Kid-friendly haunt - Opinions needed

2988 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by autumnghost, Feb 14, 2011

autumnghost

Discussion Starter · Feb 2, 2011

:undecidekin:1st - sorry if this is in the wrong place.

So I've said we're going to do a full-blown haunt for charity. Now we're trying to decide if we want to do a scary haunt geared for teens/adults or doa kid friendly haunt.

St. Louis has, arguably, two of the best haunts in the country so they have the scare factor (and money) on their sides. That's leading me to think about doing something different. Maybe a walk through geared toward the kids - more whimsical I guess.

There's a lot of kids in the area and most of our friends have little ones (how we ended up being the oldest ones in the group is beyond me). So I'm trying to decide what theme to use - fast - so I can get started.

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Haunted Spider

· #2 · Feb 2, 2011

Charlie brown and the great pumpkin of course. I am actually planning on creating all of the charlie brown characters for the side of my display this year. I bought the original book from 1967 to get the true colors for clothing as the updated book is illustrated different.

I figured make each character about 3 feet tall out of a bride of articulation and foam. Make the heads out of paper mache if needed and seal them all. Then I could pose them any way I needed. I even thought about making a pumpkin thief for the great pumpkin that would show up on Halloween only.

That would be my theme for a kid friendly haunt. No gore, no blood, just charlie brown and spiders

debbie5

· #3 · Feb 2, 2011 (Edited)

I think mine is kid friendly...yet adaptable. Cemetery out front, some scary-ish guys (corpses but no blood) in cemetery...porch is all creepy, dark & webby. We don't scare or freak out the little kids..big kids get a scare. We have no blood at all (except for a bit of dripping red paint on a tombstone that is almost all worn off)..we used to have severed limbs but put them away last year as we get so many little kids. (We do still have the spider victim).. It's the *anticipation* of a scare that makes it worse...when a kid is absolutely petrified to come up to the porch, we go down there & explain its pretend/fake, makeup, nothing will jump out at them, etc. Part of Halloween is learning that its all a big joke & laughing at being scared & laughing at our eventual mortality. And candy.

I think you can still have scares without gore for the adults. I like what I call "ninja scares" ..when you have no idea there will BE a scare(there is no set up in the area hinting a scare will come), and it gets ya....Gore isn't really scary any more. It's just gore, and has become expected and bland.

EDIT: Too much Mountain Dew on this day..holycrap I'm rambling on this post....

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GrimmEverafter

· #4 · Feb 2, 2011

I would go the route of something cartoony but dark enough to not be comical, like blending Nightmare Before Christmas with Mickey Mouse (not literally). Have big headed monsters that would look cartoony to an adult, but has enough of a scare factor to work on kids. I suggest looking up a game called Okage Shadow King and looking at their enemies for ideas.

debbie5

· #5 · Feb 2, 2011

But I didn't address your question. I never know what exactly IS "kid friendly".I would think something like turning your house into a beautiful candy house, with candy canes, gingerbread men cut outs, candy around the windows & candy pillars, & happy music box music would be kid friendly..but then to have a horrible witch who threatens to EAT YOU and put you in a big cauldron sounds kinda perfect..LOL.

GrimmEverafter

· #6 · Feb 2, 2011

o.o A Hansel and Gretel themed house WOULD be kinda creepy actually, particularly if done in Halloween-esque colors, and maybe a 'monster' or two made from 'sweets'.

autumnghost

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 4, 2011

Thanks all for the suggestions and support. I think I'm going to go semi-whimsical. I like the stuff that Dave Lowe does very much. Also Stolloween is always an inspiration.

Here's a pix of Patrick O'Treaty from Dave Lowe. I like him as the "grand marshall" of my haunt.

Thanks again!

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RoxyBlue

· #8 · Feb 4, 2011

That will make for a charming prop, Autumn

debbie5

· #9 · Feb 5, 2011

I really wish I had that natural talent to draw like those people do...it's amazing.

psyko99

· #10 · Feb 6, 2011

I did a charity haunt this year at my daughters' high school to raise money for the theater department. It was completely kid friendly. I worked with the theater technology senior class to design and build the scenes and the Drama majors along with many others were the Scaractors.

The theme was based on the classic Grimm's fairy tales, although Alice in Wonderland did sneak in. We got a great deal of positive feedback. Many parents said thanks for having an economical event that they could bring there kids to. The same day a local museum had an event that was way over priced.

You can check out some photos in my album http://hauntforum.com/album.php?albumid=831

T-rex

· #11 · Feb 8, 2011

I would stick to a mainly kid friendly theme, maybe a couple of creepy things for adults.

Dark Angel 27

· #12 · Feb 8, 2011

i don't really have much of a choice. i get at least 200 kids every year, (because there's a catholic church just down the road and they do a festival every halloween) and the majority of them are 12 and under...but mostly younger kids.

so, my haunt this year is gonna be kid friendly and whimsical. my idea is of course, Misty Moon orphanage. there won't be blood or gore at all, just my props. (all though, some people think my baby gargoyle is really creepy. i just think she's a cutie)

i'm rambling, but i would think twisted fairys and the like. oh and lots of smoke and lights!

The_Caretaker

· #13 · Feb 8, 2011

Scobby Doo type theme would work also

Darkmaster

· #14 · Feb 14, 2011

These are all good ideas.
We do a haunt for charity also. We will accomodate all ages. If there are littles ones, we will do a lights on and little scares, then with adults, it full blown scares.

good luck with your haunt.

autumnghost

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 14, 2011

I think I've come up with a theme. "Dead End Day Camp" I have this picture of a tombstone with a tv set into it (I have an small old set that would work) playing old moviese or something with a skeleton watching it. There will be a skellie perched on the point of our shed dropping a pumpkin onto an unsuspecting skellie on the ground. Sort of like some one who shall remain nameless did with eggs from the hay loft onto little sister's head.

There's all sorts of pranks and mischief a little skellie could get into!

We're off and running!

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