Pitch Black-Help!

[screamforadream]

Thanks for all the input everybody! It's much appreciated.

We received a reasonable lead on an inflatable haunt, that will be a great addition to the approximate 30 walls we have in my basement, and we also received year round storage sponsor from one of our club members family which was a huge plus!

Where did you get your fundraising number from Greg? We had a goal of $40,000 I believe, and our chairs told us we made our goal by literally a couple hundred dollars. (Kind of sad, but at least we made it!) I think you are not really understanding my situation, I am just the Haunt Coordinator and an Entertainment chair for our Relay, which is sponsored by our schools chapter of Colleges Against Cancer. We get funding from our school, not the American Cancer Society to host this event, and the haunt I'm working on is for a one night mega attraction that is the biggest on-site fundraiser in our area and people pay to go through it multiple times each year. I am not the owner of any donations or items, I simply do my best to recycle them (which we've done really well so far) and ensure a safe and enjoyable attraction. I am not using any of this to go semi-pro with and won't have access to most of the items until next year when we do it again, and now that we have storage, we can get larger and more elegant than ever! It's fantastic news!

I am working on a separate solo project completely different from this, I'd like to make a haunted old school manor at a local store in their parking lot, it's a non-profit event and all the money raised would just reimburse my expenses and be split 60/40, 60% to the American Cancer Society (I really like helping them out) and 40% to go back into the haunt to make improvements for the following year. I would like to keep that out of here for now, as I'll probably be making a thread for this soon, or join in on some already created "I'm new to going big and I need help!" kind of threads haha.

Thanks for your help and advice Greg, it's much appreciated, I can tell you put a lot of thought into it and I'm sure your haunt must be pretty great by the amount of knowledge you're sharing with a complete stranger.

And Ironman, I'll keep that in mind if this inflatable scAIR structure falls through the cracks. Thanks for the words of wisdom

[screamforadream]

Oh, and last quick thing to anyone reading this, if you have unwanted, broken, or dust-collecting props, costumes, etc that you would like to donate, we accept anything in practically any condition, and do have a tax ID number for you to claim on your taxes the next time you fill them out, or if you are a company looking to look great in the eyes of Uncle Sam or would like advertising at the event and on our social blasts we can work with you to ensure a happy and healthy donation. Just send me a PM or email (bobbyarel@gmail.com or arelr1@owls.southernct.edu I check both, but my Gmail account is the one I use most often) and I'll give you all the information you need. Thanks again Everyone!

[NilesHauntedHouse]

Although I'm not sure what your budget is...
As a haunter, I'd stay away from anything that could be of hazard to your patrons and Actors. Although materials come fire-proofed and certified, we still wouldn't use plastic for anything. Safety is our number one concern, as it should be for every haunter. Just think, one mistake to a particular haunted attraction, could affect the entire Industry.

I'd say to personally try sticking with 2x4's, although it can be costly, its durable and safe. I'm not sure what you meant with the plastic but if my assumption was right, you were trying to wrap your walls to darken the show? If so, try buying a cheap outdoor black paint that you can coat the walls with and never have to deal with them in the future.

Before we built our new building, we use to house two additional haunted attractions under a large circus tent set upon a concrete slab. Year after year, we'd uncover dozens of wall panels stored for the season, and put them up along with the tent to create two completely different shows. It was alot of work, but provided more value to the patrons until we were able to afford the new building. It just takes time, but safety is key. =]

Aaron Smith
Niles Haunted House Scream Park
www.haunted.org

[screamforadream]

Thanks Aaron,

Yeah we were discussing a bunch of different possibilities, and we definitely won't use plastic at all. We are looking into an inflatable scAIR structure of sorts, safer, quicker, and still good quality. =) I appreciate your input!