Whats The Scariest Theme?

[ShadyHallows]

What do you think is most scary as a theme? General, clown show, original horror characters, a mix of all? I'm basically wondering because with the new haunted house in the works I want this to scare the crap outa ppl and not just be a dumb little walk through. Kind of going along with this can you think of any props or scenes that really made you scared or jump? Thanks in advance.

[trishaanne]

Alot of people do haunted carnivals or clowns but I won't do that. Little kids love the circus, and I won't spoil it for them by making the clowns so scarey they can't enjoy it any more. I also won't do anyone hanging or anything really bloody or gorey. I think the scariest things are the ones you DON'T see, the things you anticipate and make up in your own mind. Does that make any sense? Sorry if it doesn't....I've been out in the sun all day and I think I may have fried what was left of my brain!

[GreenCapt]

I guess to me the scariest is when the audience is made to get involved with the 'story' of the haunt. That's something that many pro attractions do very well- instead of just having a random walkthru and people jumping from hidden corners and screaming, get your audience emotionally involved. Of course if you give *too* much story your audience loses interest (too much opening narration, too many 'stop and tell' moments).

And I always appreciate safe ways of not feeling... *safe*. Like having a ringer walk through with each group and at some point in the haunt having something happen to the ringer so the rest of the group thinks 'oh crap they're not supposed to do anything to *us* and something happened'.

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for but I hope it helps.

[heresjohnny]

Though I am relatively new to this, I think the right mood will make any theme good. Personally I agree with trishaanne, I don't like things that are 2 gruesome or gory, and its thinking you're gonna get scared, the anticipation, that gets you. Years (and years) ago I went to Universal Fright Nights when they first opened up Bates hotel. I remember coming up on a walk through closet lined on both sides with coats hanging up, thinking someone would defintely grab me while waling through. No one did, but the anticipation was great! I am still learning how, but I think sound and light plays more of a role than anything. Ever gone through a cool ride and notice how many different sound sources you are surrounded by?

Having said all of that, the best theme I pulled off last year was a swamp room; soundtracks of crickets and frogs, and things walking through the water. We used old tree limbs as trees, scattered leaves and twigs everywhere, and used scattered black lights. Very Spooky. We also had an outdoor cemetary with scattered soundscapes playing. This year I want to add blinking eyes, bush shakers (just a little, like someone sneaking up on you), and sounds of bats coming from speakers up in the trees. Things like that to set the mood.

[GreenCapt]

heresjohnny- as a brief aside, do you have any pics of your actual haunt on your website? I love your project pages, etc but would like to see the whole deal. :)

[heresjohnny]

;) GreenCapt, last year was my first real effort at a haunt, and I did not take any pictures. I plan on documenting well this coming Halloween

[GreenCapt]

Cool- I can't wait!

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread... ;)

[Hellrazor]

I agree with the "anticipation" theory. I am cool with horor movies and such, but you wont catch me in a haunted house! I just wont do it, the anticipation is too great for me. I cant play hide or seek as well because I start thinking about someone lurking or bugs etc.... My heart races just thinking about it. But i am a Hypocrite in the purest sense as I have my own haunted areas - go figure.

[Da Weiner]

Definitely the anticipation is the thing that gets me toooo. When I go in a haunted house I am looking all around knowing the places that someone/something should be coming out and when it doesn't happen but takes place when your guard is down is awesome. I know who put the haunt together is thinking along with same lines as me.

I also think it makes for a good horror film when there is a scene that grabs you. It's nice to have the special effects and stuff, but just an old fashioned scare can make me feel like I got my money's worth.

[ShadyHallows]

Thanks alot guys, do you think its scarier to have someone walk you thruough? I don't because then your not really all by yourself in the dark haunted house.

[Da Weiner]

I like going in with a group because even though I love haunted houses, I'm a scaredy cat!!!! I hide in between everyone.

[Eyes_in_the_dark]

Anticipation is a big one for me but, I think atmosphere, which allows you to scare yourself, is just as important. If done right nothing has to move in a haunt to scare people, that’s what I’m aiming for this year.

We visited a local haunted house last year ( http://www.lazarusmaze.com/ ) and the building itself, and the inside, were all done extremely will but, the actors ruined most of the experience for me. They were to “in your face” trying to scare you instead of letting the atmosphere do most of that for them. The two best room were the “spider” room and the “lost girl” room. In the spider room there were cocoons in the webs which moved slightly and you got to imagine what was inside. In the lost girl room there was a small girl (6 or 7) in the corner saying things like “can I please leave with you before they get back”, “there are scary things in here”, and “where’s my mommy” and starting to gently sob.

The scariest theme for me would be demons and possession. I’m not a big religious person but being raised in a southern Baptist home I’ve heard all the stories. I would love to do a “cased out of heaven theme”. Have a dark angel (the devil) sitting on the ground, head hung low and wings spread wide, like he had just landed on earth after being cased out of heaven. There would be fire and smoke around him and he would be dirty and tattered like he had just been through a battle.

My Devil would not have the traditional Devil look but would be a gorgeous man, after all he was the most beautiful angle created. He would have Long brown hair, a weight-lifters body, and dark wings but, red glowing eyes. I would have the rest of the haunt themed after the 7 deadly sins to finish the haunt.

That’s just one of mine haunt ideas.

[Sickie Ickie]

Being an actor, I like having a tour guide. The guide is a character that sets the mood and makes sure people follow rules so they don't hurt themselves or your props.

As a benefit, the guide is able to keep the group moving along so nobody takes too much time in one spot and there are no stragglers.

My plan is to set up my first large-scale haunt in 2008, but it's a bit different than some other haunts that go on around here. Much of it will be theatrically based.

[darryl]

The two scariest things I've ever done in a haunt were as follows.
One year we did a fund raiser for my wives gymnastic kids so we had lots of help. At one part of the haunt we had the guests walk past a set of double doors on our deck. Unknown to the guest in each group was one of the little kids from gym. My wife would peek through the curtains and wait for one of the girls to walk by. Just the fact that she would throw both doors open scared the crap out of people, but when she would grab one of the screaming kids and pull her into the room and close the doors. Man, that was really off the chart on the scare rating. Kids would come out of the haunt saying things like, "Mom, a monster grabbed one of the kids and took her in the house!!" Sounds kinda' weak here, but let me tell you they would be looking over their shoulders, dragging their parents away from the house in an effort to escape as they said these things.
The second was even more simple. Between two "rooms" of the haunt we had a short hallway, maybe 5 feet. We hung the ceiling and walls with black plastic. Two layers of black plastic for doors on each end made a pitch black room. One of the girls was dressed all in black. Black hat,shirt,pants and shoes. All she would do is reach out and touch people when they were almost through. Talk about scream!!
Once again, your mind will often create something that is way worse then is actually there.

[Empress Nightshade]

ShadyHallows,

just like so many have said, it does not matter what theme or scene you use in your haunt. What matters most are the surroundings. That is-how you set it all up. Overload their senses! For example, if you have a popup coming from a barrel, don't just have it popup and go back down. Although it will scare some, most have been through haunts and have come to expect such a thing. However, if you add darkness to the mix making the room dim, and a sensor that triggers a red spotlight on the barrel and a horrible scream all at the same time the popup engages, you've overloaded their senses with sound, sight AND anticipation. Throw in an actor with a hideous mask coming from the opposite side and you've got enough for a serious scare! A One, Two Punch!
It's all about the setup and doing the unexpected. It's about taking their minds and putting their thoughts on one place only to let their release of anticipation (SCREAMS!) come from another. Scare them 360 degrees - from the left, from the right, from up high, from the middle and from down below. They have come to your haunt and in doing this they have pretty much said, "Here..take my mind and do with it what you will." Don't disappoint them...do what they ask. :devil:

[kevin242]

I don't think you can go wrong with the classic graveyard. Some skeletons, a fogger and a "live" zombie or two make for the best scene (in my opinion).

[Otaku]

kevin, I agree. There's something about a blue-litten graveyard with the dead rising from the fog-covered ground that makes the TOTs eyes get real big. I sometimes scare myself!

[gmacted]

I hate haunts that just have people/actors jump out at you. How difficult is that? They could do that any day of the year and scare people. I think the atmosphere should create a sense of fear. Leave the rest up to their imagination. There's nothing scarier than that.

[Sickie Ickie]

I agree GMACTEd.

[Dr Morbius]

ShadyHallows,

just like so many have said, it does not matter what theme or scene you use in your haunt. What matters most are the surroundings. That is-how you set it all up. Overload their senses! For example, if you have a popup coming from a barrel, don't just have it popup and go back down. Although it will scare some, most have been through haunts and have come to expect such a thing. However, if you add darkness to the mix making the room dim, and a sensor that triggers a red spotlight on the barrel and a horrible scream all at the same time the popup engages, you've overloaded their senses with sound, sight AND anticipation. Throw in an actor with a hideous mask coming from the opposite side and you've got enough for a serious scare! A One, Two Punch!
It's all about the setup and doing the unexpected. It's about taking their minds and putting their thoughts on one place only to let their release of anticipation (SCREAMS!) come from another. Scare them 360 degrees - from the left, from the right, from up high, from the middle and from down below. They have come to your haunt and in doing this they have pretty much said, "Here..take my mind and do with it what you will." Don't disappoint them...do what they ask. :devil:

Very good advice, Empress! Makes alot of sense. Love your Avvy too!

[Front Yard Fright]

The haunted house I worked at last year focused on a lot of main fears (clowns, dark, closed spaces) as well as anticipation. I worked in the cemetery and i was the first thing the people saw when the walked in. they walked in the entrance and i walked towards them from the back of the cemetery. everybody was so focused on me that other actors could sneak up behind them without even noticing! once they got close enough to me, i would stumbled towards them and the would scream and back up... right into the other actors! it was great! also, you gotta love the screamy teenage girls, you just go after them the whole time and you can't help but laugh!

[SpookyDude]

The simplest and cheapest (at least in a commercial Haunt) is visual deprivation. Dark, winding corridors where advancement is a tactile process which in turn leads to acute anticipation and fear that begins to build as the "victim" progresses. Then after a few turns, a loud sudden noise from behind or a large shadowy figure appearing from nowhere is almost always guaranteed to generate a good scream - mhwahahahah!

[BobC]

I believe being realistic in every sence is the key to scareing people really bad. therefore I dont believe any haunt should have a tour guide. Think reality if you enter a real haunted mansion are you going to have some jerk in a 99 cent costume and bad makeup lead you around and say stupid lines? I dont think so. Tour guides in my opinion ruin the scare before it happens by telling you whats coming and what to expect. Leave it to your visitors minds create an atmosphere for them and let their brains go wild they will scare themselves. Alot of people get carried away with props, have you really ever seen a 30 foot spider? Umm no.. and its not scary because it isnt something your brain can grasp as being real. In my Haunt for 2007 I plan to feed on peoples everyday fears focused on the setting of an old Funeral Home. I will not do a Circus theme cause its over done. Yes people are scared of clowns but everyone does it. So I would tell you to be "Original" also. Everyone takes bits and pieces of things they have seen and put them to work in their own Haunts thats normal just do it with your own personal realistic style. I think the most scary thing I have seen in a Pro haunt would be. A meat locker scene I went through It had a giant freezer door on the outside and when you entered there was thick screaded clear plastic tarps you had to walk thru which obstructed your vision these tarps were in layers. There were walking dead half frozen zombies walking to get you there were moving bodys on meat hooks and it all opened up to a chain link fence maze in the freezer with scares all over the place you really felt trapped it was so nuts. they also had really really cold fog blowing all over the place to give the inside a freezer look was very realistic and very scary. :jol:

[HibLaGrande]

anything that is dark and quiet.where your mind can focus on the sounds of something shuffeling and wheezing in the room but cant see it.to create a feeling of being lost and trapped, isolated. Or to have your patrons stumble into a part of the haunted house that seems to be a restricted area, or what seems to be an area " behind the scenes" where they are not supposed to be. let curiosity and the desire for mischief draw them in and "wham!" let'em have it.

[writer93]

I cant stand the boring little walk thrus with Jason and Michael and all of them. Same old same old. I like going somewhere where everything is a bit original, and different. Im not a big big fan of having a tour guide, either. When you have a tour guide, you kind of have to move along very quick sometimes, but I would have someone inside to make sure nobody abuses the place or anything.
To me, a nice, realistic, original haunt makes a good scare!

[madmax]

No matter how many props or actors you have or how much money you put in the haunt...the set up is the most important thing.

I have 4 different sections in my haunt and before or after each section I will have a long hall/tunnel (12 to 20 foot long) to play on the next section or room or to play off of the room you just left.

Sounds and darkness can be used for true scares...a true scare is a lot different from the sudden scare you get from a pop up or an actor. A true scare gives you time to wonder whats ahead, whats behind you and what might be next to you. That's where darkness and sound plays with the mind.

Like after you go through my spider room...in this room I'll have a couple huge pop out (right at you) spiders. I'll also have the trimming of the spider victim and smaller spiders on the crates, hanging down from the ceiling and ...well you get the ideal. The pop out spiders will get there share of screams but this room will only be the set up room for my 16 foot totally dark tunnel. The tunnel will have bug sounds and the soft fuzzy garland hanging all through out the 16 feet. This is the only room I do...year after year. I will change the set up every year...but basically it's the same theme...spiders and darkness. But it still creeps people out....year after year.

Now the last room is the room I get the out of control screaming and the pleas to stop or they will wet their pants (tip: never tell a person holding a saw you're about to wet your pants :) ). Last year was the first time I used the saw room. I'm bringing it back this year but with a totally different set up. As a matter of fact I'm expecting this room to be so loud ...that I'm lining all the walls and even the ceiling with soft foam padding (type some people put on their beds) to help keep the sound in the room and not going all over the neighborhood. Plus it'll help protect the tots...when they knock each other into the walls trying to get out.

Small details wont be seen...it's a waste of time and money, trying to get every detail in a room or on a prop (in a haunted house...not display) just right. I tell my self..I wont waste my time next year trying to get as much details in my sets. I fall into the same trap, every year:( wasting time on things that wont be seen. Or it will take to much light for it to be seen and ruin the mood of the room.

If you depend on flow and don't want people hanging around a room. Don't have a prop that takes 30 seconds for it to finish it's routine. A prop that will look at you, turn it's head and tell you a story is a great prop....but it'll go better in a display(not the haunted house) were you're not worried about the flow of the tots. Nothing kills the mood and ruins a haunted house more than a line of people going through (getting bunched up)...one right after the other.

The above statement is just my opinion and I reserve the right to change it...after 10-31-06 :)

[Daughter of Darkness]

All great ideas here,
I am thinking of doing something along the lines of phobia like Madmax. I like the Hitchcock style of leaving out details so your mind fills in the blanks with a scene. Often times your mind will fill in what is not shown on purpose in a way worse way than anyone else could show you.Much can be done with light/shadow and sound alone. One of my very fav movies does this well-Night of the Hunter(Robert Mitchum) Not gory,doesn't show much at all, but VERY creepy. Go and rent it if you haven't seen it and you'll see what I mean. People swear that in Texas Chainsaw massacre the hook goes through the girls body when leatherface puts her on it . It never showed that at all. Just the suggestion combined with the sound did it. Alot of very scary films weren't even in color to scare the crap outta me. :p

Most people have some sort of phobia...I wanna play on that somehow! Hmmm. Personally, I'm a wee bit claustrophobic and don't like bugs at all. I am going to try some surround sound bug noises with darkness and maybe some feeling of bugs crawling,string or ankle ticklers? Muahahahaha. Poor kids :devil:

PS. A suggestion for your safety: I am an actor and did two years of haunted house work and I swear we had an ambulance there every night for weeks to pick up the actors that got too close to patrons. We had a nose broken,fractured ribs,broken arms and concussions. Be VERy careful when you invade someones personal space. Some people instinctively lash out toward the invader not meaning to harm but as a reflex kicking or punching. I have had friends get very hurt doing this. Just a tip from personal experience. Be careful :devil:

[hidehoman]

My best scare was a broken elevator. We were working in a well known building and painstakingly built a recreation of the wall and elevator about four feet in front of the real elevator when the guests would get inside the doors would close and when the actor pressed the button the entire thing would rock and slam around. The screaming was intense and we actually had people soil them selves.

[EvilGrin]

The whole "What is scary" thing depends on the person and the age group, I think. Personally I hate those creepy clowns, and I'm well into my 30's. The blood and gore doesn't scare me, just turns me off... but anticipation and the "mess with your head" creepiness that makes you think "oh my gosh, what if that really could happen" is what I think really creeps people out.

[JustMatt]

Let's see... Lots of the previous posters have summed things up pretty well... I hate the damn clowns, used to think gore was cool 25 years ago but not now, horror movies made since the 80's are overused.

I also happen to live in a neighborhood with about 90% under-5's and a very few young teenagers. I keep it PG rated because I don't want to give the ToTs nightmares, and because I don't want the parents on the street coming after me with torches and pitchforks!

I'm working up an alien theme again this year. It's odd enough that it is a little bit creepy but doesn't cross the line to freaky.

You could also harken back to the great moster movies of the 50's and do a Black Lagoon or Frankenstein's lab.

What is it with clowns anyway?

[HibLaGrande]

I don't know but I don't like clowns either. The whole idea of clowns creep me out.

[Long_Tom]

I prefer things that send a chill up your spine, as opposed to things that make you want to throw up.

I think severed body parts, blood, cannibalism, et cetera, are merely sordid, and entirely within the realm of human misdeed. A skeleton with the flesh freshly flayed from its bones and lying in nearby piles is more of a shocker than a scarer. Yuck. That falls in the category of "I really didn't need to see that." A skeleton that moves, on the other hand....

I have a ghost-skeleton, part costume, part puppet. Right now it is propped up on the living room chair, where it makes a fairly effective display. The other night I was adjusting something on the draping, in the dark, and it actually gave me a momentary fright to be within its embrace. Me, who made the dang thing! The kids are fascinated by it, but they run when I make it move.

A good startle is a lot of fun. But the tenth guy in a mask to leap out from concealment and scream at you gets old really fast. Doing things that push people off their centers, to build up their sense of discomfort, is good. I agree with the items people have mentioned: darkness, confined spaces, effects that set off certain fears (e.g., brushed by spiderwebs while insectoid sounds approach).

The chainsaw guy is by now cliche. I for one don't want to exit a haunt wondering if I've suffered hearing loss. It's possible to scare the pants off somebody without putting them through any actual physical discomfort.

[Long_Tom]

II have a ghost-skeleton, part costume, part puppet. Right now it is propped up on the living room chair, where it makes a fairly effective display. The other night I was adjusting something on the draping, in the dark, and it actually gave me a momentary fright to be within its embrace. Me, who made the dang thing! The kids are fascinated by it, but they run when I make it move.

Okay, now I'm creeped out. I just took a photo of this prop, Look, Ma! An Orb!

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c229/Long_Tom/Halloween2005/GhostPuppetFront.jpg

[thealmightyzenk]

I do a new theme for my haunt every year. I try to make them all unique. A few of my favorites were The Phobiahouse and Slaughter House. The first one is really good because you can easily go after everyones fears. The second is a bit more gorey (Ours wasn't to bad) but had a creepier story (insane farmer whose world famous smoked meats develop an oddly unique flavor after a crisis in his life). This year we are doing a haunt called "Quarantine". Guests enter a toxic lab where disaster soon breaks out releasing toxic materials everywhere and causing an odd viral mutation to lab personnel. Panicked, officials lock off the building trapping you and all of the "zombies" inside. It should be pretty intense and will feature a lot of new special effects. Hope this helps!!

[jaege]

Gore isn't scary its gory. Fear is based upon the imagination. Darkness and shadow are your friend. Any theme can be scary, but for me it has to be dolls or little kids. That can really creep me out.