# New to haunting and would like some ideas!



## drail14me (Oct 12, 2008)

Hi all. I'm new to haunting, and this forum, and would like some ideas on what to do. Here's my plan:

We're clearing a trail that will wind through about 40 acres of dark woods out in the country where I live. I'm having family, friends and neighbors over for a Halloween party. We want to have a "haunted trail" for the guests to walk through. The only a/c power available will be at the beginning/end of the trail. We want to keep things fairly simple construction wise. We only plan to operate the trail for an hour or two right after dark. 

I want to use sounds, distraction and surprise to frighten guests. Some things I already plan on doing are:

Some battery powered CD players scattered through the woods with subtle scary sounds.

Some fishing line hanging to give the "walking through a spider web feel"

A few live actors.

Other than that, I don't have much of a clue on what to do. Can anyone share what they have done or seen in the past on trails that you found frightening?

Thanks for any help!


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## drail14me (Oct 12, 2008)

Forgot to add that I want some kind of lighting to guide guests along the path. I thought of carving pumpkins and lighting with tea lights then placing them along the trail. I also want to give some kind of dim light source to carry with them. maybe a white paper bag with sand in the bottom and a tea light candle in it or maybe just a glow stick. Any other suggestions would be helpful.


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## ScreamingScarecrow (Oct 1, 2008)

Hi drail14me, sounds like you have some great ideas - I would just flesh them out a bit and have fun. One thing I'd like to mention is dark forest trails - When we used to do a haunted forest walk thru, one problem we had was people tripping on roots or depressions in the ground. Take some time to be sure these hazards are cleared away. Also another thing we did wrong the first year was that we had our guideing lights placed too far apart and people not being able to see a clearly defined trail started wandering in the woods looking for the next light - that wasn't so fun for them. Good luck have fun and be safe! _(I missed our woods)_
Let me know if you would like more tips... Happy Haunting!!!


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Get some LEDs and pair them up to make little sets of glowing eyes watching them from the shadows. That always helps!


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

Oh and I would definately stay away from candles being lit in any wooded area where you arent there to supervise. You wouldnt want a fire to handle too. Fake tealights. Definately use battery powered LED lights. You can also get a mini power supply for under 20 bucks. Wont power a blender, but will power a light or a sound system. Oh and how much is 40 acres? Ive mowed 2 acres and 40 seems like a lot to try and light, provide props and actors for and keep scary and not just have a feeling of is this about over. The best thing ive always felt about the haunted trails is they arent super long and the minute you start to "relax" something else gets ya.


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## michael myers (Sep 3, 2007)

We bought 12 of these silk flame torches in a lot off of fleabay and they are battery powered. They also come with a metal stand that can be hung to a tree. IMO, they each give off the perfect amount of light, and they have that fake flame look. This link is to his current listing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370096034022
They can get a little pricey, as when we bought the dozen, we ended up paying about $7 a piece (breakdown of price, including shipping) but they work perfect for the haunted back yard that I participate in.


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## spideranne (Jul 17, 2006)

Someone on here did a monster in a cage that made growling noises and shook. I believe it was something they purchased and modified, but I can't remember what exactly it was, maybe someone else can fill in the blanks in my memory. It would be cool to have something like that hidden in the bushes...


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

Hi drail14me...I also do a haunted trail ..http://picasaweb.google.com/beelce1/HalloweenInTheHauntedWoodsNearNewOrleans# ...after 2 years I gave up on battery power and spent about $200. on extension cords. Now I use powered lanterns (no open flames in my woods) along the trails. your guest do need to see some sort of line to stay on the path. I also use spot lights aimed straight up to show off some of the old creepy trees. This adds alot of depth and drama to a dark trail. (always make sure that you can't see the actual light bulb...really distracting) 
I set up scenes along the trails that are controlled with motion activated power strips... http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=11139 ... Then as someone walks buy in the dark, an entire scene pops on and then off, just long enough for them to see the fun.
The main thing is....man, you better get busy!!!


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## drail14me (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks for the advice everyone. Please keep it coming. Yeah, we're behind the power curve on getting this thing set up but we are making progress. We blazed a trail through the woods today following an old logging trail. measuring showed it at 1418' which seemed a little short to me. We were able to get it cleared and smooth in about four hours. We've got a few roots and stumps left but that won't take long tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for that advice Scarecrow Now, the fun begins. Those are great ideas on the LED eye lights and the Silk Flame lights. Going to look into those tomorrow. BeeIce, I love that Skull on the stick creature. Great idea!!!how did you make it? Also how far did you run your extension cords? Any trouble with throwing breakers?

Thanks for the advice


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## ScreamingScarecrow (Oct 1, 2008)

Another thing we did was use tarps to fashion an old mining cave that the TOTs had to walk thru - boy we had alot of people not wanting to go in!! But we they did in the end anyways!! lol!!


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Here's a note on sound: Two excellent sound sources... one is Adam from poisonprops.com (he's on the forum here under the nick "poison"). He's an award-winning Hollywood sound designer and has several different sound FX CDs, several of which are great for outside, with sounds like swamp critters, spooky wind, creatures, etc. I have a couple of them, as do several others on here, and they will agree with me that they are awesome. I mean think about it... he makes his living doing that stuff for movies and TV; he knows what sounds good. Another source that I have is from haunt composer Virgil; he has 2 CDs called "Manic Terror Trax" that have haunt soundscapes and creepy musics in different combinations for those that don't want to do their own mixing (i.e. you can have spooky wind with ghost moans, spooky wind with thunder, thunder with scary woods/swamp, scary swamp with sinister whispers, etc). Manic Terror Trax 1 is the one I believe that has more outdoor-type sounds. Just rip a track you like and loop it for a complete ambient soundscape.

Since you have precious little time left for propbuilding and scene construction, you may want to focus on lighting and sound to build a good scary atmosphere to set the mood and mindset. Then your relatively minimalist visuals can have maximum impact.


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## Toktorill (Sep 15, 2007)

Never underestimate the power of an oversized figure at the side of the road. Take a 8 or 10' stepladder, set it up and anchor it to the ground so it doesn't blow over, cover with tarp or some other material- add a large mask, box with cut-out eyes backlighted, or just stick some led flashlights up there for eyes jawa-style.

I once gave my mother's yard a 9' grim reaper that way complete with a 10' steel conduit scythe with a 5' cardboard/tin foil blade. You can throw something like that up in an hour. 

Crosses are always a nice touch, too. Make them simple- long board with a point, short board fastened on with rough rope, nails, or whatever happens to by handiest and cheapest. Pound them in until they'll stay put.

Somewhere on this board someone had a link to a ghostly figure- the creator used nothing but chicken wire and had it far enough from the audience it seemed transparent. At night give something like that a little soft side-lighting and it should freak people out great! Hey- throw that in with a sea of stake crosses!  (that'll take about an hour, too)

Groundbreakers are always fun- and cheap, if you have a board, mask, and some old clothes. Pound in the board for support, put on the clothes, stuff with what's cheap'n'handy. Wire on a mask. For the "broken ground", use *real* dirt, or raked leaves... or whathaveyou.

Of course, there's always the good old standby- get them along a path suspiciously devoid of light (but having a section of trail ahead lit so they know what way to go). Then charge at them loudly from a random direction. I once did that to some girls walking through a graveyard with our youth group. Then they keeled me. 

Whatever you do, if you wish to remain a member in good standing, TAKE PICS and SHARE.  Good luck!


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## drail14me (Oct 12, 2008)

*Photos of the work....thanks for the help*

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the advice on the haunted trail. Here are a few shots of what we've done. We're looking forward to the party tomorrow night!!

This guy will swoop down a zip line into the face of trail walkers!










This is a stump that I threw a mask, hat and shirt on. It's dimly lit and holds your attention while something else happens!!!!










another simple attention holder. This is just a white towel over a stump. It's just down the trail from the grave yard. The strobe lights give it a little illumination...just enough to make you wonder what it is.










Grave yard scene... This is with a FITCO ground fogger...until my replacement Mister Kool arrives. The FITCO does good while it has ice but it melts the ice FAST!!!










Jack the Pumpkin King....I love this scene!!! Watch out behind you for his little minions!!!


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

OUTSTANDING work on short notice....I love to see props in the woods, as that is what my haunt looks like....Pumpkin King is a winner...PLEASE post more pics as you can....


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