Thread: Ideas for Town Haunt

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I have a number of props and yard scenes in the works. Still don't know what my haunt this year will be and it's complicated by what landscaping we get done this summer. However since I have so many different scenes I'd like to incorporate in a haunt, if I do a walk-through this year, I've been trying to come up with a town name and theme for the buildings and activities in it. Here's what I have so far:


Town name signage:

Gruesome, California Population: 276 (crossed out, then "0 living", and the handwritten scrawl of "R.I.P.")
or
Welcome to UnPleasantville (un is Handwritten)
"where all of your dreams (crossed out, and "Nightmares" written above "dreams") come true"


The town residents (now zombies) that haunt goers will encounter are Ma and Pa Cleaver and The Gruesomes, both of whom live just outside of town in run-down shacks.

In-town Location Facades and Signage:

Barber: We'll shave years off of your life! Free first aid with purchase of a shave.
Dentist: Let us put you out of your misery.
Hospital: Walking dead welcome
Toxic Spring Bottling Co.: Try our brew and you'll never drink anyone elses.
I'd like to throw in a Vampire Bar, Dracula's Pub, but don't know if that will be really out of place. Figured the signage could read: We serve all kinds.

On the way out of town I want to have an abandoned circus. I'd love to talk some of the older neighborhood kids or halloween-minded adults to dress up as zombies and help run the circus.


Welcome your suggestions.

Originally Posted by Ghost of Spookie

Gruesome, California Population: 276 (crossed out, then "0 living", and the handwritten scrawl of "R.I.P.")

The town residents (now zombies) that haunt goers will encounter are Ma and Pa Cleaver and The Gruesomes, both of whom live just outside of town in run-down shacks.

On the way out of town I want to have a abandoned circus. [/COLOR]

Sounds spooky. The deserted circus would terrify me. More people "disappeared" from my town though. Whatever it was that got everybody, it got all 362 of them.

good idea for a zombie town

Ha, some wonderful pun-y lines there! I like the overall haunt idea as well. My only recommendation would be changing "... all kinds" to "We serve all types" for the vampiric slogan.

I love your ideas first of all. My vote for town name is gonna go towards the UnPleasantville. I imagine the Pleasantville neatly stenciled out in neat font, and the Un being crudely craved into the sign in blood red. For the circus, I always imagine the cheesy "Killer Klowns" movies and think of a blucky skeleton wrapped in cotton candy. Just a thought, but keep up the good work, you're off to a great start.

Oh Zombor. You broke the string of responses from people with Washington State connections!!!! But, I second the vote for (un)Pleasantville!!!!! A zombie town is such a great idea.

ummm ummm...Zombor of Central Illinois, but SOMEDAY of Washington State! There! Oh drat.

Originally Posted by Zombie Machairodont

Ha, some wonderful pun-y lines there! I like the overall haunt idea as well. My only recommendation would be changing "... all kinds" to "We serve all types" for the vampiric slogan.

Good recommendation there, much better word choice. Plus "all types" (not just a people reference to zombies but vampires and other ghouls) could also refer to Blood types and go with the Vampire theme. Thanks!

The Dracula's Pub will give me a chance to include a number of other costumes I have and turn them into bar patron props. I bought a Dracula's Pub sign from BIG LOTS last year and really wanted to use it in this year's haunt. Glad you think it will fit with the town theme. This will also open up the circus too, because some of the out-of-town monsters can be visiting the circus and help fill out the space. or if I really try to go for the abandoned circus theme maybe I shouldn't have lots of other "people" props there. What do you guys think?

I do have clown masks to use, a mime mask I absolutely love (from Halloween Asylum), will have some gorillas for surprise, Target's Boney the Skeleton Dog will be atop a circus ball doing his thing, and I'll work in some skeletons too. Oh and I have that Walmart Skeleton Baseball vendor that will be selling concessions at the circus.

BTW Yardhauntjunkie, I like your shack a lot. Kind of what I had in mind giving the Cleavers' shack a tin roof. Is everything constructed from real wood or is it wood framed foamboard?

It will be interesting to see more feedback on the town name. So far UnPleasantville is the favorite. I like both Gruesome, CA (just like how the name sounds and Gruesome sounds like a scary place to be) and UnPleasantville (a take off on the movie "Pleasantville" where all the town folk were so pleasant and everything was so beautiful). Zombor, you and I are thinking alike on the UnPleasantville town signage. If I make it from thick foamboard I should be able to easily carve the "Un" out of it.

Oops, I forgot to comment on the town name! I actually had a lot of trouble deciding between the two names & signage concepts as I really like them both. I love Yardhauntjunkie's sign, and it shows that's an effective idea. The mere crossing out of the population number and zero scrawled above is simple but communicates a lot. However, I think I'm leaning more toward your Un-Pleasantville concept, because the town is - after all - occupied ... just not by mortal humans. It makes it sound more like it had once been a nice, normal little town that has since been taken over by monsters and the like. As far as the sign, Zombor's idea sounds like the way to go!

I'm not sure if you are looking for other store-front ideas/signage puns, but here are a few more from How To Operate A Financially Successful Haunted House by P. Morris & D. Phillips (1997) that might work with the following themes:
Funeral parlor/undertaker: "We will be the last to let you down."
Florist: "Even if you don't like flowers, they will eventually grow on you."
Optometrist: "We'll be keeping an eye out for you!" (maybe a friendly optometrist with one eye dangling by its stalk welcomes clients in)
Butcher: "For those who are fed up with people," "Ground Chuck $5.00, Ground Charles $10.00" "Head cheese on sale"