# Need help with a theme for 2011



## DrUnK3n_PaNdA (Sep 17, 2009)

I've been keeping my theme changing every year to keep things interesting for the kids, as well as for me, but this year I'm having some trouble coming up with just the right one to fit the bill (Call it haunter's block.) Last year was a Pumpkinrot-esque year with witches, corn stalks and scarecrows, but this year I'm looking for something new, interesting and challenging. 

Right now I'm toying around with a few ideas, and I'd love to hear some feedback from people, about what they think is cool, what's overdone, and what could be most cost-effective.

What I'm pondering at present is:

Pirates! I did pirates year before last, but it was my first year doing a serious haunt, and I think I could do far better this year if I tried again. There's just something inherently fun about tropical settings, and a mixture of voodoo and piratey themes that I just love (Then again... that might just be the rum talking)

Chinese hungry ghosts. It's something I've never seen done before, but stylistically it's something totally unique, cool wooden tombstones with caligraphy, tattered, hanging lanterns, prayer strips gently swaying in the breeze and ghosts and corpses shambling about to terrorize the living.

Old West 'Ghost-town' It's another theme I've never really seen before and a stylistic challenge, especially in lighting and props, but I love the idea to death. I'd probably do a cemetery in front and turn my porch into the shop of an undead undertaker.

And lastly, the good old haunted mansion sort of theme. Gravestones, candelabras, organ music and a storm outside. Very classic fare. It's a great standby if I can't think of anything else, but the challenge is doing something with a porch I can't make look entirely like an 'interior'.


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## Rasputin (Jan 4, 2010)

I think I'm doing a pirate theme with lots of vodoo and undead corpses from the sea lol, so if you only have a porch you could do some ruins of a crashed pirate ship around you yard and the porch could be like Tia Dalma's hut from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. But I kinda like the western thing. You could stage an undead shootdown and then build a wooden "sidewalk" on the walkway to your Funeral Parlor. That would be something really unique (you could look to Disneyland Paris' Phantom Manor for inspiration http://doombuggies.com/phantom1.php)


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I vote for the Chinese hungry ghosts theme because it sounds as if it would be beautiful and it would definitely be different.

There've been at least a couple wild west type haunts posted on this forum. Here are two that could serve as inspiration:

Regions Beyond

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=23831

Bwolcott

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=24428


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## sickNtwisted (Sep 29, 2010)

I vote for the Chinese hungry ghosts theme.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

I third Chinese ghosts! Throw in some other Asian types too!


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Chinese ghosts brings to mind mountain yetis...and the yeti costumes are deeply discounted (and they are TALL, too) online at this time of year. You could add a yeti as your main character/scare. Who wouldn't like to get candy from a yeti??I don't know if people will "get" the Chinese theme as being scary, but I love the theme.That idea then drifts off to become another one: a weird Chinese medicine shop...then kinda morphs into a voodoo shop or hut?? Some weird, haunted, dustydirty Chinese voodoo guy with all kinds of potions & curses..maybe he has a burn-scarred eye, fused shut...You could throw in a pirate at the beginning to warn people of horrible guy they are going to encounter up ahead...having your porch be the voodoo/hexing hut would be neat. Shrunken heads, potions bottles, weird things in jars, books...lots of wispy, webby fabric. Look at the scene in Pirates of Carribean/Worlds End..LOVE the voodoo hut. So messy, cluttered & dusty. I just saw a bag of pig eyeballs on tv (you can get them from a butcher) and they were SO GROSS. I might swap out serving live earthworms worms and serve eyeballs instead. The TOTers would certainly remember your haunt if you offer to dump huge eyes in their bag. 
While I have a yard haunt, all of my scares and "business" is generated on the porch and right in front of the porch. This year I talked to people (from the porch) as they approached, trying to get them to slow down and LOOK at stuff, or to stop and beware coming up on porch. It worked great. When you have a small area to launch the scares, a good script & backstory that you can share or work from goes a long way. Having a strong character the kids interact with is really the cherry on top of the haunt. 
I can't wait to see what you come up with. Sounds good!


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

The Chinese ghost theme sounds very interesting!


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## GrimmEverafter (Feb 2, 2011)

I vote the 'Old West' ghost town theme. Believe it or not, there is a lot of potential in it if done right, particularly if you have a back story to it. Usually I see something akin to the book _Desperation_ by Stephen King when I think Western Horror. I highly recommend reading it, and maybe including a few buffalo headed monsters.


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## jrmullens1 (Jan 30, 2011)

We did an Old West/Zombie theme for the haunted hayride this year. It was pretty cool.


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## Halloween Cats (Jan 30, 2011)

Meow, 

Wow, I'm more inclined to vote for the pirate idea... I know that the pirate craze has been on the rise again since the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies came out, but I still like it. Mainly though I think it's because I live in Tucson where the famous 'Old Tucson' is, so for me I've been around the 'Old west' theme all my life.


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## Mortissanguine (Mar 30, 2008)

One of the most fun themes I ever did was the twisted fairy tales theme. I think if you did ghost town you should have some of the old west ghost stories and tall tales in it.


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