# Haunt 2013



## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

I discovered the weekend before last that my neighborhood has zero ToTs. However, there is a local church (of all places) about 1/4 mile away that supposedly has a Halloween night.

I think I'll keep the "haunt" overlay fairly minimal so I don't waste a bunch of money for nothing. 

I guess I'm trying to reach out for ideas for a simple approach. Right now I'm brainstorming elements of the haunted mansion holiday (eg candles lit on the crest and eave edges). 

Any other ideas? Mildly dilapidated with an eerie ambiance.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I'd be inclined to go with jack-o-lanterns, webbing, lanterns, and candles, plus Halloweeny music piped outside, to set the mood and keep costs down in the event I didn't get a lot of turnout. If you're new to the neighborhood, it could take a little time to build a reputation as the Halloween house.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Roxy, thank you for the ideas. I assure you that I will be the Halloween house. As far as I know, almost all the neighbors are friendly, retired folks. With the church being a hop, skip and a jump away, my house could be a side attraction for next year - if I do this right.

There is a plus... my dining room (viewed from the front yard) can be transformed into a ghostly setting. I plan on using my silver round table cloth with the round spider web lace overlay (the grooms table rounds I used in my wedding). I will take some pictures later of the room.

List of things to do:
Get a HAUNT NAME (suggestions anyone?)
PVC candles on faux iron cresting on the roof
Yard figurines like oversized scarecrows or pumpkin sentinals
JOL clumps
Realistic webbing
Dining room scene
DIY spotlights for painting the house with color (I imagine I will have to pick at Halstaff for this)


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

Hey LH - With what you listed above you're on the right path for Halloween set up. Of course, gravestones could be an added plus. Because the church has Halloween, some of the TOTers and family passing your house will see your set up and might want to come a pay you a visit. Good luck with your haunt.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

_*EDIT*: Better pics..._

Here's the dining room



















You can see where the people walk up to the house looking right into the dining room window


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

You've got a great yard! Well, as they said in Field of Dreams, "If you build it, he will come". If you start early enough, make it very noticeable to the people walking and driving by. People will notice the new guy on the block and wonder what you're up to. Lights. Lots of lights. When I had first started to really get into decorating, I had put up the orange icicle lights. It drew so many people to my house because I was the first in the neighborhood to do it and they also thought the house was on fire. Then they saw the house was decorated for halloween. That was my start in the neighborhood. Now I get people, the walkers, walking by in early September and they always make comments and ask when I'll be starting to decorate. Draw them there, then give them something to see. Your reputation will get around and you be known as "that house" in the neighborhood. But Lord H, do it for yourself too. I get so much satisfaction getting out and setting up the props. It's what I enjoy and the icing on the cake is when other people come to see it. I may not get alot of ToT's but I get alot of people walking and driving by to see the house. Down the street is a day care. In the daytime, they walk the little kids down the street to see the decorations. It's a blast seeing the kids' reaction. I even invite them down to interact with the animatronics.

Oh wait, I thought all you Texans had ranches with horses and armadillos running around. 

Edit - Maybe talk to the pastor at the church and see if they're having a party for the kids. Then ask him if he could mention in the bulletin or newsletter that your house is available to visit after the party. It would be an extension of what they're doing at the church.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Depending on the name of your street, you could always do a play on words. For example: I live on "Park Lane" Until late September, then it becomes "Dark Lane"

Post your street name and we'll see what we as haunters can come up with.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

BioHazardCustoms said:


> Post your street name and we'll see what we as haunters can come up with.


"Dark" Place sounds kind of bland.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

For some reason "Wither Hollows" is reappearing in my head but I'm not real keen on it. 

Words to possibly incorporate:
Estate, manor
Wild Boar, Hog or Razorback


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Withered Estate
Withers Manor
Withers Hollow Estates
A Dark Place (Does sound kind of lame, but I've heard that used a lot to describe a murderous mindset)

Just a couple off the top of my head.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

**See updated pics above**

T, the yard is awesome because I've got 1 tree on the lot and the rest is meadow grass. A lot potential (and at the same time that is what sucks about it). I will wait till the yard gets mowed before I take an outside shot because it is embarrassing.

Bio, good start on the names - thanks man. I'm writing all these down and will probably end up throwing a dart at it to choose.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You could name it "Withering Heights" and then see how many literate neighbors tell you it's supposed to be "Wuthering" It could be a conversational ice breaker.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

That yard is a virtual pallette! Oh you're going to have so much fun with that!


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

I thinking along the line that since you've got that tree in your yard you could incorporate it into your haunt. Say having some gravestones around it and maybe having a hangman's noose dangling from a tree limb. Maybe create some story about how people were hanged there, being charged with the crimes of witchcraft or something like that. Maybe creating a legend of how and why this was the tree they used to hang witches. (I don't know, I think I'm rambling now).

Every year at this time the hangman's noose appears to do its work during the few days close to Halloween and then disappears again on the midnight of Halloween. Maybe it only appears at night and is gone during the day, when no one can see it. All of the dead who were hanged there come back to haunt the living around the grave sites and they are searching for their souls and having to do purgatory until they find what they are looking for. Always moving, never resting, always looking for those who wrongly accused them of evil, and practicing witchcraft. :jol:

I don't know, just a thought!


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

Looks like a pretty nice piece of real estate! One thought, use lots of lights to draw attention.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

How about Homicide Manor? It hit me on my way home from work this morning. A combo of your screen name and the words you wanted to try using.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

First, thank y'all for the talented input. I love the ideas and they have definitely got me thinking outside the box.



Copchick said:


> That yard is a virtual pallette! Oh you're going to have so much fun with that!


Keeping focused and prioritizing will be the hardest thing about it, aside from chasing armadillos. 



Troll Wizard said:


> I thinking along the line that since you've got that tree in your yard you could incorporate it into your haunt. Say having some gravestones around it and maybe having a hangman's noose dangling from a tree limb. Maybe create some story about how people were hanged there, being charged with the crimes of witchcraft or something like that. Maybe creating a legend of how and why this was the tree they used to hang witches. (I don't know, I think I'm rambling now).
> 
> Every year at this time the hangman's noose appears to do its work during the few days close to Halloween and then disappears again on the midnight of Halloween. Maybe it only appears at night and is gone during the day, when no one can see it. All of the dead who were hanged there come back to haunt the living around the grave sites and they are searching for their souls and having to do purgatory until they find what they are looking for. Always moving, never resting, always looking for those who wrongly accused them of evil, and practicing witchcraft. :jol:
> 
> I don't know, just a thought!


Brilliant back story Troll. Now we're on a track! After standing in the front yard staring up into the tree pondering (looking like a weirdo I'm sure), I thought about hanging a dummy up there. It would be physcially impossible for a hang victim to *not* escape since the tree isn't that tall. I think I'll stick with just a hangman's noose! This just hit me, maybe in lieu of dead adults haunting, perhaps kids who came too close to the Manor to play or get candy? I see a crusty old tire on a rope with a ragged teddy bear underneath suggesting children used to play here and are they still among us??? Possibly a hopsotch track on the side walk... Which ever is creepier. I'm sure that I will pepper the property with cross style tombstones,



Hairazor said:


> Looks like a pretty nice piece of real estate! One thought, use lots of lights to draw attention.


Yes mam. The house came equipped with a few uplights on it although I have not tinkered with them enough to see what type of bulbs they are. I am sure with my luck, I won't be able to use them but we will see. I will be looking into making the LED spotlights this year. After seeing some amazing haunts on this site, I've realized that _effective_ lighting either makes it or breaks it.



BioHazardCustoms said:


> How about Homicide Manor? It hit me on my way home from work this morning. A combo of your screen name and the words you wanted to try using.


One hell of an idea! That never crossed my mind. That means that I can personify my screen name lol. Hope it doesn't go over like a fart in church with the bible belt I'm nestled in.

My wife corraled my thoughts by saying, "Why don't you just start with a scene then expand on that every year." I was already thinking that the dining room scene will be the crown of this thing. If I knew how to do a really convincing pepper's ghost thing, I think it would be really cool as you walk up to the front door OR see it from the road. Speaking of the front door, see below... That's it complete with a peep door.

Two elements of this revised Halloween 2013 display:
1. Dining room scene. Dynamic display.
2. Front yard approach to house. Semi-static display.

FRONT DOOR


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

That entryway is just begging for Halloween!!


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## Up_Up_And_Away (Jul 19, 2008)

Any shots of the whole house? I'd love to see the facade you're working with...


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## Magic13 (Dec 20, 2012)

I have no ToT at all... On a country road... But, my friends are always interested to come by or view pics!!! If u enjoy decorating, that is all that matters!!! 
Withers hollow estates sound spooky... 
Can't wait to see pics!!! 
Happy Haunting!


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Lord Homicide said:


> One hell of an idea! That never crossed my mind. That means that I can personify my screen name lol. Hope it doesn't go over like a fart in church with the bible belt I'm nestled in.


Yeah, but you're in Texas. That's nowhere near as bad as Alabama. You might be able to get away with Homicide Manor there. Here, they'd shut me down and burn me at the stake for heresy, lol


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

BioHazardCustoms said:


> Here, they'd shut me down and burn me at the stake for heresy, lol


LOL! Just give'em an evil stare... From a distance


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Up_Up_And_Away said:


> Any shots of the whole house? I'd love to see the facade you're working with...


I will once I get the yard mowed and it's dusk.



Magic13 said:


> I have no ToT at all... On a country road... But, my friends are always interested to come by or view pics!!! If u enjoy decorating, that is all that matters!!!
> Withers hollow estates sound spooky...
> Can't wait to see pics!!!
> Happy Haunting!


EXACTLY! I'll do it for myself and the personal achievement of my favorite holiday.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: I love the doorway! Wow....I could do all kinds of great things to a door like that....


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## highbury (Nov 5, 2009)

Hey LH,
I just came across the thread. I would definitely do a big sign in your yard (based on whatever your final name will be), along with a spotlight. When passersby see that, they'll instantly know something is going on! I would also use some colored floodlights across the yard - anything to draw people's attention to your house, at least for the first year... Good luck!


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Highbury, I have learned how important lighting is since I've joined this forum. I need to figure out what light colors to paint the house with. The haunt will not be evil or gory so reds are out. My haunt should look like it has been abandoned for decades with a few instances of vandalism.

Remember that I'm not an author - obviously... but this gives me something to work from. Unfortunately, it went down the route of haunted asylums which I loathe because it's unoriginal... maybe someone can help me pull back from that?

Haunt back story:

_In 1892, L.H. Blair, a closet God-fearing, self-made coal mine magnate, stepped down from his empire to focus on philanthropy. Having no heirs, he wanted to distribute his wealth to better humanity. He founded the L.H. Blair Foundation. L.H. envisioned a level of mental ill care that would remove the horrific, menacing threat of mistreatment associated with hospitals and asylums. News of this venture spread around the area, causing an outrage within the hospital committees since he was taking "subjects" from their pool. Publicly speaking out against these committees, he set forth his plan to privately fund and build a collection of larger single family estate homes collectively named <insert haunt name> followed by a number - distinguishing them from one another. Although these facilities were touted for being available to anyone, the cost silently weeded out the poor. Each estate house was to be strategically placed in the country, usually near desirable geographic features, to provide a comfortable environment for each patient. Floor plans differed slightly but every home contained four bedrooms; a master bedroom, two guest rooms and nurse quarters. Architecturally inside and out, these homes were beyond their time. Regardless of the intended use, nearby residents would refer to them as country wards because they were, fundamentally, facilities that housed mentally ill people . During the first three years, L.H. watched his vision become a reality with two houses completed. Some time later, he brutally fell victim to an unknown murderer inside No. 3 while making final preparations. He was buried on the lot.

With no one to carry out his foundation's legacy, hospitals executives quickly snatched up the four estates at auction. The L.H. Blair Foundation nurses were terminated, freedoms were eliminated and the homes were retrofitted into semi-soundproof holding cells. The executives were careful to keep the outsides the same as they were so no one would be suspicious of a change. When suspicions arose, the myths were dispelled by smooth talking, hospital "chaplains" that were nothing more than costumed employees. Known to the subjects as Hell Houses, the estates were overrun with torture and experimentation of evils unknown. Over the years, neighbors noticed cross tombstones, numbered randomly, littering the yards. People went in and never came out - almost like they were swallowed up by the Hell Houses.

One house of the great <insert haunt name> remains... No.3. No. 1 & 2 were destroyed by the storm of 1918. No. 4 eventually collapsed into a sink hole after being abandoned for decades. Recent and exhausting investigations have revealed what the houses became after the death of L.H. Blair. _ <end for now>

EDIT: Please feel free to help me revise this... there's a reason I don't write for a living


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol::jol: Nice back story C! (and you said you aren't a writer...pshhh) I always go with green, amber and blue for my haunt...seems sinister and "other worldly"....I can't wait to see your sketches and what you are going to do. And can I say this?? I have always been the ONLY one in my neighborhood/town that brings Halloween to the "crazy level" place.... Someone said, Copchick I think, if you build it they will come. Decorate early...let the people see...and come Halloween night...they will come....I promise.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

J, it's got more loose sub plots in it than The Room


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

Lord Homicide said:


> J, it's got more loose sub plots in it than The Room


:jol:Are you gonna get Johnny to narrate?? Won't be the same without his big, greasy head! I love your back story, it is dark and disturbing...


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Ha ha ha ha... ha ha ha! Oh hai Jana! Add to it or revise it please. It can't be that great.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

I'm pretty sure that I will be installing old pressed tin panels, painted, on the recessed ceiling in my dining room with similar tin crown. That is... if the space will allow it. Not sure what the "tile" scale should be if the ceiling is 10'-0" AFF (above finish floor)

It would really add to the creep factor of my dining room scene!

This is what we're looking at.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

It's a shame the people who took those wonderful ceilings out and many times just junked them. That would be marvy if you installed them!


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Good Lord I know... other than lead-based paint, they were/are salvageable... My father-in-law's small church (built in 1900) still has those exact panels pictured above on the ceilings inside and outside. Complete with cornices as well. It looks pretty damn cool.

On a side note, the dining room recessed ceiling dimension is 8'-0" x 9'-0". The old tin ceiling panels I found won't work because they are approx 2'-1/2" square, intended to be installed 24" o.c. . Looks like I'm forced to buy new, fake-looking old ceiling panels. It irks me that I can't figure out how to southern engineer the 2' panels into a rectangular space and make it look right. Even if I installed the cornice, I still couldn't cheat it enough for it to look right .


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

I hope I'm explaining this correctly. The picture I have in my head is to install them on your ceiling and frame the edges so that it has a finished look. Perhaps with moulding? You'd still have ceiling space around the tin panel area. Think of it like an area rug on your ceiling. Have the panels and ceiling in contrasting colors.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Are you talking about something like this? Let the diagonal lines be the "frame" and the cross hatch stuff be the actual ceiling tiles. It won't work unless I can find 1'-0" square tiles because the room is rectangular. Note that the patterns are deceiving as they do not show the tile sizes.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

No, your frame wouldn't be that wide. Perhaps only an inch and a half or two inches, but whatever looks or works best for you. Based on the diagram above, the solid red line around the middle square (the tiles grouped together) would be your frame and the diagonal lined area would be your painted ceiling. The look would be that the painted ceiling area is also framing your tiled area. Like an area rug in a room. The rest of the floor looks like it's framing the rug in a way. Sorry if I confused you more. It's so perfectly pictured in my head, can't you see it?


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Copchick said:


> It's so perfectly pictured in my head, can't you see it?


T, if I could read a woman's mind, I'd be a God amongst men. Lol

I'm looking to cover the recessed portion only with tin paneling


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

Lord Homicide said:


> T, if I could read a woman's mind, I'd be a God amongst men. Lol
> 
> I'm looking to cover the recessed portion only with tin paneling


I think you could then be referred to as "God's gift to women" if you ever attained that super power.

Oh damn, I guess I skipped the recessed part you mentioned. Disregard.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Hey, draw it up for me if you want. I'm always open for suggestions.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

*Dining Room Complete*

Below is the dining room furniture set up. The picture quality sucks so sorry about that. Our old taste is perfect for a haunted house kind of feel. All it needs now is a spooky overlay. Those candles on the table are from Luminara. They are bad ass in person but pictures and videos don't do them justice - trust me.

The dining room set is from the 1920s bought from Craigslist. My wife reupolstered the chairs. The mirror was owned by my friend's grandmother. Even though the mirror and sideboard are two completely separate items, they are a match made in heaven. Wierd. The chandelier was found at a resale shop. Even though it's not old, it looks pretty cool because it is ovular, not round. I replaced the candle sleeves on it with some antiqued, faux fiber drip sleeves. It made it look 100% better.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

That looks very nice! I like the set, good haunt potential.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

You are right about the mirror and the sideboard, you just keep being in the right place, etc. I looked at that last shot with the lighting and thought seance!


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Copchick said:


> That looks very nice! I like the set, good haunt potential.


Yes mam I agree! My plan is coming together muwahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa



Hairazor said:


> You are right about the mirror and the sideboard, you just keep being in the right place, etc. I looked at that last shot with the lighting and thought seance!


The lights do breathe a lot of life into the mirror doesn't it?? Don't get too close, it might reach out and pull you in!

A pepper's ghost in this room would be awesome. Keep in mind, once I take the solar screens off the windows, you can see in perfectly. How do you do a pepper's ghost with my set up?


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Well, unfortunately I have to scale back my plans for this year since life was a little busier than expected and September crept up on me. I do plan to incorporate smaller elements for a creep factor. I am piggybacking off my home decor since my wife and I are two old souls. That means that our furniture, light fixtures, etc. are older. This allows me to create a simple overlay in general consisting of smaller projects and such. Not too shabby now that I think about it.

I have recently learned that the church down the street does a "trunk or treat". Wonder if I can borrow someone's Hearst. LOL


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