# The next haunt thing



## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

Maybe this is a frequent question, but one that can asked nonetheless. What is the next haunt theme winner? We know clowns work. General carnage, bugs, snakes, movie characters, ghosts, demon imagery.... all proven winners. But what next? Is there something you have tried or you think you will try to go a bit out of the norm?


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

We did a Princess Mononoke spirit grove a couple years back. (I still use my avatar from that time.)

If someday I move away from my candy factory, I think it'd be fun to try a Hell theme. A sort of campy, jazzy Hell like you'd see in pre-WW2 movies and cartoons. Or maybe a surreal Hieronymus Bosch thing.


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## Lambchop (Jan 28, 2011)

I think it's a matter of taking the common scares you have mentioned and making them imbeded in a theme or crossover themes. I have always wanted to make my haunt a period haunt. Say, a vampire theme, set in the 1700's. Or a WW2 Zombie theme. Or the roaring twenties side show carnage at the speak easy.
I guess thats all the same just made over.


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## Lambchop (Jan 28, 2011)

I just thought of something. While the movie industry is not really coming out with much new material, the video gaming industry is exploding with new horror/fright themed games. Maybe that should be looked at.


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## The Rotten Pumpkin (Mar 28, 2010)

I don't really think that the next big thing is going to be a theme; there are always differently themed haunts and even if you think you've come up with something new, someone you don't know about has probably already thought of it. Additionally, I don't think themes (even really well-done ones) are a globalizing force withing the haunt industry, althroguh yes there are fads that go around that everybody wants for their haunts (probably zombies right now).

I think the next big thing is probably going to be an effect or scare that goes above and beyond a standard actor. I think usually what happens is a vendor takes it to the Transworld show, all the pro haunts buy it, and then over the course of say 5 years we home haunters see them and find cheaper ways to do them ourselves. But think about it. If we end up using the ideas in the end, why can't we come up with something new from scratch? Lets look at all the "big" things that lots of pro haunts have... for the most part they came out in this order if I remember right: 

-Vortex tunnel
-Hellevator
-Claustrophobia tunnel
-3D (Wasn't new but started to catch back on a few years ago)
-Gore Galore actor-operated animal head on pulley track that can charge guests (not sure of the exact name)

I've seen all of these in home haunts, all made by the home haunters. So the question to me is, do we wait for the pro vendors to come out and for it to trinkle down to us, or do we get creative and do something ourselves. Of course, it'll take time to think it through, but if you can come up with something nobody's ever seen before I think you're set up perfect to go pro in a year or two.

-Collin


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

We've kind of blurred the line between theme and story-line. We've pretty much beaten the "Pirate" theme to death, the same with the "Saw", the "Texas chainsaw massacre", the apocalypse and hazardous waste spill. I think a good story line that can be quickly read and absorbed by the guests still plays a strong role in actual haunts. I say "actual haunts" to differentiate them from a yard haunt or basic display, in that the guests are taken through scene to scene rather a "simple" stationary display. Don't get me wrong, those are great too, but they have different requirements than a walk through haunt. As Rotten stated, I think that for most, it's more of a matter of coming up with a new trick or effect that we can work into a story line, at least for pro haunts.
I've seen way too many haunts that just do the same old stuff year to year. Sure, they may change the order of what you see and when, but those get old in a hurry, and have a tendency to live relatively short, commercial lives.
So adding in a rubber stamped "Screaming Mary" may be good for a year or two, but it won't do as well as using the same prop and effect but have the character in the mirror tell the guests the story or have it give a warning to that year's haunt.
The trick is to observe what works or doesn't and apply those same kinds of approaches with the added new attempts/effects for the following year. Doing the same kind of analysis and tweaking each year lets you keep your haunt fresh and exciting rather than one of those that gets panned for having the same stuff year after year. That kind of reputation is very hard to overcome once it's been established.


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## Intrepid (Nov 24, 2011)

Teletubbies. Makes me shutter just thinking about it.


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## Rage (Oct 23, 2012)

My wife and I are planning a home haunt next year. The way I'm looking at it is that we first need a story line to introduce the haunt and give some background. By "fleshing" out the story line it presents us the opportunities to design the various rooms according to the progression of the story with every room leading more and more into the macabre. The final room will be the "over the top" room.
The way I see it is that the story dictates the effect/gag.........one of the gags is a cemetery where the coffins pop out of the ground, open and a scenic actor walks out of, I haven't seen this before (not that it doesn't exist) but the point is that the scene dictates the effect. I have seen a lot of great gags out there and will probably incorporate some of them with my own twist on them. 
Most people that have gone through haunts have seen of other haunts and if they don't know exactly how the gags works then they at least think they do. Present something that they can't rationalize and the primal instincts take over............fear. That is what I think my challenge is in presenting our home haunt. As I progress through this process my focus is on confusing the mind with the impossibility then conditioning the response of fear. As an example I watched a video at transworld where they had an electric chair setup.........the gag started, the guy started jumping around being electrocuted.........the guy jumped out of the chair at the spectators, the guy was an actor...........they thought they knew how it worked, until.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

I'm not really sure to be honest...what else out there can we really use as 'themes?'

I suspect the next wave in haunting will be with electronics, using things like K74 boards and the variations on the LightORama gear to script out 'shows.' I say this because this tech is getting simpler, more accessible and less expensive.

I mean, we are getting singing pumpkins and that one person has their skeleton lounge singing act (which is cool). But why do only that? Rig that bad boy up to link sound effects with some of the motion events, lights triggering, props activating, script out a *scene* to be enacted.

Or at least, that's why I'd love to do if I had the $300 for the LightORama starter set.


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## diggerc (Feb 22, 2006)

I've always said that I started haunting way back in the 70's, Have used the same theme and will continue to do so till I get it right.
As a home haunt certainly I don't get bored and the audience (ToTs) are constantly turning over anyway.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

My haunt will hopefully be intense, as it is relatively short (roughly 70ft x 10ft) and will consist of outdoor rooms in line with my impulse buying of props this past year. So neon room, clown room, ghoul/gore room, reapers room, pumpkinhead room, and exit seeing a small yard of white masked standing props. In other words, nothing new. All effective, all likely welcome by most audiences, and assuming at least one of any of them will hit a nerve on a typical guest. 

As for a new theme... or at least a less used theme... my hope of installing a La Llorona standing prop in my front yard in some cheap shallow temporary pond (a black rubber tarp with a few inches of water for reflection). I have a largely hispanic target audience, so I am trying to go after a cultural legend. As the US is supposedly becoming more hispanic, I am hoping this concept finds a home in haunts wherever do-able.


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## Warrant2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

Less of a theme and more of an experience, I think. A few things come to mind:

- Someone did a haunt styled in Old London (I think) or Victorian - costumes and decor, but everything was black and white (or shades of gray). Walls, props, clothing, makeup, everything the guests looked at was monochrome. Then, near the end, the blood appeared and it was bright red. That simple effect was impressive.

- Interactive. The haunt is set up that the guests have to pull levers, flip switches, unlock doors, open panels, etc, in order to progress or reveal things. Maybe they are separated from their group and found later restrained, for their group to rescue and release them.

- Subtle and Creepy. That's mine, with some darkness and monsters, then a highly detailed laboratory with a LOT to look at. One kid came out, announcing to his parents "...that wasn't so scary...", but he was back in line to go through again to see things he missed before. In fact I had many repeats.

- Projection. Many products are coming out using projectors. Tombstones, windows, walls, etc. They are versatile and easy to swap out, and create an experience unique to your haunt.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

I am VERY interested in the projection techniques. The hindrance is the actual projector. The cheap ones apparently are only good for near pitch dark. The midprice ones are nice...but I would be limited to one due to budget. I may be cheesy and put a few of the discs to play on a tv. Am not sure yet.



update (9:48p): No response from the board, so I opted for the whole weekend, standard pack. Last year's schedule looked pretty full. Hopefully this one will be just as good if not with even more options. Cheers.


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## Lambchop (Jan 28, 2011)

Warrant2000 said:


> Less of a theme and more of an experience, I think. A few things come to mind:
> 
> - Someone did a haunt styled in Old London (I think) or Victorian - costumes and decor, but everything was black and white (or shades of gray). Walls, props, clothing, makeup, everything the guests looked at was monochrome. Then, near the end, the blood appeared and it was bright red. That simple effect was impressive.
> 
> ...


 Spot on. I think what you have said is the future. Especially the interactive.


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## Warrant2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

Lambchop said:


> Spot on. I think what you have said is the future. Especially the interactive.


Knott's Scary Farm in Los Angeles added an interactive maze this year called *Trapped*. For $60 a group of up to 6 would navigate through rooms solving how to get through each one. Levers, hidden switches, panels, etc. I didn't go through it but reviews say it takes about 30 minutes, and a smart group can breeze through it in 10 minutes.

It would be simple to construct something like that in a home haunt maze with locks/keys, panels, and switches.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

The interactive idea sounds like fun, but your stuff and setup have to be ultra-safe to be handled by guests, and super durable to last through the hordes of guests/tots.
Also, how and where you place the devices (panels, switches, etc.) will need to be setup for your demographic audience in mind. Having stuff at higher reaches will keep the young or vertically challenged from being able to make use of it, inversely, having stuff low for little kids or the vertically challenged will alienate the taller crowd. If your haunt needs to be ADA compliant, then you need to keep that in mind too.


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

Warrant2000 said:


> - Someone did a haunt styled in Old London (I think) or Victorian - costumes and decor, but everything was black and white (or shades of gray). Walls, props, clothing, makeup, everything the guests looked at was monochrome. Then, near the end, the blood appeared and it was bright red. That simple effect was impressive.


That's a dynamite idea.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

As my haunt is a shotgun style (as in shotgun house like, no maze) and I plan on going for more "oh #@$!" rooms and less of the subtle creepy, I am also planning on adding humor where I think it will work. Do you use humor, aside from headstones, in your haunt? Are you thinking of adding humor as possibly a growing trend in haunts?


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## The Rotten Pumpkin (Mar 28, 2010)

MurrayTX said:


> I am also planning on adding humor where I think it will work. Do you use humor, aside from headstones, in your haunt? Are you thinking of adding humor as possibly a growing trend in haunts?


I don't really plan on having any blatantly funny situations in my haunt, but as a more developed and passionate actor I do throw a little off-color humor into my interactions with patrons. Maybe if I'm working the slaughterhouse set I'll threaten to cut them up and "sell them to the Wal-Mart." Or when I'm asked how long we've been haunting while I'm working the line, I'll give them the honest reply of six years, but throw in that it refers to how long I've been "collecting bodies."

Overall, I think that haunted houses should be treated as an entertaining adventure that should create a wide range of emotions. Of course we should have suspense and fear, but without something to trigger the emotions on the other end of the spectrum we fail to create the roller coaster experience that will make guests leave wanting more.


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

I think grittier alien abduction type scenario or trapped in UFO?


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## Buzz (Aug 26, 2011)

One idea that I haven't seen in a haunt and is still fairly topical would a Paranormal Investigation theme.

The guide (or the guests themselves) is a paranormal investigator (ie Ghost Hunter). You would create your basic haunted house, except instead of the typical displays, you would want your effects and props to appear and disappear.


 Make use of drop panels and hidden doors.
 Plunging your guests into total darkness for a moment to hide a ghost's entrance.
 Quiet stretches leading up to loud noises.
 Ankle level air blasts.
Of course, now that I think about it... this would difficult to pull off for a home haunt. But I still think the idea could work on a larger scale.


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

Buzz said:


> One idea that I haven't seen in a haunt and is still fairly topical would a Paranormal Investigation theme.
> 
> The guide (or the guests themselves) is a paranormal investigator (ie Ghost Hunter). You would create your basic haunted house, except instead of the typical displays, you would want your effects and props to appear and disappear.
> 
> ...


I had this thought a few years ago and thought it'd be cool to try for a pro haunt. Not sure how I'd pull it off in a home haunt though.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

I think that more and more, projections are going to open this up. There will always be a place for props and actors, but it seems to me that "Bigger is always better" in a haunt, and projections are virtually unlimited.

I don't know what particular "theme" is going to be a huge winner, but I can tell you alternate realities will allow for ANYTHING to happen, and it seems to me like projections can help there.

I can tell you I hope more people look into magic. Specifically, transformation illusions. I think they are impressive and scary!


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

Buzz said:


> One idea that I haven't seen in a haunt and is still fairly topical would a Paranormal Investigation theme.
> 
> The guide (or the guests themselves) is a paranormal investigator (ie Ghost Hunter). You would create your basic haunted house, except instead of the typical displays, you would want your effects and props to appear and disappear.
> 
> Of course, now that I think about it... this would difficult to pull off for a home haunt. But I still think the idea could work on a larger scale.


I had a similar idea for a party after reading "51 High-Tech Practical Jokes for the Evil Genius", by Brad Graham & Kathy McGowan. 
Among the tricks was a hack that turned a remote control into an infra-red transmitter. You could build a receiver that would allow people to hear ghostly messages. I thought it would be cool to give the guests the receiver headgear and hunt ghosts with this! 
It seems to me a home haunter could let ToTs explore paranormal activities using this one device as a focal point, and using pepper's Ghost, FCG, and all the other standbys in that context! Maybe that is the next winner!


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## BoysinBoo (Dec 10, 2007)

I've always wanted to do a darker version of Grimm's Brothers Fairy Tales. The real (original) ones were pretty gruesome and it wouldn't take much too take them to the next level for a haunt. 

To tie it all together...a corpsified storyteller in a rocking chair out front.

Maybe Jacob and Wilhelm finally heard one too many tales...or something like that.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Sounds a bit like the "Crypt Keeper" from Tales from the Crypt, for the storyteller at least.
Doing the role, either in makeup or with an animatronic probably wouldn't be that hard, but getting to (or being able to) have people stand or sit around very long for a story would be a major problem as far as traffic flow through your haunt, it would mean either a very short story, large numbers of people per group, and or tons of down/dead time for the actors between groups, not to mention the attention span of most of the people who want to go through haunts. Though I do like both ideas, the story teller and the Grimm tales. Though maybe have the story teller cracking jokes, and giving a short intro or maybe ask a riddle for the guests to solve after they have been through the haunt, rather than a full story.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

Maybe the same story-teller prop, built in every room. So the first ST prop tells the beginning of the story, the second tells the story of the next room, and so on. You could have the ST props in different positions, sitting, standing,have one that points to the exit with an arm at the end.


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## ScareRookie (Aug 1, 2008)

I am working on a zombie theme but more of an Thriller zombie theme. Raising corpse from the grave style, not from an major outbreak jogger turned zombie theme. I am attempting to turn my house into an abandoned church and cemetery. I am only in my second year and working to load up last years videos. I planned to have more of a zombie crawl event on my entire block. Coordinating with Neighbors to dress as zombie for a whole block theme. I am also having a Halloween party where everyone dresses as a zombie, walk around scaring kids for a couple of hours then inside for the party. Should have at least 30 for 2014. We did it last year but I only had 4 zombies but people loved it. Received lots of praise even from the kids. The advantage is in a few years I will also be able to reuse everything and do a vampire nest theme. Abandoned church and cemetery being used by a cult of vampires. Both Zombies and Vampires are very popular in today's world.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

ScareRookie said:


> I am working on a zombie theme but more of an Thriller zombie theme. Raising corpse from the grave style, not from an major outbreak jogger turned zombie theme. I am attempting to turn my house into an abandoned church and cemetery. I am only in my second year and working to load up last years videos. I planned to have more of a zombie crawl event on my entire block. Coordinating with Neighbors to dress as zombie for a whole block theme. I am also having a Halloween party where everyone dresses as a zombie, walk around scaring kids for a couple of hours then inside for the party. Should have at least 30 for 2014. We did it last year but I only had 4 zombies but people loved it. Received lots of praise even from the kids. The advantage is in a few years I will also be able to reuse everything and do a vampire nest theme. Abandoned church and cemetery being used by a cult of vampires. Both Zombies and Vampires are very popular in today's world.


What happened to 2013? You've already jumped to next year and it's still February. The only real problem I see with your plan is that the same people you want to be zombies are the ones who need to be home to answer the doors and get their own TOTs going for the night.


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## Just Whisper (Jan 19, 2009)

I did a Haunted Campground at my house for 2 years. It was a walk through path snaking through my front yard (I do the maze with walls in my back yard). I am sure it has been done, but I have never seen it before. The guests loved it and thought it was very unique. I had about 6 different sections of specific scenes, like the ranger station where you signed into the campground, tents you had to walk through, the bath house, etc. It used props and live actors. It was different both years.

I love the interactive idea. I think you would have to have quite a bit of room for secret doors, window, walls, etc to make it really effective. But it would be really fun.


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## matrixmom (Aug 20, 2011)

Too funny...I couldnt stop laughing when I read this one..



Intrepid said:


> Teletubbies. Makes me shutter just thinking about it.


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## matrixmom (Aug 20, 2011)

I love the idea of "Old London". Maybe I will try that someday. Very original. My boys want a "MINECRAFT" theme next year....They all play it incl the hubby!



Warrant2000 said:


> Less of a theme and more of an experience, I think. A few things come to mind:
> 
> - Someone did a haunt styled in Old London (I think) or Victorian - costumes and decor, but everything was black and white (or shades of gray). Walls, props, clothing, makeup, everything the guests looked at was monochrome. Then, near the end, the blood appeared and it was bright red. That simple effect was impressive.
> 
> ...


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## QueenRuby2002 (Oct 23, 2011)

Intrepid said:


> Teletubbies. Makes me shutter just thinking about it.


So everyone is laughing at this and I say why not. Okay so not just Teletubbies but have the haunt from a toddlers perspective. Large furniture bright almost hurting your eyes colors. Creepy toys that are out to get you. all under black light or 3D. Maybe not something us home haunters could pull off then again some of you guys do stuff I thought was impossible.

This though made me also think about a 'Honey I shrunk the kids' type haunt. I mean we already make large spiders why not ants and centipedes. Instead of rolling a car at them make it a large vacume cleaner.

Maybe there not scary enough Ideas but weird stuff like this pops into my head all the time.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Maybe "Barney" gone to the dark side kind of thing. Like the tellatubies, I think it might resonate with many of the young kids up to those now in their twenties. Certainly for the parents of those kids who had to endure the whiny singing voice and the same song(s) over and over again.

My other thought is steampunk ghost hunters with period paraphernalia (e.g. Jonny Depp's Ichabod Crane) and all setup in a Victorian themed haunt, you can have the ghosts, zombies, etc. being hunted (or doing the hunting) with some interaction between the ghost hunters and the guests, as though they were part of the team.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

You know, I'm kind of a stickler for the old ways. I tend to be more traditional, with the classics! You know...Vampire's, Werewolf's, The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, and so on. But I will say that I don't over do it by having the same thing every year. I like to mix it up every two years or so. I was thinking along the lines of doing something from the "Outer Limits" TV Series. Taking one of their story lines and adapting my haunt to it.

Don't know which one yet as there are so many to choose from, but we'll see. There is also the "Twilight Zone" TV Series. Many things to choose from. I just know I need to decide on what I'm going to do cause whatever it is, time's a-wasting! :jol:


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

How about a "you are there" kind of thing with Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula? You could have each scene or room be from various parts of the story, with Rensfeld (sp?) raving from his cell in the sanitarium, Dracula's Brides, etc, with Van Helsing in the last scene going after Dracula himself.


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## The Rotten Pumpkin (Mar 28, 2010)

I had an idea for a haunt theme a year or so ago that I think would be really fun and interactive if someone could pull it off.

The idea would be to follow the path that a corpse would take from its deathbed to hell. Overall, it would warrant a lot of creative choices and sentimntalist theming simply because it would not be a very realistic haunt. All of the realistic scenes would have to have some other-worldly elements to them to match the transitions that would connect them so the haunt at least makes some sense.

I would think there would be a lot of fun scenes you could try:
-Dilapidated house with deathbed scene (with a hole in the wall above the bed that guests would crawl through to get to the next scene)
-The morgue (entered by crawling out onto morgue slab)
-Various funeral home rooms: Coffin room, foyer, and finally the funeral itself
-Graveyard where guests walk into the side of a "hill" (probably built from wood and maybe monster mud) into their grave
-Dirt-walled path with exposed coffins and skelletons that finally ends up at the entrance to Hell
-And then with hell you could really take as much creative liberty as you wanted... go with the firey, bloody motif or maybe a giant cave a la House of Shock

I think it would be a fun theme if you were willing to commit to it and go all the way.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I personnally want to make fairly lifesize peanut characters and the great pumpkin. Maybe make the characters all 3 foot tall or so, paper mache, and not just cut outs. Then have a giant overbearing pumkin that comes out Trick or Treat night. Probably won't happen this year, but hopefully some year soon. 

This year the goal is to build the Lego Haunted House in large scale, maybe 12 feet tall and do some giant mini figs.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

Haunted Spider said:


> I personnally want to make fairly lifesize peanut characters and the great pumpkin. Maybe make the characters all 3 foot tall or so, paper mache, and not just cut outs. Then have a giant overbearing pumkin that comes out Trick or Treat night. Probably won't happen this year, but hopefully some year soon.
> 
> This year the goal is to build the Lego Haunted House in large scale, maybe 12 feet tall and do some giant mini figs.


That would be so epic...I cannot wait to see pics!


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## Rania (Sep 24, 2012)

I am about to build some gigantic mushrooms. Trying to figure out what scary creatures will live with them and how to make the whole thing creepy


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Rania said:


> I am about to build some gigantic mushrooms. Trying to figure out what scary creatures will live with them and how to make the whole thing creepy


How about some giant undead caterpillars?
You can use flexible vent hose for the body/torso. it has that ribbed texture and would allow you to shape the body as you like. You can do broken or partial limbs, black light colors, etc., and have it lunching on someone or something interesting.


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## Rania (Sep 24, 2012)

fontgeek said:


> How about some giant undead caterpillars?
> You can use flexible vent hose for the body/torso. it has that ribbed texture and would allow you to shape the body as you like. You can do broken or partial limbs, black light colors, etc., and have it lunching on someone or something interesting.


Giant caterpillar? I like it!! I was thinking what bugs i could incorporate so that sounds really interesting actually! Thanks for the idea!


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## Gallows (Aug 16, 2013)

I would love to see some "Silent Hill" esq haunts in the future. Something where it seems the walls around you morph into some type of personal nightmare. I'm also very intrigued by the nature of using RFID, Facebook, Cellphones, as a way to "personalize" a haunt on the fly (see www.takethislollipop.com) for an example. Nothing helps raise a haunts fear factor than knowing something about the guests that they can't imagine us knowing.

The trick then becomes how can we use these "big budget" scares at a cheap local level.


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