly after he comes out the skeletons and tombstones start to appear. Specifically what the skeletons are doing year to year changes. Mostly they just hang out, cook and snack on body parts, and generally terrorize the yard. Is it intricate? Detailed? Interesting? No, but it keeps me from adding clowns and zombies into the mix and generally confusing everything.


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## JustJimAZ

I agree with Busmonkey that having a story of some kind in your head helps. I believe it helps you know what props to build or to buy, and how to arrange them.

For example, I typically return to the story of a village in Transuvania. My last name is Transue, so that's where the name came from. My village is plagued by a mad scientist. One year I built a cornfield (on the "outskirts"), a cemetery, an FCG and a lab scene. The scientist lost his wife (the FCG) and became obsessed with raising the dead and creating life. Stole bodies from the graveyard, and some of his experiments live in the cornfield. So I got to build all these scenes and the necessary props.

Another time I worked on a haunt with a haunted prison theme, so created a backstory that included the electric chair, torture room, graffiti room, spiders, etc.

I think a story can be more liberating than restrictive. It gives you direction and focus.

When you see some prop you love, you get to ask how it might fit into the story. Sometimes it cannot be, which frees you up to look for other things. More often, it makes the required "tweaks" clear and you make something truly your own.

This year I hope to do a haunted corn maze. I have a story forming in my mind going back to that mad professor in Transuvania merging plants and animals/humans, creating all manner of grotesque monsters - most of which die and are mounted as scarecrows.

No one else needs to know the story, but for guidance in building, it can be invaluable.


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## stoic_clown

When we moved to our new house 4 years ago, I decided to change the name of my yard haunt. After all, new city... new house... new haunt name. Made sense. My previous yard haunt was dubbed with a generic spooky name. But for the new yard and yard haunt, I wanted something with a backstory attached to drive the theme as it progressed from one year to the next. Since the name of my new street is Seven Oaks, I went with "Seven Oaks Cemetery". Pretty original and creative, right? Instead of using a blatantly creepy name with no meaning or story, I went with a plain and ubiquitous name with an eerie and death ridden story attached. So, how to make oak trees scary? Make them hanging trees. So I concocted a Salem-esque story of precolonial witch trials and executions to go with those trees.










In order to convey the story of my haunt, I decided to create a sign that provided a narrative of its history. So how better to relate something historic than to post one of those state historical marker signs.



















Based on this story, I can continue my random graveyard additions, while at the same time focus on adding witch themed props, including a corner of the yard that has the 7 grave markers for the 7 witches.


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## jdubbya

stoic_clown said:


> When we moved to our new house 4 years ago, I decided to change the name of my yard haunt. After all, new city... new house... new haunt name. Made sense. My previous yard haunt was dubbed with a generic spooky name. But for the new yard and yard haunt, I wanted something with a backstory attached to drive the theme as it progressed from one year to the next. Since the name of my new street is Seven Oaks, I went with "Seven Oaks Cemetery". Pretty original and creative, right? Instead of using a blatantly creepy name with no meaning or story, I went with a plain and ubiquitous name with an eerie and death ridden story attached. So, how to make oak trees scary? Make them hanging trees. So I concocted a Salem-esque story of precolonial witch trials and executions to go with those trees.
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Wow! Love this! The back story is perfect and the sign is a great touch. Really nicely done!


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## Hairazor

Very nice stoic-clown, very nice indeed


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## spinwitch

The sign is amazing--so realistic!


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## OakLaneCemetery

I mostly lurk here but had to chime in on this one. Our display kinda just meandered around a basic cemetery scene until I came up with our back story. Once I thought it out I was able to make the overall theme and our actors fall into place and it really gave me a direction to stick to when prop building. I always ask myself "does this fit the story?" when considering a new build. Anyways, our display/home haunt centers around Hagetha, a witch who was captured and buried 300 years ago. She has escaped her underground prison and now seeks revenge against the ancestors of those who entombed her so long ago. She is creating undead servants from the bones of the dead to work for her and protect her. Once she has built an unstoppable army of the dead she will strike out and have her revenge. I wrote out the whole story on our Facebook page with each character represented in a photo album that tells the entire story... https://www.facebook.com/pg/yardhaunt/photos/?tab=album&album_id=526870217668240


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## jdubbya

OakLaneCemetery said:


> I mostly lurk here but had to chime in on this one. Our display kinda just meandered around a basic cemetery scene until I came up with our back story. Once I thought it out I was able to make the overall theme and our actors fall into place and it really gave me a direction to stick to when prop building. I always ask myself "does this fit the story?" when considering a new build. Anyways, our display/home haunt centers around Hagetha, a witch who was captured and buried 300 years ago. She has escaped her underground prison and now seeks revenge against the ancestors of those who entombed her so long ago. She is creating undead servants from the bones of the dead to work for her and protect her. Once she has built an unstoppable army of the dead she will strike out and have her revenge. I wrote out the whole story on our Facebook page with each character represented in a photo album that tells the entire story... https://www.facebook.com/pg/yardhaunt/photos/?tab=album&album_id=526870217668240


Your haunt and back story has really evolved, and this year has been a quantum leap in terms of upgrades and improvements. I follow you on FB and your stuff is all vey nicely done with great attention to detail.:jol:


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## OakLaneCemetery

jdubbya said:


> Your haunt and back story has really evolved, and this year has been a quantum leap in terms of upgrades and improvements. I follow you on FB and your stuff is all vey nicely done with great attention to detail.:jol:


Thanks! Since I'm starting to run out of both storage and display space I've been trying to improve what I already have.


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