HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE HAUNT

[slash]

If u can afford $30, there's a good scare called a drop panel that u can build

I would love to hear.

It is basically a sheet of plywood, painted to look like whatever your theme is (a dungeon window, painting on wallapaper, etc) and you cut a window out at the actors eye level. Then, you take a slightly larger piece of wood on the back of that window and put a picture or something on it. Then, you take stapping ro 2x4 and overlap them on the back, each side of the window, so you make runners for the panel.Put a 2x4 on the bottom of the runners. When the people walk by, they think it's just a painting on the wall. The acor drops the panel, making a loud bang, scares them, and slides it back up. I'm sure there's plans online.

[Jim Warfield]

Though if you have a whole lot of drop panels, the customer should see it coming and there might be a fist sandwich waiting for the haunter on the darker side of the wall.
That whole revenge factor as expressed by some weak minded customers has always really baffled me?
"Sure I punched the clown, Officer, he scared me!"
"Didn't you go through the house last night too?"
"Yes."
"Pre- meditated revengefull punching, the cuffs go on this one."

[slash]

Yes, I see the revenge factor alot. Last year I didn't have time to reset and a group was coming through so I just hid in a corner, scared the kid, and then the little punk pushed me. So, I put him in one of my police arm locks and in a matter of seconds he was on the floor I love how they think they're so tough. I guess it has alot to do with their body's reaction to being so scared.

[deathtrail91]

It sounds like you have a good start with the lighting.

For our first haunt last year we had a pretty small budget. For that we stopped by Dollar General and picked up some pretty basic masks and doctored them up a bit. The position of your actors is also key. Make sure to do several run throughs with the actors in their positions.

For props you can make alot of it yourself. Tombstones are simply styrofoam and grey latex pain(NEVER use spray paint as base as it will disolve the styrofoam). You can do a very light dusting of black spray paint after the latex paint has dried.

A good place for deals right now is www.frightcatalog.com
Ebay is also good!

[slash]

Don't use FrightCatalog unless they have a good sale, like now until the 26th I think if you spend $50, they'll take $20 off. For any other time, use Morris Costumes, much better selection and better prices. All the prices are available to anybody in the business with a professional discount 40% off retail prices. If you have a business / tax ID number they'll give you a wholesale account, which are the same prices FrightCatalog get's them for. E-mail morris@morriscostumes.com and request a catalog. It's $10, and everytime you order something, they send you a supplement for all the products they aquired since the master catalog (600 pages) printing.

Hope this helps

[Dr Morbius]

I picked sound. People can close thier eyes or turn and miss something..but they can't escape the sounds!

[brianmm111]

It is basically a sheet of plywood, painted to look like whatever your theme is (a dungeon window, painting on wallapaper, etc) and you cut a window out at the actors eye level. Then, you take a slightly larger piece of wood on the back of that window and put a picture or something on it. Then, you take stapping ro 2x4 and overlap them on the back, each side of the window, so you make runners for the panel.Put a 2x4 on the bottom of the runners. When the people walk by, they think it's just a painting on the wall. The acor drops the panel, making a loud bang, scares them, and slides it back up. I'm sure there's plans online.

I am still fairly new to the haunted house business, this being only my 2nd year, but, i must say that the drop panels are an EXTREMLY effective. most of my screams came from my one drop panel.

i put mine inside of a narrow hallway, where on the opposite side was an open doorway in witch it was impossible to what was inside of it (a small bedroom with a flickering orange light) until you were at it. everyone expected the scare to come from that room, and would give all their attention to that room, but little did they know that it would come from the wall behind them.... muhahaha

but i must choose actors, because a drop panel is no good unless there is an actor to work it.

[Jim Warfield]

Before they pass the drop panel you should have other walls with pictures that look like drop panels to lull them.

[chaoticcreations]

Yeah I agree we all start some where and I pretty well did the same thing. With the graveyard and butcher.I started out with like 50 dollars in supplys from walgreens and from talking to people have started building alot In the long run it is cheaper to build then to buy alot of the time from my experiences I have found.Also tends to be alot more realistic and scary then the store bought stuff.

[Epperson]

I would think a theme would be the highest priotity, once you have your theme you would think everything else would start falling in place.