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Your Favorite Scare Out or How To End a Haunt

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  • Your Favorite Scare Out or How To End a Haunt

    So Im far from a hardened expert in the pro haunt field. We are headed into our first season and the area that always plagues me is how make a good ending and really scare the guests out.

    In the beginning, we took the position that chain saws are cliche and over done. We were also in a spot where a gas chainsaw was not an option. I had tested many "simulated" attempts and they all fell short. Well our last scare over the season has been a mixed success at best. Sometimes with the right actor(s) we found success and other times guest were unmoved to put it mildly.

    So this past season the venue allowed for a nice outdoor run path right past the line and ticket area. So chain saws ruled the night. The result varied with the actor but ranged from successful to an outright hit that had people cheering.

    That is great, but chain saws really dont fit into every theme and they really have been done to death.

    So the point is, what else have all ya all seen that results in similar success?
    Randy Russom

    www.midstatescare.com
    Mid State Scare - San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria's favorite Haunted House
    2013 - Hmmm, we shall see what gets conjured up

  • #2
    Something that many haunters forget is that it's not what us as haunters find scary, it's what our patrons find scary. I agree with you that they are overdone, but they are pretty reliable as far as scares go.

    Anyway, something else to consider:
    • Have a butcher/dentist room and have the actor chase them out with a saw/drill.
    • Have a 20' or so long hallway with chain link on either side and have patrons wall down the hallway in complete darkness. With a flip of a switch, lights turn on and there are actors on either side of the hallway shaking them and trying to get out. (I used this with surprisingly good results.)
    • Use one of Gore Galore's "Actormatronics" such as the Goat Head. My friends from Oblivion Haunted House in Menasha, WI did this as there last scene and it was one of the best scenes I've ever seen! Not to mention, it had people screaming and jumping out of the exit!



    Hope this is of some help.
    Zach Wiechmann
    www.frontyardfright.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Stilt monster
      Spark hallway
      Falling billboard
      Garage door room
      Shaking hall
      Prisoner escape
      Allen H
      www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
      http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

      Comment


      • #4
        I encourage you to get over the chainsaw thing being not a good option, because its the best option. Yeah it's overdone but that's what the people like and that's when they know the show is over and they are content with it. It works and its part of the fabric of the haunt season.


        Jake

        Comment


        • #5
          @ Zack

          Yes, used the hallway thing and employed strobes a couple years back. It was moderately successful.

          The most successful seem to be where the guests are chased out and actors get brief moments of interaction viewed by the lines
          Randy Russom

          www.midstatescare.com
          Mid State Scare - San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria's favorite Haunted House
          2013 - Hmmm, we shall see what gets conjured up

          Comment


          • #6
            @ allan,

            Give me some help here my friend.

            Spark hallway?
            Garage door room?
            Shaking hall?
            Randy Russom

            www.midstatescare.com
            Mid State Scare - San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria's favorite Haunted House
            2013 - Hmmm, we shall see what gets conjured up

            Comment


            • #7
              Spark hallway- A Big sparkwand. An actor enters behind the group and sparks against fencing put in on top of the haunt walls. Noise and sparks shoot the guests out.

              Garage door room- guests walk through a room about 6ft wide and 20ft long. The walls are actually garage doors, a light at the exit door tells them what direction to head as they enter- then all lights go out. During the lights out the garage doors open on each side and then a light kicks on and actors were behind the garage doors....I hope you can visualize that.

              Shaking hall- 8ft hight 4ft wide and I normally do them 16ft long. the hall is held together by hinges and is hinged to the floor, it is also bungied/chained to the roof so it never sways more than 4 foot or so up top. All through the hall (middle of each panel) there is a boarded actor window. the actors can rock the hall and reach through the windows, pretty cool effect because the whole hall seems to attack them.
              Allen H
              www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
              http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

              Comment


              • #8
                rwrussom,

                Here's an example of a shaking hall done by Scarefactory:

                http://youtu.be/qaXq2jrzJp4

                Very neat effect overall, though there are some big safety issues to address. I actually have video footage of a poor lady getting her head nailed by one of the walls while walking through the Scarefactory booth at Transworld!
                Zach Wiechmann
                www.frontyardfright.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  Spark hall was as I would have guessed and was already on my "want to do this some time" list

                  The shaking hall sounds like a lot of fun. My mind is spinning on fitting it in.

                  Thanks
                  Randy Russom

                  www.midstatescare.com
                  Mid State Scare - San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria's favorite Haunted House
                  2013 - Hmmm, we shall see what gets conjured up

                  Comment

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