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  • Spicing up a dark maze?

    Can anyone recommend any quick scare ideas, noise makers etc other than air canons? Actors are best of course but is there anything that can be bought and set up inside a dark maze to add more punch to it and make it more scary?

    Thx,

    Jake

  • #2
    The House of Boo has a really cool noise maker called a Boo Blaster. It's a handheld wireless/rechargeable noise maker perfect for many applications. Unfortunately they have yet to update their website with all their new products, but definitely keep an eye out for updates! Check them out at www.thehouseofboo.com
    Zach Wiechmann
    www.frontyardfright.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Pitch Black Scares

      I ran across this item on sale, you might find one on ebay. It is a back-up sensor for your car. When you get close enough it starts beeping, the closer you get the faster and louder the beep. You are supposed to wire the beeper by the driver. I mounted the whole thing in a dark hallway. As they got closer, the faster and louder the beeping!! Something different!

      Since their sense of sight it missing, you want to play up on all the other senses. Place objects in the path, hand fun noodles from the ceiling, jute dipped in latex. People feel their way through this type of haunt more, so add textures to the walls, vary the wall angles- utilize both 90 degree and the 30/60 triangle method, also vary the angle of different walls-have some angle in at the top, others angle away. Simple things like create a pattern, left, right, left, right then add another right. We did 4 foot walls, then added a 3 foot wall. Had to reinforce it because people kept running into the wall!!

      Most importantly, walk the maze and see where your own eyes start to adjust to the lack of light. Then add a burst of light to blind them again. Simple as add a sensor that triggers a simple event timer. As animations got more intricate I stopped using the simple on-off timers like ScareMasters that triggered a 110v plug. These are PERFECT for this and not very expensive! Just add a sensor or touch mat and plug in a flood light!! Not a dark maze if they can see where they are going!~!!

      Sometimes we would dump they into a large room with maybe a triangle of walls in the middle. They have been waling the maze running their hands along the walls, all of a sudden...no walls! Now they wander slowly through the darkness waving their arms feeling for a wall. I put one or two actors in there to screw with them! So people have gone as far as purchase night vision goggles. They are expensive and your actors will break them!! Simply dilate people eyes just before they enter the black room. Now they will be night blind for awhile. Any actor that works the room stays in the dark for about a half hour before the scares. His eyes adjust to the darkness. He/she can walk around the room without night vision goggles. We had stuff like large feathers they could tickle people with, they would come up close and whisper things like "over here", "this way out" they come at they from a different angle and lead them in a different direction. One actor would tell them to search for the lever to release the door. If it was slow or he had time he would even tell them the level was on the floor. Now you had people crawling around looking for the exit!! With 2 actors in the room they could have 2 groups of six people in a 12x16 room, keep them all separated and let which ever group out when they wanted! They would send they out in different order so people waiting outside would be screwed up! "but they were right behind me!!"

      Our final scare was a loud air horn and a bright flood light. They round a corner and it appeared it was over and they were safe. Actor hit the light and horn and drove them out running!

      Remember it is a pitch black maze. Scares rely on and play off the lack of sight.

      Hope this helps.

      Rich
      R&J Productions
      Las Vegas, NV
      www.LasVegasHaunts.com

      Comment


      • #4
        How simple is this? We'll be putting this idea in place for our maze this year. Since we are not self guided, a large maze isn't needed so to each his own. We'll be replacing our current chain link fence maze. Basically an empty, pitch black room, with a quad 90 degree 4t wide wall in the middle. Patrons will be told to "enter the maze" or something of that nature. They'll be walking around this empty room forever if we let 'em. We'll put an actor or two in there with night vision (cheap video game version that work perfectly fine). The actor can get as close as they want and mention things like "nice beard" or "Those glasses look stupid". Add in some sensor activated noises and I think it'll be swell and very simple/effective.
        Like a midget at a urinal, you gotta be on your toes

        http://www.wellstownshiphauntedhouse.com

        Comment


        • #5
          Couple things... one you could create that maze with a one foggy room and colored flood lights. What that does is turn the fog a different color like solid green or solid red ... looks really cool. Lasers always punches up a maze like this, or how about cone style lights, or a black hole tunnel at the end. All good suggestions.

          At our screampark this year we'll be up to NINE attractions and one of our attractions will be a black maze and it will have all of the above and a tunnel at the end. Larry
          Larry Kirchner
          President
          www.HalloweenProductions.com
          www.BlacklightAttractions.com
          www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
          www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks for the great ideas all, very informative!

            Larry, I'm wondering does the light cones still make it hard to find your way through or easier with the light?

            Jake

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            • #7
              My Place

              I operate on a totally different idea. Customer's imaginations begin to percolate as they see the outside of this 1870 Italainate house with it's odd eclectic items outside I have built.
              Once inside I need them to be able to "See" more of the house and more of my constructions.. because that is why I built everything!
              Perceived "Value" for the admission would be diminished if half the rooms were totally dark, so then I have to think a little longer to design scares that are cell-phone light-proof? (I have these too)
              Going through my house, seeing my artwork, reading the sayings I wrote on some walls, all stimulate the mind, adding to the entertainment (I sure hope) and time itself seems to pass quickly, even though it isn't and most of them enjoy the experience, which is then highly "adjustible" for young and old, haunt fans and non-haunt fans drug along by others.
              "Let's give them something to think about."--remember that line from the song?
              So, maybe I have done this to the point of "over-kill"? But when guaging another human's mind, you never really know , so I put it all out there for them, and it works most of the time.
              hauntedravensgrin.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Shock pads

                Since its a dark maze and people tend to reach out to feel around, shock pads on the walls would be a good one to use. You can get these from Fright Props.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Make some actor pockets, close them in with plxie glass. The actor will be able to turn on a low colored light as your guest are feeling their way around. The plxie will keep your actors safe from getting hit, the actor can even slap the plxie when then turn on the light. The light should be turned on and then off fast so the guest is shocked that someone is so close and then gone.
                  Giving People The Chills Since 2005

                  http://www.warehouse31.com

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                  • #10
                    I Recommend

                    Using Lexon instead of plexiglass because it is unbreakable, or if you can't get it use very thick plexiglass. The piece of Lexon I bought was originally ordered by a Pro-Stock 1/4 mile racer for side windows in his car.
                    hauntedravensgrin.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      How much space are you using in your maze ? I made a new type of maze sorta but I will be working at a Haunt that doesn't really need it.
                      ~*~How is a raven like a writing desk ?
                      ~*~*~There both the perfect tools for picking at the brain.
                      ~*~*~*~An my favorite game you ask ?
                      ~*~*~*~*~ Raven on the desk of course.

                      Jessica Ward

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by darkXmoon View Post
                        How much space are you using in your maze ? I made a new type of maze sorta but I will be working at a Haunt that doesn't really need it.
                        Well, if they won't be using it, would you care to share? Perhaps in PM?

                        C.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I'll just post it here. I'm trying to upload my pic's but the internet is not being my best friend right now. The idea is based off the repeating room system but made it more open leaving the customer with more movement options making it more of a maze.

                          My plot was based off the movie The Ruins, with a what if they made it home twist. A plant virus is inside of people and causing them a sickness of paranoia and hallucinations. The costumer enters the maze now making them one of the infected and thus an thus a maze with a story line. Cool huh ?

                          Now you can go all kinda ways. You can make this big and go all out with cool repeating rooms or smaller with the tight corner maze and make it more a bio-hazard area. Either way its its not another dark maze, there is nothing wrong with them but as I get older I like adding more light or adding dim lighting.

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXpA03CQAIqHCU.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXop7fCIAANnrL.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXoeSFCAAAamIE.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXoUNECEAA-6i0.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXlxgbCQAAjnqE.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXj5L_CAAAQMKo.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXjNFvCMAAGeYJ.jpg

                          https://p.twimg.com/AwXihI4CAAAo4Rh.jpg
                          ~*~How is a raven like a writing desk ?
                          ~*~*~There both the perfect tools for picking at the brain.
                          ~*~*~*~An my favorite game you ask ?
                          ~*~*~*~*~ Raven on the desk of course.

                          Jessica Ward

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            If your interested I'll post more about it. It's mostly cheep foam with a good paint job because lets face it, that stuff's cheep and when used correctly can be fun
                            ~*~How is a raven like a writing desk ?
                            ~*~*~There both the perfect tools for picking at the brain.
                            ~*~*~*~An my favorite game you ask ?
                            ~*~*~*~*~ Raven on the desk of course.

                            Jessica Ward

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by darkXmoon View Post
                              If your interested I'll post more about it. It's mostly cheep foam with a good paint job because lets face it, that stuff's cheep and when used correctly can be fun
                              Very interesting concept. I'm going to have to seriously look at this.

                              C.

                              Comment

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