How to make a graveyard scary

[Floor8Horror]

I want to have a graveyard as part of my haunt because it is such an easy "room" to build. But just a graveyard is not very scary. I first thought of having an actor jump from behind a grave but this is very cliche, I need NEW, fresh ideas. How can I use actors and such to make a graveyard scary in a NEW way? Any ideas would be great.

[HauntedMemphis]

This isn't new, but something I've seen others do (which might go against your goal of an easy room) is to actually have the graveyard room raised up higher than other rooms. This leaves space under the room for actors. Instead of jumping up from behind a grave, your actors can actually rise from the grave.

[poison]

Ground breaker zombie

Here is a good creepy addition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fOAor2KIrg

http://poisonprops.com/index.php?mai...products_id=55

[poison]

Pop up zombie

Sorry I cant help myself.
Here's another good animation built to scare!
Turn up the SOUND!

http://poisonprops.com/index.php?mai...products_id=43

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DicyAs_QIk

[The Forsaken Crypt]

Graveyard

Well from haunts I have visted in the past I noticed a very nice effect. One graveyard they set up had a tree very close to the path you are supposed to take and there was an opening that was very hard to see and when you walked by an actor jumped out. It really threw us off guard and scared us! That would make it pretty scary from my standpoint.

[Darkblood]

One thing we did 2 years ago (our first year and it was under a pavilion mind you) was make it a large room with 2 paths. You walked in and made a left and followed a rope fence down the side and into a tomb at the end...all the while the graveyard/trees/stones were on your right along with actor(s) portraying zombies coming out of nowhere. The tomb had a casket and snakes in it with a vampire hiding and they went out the other side and down the other side of the graveyard with rope fence now on their right. We had an actor in a hidey hole in the wall to their left and the vampire would follow them along the path they took glaring at them...then run back in the tomb and out the other side right up behind them...they loved this and it scared them to pieces.
Oh, we fogged the crap out of that room...that helped hide our zombie(s) in the actual graveyard setting very well!
It was one of our most talked about rooms that year next to the chainsaw finale...since we were outside we used one with no muffler...we could be heard about a mile away (I lived 1/2 mile away and my wife could hear us)...lol...but that's another story!

Hope this helps...

Kirk

[Jim Warfield]

If You Raise The Ground

.. to create hiding places to rise up from Do Not use dry ice for a fog effect, it is heavier than air and will fill this low area and this has killed people in the past.
They are still dead.
Last we checked.

[Allen H]

Floor,
do not for get to work in things that are associated with grave yards play an association game
bats, rats, spiders, snakes, bugs could all be found in a grave yard.
Grave yards contain
grave diggers, dogs, werewolves would not be out of place, coffins, vines, trees, bouquets of flowers could all be found in a grave yard.
Im sure you can find a way to make one of these things scary.
Allen H