Which do you prefer: Haunted Trail/Field or Haunted House

[Horseman]

I'm a fan of the outdoor attraction myself, but I was just curious as to what the board felt. I think the outdoor attractions leave more to the questioning mind, such as "I wonder whats behind that tree or bush?" And it allows you to create scenes such as a witch or horseman up on a hill that awes visitors. However, I do realize that land is at a premium in a lot of areas. I would also think that it could be more costly to insure an outdoor attaction because of the array of things that could go wrong that are outside the control of the producing organization.

[Rachel]

Certainly there is room for all kinds of haunted attractions. We visited a haunted forest and I didn't like that I could normally see the group up ahead of us and the upcoming scenes as well. I also would hate to be a weather-dependent attraction. If we had been an outdoor attraction we would have been closed at least two weekends.

However, as a child, one of my favorite haunts was a haunted trail. They would take you out on a hay wagon, drop you off, divide you into groups of 6, and you had to find your way out on your own. Pretty cool.

[Ironman]

For the past two years (’03 & ’04) we had a haunted trail through the woods. We had a lot of fun with it even though it was very tiresome to build and operate. Southern Indiana is all rolling hills, so traversing the trail many, many times a night could be gruesome. We were sticklers about our trail as I absolutely refused to have an indoor type scene out in the woods. So no mad lab rooms, no morgue, no bedroom, etc. If it didn’t happen outside, then it wasn’t in our trail. One of the corniest things I have ever seen was a trail scene with a Queen Anne chair, lamp table, and floor set up with trees and bushes all round. Hell, they had even hung portraits from tree limbs. It’s just not natural! This year we moved the haunt to a new city and into a 5000 sq. ft. building, and did we ever have fun. The biggest problem was that all of our existing props were not very adaptable to the indoor setting. And most of them were built on such a grand scale they wouldn’t fit under the 14’ ceiling anyway. We did manage to squeeze in one or two that were universal enough to go in or outdoors, but mostly we started with a fresh slate. What I truly missed was our massive cemetery scene. We did pull off a small family tomb area, but it just wasn’t the same. We are in a downtown area now on a main drag, so combining an indoor/outdoor haunt is not an option. I have pluses and minuses for both venues, but I have to go with the convenience of the indoor haunt. No worries about the weather. No sleepless nights worrying about after hour trespassers. And if I get the urge to go build something at three A.M., there’s never a problem.

[SpFXChic]

I like both, but I have to agree with Ironman...I rather like the outdoor setting only when it's natural. I'm not a big fan of "rooms" outside.

[bhays]

Honestly, some of the coolest haunts I have seen combined the two. Go through a 1000 sq ft or so building with four or five rooms, then through an outside area, then back inside, etc. Really neat to have both.

[SpFXChic]

Honestly, some of the coolest haunts I have seen combined the two. Go through a 1000 sq ft or so building with four or five rooms, then through an outside area, then back inside, etc. Really neat to have both.

Absolutely! Go outside and do outdoor scenes, then back inside with room scenes...just don't put inside scenes outside as described above - unless like Krone House, there are walls surrounding them.

[ScarlettP]

That's what we're talking about doing for next year. If we can't get a building big enough for us, we'll be back in our temperary cracker box again next year... BUT we want to ad a haunted Trail out the back of the haunt, down the side of our costume shop and around to the back. We've got TWO large garages back there, one is full, the other can be emptied that are just crying out to be turned into giant "crypts" for a huge graveyard scene. Then the customer can circle back around to the enclosed haunt or Exit onto the 'porch' area which might be a gift shop. Still making plans!

[INDREAMSANDDARKNESS]

The only good part of outdoors is the atmsophere.. how ever indoors gives you alot more controll.. ie getting crowd though , sercuirty and lighitng effects work better indoors

[hauntdaddy]

We do both. We have outdoor scenes in our trail and we also have one or two outdoor scenes inside. The trail is first and does a great job getting everyone excited about going through the haunted house. One definitely helps the other.

[haunter112]

I like both but I am leaning toward an outdoor haunt for my next venture.

I think outdoor haunts will eventually out-number indoor haunts. It seems to be getting harder to find permanent locations in commercial buildings. Fire restrictions (sprinkler systems) are pushing some haunters outdoor as well. It's just easier and cheaper to rent a wooded lot rather than a commercial building these days.

The only real problem with outdoor haunts is the weather. Props have to be weather-proof. Rain and snow can shut you down quick. A heavy down-pour will kill business at ANY haunt though.