Year
1997
Ideas from Halloween-l Members
Circus Room
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
Prolly the Circus Room at Chamber of Horrors, 1989. One goes through a pitch
black maze and out a doorway with a green light shining in your face, and
haze fog. You see this shape roaring down towards you, stopping with a tremendous
crash! As you stagger away from it, you realize that it is the Krash Koaster,
a 15 foot tall ramp down which a coaster car came down at you. Two circus
clowns with fangs dripping blood turn cartwheels toward you, leading you towards
a circus tent where you see three animal figures chattering away. You are
steered away from them and a huge air horn surprises you as you head into
the next room.... Harry
Rooms using strobes
From: JB Corn <jbcorn@altinet.net>
ALUMINUM FOIL ROOM
A tried and true effect is to cover the walls with shiny aluminum foil and
add one or more strobes. To keep the customers from removing the foil it is
in turn covered with a wire mesh. The rooms of this type that I have seen
are done with flat walls and no more than two strobes. Actors may be placed
in this room, but basically it is used for entertainment and to partially
blind customers in preparation for a scare.
I offer this variation. Add some dimension to the room with two and three dimensional
geometric shapes covered in foil applied to the walls. Also, change the angle
of the walls by tilting them in or out and use wall angles other than 90 degrees.
Create a path through the room with additional objects, like boxes, covered with
foil. Yes, I know this will complicate assembly; however, it will improve the
effect. Do not forget the ceiling. Foil shapes and even a rotating mirror ball
adds light reflecting surfaces to tease the viewers' eyes. Use more than two strobes
and try different rates of flash for point counter point. A light fog creates
beams of light off the mirror ball. Use too much and the foil effect is lost.
The boxes can have an air ram added to one or more to pop the lids or have something
pop out of a box. The effect can be random, actor controlled or sensor triggered
SKULL CAVERN
A more elaborate variation is my event called "Skull Cavern." The
room is a cavern created from hydrocal, burlap, wire mesh and 4x8 frames. Skull
Cavern has four 20' long corridors that switch back and forth. Stalactites and
stalagmites divide the corridors. Passage between corridors is through arches.
Customers can see from one corridor to the next, but not clearly. The room is
portable. Bolt the sections together and fill the cracks between units with
burlap strips soaked in hydrocal. Paint the room bright white. Position three
slow pulsing strobes equally and staggered in the corridors for a total of twelve
strobes.
Skull Cavern appears to be alive. The stalactites and stalagmites appear to
move. The continual changes in sources of illumination create an animation effect.
Customers walking through the room become disoriented, have trouble walking
a straight line and some turn around and exit. We place no actors in the room.
Instead we blast customers from above with jets of air or C02 as they pass beneath
the arches between the corridors.
The room is basically entertainment. The bright strobe lights cause the customers'
iris to close down and set them up for a scare at the rooms exit. We have an
air ram effect operated by the same operator working the arch air jets. An ugly
head is thrust up and out towards the customer group from the left as they exit
right. This either stops them in their tracks or helps them out of the room.
It is easy to change the room's color, because Skull Cavern is painted white.
Add floral wrap to the strobe bulbs and the cavern becomes an Icy Blue or Hot
Red. Experiment with two to three colors simultaneously flashing. The animation
of the stalactites and stalagmites becomes even more surreal. Use additional
layers of floral wrap to increase the color saturation making the color deeper.
I recommend floral wrap because it is cheaper than traditional gel and easier
to wrap around strobe bulbs. Hold the floral wrap in place with a rubber band.
CHECKERBOARD ROOM
The Checkerboard room uses similar principles. The room is made up of black
and white squares. Sometimes the squares are painted in perspective to give
the illusion of greater distance. A strobe illuminates the room, usually pointed
into the customers' eyes. One or more black squares are removed. An actor
can thrust some soft scary object out a hole towards the customers. An error
often made is painting the floor with the same design. The ceiling, Yes, the
floor, No. Customers will wear a path through the design. You may be able
to repaint it nightly, but during crank through it will wear. It then reveals
the rooms true nature and a path out. The room is interesting. It is highly
over rated and best reserved for a haunt catering to a younger audience.
ADDENDA
I know that some of this sounds strange. I build my own 5vdc strobe lights
and use a 12vac theatrical lighting system. This provides many advantages.
My light fixtures cost less than $5 each, use 7 watt or 11 watt bulbs (this
translates into lower power usage, the 4,000 sq. ft. Castle Dragon is illuminated
with 20 amps), the low light levels cause the customer's iris to open wide
and wide iris' are easily blinded. I will cover low voltage theatrical lighting
in another article. jbcorn
From: Ysengrin Werewolf <ysengrin@airmail.net>
Try this variant, too - paint a
red & blue checkerboard
and use two out-of-synch strobes with red and blue gels. It's very disorientating
as the checkerboard pattern seems to switch back and forth. You lose the 'boo
holes' though.
"Zombie Forest"
This is a twist on the checkerboard room that is definitely "scarier".
It is a simulated "Birch Forest" with zombies. (Paper birch trees
have a very thin white and black (mostly white) bark that flakes off like
thin pieces of paper). To simulate this we ran 2x4's across the top of our
walls every 2 feet. From the 2x4's, we hung pvc pipe cut to length of various
diameters (1 1/2,2,3,and 4" pipe). We hung these using long bolts through
the cross sections and eye-bolts. So your "trees" in essence, hang
from the ceiling. Position the trees randomly throughout the room. Then take
a paint brush, with black paint, and make "swipes" across your trees
randomly. To finish it off, paint your walls black with other trees painted
on top. Light the room with a strobe at the top of the room pointed down and
it gives the effect that the trees go up forever. We also placed camo netting
on the ground to simulate leaves throughout the room except in the customer
footpath. The actors wore torn up clothing with simple makeup (white faces
w/ darkened features). The strobes were set at a very slow speed and the actors
"weaved" between the trees very slowly. The effect it produces is
that the zombies seem to disappear and then reappear at different locations.
The customer path was a zigzag down the center with "zombies" on
both sides. The result is a very disconcerting, eerie effect.
Although it sounds simple, we had an amazingly good response from our patrons.
Many said it was their favorite room. Hope this is clear. JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
We actually only used one strobe that was mounted above the entrance. So it
was above and behind the customers. I honestly don't know if multiple strobes
would enhance or diminish the overall effect. We also had a manual switch
in the room that one of the "zombies" would control. This allowed
the actors to turn off the strobe between groups, so they wouldn't have to
work in a strobe environment for 4-5 continuous hours.:(
Our room was 12x12 with 24 "trees" (4 each of the 1 1/2, 2, 3, and
4" diameters). The background walls were also painted to give the illusion
that the forest went on forever. This combined with the weaving path gives
the illusion that the forest was much bigger than it really was and disorients
them because there is no apparent way to get out. I do think we will make
the room bigger next time. I think 12x16 would be just about right.
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 1997 18:06:22 -0500
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net>
To: cliff.martin@saralee.net
It's a great idea for a room. But where JD has a "path", ours is
all random.
Well, as random as you can get with rafters 24" apart. ;) I'll open up
that space for next season, to about 20'x35' and add the "path".
And toss in a few automated scares with some actors....Nice thing is, the
floor-path can change nightly. - John
>Whew! completely random!? I couldnt get the crew through it last night
WITH a path! Im beginning to worry that this will be a bottleneck... but,
hey, I can always send in Eye-gor... ;) <
Have the halls/scenes before and after open for a good flow. Or place it in
an area you want people to slow down a bit....One thing you can do is have
an actor by the "exit" (no mask/make-up) exclaim: "Hey! I found
a way outta here!"
>> I'll open up that space for next season, to about 20'x35' ....<<
>That will be a HUGE forest! I made mine about 14' x 18' this year, with
around 20+ pipes of all sizes. Total cost around $200 for the pipe, 2x4s and
bolts, and $100 for a 75watt strobe (bring the sunblock). Since Im in a rented
space, I cant bolt to the floor (oh, if I could). I was thinking if I had
a bigger forest, Id spring for the Distortions walking dragon illusion, and
have it wander around inside... <
Huge, large and in-charge....If I'm able to "expand" it will be
outside and almost twice my "wanna-do" size. The problem being outside
is upper support. There will have to be a "path" without a doubt.
It's a real neat and fast room to do...Wish I thought of it. ;) John
Anti-Dot Room
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
This also reminds me of an idea we came up with at a late night brain- storming
session but haven't had time to experiment with.....Basically it has a similar
premise (changing lights for effect) but it's also a sort of "twist"
on the dot room. The idea started with us discussing the possibility of using
the invisible (under normal light) U.V. paints. I doubt that much of the general
public at large knows about their existence and it seems as if there has got
to be a way to use this to a haunter's advantage. Anyhow here's the idea we
came up with: The room is set up like your basic dot room but opposite, i.e.
the background is white with black dots and the actor's costume matches such.
The room is brightly lit with incandescent light and immediately follows a
very dark room. The completely contrasting lighting between the 2 rooms should
help with the "camouflaging". OK now here's the twist. The white
portion of the background and costume is really a combination of many different
invisible U.V. colors. The colors would be used to paint a very menacing background
and costume. This of course would come to life when the lighting was "switched"
from a white incandescent to U.V. only. Now here are some of the problems
I see with this so far:
1) There is a very subtle difference between the different U.V. colors that
may or may not ruin the effect under normal lighting conditions.
2) The actual method of switching the lighting. Blacklight takes too long
to turn on so it must already be "on". Which means building some
sort of shuttering device or possibly, if the incandescent light source is
bright enough, it maybe able to overpower and "wash out" the U.V.?
Possible?
3) Somewhat similar problem to 2. What we would really like to do is create
a "anti-strobe" effect. What I mean by this is think of a slow pulsing
strobe and how it would look under the opposite lighting conditions,i.e. lights
normally "on" with brief moments of darkness (actually U.V. only).
A timer may be able to accomplish this but I'm not sure if the eyes would
be able to adjust fast enough, so this option may be out....
Well anyway that's the idea. It's not something we are doing this year, I
just thought I'd throw it out there while it was still on my half functioning
mind..... JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
From: Philip Rogers <o-n-e-mail@tntie.com>
This is similar (but not too similar) to an effect I worked on a number of
years ago for my mother's home. I built stage flats covered in canvas to enclose
the front porch. I then airbrushed a Lovecraftian landscape on both side.
On the inside I hand painted (using invisible UV paints) various spectral
images in blue with orange eyes. I then lit the porch with a pale blue bulb
(not mentioning {which I'm now doing} the various candles inside jack-o-lanterns).
The idea of the effect was to turn on the blacklight as the trick-or-treaters
approached the door. I scraped this because I didn't like the sudden "explosion"
of the blacklight coming on and didn't have the knowledge to build a slide
box to control the lights. Thing about UV paints - they glow best with only
the UV bulb on. Incandescent lights do have a tendency to wash UV paints.
The brighter the light the worse the wash out. And the cheaper the UV paint
the less the glow. Couldn't say about the strobe, but would be interesting
effect if it worked. Philip
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
Actually for this application, the incandescent "wash out" would
be a good thing. The problem is, I need almost complete wash out and I'm not
sure it can be done. That way I can leave the U.V. light on and only mess
with the incandescent source. Maybe I could find an old lighthouse beacon
;) That would do the trick ;) JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Rat Maze
From: dwmcloda@mit.edu
I built a 3ft by 3ft by 1ft tall wooden box that contained a rat maze. The
top of the box was plexiglass. Through part of our "Tunnel of Horrors",
our guests have to crawl through a dark tunnel. The floor of the tunnel is
elevated off the ground about a foot. Most of the floor is just solid plywood
with carpet on it, but there is one section in the floor that is missing and
this is where we put the rat maze box, with a few rats inside, eating fake
flesh off of fake human bones. Of course the tunnel is pitch black, so as
people crawl over the plexiglass, a flood light in the rate maze box is triggered.
Dave the Freak
"Living" things
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net>
Like I said, now and again my brain coughs up an idea, here's another one:
(Nothing new, but it's creepy.)
Several films, short horror movies and stories have had things "crawl"
just under the surface of the ground, sand, and underbrush. The theory is
good, although, I have to find the time to try this one out. My thought is
an aquarium, with sand on the bottom, bright light shining down on bleached
bones and a simple sign...."FLESH EATING ORGANISM, DO NOT TOUCH"
(Follow the thought here)
You peer into the glass box, and cautiously "tap" on the glass...Then,
something moves...Just under the surface of the sand.... You tap again, and
see several "things" heave the sand up as the crawl just under the
surface, making passes up to the glass, and about the many bones lying inside...
How would I try it??? Good question. My thoughts are making a "false"
bottom for a membrane such as latex, cloth, or rubber. This membrane would
then cover several motors, an arm extending from the axle, with the "bug"
actually a ball or "bug" shaped piece of whatever. This "bug"
should slide easily along the shaft because it must follow a path that's been
made in a second piece of wood. Think of it as a track, or jig. As the motor
turns, the arm moves in a circle. The "bug" would be stuck to follow
the smooth, yet irregular orbit about the motor. Cover it with the membrane,
then cover the membrane with sand.
Sure, it sounds cheesy, but place several of these, moving at different speeds,
and one or so to travel the length of the aquarium...How? How about a miniature
version of the Flying Ghost? They make rubber belts, about a 1/4" wide
that have teeth (as not to slip) in a big choice of sizes, Attach your "bug"
to this belt and drag it along around the track made by a few pulleys. (Take
a look at your car, if it as a "serpentine" belt, you will catch
the idea.) How to make them move when the glass is tapped on?? Couple of thoughts
on that..The first is a light sensor, thrown into a timer. Break the light
(as the tap or reach in) and the sensor begins the timing cycle...or let it
run. It would be fun to watch! ;)
Another thought on bugs in general. Same concept as above, but no sand. Place
a magnet in place of the "bug thingy". Now, get a bunch of those
'el cheap-o roaches and glue an iron piece to it's belly, (or melt it in).
As the magnet passes, it drags a bug 'till it gets caught and the bug stops.
It picks up another and drags it, so-on and so-forth. All the time nothing
can bee seen because it's under the false bottom. Just a thought. John
I went to a haunt once that had a cemetery scene which had a couple of above
ground graves (simulated mounds of earth). As you walked past one of the "mounds"
came to life and slithered toward you (the ground was really a dressed up
tarp). It was pretty neat except you know the poor actor assigned to this
job must have loved it ;( JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Grizzly vs the Mummy!
From: CTMartin <cliff.martin@saralee.net>
While in the group wandering through haunted walk/ride, on one side, you see
a mummy/monster slowly rise up and begin to come after you... slowly... slowly...
Then, on the other side, out of the bushes, you see a large grizzly bear.
It bolts out of the bushes! The mummy sees the bear, screams, then runs off
away from the bear!. The bear runs 'towards' you, brushes by, then runs after
the mummy into the bushes! On to the next event! Cliff
Tunnel of Terror
From: "Dan" <gearhead@inav.net>
I don't know if this idea may be new to all of you out there, But here goes.
Last year we were looking for an absolutely terrifying prop and when all our
senior members, (Which are extremely talented in their own fields) get together
we bounce ideas off one another. We decided to create an area where you are
spooked from two directions at once. We built a tunnel approx. 40' L X 10'
W X 10' H. The entrance is reached by walking between 2 rows of pine trees
about 100' long and 8' between them. This sets up Anticipation as nothing
much happens during your walk towards the Tunnel which you can see the whole
time laying ahead.(I can hardly type as I laugh every time I describe this.)
Upon entering the tunnel it is totally dark except for the ambient light at
the far end. when the group has fully entered the tunnel they are now standing
on a 3/8"X4'X10' piece of steel which has a 12v Hopper Vibrator attached
to the bottom side. When the "Plate" is activated, sound activated
(20) 6" mechanical spiders drop from ceiling lit by strobe lights. And
all Hell breaks loose. You cant stand, You cant duck, So you run. (Ha Ha)
At this point the guides lose total control of their group. The distant sound
of the "Plate" also enhances the effect as no one has ever heard
such a sound before..LOL
I wish you all the best that Halloween can offer. Wifey cant understand why
I do all this. I can let my imagination run wild.:) Its a lot of hard work,
but worth it when it's "ShowTime" > Dan < of "The Haunted
Forest"
THE ULTIMATE CEMETERY
From: JB Corn <jbcorn@altinet.net>
The cemetery has a place in everyone's mind, all of us are frail in our mortality
and The Cemetery is a reminder of how mortal we really are. Because of this
relationship, I try to use my cemetery as a lighter side of death and always
place it outside. First I establish that, no matter how good it looks, it
is not a real cemetery. I do this with art work, silly signs, absurd tombstone
captions and even a tombstone for the Disney Mouse with a cartoon hand reaching
out of the grave. Some of the tombstones have coffins bursting out of the
ground and their occupants bursting out of the coffins. I use arms, legs and
an occasional head. Complete coffins are cut in half at an angle. This way
I get two coffin scenes for the price of one coffin. Air rams made from tire
pumps or door closers are used to pop body parts out of coffins close to the
customer path area. These are manually operated by a technician. The cemetery
is a set. I do not believe that it should try to a part of reality, instead
it is a major distraction for the customers.
After the customer has been "entertained" I set out to scare the
bee gee gees out of him. The distraction is the absurd cemetery. The prelude
to fright is the specters that roam the grounds. I use lovely young ladies
in white gowns, some with basic white face and others with horror faces. The
cemetery spirits take turns between harmlessly roaming and providing startles
for the customers.
Fog pours into the area. I paint the fog with colored lights, control its
direction and density. Mixing my own fog juice from the base chemicals gives
me control over its hang time in varying weather conditions. Yes, wind sucks
my fog out like it would for anyone else, but when the cemetery is right the
effect is awesome and this happens most of the time.
Hanging from trees are dummies in assorted states of decomposition. As they
travel the path around one corner a dummy swings very close to the customers,
passing over their heads. Another corner and a dummy swings low, in front
of them, briefly blocking the path, providing a fair scare. Half way through
the cemetery customers view a crude autopsy. A specter may be playing with
body parts or continuing the butchery with an appropriate instrument.
The finale to the 300 foot trek through the cemetery is a visit by a Leatherface
type creature. Leatherface needs a chainsaw, a real chainsaw with a blade.
Too dangerous you say, of course it is, anyone using a real blade is a fool.
You will be amazed at how many customers do not know that. I gave my chainsaw
a blade with illusion. Near the exit we have a very large tombstone, about
four feet high. Concealed in the tombstone is a motorized grinding wheel.
The chainsaw starts as our creature walks towards the customers. You always
have a customer that says, "There is no blade, it can't hurt you."
Well, well, my actor approaches the tombstone with the hidden grinder, he
steps on a platform switch and the grinder spins up to speed (you don't want
it making noise till the chainsaw sound can drown it). He then takes the chainsaw
blade and grinds it. From the customers point of view it appears that the
chainsaw is cutting stone. The sparks fly, the customers react, the creature
chases the customers as they run for their lives. When the actor leaves the
platform switch, the grinder spins down and stops. The chainsaw blade is not
the original. I have a sheet metal shop make several blanks and while I am
at it, I make them longer.
The cemetery requires three actors for normal operation. The central corridor
design allows me to dedicate only one actor during slow operational hours
because I can rotate additional actors according to customer flow. During
peak operation I use up to six actors and two chainsaws. The chainsaws take
turns, each working a different group of customers. The second group feels
safe as the creature chases the first, turns off his chainsaw and wanders
away. Until they hear the second chainsaw start-up The tombstone with the
grinder has a limited viewing area, customers can hear the chainsaw as they
enter the cemetery, but they cannot see it or the tombstone with grinder.
My cemetery designs take advantage of the site. I include any spooky looking
trees, mild variations in elevation and shrubs. The ground is covered with
mulch, because October is a rainy month. I enclose the area with 4x8' wall
units and the internal path with a combination of 4x8' panels and 4x3' picket
fence sections. The internal 4x8' units shield areas of the cemetery and provide
hiding spots for actors. The fence sections reveal areas of the cemetery for
customer viewing. The path must have many changes in direction. This helps
to disorientate customers and provides many opportunities for scaring them.
The largest opened area will be the finale. A cemetery of this type could
be constructed in a fenced in backyard. Sheets(muslin) stretched over 4x8'
1x2" frames would work. Panels made this way provide an additional scare
potential. The translucent quality of sheets works with misdirection. Place
several 4x8' muslin panels together, leading to a fence. An actor's shadow
is projected onto the muslin. The actor's shadow moves as if it is about to
scare the customers. The customers see the shadow and believe they know where
the actor is, they come to the end of the muslin wall section, expecting a
scare and find nothing. The actual scare should come from above and the opposite
side. The shadow can be created by a cut out or shadow puppet with movable
limbs and operated by the air ram technician. Other images can be projected
onto the muslin. The main advantage to a projected image, and even sound,
is that each customer uses his imagination to fill in the blanks. The customer
draws from his own nightmares to scare himself. Jbcorn
Chainsaws
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
Being both an operator and fan of haunts I personally feel that the obligatory
"chainsaw ending scene" is getting a little old. But I must admit
that the chainsaw seems to be an audience pleaser which is why we are doing
a "twist" on the theme this year:
If you live in an old house or ever been in one that was being remodeled you
know that the walls are made of plaster that is held in place by wooden lath
strips. If you removed the plaster only, you would be left with a wall of
lath (thin strips of wood spaced approx. 3/8" apart). Now if you stand
on one side of this wall with the lights out and have someone else stand on
the opposite side, with a light source behind them, you will produce a very
eerie effect. The combination of backlighting and the lath will produce very
strange shadows and hide any distinguishing features. Once the person moves
the lighting will create very exaggerated movement effects.
For our haunt we are going to build the same set up with the sounds of a chainsaw
running and a victim screaming as if they are being hacked up. In reality
there will be no chainsaw (only the sound of one) and only one actor waving
a piece of wood around. The intention is to make the audience think they are
actually witnessing a very gory scene without actually showing anything graphic.
As JB pointed out, having their imaginations produce a mental image of something
that isn't really there.
This will also help when we get children going through since we won't have
to cover up a gory set. We just won't play the sound effects in this situation.
JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
The monster within.
From: Wil <crafters@silcom.com>
The narrow hallway suddenly widens with a door to the right that says "EXIT"
and another door, unmarked, sitting directly in front of the group. The door
is steel with bars. Heavy, 1" dia. steel bars. Bars are framing the door
to the walls and ceiling. Is this the end of the haunt? Or is this just a
chicken exit? The barred door is closed but the knob will easily turn. But
down the hall beyond the door is pitch blackness with nothing there but a
low gurgling throaty growl from far down the hall. How many of your STUDS
open the door and actually finish the tour? -- Wil
Frankenstein
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
> Frankenstein...lab set up..monster on slab...lots of lights etc. all
the lights start flashing..jacobs ladder, glow fluid...and just as it comes
to a peek a blast of C02 at feet level!! <
Here's a Frankenstein scene we did in a charity house a few years ago that
may give you some additional ideas:
The "monster" was on a table that was angled at about a 60 degree
angle to provide an easier viewing for the audience, and allow the monster
to move after he was "brought to life". Behind the table (hidden
from the audience) were some switches that Dr. Frankenstein could use to control
the effects. We used 2 small plasma balls fastened to some wood on a platform
with rolling castors as the "energy source".From the tops of this
we added flexible ducting that went up to the ceiling. This arrange- ment
for the sake of clarity resembled an "H" with the lower portion
of the H being the wooden supports with castors,the upper being the ducting,
and the middle being the plasma balls (of course the H isn't really connected
in the middle,creating an H that was split down the center). The two halves
were placed on both sides of the monster with the plasma balls at neck level.
We also had a skylight (really just a hole in the ceiling) and placed a strobe
above the ceiling. The rest of the set was decorated as a lab. Here's how
the room worked:
Once the audience entered the room Dr. Frankenstein would go into his act
about how he was going to bring his creation to life. He would walk over to
the table with the monster a mention something about his "life's work".
At the same time he would reach behind the table and activate the switch that
would control the strobe and tape deck playing the sound of thunder (didn't
know about color organs then!). This would cause the audience to look up.
The "Dr." would then hit the second switch which would turn on the
plasma balls and some other lab equipment (really just some boxes with colored
lights) as well as the sound effects of equipment "humming". He
would then push the two plasma arrangements together until they touched the
two "electrode bolts" (what's the proper term for these anyway?)
on the neck of the monster. Of course once the plasma balls touched these
all of the electricity appeared to be directed into the monster. After a moment
the monster would spring to life and chase the audience out of the room. It
was a pretty neat effect.
Hope this is clear enough and can give you some ideas. JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
The Dot Room
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
The ultimate in simplicity and effectiveness has got to be the "dot room".
This certainly isn't an original idea of mine, but if you've never done one
let me know. There is a couple of things we did to "refine" it.
After the first couple of shows we had all the kinks worked out. It is also
a real crowd pleaser.
> I know what you mean about spending a lot of time on a room and get no
comments, but a simple room 'wows -em'. sigh.. I have never been able to guess
right, either - if I could, Id be able to take a vacation in late Auggg-ust
instead of feeling the panic setting in... <
I hear ya!
> BTW - if you get a wild hair, try the fake mirror hallway I mentioned
at the Transworld show - just last weekend a guy came up to me at Home Depot
(my other home) to say how much he and his friends loved it.... its simple,
AND it floors 'em <
I'm really trying myself to fit it in this year. We plan our haunt out just
before we go to Transworld to prevent any possible "emotional spending"
sprees. ;) If we don't use it this year it will definitely be in '98's show!
JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Blue Room/Girl To Gorilla etc.
From: milwiron@btprod.com
Here's a repost of Dave Kiihne's excellent short article on the Blue Room
effect. Denny
Dave wrote: For those of you wondering what exactly the Blue Room illusion
is, I would consider it a "cousin" of the Pepper's Ghost illusion
described in detail in the archives and recently mentioned again on the list.
The primary difference in the methods is that Pepper's Ghost uses a stationary
plate of glass which goes across a room at an angle and Blue Room uses a moving
plate that is (approximately) one-third mirrored, one-third clear, and the
middle third is a transition area with vertical strips of mirroring the get
progressively thinner as they get closer to the clear part. ("HUH?!?!")
Let me try to clarify with a performance example. When viewing Pepper's Ghost,
the audience could see a live scene with translucent ghost-like images mixed
in (the ghosts being reflected off the glass from a hidden area to the side
- and/or above/below). If the choreography is tight enough they could see
a live person dance with a ghost (I think Disney shows a ballroom full of
such couples). (Hopefully you're understanding what I mean; I'm trying to
keep this under novel length.) In a Blue Room, the audience could see an empty
room and suddenly a real live person just materializes right there in front
of them. Here the mirrored part would conceal the person at first by reflecting
the side of the room as the back and then the person is revealed as the mirror
is pulled back until the completely clear glass part is in front of the person
- allowing the audience to see him/her Dave Kiihne (daveki@nebfef.com)
For those interested, the Blue Room illusion (a.k.a. Metempsychosis) [was]
performed on "Hidden Secrets of Magic" which [aired] on NBC Saturday,
May 18, [1996,] at 8:00pm EST. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first
time this classic (over 100 years old) illusion has been performed on U.S.
television. For those of you wondering what exactly the Blue Room illusion
is, I would consider it a "cousin" of the Pepper's Ghost illusion
described in detail in the archives and recently mentioned again on the list.
The primary difference in the methods is that Pepper's Ghost uses a stationary
plate of glass which goes across a room at an angle and Blue Room uses a moving
plate that is (approximately) one-third mirrored, one-third clear, and the
middle third is a
transition area with vertical strips of mirroring the get progressively thinner
as they get closer to the clear part. ("HUH?!?!")
Let me try to clarify with a performance example. When viewing Pepper's Ghost,
the audience could see a live scene with translucent ghost-like images mixed
in (the ghosts being reflected off the glass from a hidden area to the side
- and/or above/below). If the choreography is tight enough they could see
a live person dance with a ghost (I think Disney shows a ballroom full of
such couples). (Hopefully you're understanding what I mean; I'm trying to
keep this under novel length.)
In a Blue Room, the audience could see an empty room and suddenly a real live
person just materializes right there in front of them. Here the mirrored part
would conceal the person at first by reflecting the side of the room as the
back and then the person is revealed as the mirror is pulled back until the
completely clear glass part is in front of the person - allowing the audience
to see him/her.
I apologize if this description only confuses you even more. I'm sure things
will be much clearer after watching the show. It will also be interesting
to see the discussions in this group on how well this principle would work
in Halloween displays. (Bigger budget than the "convert the front yard
into a graveyard" type of display. ...That's not a putdown; just a pathetic
attempt at a classification.) Along these lines, I have already begun design
work on an enhancement to the recently-discussed Vampire Illusion ("reflection-less"
wall-mounted mirror) which would allow the Vampire to have a reflection and
then lose it at will. (He/She disappears in the mirror but is still standing
in front of it.) And yes, I realize that that particular ability does not
match perfectly with the classic vampire traits. I don't care; it would look
really cool!! :) I'll try to finish the write-up of the Vampire idea in my
copious free time (ROTFL), and send it to the list so some of the experts
can pick out the flaws and perhaps help me figure out ways to make it more
affordable (and therefore usable by more readers). [Snipped another reminder
about the TV special to avoid confusion.] (Still awake?)
Dave Kiihne (daveki@nebfef.com)
---------------------------------------------------------
BTW, the special did contain a beautiful example of the Blue Room illusion
which illustrated the principle far better than I could describe with mere
words. (and also served to only increase my admiration for the amazing talents
of Jim Steinmeyer) They re-aired the special a few months ago so there may
be hope of seeing it again sometime as a rerun. (I'll pass the air date on
to the list if I find out about any other showings.) BTW, thanks for offering
to post it for me, Denny! Hopefully my giving you the green light and then
sending it myself won't result in a duplicate post. If this wasn't the post
you had in mind, go ahead and forward the other one to the list. This was
the only one I could find talking about the Blue Room. Thanks. Dave - daveki@nebfef.com
Billowing Walls
From: Greg Hope <ghope@coyote.csusm.edu>
Kevan and I just worked out a super cheap and surprisingly effective gag for
our little haunt. Our hats are off to whoever made the post about the leaf
blower and the bag - this inspired the idea.
In our haunt, we have one section of path which is a u-turn and has space
for an effect at the bottom of the U. This point of the circuit is dark (both
ends of the U are curtained), so we plan to create a wall that consists of
a black sheet, folded to hang in pleats, attached to a flat frame. The path
by this wall is 30 inches wide. When the visitor enters this area, we plan
to have an actor behind the "wall" turn on a large fan, then a 75-watt
strobe. The sheet billows out and actually fills the small space. The strobe
animates the movements of the actor and creates a weird appearance on the
billowing sheet. We practiced this effect and sensation of the sheet "inflating"
against yourself is pretty unnerving in the darkness. Imagine a huge auto
airbag (no, not me, silly). I'll throw together a drawing for this soon and
place it on my webpage. Greg
Squeezing Walls
From: Greg Hope <ghope@coyote.csusm.edu>
Apologies to anyone who already thought up this one.
Kevan and I are also considering options for one leg of our haunt in which
we need to slow down the pace of the visitor to permit an actor to catch up.
We hadn't yet use compressed air, so this is among the options we're playing
with:
In a passage that is 30 inches wide, we'll hinge both walls (R & L) at
the end nearest the point of entry. The hinges run vertically, just like a
door. At a point midway down the length of each wall board (4 x 8 ply, long
side parallel to floor), we'll attach pop-up sprinkler heads which are plumbed
to the air supply. The air will be controlled by an actor in an adjacent room,
who will activate it when the visitor is near the entry. The effect is to
close in the walls at the distant end. Placement of the sprinkler heads and
length of "pop" determine how far in the walls close. The sprinkler
heads are retracted by springs, so the walls expand when pressure is relieved.
We'll keep the plumbing short to conserve air and play with the pressure to
minimize shock on the whole contraption. Assuming, of course, that we decide
to use this effect. We're also talking about some arms that reach in, but
that still needs some thinking. Any comments or criticisms? Greg
Tidalwave scene
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
I saw an interesting idea for a room today at the zoo of all places. (Brookfeild
Zoo- this should give Denny another excuse to get out of the shop and on to
the hog ;) Just outside their aquatic display they had a hallway that you
walked through. The set was made up to look like a rocky tunnel and halfway
up, on one side, there was a piece of plexi at about a 45 degree angle that
went to the ceiling. As you walked through, water jets (on the other side
of the plexi) would shoot streams of water directly at you. Both the sound
of the rushing water and the subsequent visual effect of the water "draining"
away was pretty impressive. It looked like it didn't require a lot of water
(the water that was used just kept recycling via a recirculating pump). Even
in broad daylight, it produced a great startle reaction from just about everyone
that walked through. They even had a warning sign just outside for children.
Now if this were done in a haunt with the lights out initially...WOW!! JD
jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Haunted House at Chaffey Jr. College
From: david c schwend <schwendc@sce.com>
The two times I visited the Chaffey haunt, they had a hallway that I can only
describe as "
Two Giant Butt Cheeks
". To move on to the next room, you had to force your way between the
cheeks. (Shades of "LadyHawke" and Felipe the Mouse's remark, "This
is not unlike escaping mother's womb!") I think they were two giant pillows
made from those heavy plastic camping tarps. One cheek was attached to each
side of the hallway, and when inflated they blocked the hallway entirely.
The air source sounded like shopvacs, but I never did actually see them.
Jerry, (If you're the Chaffey connection) do you remember this room? Did they
use shopvacs as the air source? If so, how many shopvacs did they go through
to keep this effect running?
Bottomless pit
. 45 degree mirror under a raised floor with a 4 x 4 hall that went on for
30 feet. (OK so it had a bottom, it looked great and no one would step on
the safety glass that was over the pit.)
First automation I had seen in any HH (but remember this was in the beginning
of my HH obsessions) of
a dog that got up on its feet and chased you
for a few feet! MAN THAT WAS GOOD!
THE BEST SOUND EFFECTS I have heard out side of Disney.
A
poltergeist room
that used a movie storm fan to create
havoc in the room.
BLOOD FLOOD
that roared down the hallway at you.
short hallway, shallow liquid. But it used under the liquid
surface distortions and sound effects to make it seem DEEP! And for the finer
points... EVERY WHERE you looked some small effect or decoration was in operation.
You could go through several times and see stuff you had missed before. NO
SCI FI mixed in with horror. A theme was keep through the HH.Actors that were
auditioned for the parts they played.
First Time I ever heard ROCK music in a HH. It is logical though. Most good
Horror movies use rock music. The first time I have seen "guides"
that FOLLOW rather than LEAD the group. and more .... Jerry
Freddy vs. Jason
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
I have never done movie title charactars before, but this I think, would be
fun.....
You (the customer) enter a scene that resembles a barn like setting, detailed
in post and beams with hale bails. Upon entering the room you notice two strange
things: first there's poor ol' Jason who looks like he's taken a turn for
the worse. His dismembered body lays strewn about, including the decapitated
head still wearing the infamous hockey mask. The second, and more obvious
detail, is a very large glass partition directly across the room from you.
Beyond the glass is a bedroom scene complete in every detail. You are very
confused by this bizarre, seeming out of place set/combo. As you walk further
into the barn, you notice a female character dressed in a nightgown in the
bedroom scene beyond. Suddenly she notices you and rushes to the glass....She
is screaming incoherently...she is crying for help...or...is it a warning?!?!?
Just then the lights in the bedroom begin to dim...and you suddenly realize....your
not looking at glass but rather....a mirror...you begin to notice your own
reflection.. and then suddenly without warning..."FREDDY" COMES
BURSTING OUT OF A HIDDEN PANEL BEHIND YOU!!!! Chasing you out of the room.(To
keep the audience away from the rush of "Freddy" and to keep the
reflective image from being obscured by the customers looking in the mirror,
I would have the "Freddy" character on a small elevated stage)
JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Spiders!
The place that got me was at the exit of a local haunted house in Missouri.
Here's the description. Right after you pass the last monster exhibit you
made a 180 degree turn into total darkness. Using my normal procedures when
this happens I put both hands on the walls and move forward. Only to discover
after a few feet that the hallway appeared to be a dead end. At the same time
I noticed this the lights came on. On the floor, ceiling and walls, were sheets
of plexiglass filled with live tarantulas. As you turn around to leave this
dead end you discover that the hallway has moved and your now facing the door
marked exit. Just as soon as you start for the doors all the lights went out
again and you heard the sound of shattering glass. Then a bunch of feather
boas were dropped from the ceiling, so that they hung face high. This exit
room always gave everyone a good scare. Many people after this room were checking
each others for stray spiders. Who thought up this room you might ask. Well
to be honest I did. Even though I knew about the feather boas falling and
all I must admit it still spooked me when I went through the house. BTW, if
anyone wants to use this idea. Feel free. All I ask is you let me know how
it works out for you.
The Crash Cart
This year we did a pretty good scary spot. As you come to the end of a 50-foot
tunnel (1000 pounds of plaster!), you find yourself standing at the end of
some railroad tracks that run way up into another cave. On cue, an ore cart
comes screaming down the tracks. At first, you know its a gag, so you don't
worry. When it gets up to about 15mph and is only six feet from you, even
the bold try to get out of the way. When it gets about four feet from the
end, a flash goes off. You're blind, and the last thing you saw was this big
ore cart about to hit you. Very effective.
The entire gag is 32-feet long, 11-feet high, and 4-feet wide. The ore cart
weighed 70 pounds. If you want to try this, please e-mail me first. Not for
permission, but for advice. This is a DANGEROUS gag. If it fails ONCE, you've
got dead customers. Dead customers make good props, but it really jacks up
your insurance costs. (: Mark, one time a house I was in used a similar gag,
the "Crash Koaster" coming down a diagonal track. You have a large
metal stop at the bottom end of the track, and you use upstop wheels underneath.
The flash was not used, but that sounds like a neat variation. Sounds like
a really cool gag! (and I HATE spiders!)
Tight Spots
One thing I have wanted to do is hit on the fear of tight space. Have a hall
slim down narrow (and get dark of corps), then use the "dead end"
gag, only as the lights com up (real slow) have the walls, floor, and ceiling
chuck full of dead bodies (behind grate). At the mid-point, (about the time
the figures are seen as bodies), shake the props as several screams and moans
come from all around, then dump the lights! Open the "trap" to let
them out. A few strobes, color gels, and a simple recording, a 10' hall could
be a real scream. Never done it.....yet.. Muahhahaha. I wanted to mount the
hall on the "Hell-o-vator" platform. Humm...
Tight spots
. I'm not claustrophobic (sp??) but a great idea. BTW, I hate spiders as well.
Just thought of a tight squeeze that got my brother to be rather vocal. It
was a U shaped hallway but it got rather narrow as you approached the blind
corner. So you had to go sideways. Right in the middle of the corner was a
sliding panel which the appropriate actor opened and of course he gotcha.
a haunt in Atlanta that had one good scare. While walking through a dimly
lit hall, you soon see what might be something faintly glowing ahead of you.
Reflected light, or just a mark on the wall? Suddenly the mark moves, and
a gruff voice threatens you. Scared the ---- out of me! While on vacation
year before last we went to a place in Gatlinburg Tennesee. I don't remember
the name of the place but it was a haunted house. One of the things they had
on the third floor there was a doorway you stepped through out onto a balcony.
The railing and all looked really old. I am not fond of heights but I stepped
out on this to see what was to see. It was over the entry to the building
and you were looking down on the chandelier (sp?) The scary part was that
when you stepped out there the balcony fell forward a few inches as if it
was falling off the wall. Scared the $--t outta me.
3 forms of fright.
As a refresher:
a. gore scare, gross body parts, anything to cause a revolted reaction.
b. reflex scare, sudden loud noise or light or surprise which causes an instinctive
reaction.
c. psychological scare, this one is hardest to achieve but it works best.
Play on people's fears, paranoia, phobias, natural fears. A dark room with
a loud beating heart can produce as much fright if not more than a gross dead
body at their feet...
Roaches!
Ok here's a low tech room designed to give you the willies... :-)
In a darkened hallway on the walls and ceilings a bunch of roaches are seen.
The hall gets darker as you go farther. you hear the sound of scurrying bugs
and hear the crunch underfoot. Bugs fall from the ceiling on to you. How to
do this you ask? Well here's one way. Put fake roaches on the walls and ceilings.
As the hall gets darker there is captain crunch cereal on the floor for the
crunching sound. drop the captain crunch cereal onto the heads of people as
they walk by. Should give everyone the willies..Not a big scare. Just make
them wonder.
John Dolan's Haunt 1996
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
As promised here is a description of the first 3 rooms in our
haunt.The overall size of our haunted house is approx. 3000 sq. feet and contains
11 "rooms".This year our we experimented with having much larger
rooms than you typically see in your average haunt and had some mixed results.The
house is located in a large auditorium of an old Jr. High school which presents
some unique obstacles since we have a slightly sloped floor (where the seating
used to be) and dealing with safely getting our customers onto and off of
the stage area.
Rm1:The Cemetery
-
this is our largest and most detailed room of the haunt measuring about 24x24.The
patrons walk down the center of the room and are for the most part separated
from the displays by a faux wrought iron fence.The fence consisted of foam
covered pedestals carved to look like brick and rebar welded together to form
the fence. On both sides we have some foam tombstones, trees, a crypt,and
several corpses rising from the grave.On the right is a mausoleum with a door
that a ghoul eventually emerges.Originally we were going to have a corpse
spr- ing to life from a coffin at the end of the room but the device proved
to be unreliable. Sound:winds blowing,crickets chirping,and distant wolves
howling Lighting:blue and purple accents
Rm2:Sewage tunnel
:
this was more of a long wide turning hallway than an actual "room".It
consisted of brick panels arched into a tunnel that led to three other "tunnels".Two
of the tunnels were blocked by bodies of decaying corpses and the other led
to the way out.The tunnel contained several rubber rats and just as you thought
you had escaped one of the corpses came to life. Sound:water dripping,rats
squealing Lighting:blacklight illuminating some fluorescent "graffiti"
on the walls
Rm3:Swamp
-this was our second largest rm. at about 12x20 in size.In this room the patrons
travelled through the center over a metal grated bridge that led to the stage
area.The entire room was covered in plastic plants.Beneath the bridge covering
the ground was a low lying fog.On the right was a bloodied "victim"
screaming for dear life that momentar- illy diverted your attention from the
swamp dragon that came crashing in from the left.As the you leave the room
you enter the mouth of a 15 foot tall skull into......(more to come) Sound:insects,distant
drums beating Lighting:green flood lights beneath the bridge,red lights accenting
the skull
JD's haunt details pt.ll
After traveling through the mouth of the skull,you have now entered the "Death
King's Lair".This consists of 4 chambers of horror and the throne room.The
following is a description of the 4 chambers:
Rm5:The holding pe
n
-in this room you are forced to walk through the center of a cell where there
are victims on either side of you awaiting to be taken to the following torture
rooms.Some are shackled to the wall,one is a cage,one is confined to a straight
jacket,while others a mere skeletons.One victim near the end of the room has
his arms raised above his head and shackled to the wall.He is moaning loudly,begging
for help.Just as you are about to leave the room he suddenly bursts forwarded
while his "arms" are left behind still shackled to the wall.
Rm6: electric chair
-
you enter this room and see a silhouette of a person sitting in a large chair
(due to back lighting).Suddenly the a strobe light comes on and the victim
is electrocuted.
Rm7:The chop shop
-
this room contains dismembered body parts all over,a guillotine,a victim on
a table and an executioner holding an axe.As you enter the room the the executioner
chops off one of the legs of the victim.
The victim then,in a blood curdling scream, raises their dismembered leg above
their head.
Rm8:Discard room
:
in this room is the remains of the previously tortured victims.There are skeletons,corpses,coffins,and
bones everywhere. Suddenly one of the skeletons reaches out to grab you and
as you move to avoid his grasp a ghoul bursts out of a coffin. Lighting rms5-8:red
colored lights in 5&8,strobes in 6&7. Sound rms 5-8:all of these rooms
were covered by the same sound effects which consisted of:screams,the sound
of whips cracking, and volts of electricity (more to come..)
JD's haunt prt.lll
Throne Room
:
after leaving the 4 chambers you travel down a ramp that brings you back down
to the auditorium floor.A dark hallway leads to the throne room.Half of this
room is actually on top of the stage so that the throne and "death king"
are actually looming above you.The room is filled with piles of skulls and
snakes,lots and lots of snakes.Beneath the death king are two guards dressed
in full armor.The walls are painted to look like flames.The thing that sets
this room apart is that the death king wears a hidden self contained voice
amplifier.As your enter the room he curses you for daring to enter his domain
and orders his guards to take you prisoner. Lighting:red floods Sound:sound
of snakes hissing
Zombie Forest
:
somehow you've managed to escape the guards and find yourself in a forest
that seems to go on forever.As you weave thr- ough the trees you notice zombies
approaching from all sides. lighting:strobe sound:wind,wolves howling
Strobe hallway
:this isn't really a room only a winding hallway painted in black and white
checkerboard.This combined with our slanted floor is really disorienting but
more importantly ha- ing two rooms with bright strobes helps set up our last
room which is very dark.
Jack-in-the-Box
:
our last room turned out to be nothing like what we had originally planned
but is a good example of how sometimes the simplest things provide the best
scare.The room is completely black except for fluorescent dots everywhere,and
a box on one side lit only by a black light.Of course your attention is focused
on the box and a hideous clown in vibrant colors springs out but a split second
later 2 actors dressed in all black/dots come out of the walls.We initially
thought this room was too lame to end with but it never failed to send them
screaming out of the house.
End of JD's 1996 haunt...
The Saloon
From: Spook <spook@surfari.net>
You go through a gate and into a graveyard (boot hill). In front of you is
a ramp (smoked and lit from beneath)leading up to the entrance of a saloon
(complete with swinging doors). Piano music, singing, and yelling can be heard.
While the Tour Guide explains the rules, you note a guy hanging from gallows....
then you notice that the gallows are about 20 feet above the ground, and nothing
is holding it up! Its floating! (working with engineers has its advantages).
Up the ramp and into the saloon. Madness. A full sized 30-foot bar is on your
left. All of the bottles and glasses contain a glowing fluid (trade secret).
Dead cowboys lean against the bar and chat with the dead bartender. Dead saloon
girls flirt with the group. A full-sized craps table is surrounded by dead
gamblers, who are quite intent on their game. There are also 4 or 5 smaller
tables being used for card games. At the end of the room, the dead piano player
is banging away and the dead singer is singing on the stage. Its noisy, loud,
and beautiful. The Tour Guide yells, "We're looking for the Evil Brothers!"
On cue, all movement and noise stops (this really gets 'em) and the singer
says, "Not Arty Evil, he's my boyfriend!" Then she hits the Tour
Guide with a breakaway bottle. The room explodes in laughter and yelling (gets
'em again). The music and singing and noise go on as the group is led out.
And that's only the first room. We had the local TV station come out to "Get
a little footage for the late news". They saw this room and put us on
live on the 6:pm news. Hope that gives you a feel for what we do. Each room
is considered a work of art. So, tell me about this 60 degree stuff. Mark
Notes on Actors
From: SkinkSim@aol.com
There's a haunted house project in my area every year that features very impressive
and imaginative set design, sound effects, and expensive audio-animatronic
figures. It wouldn't surprise me if the chief designers haven't already started
working up ideas for the 1997 season. But, having said all that ... this house
always features some of the worst actors and volunteer staff I've ever seen.
You can have the most realistic, fully rendered and atmospheric set ever built
- but one 5 foot tall kid in K-mart mask can make the whole place seem cheesy.
I think anyone who is working on some kind of a haunted project that will
be open to the public for an extended period of time needs to spend as much
time as possible casting, drafting, and directing the volunteer/actor staff.
In the end, they are the ones who can really make or break your "haunt."
As someone has already mentioned, you should probably start with local colleges.
These students will be more responsible, and probably more intimidating than
your average high school student. If you need help with set design or construction,
you might be able to find some willing participants within the theater program.
Also, you might be able to organize some kind of internship program with some
of the students. Imagine getting college credit to work at a haunted house!
If you must rely on the high schools for your man-power, you'll need to approach
your casting with the same eye for detail that you extend to everything else.
This always leads to tough decisions. Do you really want to put that short
kid with the squeaky voice in the Grim Reaper costume? Probably not, but I'm
sure he'd do a great job scaring people if he hid in that little cubby-hole
underneath the stair-well. You can also choose to ... gulp ... PAY people
to act in your house. This option is not available to all groups or all budgets,
but it can save you a lot of grief. For starters, you now KNOW that you will
have people there every night because you are paying them. Volunteers can
come and go as they like. Also, since you are now paying these actors - you
will have a better chance of finding a 6 foot tall, adult man with a booming
voice to wear your Grim Reaper costume.
Before you disregard the idea of payment, let me mention that most actors
are very, very poor. They are acting because it's in their blood, not because
they want to get rich quickly. If you offer them a fairly decent role, with
some room for improv and interpretation, many actors will jump at the chance
for a few nights of fun work. Depending on the size of your haunt, and your
needs for manpower, you might be able to co-ordinate a staff of both paid
and volunteer actors. I don't recommend this for most haunts, mostly because
it can lead to jealousy and bad vibes between the two parties. But, I once
supervised an event in which we needed a nightly staff of about 15 actors
with speaking roles and 30-50 non-speaking actors. When you start working
with casts that big, I think you need to start paying some people or else
you'll have a nervous breakdown. My final piece of advice would be that once
your have your actors in their positions, make sure you have something for
them to do. Give them some sample lines, or simple guidelines. Make sure they
have a place to hide or a specific piece of action. Don't put your actor in
a room and let them figure it out on their own. Oh wait, I just thought of
one more thing: refreshments. That may sound like common sense, but I once
volunteered at a commercial haunt that refused to give the actors any kind
of beverage, cough drop, or candy. After screaming and hollering for 90 minutes,
I was told that we could buy some apple cider outside for a dollar. Needless
to say, I never went back. Never try to cheat your actors and volunteers.
Give them plenty to drink, lots of hard candy for their aching throats (cough
drops smell too strong), and plenty of baby wipes to get rid of the make-up.
Make them feel loved. Once you find a solid, reliable, and energetic cast
of actors and volunteers -- do whatever it takes to keep them coming back
every single night.
Notes on Design
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net>
Soundscapes
:
Soundscapes you ask? Nothing more than mood setting music. Use it to get the
people ready to see your display or attraction. One track we use is a heartbeat
that starts strong and normal and works into a rapid pulse. Believe it or
not, your own heart will begin to mimic the soundtrack. This sets off your
bodies reaction for fear. There are many tapes and soundtracks that can be
used. The best place to sample music is a music store that you can "listen
before you buy". If you have a place like that close, you can get exactly
the tape or CD you like best. Use your music to your advantage, not just to
fill the air :)
Lighting
:
Many of us spend hours and hours building and setting up a scene or display.
But if the lighting is poor, it looks nothing like what you originally intended.
Hardware stores sell those "clamp lights" that can be placed almost
anywhere for about $5.00 each. The same store should sell dimmers that you
can wire into the light. Now, for under $10.00, you have a light you can dim,
and add color gels to! 8"x8" color gels in a wide range of colors
are available from many stores (even local "band" stores) for about
$5.00 for a pack of 6 or so. Use back lighting and odd colors to enhance an
object or shape. Blue/green/yellow/purple & red are a standard and there
is a gel for whatever color you can think of. A movie that has awesome lighting
is MORTAL KOMBAT. The scenes where they are in "Out world" is a
very good example on simple but effective lighting techniques. Lighting can
really spice up a set. Other options are Par cans and Pin spots with color
gels. Pin spots are great for a tight beam (even over long distances) to enhance
a feature or prop.
All the little things
:
Cob Webs, spiders, and the little touches. Even a scribbling on the wall will
be noticed by someone. If you use a "web-thrower", or even pre-fab
webs, look how real spiders work: in corners, up high, along the ground, in
open areas. A neat effect is what I call "Munster webbing"; like
they did on the Munster TV show. It's a bit overkill, but scale it back and
you get the idea. If you get some LED's from Radio Shack, and set them up
as "eyes" in all the dark corners, it will add a creepy effect.
Spanish Moss is great for any woods or swamp scene. Want to make it really
look like a swamp? Drop in a ARMY/NAVY store and pick up some CAMO NETTING
and attach to the ceiling. (
Look under Yahoo:
CAMOUFLAGE NETTING
for the Chicago Army/Navy store on-line. They sell over
the 'Net for a good price.
)
This is only a summary of some things. If you can do some interesting lighting,
you may not need to add "tons of other stuff" to make a set look
cool. Play with Gels, mix some light and play! And by the time "The big
day" arrives, you will poses the knowledge on what you want to do:) Lighting
is something many people think you have to spend big bucks for, but nope!
There are even gels for regular fluorescent fixtures. And it you do have a
high quality prop, you want it to look the best it can. Well, hope this gives
you some ideas :) John
Spider room idea
From: ROGER ALEXANDER
I was laying in bed the other night, and suddenly an idea came to mind for
the haunt this year. It may be an old idea that's been used before or already
suggested, but here goes... In the room that my wife and I do, victims come
in the room from the left and pass diagonally across the room to the exit
on the opposite wall right side (see diagram below). As they come in, they
see a person totally encased in cob webs and cob webs covering the walls,
ceiling, etc (Denny's web shooter here!). They are so interested in this person
predicament that they don't notice behind them in the opposite corner. The
person acts "half alive" as as they get closer, he/she whispers
to look out behind them. They turn around to see one of the 6 ft tarantulas
(Denny or John has them) feasting on another victim also encased in webbing!
Various spiders can be about in the webbing (the kids??). Then, just before
they leave the room, the lights go out and string, feather boas, or whatever
drop from the ceiling making the person think spiders are dropping down to
get them!! I can just here the screaming now! >:) Plays on people's basic
fear of spiders (arachnaphobia).
Like I said, this may be an old idea, but I think it would work great, especially
for how the room is laid out. More ideas to follow...
Re: Spider room idea
From: Peepley@aol.com
we used a spider room, in our past two halloweens. We were able to get a giant,
white nylon, air freight cargo net. With the proper lighting it is perfect,
sturdy, and safe. We had people (spider people) crawling all over it eating
other people wrapped-up in Saran Wrap in the webbing. It is an excellent prop
and lends itself well to building an effective room around it.
"Bleeding Walls"
From: Robert <rbradvica@themall.net>
Hey there fellow ghoulies, I'm looking for some suggestions on how to improve
some effects. The first is our bleeding walls illusion. Here is the way that
we had it...
A room (aprox. 30"x30") that the victims, errr guests walked through
the middle of. The room starts off dimmly lit with some flicker bulbs. It's
decorated with a couple small tables, a bookcase and a frail old woman sitting
in a chair in the corner. When the guests get near the center of the room
a demonic voice screams a warning to the guests. As the warning is played
the lights get dimmer and dimmer until strobe lights flood the room. At the
same time blood starts dripping from the walls and the old lady starts to
scream and shake. She then leaps form her chair at the guests while at the
same time the bookcase is thrown open from behind and several creatures fly
at the guest from behind. Awesome room, A real "pisser."
Literally, (usually not the outcome we are looking for but it sure gets the
monsters an incredible laugh) The parts I'm looking for suggestion with is
with the walls. The way that we built the bleeding walls was by first building
normal walls, top half wallpapered and the bottom painted to look like wood
grain. then we attached plexiglass about a quarter inch away from the front
of the walls sealing around all edges. The walls were drilled and a red liquid
was pumped through running down the wall and deflecting off of some scrap
plexi placed inside so the "blood" didn't just run straight down.
More holes were drilled at the bottom where the liquid was brought back behind
the wall. OK, the main thing that I was hoping for help with is. We need better
blood. We want something that is thick enough that it will run slower down
the wall than water, but will not clog pumps. Well if you can suggest better
pumps that will handle thicker liquid that will work also. Anyway, all help
would be appreciated. Thanks
TV room
From: david c schwend <schwendc@sce.com>
We had a room, two years ago, in the Oneonta Haunted House, that featured
shelves lined with old TV sets. All were showing either old black and white
monster movies, or plain old snow and hash. The audio coming from all those
TV's was pretty disorienting. (We used 6 VCRs running simultaneously, each
feeding several TVs, to create the kaos.) At the San Diego Campus Life "Scream
in the Dark" Haunted Houses, we used old monster movies as entertainment
for the crowds waiting in line. Occasionally, we would turn the sound off
and a very creative individual, Craig McNair Wilson, would provide all the
voices and sound effects instead. The last reel of the "Curse of the
Mummy's Tomb" became "The Kleenex Monster" in 1974, and "The
Son of the Blob" became "Jello 1975" a year later. Craig has
since been involved with several theatre groups, Disney World, and Disney
Imagineering. Last I heard from him he was in the San Francisco area working
as a consultant teaching creative thinking techniques.
TV to Show Scares!
From: Ysengrin Werewolf <ysengrin@airmail.net>
At 05:18 PM 4/5/97 -0800, Kathy wrote:
>Hey Ghouls, Something we were thinking about is putting a large TV in
one of the walls of the haunt and have the video camera set up somewhere else
in the haunt. The scene that the camera would be taping would show on the
other screen....so people couldn't see all that was happening, but just enough
to make them worry about what was coming!! <
Lance was doing that at the old location in Arlington (Verdun-o-Vision), with
the TV being for those waiting outside; it was good for keeping the guests
entertained and just a bit edgy. Just be careful not to show _what_ the scare
is, or enough of the scene for it to be recognized. Hiding the camera in the
ceiling, and pointing backwards to the path, seemed to work best, as did B&W
instead of color. Make sure you have the standard "Your image may be
used . . ." disclaimer on the ticket backs and/or posted. If nothing
else, you get some good highlights footage for the cast party. The new lower-light
cameras will be a lot easier to work with, too. Hope this helps. Ysengrin
Werewolf (aka Silvermane)
Coffin and Bell
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net>
"Working in the lab late one night....." Anyone remember how people
were so fearful of being buried alive that they had bells constructed to the
coffin so that if you "awoke", you could ring the bell for the caretaker
to dig you out? (This was a big fear from the 16-1800's???)
On that thought, imaging yourself walking or standing next to a coffin (with
a bell) on the stand. NO cords, no wires, no ropes out from the casket, and
the coffin is CHAINED shut...As you stand talking to your friends, you hear
the faint sound of a bell. Shocked, you turn to the coffin and examine it.
"It's chained shut" you say to your friends... "No one could
stay in there all night" you try to convince yourself. But yet, after
a moment, it rings again... "It's the wind" you hear people explain.
But after a few tense moments you see the rope being tugged from INSIDE the
coffin...As the bell rings again. And yet you look for cords or an "operator"
but yet there is no one around...You listen close and can hear very faint
scratching...As you listen, it stops....Then, after a moment, is begins once
again, and you can even hear a faint muffled voice, wanting out...As you get
close to let the person out, you wonder "why" it's chained shut.......And
fail to look behind you (:= (:= Sound cool? I have more...Muahahahhaaaaaaaa........
John
Roach Room
From: James Brandt <ofm@tecinfo.com>
Its been a while since I posted, but if I could keep family members away from
the doctors office I would be much better off!!!! We are working on room designs
and I thought I would get some input from the list.
We are going to take 'Morty's Mortuary' to a profitable enterprise this year
(notice the confidence and lack of understanding of what we have decided to
undertake :) We have a population of over 150,000 in a 60 mile radius and
no haunts in a 100 mile radius this...sounds like good odds to us :)
We read a post a while back about the spider room with glass breaking and
the feather boa landing on the people, Its a great idea that will work with
our mortuary theme quite well as follows...
The patrons are led to a room marked 'ROACH ROOM' outside the room they see
an aquarium filled with live roaches...the host Morty explains that this is
the room where the bones are cleaned for medical skeletons and such...in the
room they find a glass wall filled with roaches and a somewhat eaten body...the
lights go out the sound of glass breaking and then styrofoam peanuts are sprinkled
on them. IMHO this scene should work very well...the peanuts will feel like
roaches and even crunch under the feet in the desired way heheheh...but the
question is this...does it break the no touch rule? We have racked our brains
on this and just don't see anyway it could harm people...but you all have
done things like this more often so we ask for your input. BTW...thanks to
the original poster for the idea
One of the All-Time Worst.. Rooms
From: david c schwend <schwendc@sce.com>
My last post got me thinking about that 1976 Haunted House. Part of the Enchanted
Land included a "Western Town". It was really one big, odd shaped
building with a western town facade. When we laid out the crowd flow, we decided
to cut a few doors in falls to connect some internal spaces. As we got out
the tape measures and started knocking on walls, it became apparent that there
was some space missing in the building. When we cut through the walls, even
the park owners were amazed at what we found. Two long mazes with uneven floors,
an upside down room with a toilet on the ceiling and a light fixture in the
middle of the floor, and a room that appeared to have once supported an artificial
fire (like the Disney Pirates).
One of the all-time worst rooms was created that year on the ground floor
of that building. We took six donated king size waterbeds (filled with water)
and buried them in a foot and a half of beach sand (Belmont Amusement Park
was at Mission Beach in San Diego). It was called "The Quick Sand Room"
and our guests had to walk from one end of the room to the other, over the
sand covered waterbeds. By the end of the second night (we were open for 14
that year), all six water beds had burst. We had beach sand tracked everywhere
in Enchanted Land, then we had to get rid of the sand when we were done. Most
of Belmont Park has since been bulldozed. I haven't been back to see. Recently
a civic group raised money and restored the old wooden roller coaster. They
must have new cars, the old ones didn't have any seat belts. If you wanted
to stay in the car, it was your responsibility to tuck your toes under the
pipe by your feet.
One of the all time worst HHs
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
My personal all time worst haunted house was THE HOUSE located in Westminster
some 2 years ago. They charged $10, had a large sign that they were rated
as THE best haunted house in the country by whoever. Inside was a large layout,
dimly lit. Methinks they merely filtered the store fluorescent to real dim
and left them there. The rooms were fairly uninspired, and to top off the
disappointing factor, one of the supervisors was pissed that I was dictating
notes into my pocket tape recorder and went as far to demand my tape, claiming
trade secrets. There was nothing out of the ordinary or noteworthy to THE
HOUSE whatsoever. I have seen more clever backyard haunts. Harry
Re: One of the all time worst His
I can beat that with two local examples.
1) "
3-D Terror Maze
."
I think they called it 3-D because it was not in 2-D. It was inside a large
festival tent with your standard overhead, white lighting and unpainted walls
made of untreated plywood. This "maze" featured one long path with
no real attempt at creating wrong-turns or dead ends. There was one actor,
a young teenager who was carrying his mask in his hands when we entered. He
promptly put it on and started following us around. Eek. The final room consisted
of a white, plastic patio chair in the middle of the hallway with a small
fog machine sitting on it. This was not a charity event. It was "the
area's most terrifying Halloween experience with state-of-the-art special
effects straight from Hollywood!"
2) "
The Undead Band
" room.
A highly arrogant designer of a local house told me his plans for one of the
rooms in a local house. He proudly revealed his plans for building a stage
for a live band that would play loud music to fill the entire place, and they
would all be wearing undead make-up. There would also be a variety of lighting
and sound effects. The final room consisted of a black stage surrounded by
chicken wire (not unlike the stage from "The Blues Brothers" movie.)
Two young girls wearing t-shirts and jeans (no make-up of any kind) strummed
unpainted, cardboard cut-outs of guitars and yelled, "Rock on! Let's
rock! Yeah!" I swear, I am not making that up. Nor am I making up the
fact that the same designer planned on covering a stairwell with tumbling
mats so that the guests could slide thru the dark and into the basement.
What we did for Halloween '96
From: Bob Laviguer <blav@pacbell.net>
We host a Halloween party for 50-60 people on the Saturday before Halloween,
which we use to "bug-test" the haunt. Then we open the whole thing
to the public on Halloween night - we had between 1000-1200 people, and it
was written up in the local paper. Our house layout looks like this, and we
use the entire outside, front and back, and the two-car garage:
We put a facade over the entire front of the garage, made out of three 4'x8'
drywall walls, painted and shingled to look like an old house. The facade
includes a shingled roof which sticks out away from the house about two feet.
Each 4x8 section is free-standing, built with a base which folds up into itself.
All three sections are bolted together. A 4'x4' covered porch is used as an
entry way to the HH, and lets us do some crowd control. Each of the last three
years, we've turned the garage into a single room scene, built out with 4'x8'
dry-wall panels. For Halloween 96, this room was a fully
animated haunted living room
(if anyone wants details, I'd be glad to provide them). This last year, we
turned the garage into a
murder scene
, complete with a crazed escaped felon (live actor),police lights and audio,
overturned furniture, and lots and lots of stage blood. The escaped felon
jumped into the set from the wings, and confronted those walking through the
scene while carrying a severed head and using a trick butcher knife effect.
The audience walked along the front of the scene, which was separated from
the walkway by yellow crime-scene tape. Audience response was good, especially
when our actor acted his craziest.
Stepping out of the garage, our guest were immersed in
gray and black castle walls
, made out of 4'x8' panels again, this time in black fabric painted in white
and gray. These panels were used throughout the entire back of the house,
both on the right and left sides. The entire roof of the traffic pattern was
covered with black plastic, thereby enclosing the guest in a complete experience.
In most places, the walls were 4' or less apart, enhancing a feeling of claustrophobia.
We've had several people who have been here year after year tell us that they
had no clue about where they were in our haunted house, even though they know
our house and yard layouts very well. After stepping out of the back of the
garage, guests were surprised by an
automated hatchet and scythe
, both of which were operated by air cylinders. The hatchet traveled a somewhat
horizontal path at about head level, stopping just short of where the guest
was standing. The scythe pivoted from overhead, and traveled a vertical path.
Both devices were timed, and each had a pin spot shine on their blades when
they were at full travel. A small blast of air accompanied the movement of
the blades, simulating close contact. There were also speakers by each device,
playing sampled screams when the devices were in motion. Turning left after
the blades, our guests came into our
mad scientists lab
. We had four 5gal plastic water bottles sitting on a table about 48"
tall. Three of the bottles had rubber masks w/hair submerged in them. The
masks had balloons filled with water to expand them and keep them under water.
The fourth bottle, which was between the others, had a live head in it. The
actor sat under the table with his head through and inside the bottle (the
bottle actually had most of the back cut out so the actor could breathe).
The actor had a microphone with him which was routed through some serious
delay effects, and came out through a speaker set under the table.12v outdoor
lights with red filters showed on each bottle. In addition, a white light
shone on the bottle with the live actor when the actor pressed a foot switch.
As the guests wandered by looking at the bottles, our actor would scream and
yell and turn on the light. We had bubbling colored water set up on the back
wall, and miscellaneous lab equipment hung up. This is a very effective scene,
one we've done two different years, and always gets a lot of screams.
Our guests then walked through one of the long hallways, surrounded by castle
walls with dim lighting. They passed by a wooden doorway, complete with a
rattling gothic door knocker. Ahead was a small
jail cell
, containing a skeleton hung on the left wall, and covered with cell bars.
Looking through the bars, our guests could see our "living latex"
wall, which had two skulls pushing through. The latex was painted to match
the castle walls, and blended into the background. The skulls alternated pushing
into the latex about 3" inches. With lights shining directly down on
the wall, excellent 3-D shadows were created, and the skulls were visible
from several feet away. Turning right at this jail cell, guests walked onto
a bridge (after first getting a blast of compressed air from above) which
spanned our in-ground jacuzzi. Our 8'x8' jacuzzi was turned into another jail
cell, once again fronted with cell bars, and contained an electric chair with
a dummy we affectionately call "
Herman
". The raised bridge (about 12" above the spa) gave an excellent
separation between the guests and the cell. The electric chair effect contained
an air cylinder which shook Herman, a small fog machine which pumped smoke
out of Herman's head, and a Tesla coil which provided excellent sound effects
and that wonderful smell of electricity.
Turning left again after Herman, our guests descended the ramp, and were enclosed
in dry-wall walls decorated like an interior hallway. The floor was covered
in carpet. Ahead and to the right is a full length mirror surrounded by a
gold frame. A pin spot lit the area directly in front of the mirror. As our
guests walked up to the mirror to inspect their costumes, SURPRISE!. Our actor,
standing behind this
two-way mirror,
activated a switch which turned on the light on his side of the mirror while
dimming the light in front. He was dressed like he arose from the grave, complete
with a shredded suit and peeling makeup. As he switched the light, he acted
as if he was coming through the mirror, and growled/groaned using a microphone
hanging from above. Another terrific effect, many surprised people on this
one! Finally, passing the mirror, our guests made their way through what we
call
the "gauntlet"
, basically the side of our house completely enclosed in black plastic, filled
with fog, with a very intense strobe light pointing right in their faces.
In addition, we had two actors in that area, slapping the deck and shaking
cans, and saying boo. Needless to say, the lack of vision, plus the strobe,
plus the environment, gets many screams.
Overall lighting effects include strobes, 4' blacklights, and par64 cans with
gel filters. We use three fog machines, including two heavy- duty models.
One large one is used to fog the front of the house, and does a very good
job. Some of the animation is done with electric motors, others are done with
air cylinders. All of the sound effects are computer controlled via midi to
a sampler. All of the air cylinders are controlled via midi to a midi-dmx
interface, and then to a 0-10v device controller switching relays. All of
the lighting effects are also controlled via midi to that midi-dmx interface,
and then to dimmer packs.
The entire event is controlled from a laptop PC running Windows95 and a program
I wrote. Midi messages are sent out the parallel port, through a midi interface,
then onto the stuff described above. We all know it's a lot of work, but it
sure is worth it when you can get everyone from a 14 year old boy to a 60
year old woman to scream. I think that's my goal in life :-) We are starting
the preliminary thought process for Halloween '97, and look forward to sharing
some ideas with you all. We are always on the lookout for new and exciting
ideas... Happy Haunting, Bob and Tina
Ideas from previous years
From: Bob Laviguer <blav@pacbell.net>
1.
The striped room
We took half of my garage and enclosed it in 4'x8' black plastic panels which
had 18" wide white butcher paper glued on in horizontal stripes. The
stripes continued from one panel to another throughout the room. We had one
3' entrance, and one 3' exit. A strobe light was pointed across the room from
the exit towards the entrance. Tina sewed a black and white outfit to match
the stripes in the room, one which covered our actor from head to toe. The
actor stood in a corner away from the entrance, and was practically invisible
to the guests as they walked into the room. He could move up right in front
of them without being seen. Very good response, 3.5 screams :)
2.
Old Sawbones
We made a slightly raked table on which placed our victim (a female actor,
dressed in a white smock). One of her legs was bent at the knee, and went
through the table. What was visible of her then, was her whole upper torso,
half of one leg, and all of the other. We stationed another actor behind her,
decked out in mad scientist garb, holding various saws, hatchets, and cleavers.
Where the victim's leg went through the table, we positioned a REAL cow femur,
and then slathered her, the bone, and the doctor in stage blood. As the victim
screamed, the doctor hacked away at her leg bone, only about 2 feet from the
flow of guests. Guests periodically came into contact with bits of flying
bone and blood. The cow bone looks very realistic. Excellent guest reaction,
5 screams.
3.
A living hell
We took the area behind our garage, which at that time contained a small pond,
and built a paper mache'/chicken wire cave. The mouth of the cave stood about
6-7' tall at it's center, and was about 6' across. We spray painted it red
and black. The top of the cave was open, while the back was surrounded with
dark shade cloth. The overall effect looked like a full cave, while just the
mouth was really anything substantial. Just inside the mouth, we installed
an air operated devil. Dressed in red satin with a devil mask, he lunged forward
on a mechanism similar to the ones shown here for the jumping grave. He had
arms made of chicken wire, which bounced and moved as he traveled towards
the guests. The real feat was live flame. We tapped off my barbecue, and built
a natural gas distrubution system using PVC pipe and a fireplace log lighter.
We submersed a section of PVC in the pond. This pipe had a series of holes
drilled in it. Then we set the log lighter just above the water, hidden behind
some rocks. The log lighter was lit all the time. A valve was adjusted to
let the gas out of the submerged pipe in large bubbles. When a bubble reached
the surface of the pond, it was lit from the log lighter, giving the effect
of a burning pond. A major problem was keeping the log lighter lit; too much
natural gas buildup in your backyard is NOT a good thing ;). This effect sounded
much better than it worked, 1 scream.
4.
A talking head
We made a headless dummy, and placed it out along our backyard fence. A couple
of pieces of red lighting gel filter were cut in circles and placed on the
deck to simulate pools of blood (this works great!). We took a styrofoam wig
head, and used clay to create a lifelike man's face. We then set this head
kind of floating in space next to the body. We had previously recorded a short
video loop using a camcorder and vid capture board of one of my friends made
up in "dead" makeup, screaming and shouting. We used a video projector
to project the video loop on the front of the wig head. Sound was pumped out
from behind the head. The effect was a'la Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. It
looked pretty good... All of my techie friends were impressed - the general
public, however, missed the point :(. Could be a good effect, 2 screams.
Happy haunting!
Bob and Tina
'Electrocuting the Patron"
From: Death Lord <crafters@silcom.com>
I've been thinking about this slant that's going on about shocking the haunt
patrons.... While this idea is frightening, I thought perhaps the *thought*
of being electrocuted may be somewhat more diabolical... The small group is
informed by the tour guide that the owner of the haunt is probably actually
crazy, but the haunt is really fun despite this and he works there anyway
cause he needs the money. The tour
continues. The smell of something burning lingers in the passageways as the
tour creeps ever onward. A group of four haunt operators clearly disturbed
about something suddenly rush out of a room just ahead, surrounding something
and growling at each other about something in hushed but snarling tones. You
can see the headsets they're wearing, they're obviously workers there and
not part of the "scare". Why the commotion? The smell of burning
is getting stronger. The guide calms the group saying its nothing. The big
event is not too far ahead now. They've heard about it. It's the "CHAIR".
Man, is it realistic, with smoke and everything. Suddenly one of the operators
dressed in a t-shirt and jeans rushes up to the tour guide and abruptly interrupts
the group's tour to inform the guide of something that greatly distresses
the guide. Nervous and distracted, the guide tries to act calm and complete
the tour but seems almost in a panic. The smell of something burning is growing
stronger yet and there are muffled trashing sounds coming from the room just
ahead that the operators just came out of.
>From out of the darkness of the hall ahead a patron rushes up to the group
very concerned about the two friends he began the tour with who have disappeared.
He is frantic and sweat is covering his forehead. He is nearly shouting at
the tour guide to tell him where his friends are. The guide begins to raise
his voice at the young man telling him to calm down, that they're probably
outside already to which the patron replies in a shout now that he had been
in the lead of the group so that's impossible and spins back around and calls
out for his lost friends while trying the knobs of the doors in the hall.
The tour guide loses his composure, breaking from the group and attempts to
stop the young man from opening the door that is now just ahead of the group.
The guide of course doesn't reach him before he swings the door open, revealing
two teens; a boy in a letterman's jacket and the girl in a skirt, both thrashing
uncontrollably in separate electric chairs with smoke coming from their hands
and heads as the concerned buddy screams in horror at his friends' torture.
Determinedly, the tour guide radios for help and four other operators rush
in to escort the the young man along with the group out of the room and down
the hall while growling and snarling at each other as the next tour comes
into view back down the hall . . . Would this be very effective as opposed
to the actual shocking of the patrons? Wil
The Lagoon
From: david c schwend <schwendc@sce.com>
Death Lord wrote: > I thought perhaps the
> *thought* of being electrocuted may be somewhat more diabolical... >
In the old "Scream in the Dark" they didn't use tour guides. They
just metered groups of people into the house, one after the other. The first
room was usually a dark maze. At the end of the maze, "Screamers"
were inserted into the crowd flow. These were usually young ladies with amazing
lung power. Their job was to keep everyone on edge by reacting, loudly, to
the monsters they encountered.
In 1975, the last room of the San Diego house was the lagoon. In an outdoor
area, a pool was constructed with short panels and an above ground pool liner.
A "dock" was built over one edge of the pool, and a partition wall
overlapped about two feet of the pool at the back. Using potted palms, cattails,
and various other plant material, the pool was disguised and the whole area
was made to look like a swamp. A small rowboat (actually next to the pool)
appeared to be floating in the reeds. Fog (Mole Richardson Fog Makers), lights,
and sound completed the effect.
As the patrons finished their trip through the haunted house, they had to
cross the dock to exit. The swamp beast, in the pool, but under the dock waited
for its prey. When a screamer arrived with a group of people, she would be
relieved the scare was over. While crossing the dock, she would bend down
to get a closer look at something floating in the water ... near an open section
of railing. The swamp beast, with a loud roar, and a lot of splashing' would
rise up, out of the water. He would grab the screamer, pull her screaming
into (and under) the water. The monster and his prey would never surface.
(They both would swim out under the back partition wall.)
The patrons would run screaming from the haunted house. They had been told
the monsters wouldn't touch them, and they weren't to touch the monsters.
Yet one of their group (nobody knew for sure who she was) had become dinner
for the swamp beast. Not everyone got to see this happen, since it only happened
once every 10 minutes or so, but everyone knew it happened to some friend
of some friend that somebody knew.
Human Tram Car Effect (guest mgmt.)
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
Well for starters we didn't have a choice. I wanted a walkthrough haunt but
since we couldn't afford to sprinkler our haunt the F.I. insisted that we
provided "trained guides". "Trained" meant that each guide
knows all the evacuation procedures at every location in the haunt and carries
a flashlight in case of such an emergency (the flashlights are kept hidden
and only come out in emergencies). In our haunt the guides for the most part
are not part of the act. Their role is downplayed as much as possible. They
dress in monk's robes (one size fits all) and their make-up is very simple
(white base with black highlights). They are sort of quasi-grim reapers (without
the scythes) or as we call them "Death". They never say a word (unless
forced to by an emergency) and even their movements are very slow and deliberate.
We even practice having the guides walk together to attain an equal pace.
The idea behind this is to have the customers forget they are with a guide
once they enter. As the customers are about to enter our haunt they are greeted
by the host/hostess. The host is very personable yet stern, and does not wear
a costume. It is this person's job to convey all the rules as well as set
the mood (i.e. telling them they won't make out alive etc.). The groups consist
of 6 patrons to each guide. Aside- I've seen other haunts attempt similar
situations by having each tour group go through with one hand on the person's
shoulder in front of them. This works to some degree but the problems I have
observed are that whenever anyone gets scared the natural reaction seems to
be to pull their hands toward their body. This slows progress somewhat as
the members regroup. Also I don't think some people are very comfortable touching
strangers.
Now here's the beauty of our system............
Instead of touching the person in front of them,all our patrons (are you ready
for this technological marvel?) grab a rope. Yes a very simple section 8 ft.
section of thick braided rope! The guide carries the front of the rope and
each succeeding member of the group grabs a portion. The host/hostess tells
each group that they must hold on to the rope at all times. They are told
if their hands leave the rope, they leave the house. Here are some of the
advantages we have observed with this system: Costs & Security- Since
the tour is guided at all times no patron is ever "unchecked" at
anytime. We saved money since we have replaced paid security positions with
volunteer tour guides. We have one uniformed police officer posted next to
the ticket booth to both protect the cashier and to force everyone entering
our haunt to notice them. If we have a really rowdy group come in our host/hostess
will make the following comment,"You probably noticed the uniformed police
officer as you came in. They are here for a reason. If you get out of line,
you not only will be prosecuted, you will be arrested on the spot." Seems
to work every time. Timing & traffic flow- our guides control the rate
of traffic flow by gently tugging on the rope so the rate is constant. The
groups never stop at anytime. We can put a group through every 45 secs if
we need to. This also helps our actor's timing. Since the rate is fairly constant
their is less chance for an actor to be caught "off guard". "No
Touch Rule" & Vandalism- We have noticed that when our patrons get
scared they tend to grab the rope harder rather than let go. This also eliminates
the customers from touching our actors,sets,props etc. It also helps to prevent
any ill mannered actor from touching a patron since they would have to deal
with a very compact group rather than a lone individual. Yea, but how does
it affect the scare value? The most important question. Well I've had college
fraternity football players come out whimpering so in our case it didn't seem
to hinder the fear factor. We had zero complaints of people being touched
(actors or customers) very little damage to our sets, and no one was forced
to leave early (a few extra warnings now and then was it). So for us this
system worked out really well. I doubt it would work in a very large haunt
but for small to mid-sized haunts we haven't found a better system.
tribute to the horror movie classics
Kathy marcum
...here is a very thin outline of our thoughts and plans so far..will be interested
in the groups thoughts...remember we do this in a tented area in our front
yard...each room is about 9'x9' of scare...
1. front wall
will have movie posters of all the movies that will be represented inside...wolfman,
mummy, etc.
2. ticket booth
with a skeleton that will be giving out tickets.
3. snack bar
where human exchanges ticket for the candy treat or popcorn. this will help
us keep track of how many people.
4. enter
theater
with screen at end of long tunnel showing clips of the old movies. exit at
end...
5. dracula
(dummy) looking into mirror but no reflection... everything else in the room
reflects... not much of a scare...then dark thunder and a window lights up
and you see a bat with glowing red eyes flying in the window towards you
6. creature from the black lagoon
...you enter a room filled with plants, moss, animal noises, fog, and humidity.
you first notice the raptors peeking out from around some plants..your eyes
go there...and out from behind you leaps the creature...
7. mummy
...long hallway, lots of phony mummies and egyptian artifacts...your eyes
draw to the big mummy on the far end of the room...again as they go there
another less noticeable mummy will be the one to attack...right into a snake
that they didn't notice before.
8. Frankenstein
...lab set up..monster on slab...lots of lights etc. all the lights start
flashing..jacobs ladder, glow fluid...and just as it comes to a peek a blast
of C02 at feet level!!
9. werewolf
...the old mirror change...first it will be a man...slowly change to the werewolf..but
all behind bars. Then the lights go dim you hear screaming...and the lights
come on..the bars are empty and torn...and behind you jumps the wolf. He grabs
the guide and rips her throat...the exit opens and you are out.
lots of black lights, strobes to give the feeling you are in the movie itself,
and campy effects to not seem to modern in respect to the old style. More
mental distraction and scare than gore. We tend to average a age group of
around 9 to 11. so this is about right. We will have the graveyard with a
crank ghost and jumping headstones. And little scares along the wait.... OK
dump on me and let me know what you think.. I can take it.. Kathy
The Basement
From: david c schwend <schwendc@sce.com>
We had a room last year we called simply "The Basement". In it,
we piled and stacked all the left over props, and junk, and weird stuff we
had left over and left a wide path through the center. Against the wall, by
the exit, there was a row of filing cabinets. The room was lit by the guides
flash light, spill from the adjacent rooms, and a few dim bulbs tucked under
the piles. As the group entered the room, the guide would apologize for the
mess and explain we just didn't have time to complete the room. In the row
of filing cabinets, two near the door were actually fakes with a hinged top.
They concealed a masked actor and an actor controlled light source. Several
"peep holes" in the front of the "filing cabinets" allowed
the actor to time his scare to the proximity of the guest. When the guest
approached, the actor would quickly rise up, out of the top of the cabinets,
while switching on the light, and growling loudly. Worked every time.
table saw gag...
From: Spookyfx@aol.com
I don't use this kind of thing in my HH, dose not fit my theme.... But I thought
it up on the way home from a tool show and thought one of you may like it.
Once home, I cut some silver cloth into a disk. put it on my table saw and
let it fly! I swear it looks like a real round saw as it is spinning! Now
here is the gag...
I dropped my hand on it and it looked like it was cutting into my hand! I
was wondering if their is a NON conductive liquid that could be SPRAYED out
of the table? It would make a great splatter blood effect! ANY chemists out
there that could suggest a safe liquid (no matter what color) that would not
pose an electrical hazard? Yours ghouly Jerry -
Buried Alive!
From: david c schwend
Here's a bad idea that would have been great if it worked ... Back in 1974,
Campus Life San Diego thought they would like to spice up their graveyard
by having living arms clawing their way up out of the earth. They dug some
graves about 1' deep, 2' wide, and 6' long. Then they cut some plywood slightly
larger than the graves and cut arm holes in the plywood at appropriate locations.
The plan was to equip each actor with a surplus military gas mask, the ones
with the hose attached. The actor would lay down in the grave and the hose
would be threaded up through the base of the tombstone. Then the plywood would
be placed over the grave and covered with loose earth. The actor would extend
his or her arms up through the holes in the plywood, clawing for the sky.
They had a lot of trouble getting volunteers for this job, and those that
gave it a try didn't last longer than a minute or two. The graves were cold
and damp, it's tough breathing through a hose, and everyone is a bit claustrophobic
when it comes to being buried alive. Campus Life changed to open graves and
"The Living Dead" for the rest of that years run.
Caging Patron
From: JB Corn <jbcorn@altinet.net>
... I have two dark room revolving doors, one person at a time, this should
prove to be interesting, and if it does not work I'll rip 'em out.
What about caging patrons and putting them on display for the others I use
see thru bars for walls between patrons or boarded up windows so customers
traveling one way can see customers going another way. Early on in my haunt
career I herded groups into a large coffin type box 4x4x8' it was hinged like
a see saw, they would enter then we rocked them back and forth. For crank
thru we had two boxes going. Two base speakers vibrated the box with the sounds
of dirt being shoveled on top. jbcorn
Re: Man into werewolf...
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
On Thu, 22 May 1997, Bob Laviguer wrote:
> Sometime ago, I read a post here about a scene..:
A group of people walked into a room with a jail cell fronted in bars. Behind
the bars was a man. As the group watched, this man transformed into a werewolf.
Then, the lights went out for a couple of seconds, and when they came back
on, the bars were bent or broken, and the werewolf was behind then crowd.
<
> This sounds like a great effect. I think I wanna do that this year. My
question though, is (to whoever wrote this post): How did you or they do the
man/wolf transformation?<
If memory serves me correct I think the post you are referring to was a "2
stage Peppers Ghost". I think the original poster may have been Nathan
Kahn but I'm not sure. Anyway what you seem to want is your image to change
twice (i.e. first the werewolf transformation and then the broken bars) There
are two ways that I've heard of to do this with a Peppers Ghost illusion and
at least one of those sources was from that post. Here they are:
Option 1
This uses the same basic set up as the classic Peppers Ghost except your original
image has a revolving door. OK for clarity sake lets call the actor in one
scene image A and the werewolf prop or actor image B. The audience initially
sees image A as they walk up. The 2 lights in both image A and B will fade
and light up respectively to provide your "morph". At the complete
conclusion of the morphing,the actor in image A will sneak out a revolving
door. The back of this door will contain your broken cell bars. The lighting
is then reversed and during this time your actor will slip into a werewolf
mask and move to the location that they will scare or you can have a second
actor positioned at a different location.
Option 2
In this scenario you will have to change the setup somewhat. Instead of an
"L" arrangement to your illusion you need to make a "t".
This will give you an image A,B,and a third which we'll call C. The audience
would view down the long leg of the "t" arrangement. Image A would
be straight forward and B and C would be to the sides. This also requires
a third set of lights. So A ( "Man") would morph into B (werewolf)
which would then fade into C (the broken bars).
I've personally never tried this so I can't vouch for the effectiveness or
even if these descriptions are entirely accurate. So if anyone knows if I
described this wrong please correct me. :) JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Re: Carnival Side-show
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
Jdolan, that circus room sounds like fun. I've seen some circus themes in
2 haunted houses, let me describe what I had seen:
Chamber of Horrors, Anaheim, 1990. You exited a dark maze to come out into
a hazy room with a bright green light blinding you. You can see the silhouette
of a large framework to your left. You see a shape come down the framework
then BLAMMO!!!!!! A huge crash freaks you out as you run to the center of
the room. You look back and see the Krash Koaster which is a prop similar
in design to the mine car talked about in here some months back, except for
being on a framework. Two evilly grinning clown are doing flips around you
as circus music blares, and lights chased around the room. In a side tent
you see some animal robots talking and looking pretty creepy. You step in
and out of a low ground ring for a single ring circus in which YOU are the
star. Heading for the exit door to the room, you are chased out by a HUGE
airhorn mounted on the wall.... (Me and Marko had the fun of working this
house, running the Krash Koaster and fixing spiders, but that's another tale)
The other is a whole haunted maze called Carnival of Death which Knotts uses
for the haunt. They use a large circus tent, prolly 3,000 square feet. inside
is a maze in which you go into the various freak shows and rooms, the freaks
chasing you, the knife thrower throwing knives at you and a moldering corpse
on his spinning wheel (the same air trick Indy
uses at Disneyland), the animals caged up which tend to escape near you, a
fortuneteller and other such exhibits.... Harry
Haunted Portraits
From: Martin Tuttle <mtuttle@meitzler.com>
Here's an excellent home-made effect we made last year that worked great for
our haunted house.
Haunted Portraits:
At first, patrons saw a large, dark empty room in the haunted house. There
were large paintings hung on the walls. We used a portrait of Henry VIII for
one and Anne Boleyn for the other (with her severed head tucked 'neath her
arm.) The faces on both portraits started to give off a ghostly glow, came
alive and began to talk to each other (Henry: "Anne...wake up...Wake
Up!!!" Anne: "Oh, not now, Henry... I have a headache!") They
carried on a short banter which gave way to other effects in the haunted house.
It was an excellent intro. We created the effect starting with the "canvas",
a simple rectangular wooden frame about 2.5' x 3.5'. Over this we stretched
and stapled a medium-weight, BLACK, scrim-type fabric with an open mesh. We
backed this up with a thick piece of cardboard, painted black, with a head-sized
hole where the head of the portrait would be painted. We painted the portrait
on this canvas, being careful to keep the paint thinned-down where the "face-hole"
was so as not to plug up the mesh. The result was an "Elvis on black
velvet" type of look. We set these canvases in larger, ornate frames
that we made from scrap wood. Where the painting was to be hung, we created
a hole in the wall and inset a small B&W television, standing on it's
side, which was hooked up to a VCR. It played a recording of an actor, shrouded
in black and shot against a black background. Using the fade-in and -out capabilities
of the video camera, and adjusting the contrast and brightness on the TV set,
we were able to create the effect of the ghostly face coming alive and then
fading away.
I suppose you could also create a similar effect using video projectors, but
being on a limited budget (read, "none"), this used what was already
available and cost less than ten bucks for the fabric. I believe this could
also be very effective using live video, and have the paintings talking directly
to the audience.
I'm thinking of using the same technique to animate ghoulish faces and skulls
on cemetery tombstones and having them talk.
If anyone's interested in seeing a picture, I'll see if I can scrounge one
up.
-MJT
>Cool portrait idea MJT! I'd like to try it. Did I understand you to say
>that you hand painted the pictures on the fabric? I hope I'm wrong 'cause
>I'm just about the worst artist around. Please tell me there is hope for
my >pictures to look like something other than the unrecognizable blobs
that ate >Pittsburgh. > >Barb >Undead Productions
You understood it right. But, not to worry... the artistic talent isn't what
makes the effect work. The audience recognizes that there are paintings on
a wall, and that's all; they won't critique your brushstrokes. What surprises
them is the appearance of a talking head. We copied images of historical portraits
from an encyclopedia. I'll have some pix on my website soon so you can take
a look at how we did it. Hmmm... the blob that ate Pittsburgh... that could
work, too! -MJT
>Did you use color tvs or B&W?
Out of availability, we actually used one of each. But we "turned off"
the color on that set because we felt that a B&W image gave a more "ghostly"
look to the paintings. An important note... "fine tuning" was necessary
after we placed the TV's behind the paintings. We used the contrast and brightness
controls on each set to make sure the darkest-darks were completely black,
and the brightest-brights were not so light as to be "blown-out".
>What was the dialogue between the two >portraits anyway?
We used portraits of Henry VIII and former wife Anne Boleyn for our subjects.
As you saw from the pictures, Anne had her severed head appropriately tucked
beneath her arm! These two characters were used to introduce the events that
were to follow. It was a spirited exchange:
Henry: Anne... Anne Boleyn... wake up... WAKE UP!!!
Anne: Oh, Henry... not now! I have a headache!
Henry: No, no, Anne! There are strangers... intruders in our HOME!
Anne: Intruders! We MUST be protected! We must call on our Master to save
us!
Henry: Yes.. our Master! Only He can save us now!
Both: Master! Save Us! Protect us from these intruders! Help us! Save Us!
Master! Master!!!
And that's about it. The portraits summoned the House's master from it's coffin
to protect the home from the "intruders"... the audience, perhaps?
As they say in the books, though, your own effectiveness "is limited
only by your creativity!" As I suggested on the original thread, I could
see this technique being used very effectively in "real-time" with
actors' heads actually talking to the patrons as they are viewing the scene.
Thanks, again, for your kind comments. Check in to our website again soon
at http://home.earthlink.net/~squarepeg/Halloween -MJT
Landing a Flying Saucer?
From: Martin Tuttle <mtuttle@meitzler.com>
Yes... you read it right. (If you're going to dream, dream BIG!) I want to
land a flying saucer in my front yard. This is to be a recreation of the saucer
landing from "The Day the Earth Stood Still," complete with Gort
the Robot and Patricia Neal commanding "Klaatu Barada Nikto." If
it's already there, and in the dark, I guess I could live with just bringing
up the lights, letting loose with CO2, and so on... But wouldn't it be nice
to actually LAND the spacecraft?
What WOULDN'T work:
a large overhead device (cherry-picker, crane, etc.) actually lowering a full
size model to the ground
What MIGHT work:
a backdrop hinged near the bottom that "folds over" revealing the
reverse side - the exterior hull of the spaceship some type of lighting effect
that simulates the ship landing, even though the full-size mock-up is already
on the ground and doesn't actually move
Any thoughts/suggestions much appreciated. But please keep in mind this isn't
a "professional" haunt... this is only our yearly front yard extravaganza
produced by a few wacky (but gifted, yet humble <g>) amateurs willing
to go to extremes. That translates to a couple of hundred bucks, topsThanks,
in advance.
> I want to land a flying saucer in my front yard. Gee, Martin, I don't
mean to scare you, but you and I think a *lot* alike! I've been toying with
the same idea. Right now I'm pondering just having the UFO hover overhead
(made from a weather balloon with lights) and "materializing" the
aliens below via Pepper's Ghost. I'd love to hear any more ideas along this
line. Regards, DJ, who's pretty well scrapped the idea of building a comet
to float in front of her UFO
Costume Talk (various rooms)
From: DebnBill <DebnBill@concentric.net>
Boy, have I made a lot of bizarre outfits over the years! Here are some of
my favorites . . .
I work for a museum and I created "The Haunted Museum" in 1990 which
has continued to run as a fund raiser for our volunteer archaeology team.
We took a "scary southwest" approach to our venue so that the actors
would mesh with our exhibit, which covers prehistory through the 1920s. Some
of the more startling critters I made were giant foam cycads (prehistoric
palm tree costumes) that stood shock still in a corner and leapt out at unsuspecting
stragglers. I also made a humorous foam saguaro cactus that stood in the lobby
gasping "Water ... water!" I did costumes for cavemen, mutant dinosaurs,
mad monks, undead cowboys and outlaws, crazy general store proprietors and
I can't remember what else. Outside, we had a "boot hill" with a
zombie actor popping out of the proverbial pine box, and a haunted one-room
school house. The school house was one of the best shockers in the show. People
entered the structure, which has a vestibule backed by a glass window through
which they could see the classroom, filled with cobwebbed kid mannequins posed
at their desks. At the front of the room, an actress was done up as the zombie
teacher. She would turn toward the glass, and slowly approach. Before she
got all the way to the glass, two zombie children hiding right next to the
glass would jump up and scream! This always got the crowd since their attention
was focused on the teacher . . . Except for animal costumes, I think I've
made about all the "theme" costumes there are over the years. Unless
the dinosaur skeleton costume I made years back counts as an animal. I constructed
a soft sculpture T-Rex skeleton which encased my body (which was completely
blacked out by a black bodysuit and hood). The ribs wrapped around my chest
and the arms and legs strapped to mine, with the spine running down my back
and the tail bones sticking out behind. It looked really cool in the dark.
I really need ideas for this year. Anybody on this list into fiberglass casting?
I took a workshop but can't think of a neat introductory project to practice
on. Debora DebnBill@concentric.net
Re: 55 Gal. Drum
From:Ysengrin Werewolf
>Has anyone tried an over-turned 55 gal. drum spilling toxic waste into
their grave yard?
<gryn> We've got several drums spilling into one corner of our pond/swamp
- something we put in last year. Lots of fluorescent painted expanding foam
and hidden black lights, with some pop strobes for good measure. We're adding
a couple of pop-up scares to it this year. Ysengrin Werewolf (aka Silvermane)
Float some off that living wall (is it) latex just under the surface. It's
painted toxic colors to blend with the spill and the water. Suddenly, it seems
to coalesce into a creature of some sort that rises from the muck. A Pop-up
under the material does the trick. I don't know if it can be done, but it
sure looks cool in my head! John Hayweird, CA
One dye that works pretty well is Fluorescein. This is often
available from some plumbing suppliers, possibly even your local flood control
or water district, as it is commonly used to trace leaks or streams of water.
It glows sort of an orangy-red. If I remember correctly, the crystals will
dissolve in ethyl (denatured) alcohol, and than can be diluted in large amounts
of water... Dave
Try purchasing some Black-Light or Glow-In-The-Dark Paint that is TOTALLY
latex based or H2O soluble (sp??). Take a 5-gallon buckett, fill it with warm
water, add a cup or 2 of water soluble (sp?) paint and mix till totally dissolved.
Pour this into your pond or whatever and then just stir it around. This should
work just fine and would be a lot cheaper than dyes and a lot less permanent.
If you have problems with settling (you shouldn't...) pick up a cheap 20$
(is that cheap?) recirculating, immersible water pump and throw it into the
bottom of your pond, sink it with a rock and plug it in, it will produce enough
currents to keep the paint from separating form the water. Hope this helps..
Fibrotic p.s.; worked PERFECTLY and eerily for me! (stick your hand in, pull
it out, and your hand glows too!!)
...It would be cool to have a pond with a drum spilling out something and
the whole thing glowing.
That's the effect that we were trying for - using the red Wildfire dye. We
never could get enough UV on the water to overcome the ambient light except
within about 10' of the fixtures, and it just looked like a red pool light
*under* the water even then. This year I'm thinking about recirculating the
water through some of the drums with it leaking out, and concentrating the
UV around that so you can see the water glow as it dribbles, and letting the
rest of the swamp just stay under normal lights. FYI, the Wildfire dye is
also fairly toxic (according to their info sheets). Also FYI, the IBC code
just went out. If you wanted a copy and didn't get one, let me know (again).
Ysengrin Werewolf (aka Silvermane)
Build an "eruption"drum...(Like the PIT in AOD). Have a reservoir
tank, pressurize it, and every now and then open the valve to cough up a plume
of water... If I had the room, you bet yer spooky-patooty I'd go for it :)
John
Take a 1"-2" PVC pipe and cut it so it will set 1/2" below
the water-level, this will act as an auto-filler because the water will drain
into it. (Think of it as a big snorkel...) On the bottom of this pipe, attach
your air-line...From the air-line, this will connect to a manual-lever or
solenoid valve (not a washing machine valve). The pressure you will need will
be 60-120+ PSI, I have not build this mind you, only an idea...From the valve,
that will go to a holding tank...Dump the valve, and you purge the loaded
pipe like a <SNORKEL>. It's more in air VOLUME than pressure. The more
air you can dump into the pipe, the better. Using the "tank" idea:
The outlet water "jet" line will run into the tank on the bottom...Pressurize
the tank (the air goes to the top, pushing down) and when the line is opened
up, water rushes out...Just like a H20 extinguisher. This uses more PRESSURE
than VOLUME (as in the 1st note). ANOTHER IDEA: On the pipe, leave the bottom
OPEN, and run the line up through the bottom about 6" up...The idea here
is the venturi. The air pushes the water up and out, and creates a suction
pulling more water, etc....This would work great for a "boiling-water"
gag... I bet if you look around, pool-pumps are out there...I'm not sure of
the GPM rate, but for a fountain, Toxic-water fall, that might be a way to
go:) I donno, it's a thought :) I always like the "Cannon-strikes"
on the POTC ride...But I think they use the reverse of this...A plate just
under the surface that's pulled UNDER very quickly....The end-result is a
big "ker-plunk" in the water, as the water rushes in to fill the
void....That ride is the tops...(It's cool in there too :) Arrgh, I'm thinking
of a gnarly lagoon now...Pirates of the toxic-carrion! "Arr matey, bring
me back my PCP's! Yo-ho-ho and a cargo of glowing drums. :) Just thinking
(it's dangerous, I know.) John
grave!!
From: Michael Marcrum <mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com>
Hi Gang, I was just watching "Dark Shadows" (love that show, saw
it as a kid after school) and they have a guy coming out of the grave thing
going. Of course they panned in for a closeup of the moving grave dirt, and
you could see what they did. Cloth covered with dirt and leaves and debris.
Underneath a object swiping across from bottom to top, in the same direction
every time and exact same speed. As in the arm of our crank ghost. So they
must have a little motor with a arm on it and a ball at the end. It goes around
and pushes up on the grave top. It looks really good. Might have to work on
that to add to the graveyard this year. Now that I have seen it and described
it the best I can, does anyone want to work it out and make it sound usable?
Thanks Kathy
Seance Ideas
Fiber, when I was about 15 or so, I put on a seance for a friend in college
( you don't WANT to task how young I was when I started college, but it sucked
:( anyhoo, we pulled this one in his garage. I set up two stereo systems and
all sorts of mechanical fun and games. The table had a vibrator strapped underneath
which I set to a power strip. The cord went under Larry;'s chair to a power
strip in back. I had a strobe light and various tapes ready for the stereo
system. I had strings attached to the rakes and brooms and utensils on the
walls, not strings but fishing line. I had a small beer can filled with fake
blood which I attached a piece of black tape connected to a fishing wire,
so I could pull it to begin dripping blood. I had about 4 bells also hooked
up in the rafters, so I could ring it from my hiding place. The piece de resistance
was a small plastic skull with hair, like a shrunken head I had for years.
I put in LED lights and a battery, and had it come down on a fishing wire
as well. Larry invited his friends over and for 2 hours proceeded to get them
good and drunk. I hung out in my secret hiding place reading playboy magazines
until he was ready to let them in. For a while., nothing would happen, then
I started this wierd shit sound, some thunder with a flash from the strobe
light or two. That freaked them out fast. The blood really didn't hit them
so much, since it was sort of dark in there. The garden rakes flying off the
walls was great fun, also getting a good major effect. The skull coming down
from the ceiling and staring at each of them in turn did the trick, sending
them running for the door. One of them pissed on his seat, he was scared.
I had to smell that for a while, because I kept on having fun and after they
shut the door in a panic, I was ringing the bells and doing some sound effects
and flashes while they were outside! Afterwards, I got introduced to them
and showed them all how it was done. Was a real fun night.... Harry
Southwestern Michigan Haunt
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 22:04:01 -0400
From: Chris Chandler <spawn@net-link.net>
Hello All
Just thought I'd relay a report on a haunt my wife and I attended the other
evening, and try to describe some of the effects we found. It was housed in
an old school building (abandoned for some years) and is advertised as having
80+ routes through it. They also boast of keeping track of wetted pants...
This was a BIG operation. When we arrived we were pulled off a mile before
our objective and made to park... from there we were taken on a shuttle bus
to the haunt. It was $4.50 for the first trip through (per person) and $2.00
for repeat trips on the same night. On the way in they actually used hand-held
metal detectors to make sure no one was carrying weapons (says a lot about
the world today, eh?).
The overall ambience was great, with very very narrow corridors (no more than
1.5' wide, and except for the scene areas, completely dark and very twisty.
One thing I did notice was that there were no scenes that I came across where
they used fog of any type... They also had several trick floors. Some rocked
side to side, others slid back and forth, and still others went up and down
as you walked on them. Really great when it's so dark you can't see your hand
even with your index finger toughing your nose! Anyway, on to the effects...
these aren't in any particular order, and I've given them names of my own.
If some of these already have established names that I haven't caught in my
month among you fellow loonys, let me know!
Elevator from Hell
- This effect was simple but startling. They lead you into an elevator (constructed
of plywood), with "up" and "down" buttons, and some of
the larger sylvania type indicator lamps to indicate floors. The guide then
shuts you in and tells you to go to the third floor. You press the button,
and elevator noises start, and the indicators start going up... when they
hit three, the floor drops out from under you! Granted it was only three -
five inches... but it was a great effect! (Anyone know how they could have
dropped the floor so fast?)
Washing Machine from Hell
- This was a washing machine and dryer set side by side. Hanging out of the
dryer was a bloody fake hand in a flannel shirt. As you walk by (watching
the dryer of course), the washing machine rises about 3' off the floor and
comes crashing back down. (And I do mean CRASHING!!!)
Guillotine Me
- An actor lays under one of those pendulum-like guillotines behind a plexiglass
wall. As you stop to look, three similar blades come crashing down directly
against the plexiglas.
Shrinking Room
- This was basically a room with a sloping ceiling painted with black and
white stripes running the length of the room and lit by a strobe. It really
looked to be the same height all the way through. I actually fell for it and
almost hit my head...
Baby Smash
- This was a scene with several dead babies in a nursery (behind plexiglas).
As you walked by, the middle baby leaped up and smashed against the plexiglas
(ala GraveJumper).
Sleeping Corpse
- This one really caught us... They had a very realistic looking rotting/cobwebby
skeleton stirring on a bed (couldn't see the machinery) and puffs of air blowing
up the bed skirt in front of a mirrored fireplace. We were halfway through
the room when the mirror flew up and a fellow in a skeleton suit gave my wife
the scare of a lifetime!
Two-by-Four Forest
- This was a baffler... we were fed into a maze of what seemed to be two by
fours lit by stobe... however, the black between the 2x4s was not always open!
Had a hell of a time getting through there!
Smash-Em
- We were led into a room and told that we had to stay to the right, as there
was a huge chasm to the left. The room was completely dark... As we got to
the halfway point the wall to our left suddleny started to push us out into
the "chasm". Great effect!
Cujo
- A simple animatronic with a dogs head mounted on it that came out of a doghouse
with "Cujo" painted on it.
Dinosaur Dinner
- A HUGE dinasaur head mounted on some sort of air ram that would come out
towards you with Jurassic Park type roars playing at high decibel levels.
This one I found to be pretty lame actually.
When you finally stumble out, you run into the crazed "chainsaw massacre"
people, weilding real chainsaws! (Of course the chains were removed and had
some sort of "chain sound" noisemakers attached, but in the dark,
you couldn't tell that). That about covers it. they had some static, "gross"
displays, but nothing that I really felt worth mentioning. All in all we had
a great time. And as a bonus, all the proceeds from this haunt go to charity.
According to their brochure, they had 40,000 visitors last year, so that should
be a great help to some charities. Hope I didn't bore you all to death! Comments
welcome! Chills, Spawn
Re: Birch Forest
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 03:33:12 -0500
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net
Here's our example:
In a room (14'x16") we took 10' sections of: 2", 3" and 4"
white PVC pipe. Our floors are wood so a 1.5" eye-bolt was ran into the
floor in "about" the middle of the pipe....(Note: The pipes are
situated against the rafters at the top.) A 1/2" nylon rope was tied
to the eye-bolt ran up through the pipe, then the pipe was tied to the rafter.
(Make it strong.)
After the pipes were arranged, (random as a real forest). White strips were
painted against BLACK walls, and the occasional "limb". After all
was said and done, a 3" brush with VERY LITTLE black paint on it was
"slapped" (literally) against the pipes. The same was done to the
painted "trees" on the wall. The "thick to fade" gave
the look of bark.
All that done, Camo-netting was hung just below the ceiling level for the
"canopy". A strobe placed above the "enter" hall pointing
"into" the forrest gives a VERY wild look....It's a small room,
but people get lost!
BTW: I took a couple of the 4" pipes and ripped them with a skill-saw
(keep the blade as shallow as possible. And placed the "half" sections
against the wall...It adds some depth.
Any-who, that's how we did it....
Total Cost: $110.00 +/-
(6) 4" pipe
(10) 3" pipe
(5) 2" pipe
$45.00
200' rope= $10.00
(20) eye-bolts= $5.00
Camo net= 250 sqft (give/take) $50.00
Time: 4 hours.
John
Re: Haunted House Length
Hi Ray,
The length of time spent in a show varies so greatly between patron, that
I abandoned it as a measurement long ago! I now measure one floor plan against
another by linear feet of travel. As our house grew in size we did exit polling,
and noticed a drastic decrease in the "Make it longer" suggestions
when we hit 13 rooms (how appropriate). The largest show I ever sold was a
20 room, which had 625 linear feet (in a 40x100 tent). Nightscares in Agora
Hills is an example of that.
20 actual minutes in a walk through is a good size show, but bigger is always
better.
I hope that helps! Leonard
Re: Haunted House Length
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 21:49:16 -0400
From: leonard.pickel@mci2000.com
To: cliff.martin@saralee.net
Hi Cliff,
It has been a long time since we did this, and I don't recall specifics. We
only exit polled, and on the creative end we asked about the show's, entertainment
value, length, price, and scare factor. We allowed them to pick below average,
average, above average. Then the preverbal essay question, "How could
we make it better?"
We seemed to get a lot of "make it longer" comments in this section
until we hit 13 rooms. At that point there was a blaring decrease in that
particular comment.
This information was from the Dallas market around 1987, and may not hold
up today. Modern shows can be 40 rooms plus. I think Silo-X advertises "longer
that six football fields." Which is about 1,800 linear feet, or in one
of my shows, about a 55 room house.
Hope that helps! Leonard
Re: Haunted Prison
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 16:28:12 -0400
From: Henault_Gary@tmac.com
For the escape I would try to have some actors portraying prisoners stage
a breakout/riot and then whoever is taking the visitors through tell them
to make a run for it or have them guided out because there are all types of
criminals here i.e. Chainsaw murderers, Slashers/Vampires/Mad Scientist and
perhaps as they make their way out they encounter some of these inmates.
Haunted Prison
Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet
Date: 9/2/97 3:21 PM
I recently subscribed to the list and have been getting a lot of good ideas.
It's nice to know I'm not the only person in the world who enjoys Halloween
so much that they are thinking about it year round.
I am the chairman for our a Jaycee haunted house this year and with all the
great ideas I've been getting here and in the archives this should be the
best season yet. This year we are doing a Haunted Prison. The first scene
will of a crime scene with a chaulk outline of a body. From there the visitors
become the suspects of the murder: They will be booked, take part of a line-up,
go through a trial and then sentenced to the Haunted Prison. There they will
greeted by the warden and tour the prison, complete with themess hall, infirmary,
torture chamber, and execution hall (to name a few of the scenes). This will
all end with the visitors finally escaping from the prison. If anybody has
any other ideas to add to this they would be greatly appreciated. Denise
Re:
Haunted Prison
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 20:22:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pk361@aol.com
How about a laboratory where they can experiment on the death row inmates
for the benefit man kind? (or am I watching too many late, late late show
movies?) Pam
Re: Roving Rat
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 1997 20:55:08 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
On Tue, 2 Sep 1997, Brian D. Oberquell wrote:
> Another option (though it would make for one *big* rat) would be to use
an RC vehicle and build your rat on the chassis. I used this method once for
a mobile rabbit sitting in a bathtub (think hard and you'll get the joke...).
The main disadvantages to this method are that you need a "live"
operator who has line of sight...
> > Brian
Hey Brian,
I onced "toyed" with the idea of doing a "rat room" using
a similar set-up. They use to sell toy cars that had pre-progammed patterns
(such as ovals and figure "8's"). The idea would be to have people
walk through a room with a very slow strobe that had several "rats"
scurrying around on their own. The slow strobe would prevent the patrons from
noticing the constant patterns. Of course you would have to build some sort
of barrier along the travel path to prevent the customers from stepping on
the rats. This never went past the "idea" stage however... Does
anyone know if they still make these toy cars? JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Ski lift haunt
was Re: Who's there?
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 1997 01:07:50 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
On Tue, 2 Sep 1997 Henault_Gary@tmac.com wrote:
> The trails beneath the chair will be filled with Haunted scenes with
possible scenes also in the trees that line the trails. If any one has any
type of ideas it would always be appreciated. Thanks for your interest. >
Gary H
Hey Gary,
Sounds like a unique haunt! Here's one idea to run past you...How about a
medieval set. Lots of looneys running around and have a catapult. The catapult
would launch a foam rubber "mace ball" with a safety cord attatched.
Aim it at the chairs overhead and make the safety cord
just long enough that it stops the mace ball just as it is about to hit the
seated victims. An alternative could be some kind of bungee lofted prop along
the same lines.
Just an idea. JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 01:42:31 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
This haunt does pose some unique challenges... What I would try to do is exaggerate
the height factor by "scaling". Say you built a scaled down version
of a volcano. Using some framing, chicken wire, burlap, and hydrocal or dryvit
you create the basic "volcano". Then add some red floodlights to
the interior and a fog machine. Have the people pass right over the top. If
your more ambitious, why not try to have an "Axworthy" inspired
air cannon too. Have a smoke ring "shoot" out of the center of the
volcano as customers passed over it. Sort of along similar lines, you could
try building a scaled down version of a "city scene". Maybe a large
"Godzilla" type prop with fog piped out his snout. The fog shoots
out at a particular building and the building "catches fire" (using
some creative lighting techniques).
The idea here is to use the aerial views to your advantage. Man, with the
right budget this would be kind of fun to build for. This is certainly a unique
haunt, I want to go! :) Hope this helps, JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Invisable Board Monster
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 00:02:47 -0400
From: leonard.pickel@mci2000.com
OK Ryan,
I don't know what your layout is, but I have a great gag that I did once!
It worked well, but for a high throughput commercial haunt, not as well as
I would have liked! Picture if you will, a long narrow deck (8' wide), the
deck is planked with 2x4s across the path of travel. each of these boards
is hinged near the center, teeter tauter (SP?) fashion. A wall is suspended
down the length of the deck over the hinge, to create a separate backstage,
and a patron areas.
The action is this: Patrons walk along the deck on one side of the "teeter"
boards, at the end of the deck, they hear a loud noise behind them, and turn
to see what appears to be something under the boards coming at them! This
is accomplished by rolling a wheel on the backstage "tauter" side
of the boards! Simple but effective! Leonard Pickel leonard.pickel@mci2000.com
copyright 1997, all rights reserved.
The Cotton Mill
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 1997 9:26 PM
From: Ryan C <ccnet@ioc.net>
I am working on designing this years haunt and am having some trouble coming
up with ideas on what to place in it. Here is the basic story
idea and theme: The scene is an antebellum Cotton Mill (yes in the south),
obviously pre-industrial revolution. Our main scene will be on the back patio.
This will be a dock/bayou type scene w/ scaffolding, and we will
be placing plastic on the grass to make it look like water. (We've already
done tests with the plastic and it looks really good.) There will be boxes
and bails of cotton everywhere and we will be converting the basketball hoop
into a wooden crane. There is a swing set that will be convertedinto a dry
dock for a rubber raft that will be covered by canvas. (to hide the fact that
it is rubber, and let people use their imagination and make them think it
is wood.) The first room will be a storage type room with crates and bails
of cotton also, the walls will be made of fence wood and canvas, lighting
will probably be Malibu lights and 15 watt incandescent bulbs. We now need
ideas for 3 rooms that are between this first storage room and the dock. The
story is based on something like the following: The manager/owner of the mill
was a swindler and conned people out of money. Before his death he hid his
immense wealth in the mill somewhere.
Now the people who lost their money to the owner are now haunting the mill
to protect THEIR money. A grave digger type person will introduce this story
while the people are waiting to get in and then a tour guide will lead the
guests through the mill. We are also considering "plants" in the
group to enhance the experience.
Any ideas for those 3 rooms would be really great, or any ideas for misc.
special effects, story etc. would be more than wonderful. Thanks, and hope
you got some ideas for your haunt. (BTW I'm planning on working on a web page,
w/ pics, to better explain our ideas.)
Thanks, Ryan C
Pantera Haunted House
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 12:02:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Orniske@aol.com
Here's the review from last year, for you and other new members to see:
New Orleans Haunt Report #2
The House Of Shock
("13 Nights of Shock!")
"Underneath the Huey Long
Bridge on River Road, East Bank Side"
http://www.umd.umich.edu/~alfieii/hos/
(504) 734-SHOCK
Hours of Operation: "8 PM - Til" October 11,12,13,18,19,20,25-31.
Admission: $5.00
Here's a Halloween haunt that's rather different. The operators have only
been running this attraction for the public since 1994, but they've a better
sense of unity and production than the well-known local houses. They aren't
a charity, yet neither are they 'professional,' at least in the sense most
Halloween-L list members would use that term. They describe themselves as
'a group of friends' in their glossy program book, which may be purchased
for $3, along with first-rate silk-screened t-shirts ($10) and suitable-for-framing
souvenir posters ($6, also available in a version signed by the artist.) They
even have a mythology. On the program book cover, in classic EC Comics style,
are pictured their answers to the Vault Keeper, Crypt Keeper, and Old Witch:
"The Evangelist," "Eihwas," and "Lord Belial."
And yes, you can tell from the names that the Bible Belt is in love with this
outfit, which actually has a fan club that you can join for $35 a year (membership
includes a t-shirt, calendar, newsletter, and other perks.) As many people
would say, "Only in New Orleans!" But wait a minute - this is in
conservative Jefferson Parish, in the Metairie of David Duke!
Want to know the gory details, and learn how to get to the attraction? Visit
the website listed above for pictures and more.
***
I drove my wife's white pickup to the new location of this haunt, which turned
out to be in an industrial warehouse graveyard that lies in the moon-shadow
of the Huey P. Long bridge, a fiasco that only our infamous ex-governor could
have wangled. If you are in the vicinity, own a truck or van, and are looking
for a really scary dark ride, just drive across the Huey Long Bridge at night
in the outside lane. You will feel as if you are about to fall off the edge
and plunge to your death in the murky Mississippi, hundreds of feet below.
Trust me - I do this for fun when I need to feel precariously alive.
The parking lot was small, dark, and seemed dangerous at the outset. When
I arrived, over a half-hour before the scheduled opening, no police were present,
but they arrived soon after. The ticket booth opened on time at 8 PM, but
when the early arrivals queued up at the attraction entrance, they has another
17 minutes to wait before the first 'victims' were admitted. In the queue
area were a souvenir shop, a quite decent frozen daiquiri concession, and
a large snack bar featuring a variety of food items.
The Haunt
I would like... if I may... to take you on a strange journey. Let's go back,
for a moment, to 1994, the first year I stumbled upon this outfit's haunt
production. They had extensively converted the back yard of an ordinary neighborhood
house into an elaborate attraction, with an emphasis on outrageous religious
blasphemy (the origin of the 'Shock' part of their title) that was shoved
in patrons' faces right at the outset. The actor who played the 'Evangelist,'
a gonzo-schizoid blasphemer, still plays him now. He employed a technique
of warning patrons in the queue to leave immediately, because this haunt was
un-holy. Of course, no one left. Once inside, however, a few might have wanted
to change their minds.
"Protesters had problems with some of our content, and took it upon themselves
to break into the House of Shock and sprinkle holy water and salt over all
our props. We think that most people understand what we are doing, but it
is apparent that some people defiantly [sic?] have the wrong idea about us.
After all, we are not Satanists. We are just having Halloween fun." This
quote is taken from the program book's history of the organization, regarding
the 1994 incarnation. Controversy did a lot for Alice Cooper back in the 70's,
and it seems that formula still works well for the 'Shock' crew.
This year's House of Shock occupies a large metal warehouse, about 250 feet
deep, and about half that wide. The set pieces inside would easily produce
envy in many of the members of Halloween-L. It must have taken months to assemble
this huge set, for it seems to be a small town, through which you wander in
the dark.
The first major piece is a 2-story house, complete with a multi-room interior.
The front yard alone is impressive. You move through the house, from room
to hall to room, and exit through the back door. By this point, you aren't
nearly half-way through the attraction.
You pass through a crypt-filled graveyard... a swamp with cabins... then a
huge, ruined church built in forced-perspective looms up before you. It seems
to be 4 stories tall from the outside, and comes complete with stained-glass
windows, an elevated pulpit, and... ahh, but that would be telling. When you
have passed all this, you are just over half-way through. Still to come: The
woods, a mental asylum, and more.
Were the patrons scared? Oh, yes indeed. One grown male teenager grabbed my
shirt for dear life, and I thought I'd never get loose!
***
How does it look in retrospect? Well, there are a few problems. First of all,
many of the actors freely violated our well-known 'no touch' rule. I was grabbed
by cast members at least 5 times, and goodness knows how many times the more-easily-scared
patrons surrounding me were fingered. I have a feeling the Shock crew is about
to learn an important lesson in public relations, vis-a-vis litigation. Let
us hope that the House is not forced to close because of it. They seem to
have everything else worked out, especially in regard to the fire safety and
building permit aspects, or so their program explains. Freely admitting to
past mistakes in print, they explain how they went about solving their problems.
At least they are insured - one of their several sponsors is an insurance
agency.
Secondly, they rely on actors exclusively for effects. As with Foti's haunt,
which I reviewed previously, there is almost no attempt made to automate special
effects, or to use triggered events to maximum effect. What we have here is
actors hiding in dark oubliettes, waiting for a passerby to jump out at, just
as in most haunts. The difference, which elevates the facility above the norm,
is the well-executed environ.
Lastly, although they make a big fuss in print about avoiding cliche, they
fall back on bladeless power tools and chainsaws, just as Foti's haunt does.
They openly dismiss as cliche the 'old monsters' like Dracula, Frankenstein,
et al, which for their generation were not scary. Although many of us also
see Leatherface and company as modern-day cliche, the Shock crew seems to
fall back on these characters for use as their 'strong closers.' I feel they
should stick to the unique characters of their particularly fearsome mythology
instead, especially given the terror I saw generated in an adult audience
by one of their unique monsters, Eihwas. Perhaps I should introduce them to
H.P. Lovecraft? -Doug
Subject:Re: The Tube Worm
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 00:50:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: MORNINMAN@aol.com
One of the few gags I've come up with that someone here already hasn't done
a better version of is "The Tube Worm". I was inspired by the chestburster
scene in "Alien" to create a gruesome little parasite that jumps
out at onlookers as they pass by a prop body. It looks great and it's relatively
easy to do. The heart of the mechanism is one of those "picker upper"
gadgets designed to grab small parts that have fallen into an inaccessable
spot. It's basically a flexible metal sheath with a finger operated plunger
at one end and three to four small metal "fingers" at the other.
Before you start crafting the worm you can slip it through a 6-8 inch length
of copper tubing to act as it's hidey-hole, making sure the finger mechanism
has enough room to function.
Once you've slipped the "picker upper" through the tube, attach
teeth to the end of each of the fingers using a hot glue gun. You can either
sculpt the teeth from sculpey or hack a set off of those cheap vampire teeth
you always find around Halloween. Once you've attached the teeth you'll need
three, maybe four, condoms free of lubrication. I used the ribbed ones for
the body and the smooth ones for the head, but any kind will do. You can usually
get them for free at the local clinic.
Use a piece of tape to hold the plunger down in it's extended position. Experiment
to see how far down the plunger has to go to give the teeth enough room to
move while still providing sufficient play to spread the teeth nicely when
you force it down all the way. Take the first condom and use a small blade
to make an incision at the head for each tooth. Slide the condom down the
length of each tooth, using gentle force to enlarge the incision until the
condom is about 1/4 of an inch from the base of the tooth. At this stage you
roll the condom back to get access the teeth at the end of the fingers and
put a small gob of hot glue to hold the condom to the teeth. You'll get some
minor melting, but it just adds some nice texture so you shouldn't worry about
it. Let the glue cool a bit before you pull the condom down to cover the shaft
again.
Okay, now you should have three or four teeth sticking out from head of the
condom. Once the first application of glue is cool put a small ring of glue
around the area where the condom contacts the teeth. This provides another
anchor to hold the condom firmly as well as producing a nice three dimensional
effect. Again, there will be some minor melting, but don't worry about it
as long as it's not extensive. Now take the other condoms and cut the heads
off. Slide them down the sheath and affix them using small rubber bands wound
tight. If done correctly the slight bulge of the rubber bands blends in nicely
with the ribbing on the condoms.
Now all you need to do is insert the whole mechanism into the prop body. When
someone passes by the operator pushes the snake-like body of the worm out
and flexes the jaws by pushing the plunger. If you prep the exit hole nicely
and add a coating of vaseline mixed with a touch of red food coloring the
effect looks *very* nice. The only problem I've run into is that the condoms
eventually start to rip away from the sheath after repeated uses, but it's
pretty easy to just rip 'em all off and apply another set of condoms.
One thing I'd like to do this year is paint a nice texture on the condoms.
Anyone know what kind of paint will stick? I already know the solvents in
enamels and permanent markers will dissolve the latex. Acrylic modelling paints,
maybe? Cordially, MM
Nethrworld HH - Kennesaw, GA. Review -
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 02:58:55 -0400
From: "J. Bentley" <jbentley@dmwc.com>
I thought I would pass this along for the Georgia folks.
I went on opening night to the Netherworld Haunt ( http://www.hauntedamerica.com/georgia/gaframe.htm
) located in the old Kinders Outlet Mall in Kennesaw. It was your basic walk
through haunt. The area where you enter is somewhat oddly laid out. When I
went there was no crowd so it was no problem. But when the big night approaches
and the crowd grows it might create problems if it is not redone. The area
contains a large Crypt/Garveyard area that you face as you walk in. It has
some nice props and looks quite good. The props were made of wood with what
looked like a great flek-stone type paint job. I don't really do justice with
the description, but it was good. After you buy your ticket you go back around
to the front. You enter through a giant skull mouth with fangs. Sitting above
and to the left of this is a winged skeleton. Very nice and evil looking.
Pay attention to this one.
I will not go area by area but give a brief overview of the way things run
inside. It is somwhat of a maze walking through. But it is not the standard
dark as tar maze filled with fog. As a matter of fact one of my negatives
points is it almost to well lit. It removes some of the mystery. But I am
unaware of what code is in Cobb so they might not have had a choice. The scenes
are well thought out and looks like a lot of time and money went into them.
Only one or two scenes could have had a little more time spent on them. There
is a good deal of air controlled animatronics in the haunt. Most are in spots
that will get you. They are controlled by sensors as well as pressure mats
all include a ECT so they are not constantly going off. However, with the
lighting you can see some pressure mats coming. But when the crowd grows and
the place is less open to your view you will probably not notice them. All
of the actors have original costumes and very nice masks. There is not the
usual hockey mask and guy with a chainsaw. No enclosed choking fumes to smell.
It looks as though they really spent some time setting up a good haunt. If
you go before the crowds start growing you can stand around and talk with
the people running the
place. And they really want your input on the haunt.
Other than the lighting my only problem with the haunt is it is rather short
for the price. It is $12.00. I would have liked to see several more rooms.
But I did not feel I had been ripped off when I walked out. No where was an
actor snoozing. And at one point, in a scene I really liked I asked them to
do it again so I could take another look. They happily obliged. Of course
later in the season they will not have the time to do this. They have security
people, a lot of well lit paved parking, an abundance of well marked emergency
exits, and a sprinkler system. There also know how to not over user foggers
and strobe lights. Only one strobe and it really didn't effect my vision.
If you are not interested in taking your time, checking out the scenes, and
talking with people I would suggest waiting until later next month to go so
you get the added buzz of people yelling and screaming and acting like nuts.
But overall is a good haunt worth checking out. Jack B. -- I am in no way
associated with the Netherworld Haunt. All of the above is IMHO and it is
very late. If you cannot translate it email me offlist for further discussion.
> Good description, do you have an address?
I-75 north out of Atlanta (maybe ten miles north of I-285) to Exit 117 (Chastain
Road) Turn right off the exit ramp onto Chastain. Turn right at the first
traffic light onto George Busbee Parkway. Almost immedatiely off the ramp.
Down about an 1/8 of a mile on the right. Just past the Cracker Barrel and
Days Inn. 3333 George Busbee Parkway - Kennesaw, GA 30144 (404)608-2484 The
area code for the phone number is not in the area for the Haunt. This is apparently
for an office somewhere in Downtown Atlanta. Jack B. --
Re: Bottomless Pit Illusion
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 03:10:08 -0500
From: "John P. Jeffries" <mrscary@kiva.net>
At 02:34 AM 9/24/97 EDT, you wrote:
>I saw an illusion at Ripley's Believe it or Not in Myrtle Beach that was
a small well that appeared to go down fifty feet or more. Does anyone know
how this "bottomless pit" illusion can be created? I'm sure mirrors
are used in some way. I want to create this illusion in my haunt so that when
my guests are crawling over a plexiglass floor in an unlit tunnel, a light
suddenly comes on revealing that they are crawlin over a deep pit. Thanks
for any suggestions!
<
Hummmm... I really hate to crawl through haunts...(blown knees)...But you
might consider an illusion I always wanted to try: It's the same concept as
a "bottomless pit" but over a steel-grid cat-walk...Have cold wind
coming from below, and you can see over the handrail (to the "bottom".)
And the walkway is a "grate" so you could look what would seem to
be several hundred feet below...
Now, mount faux "supports" that looked to be damaged...mount the
platform on springs to give an inch or so as they walked...(The supports would
look as if they were "pulling" away from the walls/ceiling.) Now,
if I could only figure out how to build the thing. :)
I would make the walls a "V"; wide up top, then narrowed toward
the floor. The cat-walk about 30" wide and you could see through it..I
think the wind coming from below is what would really set it off. Maybe instead
of a "box" for a well, elongate it the whole length of the platform.
(Peppers ghost illusion??) Play a "howling/cave wind", and I bet
it would get some serious reaction. Hope this gives some ideas. John
bottomles pit -Reply
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 17:42:25 -0500
From: David Kiihne <daveki@nebfef.com>
> If you took two pieces of Plexiglas and coated one side of each with
very dark car tint, you would now have two one way mirrors. Now put the mirrors
facing one another with a space between, now put dim lighting between the
pieces and you should have a bottomless pit or an endless hallway, etc., right?
You would have to be sure there was no stray light to reflect off the surface
of the glass.
For a stab in the dark, that sounds pretty enlightened to me. (See Martin's
post for an alternate method that lets you do some different things.)
Disclaimer and Note to the Techno-deities on the list: It's been 9 years since
I had the opportunity to work with this particular illusion, so if my memory
fails and I state something that's inaccurate, incomplete or just flat-out
incompetent, PLEASE CORRECT ME! Honest, I won't be offended. (*end disclaimer*)
I would advise using just one 2-way mirror for it. The bottom mirror would
probably be better as a true mirror. This would help reduce the reflection
degradation that will result from its use of reflections of reflections of...
and so on. Most 2-way (via tinting) mirrors reflect things just slightly darker
than reality so the image will darken quickly as the images reflect upon one
another. Of course, if this is the effect you want, go for it. I would probably
use the true mirror to increase the visible depth of the pit. (But that's
just me.)
Something else I found that really helps is to make sure the bottom of one
layer blends as seamlessly as possible into the top of the next. A few things
that help are: Using a wall pattern that tiles vertically; that is where a
vertical line ends at the bottom, there is a corresponding line at the top
to meet up with it. (Like wallpaper, but only vertical) Using between-mirror
lighting that is either even from top to bottom or fades just enough to blend
in with the natural darkening caused by the 2-way's reflections. And using
a thin of a mirror as you can get for the bottom, OR (if you can) using a
front-silvered mirror. The reason for this last one is to minimize as much
as possible the "dead space" between the front of the glass and
the silvering on the back. If your glass mirror is a quarter inch thick, you'll
have a quarter inch line (decreasing) between each reflected layer.
Martin's method (using a 45-degree mirror to reflect a horizontal, under-
foot region as a vertical pit) gets around this tiling requirement. You can
have any pattern (repeating or not) along the walls of your pit AND even add
a creature or scene at the bottom without having to worry about interfering
with reflection angles. Also, you can add more mirrors to tunnel your way
into the free space of your haunt and make an extremely deep pit. Whenever
you run out of room in one direction just add another angled mirror (taking
care to work your side patterns around it) and go off in another direction.
This is more effective with wider pits; narrow ones close in too quickly to
really make the subsequent direction changes worthwhile. (Hmmm. Howsabout
redirecting them outside and straight up - or through a skylight - so they
see the sky way down below them?)
Of course, the downside is that for however deep you want your pit to be,
you need that much continuous free space (though not necessarily in one direction)
available in your haunt. There's also the added cost of actually building
and painting all those walls. Whereas, the recursive reflection method requires
only the first segment to be built and the rest are pure (and free) illusion.
There are pros and cons to both methods; it just depends on your requirements
and desired effect.
> Now my question, If you did this and set it in a well type housing but
didn't 'silver' the top piece but instead put a couple of inches of water
on it, would the water reflect enough to cause the same illusionbut add some
added depth and motion?
<
Hmmm. Never tried it, but I suspect it wouldn't work very well. The water
would probably do more refracting than reflecting and the people would be
able to discern upside-down images of themselves under the water. You may
try putting the water on top of the BOTTOM mirror to get the watery distortion
added to the multiple reflections. Again, I would suspect the reflections
would degrade very rapidly with depth as the distortion gets distorted again
and again. But, hey, if you have the chance give it a shot and let us know
how it turns out. Some of the weirdest (and coolest) ideas are the result
of experiments the "shouldn't have worked." Another torturously
long post from: Dave Kiihne - daveki@nebfef.com
Plastic Wrap (Was Bottomless Pit)
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 15:59:45 -0700
From: "Dark.Arts"
This isn't a bottomless pit, but i saw it at a haunted house and loved it!!
They placed a false plexiglass floor about a foot and a half / 2 feet above
the true floor with about 3 inch borders on either side of the plexiglass,
under the glass, they had what looked like plastic wrap. Under all of this
(in the gap between the glass and true floor) there was a guy dressed up in
a costume (simple mask, etc.) and he must have been on some sort of rolling
device (like a skateboard)...anyways as we were walking down this dark hallway
(after a dark maze) this strobe light started flashing and it gave the illusion
for a quick minute that you were walking on plastic wrap on top of this guy
who was chasing you down the hall. Everyone was scrambling to keep their feet
on the 3 inch borders even though this was almost impossible! -- ~Rosencrantz~
HH ideas
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 23:35:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: SMessin983@aol.com
Some rambling musings from a demented mind. It's a little late for this year,
but, what the hay:
For some reason, little kids with expressionless faces have always freaked
me out, especially when in a spooky setting. Many years ago, when I was a
paperboy, I delivered papers to this big house surrounded with huge pine trees.
The pine trees always blocked out most of the light from the street lamp.
I had to walk the length of the large front porch to put the paper on the
doormat (This was back when paperboys actually provided personalized service
like that). One morning, I saw a white little face peering out at me from
one of the darkened windows. It scared the hell out of me! It turned out it
was just one of the kids that lived at the house (no ghost) but ever since
I've been spooked by kids in ghost stories.
Now, here's my point. I think haunted houses should have a theme to tie all
the scenes in the attraction together. Having some kind of plausible story
helps the audience suspend their disbelief. Wouldn't it be neat to tell a
story about a little boy ghost who haunted the house? And then have this solemn
little boy's apparition (Pepper's ghost) and voice keep popping up. You might
have a toy ball of his come rolling out into the room, or bouncing down the
stairs (A nod to the movie "The Changeling"). The sound of the bouncing
ball would be great to provide an omen of something scary about to happen.
The rest of the house would be more like poltergeist stuff (Chairs moving,
books flying off shelves, swinging chandeliers). Since the ghost is a little
boy with supernatural powers, he could throw some pretty scary temper tantrums!
Another theme for a haunted attraction could be a scientific laboratory, where
they have opened portals to other times and dimensions (If you've seen the
"Wax Museum" movies, you'll know what I mean). The audience is being
given a 'tour' of the facility. Each scene is a portal, and the group is assured
that they can see in, but those in the scene can't see out. Early in the tour,
klaxons sound, red revolving lights turn on; something's gone wrong. The guide
then has to lead the group through the facility, avoiding the 'things' that
can suddenly see through, and come through, the portals. The neat thing about
this theme is that you can go hog wild and create all sorts of unrelated scenes,
and tie them all together. Example of some scenes could be your standard Frankenstien's
monster, werewolf, alien-on-a-spaceship, vampires, etc. Throw in some real
historical figures too, like Jack the Ripper, Vlad the Impaler, etc. Then
some dinosaurs, giant spiders, killer robots, whatever! Run the gamut from
gothic to futuristic! Whaddayathink? Scott Messinger
Floor shaker
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 22:43:21 -0700
From: Iowa Chapman <iowac@earthlink.net>
> Anyone know where I can buy a device that violently shakes the floor?
Can one of these be built without the use of pneumatics?
<
here is a easy way to do it.. mamke a big speaker box, put like 4 12 inch
woofers facing the ground... but put 1 inch spacers between the box and the
ground... the way the sound can still escape.. trust me you get a nice amplifier
playing over and over some deep bass and it will shake your house....
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 09:47:11 -0500
From: "Norm" <batesy@datasync.com>
We have s simple idea which works very well for a small portion of the room,
say a 4 x 8 section. We use a small concrete vibrator (110V), commonly referred
to as a donkey d****. This little vibrator makes people get religion real
fast! This is done by placing a (thick) 4 x 8 sheet of plywood down, frame
some 2 x 4s around it the height of the actual vibrator., and place a 4 x
8 sheet of plywood (preferably steel for a better effect) on top. The vibrator
has to be very secure, for obvious reason. It can vibrate a hole in the floor
if you aren't careful. We use this in an electrocutions scene. The vibrator,
along with a strobe light and some other stuff is all hooked up to a switch.
It is extremely loud as well.
When the crowd is asked is the person should be electrocuted they all yell
and get excited wanting to see this happen (I love it when a few critics who
cast doubt on all things come through). Little do they realize the steel plate
they are standing on. Vertical leaps measured here are quite high, as well
as the swiftness of the crowd moving through.
Its even more fun when you act as if it doesn't work right....then let the
sparks fly...
Try a few tool rentals places and some contractor friends. This is a great
effect. Norm batesy@datasync.com
Re: Help with gags
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 19:27:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: MORNINMAN@aol.com
I'm doing a semi-pro/talented amatuer haunted event for the local zoo and
wanted to get some feedback on two possible gags we're considering.
For the first gag we have a 15 x 20 concrete block room and are looking at
doing a basic electric chair set-up. After the group arrives two guards will
bring the prisoner in, strap him in, and then allow two members of the crowd
to throw the switch for ol' sparky. It's a cliched bit, but it's always a
crowd pleaser when done well.
The electric chair itself is easy to do and we don't expect any problems during
construction. For the electrocution effect we're envisioning two strobes triggered
simultaneously, one under the seat pointing at the floor and one mounted on
the ceiling pointing down at the chair. Smoke will be provided by a modified
coffee urn (betcha can't guess where I found that idea..he..he) with dry ice
chips feeding a fog reservoir constructed from a large cardboard box. The
box will use a standard window fan to feed lines flush mounted into the arms
and legs of the chair when the smoke is needed. The lights and fan will be
plugged into a master power strip so we can trigger everything with a single
switch. The bulky stuff will be hidden by a scrim at the rear of the scene.
The whole sequence will be synched to a master audio track containing the
narration and sound effects. Once the group is in the narration begins with
the off scene warden thanking them for volunteering to witness the execution
and then listing off the terrible crimes the prisoner commited. When the countdown
to midnight ends the witnesses throw the switch, fog and strobes trigger,
electric effects and screams come up on the audio, and the prisoner gets barbacued.
What I'm looking for are suggestions on how to jazz up the basic effect. The
concrete vibrator sounds like just the kind of thing I'm looking for. Another
effect we're considering is painting the prisoner and his uniform with invisible
UV paint and triggering a black light at the fated moment to make it look
as though his skeleton is glowing. I think this would look best done in very
fast, almost subliminal flashes. Anyone have any experience with that type
of effect? Another possibility is to use blue gels on the main scene lighting
and have faint blue burn makeup on the prisoner as the scene starts. After
the electrocution we'd switch to red lighting to bring out the burn effects
as dark purple/black marks. I've heard this can be effective, but don't have
any personal experience with it myself. Anyone have any guidance?
The second gag is a throwaway bit for the insect area of the zoo. They have
a nice display of hissing cockroaches, beetles and such that will be open
during the Spooktacular. What I'd like to try is a giant yard-long millipede
climbing up the wall behind the audience. The wall opposite the bug displays
is only about an inch thick and I think the magnet trick someone mentioned
using with a spider would work.
I was thinking of making the millipede body by casting 15-20 millipede segments
out of styrene sheet on a vacuum table and linking them using tielocks. There
would be four legs per segment that could either be plain bent tubing or cast
in resin if I really want to get fancy. The legs would fit through upside
down U-shaped notches in the bottom of each segment and be attached to small
wheels inside the outer shell. If I do it right the leg movement should be
nicely synchronized and duplicate the wavelike motion of a real millipede.
The first and last segments would both have magnets hot glued inside.
The puppetry device for the millipede would be two magnets at either side
of a rod on the other side of the wall. Once the rod is matched up with the
magnets on the millipede the operator can move the millipede along the wall,
and the wheels will keep the body aligned to give that sinuous flow the real
buggers have. Considering the environment I expect the result would be very
effective. Anyone see any possible refinements I may be missing? Cordially,
MM
Re: My introduction...(SpaceShip and Bat)
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 13:07:07 -0700
From: "Brian E. Marshall"
> I've been trying to figure out how to land a space ship in my frontyard
for several years now. How'd you do it ??<
Space Ship
:
First of all, I must give my dad most of the credit for this one. We worked
it out on paper (e-mail/fax) together but he actually assembled it.
Second, I think if you plan to "MAKE" everything, you have to create
a network of suppliers. What I mean are those people that you spend most of
the year doing favors for, that in return, helps you in those crucial months
of assembly. These people include: local newspapers (extra left-over paper),
machinists (scap metal), junkyard owner (obvious things), etc. Over the years
we have collected quite a list of people, about 100, as well as found some
favorite tool/materials that we now build almost everything out of. Every
year we invite all our suppliers, and include them in our credits when the
tapes are made. Some alcohol usually helps as well.
**** Note ****
Many of the suppliers/supplies/favors are obtained because we are a FREE HHouse.
When money is involved, things get tougher and the returning favors get bigger!
**************
One of those people was a guy that flew airplanes and dragged those banners
that you see above special events. Well after the season is over guess what?
They throw them away! We're talking about 40 ft by 120 ft of stitched Nylon!
Granted they have words all over them, but a simple, thin layer of paint covers
that up. Well, we have 3 of them from one season.
The ship was the typical disc shaped 50's-60's spaceship. We used the Nylon
to make it extremely light and used an industrial plastic bag sealer to melt
the edges together and make it inflatable! The whole thing weighs about 15
lbs, at that weight we could add lights, and internal supports to hold a certain
shape. It also allowed us to make a primitive crane-like structure to swing
it out from around our house and down (on top of) our TOTers. With the typical
Close Encounters effects, ground shaking, mailboxes, and enough Bass speakers
to create that Pulsing air type feel at concerts, its quite an effect.
Granted, that's this years effect. Its completely done, and has been tested.
One down side is that it takes 3 grunt workers, a computer operator, 2 home-made
fog machines, and an industrial fan to pull off the effect, but its worth
it! Now with that done we're on to something bigger (15 foot long, 6 foot
high gigantic Rat!)
Stirring Bat
:
This was and engineering nightmare we designed a couple years ago for our
Boo University (Boo-U) theme. We found an old record player, bought one of
those huge tree pots and used it as a cauldron. We built a large bone and
attached it to the record player at an angle. When turned on, it spun around
inside the pot at a convincing speed. So now it looks like a ghost (invisible)
is stirring a large bone spoon in a cauldron, mixing a fake liquid goo (fog
machine).
Now for the hard part. We built a bat out of some flexible material. The body
was stiff, but the wings would flap in a "quasi"-realistic manner.
In its rest position, the wings are in the up part of the flap. Attached at
the bottom of the bat are cords that when pulled through an intricate arangement
of loops, pull the wings down. Now we have a flapping bat.
Finally, we sent the cables down the inside of the 3ft long bone/spoon and
attached it to a fixed point on the record player (not the spinning disc).
Now if you can imagine it, the record player spins, as it goes around, the
cord is pulled and let go, pulled and let go. This pulls the cords that are
connected to the wings, and poof! Instant flying, stirring bat.
Hope my somewhat cryptic explanation helps you guys out and does the effects
justice. Its tough to explain it. :) Good luck, Brian E. Marshall
dolls and snakes
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 19:39:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ldwarf@aol.com
hi all..
ill de lurk for a moment with a thought to get the girls squirming. i went
to the local toys are us last night.. they had several REAL looking dolls..
you would swear that they were dead infants... and not expensive. i think
ill go pick up a few. i think that it would be great fun to put a LARGE live
snake into a crib or stroler with the "child" (would need to cover
it with plexi) or set up a hospital room with the doll and child sitting in
an incubator. if you put a small reptile heater inside the doll the snake
would "cuddle" the child...... so what do you think? sick , but
i like it
Scott
Dream Display
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 01:16:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: MORNINMAN@aol.com
Just for chuckles I thought I'd ask what everyone's dream display was. You
know what I mean- that incredible, monstrous collection of set pieces you
would have if your halloween budget was unlimited. If price and labor were
no object what would you do?
For myself, I'd love to do a full blown "War of the Worlds" display.
Just imagine a martian tripod walker towering over your house, steam rising
from the glowing gunport of it's heat ray. And none of this revisionist high
tech stuff, either. I want a tripod that looks like it's crafted from burnished
copper and black iron by alien hands.
I'd surround my house with the red weed from the book and have all kinds of
lethal flora and fauna lurking about in the scarlet undergrowth. The tangled
strands of foliage would cover the bones of the unfortunates that succumbed
to the black mist, which even now is starting to issue forth from the tripod
and engulf the audience! And the display just wouldn't be complete without
the sickly, octopoidal Martians themselves popping up here and there to claim
yet more victims. Luckily, proper British soldiers would be on hand with rifles
and blades of good English steel to keep the Empire safe from the nefarious
plans of the bloody aliens.
And..and...the Thunderchild! It's massive stacks belching smoke as the Queen's
own torpedo ram stormed forward in a final desperate attack in service to
the empire. With a blaze of cannon fire it crashes into the tripod, knocking
it to the ground with a thunderous explosion. Long live the Queen! <pant...pant>
I feel all better now. Time to grab the hot melt glue gun and get back to
work. B-) Cordially, MM
torture devices
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 11:11:23 -0800
From: Peter McBride <pete@otc.net>
>for one of my scenes i'm trying to assemble a number of torture devices.
although there are numerous different things that would look amazing in the
display, i have to take into consideration my lack of both materials and abilities.
if anyone could suggest anything that i could make without too much difficulty
(and without needing to arm my psychotic friend with a blow torch) i'd be
greatful.<
You can work miracles with styrofoam and PVC piping... PVC in particular is
a great, inexpensive and reusable construction material... we built two awnings,
a dungeon-gate-door and all the undergroung fog channels for our party for
less than $40 in piping (PVS runs about 75 cents per ten feet, and bags of
10 "T" connectors or Elbows cost around $2 each.) So... a prison
cage would be pretty easy. Or use styrofoam to make a pillory. Quick and easy.
Make a bed of nails out of soft-foam spikes anad plywood.
My personal favorite cheap-o torture device? Build a rack out of light plywood
that has the afore-mentioned bed-o-foam-nails suspended above it, spikes down.
Drop the bed onto the actor as the guests shuffle by. Practice scream-gurgle-gurgle
noises.
Subject
RE: CHEAP THRILLS!
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 19:47:12 -0400
From: Chad Croteau <shircrot@enoreo.on.ca>
At the Theater Windsor Haunted House that I work in, we have a floor that
drops about a foot to connect with the rest of the hallway. We use a 2 ton
jack to lift and drop the floor. The bang that it creates not only lets the
actors in the haunt know there is someone coming, but scares the S@#$ out
of them, litterally. (dont ask) - Chad
Horror Nights report
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 13:12:02 -0700
From: Erik Bell <erikbell@worldnet.att.net>
Hellow Again Fellow Spooksters,
I went to Universal Studios version of the halloween haunt last night and
I thought I would give you all a report. Before I begin, I'd like to all to
know that it pales in comparison to Knott's Scary Farm. However, there are
some unique sets worth seeing.
Overview
:
There are four walk through mazes, four shows, three outdoor street activities
and limited halloween atmosphere all around.
The best:
There are two increadible must see's that are unique this event;
Classic Monster Maze
: Based around Universal Studio's original black and white monster genre with
incredible sets. All the lands of thee monsters you would think of are there,
such as; Creature for the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy, Frankenstein
and Dracula. What makes this HH a must see are the sets. The props and surrounding
are movie quality. Two notches above your typical black painted plywood and
blood smears. Some very creative flooring technique's were used. Such as in
the Phantom area, a very spongie black floor was used. Upon stepping on it,
many became leary and affraid. Also, on some floor's there was sand that gave
a whole different feel to a HH. A suspended rope and wood slat bridge was
also used to keep the tension up. All in all this HH is as good or better
than Knott's Dominion of the Dead (a star maze at Knott's)
Creature from the Black Lagoon's '
MONSTERQUARIUM
': This HH is truly unique because it is built in and around the Waterworld
water/action show stadium. Victims are walked around the stadium set up as
some kind of 20,000 league's beneath the sea freak show with fabulous old
movie props, monsters and macbre. Throughout this maze and in the park you
will be touched by the goulies, shot with super-soaker squirt guns and screamed
at. Then you are lead into the water stadium for more of the same but with
all kinds of live frights such as: the Creature coming out of the water behind
you and spewing water all over you, evil mermaids seducing you then hosing
you down, bungie spookster and so on.
The rest:
Area 51
: An alien autopsy HH built in a multi-level parking lot that leaves you less
than impressed. Set's just OK, Ghoulies poorly made up.
Crypt Keeper's Film Vault Maze
: Built right next to Area 51 but a notch better. Comperable to any Knott's
average maze. Nothing really notable.
Bill & Ted's Halloween Adventure show
: A competitor to the Hanging at Knott's. Worth seeing. Current polical comedy
and slapstick. Has an Elvira competitor.
Creep Animal Show
: Worth seeing. Funny, scary animal tricks.
Circus of Horrors sho
w: In a word, LAME. An old man attempt at a circus freak show that just leaves
you unimpressed.
Beetlejuice's Rockin' Graveyard Revue
show: There year round and dissappointing. This show certainly doesn't hold
up to the mood of the movie.
Boogie Nights: a '70s band in costume playing Disco Inferno
March of the Zombie'
s: a parade of ghoulies similar to Marde Gra that is worth seeing
Chucky's Insult Emporium: you walk by a pupeteering window while Chucky insults
you
Conclusion
:
This event is worth seeing once but I wouldn't want to go back every year.
For one thing, you are not allowed to take picture's of the fabulous maze
sets. Also, most all of the park is closed. There are a few gift shop's and
eateries open but you cannot go on the tram tour or on the Jurassic Park ride
(a great ride). The park is a little dissapointing when you think that this
is the place that so many horror movie's have been made and wonder why they
didn't put that experience to good use all over the park. For those who are
worried about a riot breaking out, not to worry. There is security personnel
all about that outnumber the ghoulies. - Erik Bell
Mid-Michigan Rules
...
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 09:13:33 -0400
From: Jeff Armbruster <armbrus9@pilot.msu.edu>
Hello All,
Went to a few haunted houses this weekend and thought I'd review them with
you for those close to mid-michigan and plan on attending....
VILLAGE of the LIVING DEAD
(St Charles, MI).... Excellent!! Outdone themselves from last year!! Had a
great tales from the crypt scene set up in front while you waited in line
complete with a animatronic cryptkeeper who speaks to you!! INSIDE was a blast.
Very dark and very well decorated to scare the $@!% out of ya!! Had a Hallogram
or illusion ghost down a narrow hallway that took me forever to realize that
it wasn't real and I could go through it!! Wish I knew how they did that!!
I won't spoil it all but great effects. They had a room decorated in reflective
paper to feel like a room of mirrors..very errie!!
HAUNTED KINGDOM
(Saginaw, MI)..... A very good outdoor Haunt. Over 1/2 mile of woods and nearly
20 min to complete. Lots of good outdoor scenes and well placed actors to
catch you off guard. Had a great graveyard scenec and electrcution scene..I
felt that this Haunt was better than last year and defined a good crew of
spooks!! Make sure you go!!
HOFFMANS HAUNTED BARN
(Bridgeport, MI).... Haunted Barns have always been one of my favorites and
this was no exception.. They made great mazes with bails of hay that were
in complete darkness with many spooks jumping out from everywhere!! Kept the
suspense going with very errie music and loud heartbeats...They'll drop things
from above and catch ya looking the wrong way when they get ya from behind.....
HAUNTED SPOOK TRAIN
(Bridgeport, MI).... Not real scary but one of the coolest decoration jobs
I've seen!! Over 35 areas or scenes you drive by with dozens of spooks approaching
the train to greet you. They have a great graveyard to pass by, Many mad scientists
disecting, A errie Band playing the Halloween blues..., many , many, more
haunted suprises. Very Well done. We waited a long time for this one....Worth
it though to see everything!! Hope anybody from mid-michigan will contact
me and go out with me to some of these!! I'll be going again!! Jeff "the
twisted" Armbruster
Haunt review-north San Diego county
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 10:40:48 -0700
From: Greg Hope <ghope@coyote.csusm.edu>
Here's a review for
The Graveyard haunted house
.
Location: 1950 Oceanside Blvd. (Greenbrier Square center) Oceanside, CA
Hours: 7pm to 12am, everyday, Oct.3 to Nov. 2
Cost: $8, with a $1 discount with a can of food or discount coupon from local
vendor
Operator: R.I.P. Productions
Description:
I arrived at the location and joined the line at 7:10pm on Friday night and
actually entered the haunt at 8:10pm. From outside, booming rock music could
be heard from within the haunt. Security was provided by the Oceanside Police,
who were a sponsoring group for the haunt. The police dept. had a travel trailer
parked out front which served as an outreach publicity center and enhanced
the police presence. The location was also advertised by a moving klieg light.
The line formed outside the commercial space used by the haunt and, after
entering, the line continued inside with a typical "teller line."
Two small strobes were positioned over the inside line and soon became annoying.
A grim organist was operating in a position well away from, but visible to,
the waiting line. A toe-pincher coffin was displayed in this area, as well.
The waiting area was decorated with webs made from cheese cloth, signs with
various policies, e.g., no touching, repeat visit for half price on the same
night, no smoking, etc., and the usual "best ever" message. The
largest signs present in this area were those of sponsors: McDonalds, a car
dealership, the police dept.. The producer claimed "real coffins, antiques
and Hollywood quality props." The admission price was not posted at this
point. A mechanical turnstile was in just before the ticket booth to count
visitors.
After a wait of 40 minutes, I reached the ticket booth. Only here was there
posted a sign with the admission price. Glow in the dark necklaces were also
on sale here and were recommended for children, $2.00 each or two for $3.00.
A ten minute wait followed the ticket purchase, in the small area in front
of this indoor ticket booth, where the entrance to the haunt was "guarded"
by a bouncer in street clothes. During this time, two costumed actors passed
through this area into the haunt. This area was surprisingly covered with
plastic sheeting. The guard my ticket and those of a family behind us and
admitted the six of us into the haunt through a door made from a single sheet
of plywood.
The visitors circuit is self-guided and follows a maze constructed alternately
of picket fencing and plywood walls. The lights were off for the entire circuit
of the haunt, though some light from outside did filter in. Visitors were
offered flashlights at the entrance, with one member of each group designated
as the light carrier. The resulting flashlight-in-fog effect was great, but
absent until the fog appeared in the last half of the haunt. Authentic coffins
were in display throughout the haunt, filled with static corpses. Fog was
dispersed over the last half of the haunt, but with no apparent reason or
thematic connection. After the first few turns, I came upon an operating room
scene. This scene was behind a Plexiglas window built into a plywood wall.
An actor in surgeon's garb screamed and ran about, then pulled red silk from
an eviscerated corpse prop on an operating table. Then he screamed some more.
Further along, a couple of actors were positioned among the coffins as "rising
from the dead" corpses, but they made no sound and seemed to simply rise
up, then wave their arms. About half way into the haunt, the path led to a
ramp which was followed by a floor box, lit with incandescent lights and filled
with a skeleton and live white rats. No scene lighting was used. In the last
half of the circuit I was followed briefly by an actor in a tall (7 ft) grim
reaper costume. He (she?) simply followed behind me until I reached a certain
point in the course, then turned back. The path finally opened into a wide
open area (about 12ft x 12ft) and a "Freddy" character jumped out
with an electric chain saw. The exit was on the far side of this area.
Opinion:
I was disappointed in this haunt. The wait was unacceptably long and the guests
in line were never offered an explanation, an estimate of how long the wait
might be, or a waiting act, such as a costumed actor or two to keep interest
alive. The sound bed of rock music was simply played at high volume for lack
of any better plan and suggested much more than was really awaiting visitors
in the haunt. The music started and stopped abruptly, which led me to believe
that the chosen track was simply played to a certain point, then stopped and
rewound back to the starting point. Because the chain saw guy could be heard
by those waiting in line, this surprise was impotent. The majority of the
path was bounded by picket fence and individual scenes that were visually
isolated were few in number. I counted a total of four actors in the haunt.
Outside the haunt I counted: one ticket taker, two ticket sellers, one uncostumed
backstage hand. There were three or four police outside for crowd control.
The only animatronic I saw was the grim organist, which was located in the
waiting area outside the haunt. I estimate the entire walking circuit to be
about 150 feet and the haunt area to be around 800-100 square feet. I did
not feel that a return visit was worth half the price I paid for the first
trip.
Since I am going to be completing more of these visits and reviews, I do appreciate
any and all constructive criticism. I made an effort to remain objective and
separated my opinions from the descriptive section. It would be helpful if
anyone can offer more info about R.I.P. Productions. Greg in Vista
Hidden in the Bushes
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 03:37:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: JLISA1@aol.com
Hi everyone, I have a great idea for haunts it you have bushes in your front
yard (which I don't so i can't try this) This is something my dad and his
brother did when they were growing up. They had a huge front yard full of
about waist high bushes. They took speakers and hid them in different places
in the bushes. then they had it hooked up to a mic, but not every speaker
at once, they swithced between different ones. When the tot's would come,
they would say (from the mic into a speaker) "help me over here"...
then when the kids would stary to get close to the speaker, they would switch
over to annother speaker. they had about 20 kids in their yard for an hour,
looking every where. Then a cop drove by and got all the kids out of the bushes
(it was down the block from the police station) he thought they were trying
to damage stuff, and didn't belive them when they said there was someone there.
After he left they started it up again..... kids were in the bushes all night
looking.. it really works great.... Julie
2 Haunt Reviews [long]
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 03:25:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Orniske@aol.com
Sheriff Foti's Haunted House
- as seen on 'media preview' night, Wednesday, October 16, 1997
Sheriff Foti's facility is a haunter's dream, as I mentioned in last year's
review. An indoor-outdoor facility, with the two divisions about equal in
size, this haunt is housed in what was a former public pool and bath-house
from the early 20th century.
This year, the haunt is blessed with a truly significant facelift. The front
features a facade like a nondescript 'old southern house' prop from a theater
production. The windows are real, however, and glazed. There are actually
small rooms that house moving figures. In these elevated, 'second story' windows
appear 'ghosts' - mannequins in antebellum dresses, bizarre wigs and grotesque
masks, lit by blacklight, that slide back and forth, disappearing and re-appearing
by means of the tracks and reciprocating arms they are attached to. This is
the most elaborate animation ever used on Foti's facade, and I saw it as a
plus. It entertained me.
When I entered, I was surprised again. Gone were the overtly cheap and ever-present
piles of fluorescent plastic skulls from the previous year, gone I don't know
where, but good riddance. Instead, I saw evidence of themeing. An outdoor
New Orleans graveyard scene, complete with animated zombies, led (logically)
to a crypt of vampires. Foti's technique of using white UV paint on the walls
as the main source of visible light in a room was effective visually, and
made this particular scene more magical. I saw the blacklights, of course,
but the feeling was entirely different from that experienced in a largely
dark room under blacklight. (More haunters should experiment with this technique.
It can look really ethereal.)
Transitions were better this year, and they had toned down the use of chain
saws and mayhem to a point where it was actually possible to enjoy the set
pieces. These included a 20+ foot long fluorescent dragon (outdoors) with
flashing eyes; a Phantom of the Opera diorama, set in a truly magical 'horror
cave,' with falling water as walls on both sides; and a very nice double counter-rotating
'through the barrel' room, complete with subsonics for accent. I was also
impressed with the truly freezing cold 'ice room' they had constructed, complete
with a huge enthroned figure (the ghouls in this brightly-lit scene all wore
white, with scull heads.)
So far as drama, it was all uneven. The worst breech of continuity occurred
right after the barrel-room, with but a scene to go before the exit. I emerged
into a set left over from years past, a group of swamp-houses; but this time
It featured ghouls prancing to 'Thriller,' with the room lights on. Yes. I
was so scared that I walked out of the exit slowly, right past the chainsaw
guy, shaking my head and rubbing my chin. Funny, isn't it, how one bad last
impression can sometimes make us forget the really good impressions we had
initially?
---
To be complete, there was a really nice, elaborate children's Halloween town,
with a pumpkin-patch theme, that was 'non-scary.' Photos with a 'great pumpkin'
or other character were available. The coffee-shop/snack/bar area had enlarged
itself, and was under better cover. The park's train and the hayride were
also running again, but I was not able to test-ride either. The verdict? At
$6.00, it's a go-see. Time through was probably under 10 minutes. Support
your local law enforcement, and be scared by it - at least, better than you
were last year.
The House Of Shock
- as seen on its second weekend of operation, October 18, 1997 "We do
horror ugly, we don't do it cute." - H.O.S. actor, who portrays a Satanic
priest.
The heavy metal door rolls up. The thundering moan of machine-music has been
throbbing behind it for nearly an hour, or so it seems. Still we wait, having
already waited half an hour for the ticket booth to open. It seems clear that
the total wait will have been nearly 1.5 hours, but for a serious haunt lover,
that's a minor inconvenience.
I have met a couple in the crowd, with whom I have had some friendly conversation,
and to whom I have explained why I am here. It turns out that the wife is
the Halloween lover, and is bringing her husband along for the ride.
Above, as the meager light of the newly-waning moon shines on the white ventilators
straddling the roof, they emit faint clouds of vapor, a certain sign of the
wakefulness of the great god Roscoe. But now, the roof forgotten, the crowd
below gazes up at a smoke-filled balcony, set above an entrance archway blocked
with a crude door.
Onto the balcony strides the Evangelist, who addresses all below as 'sinners.'
"Your churches warned you to stay away," he bellows over a PA system
that Elmer Gantry would have envied. "This is not a haunted house...
incantations have been spoken here..." All of this, the resident crypt
keeper in a clerical collar tells us, is now a big lair belonging to Satan.
In all likelihood, he assures us, we will be converted if we enter - or worse.
This stuff used to scare me, way back in my teens and twenties. Tonight, I
saw a lot of kids in the tour through the haunt, who were siding with the
characters, advocating Satan. Here's the stuff of controversy!
When that controversy that waded into the media this past summer, the religious
blasphemy evident in the House of Shock's show guaranteed reinforced crowds
when the haunt was indeed allowed to open again. There will be a true abundance
of sinners, ready and willing to fill the H.O.S. coffers - and at $7 a pop,
they are the highest ticket in town.
So, what can I say about this haunt? I don't find flagrant blasphemy tasteful,
but that's me. Other than that, I mentioned in last year's review how enormous
their sets are, and how they have built what seems to be a small city in their
warehouse enclosure. This year, they have mazed in a great deal of this open
space, and become a lot like other haunts in terms of environ. They have enriched
their sets, in much the same way that Foti has added to his. More detail is
evident, and more variety. I saw two new mechanically animated effects in
use, both of them home brew, and both quite decent. (One was a skeleton, hanging
above and afar, in shadow as a silhouette, which then slid down a wire toward
patrons. When it landed, was a decayed corpse with detail, and in their faces.
The other was a Chthulian-style crawly creature, set up to squirm amid some
rocks in a small set-piece.)
Did all the blasphemy add to the drama, or heighten the fear? Apparently not
in my friendly correspondents, whom I met again on my way to the parking lot.
"It was well produced," the husband said to me, "but it didn't
scare me." I think they both shared that sentiment.
I didn't experience the degree of fear in patrons that I observed last year,
but perhaps that's just me. Is a trip through the facility worth an hour-and-a-half
wait, plus $7? Well, if you love Halloween, you're already there in line.
------ -Doug
HAUNT REVIEW (Knott's Scary Farm 97)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 10:05:28 -0700
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
We have been going to the Haunt for some 18 years now. Some years it gets
uneven and does not work so well. This year was by far THE most superb we
have done yet. There were 4 brand new haunted mazes and Elvira made her triumphant
return to Knotts after some years involved with maternity.
CAMP GONNAGETCHA
: The log ride. Theming the same as last year, which is as a kid's summer
camp. Two new scenes added to the fun, the dinner cookhouse and the forest
fire sequences were clever. Less shakers than last year though.
THE UNDERWORLD UNEARTHED
: (the mine train). This is a new maze for this year, the theme being a trip
to the underworld, to Hades as it were. The theming was primarily Greek or
Roman in origin, lots of stone columns and statues. The figure of Charon and
his boat across the river Styx was kewl. I was blown away by the dragon which
I had seen during the daytime, but with the full fog and it's animatronic
motion turned it into a mindblower. (it's not in the glory hole, I won't tell
the suprise in there, you will have to see it for yourself). Some of the spider
theming did not work because it was barely lit which was a shame, it was quite
effective. The warning evil stone face was a fun effect. The glory hole suprise
was a new one on me. I loved the LOUD wailing and sounds of the pit of Hades.
VERY nightmarish. Overall, Underworld was a great new haunted maze.
THE INQUISITION
(beary tales funhouse). This was a fun one. The nbame says it all, midieval
torture galore. Love the music track, gotta find out what it is. It fit well
with the nightmarish RenFair theming of Camp Snoopy as the Festival of Freaks.
The end suprise to The Inquisition is a fave old friend animatronic if you
have seen the haunt in years past.
NIGHTMARES
: (bumper cars) The greatest. This maze was built up under the JBCorn booksets,
and it shows. It's also lavishly detailed as ScreamWaver shows you her domain
of nightmares. Very Gothic, very detailed. One of THE finest mazes ever built
for the haunt. My personal favorite next to Dominion of the Dead.
DOMINION OF THE DEAD
(indoor scrambler). This maze also uses the JBCorn method and is still as
equally as lavish if not more than Nightmares. The sets are recycled from
the old Lair of the Vampyre haunted maze which was another stunner back in
92. The music works well, "Servant of Seraphim" by Dead Can Dance.
Nightmares used Peter Gabriel and Danzig which soundefd amazing in line with
the metal floor reverberating just right. You ended up halfway scared while
in line :) Back to Dominion, the indoor/outdoor sets were the same as last
year, some new tricks with coffins and lighting. This and Nightmares take
Knotts to a new artistic level in terms oif sheer artistry. If it werent for
the conga line effect in all the mazes, you could spend a couple of hours
admiring the artistry and paintings within these two haunted mazes.
TOON TERRORTORY
: the same as last year, a clever cartoon haunted house. The new entrance
tunnel of the curtains and Warner Brothers circular logo where you go through
was clever and seemed new to me, I was told it was there last year but I don't
remember it in there last year. small but fun. A gentler house the younger
kids can do safely.
THE UNDERGROUND
(Mexican Village food court). A post nuclear nightmarish future in the abandoned
underground sewage and water systems where wierd mutants lurk around and the
future resembled an underground MAD MAX. This is recycled 2 years ago from
Industrial Evil and is a helluva maze in a much smaller space. I had reviewed
it last year as well, my opinion has not changed of it. It's still a great
maze which really draws you into its world.
BIGFOOT'S REVENGE
: (Bigfoot's line). Hell of an idea theming the line to their water ride.
Lots of fun. I love the Bigfoot climax which was pretty funny and not at all
what I expected. Note to TC: your sense of humor is out of control, please
keep it that way :)
GHOST TOWN DEAD & BREAKFAST
(old barn). Same as last year, a dead & breakfast type hotel with neat
room suprises in terms of who is staying there.
25TH ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS OF FEARS
: (stagecoach lawn). A real blast from the past. This haunted maze pays homage
to some of the great haunted houses of yesteryear. A short run but lots of
fun. Each section echoes the theming from its predecessor. Only one section
I did not recognize because it was before my time. Sigh. Was fun enough to
run through a second time. Not a hardcore horrorfest like Nightmares, Dominion
or Underground but still a very fun maze. Sort of like the Main Street Electrical
Parade, a way to say thanks for the memories.
CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF
(haunted shack). improved over last year, some things re-arranged, uses the
most animatronics of any of the mazes. Lots of wolves running around, more
of a sense of humor than last time. Lyncanthropes feel right at home here.
Ah, the shows. The important one is
THE HANGING
. was better than last year. Clever as hell, a side splitter and completely
unpredictable. The preshow entertainment was lots of fun with a trope of Ghost
Town concrete surfers performing their great concrete surfing tricks in the
front of the stage. They would take a running jump, a flying leap and skid
on their hands and knees and chest some 30-40 feet towards the stage. Some
of the ghouls would lay down and the surfers would hop over them and between
legs in an amazing display of skills. At one point, 7 ghouls were lined up
with a surfer diving right under their legs all the way through on speed alone.
Very talented bunch. One stunt they pulled had me in hysterics a little bit.
At the 10 minute mark, there is an audio announcement, a satirical of the
Fantasmic! announcement where a lady would announce a mystical magical fairy
tale. "Not since Bambi....Fievel goes West...or....or....Blood Squirting
Alien Fiends has such a story come to joyful life! Anyhoo, one ghoul was lip
syncing the story and all the rest were sitting on the ground like little
children hearing a story. The sight just struck me funny as heck. But then,
THE HANGING is known for things like that. A true event, and worth flying
out anywhere in the world to see it from.
I will plead the 5th on what went on at THE HANGING show proper. Suffice it
to say that it broke traditional format and went in different places that
it has never gone before. Avoiding the easy bad taste, THE HANGING turned
out be one of the finest shows we had seen. Far better than 96. Far better.
ELVIRA SHOW/DEAD MONSTERS OF ROCK
(theatre). A great show. Elvira can competely entertain a crowd. Her parody
of "Sweet Transvestite" from RHPS had us rolling in the aisles.
The rest of the show was great fun, the dead monsters of rock being a grand
show all its own. I had never done her show before as I was always pressed
for time formerly. This time, it was a superb treat.
Overall
The haunt was literally THE best we had done in years. Sellout was a little
shorter than park capacity, so the lines worked out fairly well. With our
tried and true system of doing the Haunt, the longest line we waited in was
less than 1/2 hour. This gave enough time for the shows and a good dinner
which was entertaining to itself. THE best place for dinner for atmosphere,
I recommend the
GHOST TOWN GRILL
, patio dining. To some very tasty (and hotter than usual) buffalo wings,
we had a ringside seat to the scaring possibilities of Ghost Town proper.
Very sweet music to the ears of a Halloween enthusiast.
For those of you who want to try the tried and true system, here is how it
works. This was developed over a number of years and has pretty much guaranteed
that we get to every haunted maze along with time for rides.
1. Buy the tickets at Knotts well in advance. Ticketmaster charges an overhead
fee. Why pay their fee?
2. go for 2 days, Friday and Sunday. Avoid Saturday since it is the most crowded
day.
3. get to the front gate by 5 pm, 2 hours ahead of opening. Or get a reservation
for a Pre-Scare Haunt Dinner. (timing precluded that this year, next year
should do better). Sit and enjoy the park, bring friends, talking and enjoying
yourselves.
4. Being at the front will get you in first. They use metal detectors. No
problem. Do not bring camera, videocam or taperecorder. Proprietary reasons.
Sigh.
5. On getting in, they will have the various entrances roped off. Go to the
one by the totem poles, that is the fastest methode to get to the Log Ride.
That will be your FIRST destination. 25 Years of Fears is right on the way,
but do that one later. Get to the Log Ride, enjoy then do the Mine Train.
The reason for these two first is simple, the loading takes time on these,
so the lines on these two will get to around 3 hours later at night. This
will save 6 hours of waiting time for you.
6. By the time you are done with both, you are about 7:30 or so, get to the
Town Square for
THE HANGING
< a front row seat or close. You will be VERY entertained while waiting,
so it's not a boring experience. The town square will fill upto some major
capacity. This way, you get a darned good view of the proceedings.
7. Then hit every other maze. Try and do THE UNDERGROUND, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF
and THE INQUISITION right after, before those lines get super long. If those
lines are long, save them till later and hit the other haunted houses. Those
3 should do ok for thge early part, they can also get some major lines. Others
line nightmares and Dominion and ghost town dead & breakfast have VERY
fast lines due to wide hallways.
Oh yes, another good show is Ed Alonzo in the bird cage theatre. They use
the Wagon Camp for the DEADLY DATING GAME and Ed's act works much better in
a more intimate setting. If you enjoy magic, his show is worth seeing. You
may have seen him before as a regular on a TV show called Saved By The Bell.
Overall, what can one say? The Halloween Haunt is a truly fantastic Halloween
experience. With so much variety of things to see and do, there is simply
no other haunt in the world that can compare. Even Spooky World this year
features only 4 mazes and 2 shows. Harry
Haunt Review --- St. Louis (reposted)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 20:26:04 -0500
From: "Kenny Wyss" <kewyss@sockets.net>
I had the pleasure of visiting 2 of the many haunted houses in the St. Louis,
MO area on Saturday October 18th. After hearing much about the Darkness Haunted
Theme Park the past few years, I finally found the time to make the trip,
and it was well worth it.
---
The Darkness Haunted Theme Park
---
Located on South Broadway next to the historic Soulard Market in the old Welsh
factory
Hours: Weekdays 7-11pm Weekends 6pm-1am Matinees 1-5pm
Prices: Adult $13.00 Child $7.00 (Discount coupons allow $4.00-$5.00 off)
Open through October 31st Phone: (314)631-8000 Website: http://www.halloweenproductions.com
We arrived at The Darkness which is in the Soulard area South of downtown
St. Louis at about 5:00 pm. Since the doors weren't scheduled to open for
another hour, we had fun posing for pics in front of the hearse out front
and meeting with others in line. The Darkness is situated in the old 5-story
Welsh baby carriage factory next to the Soulard Market. Security was very
visible, which is comforting when you're from out of town. The ticket booth
opened promptly at 6:00 and after a short wait, we were in!
As soon as you enter and climb the stairs to the 2nd story, you know you are
not in any ordinary haunt. The owner Larry Kirchner (Dr. Frightner) shows
his amazing abilities as a "hauntertainer" by providing you with
many activities to "kill" time while you muster up the strength
to enter the main haunt area. You're provided with a Museum of Monsters, Video
Arcade, Horror Theatre, "13 Holes of Horror" miniature golf course,
a "Scare-Oke" stage, Scary photo backdrops to pose with, a snack
bar/gift shop, and great music and lighting. We allowed the first 2 groups
to enter while we played golf and enjoyed the sights.
As you now enter the main haunt waiting line, Dr. Frightner again shows his
talent for keeping the patrons occupied by providing an amazing sound and
light show as you travel through the winding line. Illusionist Adam Flowers
entertains with his act every 15 minutes or so. During this part you also
get to experience the Space Tunnel. This thing is wild. It is a huge tunnel
(about 8 ft. in diameter) with a walkway through the center. The inside of
it is painted with flourescent stars and dots and is lit with blacklight.
The whole tunnel spins around you as you walk through, and it gets real interesting.
After about 3 steps into this sucker you swear it's gonna roll off with you.
The walkway has handrails and you're going to need them. It feels as if the
whole wallkway is tilting. I still don't know if it really was, or if it was
just my mind playing tricks on me. If any drunks have made it past security,
they'll fall prey to this baby ;-)
Next stop: the lobby of the Darkness Hotel, where you are greeted by Dr. Frightner
himself (ala television). You are sent on your way with a certain anxiety
and uneasiness about what lies ahead. The theme for the haunt is sort of based
on dimensional travel. You enter an elevator (not a real one) which transports
you to the 4 main areas. They are: the Darkness hotel, haunted asylum, haunted
mansion, and alien encounter.
This place has more animatronics (over 40) than you can shake a stick at.
The actors for the most part, were energetic and some of them were into character
a little too well :-) I finally got to see the electrocution chair but was
disappointed when the sucker was only run for a few short seconds. I passed
it up and they hit the switch. By the time I turned around, I only saw him
thrash around for a second or two and it was over with. Maybe the head loss
thing is still a threat with these or something. One gripe we had was that
some of the animatronics were either not working or not turned on. There was
a neat scene with an old lady in a wheelchair which is tumbling down the stairs.
It was not operating at all. Also, the frankenstein animatronic was not being
used. He just stood there lifeless in the dark.
Another thing we were kind of disappointed in was the over-use of lighting
in the maze halls. There were truckloads of small "rain lights"
and they bled over so much that you could easily see what lied ahead. I figured
since this place was called "The Darkness", it would be dark. I
guess they were just trying to show off the work they had put into the various
sets and paintings.
As you exit the Darkness there is another snack shop/gift shop and an outdoor
carnival. Larry Kirchner spared nothing by offering enough activities to take
up an entire evening at his haunt. He was right on the mark when naming it
"The Darkness Haunted Theme Park". His showmanship is admirable
and his genuine love for the haunt industry shows in what he has created here.
---
Terror Visions
---
Located at the corner of 19th and Washington
Hours: Weekdays 7-11pm Weekends 7pm-1am
Prices: Adult $12.00 Child ?
Open through October 31st
Larry Kirchner's company, Halloween Productions, has purchased Terror Visions
haunted house at 19th and Washington and this is their first year in charge
of operating it. It is situated West of the downtown area in a 2-story warehouse.
This haunt was distinctly different from The Darkness. While the Darkness
leans more towards detail and animatronics, Terror Visions' strength is in
its actors. These people all had a genuine love for scaring the hell out of
people. After operating haunts for several years, I feel it takes a lot to
scare me, but they succeeded many times. My cousin and I were hanging onto
each other for dear life as we wandered through the dark passages. Our group
had 5 people but they split us up into groups of 2 and 3. This makes it even
scarier. If there are only 2 of you, someone has to lead and somebody has
to be in the back.
The haunt is supposed to bring you face to face with your worst fears. They
have a circus of the macabre with psycho clowns, gorillas, attacking elephants,
and lots of still-life creatures. There is a Christmas scene that'll make
you have nightmares about the jolly old fat man sneaking around your house
in the dark. The maze halls are very dark. They can really sneak up on you
in this one. This is the way it's supposed to be.
At the end of the haunt you travel down a 65 foot long "Slide of Doom".
You really fly down this puppy. My cousin held on to the sides all the way
down. He was afraid he'd arrive at the bottom too quick to have time to react
to an awaiting monster.
We were out of breath at the end of Terror Visions. The actors deserve praise
for their relentless pursuit of the patrons. We saw a lady at the snack bar
area at the end that was visibly disturbed. She was so scared she was crying.
---
Overview
---
Larry Kirchner has outdone himself. As a home haunt operator, I envy him for
his position and all the top-notch dislplays he has. As a person who has operated
commercial haunts, I am in awe of how he keeps the patron entertained even
while waiting in line. He has taken haunted houses to the next level. My money
was well spent in the 2 hour drive to visit both locations. What one was lacking
in, the other made up for. If you go to one, you must see the other. They
both can stand on their own, but together they complement one another.
NOTE: Discount coupons can also be used to allow you to purchase a combo ticket
to both locations. Normally it costs $25 total to visit both haunts, but with
the coupon you can tour both for $17 on weekends or $15 on weekdays. The views
expressed in this review are strictly my own. I am in no way associated with
or employed by Halloween Productions Inc. (although I wish I were :-)) Happy
Haunting Kenny Wyss
Falling Ceiling
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 11:36:25 -0800
From: Peter McBride <pete@otc.net>
A great effect, particularly if you use spikes or somesuch.
They use this on the Indiana Jones ride at Dizzyland, to "entertain"
you while you are waiting in the queue. There's a rumor that someone had a
heart attack from the falling ceiling effect, and Disney did in fact remove
it for a brief period of time, but I'm happy to report they've reinstalled
it. Personally I think it was just down for repairs or else the stupid MouseNazis
yanked it just in CASE anybody had a coronary).
The cool thing about the Disney version (in addition to the spikes and impaled
skulls) is the trigger, which is a bamboo "support beam" that causes
the drop if youy shake it hard enough. The beam is made of rubber, so it BENDS
as the roof caves in, like it's gonna snap. Very cool effect.
>How about this:
You create a makeshift ceiling, say stiff cardboard coverd or painted, attach
it to rope, run it through some pullys and whatever, and attach to a rottissery
motor? This would work to lower the ceiling and to raise it back up. After
coming back up, it would have to be shut down though. I dont have the time
or money to do it right now, but maybe next year. What does everyone think?
MaTT HaunteD 145 <
Zoo Spooktacular Notes (Long)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 01:08:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: MORNINMAN@aol.com
Just got back from the Utica Zoo Spooktacular '97 and thought I'd write up
a quick review and commentary. Since I'm a volunteer for the event I won't
even try to pretend I'm not biased.
The Spooktacular
is the zoo's major fund-raiser, drawing several thousand people over the course
of four nights and providing 15-30K worth of funding each year. Admission
is $2, $3 for kids trick or treating. The layout is designed primarily by
the in-house staff, but volunteers like myself handle smaller areas within
the overall complex. The large area available allows three separate attractions
to run simultaneously: the trick or treat circuit, the haunted house, and
the haunted hayride. Food and entertainment booths are scattered throughout
all three areas.
The
trick or treat circuit
is designed primarily for young children. It consists of 13 linear stations
in the children's petting zoo, lower access road, and central office building.
At each station the kids get some kind of candy or small prize while the in-between
areas are home to most of the attractions. The first six stations were scattered
throughout the winding walks of the petting zoo, which was decorated with
smiling ghosts in the trees and grinning jack-o-lanterns along the pathways.
After moving through the first few stations, and having a chance to interact
with the usual cast of animals, the kids arrived at the center of the petting
zoo and...believe it or not...Santa's Workshop. When I first saw this I thought
is was going to be cheese city, but the kids absolutely loved it. The jolly
fat man and his elves put the kids in a happy mood that positively influenced
their behavior during the rest of the walk. All except the teenagers, but
we'll get to that later.
After the petting zoo the kids traveled down the lower access road. On the
slope was a nicely done cemetery display with the usual funny headstones and
some very good lighting. Everything along the route including the staff costumes
was kept non-threatening in order to keep the kids from flipping out. One
thing that I *really* liked was the fencing technique used to keep kids from
wandering off the pathway and into the animal areas that were closed to the
public during the event. Bundles of cornstalks were tied to three strings
of heavy twine strung between posts made from small gauge re-bar driven into
the ground. The resulting "walls" neatly partitioned areas off and
looked very attractive. Best of all, it was really cheap to pull off.
After that the kids arrived at the office building. As they entered the first
set of doors they had a chance to catch a nice Frankenstein set-piece. The
monster rested on a table inside a glassed in viewing room with bubbling retorts
and flasks on the back wall and electrical components on the side walls. The
good doctor then entered, puttered around a bit, flipped the switch to charge
up the monster, and was then attacked by his creation. I liked this scene
because of the cartoonish design of the props and scenery and the over-the-top
acting of the volunteers. Imagine Frankenstein crossed with the Three Stooges
and you have an idea how they staged it.
After that the kids travel through the insect and reptile wing. The animals
that were still in their display areas had prop skulls and bones in their
enclosures, while the displays without animals were arranged with burial sites
akin the ones at the cemetery display (M. T. Noggin, etc..).
After exiting the reptile displays the kids came out at the central square
and could choose from the haunted hayride or the haunted house. I didn't have
time to go through the hayride tonight, but I'll try and make the run tomorrow.
Gah...I've also just realized how long winded I can be, so let me run down
some likes and dislikes of the haunted house very quickly. It was a pretty
standard mish-mash of scenes without theming, but I expect that to change
next year. At least if I have anything to say about it. B-)
Electric chair-
I was directly involved with this one, and I wasn't altogether happy with
the result. The detailing of the chair turned out great, the actors were excellent,
the twin strobes and sfx were boffo...but the damn fog drove me crazy. We
opted to use dry ice fog generated using an industrial coffee pot and reservoired
(is that a word?) in a large cardboard box. During testing everything worked
great- we'd drop in the pellets, mucho fog was created, reservoir filled,
and streams of fog kicked out when we turned on the fan. But something just
wasn't working tonight. I don't know if I underestimated the thermal draw
of repeated applications of dry ice or if the cold temperatures and low humidity
was the cause, but after the first few runs I just couldn't get any fog to
speak of. We're going to try a conventional fog machine tomorrow, but I still
hated not having the stuff during most of tonight. Anyone with any ideas what
was going wrong? We must have gone through fifty pounds of dry ice and just
couldn't get fog to consistently form.
Bug Hall
- This rocked! As the patrons move down a hallway they come upon a sign that
says "Whatever you do, don't look up." When they do look up they
see hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of creepy crawlies..uh...creepy crawling.
This was created using a drop ceiling fluorescent light fixture with a transparent
panel. The light illuminated a gazillion crickets and mealworms the zoo normally
gets through mail order for feeding the animals. They were contained using
a layer of some guaze-like material between the lower panel and the upper
fixture. If you hate bugs it was a real nightmare come true. The only thing
I'd change about this is it's location: I noticed that in the dim lighting
of the hallways the patrons normally look at the floor in front of them. I
think it would be even more shocking if the critters were under a clear floor
panel with a motion trigger for the lights. They'd walk into the hall, the
light would trigger, and they'd see all these disgusting bugs crawling at
their feet. With some appropriate sfx and walls that looked like they were
covered with even more bugs the result could definitely be some wet pants.
Vampyr
Post-mortem- Inside a coffin lies the body of a recently staked vampire. As
the patrons walk past a fountain of blood suddenly gushes forth from his chest!
This was done with a pump drawing colored water from a 55 gallon trash barrel
hidden behind the backdrop. Streams of water would spurt out from tubing hidden
inside the body when the motion sensor was triggered. The spurting effect
was quite nice, but the color of the fluid wasn't very visible. I'd add more
dye to the water or see if the pump could handle a more realistic blood formulation
with a higher viscosity. Adding a separate pump to spray the patrons with
regular water would also be a nice touch.
Millipede
-
I'd mentioned this idea on the list a while ago. Basically, it was a giant
millipede that crawled along a wall thanks to a set of magnets controlled
by an operator on the opposite side of the wall. The results weren't what
I'd hoped for (cough). While casting the body segments and painting the shell
went by without a hitch I just couldn't get the leg mechanism to work consistently.
After spending many late nights trying to kludge the assembly together I finally
threw up my hands in disgust and gave up. The work required to get the legs
working was just too much. Next year I'm just going to use the existing body
with the magnet rig and try to incorporate it into the Bug Hall bit that I
mentioned above. I did learn a valuable lesson by my failure- Any device that
works perfectly in your head, but requires the use of dozens of rods, wheels,
and fiddly bits, is doomed to failure. Get stuck on one concept and you'll
waste valuable time and money while ignoring equally effective alternatives.
I'm going to wrap this up for now, but I did want to mention one thing that
stuck in my mind: I desperately hope the teenagers I saw tonight aren't indicative
of the group as a whole. Never in my life have I craved a cattle prod or length
or rubber tubing with which to boff some sense into someone. I couldn't believe
the language and attitude of some of these kids. I can understand the psychological
undercurrent in a haunt that brings out the worst in a teenage male's bravado,
but I'm shocked at just how aggressively it's expressed. (sigh) Just had to
get that off my chest. Cordially, MM
Queen Mary Review
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 00:48:22 -0700
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
Just back from Shipwreck 97. This is a 3 maze haunted house put on at the
Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Let me review the whole shebang.
1. "
Hull of Horror
". This maze was essdentially identical to last year's effort. It wound
in and out of the engine room with a combination of plywood panels and dark
curtains to ascertain the path. The Distortions electric chair has been put
into a smaller space, and appears to have a much wilder back and forth action
than last year. (a retrofit kit?). You had ghoul types in corners and dark
places with shakers or instruments. One thing they did with the propeller
room was a small rubber boat with a skeleton in it. That room spooks me enough
as is. Otherwise, it was identical to last year, one loud incoherent mess.
Lots of walking but with little to no setting scenes.
2. "
Decks of the dead
". This one wound through the previously closed off cargo hold. It consisted
mostly of skeletons on ship benches or chairs or such settings. Cute idea
putting the random strobe lights into the dry ship's indoor pool. Monsters
lurking in the shower rooms was a cleve r touch. We will have to remember
that one for posterity. Lots skulls in various places, prolly 3 dozen total.
Unfortuantely, we found the cargoi hold to be much more interesting than the
haunted proceedings.
3. "
Londontowne of Terror
". Identical to last year';s effort. This maze winds in and out of the
empty stores in the Londontowne shopping centre. You went up and down stairs
to the various palces. Possibly the longest maze here. The dead alien with
bags of Cheetos in each hand was a cute touch. The satanic section with the
crosses on the walls is sure to piss off some types. Liked the clowns of death/dr.
giggles section. Cute but not scary. We found pretty much 80% empty corridor
with the rest mild scares. not as intense as last year.
Total rating: 6. Much wasted potential. Cut down the empty corridors, have
more things to look at and be scared by and you guys would really have something...
Harry
Hangman Problems .. .
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 09:41:38 -0500 (EST)
From: Klingon12@aol.com
I figured out how I will accomplish this! I will be using pepper's ghost (woohoo!)
What I will do is have the noose in front of the crowd, and then the body
will slowly fade into exsistance on the noose. This way no actually hanging
just a person standing on a platform. Luis Flores
Actors..
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 17:26:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Spookyfx@aol.com
However: (and remember you ASKED ME FOR MY OPINION)
1. BAD actors can ruin the BEST sets and room ideas.
I always use animated characters OR volunteers from
collage and high school acting depts. I have a friend you writes and directs
plays interview them first.
Most new actors will gladly act for free. ANYONE can screen for poor actors.
You do not have to BE a good actor to know one.
2. Scares should push the Audience from the entrance to the exit. They had
several bottle necks.
3. There is no excuse for Cliché effects and rooms. And old trick can
be redress to look new. EVERY magicians trick has been seen OVER AND OVER
but the good magicians know how to make it look new and different. I hate
mad sciences labs and dot rooms but they are used EVERYWHERE! Even if it totally
breaks out of the theme of the HH. I have never understood Why a Victorian
house of ghosts should have a operation room... This is simply a lack of imagination.
SO many HH simply reenact seens from MOVIES.
4. Continuity is a big part of HH showmanship. Yet I have never seen this
in any HH except for Disney, Knot's Dominion of the dead and Nightscares.
5. CODE VIOLATIONS....but because this HH was put together by the local fire
dept., it passes without any problems. This dose not effect the performance,
but it is a pet peeve of mine.
6. MANY (inexpensive) special effects that could have been used were not used
in favor of elaborate sets. This is the BIGGEST problem I see with the HH
in California. I think it may have something to do with the movie industry
and the number of schools and
small companies here that design and build sets. Every ROOM should have SOME
effect (or aspect for building interest for the climax) but this HH had many
empty corridors and rooms with no action.
7. The basics of showmanship (building the interest in progressively higher
peeks ) was not followed.
8. And as always....people in rubber masks jumping out of dark corners is
NOT my idea of being terrified, only startled!
Not that I do not do this myself, but creativity should be used and
not just a lack of light. One effect I saw once was a painting
amongst many paintings on a wall. It wa a painting of a gothic half dressed
woman which got the guys to get a close look! Then it would open like a door
to reveal the rubber masked BOO! This is EASY but so many HH do not do this
kind of thing. Instead they hide behind a corner and jump out as if the customer
has not seen this a MILLION times.
REMEMBER this is just my opinion, these HH make lots of money. So I am in
the minority in this mind set.... Yours ghouly Jerry -
Actors..
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 06:37:04 -0700
From: htraver@dreamsys.com
(Jerry asking about the pier haunted house)
It was called the Hollywood House of Terrors (or something in that line).
The entrance had a cute sign with a giant film piece with flashin strobe lights
in each socket hole. Admission was $6, park tickets used.
First room in was a dot room. or supposed to be. small 4 by 8 corner os a
U turn, a low 4 foot partition, with the dotted person type jumping up from
the partition and roaring. That was prolly THE cleverest twist they did on
a room.
next room was (ah hell, forgot the order, will try and run through with it).
a Predator room, giant predator in another U shaped room setup with camouflage
netting serving as the "forest". No action or spooks. Was told later
that due to severe understaffing that you were supposed to be attacked by
a bush.
A Distortions electric chair. Different setup, caged area on the left, someone
would turn it on for 4 seconds, then turn it back off.
A Frankenstein room. 2 plasma globes on top of the tilted table type, strfobe
light. Frankenstein off the table and roaring.
Pinhead room. Double room, first room being a small peekthrough with a less
detailed version of the rotating log from the movie with body parts on it.
Next room had 3 chains in the back hanging from the ceiling and pinhead in
a really cut rate version of the mask, it had the lined cuts but no pins!.
A Freddy room. Furnishings included a bed with a hole in it with a red light
and a teddy bear on the bed. Would have been nicer if the Freddy tucked in
his mask.
A ending chainsaw room, body parts hanging on chains, the guy with the chainsaw
lounging behind running foward with an ELECTRIC chainsaw.
We rated it a 3, and that was a kind rating. By comparison, the YMCA one got
an 8.... Harry
THE secret of low fog...
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 10:07:37 -0500
From: Henault_Gary@tmac.com
What about a wolf claw come sticking up out of the fog along with a growl?
Gary H
THAT's it! Maybe something like that would work... have growls under the fog
and use the grave jumper effect to lauch some poor schmuck into a tree.
(A dummy, not a person. Unless you want a redneck I can get you one.)
You could even add an actor in the room with the kids, and dress the dummy
like the guy, then have him fall under the fog when the thing bellows...then
reappear as the dummy....huh? It would of course rely upon
an enclosed room...but what do you think? - Park
Here's an idea for under-the-fog scares. I discovered this effect while helping
clear a septic tank line. I was using a plumbers snake connected to an electric
drill. At one point it was stretched out about 50 feet in tall grass. I triggered
the drill and the entire snake started writhing in the grass. I made a lot
of rusteling sounds and moved the grass without you seeing exactly what was
moving. I've always thought it had some nice Halloween potential.
My HH discription ( Long Version )
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 11:05:07 -0500
From: "Dread Roberts" <mrroberts@cdh.net>
For the past several years, The place I work hosted a Haunted hayride. ( Personaly
I thought it was lame. It is hard to scare someone at distance )
This year, The Bossman decided it should be a Haunted House in the basement
of the lodge. Staying true to form, we ( that is I ) Didnt get started until
september 8 th. But never the less, I threw my hat into the ring, And wound
up being the only person foolish enough to take on the challenge. This is
what I wound up with, 23 haunts ( I call them Boo's ) My HH was At Lost Valley
Ski Area in Auburn Maine.
You started out by the High Witch. She Looked evil as the night is dark, and
told the worst blonde jokes in the world while you waited your turn. we let
groups of 2 - 6 go in at a 3 minute spread.
After the High Witch, You went down a short flight of stairs to a landing
with hay, several scare crows, and a Mess of low ground fog. ( the ground
fog was made by pumping fog through about 3 feet of 6"pipe filled with
ice. )
After you treck through the scare crows, you pass into the house itself, and
are greeted by a Crank Skeleton. ( similare to the crank ghost, using a plastic,
but evil looking skelton) He was lit by a strobe, Had spider webing all throughout
his cubical, and in a ghostly voice, was warning the customers to follow the
rules, or the spirits of the valley would be angered. ( a note about the crank
skeleton, The agitator from a old upright clothes washing machine worked great
as a heavy dutey rigging for the revolving arm )
Next you walked down a dimly lit hall, still hearing the skelton. You eventualy
come to a smoldering culdren. The cubical was decorated with Branches, and
Rubber bats. A few feet away hides my prize actor in the darkness. The Witch.
She scared the shit out of everyone, and even sent a few people to niagra
falls. She would come out of the darkness cackling and warning the people
to turn back before they become ingrediants to here brew.
Down the hall and around the bend was my torcher scean. A working Geoteine,
A working Rack, And a working Stockade, all dimely lite. Some other chains
and hooks also adorned this area. This was gonna be a plain static scean,
but I had some extra actors, so they wound up here. Using a fake head, and
a headless shoulder stump prop, he would use the geoteine to get a scare,
or come out in another mask, and treaten to put people in the rack or the
stocks if they didnt leave. A actor sometimes hidding in the darkness at the
end of this would jump up at the end out of knowwhere and get a little more
sreaming.with a heavy chain slamming into the brick wall.
Proceeding around the corner, and down the hall, you see a large Grim Reaper
Skeleton Head hanging on the wall at the end of the hall. As you aproached
it, it would jump up to 8', yes, I said 8 FEET off the wall. The actor behind
the wall had a megophone, and tormented the guests with all sorts of stuff
. The shock value an this one will defenaly make it a permanant attraction
to the HH.
Proceeding down the hall and once again around the bend, you come to a harmless
picture of a litter of Dalmation puppies. As the middle of the group passed
the picture, it would drop with a loud thud , and a masked actor with one
hell of a big knife would come out.
Next you came to a halway with criss cross triangle walls you had to walk
around.
After that was a maze built in a room 20' x 60' With 2 different spookey soundtracks
running at all the dead ends.
At the end of the maze, was my gorrilla room, 2 gorrillas, one hidding, and
one in plain site acting stupid. People would actualy stop to pet him, then
the hidding one would come out making all kinds of noise. People were running
over top of one another to get out of this room. It was decorated with a bunch
of fake trees from mardens ( mardens is a factory closeout discount type of
store )
This next hall was kinda lame, a bunch of movie posters on the walls. ( I
had to do something, and it was the bosses idead )
After the hall came a static scean. it was set up like a Viewing. I had a
small , but real coffin, filled with all my leftover body parts. A wreath
with a banner that read " Rest in Pieces"
Next in the lineup is one of my favorites. A electric chair with strobes,
and real loud screaming and electricity sounds. it was set off by a floore
preshure plate that I made. I heard one little girl scream at her father to
get off the switch before he killed the man in the chair.
After that, you had to navigate a dark hallway with burlap sacs hanging at
different heights.
After the sacks, was another hallway with several manicans an stuff like that
to look at as you passed by. at the end of this static scean, And actor would
pop out and give whoever was in the back a heart attack.
The next 2 things kinda worked as a set. the first was a girl in a cage, begging
and pleading to be released. she would ask patrons to release her, or call
her Mom. They just grabed me and stuck me in here. etc... Then you walk down
another dim hallway. Spiders, 20 or so 12" spiders on the walls, 6 Bags
of spider webbing on the wall, and hundreds of feet of fishing line hanging
from the ceiling. I also had about 3 yards of styrofoam peanuts on the floore.
At the end of the hall, in a dimly lit nook, wraped in webbing and holding
a Giant spider ( 3' big if its an inch) Was my Spider Queen. She looked like
a dummy, but after people were shure she was inanimate, she would come to
life, saying stuff like, Come and pet my spider, You shouldnt have touched
the webs, now he is awake etc.
After that came another dimly lite hallway, with a creaky suspention bridge
that was noisy as hell, and about 25 feet long. After the bridge, was my radiation
swamp. we broke open some glow sticks, used blacklite, and a fog machien here.
A swamp monster would almost always jump everyone as he come out, picked up
a barrel of radiation, and tossed it at them. ( the barrel actualy hit a kickplat
in front of the customers.
Next is the Mad Surgeons room. It was a white room with blood and body parts
everywhere. We had a torso prop with entrails and stuff, ( really gorey )
A girl would put her head up at the top of the torso, and scream her head
off as the Mad Surgeon hacked at the torso with a big cleaver. as the customers
entered the room, the girl would be quite, and the surgeone would harrass
then looking for parts to finish his wife.
Comming out of this room, there were cubicals on the wall with heads and flasing
lites. A little further down was the head cooler. Some masks hung up in front
of a window, with a red lite under them, and a fog machien fogging under them
as well. it looked like a freezer sort of, it also looked like the fog was
burning becuase of the red lite. wile people were looking at this, a final
monster would come out from behind them, and give them the final scare of
the house...
After the house, you then went for a 20 minute ride up, and down the chairlift.
Several static sceans were set up on the ground to look at as you slowely
glided through the october nites sky.
Well, thats it,, I am almost finished tearing it all down sighhhhhhhh You
will all have to pardon the spelling, it isnt my strong suit, and my checker
is on the fritz. -MrRoberts
Spinning Room
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 21:28:09 -0600
From: JB Corn <jbcorn@altinet.net>
Hi all, I'm back.
The spinning cylinder is a fun effect. Ever since the fun house barrel it
is an effect I have longed to produce. I have built several versions, never
used one in my haunt. Effects that I use must pass major testing. I have settled
on a version of this effect. Like the laser lights, except I am using christmas
lights and a sequencer. The tunnel is twenty feet long. It is made up of three
8' diameter plywood rings, each a glued sandwhich of three layers of 3/4"
bc plywood. Each ring is 6" wide, the inside diameter is 8'. Around the
ring I have drilled holes for 3/4" conduit, 10' long, 6" on center
between conduits. To this wire tie miniature christmas lights 4" on center
all the way around. The beauty of this is the bridge is not really a bridge.
Add to the illusion by cutting holes in the bridge. You can also add pop up
effects to either side of the bridge anywhere along the entire diameter. make
the effect light tight and add alittle fog. this effect is bright, you may
reduce lumens with a transformer or send your guests into a very dark scare
sequence. jbcorn
Spinning Room and other ideas
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 17:01:50 -0500 (EST)
From: JLISA1@aol.com
Hi everyone, I had an idea for a spinning room that is a little different.
I have one of those small spining disco lights, and when I tried it out in
a small room I got very dizzy. It moves so fast that it really is dis-oerintating.
For a haunt room, why not have one, or better yet two of these going, fog
covering the floor, and if possible have furniture and pictures or lights
hanging a strange angles. It could be a great effect. If you could go one
step farther, somehow change the angles of the ceiling, or the corners.
Also, I was wondering if anyone had any suguestions for making giant monsters,
and a giant dragon? If anyone saw House Of Frankienstien last week, when they
had the vampires as the beasts, those would make a great display, or you might
even be able to do that for the winged beast thingie costume that some people
have talked about... I just am not sure how???????
One last question, If I do make a giant dragon, is there any way for me to
have fire comming out of his mouth??? Julie
FOOTNOTE
: Is is possible to combine the spinning balls (from above), low fog, and
the 'big hand' coming out from the mist? -cliff
Those Douglas Fir talking trees.
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 20:02:06 -0800
From: Bob Andrews <the_boss@restin-petes.com>
I thought of a cool way to use those trees. Talking tombstones. You could
use two of the trees (sans needles) and have them carry on a conversation
with each other, exchange snappy patter, jokes, songs (ie. "My, you have
a wonderful singing voice." "Thanks, I toured with the 'Stones"
or "Who was that lady I saw you with last night?" "That was
no lady, that was my maggot-infested tenant's corpse") Just have one
tree fed the signal from one track of a stereo tape and the other tree from
the other track. It would be simple to do, and very effective. I bought four
of the little shrubberies. -- Bob Andrews
Bladder Ghost
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 23:32:17 EST
From: Orniske <Orniske@aol.com>
>Mike says we have a squirrel cage fan, and a metered inlet...to control
the flow! It is a sliding plate over the inlet so it just opens and closes
to control how much or little you want! It works great!<
Once upon a haunt, when I was with the Jaycees, back in the early 80's, we
had a member build a 'bladder ghost' using this idea. Basically, it was a
big pillowcase-like affair situated over the mouth of a squirrel-cage A.C.
blower. A trap door was over the outlet of the blower, and one pulled a rope
to lower the trap door, which was held against the mouth of the venturi (that
filled the bag) by means of air pressure. In other words, picture a large
fan blowing against a door and holding it shut. Imagine a rope tied to the
door at its handle. When you pull the rope, the door is forced open, against
the breeze, which can then escape through the door to fill the 'ghost' bag,
or whatever inflatable is covering the doorway.
The method Kathy mentions can limit the volume of air, and control how violently
the inflation takes place. If you make your bag into a ghost-shaped body,
the effect is neat and provides a scare like unto the TCT (if you add sound
and proper lighting.) I leave the rather simple design and possible modifications
to your abundant collective imaginations. -Doug
Flashing falling room
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 22:11:20 -0800
From: Erik Bell <erikbell@worldnet.att.net>
Hello again fellow spooksters,
Does anyone have any plans or insight into the black and white/strobe/angles
room in the Looney Tunes maze at Knott's Haunt? In this room the floor was
listing some ~10-15 degrees and with the geometric shapes on the wall and
the strobe light nearly everyone lost there balance. It was amazing. Alas
again my grave moans for my return, Erik
Haunt Description:
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 1997 02:57:46 -0500
From: "Aaron K. Wynn-Hinman" <oct31@oct31.com>
This year Kevan and I volunteered at the Wire Mountain Youth Center, located
on the Camp Pendleton Marine base here in northern San Diego county. The haunted
house they operate is a collaborative effort involving the other four youth
centers on the base. Labor was provided by staffers, volunteer adults and
kids. Because the center had to be kept open for kids as long as possible,
setup could not begin until three days before opening night. The was a lot
of tension up to the last minute before opening, but the result was worth
it.
The haunt itself had a walking circuit of approximately 150 feet, with 9 themed
rooms: the vampire room, the witch room, the spider room, the ghost room,
the mummy room, the Frankenstein room, a glow room, a guillotine room and
a graveyard.
In the last three days before opening, Kevan and I hastily constructed and
contributed props for four of these: an FCG for the ghost room (thanks, Doug,
for giving FCG to the world and thanks, Wil, for your great instructions for
the FCG Lite, which I followed); a lighted operating table with straps for
Frankenstein; an eight-foot guillotine; ten plastered tombstones and crypt
walls for the graveyard and a collection of blacklights, strobes and a fogger
(thanks, John, it performed flawlessly). The guillotine, crypt and operating
table were left behind for future shows.
We received compliments on all our contributions, had a lot of fun and learned
a lot helping out and, most importantly, supported a worthy cause. We're proud
of the fact that admission was a mere $2 per person for ages 5 and over (younger
visitors were free). We operated on Thursday and Friday night, four hours
each night. We estimate a visitor count around 1,100 and receipts just over
$1,600. This works out to about 140 people per hour. Groups of five to seven
were typical and all visitors were hosted by guides. We had approximately
30 actors throughout the haunt. Audience reactions ranged from teenagers who
passed through stoney-faced, to adults who let themselves go and had a ball,
to little ones who were likely traumatized for life. I'm fairly sure we laid
the psychological groundwork for the next unabomber this year.
We're not proud of the fact that this haunt violated many of our Halloween-L
safety credos. Black plastic was used extensively, straw was spread over a
carpeted floor, fire extinguishers were not clearly visible, nor were exits.
There were debriefings at the end of each night, but no pre-show briefings
on emergency routines. I also regret the times when small children were needlessly
terrified. That said, we were fortunate, worked hard and had a successful
show. Greg in Vista
A new idea for Checkerboard room?
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 1997 13:24:32 -0600
From: The Brandts <ofm@tecinfo.com>
Hiya Ghouls,
I have been working on a new idea (new to me anyway) and thought I would toss
it out.
I want to build a checkerboard room but instead of the normal strobe lighting
I want the checks to change colors. I bought some UV pens at Spencers and
they are filled with a clear type paint that glows white under blacklight.
I tried spreading this on a piece of wood painted black, under blacklight
it turns white but under normal light it stays black. I am looking for a white
paint that will appear dark under UV light, I know some white fabrics will
appear black but I am looking for some kind of paint (flat white interior
paint appears dark gray, but it would look much better if I could find something
a little darker) that would turn almost black.
The idea is to treat a room or hall to this paint scheme in a checkerboard
pattern, then mount a 40 watt fluorescent blacklight and a 40 watt purple
party bulb in a rotating fixture. The effect would be a room lit with purple
light at all times where the checks would actually appear to move back and
forth. Should be a very disorienting effect. Any ideas? jimmy
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 23:30:05 -0600 (CST)
From: John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
I know this isn't exactly the answer your looking for but I think it was Ysengrin
who made the suggestion of painting the checkers in red and blue. Then using
2 alternatively firing strobe lights,one covered in red and the other covered
in blue gel the checkers will change color. I'm going to try this myself this
year. Maybe a simpler alternative to what your looking for. Hope this helps,
JD jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Tombstone Ideas
- (Long)
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 22:55:54 -0500 (EST)
From:GMossjr@aol.com
I'm going to explain some ideas about cemetery "accoutrements" that
might be expensive; but perhaps- thought provoking & could be done with
less costly alternatives or ideas. Also these ideas might of been discussed
before or are not in the mix of cost effectiveness.... I also don't like to
provide ideas that I myself have not done due to these ideas being superfluous
to many Halloween-l members. But, still your feedback is valuable since we
have a rather eclectic group of fiendish talent. Enough said....
1)
Gravemarkers
- I've considered making 4" hollow gravemarkers using "bender board"
or garden edging board- for siding w/plywood backing. The front would be the
type of material that could be airbrushed w/your favorite epitaphs; but is
see-thru when illuminated from inside the 4" space. Similar effect is
the ceiling in the "Stretch Room" in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland,
where the attic lights up the hangin corpse of the ill-fated Captain. By illuminating
the interior of the tombstone with the see-thru cloth- would unveil a host
of apparitions placed inside the gravemarker. One can mount in the 4"
interior ie. skulls, masked features, or ghostly forms that supposedly inhabit
your gravemarker. Question...what material would allow an airbrush application
w/ see-thru characteristics?
2)
Lighted epitaphs
on gravemarkers- I would like to have the traditional humorous grave epitaphs
that adorn one's stately tombstones. But, I was contemplating using UV paint
that is hardly ledgible during the daytime- and would make a secondary epitaph
with frantic writings of "Help me....I was buried alive" when exposed
to UV applied by a shuttering system. At night you would see the first epitaph;
then the black light would shutter on and reveal the second epitaph; then
shutter off again, revealing the primary epitaph inscriptions.
3)
Lighted inscriptions
using fiber-optics- This is abit of a formidable challenge, but stated effect
is used on the entry of "Pirates of the Caribbean" where the sand
lights up the words "Pirates of the Caribbean" in yellow fiber-optics
flush in the sand near the treasure chest. Instead, use the same principle
of illuminating your Halloween friend name in your tombstone. Using red light
for the fiber-optics would be a wicked effect- if modulated to appear and
disappear would possibly be intriguing.
The fiber optics bundle would be labor intensive and perhaps cost prohibitive.
Instead, use styrofoam frontal face instead of cloth- carve out an epitaph
inscription or mottled blood stain holes. Place a low incandescent colored
light or low wattage bulb to illuminate your frontal face from the inside
of the gravemarker.
4) The
apparition in a crypt
- this is where it gets a bit "obtuse" and expensive. I would build
a crypt: similar to Bob A's ....thanks, Bob.- crypt and add a door opener.
(Oh...sure, Ted, we'll just go out and buy one at the local K-Mart). With
this crypt...I would borrow the company's LCD multimedia projector or the
visual presentation equipment- they're in the "Office Depot" or
office supply stores ranging from $3,999 to $7,999 ( I did say borrow it from
your company or sales dept.) and these projectors allow you use your multimedia
capability from your computer, laptop, or video input.
Utilizing this to project inside or outside your graveyard on cheesecloth
or fog would unleash your creative juices to both image presentation and audio
scare. I was thinking of applying it to the inside of a crypt w/said LCD projector
projecting towards back of crypt with either cheesecloth or fog as backdrop
or screen. With video input- this affords movement and sound to your graveyard
spectre.
5) The
Bladder control tombstones
- By using Denny Dahm's "Living Wall Latex Rubber sheet"- one would
use the same 4" interior spacing construction of the tombstone and apply
latex rubber sheet as the frontal face. The interior would consist of hard
plastic mask of ie. skull or other scare adhered or fastened to a hot water
rubber bottle or a bladder device w/compressor fittings to inflate and deflate
the expansion of the hot water bottle. This would press the mask against the
latex and then retreat from the latex frontal face of the tombstone.
I ask the group of the feasibility, practicality, and cost effectiveness as
well as if anyone has tried these ideas. As forementioned, I need to know
what cloth material is used that will allow for transparent quality in idea#
1- Many Thanks- Ted Moss (JWRV76A@prodigy.com)
Responses:
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 21:28:51 -0600 (CST)
From:John Dolan <jdolan@titan.iwu.edu>
Hey Ted, Great ideas!
On Thu, 20 Nov 1997 GMossjr@aol.com wrote:
> 1) Gravemarkers-
> Question...what material would allow an airbrush application w/ see-thru
characteristics? <
Theatrical scrim is what your looking for. Contact your local theatre group
or supply store to get a hold of some.
> 4) The apparition in a crypt- <
You could also try scrim here. If you used a dark color scrim (such as black
"sharktooth") you could have your crypt appear to be empty. Then,
using a light source (on the inside), with a dimmer control you could slowly
raise the light level and have your prop or actor "fade in" to view.
Sort of a cheap "Peppers Ghost" type effect. Hope this helps, JD
jdolan@titan.iwu.edu
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 97 13:41:40 -0800
From: stevekirkman@bitechnologies.com
Hi Ted, What great ideas! I am planning a couple similar ones for next year,
specifically numbers 3 and 4. I have a few thoughts, everyone, please feel
free to comment as sometimes my thoughts are incoherent!
Idea 1: I've built several hollow headstones. They consist of 3/4" pine
sides and top with fiberboard front and back. I chose fiberboard because it
has a smooth finish, light weight, and was only 1/8" thick. They hold
up very well if sealed inside and out, mine have lasted four years now! What
if you were to substitute acrylic sheet (aka Plexiglass) for the front face?
With creative painting you could hav a solid looking front that would be transparent
when lit internally, yet still maintain some structural integrity. Perhaps
using transparent paints and inks, as in model construction, would be one
way to go.
Idea 2: Taken from the way the portraits "used" to work in DL's
Haunted Mansion, how about painting your alternate epitaph (in reverse type)
on the INSIDE of your hollow headstone. Then illuminate it with an externally
triggered strobelight mounted inside the stone. You could also paint with
fluorescent paint, as you suggest, and have your BL inside the stone.
Idea 3: This is what I am going to do this coming year. I will build hollow
stones with plexiglass backed front faces of either 'blue' foam or fiberboard.
The epitaph will be cut through the face down to the plex. Mask the epitaph
and paint and weather as usual. Remove the masking and lightly paint the epitaph.
OK, heres the kicker, inside I will mount a string of multifunction Xmas lights
which will fade in and out. Since these are now available in single color
strings, I will stock up after the holidays.
Idea 4: If expenses permit I will build a crypt this year also. Inside will
be an FCG Pepper's Ghost which will fade in and out, a la "Hotel Lugosi".
Instead of a solid door, I will make a gate out of wood (inspired by Bob A's
fence!). This will allow 'guests' to view the apparition while keeping the
pesky little creatures on the outside. At the back of the crypt will be flickering
candles to further enhance the spectral illusion. I found many great crypt
photos on the net for reference, mostly from New Orleans cemeteries.
Idea 5: Great idea!! I humbly bow to your greatness! I'm not worthy, I'm not
worthy.
As I said, these are just some of my humble ideas, please feel free to comment.
Steve Kirkman
Rat Alley
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 19:52:35 -0500
From: Chris Sands <sandstorm@flinet.com>
> Hi everyone, Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth. I've got 30 rats
in my haunt and love them. They are very effective, but, as with any pet,
require alot of time for upkeep. I have a room called Rat Alley that is a
series of hallways and crawl-thrus that has rats in the walls, ceiling, floor,
etc,...We also use a few in our Frankenstein scene (on a table with body parts).
We also have a picture at our web site at Haunted America showing a girl in
a coffin with about 10 rats around her head and one large one on her chest
(It took 6 rolls of film to get the girl and the rats coordinated). We got
our rats at the pet store four years ago and so far no one has ever been bit.
Dwayne Louisiana Nightmares <
I just wanted to throw this in, too- When I went to Universal Studios for
the Halloween Horror Nights this year, one of the h. houses had a large plastic
pipe (about 3 feet diameter) with the opening closed off by plexiglass. Inside,
along with some horrific green lighting, a young girl with about 15 full grown
rats/mice/rodent type things (I couldn't tell). She just sat there, playing
with the things. It was pretty freaky. :) -=- Chris -=-
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 18:15:28 -0500
From:"leonard.pickel" <leonard.pickel@mci2000.com>
The Rat Lady room design was used at Universal Horror nights (Florida) as
far back as 1989. If you use it in a walk through, be aware that it can cause
a bottleneck. People will stand there until the light comes on several times.
Leonard
> From: King Cobra <king-cobra@king-cobra.com>
> Date: Thursday, November 27, 1997 9:31 AM
> Nancy Miller wrote:
> > Rats when basically kept clean, happy and fed WILL NOT bite humans.
In fact they won't even fight each other. I would imagine the kind you can
buy from a pet store that are basically snake food could come from thisgroup.
Anyone wanting to work on such a scene might be able to work with a Mom and
Pop pet store and/or snake owners to work out a deal to "use"
the rats. < <
> Yep, get them from a pet store. Reptile pet stores sell them for a VERYcheap
price, becuz these mice are used as feeders. Or better yet, get them from
a breeder. Breeders can sell you A LOT of rats for a cheap price.
> Oh, and after you used your rats for the "rat-lady" thing,
give or sell these rats to other snake keepers. I would've love to have those
rats, but my snakes are too small for them. Kevin <