Thread: Humorous Haunting

Tweet

So, I read that people scare better if they just had a good laugh, and vice versa. My question is how do we go about making people laugh without letting go of the suspension of disbeileif? We obviously can't have and actor saying "Yo mamma's so ugly..." So, what have you guys used to make people laugh?

never tried this factor. curious to see peoples input

One you see employed a lot is the humourous tombstones.

Myself, though, I do the 'vice versa'. We stay in character in the yard, but we have a light hearted exit. (Keep in mind, we're targetting 'scary' to kids under 10, not teenagers)

This serves 2 purposes.

1 Kids that make it through need that element to calm down after being scared, to make it fun, not a nightmare inducing event.

2 An alternate entrance to the candy drop for those that refuse to go through. (anyone under 5 is NOT going without a parent, and about 50-50 whether they come WITH the parent in my experience)

Last year, it was simply a great big box of fluorescent chalk and a couple black lights over the sidewalk at the exit. Kids had drawn, colored, left notes, etc all over it by night's end. Kicking myself for not snapping a photo...

It's one of the three areas kids and parents still ask me about today.

Humor can work well to create misdirection in a haunt.
If, for example, you set up a static scene that appears comical and non-threatening, you force the visitor to temporarily let down his guard. Just as he is about to exit the scene, you startle him with a scare from an animatronic prop or actor from a direction he is not expecting anything. By allowing onself to succumb to the silliness or sly humor in the static scene, and thereby momentarily separating from the haunted surroundings, the scare is intensified by a factor of two or three.

Obviously, the scene needs to set up with great attention to the theme--stretching the theme but not to the point of disbelief. If the silliness of the scene is over-the-top, it will stick out like a sore thumb and can end up ruining the flow of the haunt; but if the scene does not provide enough comic relief, the scare will fall flat or at least it won't create that extra loud scream. However, what one person finds funny another may not. Likewise, what someone finds terrifying someone else may find lame.

Humor can also be used to set a tone in a haunt or display. If your ToTs are young kids, such as in my neighborhood, you probably don't want to overwhelm them with scene after scene of gory body parts, jumping scareactors, or frightening animatronics. That is, unless, you want to keep all the candy and don't want them to come back next year. Creating a humorous display with skeletons or scary creatures lets the kids know that your haunt is meant to scare but also to entertain. From the eyes of a 4-year old, a scene with a blucky riding a bicycle may be funny yet unsettling in a way. She smiles, but inside she may feel a bit scared seeing a skeleton do something we would not expect it to do. Finding a good balance between scary and funny is the key and depends on the audience you are targeting and the tone you are trying to create.

UnOrthodOx, I like your idea of using fluorescent chalk under a UV light for the kiddies. Is this the invisible type of fluorescent chalk or just bright neon colored sidewalk chalk? I might worry about the kids getting chalk on their costumes and clothing.

Very low tech homemade fluorescent chalk.

I was unable to find a commercial source for UV reactive chalk.

The chalk idea is great!!! I love it! I would love to know how you made it at home,....a wonderful idea!!

I love a little humor in a haunt.

Haunter, great ideas, thanks!

Originally Posted by Haunter

UnOrthodOx, I like your idea of using fluorescent chalk under a UV light for the kiddies. Is this the invisible type of fluorescent chalk or just bright neon colored sidewalk chalk? I might worry about the kids getting chalk on their costumes and clothing.

i like this idea too. yes, how do you make your chalk

~2 TBL paint to 1 cup plaster of paris, iirc. I posted it on here at the time, I'll see if I can find it.


Fluorescent/Glow in the Dark Chalk