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i'm trying to develop a "Bone Collector" roaming character for our attraction and am looking for some input. i'm going for the creep factor of "oh wow, this guy really wants my bones!"
i did some google searching and found very little in terms of inspiration. if anyone could lead me in the direction of some good reading i'd appreciate it!
Bone collector is pretty vague- are you looking for costume/character suggestions? Historical refrences of bone collectors?
According to Ray Bradburry.. as he walked away smiling and the man who had all those problems with his own skeleton was left a quivvering jellyfish...
I would think the "acting" in such a part would carry it much more than any physical costuming.
Maybe a shabby attire with numerous hand-sewn pockets holding the tips of bones protruding and jangling as he moved and walked would sell the concept?
A lustfull gleam in the eye along with a decidedly evil grin, concentrating upon those quiet people who don't like being noticed at all would go far in establishing .
He would not be nearly as picky as his buddy "The Scab-Collector!"
@Allen - my post was intentionally vague. i know on the forums you are a stickler for being descriptive as possible, but in this particular situation i am simply looking to see what kind of information other haunters come back with.
i am willing to do the homework on my own, and that's why rather than asking "what are YOUR ideas" i simply asked if anyone knew of any material out there on the subject of a bone collector.
historical references would be fantastic! i would be very interested in reading how a bone collector may have operated and in what cultures throughout history!
thanks for your input :)
jim - thanks much!! you've given me a very cool narrative to get my mind geared into this process. and i got a good laugh out of "the scab collector"
@Allen that's great! thanks much!! :)
I was working in a grocery store when I came around the corner and thought I must be hallucinating!?
There was an eldely man , thin, who looked like a black hole (from outer space?) No light escaped, no reflection from his skin or clothing, he wore black rubber boots, his skin was as if she had smeared soot over every part of himself as was the look of his clothing!
He lived in a chicken coop, he had a house next to it full of chickens. He sold eggs door-to-door! A knock on your door was followed by him standing there holding one egg in his flat black fingers.. "Wanna buy an egg?" Then if you didn't respond quickly enough he would try to impress you by spitting on the egg, wiping it off, just incase you had been put off by any chicken feces left smeared on the egg!
(Who Couldn't be "Impressed" by all of that?!)
If he ever needed to steal eggs from someone else's coop he was all "Commando-ed" ready to be invisible in any shadows helpfully provided by the mere absence of light.
Imagine being a kid, sleeping outside at night looking out the opening of your pup tent with your friends .. and you see this flat-black person coming down the street! WOW!
I just know, some parents HAD to have referred to him as some kind of a Boogeyman , just to keep their kids scared and in-line!
"The Egg Man will get you! , so be GOOD!"
Hard to ever forget a real life "costume" like that.
I dont know exactly what your looking for, but Im reminded of the victorian "Sack em up men"
If I had a victorian haunt-William Burke would make an appearence.
http://www.allaboutstuff.com/General..._Snatchers.asp
@Allen - an interesting read indeed! 2012 will be our third year and i intend to do some major overhaul to our overall story and theme. The idea of body snatchers seems like a fabulous concept to play off the psyche of being taken.
the town we are actually located in is Big Flats. so i would like to build a story around a character i call 'the big flats butcher.' I really like the idea of this character being a collector and having branches into grave robbers, rag and bone men, etc. our haunt is already billed as somewhat Victorian, so this seems like it would be a logical advance into a theme with greater depth.
Now, I'm very new to this so take it all with a grain of salt.
But... if I were creating a character who's a bone collector, I'd consider what I'd want if I were a real bone collector. You know, I'd check out my options. That guys has a really nice tibia... excuse me ma'am, what lovely carpals you have... may I see them? I like scares that are creepy and a little bit ironic... so I'd ask guests if they have any osteoporosis in their family. I'd learn my bone names and use them liberally. I'd ask the kids if they've been drinking milk... because it's good for bones...
If I were a bone collector, I'd have some awesome bone accessories to go with my grungy clothes. Bone earrings, a bone necklace and an amazing bone belt buckle.
Hey, if you coat chicken bones in shellac, will they not get rancid for a few weeks?