[heresjohnny]

Hello fellow haunters, I am back after a rest with some interesting news, there is a good chance I will be moving up to north Florida, and the wife and I are already looking at houses. I am trying to think of things that make for a better home haunt, and to try and find as many of these things as possible in the next house. So.....

What would you look for in a house to make a better home haunt? Please provide an order of importance. Maybe we could develop the Haunt Forum house buying guide.

Thanks!

 

[Sinister]

Whereabouts in North Florida, HJ?

 

[heresjohnny]

Tallahassee

 

[Sinister]

Ah! I'm planning on moving back that way here soon. I'll be within pretty fair range. Maybe we can finally meet. Would be too cool. You also won't be too far from grapegrl or Nefarious1 and Pete.

 

[Front Yard Fright]

if you think that you might ever start doing a small walk-through haunt in like you garage i would look for a garage that has a front door and a back door (entrance and exit) also, i would look for big old trees so you could maybe hang a hangman or 2. Or even an axworthy ghost... just a sugguestion

 

[Otaku]

I agree with FYF, trees are good to have. Any good-sized, well planted front yard would make for a good yard display. Skull and Bone's haunt is a great example of how foliage can be creepy. Let the Spanish moss have it's way with the trees, too. I'm not planning any kind of indoor haunt, so I would be looking for mature trees and bushes that the fog can roll around in.

 

[NickG]

I agree about the trees... I would love to be able to do an axworthy ghost but I only have one tree in the front yard and putting up poles would be too obvious...

also think about street lamps too... they're a pain to work with if there is one planted right infront of your door.

 

[grapegrl]

Tallahassee

Wow! I actually commute about 45 minutes to work in Tallahassee! If you need any info about the area or want a good recommendation for a realtor, let me know, HJ!

 

[pyro]

yep big old trees
and evergreens so you cant see whats on the other side
no street lights in front of the house
and houses not to close together the more room the better

 

[Hellrazor]

My house is situated in the middle of my lot. room on both sides of my house to walk around (down the driveway, through the back yard and out the sideyard) Dont take for granted all houses are situated that way....

I , also in my next home, will be looking for "victorian" style and also a big one for me is an attic window

 

[Vlad]

1. Available TOTers. If you're living too rural, there's no use in home haunting if no one is going to know it.
2. Level or gently sloped property.
3. Enough property to put up storage and work buildings.
4. No corner lots.
5. Adequate electrical power. A big enough breaker box, and outlets outside where you need them.
6. On street parking, adequate street room to handle increased traffic.

 

[slimy]

STORAGE SPACE. An attic, big garage, basement, outbuildings... whatever, you need a place to put your stuff.

Vlad hit the nail on the head as far as parking and all.....

Don't forget storage space!

 

[heresjohnny]

Ah! I'm planning on moving back that way here soon. I'll be within pretty fair range. Maybe we can finally meet. Would be too cool. You also won't be too far from grapegrl or Nefarious1 and Pete.

That would be cool Sinister! First I gots to land a job.

Wow! I actually commute about 45 minutes to work in Tallahassee! If you need any info about the area or want a good recommendation for a realtor, let me know, HJ!

Thanks grapegirl, we love the Killearn area, 2 story houses, lots of trees, and lots of families!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I love Oak trees with lots of spanish moss, and the area we are looking in has lots of that, is very family oriented, average size lots so there should be lots of TOTs. Gotta have the work shed and storage, and I am trying to avoid the street light right out front.

Another thing that seems to work in a lot of peoples home haunts is a nice big front porch. Anything else?

 

[slightlymad]

Goodluck with the search.
1. Victorian Style
2. single door 2 1/12 car garage
3. Atleast 50' of frontage
4. Full length front porch
5. out door power supply
6. between street lights (i make them work for me)
7. Atleast 2 blocks off any main theroughfair
8. Private back yard for experimenting
9. Atleast one set of windows that look like eyes
10. UNDERSTANDING NEIGHBORS

 

[heresjohnny]

I had three interviews in Tally this past Friday (700+ miles on the truck Thursday and Friday), all went good, one went awesome. Hopefully another week or 3 and I will have some news.

Any other ideas? I think 2 stories, especially dormers are great for hanging things like FCGs (like Hellrazor's attic window). We are looking at one that has a nice slope down into the road, just right to pour the fog down.
What about cul-de-sacs, any experience with those out there?

 

[Front Yard Fright]

we use to live in a culdesac and it was awesome for people looking at our decorations... that way they aren't holding up traffic if they are in their cars + you get to know your neighbors really well.
also, i would aim for a house with some really good sized trees so you have some leaves to cover up your wires and like i said you could do some hangmen or some other spooky things you could hang around

 

[Vlad]

I've read where culdesacs are traffic nightmares once you've established a following. Limited parking, not easy to turn around, neighbors ticked off that their quiet back lane has become a zoo, etc.

 

[Ms. Wicked]

...I really want a front porch and some good trees for hanging things in (make a crank ghost...). They would be top of my list! (Says she who bought a house with neither.)

I've often joked with my husband about building a "facade" that looks like the Psycho House that we could simply erect and "attach" to the front of our house during October... I don't think even he could pull that off, LOL. So any Victorian house to me, would be perfect!

Oh, lots of outside power outlets...

We're going to plant a tree in the front yard in the spring. I think maybe some sort of maple, but we're not decided yet.

 

[Hellrazor]

Ms. Wicked, when you plant your tree in the front yard, do yourself a favor and run an electrical outlet from the house to the trunk of the tree.. that way you will have an outlet out there too...

 

[BobC]

what makes a house good to haunt on halloween?

Im also looking for a house in the NJ area and the one thing Im looking to get away from that totally ruins the mood of my home haunt every year is a damn street light right in from of my house. So Unless you want a spot light on your display stay away from the damn street lights. I have such a hard time using colored spots etc because the street light floods them out. Later all. :jol: