# How wide are your haunt passages?



## Nephilim (Sep 15, 2006)

We're trying to design our home haunt for this year, and we're trying to figure out how small we can go for our haunt passages. Space is a premium, and we have a skinny, 8' wide, 37' long area which we can utilize if we can figure out a way to put a floorplan to it. The problem is that we can't go in one end and come out the other - guests would have to exit at the same end of the area as they enter, so we're looking at a "U" shaped path through the area.

In order to place enough room for vignettes in this space, I was thinking of alternating spaces where heading in, you have a 6' wide area, and going out, it's 2' wide, and vice versa, so that the center wall zig-zags to make rooms.

But I'm worried that 2' wide for those passage parts is too narrow. I have a doorway in my house, to a walk-in closet, that is 2' wide, so I don't think it's an issue for mobility, but an eight foot long section at 2' wide might be a different story.

How narrow do you guys get in your home haunts? Have you gone as narrow as 2' (or 2.5')? And if so, how did it work out with your guests? Have you had problems with too-narrow passages? What's your rule of thumb for planning out passages?

[Edit] Just saw the other thread about passage sizes, where the consensus seems to recommend 3' passages. That means our largest vignette area can be 5' wide, which isn't much. Anyone have any ideas for a good way to lay out such a strangely-dimensioned space?


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## ubzest (Jul 1, 2008)

I make all my doorways as skinny as I can get away with. ON my flyer I have a note at the bottom that says not suitable for wheelchairs because of uneven ground and steps and turns. So people know beforehand what to expect. Also I have to tell them (and I do) to watch their heads cause of some of the canopys are only 6 feet tall at the cross bars. As far as the 2 to 2 1/2 foot wide part is concerned ,I have done it. As long as its a clear path it should be okay. even in some professional haunts (I hear) you have to crawl and go thru tight passages! In our earlier haunts we had a similar layout. Picture a long hall ,10x40 feet long. (2 canopys together) We had all rooms 10x10. we zig-zagged the doorways. the first room had the 'doorway' on the leftside of the room leading into the next room. The doorway out of that room was on the right side of that room leading into the next room etc. Where our 2 1/2 ' wide part was on the outside of the canopys. It used the wall on one side and the fence on the other side to create the path. We used this area for our chainsaw guy. he was kinda plastered against the fence, but he had room enought room to hide and still have people walk by him...before he scared them with the chainsaw. we just had scene setters on the fence and flat skeletons for decorations, so it didn t take up any space. the picture of the layout doesn t seem to coming up, so Ill just put it in my album. hope this helps you.:googly:


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## ubzest (Jul 1, 2008)

you'd be surprised at how much you can put into a 5x10 foot space! been there~done that. lol


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## NoahFentz (May 13, 2007)

Our haunt is in the basement so right away our ceiling height is about 6" high with some pipes that are lower. Most of my hallways are 2ft/2.5ft wide. Most people dont mind and I have very lttle distruction. I use solid wood doors hinged together as my walls. The thing I noticed is that most people dop not go thru single file. You have at least 2 people hugging each other going as one person. I dont have alot of moving props so I dont have too many people jumping back or running thru the haunt. I would save the tight spots for more visual atmosphere and the larger spaces to do the big scares.


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## NoahFentz (May 13, 2007)

oops .....6 ft high


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## lewlew (Mar 15, 2006)

We have several folks on wheelchairs that come through our haunt every year. I make all the passages through the haunt and cornmaze 4-feet wide to accomodate. Sure it cuts down on space, but I can't stand the thought of turning them away.


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## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

I have folks with strollers that come through. One year I had to make a ramp due to a trailer inside the garage was sticking out too far and I didn't want anyone to trip over it. It was hard for folks to get over the ramp that year that had stollers. I revamped the ramp to be a bridge which was much easier to get over. Now that the trailer issue is no more, I have been reluctant to get rid of my bridge, but I may have to finally do away with it this year.  I really like that bridge. Heck, I'm keeping it in the haunt!


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

I've run 32" being the most narrow.


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## Brckee1 (Feb 21, 2007)

In NY, haunted house regulations allow for a passage as narrow as 20" and doors as narrow as 18".


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## Nephilim (Sep 15, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback, guys - it really helps.

The stroller / wheelchair issue is, unfortunately, a non-starter for me. This is our home haunt, and the area in question is xeriscaped rocks, so short of paving my entire side yard, there's not much I could do to accommodate wheeled guests of any variety.

While our haunt is mostly kid-friendly (no gore, no chainsaws, more because that's the demographics of our neighborhood than from any particular desire for it), this part of our haunt will not be appropriate for toddlers in strollers, so I'm not too worried about stroller access. It would be nice to be able to accommodate guests in wheelchairs, but I just don't see how I could feasibly do it. We have other attractions that they can visit, though.

I'm thinking of using Rigid Ties and 2x4's to create a series of cubic frames down the length of the side yard, and then hanging them with black plastic (of the fire retardant kind if I can find it, or black fabric if I can't). Since the 2x4's are 8' long, the cubes will be approximately 8' on a side. I'm thinking of forming the interior walls by hanging dividers between the crossbeams. This should let me experiment a bit with the width of the passages, since I'd just need to scoot the dividers left and right to adjust it.

It's funny that the hard part is not making the creepy stuff, but the environment it all lives in...


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## c6gunner (Oct 9, 2007)

*rooms and sizes!*

Hey!

We build our haunt in a 16x19 foot garage......with 2 halls and 2 rooms......I guess our halls are about 3 feet wide.....and rooms just enough to get a few props in them......but its actually pretty good......


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