# Cemetery Haunt



## dead hawk (Jun 5, 2012)

Currently I have for 3 years been doing a cemetery theme just recently i wanted to spice it up majorly reading old posts i have ideas but i want to add atmosphere. I have cheap tombstones from the store that i repainted and added Red LEDs to the eyes I have a ghost that hovers and has lights in it and is sound activated i will make more tombstones and i have a grave grabber i would love to know ideas for it i have a fogger was windy last year but still ned ideas there is alot of room in the front yard left not covered with props thank you for reading


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

I would suggest you check out the "all albums" at the top of the page. You will be able to see all the pictures posted by all the members here and you may see something that will inspire you .


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: Hey Deadhawk..have you thought of adding a FCG? They are pretty simple and SUCH a crowd pleaser. In the month of October I love to watch the cars that slow down and oogle my FCG...Lily...(she is so vain) I love a cemetary theme, I do that too, and then add other props around, but a cemetary is the key. Oh, and you can never have too many skeletons. They are my "thang", ha, ha...But I agree with Bone Dancer, check out the albums or buy the Hauntforum DVD's. I did and watched them a couple of weeks ago...I was sort of blown away! These forum members are pretty incredible. 

P.S. Thanks for pushing me on my slack off thread.....I am SUCH a slacker!!


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## Spider Rider (Nov 8, 2006)

Don't forget a soundtrack- crickets, frogs, a far off howl, a dark church bell, footsteps in leaves, whispers or anything that goes bump in the night.


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## dead hawk (Jun 5, 2012)

Thank you so muuch for the ideas those are things i forgot about and wanted to do get er done Pump5


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Can't go wrong with a few of the undead shambling around! These are pvc armatures, cheap goodwill suits and shoes, styro wig heads and masks/hands.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Do people walk through this or is it strictly a viewing thing from the sidewalk/street?
Is the intent for your cemetery to be truly scary, or a mix of humorous and scary? That makes a big difference on what and how you put into it.


Do you have any sounds going in your graveyard? Some wind, crickets, and the occasional peel of thunder, and maybe an owl's hoot can do wonders in helping to set the scene. Having the sound come from a few places rather than just one location can really help sell your story. Boomboxes, big and small can give you an easy way to do this. Putting CDs with only one or two sounds on each player/boombox, and all set on repeat lets you get the full effect.
How about adding a crypt or two, and maybe a sarcophagus into the mix? You can make them as simple or complicated as you wish. You can imitate Disneyland's Haunted Mansion and have a skeletal arm and hand sticking out through an opening in the side of a crypt, and have a trowel in the hand so that it looks like it's finishing the brickwork itself. Putting the arm on a windshield wiper motor will have it swinging to and fro. Easy and effective.

Do you have any ghouls (creepy grave robbers) in your yard?

How about some "Partially uncovered old coffins"? Making boxes that look like the top few inches of coffins and piling freshly dug dirt on and around them, and maybe have some sections of the lid broken out to help show that they are extremely old. You can put skeletal hands/fingers poking through the openings to make it look like they, the skeletons, are trying to get out. Making the shallow boxes allows your yard to look like it was really dug up, without all of the holes and mess, and the shallow coffins are much easier to make and store. If you plan on putting a boombox in a coffin, make sure you make the coffin big enough to accommodate the boombox and that you leave a way to get a power cord to get to it, that is unless you plan on using batteries.
You can also have a string (you want this one to be visible) coming out of a coffin and running to a small bell so that when the string is pulled it makes the bell swing and ring. This was done during the time of the plague. People were often buried so quickly that the family ended up having worries about whether the buried person was truly dead. Family members would take turns waiting graveside for a few days to see if the buried person was still alive. The string was tied to a finger of the buried person so that if it rang they could quickly be dug up. This is where we got the term "graveyard shift".

As suggested earlier an FCG (flying crank ghost) can help add some depth by giving something for people to look up at rather than having everything down at ground level.

Adding a mirrored ball and a projector can allow you to have the ghosts swarming from the ground to fly off to the heavens.

Maybe a couple of small (child sized) zombies sitting down at a traditional looking picnic but chowing down on some human remains? I'm thinking a checkered napkin tucked into collar on one or both of them so that they don't get any "crumbs" on their clothes, the picnic basket, the cloth or blanket spread out on the ground (this could be cruddy and gross or pristine) with the "guests" sitting on it. The human remains can also be that of a child if you wish.

An old cart with an old style coffin or toe pincher sitting on it like it was about to be buried or maybe carted off by the grave robbers.

A fence and gates with an arched sign for your cemetery over the gates can help add some depth to your setup. Include a mounted sign on the pillar or gate to indicate the visiting hours and to reinforce the name of the cemetery.

Simple things like pairs of glowing eyes peering out from the shrubbery at various levels and spacing, and in different colors (some pairs of red eyes, some white, etc.).


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

I find the cheapest filler in a cemetery are dead tree branches and bushes. Stick them in the ground and it really looks like the cemetery has been there for years, and been neglected. Cheap spider webs for $1 a bag add spookyness to the bushes. If flowers have died in other parts of the yard, pick them and amass them around the tombstones. Again, cheap and neglected feeling. If money is tight, finding stuff around the yard and house is a good way to go.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Something else that will cost you nothing. Let your grass grow fairly long. Like the tree branches and such, it will make the place look overgrown and neglected, it also makes it easier to hide power cords, hoses, wires, etc.
I't's kind of tough to sell the idea that your cemetery is old and neglected if the grass is neatly mowed and trimmed.


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## dead hawk (Jun 5, 2012)

Thank you guys for the ideas, the Marlane Cemetery is doing well, as for the neglected feel I produce that with the fallen leaves. I do not have coffins, I don't have any sounds but would like to get some and I don't have a FCG but would be cool to build one whenever I get the money.


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## Dr. Maniaco (Sep 7, 2012)

If you have some extra body parts (now THAT sounded weird) you can do something like I did ...










And don't forget the scarecrow!


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## alewolf (Nov 5, 2012)

I think the FCG is the most impressive out of the list given already. Easiest bang for the buck and time is some static zombies. Just make a pvc/wood armature and slap on a zombie mask, some old clothes and stuff with plastic bags from the grocery store. They can be seen from the road and can be almost free depending on resources.

Other ideas, above ground tombs/crypts, animated or static. Lets not forget obelisks and statuary. 

If you want some fog, try a chiller. Something to note on a chiller. I have heard first hand accounts of fog gathering in pockets around landscape edgeing even in the wind.


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## dead hawk (Jun 5, 2012)

Thanks guys, my haunt is very well now, I actually built a chiller recently


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## kauldron (Oct 17, 2011)

Chances are you have already seen this fantastic prop that would add great atmosphere to your cemetery and is pretty cheap considering. The only thing I would suggest changing from these instructions is trying to find these boards that are already weathered. I scored enough for two coffins for free 
http://www.scarefx.com/project_coffin.html


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## dead hawk (Jun 5, 2012)

Yes, thank you cauldron I have seen toe pinchers before I would like to build one specific to fit into my VW bug as a make shift hearse.


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

I second the FCG. Really easy and cheap to make. Add some animated tombstones, rocking or leaning. Maybe a grave peeper. A nice grounds keeper/TOT greeter is also a good addition.


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