Thread: Name That Haunt

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I've been doing a haunted trail at an Ohio State Park for the past several years for a charity. The trail is called "The Trail Of Lost Souls" This year they would like me to do a second trail along with the original. I change the trail every year. I could use some help with two things(for now). 1) A name for the new trail
2) some theme help for the new trail...been kicking around the classic monster theme,just don't know.
I have an entrance at the beginnong of the trail where the guides pick-up thier grpups. I always have a witch down the trail a short way to tell the story of the haunt and then off they go. I need to decide soon so we can post it on the state website and I also need the time to buil everything,as well as afford it. I fund this out of my own pocket and the charity gets the ticket and conession monies.

A name would be easier to come up with once a theme is established. Do you have any local ghost stories or legends that would make a good haunt for you? I'd suggest Rogue's Hollow, but it's really in Doylestown........of course you could do various Ohio legends.

There are really no local legends here in Toledo that I'm aware of. So i understand and need help with a theme.

I'm not sure what your environment is like, but would a old western theme work. I saw a poster from a 1933 John Wayne movie that was entitled "Haunted Gold". You could have ghostly gold mining themes, wild animal noises, hang-man's trees, boot-hill type cemeteries, etc. Just a thought...they are often hard to come by.

Thank you Madame Turlock I have built a small ghost town in the past...do you think I could fill a whole trail with that theme? Anyone else have any ideals? Please it's a charity.

Toledo Terror Trial? Your name can come from allot of things, your theme, or the location. You might consider maybe combining both trails together by using similar themes, which are what allot of professional haunts do.

My mind went down the path of "when do people get scared the most?" So something like "After Dark", "Trail's End", "Sunset Point", and "Shadows and Dust"... come to mind.

Classic monsters would work as a theme... just go Victorian. Most people associate the classic monsters with "old tymes"... old Dracula in his Lagosi penguin suit... with the wolf-man and werewolf duking it out with Dracula(I'm picturing Van Hellsing type scenes)... and somewhere in all of this, you can toss in a Creature from the Black Lagoon, a Mummy, Shelley's Monster (AKA Frankenstein's monster) and other creatures of the night... Vultures, Owls, Toads.... and maybe even try to throw in some MacBeth witches, fawns and things.... a few ghost driven carriages... lantern wielding night watchmen... skeletons. The works.

I say go with your first instinct. What strikes your fancy? If you're doing this for charity, you may as well do something you're interested in. =)

For other ideas, why not kick back and think about your favourite scary movie? Where was it set? What costumes did people wear? People mostly think of Dracula on land... but he did go to sea a couple times and the ships were pretty ghastly whence he departed.

Jadewik thank you alot of great thoughts and the classic monsters seam a great theme. Two years ago I posted on this forum to find out where I could get a "Creature from the Black Lagoon"costume or how to make one. there is a pond along one trail. any thoughts?

i like the classic monster theme mentioned above. maybe you could call the theme -monsters of darkness? two different haunted trails i went to used a bride in their themes. no background noise at this point, one had basement doors open up with a bright light and a bride come out running toward us. the second had a light fog going, an eerie dim light, and the bride slowly walking at a distance slowly raise her arm, turn and point at us. of the whole trail experience, it was great, but that unsettled us.

"Side Trip of the Darned": little devils tormenting people with "you refused to ask for directions, now you'll pay with your life..."

"Muderer's Woods" - lots of chainsaws & flashing lights chasing people through to the finish.

"Psycho Forrest" - kind of like above, but it's murdering psycho's chasing them through.

Good luck!