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Haunt in a Tent? (Disturbia - Screams in the Park)

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  • Haunt in a Tent? (Disturbia - Screams in the Park)

    So I was looking around at ideas on how to add a bit to the haunt this year or cover our outdoor maze area so it would be more weather proof, and of course the internet happened and I got off track of my search, and ended up finding Disturbia: Screams in the Park that had a big facade and a huge tent behind it, but it seems they moved or are not in a tent anymore? THe picture i found of it looks like it is from 2011. There is an article that has the photo, i'll link it below.

    But bottom line, does anyone know how a haunt in a big tent like that worked? Do those kinds of tents hold up through a season in a place where it could rain/storm? It seems like a fairly inexpensive way to add a large area to a haunt, but am confused why I haven't heard of it before or if it is safe/good to do. Any insight would be great.

    Article: http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-qu...ll-needs-work/

    Thanks
    Tyler
    Black Forest
    THE BLACK FOREST
    22 Years of SCREAMS
    www.facebook.com/BlackForestHaunt

  • #2
    Sprinkler System

    Most firemarshalls will not let you build anything over 1000 square feet without a sprinkler system that has a roof on it (tents included). I think that's why those types of haunts have died off Marshall's just don't let it happen. The only way I have seen it work is it has to have a fire alarm system in it with it all wired to turn everything off in the haunt evac lights come on and a recording tells everyone to evac the structure( also exits every fifty feet and no more then fourty five people in the structure at once). Still very rare

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    • #3
      Yeah I see what you would say. Our maze is about 1400 sq ft so it would be a bit over that. But there is another area we might be able to add a like 24x36 tent or smaller that would add a little to the haunt, at least another section, maybe 5 minutes of walk through time. I don't know, it's something to think about but seems like it would be a lot more work than 5 extra minutes of haunt would be worth.

      Any other ideas or cheaper structures you could think of for covering that kind of area or adding a small section?

      Tyler
      Black Forest
      THE BLACK FOREST
      22 Years of SCREAMS
      www.facebook.com/BlackForestHaunt

      Comment


      • #4
        Well as previously stated the fire Marshall has the final word; however, you can get away with smaller covered areas that are spread out. For instance, if you had a 15 x 15 tent and then made a trail 20' long and it connected to another tent, then you could have a series of covered areas for your nicer props or heavily built scenes that are weather protected. You could also purchase just the frame of an old tent put it together with out the top and then cover sections of the frame top with camo netting. I've also seen haunts use the boxes of of old u-haul trucks and cut an exit door on one side to people could walk through a scene that is covered. You can sometimes find these boxes at junk yards. They should be under the sqft requirement. First things first meet with you FM and see what your local codes are.

        Good Luck?

        JB

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        • #5
          Seem to remember some articles in older HauntWorld mags ... just saying.
          Yes, you can run a fairly large haunt in a tent.
          http://www.piratesofemerson.com

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          • #6
            I think there was a pirate haunt in California that operated out of a tent. Might even have been an article or two in the magazine.

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            • #7
              Tents work great especially when used in a temporary setting. We have used tens many times and one of the benefits are that you can create many exits. There is nothing wrong with tents and my fire department likes the fact we have so many exits. The key to a tent is having a good façade. So yeah go for a tent nothing wrong there.

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              • #8
                We build haunted houses for clients in tents but we personally haven't put a haunted house in a tent for ourselves in many years. One of the things we have done however is build the haunted house, order a tent top with sleeves all around the outside of the tent top, we slide 2x4 into those sleeves then screw them to the sides of the haunted house. Lastly you put up ONE pole in the center and boom you have a tent without having to put up a tent if that makes any sense.

                The haunted house itself holds down the tent better than a complete tent would. We've done this many times.

                Larry
                Larry Kirchner
                President
                www.HalloweenProductions.com
                www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  This is all some really good info. I like the idea of almost making a trail of tents with paths. And i completely agree it would all be in the facade and making it look good. I like your idea Larry though too, which is almost what we would do anyhow. Like we have our 1000+ sq ft maze right now that we would havve built and then attempt to put a covering over, which might just end up being the tent canopy itself with a pole in the middle. I guess that's more of what i was going for here, just covering and weatherproofing outdoor scenes to add more of an inside haunt feel, and to also be able to control the lighting (the moon can ruin the outdoor maze, it will illuminate every corner and actor we have in there).

                  We have multiple buildings that all connect through outdoor paths, and it always seems people 'calm down' through these scenes and lose the confined fright ideas and maybe relax and all that, which is not what we want. We want the action to keep going and to not let off of the people coming through, which is where these covered outdoor scenes might come in handy.

                  Also then, would something like a greenhouse tunnel covering thingy work? Like how some greenhouses have the half-pipe look. I think that would be cool to cover a scene or to even make a radioactive greenhouse or something on the inside. Thoughts on that?

                  Thanks
                  Tyler
                  Black Forest
                  THE BLACK FOREST
                  22 Years of SCREAMS
                  www.facebook.com/BlackForestHaunt

                  Comment

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