Gas Here $3.45..and climbing?

[Jim Warfield]

Time to readjust our thinking?
What bribe or fantastic promotion will induce people to spend so much money on just fuel to drive to see what we have?
I don't know?

[damon carson]

Getting a sponsorship with a major gas station and make a deal where you get so much off gas per gallon with a ticket stub from your attraction?! I thought of this years ago when fuel started going up. It may work, sounds like a good promotion to me anyway!
Damon

[Jim Warfield]

This noon as I was ordering a bowl of chili in Charlie's Tavern I heard what sounded like a NASCAR race about to begin on their TV.
I stepped around the corner to look at the screen to find a picture of about a dozen guys pushing three race cars inside of a building, they seemed to be pushing them about 75 feet, it was the "Pit Crew" competition!
I said, "I guess these guys can't afford to buy gas either!"

[Greg Chrise]

The price of a tour is now 3.5 gallons of gas in an appropriate container that can be returned at some future time by UPS only if enough people took the tour at once or they must come give you a ride at least 62 miles when you need them to. A tour of 10 could get you 620 miles of continuous riding. No discounts for the time they wait for you outside the grocery store.

Give tours only to public transportation drivers and taxi cab operators.

Tours for limo services and horse carrage companies.

Or of course, special consideration to hearse drivers.

[Spookyfinder]

It's $3.12 where I'm at... it cost about $55 to fill up. -Tyler

[Greg Chrise]

A hand lettered, magic marker sign on old cardboard that says
"Will haunt for Gas"

While they are taking the 90 minute tour, all but about half a gallon is being syphoned from their car. Just enough to get 10 miles away. Leave a note in the gas tank door that says "What happens in the Ghetto, Stays in the Ghetto"

[Jim Warfield]

Gregg, You posted saying something about a limo being here and then tonight one was! I can't remember the last time a limo brought someone here?
Sort of heavilly coincidental?
This limo was elderly and very long and brought some little girls here for a Birthday haunt.

[Greg Chrise]

The limos are the car pool of the future. Next step, flying limos.

I was seeing a convention and one company for high tech has a bus all set up inside like a limo to shuttle people to the convention or to take them out for a dinner elsewhere.

It might be time for the Raven's Grin Inn Ghoul Bus? Turn it into the front room portion of the tour, sort of like a limo instead of seating 40 children. Sort of a Geepers Creepers "old school" machine. Then whore out tour packages at the big cities actually through travel agencies. A stewardess gives instructions of how to use your seats as floatation devices, where the barf bags are and how you will not be stopping to pee for the next 4 hours.

Set up shop with brochures in every hotel at surrounding large towns where either a horror or ANY convention hall is. Even the ladies with the international quilt convention might be interested in taking a ride on a pimped out bus to parts unknown? Then of course we know they get dumped down "the tube" into darkness.

The pictures of the inside of the bus I saw had big screen TV, seats down both sides and a pole in the center that got used for impromptu pole dancing. It had lights and hard wood floors like a disco.

I'm seeing the Raven's Grin in traditional finishes like glued on fur and texture molded, gum collections and lots of things to read on the walls. A mirror on the back wall to make the endless buss effect? Passangers are sitting among previous tour goers that never left. Compartments to search where things happen or pop out.

One time we got stopped in a little town at 2AM on the way back from Dallas and the police decided to search my limo for dead babys, weapons or drugs. There wasn't any of course, not even any alcohol but I vowed the next time some cop ever got in there it would be an adventure for him. Sure search my car, no problem. The door slams shut, locks and there are no door handles, he starts finding body parts in all the compartments, rats and such and goo and then a fog comes into the compartment with a recording "please don't mind the poison gas". If they looked in the trunk, there would be dead babies indeed having a little tea party or something so that would be okay since they are enjoying their ride right?

I would have an attorney on standby with all the rules about unwarranted search of a commercial vehicle and probably get paid eventually $4,000 each time this little tour took place. Just a little cottage industry.

What happens in the limo stays in the limo. Mainly because it is locked in.

[Greg Chrise]

Worst case scenario, $4 a gallon gas, 4 miles per gallon on a big vehicle, a trip to and from chicago is $350 in fuel.

As this is all part of the experience, we will say the bus needs to make $1000 net to pay the driver and plain ass bring in twice the expenses. Compare it to us paying $75 to get into Leonard's parties and how much more fun this would be (Sorry) so you need 13 people to pay $75 to make the money, a jury of your peers as it where.

The ultimate set up would be one garaged in Iowa, Two in chi town, One in Wisconsin and each coming from a little park and ride lot with a specific night or nights of the week to tour. Or if it is really popular, 4 tours of 13 a night. $350 gain per tour, comes out to nearly $27 per person gain but, it is obvious you got the goodies. And have provided quite the service.

Take photos of everyone on the way in so authorities can more easily identify the bodies.

[Greg Chrise]

It would be the crazy version of the old Six Flags man pulling up in a bus and doin his dance.

A vehicle tour can be similar to a hayride enroute the haunt as well. You drive through a couple hundred zombies, a person with no head giving a policeman a report of what happened to them, fire trucks and radiation suits. Pretty much every thing you see while on this bus going or coming is not quite right. Werewolves peeing on fire hydrants etc.

[Jim Warfield]

...then the limo stops and the pole gets placed between the limos, the music begins and everyone is in competition. Doing what?
The limo limbo.
Do it slowly. You wouldn't want to Rush the Limbo.
Rush Limbo!? Oh no!

[Greg Chrise]

And the winner of the Limo Limbo Competition IS.......

The 1985 double stretched, chopped top, channeled, hydrogen powered, solar fired, Subaru with air bags.

Unfortunately the losers had the tops completely smashed down with still unknown injurures to the passengers.

And now a tune from Harry Belafonte!

[ScareTacticzMissie]

gas

I agree with the get a sponser from a local gas station idea. Maybe do something like " Find the Hidden Gems to get $5 free gas" or something like that. Make it hard to find them though. Just an idea to get people to come in. Take polaroids of people who have won so they see it is possiable to win, just hard.

[Jim Warfield]

Would anybody bother for a gallon and a half of gas?
Excellant idea, I do like it.
Maybe they could mow their lawn with that much gas? I have (or used to anyway?) have alot of patrons who were driving 2 to 4 hours to get here, then the real booger is, there is no short-cut home, it's another 2 to 4 hours to get back.
Teleporter, Transponder? Anybody got this techmology yet? Maybe the oil companys know someone does and they are trying to rake in all the cash before we all find out!
Gas prices in 2008 hit an all-centuary low today of .02cents a gallon and the people who still use the product all drive 600HP. guzzlers with megaphones to amplify those old sounds for the aficionados of such nostalgia.
If enough of these noisey cars all run at the same time it may even obscure the sounds of the oil company executives crying?

[damon carson]

Here are some kinda Gag ideas I came up with promoting a haunt with gas prices as high as the are and have been for the last few years. Across the parking lot of our haunt is a fueling station. There is like a gas pump and a large green fuel tank. They used to fuel up the concrete trucks back in the day when they had a concrete company in the building our haunt was in. I wanted to put like a sign that said gas 99.9 cents. Dont think for one minute that wouldnt turn heads! LOL! And I was gonna do the Disney thing and flip the sign down and then it would read 66.6. But I never had the time to really do it. Another Idea put like a Road Warrior scene out front old futuristic looking demolition cars like from the movie and put a sign or something that says last chance for gas! The ends near or something like that. It could be enough to get attention and draw interest to your haunt?! LOL! Never know might be worth a try!
Damon