# Do they stop and smell the roses?



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

I'm continually amazed at the incredible detail that you all build into your props and displays. Some of the stuff is nothing short of brilliant. My question is, do you think your efforts are appreciated by those who see them? That is to say, do visitors on Halloween night stop and really look at your work, commenting on the detail, or do most seem to blow in and out just trying to hit as many houses as possible. Personally, I really enjoy when folks stop to linger and just take it all in, pointing out small things that others might miss in haste. Last year, we had parents come back after TOT hours just to look at stuff and ask questions/take pictures. It was really gratifying. Seems that parents will appreciate the fine detail more, and if they have little ones will take the time to show them things, whereas kids who come unaccompanied or older kids just come for the treat and leave. I suppose that's where a good scare comes in handy.
Interested in your experiences and how much you put into the detail.


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## wormyt (Aug 29, 2005)

Ok now this is something i can post to or reply to. My haunt is for that exactly. Actually I thrive on this ....I could stand out in the street on Halloween night and just stand and watch the folks taking in all my props. I mean stopping and really looking at things. Thats exactly what I work so hard for. I love to have folks come and enjoy what Ive done. So my haunt is not scary, I mean its cool and all and i have cool props but I also serve hot cider, and hot chocolate so folks tend to walk around and look while drinking there drinks. I also have four survaliance cameras set up....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47546 these are the ones i have....and I have tvs with VHS that I record on throughout the night. The folks know I have cameras as I do post the signs but they dont know where. So after a few days then i will finally sit back and watch Halloween night all over. Sometimes folks will stand right next to the cameras and talk about props and its so cool to listen to them and watch them in awe just cheacking out the props. So my haunt is for that exactly....for folks to come enjoy Halloween night. i even have things for the kids hands on to activate the annimated store baunght props all along one side of my garage just for the little guys to play with. So it gives them things to do without getting yelled out for touching, and it gives parents time to check out all the things In my garage. 
I will have cars drive by all Oct slowing down to see the yard and my kids and I will sit inside and watch the cameras and sometimes even being able to listen to what they say from the car windows. Sometimes i will run out and say heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yall can get out and look around. So they are excited that Id let them come walk around. But its like a high for me to see folks get excited for something my hands built. Ok Im gonna hush now as Im already getting excited just typing this post LOL


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## Hellrazor (Jun 18, 2006)

A wise man once told me (owner of boneyardbargains.com) that we have to look at our creations with the 80-20 philosophy. And it makes a lot of sense. 80 percent of people love what we do and 20 percent dont give a rats butt. 

20 percent of people will look at the detail and 80 percent dont give a rats butt. 

The overall picture is what matters here and people love it. I personally dont care if they take in the detail... hey they have t&ting to do and I dont want them to miss out on 1 house just cuz mine rocks I try not to talk to parents too much cuz their kids are like come on come on and this is all for the holiday and trick or treating to me. 

Now leading up to Hallowe'en is different and they can stop and chat when ever they darn well feel like it.


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## DeathTouch (Sep 6, 2005)

I almost hesitated to even reply to this thread since I really don’t think my stuff any ranks in comparison to a haunt by WormyT. Plus, I really don’t have a lot of stuff, but I am hoping one day to have lotsOstuff. But, when you talked about if anyone truly commented about your props, well that struck a cord. I think the crypt that I made last year really brought out the gawkiers, as my wife and I like to call them. But I am so dense at times that I would only think that they are laughing at the crypt and calling it an out house. Well, that wasn’t the case for a few people that stopped by. Even me being as dense as I am couldn’t think anything negative about what these people had to say about the crypt. I was putting together the blow-up pumpkin last year when I saw a car pull up to my curb, and a lady got out and walked up to me. She asked me if I minded her looking at my crypt, which I told her “go ahead.” She then said, “I hope you don’t mind my husband and I, but we have been stalking your yard every night looking at the crypt. We really love it.” And she said it didn’t look like foam, which really and truly made me feel that I did a good job for once. She then offered me 600 bucks to make her one. I would love too, I said, but my wife would kill me if another crypt took over the patio again. 3 days later I had another couple stop by while I was string up my Halloween lights and they offered me 700 bucks to build them a crypt. Which really gave me a smile. Of course when the wife caught wind that people were willing to pay big money for a crypt, she was getting ready to whore me out.


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## gypsichic (Jun 6, 2006)

lol........doesn't sound like she'd have minded too much if the patio were taken over by another crypt

we had some of both last year - from kids and adults

most adults/teens were amazed by the stirring witch.........one guy just stood at the front of the cemetary watching it - he asked some questions about how it worked as well

got alot of compliments from folks - young and old

most enjoyed reading the tombstones from what i could tell

i'd say we're middle of road on detail.........more on somethings less on others
time plays a huge factor for us as well


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

I think it's 50-50 for me. In the beginning I think when the kids start out TOTing, they are so excited and hyped to get candy that they are just running from house to house without looking at the display. But at night I think the yardhaunt takes on a different look (I consider it the Halloween glow) and the TOTs are just mezmerized by the look and scarieness that the haunt takes on. Sometimes the TOTs look around - especially if they think something will "pop" out at them. I've noticed the teenagers and parents like to look around and comment on my haunt. I did have a few people actually take pictures and come back with the pictures and give them to me.


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

We have both. Since we added the maze in the back yard last year, people were waiting in line to go through and were checking out the other props while waiting. In the cemetary I have some realistic tombstones and some more amusing ones for the little kids that like to read them all. They are all mixed in together so folks have to wander through the whole area. I put out a guest book last year for people to sign after going through the yard or the maze and the responses I got were pretty positive. I got alot of thank you's for all the hard work we put into it, which was nice to hear. It made me realize that people really do appreciate it and keep coming back year after year to see what we've added to it. I always change it around from year to year to keep people guessing. I agree with Wormy that hearing people talk about the detail of the props, or wondering how they work or if certain dummies are real is a great ego booster. Especially since I'm in costume and they don't know who I am anyway, so it's not like they are saying things to stroke my ego.


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## Ugly Joe (Jul 13, 2006)

It's funny...most folks never notice the kind of detail that I put into a prop, but when someone does, they are just mesmerised.

I've caught myself putting details, and finishing touches, on things that absolutely no one will ever see...things that I won't see again until I have to take the prop apart or something...

...and I laugh at myself, because I'll try to make something like the BACKSIDE of an eyeball realistic...and then, half way through, realize that I'm GLUING the damn eye into it's socket - neither I, nor anyone else, will EVER see that...

...and other details that simply cannot be viewed for appreciation...

Does anyone else do that?
Or is that my own, personal OCD?


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## Wyatt Furr (Jun 5, 2006)

My yard is fairly simple,but still people stop in the month of October to take photos with their kids standing next to a tombstone.One family put it on cards they sent to family out of state.All night long on Halloween adults and older teens will have postive comments as they point out the details to each other.I must be doing something right, if it keeps them coming back every year.


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

The adults stop and read and check things out but i agree that the tots are simply out for the candy.

they may not see the details but i do and thats what matters to me. The tot's do look though and we know they look because they are to scared to come get candy.


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## JustMatt (Jul 13, 2006)

I'll admit that I do the haunt for me. It's a fun project each year and I really enjoy designing and building new stuff. However, we did have several neighbors come and just hang out at my house last year because that was where the action was. They even brought their candy over to add to the pile.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

I build in detail for me. If others appreciate it, great. If not, oh well.


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## Hellrazor (Jun 18, 2006)

I forget who said this but Yes : they LOVE to read the sayings on the Tombstones!

I put detail in but Im not the creative one. My hubby likes to "quickly" do things so thats always a challenge for us not to take one of the glow in the dark sickles to each others necks... or him walk away cuz its not his thing anyway...

oops side track...
LOL okay. so im with Da Weiner.... I do it 50/50 too. I enjoy the comments but he Haunt is really for my own pleasure...
Ugly... dont worry your not alone, Bill is always bringing me back to reality cuz the "inside of her hands just isnt right.... .2 hours later" that sort of thing... and you wont see the inside of her hands!


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## Zombie-F (Apr 12, 2004)

My take on this subject is this... the more detail you put into something the better. Each person will likely focus in on something different than another person will be looking at. One person may notice the moss on a tombstone, while another may be focused in on how finely detailed the epitaph is. It all depends on the person looking at it and what they see in each prop or scene.


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## JohnnyL (Aug 17, 2006)

I get a lot of people (mostly adults) who stop and just admire the scenery (graveyard, pumpkin patch, etc). I've had a few people take pictures of the family infront of certain props, so detail must be perfect! I also can't build a prop if it doesn't look like it should, so that's why there's a lot of detail and realism in what I make.


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## spokanejoe (Sep 16, 2006)

The kids in my area have ribbed me for the last 2 years because I had the same things out. So even they notice. I do have people that come from 30 miles away to see my stuff. Thats cool. And then there are the nearby neighbors...they never speak to me all year...but when the decorations start to come out, they all start asking "What are you going to do this year?" I do it for my own desires but it is nice to be appreciated.


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## krough (Oct 7, 2004)

I build the detail for me mostly. The kids dont notice the detail much, if even at all, heck most of them wont even look up as the try and make it to the door. The parents though they notice the little things, the offset jaw here, the bulging eye there. You know the finer things.

Starting October 1st I will get daily drive bys that slow down in anticipation of the display starting to emerge from the depths of the basement.


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## NickG (Sep 12, 2006)

I don't really have that much detail in my stuff yet, so there isn't much to notice. I did see some people to take the time to read all the tombstones which was nice... most of the kids were too scared to notice half of it.


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## -blank- (Sep 10, 2006)

Even if they didnt its fun for me to make things look as best as they can


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## Wildomar (Aug 30, 2006)

I do most of the work for me. I have a bit of OCD that really compells me to go well beyond what I probably should. I will put detail in areas that will never see the light of day because I have a hard tme stepping back and saying, "okay, thats enough". While this makes for better props on the one hand, it delays their timely completion on the other. This is my ultimate problem, since I eventually reach the point where I have to rush just to finish it for the big day. Consequently, some portions of a prop are outstanding (if I do say so myself) then other portions look rushed (to me).

Last year I had kids that just wandered out into the cemetary to stare and even one kid would not come out for close to 20 minutes. While it kind of ruined a lot of the affect for other kids showing up to TOT, it made me so proud to have a kid take such an interest in what I had created.

Also last year I had a bunch of people start taking photographs of their children in this one spot. Appearantly it was the unintended scenic photo spot that I am going to try and incorporate into the cemetary more this year (more formalized). In any case I do it all for me, because I love the way the praise makes me feel about my creativity and willingnesss to do the "seemingly" impossible.


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

Yeah, I think the detail is mostly for me, at least right now... especially since I don't get any TOTers, and no one in my neighborhood seems to care much. Heh. Halloween is dead in my corner of town. I'm hoping I can help change that!


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## dahrothgar (Sep 13, 2006)

I think that everyone notices the detail... Just to varying degrees. The more detailed a display, the more the mind is tricked into an illusion of reality. It's the suspension of belief that sets people up to be scared. Most folks look at my displays and don't really notice WHY it frightens them. They just know that it does. As long as I get the effect I'm after, I don't mind them noticing all the little details I labored over to create the scene...


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

At one point last year I was out there in my zombie pirate costume, tripping the animated scares and enjoying the screams when I looked back behind at the pirate ship and noticed that the same group of eight or so people were still standing there, maybe for 10 minutes now. They seemed kind of mesmerized by the ship's wheel going back and forth and were drinking in the details of the ship ( I think they wanted to know what it was made of). Most were adults, a few TOTs.
The icing on the cake for me was a woman who stopped her car at my driveway about three days later, rolled her window down and said "I have something for you". She hands me one of those multi-fold little photo albums. Apparently she came by on Halloween afternoon and took several photos, including her son posing in his pirate get-up in front of the ship. She had signed it " From the XXXXXXXs. Thank you for haunting our neighborhood!". Some people REALLY get it.....


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## Nephilim (Sep 15, 2006)

The thing about detail is that if you have enough of it, people will notice it, even if they don't notice _particular_ details. You can instantly tell a detailed facade from a "plain" facade, for instance, simply because humans are very good at recognizing complexity, so details are necessary if you want a sense of realism. If people actually notice individual details, that's gravy!

However, I think it's important to point out that the other end of the spectrum is important, too: scale. Most of us with limited time and money budgets have to find a compromise between the raw size of what we build and the detail we put into it.

My personal feeling is that detail isn't worth much if there's no size to what you're building. A small, perfect prop isn't going to evoke as much for visitors as a large less perfect prop, because the immersion factor really goes a long way towards evoking what we want to evoke in our guests. I firmly believe that if you try to immerse your visitors in an experience, they will be able to see what you intended, and meet you halfway there. If you do something large and impressive, people will respond to that.

For instance, you might have the option to spend decor money for your garage haunt on some cool plastic bats to hang somewhere or that "Scene Setters" plastic sheeting with stone printed on it. You may find that even though the bats may be scarier than a stone wall, the difference between having stone walls (even ones as fake as the Scene Setters) instead of black plastic will do more to set the tone of your haunt and get your visitors more immersed in your experience than having the bats hanging somewhere.

Of course, this example is about detail, too, in the sense that you're spending effort on something other than the things that visitors will be focusing on. Your visitors won't look at the walls - they'll be looking at your props. But spending the effort on the ambient scenery as well as the main attraction props is part of adding detail to your attraction.


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## Daughter of Darkness (Aug 24, 2006)

I do this for me but I have to admit I do love an audience. Last year I set up a very small area just one window and the porch because we were at a party in the next town so I couldn't do the whole display ;( Some teenagers were impressed with it though and came back like three times to look again and told me that it was "so cool". Teenagers are hard to impress, so I was all giddy. One year I helped out a friend who wanted to have a walk through in her house-of course she tells me like the day before,argh! It turned out pretty good, just static stuff, but nice. People were calling friends on their cell phones and before you knew it there was a line halfway down the street-crazy!

It is nice that there seems to be more of an interest in Halloween in general lately. The fact that there are lots of horror films out is a good sign too. There were a few years back when I was wondering if it would die out. None of the stores had anything at all and there was hardly a horror film ever in theaters. Glad to see it's thriving now. :jol:


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## beaton (Sep 17, 2006)

I just ordered the color camera that wormyt recommended. Last year I was behind the magic mirror all night and didn't get to see much. This year I will place the camera feed so that I can see what is really going on in the front of the mirror and video tape it as well for rememberance. Which I could afford more cameras to see reactions from my graveyard scene maybe next year I'll have more cameras.


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## SweeneyFamilyHorror (Aug 14, 2006)

I read this thread and it is clear to me that what unites is really our common desire to entertain people. Like so many on this thread I will steal into the night and watch people take in our yard haunt. Ours is set up for two weeks and has a story that goes with it. I enjoy a good cigar now and again and on the first nights of the haunt will find a hidden spot outside that affords me a great view. Like many of you we've become a neighborhood fixture. Year over year we see the same families out on a chilly Fall evening together to take in our display. On Halloween we usually have a basement haunt, too. Last year I just didn't feel like it. You know how it is. You wonder if it is really worth the hard work. We heard from SO many people who were crushed we didn't do it. So, we'll make the investment of time and money. Last year a guy emailed me after I'd explained on the blog why we didn't do the basement haunt. He said, "This is the third year now that we've spent more October evenings than I care to count (and more than a few afternoons) parked in front of your house like creepy stalker people. The radio play is what really makes the difference between front yard decorations and destination. The kids just never get tired of it. if you're serious about dragooning help for next year, I'd be more than happy to volunteer -- it's the least I can do to repay you for all the entertainment."

That message is all the inspiration I'll ever need to keep going.

And, about detail, my thought is think theatrical. Your props are seen from a distance and usually at night. Go to the level of detail you enjoy. Remember, though, that perfection is not needed. Enjoy the ramp up to our fun season!


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