"Moving" Floor Tiles and Hallways...

[Jennifer Kem]

I was curious about attempting to make a hallway, or partial hallway consisting of floor tiles that seem to move when stepped on... I'm not talking the see-saw motion like some fun houses have at carnivals... I mean the kind that slide sideways when foot pressure is placed on them. We were trying to come up with possible options for construction... A box consisting of ball bearings supporting a board on top slightly smaller than the box, a similar effect but using castors, etc... Any ideas that you guys may have, or hints, tips, or even methods you have used yourself, and feel like sharing, would definitely be helpful!

My boyfriend and I just finished our first season working at a haunt, and having basically taken over and built most of our booth, and apparently having done well enough to be given our own booth for next year, we're looking for ideas that are different from the other areas of our haunt. We are still complete newbs when it comes to how to build, although we have been trying to think ahead when it comes to safety, durability, and actual function.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Jen

[Jim Warfield]

Short people versus tall ones... moving something under someone's feet can have a profoundly different effect on unsteady, clumbsy people versus those who are not that way.
Short people's butts hit the ground quicker, maybe not harming them as much. Move a section of underfoot floor just 3 inches sideways and a tall person might fall down hard and quick. Coordination is never a "given" factor with any body type or age of the person.
If someone is standing still and the floor moves slightly, maybe nothing happens. If the floor happens to move under the foot that is almost touching the ground as they step or walk a serious fall could maybe happen?
Lay a roller skate at a 90 degree angle to your foor, then step on it. Now imagine doing that and you don't realize the skate is there waiting for you.
Other moving things in a haunted house only have move just ever so slightly and the customer's reaction will be ten times extreme as compared to that same person at home, relaxed. OF course the dark and strangeness surrounding also adds to this factor.
Design and build anticipating the stupidest, unluckiest person coming through as a customer... then hope and pray they don't.
Keep the staggering, screaming drunks OUT and your life will be much less complicated.

[Moxley Manor]

Fright props carries these if you have the money to spend on them.

http://www.frightprops.com/fear-floor-tiles.html

[Jennifer Kem]

Short people versus tall ones... moving something under someone's feet can have a profoundly different effect on unsteady, clumbsy people versus those who are not that way.
Short people's butts hit the ground quicker, maybe not harming them as much. Move a section of underfoot floor just 3 inches sideways and a tall person might fall down hard and quick. Coordination is never a "given" factor with any body type or age of the person.
If someone is standing still and the floor moves slightly, maybe nothing happens. If the floor happens to move under the foot that is almost touching the ground as they step or walk a serious fall could maybe happen?
Lay a roller skate at a 90 degree angle to your foor, then step on it. Now imagine doing that and you don't realize the skate is there waiting for you.
Other moving things in a haunted house only have move just ever so slightly and the customer's reaction will be ten times extreme as compared to that same person at home, relaxed. OF course the dark and strangeness surrounding also adds to this factor.
Design and build anticipating the stupidest, unluckiest person coming through as a customer... then hope and pray they don't.
Keep the staggering, screaming drunks OUT and your life will be much less complicated.

Being 6'1" (tall family), and semi clumsy myself at times, I understand the possible problems something like this could cause. A couple years ago the big thing around this area at haunted houses seemed to be this little false bit of ground, where a spring metal mattress was partially hidden for people to step on, when coming out of a doorway or wherever.... Having a bad knee, and suddenly stepping down further than expected HURTS... I definitely understand where you are coming from.

This is an idea, one of many we are working through to find ideas that will work best for us next year... We're pretty new at this, and do not yet know what does or does not work in the haunt world. I want our area to be as safe as possible, but I'm exploring different ideas.. I do still want to understand how these tiles work though... Whether we'd ever use them, I don't know. But understanding them may give us other ideas to use... Maybe using them on the walls, or coming up with an alternative...

[Blade-of-the-moon]

I like the idea of moving floors myself just not 100% sure about using them. I kind of like effects where it's seems things are moving but aren't. Like vortex tunnels and some light projection can make a floor look unsteady in the dark as people are looking at only the light. The light moves , to them the floor moves. Maybe just adding something that makes a nice vibration would be more than enough coupled with such a light.

I also like the idea of having floors angled while the rest of the room isn't. makes them feel really off balance.

[dreadland]

we built a hallway with ramps on both sides we then put a piece of plywood down on top of tire tubes it was amazing scare the plywood inside had rubber down the pinch point of the design we intergrated air horns but it was only 2ft wide 8 ft long restriction in some states dont allow this type of tight spaces

[Jennifer Kem]

I do like the idea of movement under their feet. Not enough to cause anyone to fall (even though no matter what it will happen), but I love the idea of the effect it could add...

Being the first year we've done a haunt, it was amazingly entertaining to witness the SIMPLEST things that people were afraid of... How that change of mindset just from being in a haunted house caused confusion and fear of just about everything..

[sysasi]

I have read of using the same concept with tennis balls so that there is some sponginess to it as well. Another technique that I have read was to cut a noodle into equal chunks and place them under a floor so that the floor is spongy. I have not tried either of these myself. We have made ramps with plywood with just enough support to be safe but enough give to flex and even that freaks people out.