Thread: ANy yard haunts with back stories?

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So this is year 2 of me finally being able to build a yard haunt, and I have been playing with the idea of creating a back story for my haunt. I just think having some kind of story can go a long way to setting the mood of a haunt. I hope that once I get the story worked out and into an abbreviated enough format that I can etch parts of the story on foam/stone tablets throughout the haunt. I doubt I will get that far in it this year but will definitely have it going for next. The hardest part is abbreviating it to fit the stone tablets and not having it too long for people to stop and read.
I live in a small farming community so I tried to work that in. Here is kind of a rough concept so far.
About a hundred years ago our entire neighborhood was all cornfields as far as the eyes could see, except for one manor house that stood alone in the middle of it all. It was the home of the Ravenfells. The family was twisted and evil and tampered in the dark arts to taint the land around them and summon up nasty little beasties from the netherworld. Eventually, the evil began to spread and the farmers in the surrounding lands took notice. In an effort to stop the evils spread they lit the fields around Ravenfell Manor aflame and burnt the entire area to the ground.
But the evil the Ravenfells had summoned was powerful and still tried to reach through the void. On Halloween night when the veil between our worlds is thinnest the evil of the Ravenfells is able to reach through back into our world. At first it was little things, but after a hundred years the evil has built in power and pours through on Halloween night reviving the manor and its inhabitants.

I figured that the power building over years would also give a nice reason why the haunt will get bigger and better each year. Also with a family concept, if I decide on a new scene I can simply add another long lost family member to be part of it.
A few characters so far.
The Lady Katerina Ravenfell- She was an avid gardener who used her dark spells to twist the things she grew. Currently that is going to be for my demonic pumpkin patch but I hope to expand it into The lady Katerina's evil garden with all kinds of twisted plants and things. She loved her pumpkins and grew them specially to trap damned souls.
Uncle Borus Ravenfell- He was an avid collector of strange and exotic creatures from around the world. Currently he only has a werewolf in a cage but I have all kinds of ideas for creatures he could keep, once I make them. End goal I want a dragon- "I absolutely undeniably obsessively love dragons!!"
I believe the father will be a demon summoner. And I have a few other characters I have been brainstorming about. My hubby asked me how the circus theme scene he wants to do eventually will fit in. And off the top of my head I replied cousin so and so ran away before the fire and joined a traveling freak show circus. So when we decide to do it he will just stop by for a reunion.

So that is the beginning of my Yard Haunts back story. What are some of yours? I am really curious.

WOW great story! I'm anxious to find out more about the Ravenfell Family!

If you are interested, then you can check out the blog I just started about the story of Ravenfell Manor. Your comment about wanting to find out more prompted me to share the darkness that lurks within my mind.

If you are interested, then you can check out the blog I just started about the story of Ravenfell Manor. Your comment about wanting to find out more prompted me to share the darkness that lurks within my mind. http://www.halloweenforum.com/blogs/...beginning.html