Thread: Need Ideas for Western-themed Haunt

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For 2011, I plan to inject a Western theme into the Sausalito city haunt (not crazy since people have lived there since the early 1800s, located just north of San Francisco). I am looking for any:
1) Pictures/website of other Western haunts you know of
2) Pictures/websites of interesting Western themed costumes or costume vendors
3) Any other ideas you may have for me (music clips etc)

This is what started my idea, this Zagone mask that I finally bought. The stovepipe hat has a western vibe, don't you think? (I'm wearing it with a mountain man jacket)


Plus I happen to already own this

It's from a website called www.somethindifferent.com and it's a guy in L.A. that sells western low voltage lights. Mine is a deluxe one with smoked glass, flickering light, and a cricket sound and cost $200-$250 a couple years ago. It's hanging in my yard at the moment.

I plan to have a couple of rooms with:
1) a vampire gunslinger actor coming out of a saloon
2) a western graveyard with some of those chinese rubber skeletons on hangman's nooses
3) some sort of western ghost actor behind a pepper's ghost illusion (plexiglas reflector)
4) a room with two werewolves in it, one to get your attention and another to scare you -- still working on a background for this room. It seems to hard to build a forest.
5) still thinking of more, but one room will be pitch black before the lights come on and something scary appears

I plan to build a western style facade for the saloon. Still working on ideas for that, but it has to be portable. This is an inspiring picture, although I won't have enough room to make it two stories.


My main influences so far have been the town of Thunder Mesa in Disney's Phantom Manor ride in Paris and the Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm.

Sounds fun. Creepy town undertaker. Coffins pieced together from old pallets. Glowing red eyes from the cracks between the boards in the fence, in the wall. The old church cemetery. Skeletal sheriff. Zombie saloon girls. Resurrected gunfighters. Could be cool.

Cowboys and Aliens is out this year too.

Ya gotta have gallows in the old west.

Maybe a buckboard wagon with a toe pincher like this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksnell707/4972720530/

and a Delorean...

Whatta cool idea! Could have a creepy abandoned gold mine and some zombie miners. What about those Southwest werewolves?

Old Tucson Studios

Calico ghost town

Tombstone

I have been to all these places and they are a great blast to the past! Hope these links help!

I think a mineshaft is a must, you can definately create a very creepy ambiance in narrow wooden hallways. It sounds like you're pretty dedicated, which is good to see. It sounds to me like it's going to turn out great! I'll post more ideas as I get them.

I really like this idea.

you can do a search because there are quite a few that do western themes. i did one this year. you can check out my profile for pics. wyatt furr, yardhauntjunkie, and northrad are a few others that i can think of right off the top of my head. they're all worth checking out. the facade you want to build is awesome. well, good luck