Thread: Spooky Graveyard

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My theme this year is Classic Spooky Graveyard. I would like to ask your opinions on what you feel I could do to make my cemetery more Spooky. I am not looking at adding any scares, this will be a static display.

I have 3 acres of land to work with and over 30+ stones, adding more as time and money permits.

Fog rising up from under the leaves between the stones!!

Are you using the whole three acres? That's a lot of graveyard to spook up. Is any of it fenced in? Flat terrain? any hills? Will it be a walk through or something you stand and look at? Give some more info on what exactly you plan to set it up like.
I agree with partsman that fog is essential. Lighting is also a key factor, but again, you have a lot of land to work with. My suggestion would be to scale back and use only a portion of the acreage to make it simpler and more effective. Static props like pvc frame zombies, ground breakers, skulls on stakes, skeletons, a coffin, gravedigger. I place liut jack o lanterns in mine for added atmosphere. Lots of things you can do but I think trying to haunt 3 acres is going to be a lot of work. You can always start smaller and add some each year.

Having stones that have crumbled or partially crumbled I think would help. A freshly dug grave, maybe some dirt piled on to one area (not suggesting you dig up your yard). A gate with a sign that is rotted and possibly hanging from just one hinge.

Gotta have fog.Gotta have zombies(ground breakers perhaps) A couple of ghosts and creepy old trees is always helpful too.

Have a bunch of subtle, yet suggestive static scares. Along the lines of what Bubbels suggested... have one grave with a hole in front of it made as if someone (or something) has dug themselves out of the grave and have visible footprints leading through the dug out dirt and awy from the grave. Stuff like that which suggests that they may meet the grave's former occupant just around the corner or behind the next tree!

Mr. Grimsley had to do some similar digging once... but I'm feeling MUCH BETTER now!!! Muahahahahahahaha! >:O)

how about a lazer vortex? Ive been meaning to make one. I have the lazer and motor, probably have a mirror somewhere around here hmm...

can you post a picture of what you have done in the past. also, have you checked out the thread monster mash started? it was called graveyards or cemetaries. people have really posted some awesome cemetaries there. you would get all kinds of ideas. one thing i learned from that thread was how much lighting really enhances your work of art. at goodwill i found some cheap bells. i am going to rig them up by graves like they had in the old days for someone to ring incase they had been burried alive. i want to have a recorder planted ringing a bell every now and then. since you have so much room, besides your cemetary, you can have the cemetary that is off to the side where rogues and paupers are burried.

Sound effects! Not only ambient noises, but some 'pop-up' sound effects, too. If people will be walking through, embed scream mats on the paths. Add extra SFX, or even low-tech answering machine endless loop tapes with a motion detector. I like to hide baby monitors along the path to my house and hiss a warning to unsuspecting TOTs. I also use baby monitors (cheap at thrift stores) to listen to the comments of Halloween visitors.

hallorenescene... we think alike! Check out my previous threads...

New prop effect idea - Dead Ringer!

Verticle Tombstone Peeper?