Cool Idea?

[scottylmt]

Hey all. I've been seeing alot on here (archives) about DARK MAZES.

It seems they go over well with the customers, and there is TONS of room for psychological scares. The major problem I keep seeing is kids whipping out their phones for lights.

What about a dark maze, where at the beginning you give each group a red glowstick, and that is the only light used for main lighting? You would still have your strobes and/or floods at certain scare points, accompanied by loud noises.

I think you could create a CREEPY ass haunted house with this. Imagine holding a red glowstick, walking through fog in a confusing curtain maze. Shadowy figures are creeping around the room. Soundtracks with creepy whispering and otherworldly type deep music. A claustrophobic transducer room would be epic in this!

You'd have the OCCASIONAL red lights throughout, highlighting a drop panel for example. The red glowsticks would be perfect for giving away the customers location.

Costume would be simply black robes, with black everything, even a face blocking mask (spandex?) Training the actors would be slightly less work, since their only lines are whispering and stealthing around and/or hissing.

Sporadically, possibly even on loops, you could have sound fx VERY LOUD. Like the noises in movies that build suspense for a scare. High pitched ones, and some low pitched.

Ultimately, you only get one or two looks at these shadowy things, one on the drop panel with a red spotlight on his face, and another at the climax that gets a white strobe on his face (accompanied by an alien scream from a speaker right behind him, blasting the customers face!) Obviously those two guys you don't block out there face, but do the teeth, contacts and the works on them!

My initial thinking was that the glowsticks would make the phones unnecessary, but then it just kind of opened up lol. Why not use the customer to create your lighting for you I guess..

If you read this, please I would like to hear your thoughts, additions, or criticisms/potential problems. It was just kind of a whim my mind took me on, and hell its probably even been done before lol... but certainly not around Omaha!

[scottylmt]

A couple of things... one would definitely need textured walls. There's plenty about that out there.

Also, since it would be outdoors, a ceiling of some sort would need to be in place. I had assumed camo netting, but is camo netting dense enough to create a dark maze effect under the moon? Thanks.

[turkeycreaux]

One of the ideas I had for my haunt that I'm not sure if I'm going to use now (don't think it will fit my theme) is a long dark hallway with a hand rail. They'll think, "oh, nice, I have something to follow/steady myself." about two thirds of the way down the hall, I would cut a small hole, big enough to fit a hand through, at the same height of the railing. The actor would stick his/her hand through the hole and rest it on the rail, waiting for a guest's hand to come in contact with it. Once contact is made, the actor would react, pull the hand away, bang on the rail/wall, whatever, just no grabbing. The guest will be freaked that there was something on the rail, but can't be sure what it was or IF it was there....


TC

[scottylmt]

That's an awesome idea! And you wouldn't have to worry about groping issues and liability because there's only enough room to grab their hand.

My mother had a scene in our haunt.. she had a feel box. There were four holes (brains, guts bones etc) the last hole was her hand lmao. She grabbed them and we could hear ppl from upstairs screaming all the way in the basement.

[BrotherMysterio]

One of the ideas I had for my haunt that I'm not sure if I'm going to use now (don't think it will fit my theme) is a long dark hallway with a hand rail. They'll think, "oh, nice, I have something to follow/steady myself." about two thirds of the way down the hall, I would cut a small hole, big enough to fit a hand through, at the same height of the railing. The actor would stick his/her hand through the hole and rest it on the rail, waiting for a guest's hand to come in contact with it. Once contact is made, the actor would react, pull the hand away, bang on the rail/wall, whatever, just no grabbing. The guest will be freaked that there was something on the rail, but can't be sure what it was or IF it was there....

That's genius! To avoid liability and also to make it most effective, just have the patron feel the hand for a moment before they whip their hand away. The actor then immediately whips their hand away, and the hole cannot be obvious.

Then they tell their friends what happened, that there's something there. Their friends whip out their cell phones to light the way and look, and there's nothing there. "Dude, you were just imagining it!!" "Did not!" "Did too!" They'll still be arguing about it while they walk head-first, eyes open, into the next scare, and taken totally off guard.

That's an awesome idea! And you wouldn't have to worry about groping issues and liability because there's only enough room to grab their hand.

Well, again, the key thing: you're not grabbing their hand . . . they're grabbing yours . . . maybe . . . kinda . . . they're not really sure what they grabbed, but it sure felt like a hand!

My mother had a scene in our haunt.. she had a feel box. There were four holes (brains, guts bones etc) the last hole was her hand lmao. She grabbed them and we could hear ppl from upstairs screaming all the way in the basement.

Ah, mom the home haunter! That explains much!

C.

[Frightener]

I'd probably put the hole below the rail. Also making the hole large enough for plenty of padding, you know, just in case someone gets "hung up" or grabbed.

Also, I'd probably combine it with some slimy sounds, snakes slithering etc. Then they feel a cold wet hand. Or even a silicone glove. Make a glove like Allen's videos.

Agreed, absolutely wonderful idea. Put the actor in a cubby hole, soda pop, spritz bottle to keep it textured and a sammich. lol.


Dewayne

[scottylmt]

Does anybody know how to darken out an outdoor haunt? This will be a modular haunt, and im estimating roughly 3000 ft. Is camo netting the best option to keep light out, but still qualify as outdoor?

Also any further ideas about the haunt I described are appreciated. Chances are I will go zombie first because that's the craze with the public, but eventually I think this idea has more artistic expression and psychology built in...