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HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE HAUNT

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  • #16
    Re: my haunt sucks

    Hey Pumkin Jack!

    Nice picture... THE MANSE was a cool book.
    Guerilla Haunter

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    • #17
      "Actor", is the automatically designated "fixer" of anything and everything that may not be quite up to speed or up to the customer's expectations.
      Quick wit, something to say, a story to tell, the style to tell it convincingly . The confidence to command everyone's attention with just a slight unusual sound or mannerism or posture.
      Some pro haunters were actually upset or scared the first time they came to see my house, it may have had something to do with convincing them that they were now locked in a house with a crazyman?
      Any "Threats" were totally implied , subtley, or were they actually threats?
      Good acting, huh? Or was it "acting?"
      For the first few years I had this house open I had almost nothing except some of my artwork hanging on the wall and I would then talk about it. Then I would walk people through my house telling them what I was going to do to certain rooms in the future, this was about it!
      It was a "Someday" tour/show...but those words of mine were not to be empty blabberings of a typical idiot, NO I was a special breed of idiot!
      After all these years one tape recorder still says:"This hallway is haunted...haunted by a $17.oo tape recorder, made in China! Chi-na!"
      You think I'm just kidding or something?
      I have my suspicions that the $17 Chinese tape recorder may be responsible for three untimely deaths!
      The front of the machine popped open and tape wound around a neck, strangling them in record time! (Which is hard for a tape to do since it's a tape and not a record!)
      hauntedravensgrin.com

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      • #18
        Originally posted by slash
        If u can afford $30, there's a good scare called a drop panel that u can build
        I would love to hear.
        You Should Be Our Friend....
        http://www.myspace.com/nightmareshaunthouse
        http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...0526043&ref=nf
        http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenned...7367012?ref=nf
        http://twitter.com/nightmareshouse
        http://nightmaresarlington.com/

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        • #19
          How big did some of you guys get your home haunts before you moved them? I would love to have a stand alone yearly attraction, but I dont wanna get the cart before the horse.
          You Should Be Our Friend....
          http://www.myspace.com/nightmareshaunthouse
          http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...0526043&ref=nf
          http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenned...7367012?ref=nf
          http://twitter.com/nightmareshouse
          http://nightmaresarlington.com/

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          • #20
            Another important thing is Warmers.

            These are oft overlooked by haunted houses.

            A warmer are people who go up and scare the people waiting in line. Even at a home haunt you will have a line.

            A creepy clown, and scary costumed guy, a dude with a chain saw. Just something to scare the people in line with from time to time.

            Why have warmers? To increase the fear level. If someone goes into a haunted house without being warmed up they will not be scared by the little things.

            A properly warmed up person will be scared by their own foot falls, and then their expereince in your haunt is magnified!
            www.walkthroughbedlam.com

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Lostsheep
              Originally posted by 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.
              Slash
              "If you fail to plan, plan to fail"

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              • #22
                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."
                hauntedravensgrin.com

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                • #23
                  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 :twisted: 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.
                  Slash
                  "If you fail to plan, plan to fail"

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                  • #24
                    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!

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                    • #25
                      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
                      Slash
                      "If you fail to plan, plan to fail"

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                      • #26
                        I picked sound. People can close thier eyes or turn and miss something..but they can't escape the sounds!

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by slash View Post
                          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.

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                          • #28
                            Before they pass the drop panel you should have other walls with pictures that look like drop panels to lull them.
                            hauntedravensgrin.com

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                            • #29
                              Home haunts

                              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.

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                              • #30
                                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.

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