# Smart Phones



## screaminscott (Oct 13, 2006)

Has anyone tried integrating smart phones into their haunt, as a way of increasing interaction with the guests? 

I was thinking more along the lines of a yard haunt.

Some ideas:
1. projecting with infrared light, for images that show up only on digital cameras.
2. QR codes that give visitors access to the back story for the haunt or more information about certain props.
3. Allowing people to upload photos to your haunt website. I'm thinking something like sending them to an email and they would post automatically.
4. opening your wifi temporarily, so people can access videos of your haunt. Or access your video stream if you have one.

Any other ideas?


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I hate phones and haunts. too many scared ruined by lit up screens. Plus your attention is on your phone an not the surroundings so people walk into things they shouldn't. Just my opinion, but when I worked at a haunt, I tried to knock phones out of hands because they annoyed me so.


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## FreakinFreak (Aug 27, 2010)

I think it would be distracting people's attention away from your Haunt.

Lots of kids nowadays are into Instagram, which is photos and comments only. You can set up an instagram site and open it up and let people browse, post, and comment. You'll likely capture a bunch of cool images from your Haunt you would have not otherwise been able to capture.


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## screaminscott (Oct 13, 2006)

Haunted Spider said:


> I hate phones and haunts. too many scared ruined by lit up screens. Plus your attention is on your phone an not the surroundings so people walk into things they shouldn't. Just my opinion, but when I worked at a haunt, I tried to knock phones out of hands because they annoyed me so.


I was thinking primarily of a yard haunt/display. I admit it would be annoying to have that bright screen in a darkened haunt. But for teens and parents on the sidewalk in front of the house, it would be a different story.

For a regular haunt, the queue line might be a better place for smart phone uses. Any ideas?


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## screaminscott (Oct 13, 2006)

FreakinFreak said:


> Lots of kids nowadays are into Instagram, which is photos and comments only. You can set up an instagram site and open it up and let people browse, post, and comment. You'll likely capture a bunch of cool images from your Haunt you would have not otherwise been able to capture.


Hey, great idea! This is why I ask these questions!

On a side note : I feel so old and clueless that I didn't think of this myself. :googly:


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## Abunai (Oct 28, 2007)

screaminscott said:


> Has anyone tried integrating smart phones into their haunt, as a way of increasing interaction with the guests?
> 
> I was thinking more along the lines of a yard haunt.
> 
> ...


The biggest target audience for most any haunt is teenagers.

Teenagers are joined via mind-meld to their cell phones.

It would be short sighted to dismiss that and not explore the implications and possibilities.

Dark Imaginings had a cool display at the Midwest Haunters Convention to introduce what they called "Augmented Reality".

(I don't work for Dark Imaginings and don't profit from passing this information along...I'm just ticked I didn't think of it first.)

http://www.darkimaginings.com/augmentedreality/index.html


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## FrightProps (Feb 22, 2011)

I think you sort of have your answer, honestly. I think for a yard haunt or a small more visual (more environment, less direct scares), it could be a really innovative and engaging method.

However, in other instances, I personally side with what's already said. Cell phones just kinda ruin the mood and you want people looking up, not staring at a glowing box


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## LucDarque (Jan 18, 2014)

Augmented reality is something we've definitely talked about integrating into our haunt. So many possibilities. I know that cell phones in your haunt are annoying but they are an unfortunate reality that we as Haunters need to be thinking about. How can we use them to our advantage? Or how do we use them as a distraction so we can amp up our scares?


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## screaminscott (Oct 13, 2006)

Abunai said:


> Dark Imaginings had a cool display at the Midwest Haunters Convention to introduce what they called "Augmented Reality".


I checked out that site and downloaded the app. That's really cool!. I even have the HauntCon Tshirt, and tried out the app with the shirt. Amazing!

The app lets you create your own overlays, so I might try that. Not sure how complicated it is.

Thanks for the heads-up!


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## Stitch the Butcher (Jun 16, 2014)

I have had a couple of good scares on people using smart phones. My first season haunting I was placed near the exit of the haunt so I had time to work the crowd out front for a little while. I snuck up behind a group in line who were using a stargazing app on one the groups' I phone. As I came up behind them I noticed that they were pointing at the screen so I put my muddy glove in between a couple of peoples heads and started pointing with them. The group reacted as if a live grenade had been dropped at their feet.

The other scare I got was the same season different night. I asked to switch with another actor for a night early in the haunt. He was not enjoying his location in the haunt because he was working in the woods with low hanging branches and he is 6.5
so we swapped for a night. While I was back there I saw a "victim" walking up the path with his face buried in his phone, so I crouched down and skulked up to him standing up just behind his phone. He jumped so hard I thought he was going to throw his phone and run screaming.


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## CrazedHaunter (Nov 18, 2012)

I like the Instagram idea.....


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## screaminscott (Oct 13, 2006)

Yeah, I like the instagram idea. I just set up an account for my haunt. Now I gotta get people to share their photos of the my yard in October. Do I put a little sign with my instagram userid? Or a QR code? or both?


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## N. Fantom (Sep 8, 2011)

I'm sad to admit that i'm one of those teenagers who constantly has his face in his phone and instagram is my favorite form of social media. With instagram it's very important to do more than just put up your haunts instagram name. You need to create multiple different hashtags that include your haunts name so that when people take pictures, they can tag it and possibly even get your hashtag trending. It also would help to maybe put in some kind of photo op for people to take those infamous selfies. Instagram is a great marketing tool that costs absolutely nothing if you use it correctly


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