# kid friendly, multicultural



## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

My alley access yard haunt will still target an older crowd... but I now see that I should not alienate the young ones; the majority. So I will have to come up with a kid friendly theme on the cheap for my front yard. Maybe the traditional goofy headstones? For a local appeal, I want it with Spanish names or all in Spanish. Any suggestions? Mi espanol es no bueno.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Scareme did a Day of the Dead theme for her yard haunt last year that was quite successful with her Hispanic visitors. It had the added appeal of being colorful, which usually resonates with young kids.


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## CoolDJTV (Jun 28, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> Scareme did a Day of the Dead theme for her yard haunt last year that was quite successful with her Hispanic visitors. It had the added appeal of being colorful, which usually resonates with young kids.


I agree, that theme can be used to create a creepy atmosphere or a friendly happy atmosphere... Good theme


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## Ryan Wern (Dec 3, 2009)

Can't go wrong with a Haunted Mansion-esque look. Maybe make it look more like an old cemetary at an old Spanish mission or something but still include HM style props and overall feel.


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## Just Whisper (Jan 19, 2009)

I hope you get some great ideas. I tried to do a kid friendly theme a few years ago and the kids all complained. Just about everyone over age 6 was disappointed in the kid friendly area. I was sad because I worked so hard on it. I had a haunted playground. Day of the Dead sounds great.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Day of the dead would be awesome for the Hispanic crowd. You will most likely get more of a response from the adults than the kids. I have found that kid friendly means spooky more than wimsical. The silly headstones you think a kid would love will annoy most. The cheap decorations that look like something a kid would do will not impress. Want to impress the kids with tombstones? find out some of their names and put them on the stones. That makes an impression. 

Check out Spooky's albums though. They came out well and would be a great theme for you.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

Spiderclimber...there is one tiny problem with the common name idea. I have too many friends here named Jesus (hey-zeus). Somehow I think having Jesus buried in my yard might make the token anglos a little put off.  

But I still like the idea. Thanks. I may incorporate a few if my attempts at headstones work out.

As for Day of the Dead... I keep thinking of Grim Fandango (game). A yard full of that could be fun. I will need to research how to do it on the cheap for this first year, but will consider making it a bigger and better thing next year if I get a good response.


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## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

Kid friendly doesn't have to mean kiddie haunt. I think if you steer clear of gore and high startle, pay lots of attention to atmosphere and the spooky factor, you can have a haunt that all ages will appreciate. I really like the Day of the Dead idea! There are so many inexpensive projects that would really go well with that theme. A graveyard, clusters of pvc candles, the classically styled Day of the Dead skellies...

Another thought, if you put kids' names on tombstones, you might want to check with their parents first. I could imagine a lot of parents might find seeing their kid's name on a tombstone to be rather unsettling.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

How about mixing the "day of the dead" the "Haunted Mansion", and maybe give it a creepier/scarier feel as they go in further? Mixing the friendliness and music from the various cultures, and the appropriate effects to finish it off.
You will never have the "perfect" haunt for everyone, The tastes will vary from person to person with age, culture, and personality, and some will really dislike what others really like.


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

This is what I did two years ago.... using the black lights and chromadepth theory (I ordered a bunch of the chromadepth glasses to hand out to adults and kids), my display was a hit with the younger and older crowd. The younger kids were most transfixed by my fog/bubble machine that had UV reactive solution in it... but hell, I was transfixed by my bubble machine too!
http://www.hauntforum.com/album.php?albumid=989
My displays are probably more "entertaining" than scary for sure, spooky, enchanted, what have you. It's just my personal taste, so I go with it. Because everyone else does the super scary bloody haunts and they do it damn well, so I go with what I know.

Good luck!


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

Thanks for the ideas. Keep em coming. A FB friend suggested a graveyard with a Mex loteria theme. I added in your suggestions for Day of the Dead... did a search and found these: http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/cool/loteria-games.html I will buy a deck and try to recreate the images on concrete stepping stones (borderland/Mex headstones are small) in neon colors in an attempt at the black light glow, but without glasses. Will try to recruit Spanish speaking friends to come up with funny epithets to correspond with a few of the headstones. But again, keep suggestions coming. Am sure I can do more.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

The stepping stones set upright... 1x1.5 ft ones if possible.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

I used a uv reactive skullhead mask on myself (I was all in black..even had on a turtleneck )in front of a velvet backdrop on my front porch & no one could figure out how the skull was moving & looking at them. You could use same idea with a puppet, floating hands, etc. It was just a piece of black poly velvet I clipped to a movie screen I got at Curbies.


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