How to scare people as JASON VOORHEES

[Jason Voorhees]

Hey,

Next Halloween i will be Jason Voorhees...The only Problem i have is...HOW DO I SCARE THE PEOPLE ??? I cant jump out fast and scream

Jason allways moves slowly... PLZ help me. Gimme some ideas... Should i make a GraveYard Scenario in my Haunt with a Grave with "Here lies Jason Voorhees" and then sit up ??? Or a empty Jason Grave and if they pass i will come from behind or somethin like that.

PLZ gimme some tips

[shawnc]

Scaring isn't always about the visual. To do Jason, you've gotta have that music.

I have always found that building the anticipation makes the scare scarier than it is, and I'm sure everyone on here will agree.

Place a dummy on a table or slumped against a wall. When they move closer to examine it, thinking it will come to life, come out behind them for the real scare.

[Old Tree Studios]

I agree, it's all about anticipation. Music is a great tool for this. And actually, I think that the fact that Jason moves slowly and silently is plenty creepy and scary all on it's own.

People are conditioned to having monsters jump out at them and yell. If you could have Jason in a place where people are feel a little closed in, and he comes moving slowly and silently toward them with the right music in the background... Unexpected and REALLY creepy.

So I say: Embrace Jason's silent nature!

Mike

[Jason Voorhees]

OK THX GUYS !!!

Some pretty cool ideas.

Waht du u think about crashing through some wooden planks ??? thats what jason does in movies too but its not so easy to build.

[shawnc]

but it might be difficult to build so that you can quickly reset it and do it again a couple of minutes later. I have seen animatronics with a similar effect and they are basically two separate assemblies pushed together that you would burst through. Construct the connecting sides so they make use of the split planks, and hinge the outsides. Think of the swinging doors in a saloon you might see in an old western movie, but instead of straight edges where the two doors almost touch you would have jagged edges (but not too jagged). You can always have a board or two that you toss through as you push through for a more dramatic effect.

[Jim Warfield]

Leave seams between the boards or make knott holes so you can see if a customer happened to take up a position right in the path of the violently , suddenly swinging boards, then you have better odds of not clobbering someone.
You will also need enough light to be able to see them if they are standing there.
"Anticipation" is a very needed commodity . It also usually requires "time". Time to communicate verbally or visually, time for them to understand and then time to allow those thoughts to brew alittle.
50 bodies running passed you down a hallway every few seconds will not see this happening. It takes "Time".
Maybe have a picture drawn or writing on those boards to slow them down, and distract them, lull them before you act.
Lots of fun things to do!

[tot13]

Jason is character that many people are already contioned to be afraid of, much like the chain-saw scene that everyone knows will be in nearly every haunt - and it still works. As a guide on our trail, I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I'll be okay as long as they don't have a Jason/Mike Myers".

As for busting through a wall:

We had a scene last year where an actor ran through a wooden fence to come after the guests. We used lighter (in weight) boards and they were attached vertically to the posts with velcro and rested horizontally on nails that were not quite driven all the way in. This allowed our actor to break through a solid object with little or no resistance and it took only seconds to re-set for the next group.

Consider wearing protection if you intend to do this 30 or 40 times a night, because at some point you'll hit the wall wrong or get a bad bounce on a board. With the Jason cover-all's as a costume, you can easily hide a catcher's chest protector and soccer shin guards. Make sure you pad your knees and elbows also.

[tot13]

Another thought on the re-set:

We tell our actors to improvise within reason. We give them a way to do the scene but allow them to make changes to see what works best.

The point I'm trying to make is, you don't have to do it the same way every time. Whether you just want to try something different or you didn't have quite enough time to completely re-set, the guests don't know that. Just give them a good scare/show.

[Jim Warfield]

Providing the haunt-actor with multiple locations also helps get the returning customers who want to warn their friends (The "Good-Scout" syndrome, I call it)
much of our peculair entertainment relies upon lies and confusion afterall.
Seeing just how guilible people can allow themselves to be is a great part of my fun.
Sometimes I can almost imagine I'm a Madison Avenue million dollar Huckster, selling my wetdream fantasy to millions, making a billlion in process.
"Yes! You too can be rich and sexy , just smear my wonder product all over the bottoms of your bare feet before you put on your socks for the day, yes, I know it smels terrible, but it worked for me!"
{Sold Only At finer Dives!}

[Medusa53]

I have an actor that plays Jason every year and I was thinking about adding his mom to the scene next year.I'll have a table with a hole cut in the middle so my actress can fit her head through.I'll have her made up to look like a corpse head
When the group comes in the room,after a few seconds,the corpse head will say"Jason has been a very bad boy" and then Jason will come out from behind them.Something gory,something scary.Should be a good scare,or at least I hope so!!!