Signs (No, not the movie)

[tot13]

2007 was our second year for the Trail of Terror. I started making signs but was too late to use them this season. I'm using very old 2x8 and 2x10's that look pretty rough and using a routing bit in my drill to carve the words then scorching them with a blow torch.

My limited imagination is just about tapped out. We'll have an area for a story-teller to tell ghost stories to our guests while they wait. It's called "The Clearing", so that's one sign I have to make.

Not too original, but I've made one for our concessions that says "Road Kill Pit Stop".

Any clever suggestions for our ticket booth or a sign directing to the restrooms? I'd be willing to trash my concessions sign for one more clever than what I've used.

Also, I intend to add random signs on the Trail itself. We take everyone's donated garbage - anything that's being sent to the dump. We got this "thing" that I have no idea what it was used for but I intend to use it (and make more like it) to display signs on the Trail. It's 2 vertical 2x4's (4 feet tall) with a horizontal 2x4 (about 12 inches) for bracing. The 2 vertical "legs" are notched at the top, creating a "seat" for my sign to rest across horizontally. I think it's about the coolest sign holder I've ever seen and just rustic enough to be appropriate for the Trail. The point to all of this is: any additional suggestions for signs on the Trail itself?

[Greg Chrise]

I love seeing signs even if they aren't really relevant.

Today I was on the hiway and a new sign said "watch ice on bridge". I thought there should be a stool on the side of the road and a glass with pretend plastic ice in it and another sign that says "watch this!"

I went nuts with signs

Beware
Boo
I would turn back if I were you
Death to all mortals
Too late
Have organ donor cards ready
Werewolves have fleas
Vampires Suck
Don't look behind you
This sign intentionally left blank

Various forms of Monster crossing signs.

I then put labels on as many things as I have time for like a 1960's Batman episode or Mad Magazine.

I can think of hundreds more I have seen but it comes down to what kind of show you are having. The first year, the would be actors went though the first time and thought it was all stupid until they saw how the customers reacted to everything.

We have one interum entry way that is the shape of a toe pincher coffin with a heavy creaky door. I as a joke made a coffin shaped screen door. Seperate this gets hung on a wall with a sigh that states that it is either a polish coffin lid or an Aggy coffin lid. Things just develop over time. Then things are not on dispaly from year to year. There is a mental inventory people like to have similar to knowing where everything is at the grocery store. They will want to only patronize the one where they know where everything is or that has just what they want or need.

Some places I have gone spend hundreds of hours making origional tomb stones and then what they say can't be read in the dark. Perhaps these should be at the que line instead of in the trail where it might hold up people tryig to read 50 things. But, one here and there will have people read it out loud, some are just listeners and they all enjoy the little gaps here and there.

[tot13]

I love seeing signs even if they aren't really relevant.

Today I was on the hiway and a new sign said "watch ice on bridge". I thought there should be a stool on the side of the road and a glass with pretend plastic ice in it and another sign that says "watch this!"

I went nuts with signs

Beware
Boo
I would turn back if I were you
Death to all mortals
Too late
Have organ donor cards ready
Werewolves have fleas
Vampires Suck
Don't look behind you
This sign intentionally left blank

Various forms of Monster crossing signs.

I then put labels on as many things as I have time for like a 1960's Batman episode or Mad Magazine.

I can think of hundreds more I have seen but it comes down to what kind of show you are having. The first year, the would be actors went though the first time and thought it was all stupid until they saw how the customers reacted to everything.

We have one interum entry way that is the shape of a toe pincher coffin with a heavy creaky door. I as a joke made a coffin shaped screen door. Seperate this gets hung on a wall with a sigh that states that it is either a polish coffin lid or an Aggy coffin lid. Things just develop over time. Then things are not on dispaly from year to year. There is a mental inventory people like to have similar to knowing where everything is at the grocery store. They will want to only patronize the one where they know where everything is or that has just what they want or need.

Some places I have gone spend hundreds of hours making origional tomb stones and then what they say can't be read in the dark. Perhaps these should be at the que line instead of in the trail where it might hold up people tryig to read 50 things. But, one here and there will have people read it out loud, some are just listeners and they all enjoy the little gaps here and there.

The first half of your list is "maybe's", but for my sense of humor you were on a tear with the bottom half. Do you have something better than just "Tickets"?

The Polish coffin lid is priceless!

People ask is our Trail scary and I always tell them, I promise we'll entertain you and we'll do our best to scare you - we have something for everyone. I am a guide and I use a rough voice with a lot of sarcastic humor. I get a few smart comments from the macho 14-15 year old boys because they thought it would be scary, not funny. I love to point out when they jump or scream. And they always do!

It's tough to sell straight up scare, especially when you have a group of 8 - 10 people. I think it's easier if you disarm them with a little humor along the way.

[Greg Chrise]

You have to understand too that we have younger families, not the college crowd mostly.

But it could be hyphenated to not lose the intent of directing people. Tickets and Death Certificates. Transmission Repair and Taxadermy.

I don't want to give out any proprietary information, whereas other haunts have some cool things they worked hard to originate. I wouldn't want to just plain steal/copy/immitate. That rhymes. Get down with your bad self. Yo Yo.

If you are sarcastic it is simple to just write down the intent and than play word association over some time. Get a Rogeu's Thesarus and find other words that mean the same thing and maybe it will spark your intrest. Just write down 10 or 20 ideas and then do a process of illimination. Set it aside for some time and come back looking to see if yours are equally a maybe?

So many have developed their own vocabularies and spooky phrases that when looked at out of context sound corny but if you see it on a properly decorated place it brings a smile.

All of this is detail. The more you put out there the more it looks like you have invested at least in time. So you must invest time.

I did all of the above in like one hour winging it while actually making signs and went for it. I was relying on years of stupidity for just the right content.

Danger
Keep Out

[Jim Warfield]

No Running! Or We Will Tie You Up, Put A Saddle On You

...And Rent you Out For rides To People With Whips!



and my Classic: "Ignore This Sign For Full Effect."

After several people made disparaging remarks concerning the look of a blanket on a bed here I wrote on the blanket:
"No, This Is NOT The Lucky Dog Poop

Blanket!"

Then there was once :"The Grassy Knoll Picnic Blanket"
Dallas , Texas.

[woolf]

But it could be hyphenated to not lose the intent of directing people. Tickets and Death Certificates. Transmission Repair and Taxadermy.

It looks like the British got into this same line of thinking. When I was at the Tower of London, I noticed a group of signs that had arrows pointing in various directions. One of the arrows pointed and said, "Toilets Instruments of Torture -->" I assume they were separate locations...but I have been to countries where they were one in the same.

[woolf]

But it could be hyphenated to not lose the intent of directing people. Tickets and Death Certificates. Transmission Repair and Taxadermy.

It looks like the British got into this same line of thinking. When I visited the Tower of London, I noticed a sign that said, "Toilets Instruments of Torture -->" I am sure it was pointing to two separate destinations....but I have been to countries where they were one in the same...

[Haunter3]

I remember in the Old Asylum Experience haunted house in Berwyn, Ill they had a graveyard with tombstones that read names like Ben Drinkin and Juan Tomeni, pretty funny and a great message as well