Thread: Stationary vs. Animated props

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The majority of my Halloween Haunt is made up of stationary props. I definately think that animated props would add to my Haunt, but the additional costs associated with animated props deter me from purchasing them.

Do you prefer stationary or animated props? What type of props do you use?

personally, animated because in most cases the prop looks better if its moving. I know that it costs more but if you take care of them they will last for a while.

If you do decide to get an animated prop, i suggest getting a gemmy because you probably dont want to just jump into building animatronics

I like having actors pose as animated props, then when people get near they run at them. Aslo I have some actors stand still and pose as static props until people get close. I do have a few animated, and static props thrown in as well. Static, and animated both have their uses.

I'm like you with the stuff I have indoors. The motors cost too much money, and I might break it as I've done before. I will stick with stationary, and buy animated stuff in the stores.

Honestly I think to have a good haunt you need a balance of both.... if everything is animated it would be too distracting, I wouldnt know where to look first. lol Some static props are frightening simply because they DONT move, my heart races waiting for them to move......

I actually jumped into building an animated prop before buying the gemmy stuff...

I had build a static witch with a cauldron before I even found this site and knew that others did this sort of thing... and then last year, I found a motor and with instructions and help from some of the posters on here, I got my homemade witch stirring her cauldron.

I do think that if it has to be one or the other, go for static props over everything moving - like NewbieHaunter said, if everything is moving around, it gets overwhelming. Static displays when properly lit and arranged can be very entertaining.

I like the fact that only a few things in my graveyard actually move. Those that do are the highlights, but the static props are the backbone of my whole graveyard.

I would think seriously about what to incorporate where when you start looking for animatronic props - make sure it fits with the theme and position it to it's best advantage. It's really easy to be totally in love with a gemmy or other prop that crawls/sways/whatever, but if it's in the wrong spot and/or doesn't fit with your theme it's just annoying.

We have always used static props in the past but this will our first year adding animated props. Like NewbieHaunter said, I think it's good to have a nice balance of animated and static props. You can pull off a great looking haunt with static props and good lighting but I think having all animated props is a bit too much and can be more distracting than anything else. Even more so when the props are random and don't really follow a theme.

We're building our own animated props, mainly because I haven't seen any gemmy stuff out there that fits the look and theme of our haunt. I'd rather build something myself and have it look like it belongs. Since our theme is ghost pirates, we're building a talking pirate out of a Bucky that will talk and move his head and arm around. As well as another one that will just move his arm (holding a lantern). I might add a FGC type prop as well if I have the time. The the rest of the props will be static.

I personally like the animated. I started with the static stuff and slowly worked my way into building my own. I'm not big on props that just keep moving. I like them when they have to be triggers. So they are static to begin with and then become animated. People just don't know what they are going to do. Or if they will do anything.

Originally Posted by NewbieHaunter

Honestly I think to have a good haunt you need a balance of both.... if everything is animated it would be too distracting, I wouldnt know where to look first. lol Some static props are frightening simply because they DONT move, my heart races waiting for them to move......

I agree. A few well placed animated props sprinkled in with stationary ones will keep eveyone on their toes. It will save you money, too. You don't have to fill an area with $150 items.