Haunted High Dilemma

[halloweenroom]

Hello all you fellow Haunters

I am in dire need of some ideas. I have taken on a huge project haunting out a 40,ooo sq. ft abandon school. I am going with the school theme but ran into a writers block when it comes to the auditorium. This room is HUGE and I feel we need to utilize it somehow. I cant think of a theme for it tho.

I need some help please. thanks

[Allen H]

Have a school bus crashed through the wall, blood all over the windows and a zombie basketball team that would rather die than miss a game.

[halloweenroom]

I was thinking of lighting the room with lightning and some rope light to guide them down the isles.

[Badger]

How about some sort of twisted talent show going on with freakshow performers?

[VSneader2]

If it has good access to the outside. Maybe use the room as in indoor que area. 40,000 sq feet is a lot to fill in one year. could be a really good marketing point if we have another rainy season like this past one. Then you could use the stage for a due line entertainment show or such

[WelchWitch]

Ok don't laugh but my first thought was like in the Buffy movie, where all the vampires where attacking everyone at the prom. Have it be a mix of normal people alive and/or dead during a prom with balloons, ribbons, blood and fog everywhere. Have the actors in the midst of chaos making it more frantic everywhere with fog. Don't have to add vampires but different monsters at different levels feasting and attacking.

[Jim Warfield]

After they buy the ticket...

They go into the gym, first thing they see is a sign:"Bats don't really intentionnally tangle themselves into your hair so they can bite you."
Then have your hired helpless every so often duck and flinch, arms above their head.
And keep it dark, at least up by the ceiling.
Have a flashlight show when the cursed dirty gym socks begin their migration across the gym floor from the locker room. Pull them with fish line.
The gym socks give a good excuse why the room smells so bad.
The cursed dirty underware beyond just socks would be an up-charge and adults only as they begin their crawl from the hallway lockers and nooks and crannys.
"Look out! There's a pair of silk panties threatening to jump down from that ceiling light and land on your face, smoothering you to death!"
Those good old days of high school, see what you missed Danny by dropping out in 6th grade!

[halloweenroom]

We already are using the cafeteria as the cue area and the auditorium is on the opposite side of the building. We are limited on actors for a mass murder scene but i like the freak show idea! I was also thinking i just make it a flash light tour from this point on in the auditorium only... i am at a loss for this large area! i have never had a problem with coming up with something before til now

[Terrorknight]

Here is my two cents, i wouldn't try to fill the space with stuff going on but would use the fact that it is such a large space to scare to people going thru. Do little things that catch peoples eye's as they walk thru. Make something that looks like it's climbing up a wall real quick or figures moving in and out of the shadows. Think how you would feel if you broke into a shut down haunted school and how scary it would be to cross thru a huge dim lit auditorium not knowing if something was going to pop out at you. And don't use rope lights use natural blocks to make the people walk the way you want them to. Do a big piece of fake ceiling fallen and landed in the path or big beams stuff like that. make it as real to the people going thru as you can.

Robert

[unihaunter]

You could do a day show for the little ones they kinda get screwed on Halloween not much for them anymore .Theres a guy in the next county puts on a history of Halloween show and indoor pumpkin patch and schools from 3 or 4 counties pack the place school buses every where.Both my kids went with the school when they were little .Hes makes about 5 bucks per kid.He gives them a little show they get a little pumpkin have a little fun.These younger kids may not come to the haunt but you get their money away.You also use it as tool to advertise to the parents with flyer or coupon you send home with the kids.Just thinking outside the casket........er......box.........you can still use the area at night as part of the haunt.

[soultrkr]

3 words for you Zombie Glee Club!!! have the people go sit down you can actually make it a waiting area for groups if you worked it right so they would not be standing in line the whole time. or you can have the people sit down and have an mc come out and banter with them for a small amount of time and end it with and now for the bad new you got in but there is no where to run you are all destined to become part of the show *cackle* lights come up some and siting around them are monsters that start lumbering towards them while a deranged cafeteria lady bursts in with a chainsaw. I mean there are tons of things you can do with this but it all depends on how your story is set.

[phreakout]

Do they still have the seating installed?

If so, I say just place random dummies mixed in with 3 actors around the place. then have the actors switch seats during the night, or jump and go after patrons. You can buy inflatable bodies pretty cheap and just dress them up

[Allen H]

Ok my mistake, in my day the gymnasium was the auditorium, you are talking about a regular auditorium.
I always think of the old time doctors who would dissect a body as a show. something could be done there, maybe the crowning of a prom king and queen?

[tonguesandwich]

We're doing Slaughter High for one haunt. For us that will be a Carrie scene. I have the giant disco ball/earth map from the movie austin powers I am using to fill space.

[halloweenroom]

well, i think we have tan answer for all of you..... This room was at the end of the haunt and making something out of it was damn near impossible on a shoe string budget. So I came up with the idea to flip the haunt completely and start here, keeping the integrity of the auditorium we will do some sort of freakishly scary side show coupled with props in the audience. I haven't worked it all out but i know you will be exiting this auditorium in pitch black after a thunderous boom echos off the walls!

Thank you all, you are a great help!

HR