scary
10-07-2007, 02:25 PM
Here's a few things that could easily make your haunt great, from a costumers stand point.
First, if you have a preview weekend, don't charge full admission, instead charge less, and maybe add a little incentive such as buy one get one free on your next visit this year, or something like that. Then that way you could get more of a crowd, and you could even throw in a survey to find all of your trouble spots, fix them, and come regular season, your haunt will be in tip top shape. Plus you will have some return customers that may or may not bring some extra company. Nothing beats repeat customers with extra company.
Second, when standing in line, looking at the sky isn't very entertaining. Throw in some eye candy, maybe an actor or two, just to get everyone anxious to get in. Maybe even throw in a movie or something, just to pass away the time. Take note of Field of Corpses, Frightmare, and Hauntplex, they do a good job of this.
Third, nothing pisses a customer off more than standing in line for an hour, going through the haunt, and running into the group ahead of you, and the group ahead of them, and so on. A lot of haunts have troubles with this, and with hundreds of people going through on peak days, I see why. Maybe throw in something that keeps people moving and prevents people from running into the group ahead of them. I like the tour guide idea, they can keep the entire group at a steady pace, and they can easily look around the corner to see if the group ahead of them is moving too slow. This also gives actors perfect timming capabilities. The guide could make some noise, giving the actor a heads up, and bam, perfect timming. When you just send groups in, actors are sometimes caught off guard, especially on non-peak nights. Take note of Field of Corpses, I've never ran into the group ahead of us, and the actors are always spot on on their timming.
Fourth, don't give away your ending. Lots of haunted houses use chainsaws as their ending, but they are noisy and people run from them, and by putting them at the end, you know what's going to happen, especially with all the gas fumes hovering in the air. I really liked Spider Mansion a few years ago. We were standing in line, seeing people running out of the haunt, but because we were a distance away from the exit, we couldn't see, or hear, what they were running from. And as an added bonus, when you got to the exit, you thought you were done, but then we hear, not smell since it was outside, that dreaded chainsaw, and ran. The actor was smart since he/she stopped right before the people in line could see what we were running from. This was the perfect execution of suspense. If you have a chainsaw, and you're exit is right next to your entrance, don't put the chainsaw there, instead put it in the middle, that way people are kept in suspense as to when the chainsaw will appear. Frightmare does a very good job of this, especially since they moved the chainsaw from the strobe light "horse corall" to a totally different location in the haunt. One more thing about the chainsaws, it's a whole lot scarier when the chainsaw is running towards you, instead of you running from it. This adds a dimension of "oh S*^t, I'm trapped." Field of Corpses does a great job of this.
Fifth, I hate walking through a haunt as if I'm just another person walking through getting scared by people in latex masks. Instead I want to feel as if I'm part of the haunt. I want to feel like I'm part of some sick and twisted game, or some scary nightmare. Take note of Murray Masacre. Every year that I've been there, I feel as if I'm being transported into some Texas Chainsaw movie where the actors don't want me to leave alive. I love this feeling, it adds another dimenson of terror.
Finally, originality is the best thing that a haunt could have. I hate going to haunts who have the chainsaw at the end, just as an after thought, or haunts that seem to have a lot of similairites with other haunts. Take note of Hauntplex, Terror in the Corn, Frightmare, Field of Corpses, and Murray. They all have their own style. Hauntplex has the art of misdirection in every room, Terror in the Corn has the tractor ride, Frightmare has the feeling as if you are actually walking through a nightmare, Field of Corpses has tour guides and a crazy spin on the electric chair gag, and Murray has the art of feeling like you've just been put into a Texas Chainsaw Movie.
Oh, and one more thing. Nothing beats changing up the set year after year. And nothing beats keeping old rooms/sets, but changing them up a alot, that way you think you know what is going to happen, but instead you don't. Take Frightmare for instance. Every year they completly change the pathway through the haunt, but sometimes keep old favorites, but change up the way you will get scared. Nothing gets me more than walking into a familiar room, thinking I know what is going to happen, but instead get totally scared as an actor jumps out of a place I never saw comming.
I really hope all you haunt owners listen to this, it's some things that could easily make your haunt a 10 star haunt!!
First, if you have a preview weekend, don't charge full admission, instead charge less, and maybe add a little incentive such as buy one get one free on your next visit this year, or something like that. Then that way you could get more of a crowd, and you could even throw in a survey to find all of your trouble spots, fix them, and come regular season, your haunt will be in tip top shape. Plus you will have some return customers that may or may not bring some extra company. Nothing beats repeat customers with extra company.
Second, when standing in line, looking at the sky isn't very entertaining. Throw in some eye candy, maybe an actor or two, just to get everyone anxious to get in. Maybe even throw in a movie or something, just to pass away the time. Take note of Field of Corpses, Frightmare, and Hauntplex, they do a good job of this.
Third, nothing pisses a customer off more than standing in line for an hour, going through the haunt, and running into the group ahead of you, and the group ahead of them, and so on. A lot of haunts have troubles with this, and with hundreds of people going through on peak days, I see why. Maybe throw in something that keeps people moving and prevents people from running into the group ahead of them. I like the tour guide idea, they can keep the entire group at a steady pace, and they can easily look around the corner to see if the group ahead of them is moving too slow. This also gives actors perfect timming capabilities. The guide could make some noise, giving the actor a heads up, and bam, perfect timming. When you just send groups in, actors are sometimes caught off guard, especially on non-peak nights. Take note of Field of Corpses, I've never ran into the group ahead of us, and the actors are always spot on on their timming.
Fourth, don't give away your ending. Lots of haunted houses use chainsaws as their ending, but they are noisy and people run from them, and by putting them at the end, you know what's going to happen, especially with all the gas fumes hovering in the air. I really liked Spider Mansion a few years ago. We were standing in line, seeing people running out of the haunt, but because we were a distance away from the exit, we couldn't see, or hear, what they were running from. And as an added bonus, when you got to the exit, you thought you were done, but then we hear, not smell since it was outside, that dreaded chainsaw, and ran. The actor was smart since he/she stopped right before the people in line could see what we were running from. This was the perfect execution of suspense. If you have a chainsaw, and you're exit is right next to your entrance, don't put the chainsaw there, instead put it in the middle, that way people are kept in suspense as to when the chainsaw will appear. Frightmare does a very good job of this, especially since they moved the chainsaw from the strobe light "horse corall" to a totally different location in the haunt. One more thing about the chainsaws, it's a whole lot scarier when the chainsaw is running towards you, instead of you running from it. This adds a dimension of "oh S*^t, I'm trapped." Field of Corpses does a great job of this.
Fifth, I hate walking through a haunt as if I'm just another person walking through getting scared by people in latex masks. Instead I want to feel as if I'm part of the haunt. I want to feel like I'm part of some sick and twisted game, or some scary nightmare. Take note of Murray Masacre. Every year that I've been there, I feel as if I'm being transported into some Texas Chainsaw movie where the actors don't want me to leave alive. I love this feeling, it adds another dimenson of terror.
Finally, originality is the best thing that a haunt could have. I hate going to haunts who have the chainsaw at the end, just as an after thought, or haunts that seem to have a lot of similairites with other haunts. Take note of Hauntplex, Terror in the Corn, Frightmare, Field of Corpses, and Murray. They all have their own style. Hauntplex has the art of misdirection in every room, Terror in the Corn has the tractor ride, Frightmare has the feeling as if you are actually walking through a nightmare, Field of Corpses has tour guides and a crazy spin on the electric chair gag, and Murray has the art of feeling like you've just been put into a Texas Chainsaw Movie.
Oh, and one more thing. Nothing beats changing up the set year after year. And nothing beats keeping old rooms/sets, but changing them up a alot, that way you think you know what is going to happen, but instead you don't. Take Frightmare for instance. Every year they completly change the pathway through the haunt, but sometimes keep old favorites, but change up the way you will get scared. Nothing gets me more than walking into a familiar room, thinking I know what is going to happen, but instead get totally scared as an actor jumps out of a place I never saw comming.
I really hope all you haunt owners listen to this, it's some things that could easily make your haunt a 10 star haunt!!