# Looking for insight on starting a haunted house



## MNHaunt (Oct 6, 2016)

Hello all!!

I am a police officer and have been looking for a great community policing project to undertake. Something that could bring the local police and community together in a fun positive way. I have been brain storming ideas for quite sometime when it finally dawned on me, a PD sponsored/operated haunted house! I have been a fan of horror, Halloween, and haunted houses all my life so this would be a labor of love for me but also a great relationship builder for the PD and community. I plan to charge a small/fair price, with all proceeds going to a good/charitable cause. 

The city I work for/live in is a great location for a haunted house.. There are no haunted houses within an hour drive of us so I feel we could be a good draw.. We also have a few empty buildings owned by the city that would be the perfect setup for a haunted house..

I am aware of the amount of time and work that goes into a good haunt so this is not something I am remotely planning on happening this year, but something I would like to see happen Oct 2017.. I am just beginning the research phase of this now.. I stumbled upon this site and it seems to be a great resource.. 

I am here asking for any tips, advice, foreseeable challenges, anything you could tell me about to help me on my way.. Right now my main concern is all the redtape that haunts have to go through that I am likely oblivious to.. Insurance being a major one of these..

Any info would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance for any replies..


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## RWB (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm sure you'll get some good responses from those who have had good and bad experiences with this... I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for your service sir in doing a tough job.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

This will be a good thread to start with in terms of redtape:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=23720


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

What part of the country are you in?
Do you foresee other local "LEO's" helping out?
I'd look to local drama clubs, haunters, and business's to help on this too.
I'd consider doing a haunt that could be run in, maybe, two modes. A softer/gentler mode for little kids, and a more scary mode for adults. The version for the younger TOTs would run earlier, and be more fun than scary. Maybe let them go TOTing from scene to scene.
The more you can get locals involved, the better for you in all respects. 
Keep the fire marshal's requirements in mind when designing and building, also keep in mind storage, assembly and disassembly of your props for the off season.
Pick a theme, and maybe a storyline to build around, it makes it easier to plan the scenes, and it also allows the public's imagination to fill in the blanks and make the whole thing scarier.


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## MNHaunt (Oct 6, 2016)

I am in Minnesota.. I believe I will have 3 other LEOs to help a limited amount, mostly on the actual nights of the haunt.. My main man power would be from the volunteer FD and ambulance, and even then it would mostly be on the nights of the haunt as actors/ticket sales/ect.. I will likely be doing most of the set up myself, organizing, marketing..

I do not anticipate a large storage need, I do not plan to use many specialty props, animatronics, and what not due to this needing to be a low budget affair.. I also will not have to build any false walls or anything like that due to the building I plan to use being empty for a decade.. It's a city building that's over 100 years old and has been pretty neglected while sitting empty, has a very creepy feel to it.. Already has many rooms/hallways I would be able to set scenes in without much of a build.. Also, due to it being a unused building I would be able to take my time setting up.. No rush to set up and take down.. I could literally spend all year setting up without inconveniencing anyone..

I am not sure what the theme will be quite yet.. I was originally thinking a slaughterhouse type thing but the more I think about it the less I like it.. There is a old jail cell in the building that I would definitely need to incorporate somehow.. Maybe a prison riot theme? When I go to haunted houses I am always most scared by the ones that put you in sensory overload, total chaos around you, and a feeling of "oh sh*t, I am in the middle of a really bad situation".. But I know others are more scared by a creepy/chilling experience.. I think chaos might be easier for me to pull off with limited props, but I am extremely open to ideas..

I was also thinking a day time family friendly walk through would be a great thing to have, possibly just hang some sheets/black plastic to cover the adult scenes during the day..


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

The pure chaos setup takes lots of actors, with lots of energy. Haunting done right is hard work. Very hard. Your biggest problem is going to be keeping actors. Get your theme nailed down as soon as possible, and work on your costumes and characters first. Then build your haunt around those. If you are not paying your actors, then you will need a way to keep them engaged and invested in your setup. Heck, you're going to need this even if you are paying. The bigger haunts have casting directors and actor managers to control and motivate the actors. For you, that will probably be one person. Try not to make it yourself. The major red tape is always the Fire Marshal and the insurance. A lot of haunts use Ken Donat for insurance. He specializes in special event policies. There are others, but he's the only one I can remember at the moment. http://www.donatinsurance.com/

I would say hit up some haunt conventions, but we are in the middle of the season right now and will go dormant soon. The earliest one to attend is HAuNTcon in January. It's small, and moves to a different city every year. You could also check out Chicago Frights in the summer. Both of these conventions are run by the same owner. The grand daddy of all of these is the Transworld Halloween & Attractions Show. This one is not a true convention. It's a tradeshow meant for haunted house owners to purchase items and supplies for their haunts. It has got so big that just about 80% of the industry business is done at this one show. If you have questions, the people here will have the answers. Go for the seminars, stay for the awesome environment.

Need ideas and cheap ways to build? Let me introduce you to Allen Hopps and his YouTube channel. He has a ton of knowledge and is always willing to pass it along to others.


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## MNHaunt (Oct 6, 2016)

In regards to insurance, I know the city carries "special event" insurance that covers all the city festival/parade type things the city puts on, I am hoping that the haunted house will fall under that policy and I do believe that it will.. As far as fire safety goes, will I need to arrange a walk through with a state fire marshal or will the local fire chief suffice? 

I believe I can get 20+ volunteers from the FD and ambulance to work on the nights of the haunt as actors, sales, ect.. Manpower is not a concern for me as of now.. 

Can I get some ideas for themes that are more of a mood setting/chilling theme rather then a chaotic theme? The only thing that really comes to mind for me is a haunted mansion theme, which is something I'm not very interested in.. Satanist perhaps?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Where are you located?
I know that may seem like an odd question, but some themes work better for some geographic origins. i.e. Seaside areas can do haunted docks, ghost ships, etc., those same themes wouldn't work as well in the midwest, or in the desert areas of the west.
If the theme can work into something that ties in locally you have an easier time selling the story. I hope that made sense.
If you look in the "Graphics" section on this forum, you will see graphics and titles done for many haunts that may give you some ideas or a starting point.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I'd avoid Satanist themes. Too many people are of the opinion that celebration of Halloween is equivalent to devil worship, which it isn't, and there's no sense playing to an incorrect stereotype, IMO.

Scares in a haunt are as much about what people think is going to happen as it is about what actually happens. Use of light and shadow along with somewhat unsettling sound or music will set the mood in any haunt. Movement seen out of the corner of the eye, shadowy figures lurking at the end of a hallway, whispery voices or low gutteral growls that seem to emanate from nowhere, and the occasional sudden startle of a drop panel scare will go a long way in creating a chilling atmosphere.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

I second Roxy's comment. There are already too many people that want to brand all Halloween activities as "Evil" and as activities of the devil. Please don't "Feed that fire"
I'd also avoid anything that could be construed as a racist theme or haunt, especially for a haunt being presented by law enforcement. God only knows that there are enough people who will look for any excuse to cause problems on either side of the subject/controversy.
As for themes? Haunted Hollow or Hill, Maze of Madness (with rooms or scenes of fantasy or ancient insane asylums, etc.), Circus of the dead (zombie meets the circus/carnival), alien/ufo invasion (think Invasion of the body snatchers), Little Shop of Horrors, or even doing scenes or whole plots from classic horror movies.


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## Gruenenfelder (Sep 20, 2016)

I don't have any advice, but I very much like the idea of a PD haunted house. Thank you for your service as a police officer.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

How about "City Hall/Hell"? Going for an early or turn of the century take on a haunted city hall, run by ghosts of all of the old staff, including the jailer an prisoner(s).


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## Longmont Haunt (Jul 26, 2016)

Hey, MN! I love the idea and hope you can work it out! I agree that it would be an awesome community outreach sort of thing. I wanted to chime in with a few other cautions you might need to keep in mind. 

First and foremost, I would suggest talking with a City or County Attorney as soon as possible. If you know one who would be on board, go to that person directly. But the point is that the Attorney would be able to help you get the appropriate permission, make sure the insurance would cover, etc. That person could also help cut through any red tape that might come up too. But, that person would need time. On the flip side, I also wouldn't be surprised to see a City or County Attorney simply putting a stop to it without adequate lead time to make sure the City or County wouldn't be exposed to excessive liability. 

Second, it sounds like you are thinking of this being official or sort-of-official. To the extent the City or County is involved, you will need to be sort of careful with things like Satanist themes (as it could be construed as endorsement of a religion or something wonky) or other potentially religious stuff or excessive imagery. I doubt any court in the land would find that a couple gravestones with crosses are the endorsement of religion, but I could see a murderous satanist scene crossing that line before the wrong judge. Also, you would need to ensure that there is access for people with disabilities. While you might not be required to make everything 100% wheelchair accessible, you also need to plan access from the beginning. That might mean using a different door than you wanted to because there won't be stairs, or it might mean using a different building that is accessible even though you really want to use the one with the old jail. I'm not trying to rain on any parades (in fact, I brought extra umbrellas just in case) but I think you want the haunt to be as inclusive as possible! It's also required by the ADA, particularly for official or quasi-official things. This does get back to the first point, though, about getting a City or County Attorney involved asap. That's the exact sort of thing they'll want to have a chance to look at.

Cheers and good luck!


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## MNHaunt (Oct 6, 2016)

Yea I see where you are coming from on making it as inclusive as possible.. I am kind of concerned with wheelchair accessibility, because I know that the 100 year old building I would like to use was not build with wheelchair accessibility in mind.. Are stairs completely out of the question in haunts to meet ADA requirements? 

I do want this to be semi official, mainly for the use of the department's name and logo..


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## Longmont Haunt (Jul 26, 2016)

MNHaunt said:


> Yea I see where you are coming from on making it as inclusive as possible.. I am kind of concerned with wheelchair accessibility, because I know that the 100 year old building I would like to use was not build with wheelchair accessibility in mind.. Are stairs completely out of the question in haunts to meet ADA requirements?
> 
> I do want this to be semi official, mainly for the use of the department's name and logo..


Well, under the ADA, old buildings must be made accessible where it is "readily achievable" to do so. That means that if you can, for example, repaint the parking lot to make accessible parking spaces, you have to do that because it's fairly cheap and easy. But you probably don't have to remove stairs and install a permanent ramp because that would be more expensive and harder to accomplish. You might have to figure out a temporary ramp, though.

It would also sort of matter where the stair are. If the stairs *must* be climbed to get to or through the haunt, I think you would have to figure out some sort of temporary ramp or something. If the stairs are simply off to the side and you can still see everything up or down the stairs (you simply can't put your body up there without climbing the stairs, but you can see and experience stuff still), you are probably okay with them.

Here's a little example to hopefully clarify: let's say the pathway through your haunt has a single step somewhere. You would want to temporarily ramp it (even with some solid plywood). But if there's a sunken area in one of the rooms of your haunt that isn't necessary to traverse to keep going, you are probably okay not ramping it.

I'm talking a lot of hypotheticals here, so it's probably clear as mud. If you can get some pictures or something, I can probably offer better suggestions. Frankly, even a google street view of the building might help (seeing as you're still under the 10 post thing).

Cheers!


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## MNHaunt (Oct 6, 2016)

There's a main story, stairs that lead to a second story, and stairs that lead to a basement.. It sounds like I will not be able to use the 2nd story or basement as scenes for the haunt since it would require climbing stairs..


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## DarkOne (Oct 16, 2012)

Welcome MNHaunt! My brother is also a police officer up in Minnesota. I'd check, but maybe your whole haunt does not need to be ADA accessible. Maybe someone else can chime in on this, but if you can still cater to wheelchairs in some capacity, is that enough?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

A couple of things came to mind today, a couple of questions, and maybe some ideas.
First, you mentioned charging admission, that may change things with the city and insurance, especially if it's not for a charity.
Now for ideas,
If you wanted to start on something that might be a bit easier, how about a zombie riddled obstacle course? You could set up a simpler and gentler course for the little ones, and the big full scare version for the adults.

Maybe a 5K and or 10K zombie walk with all of the participants encouraged to come in costume?

For doing the building, how about labelling it "City Howl" and announce a "Community Meating"? It would allow you to put a variety of monsters and scares in whatever parts of the building you use (I would stick to using the first floor/ground floor, at least for now) and maybe include a meeting room that's filled with body remnants and some zombies just finishing off the last of the "tidbits".
Again, these are just thoughts from the cheap seats.


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