Thread: an interesting dilemma - bottomless pit

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Hey guys, hoping you could help me out with what I have going on here. Just got a job working at a great haunt in an old civil war home in VA. In the front yard of the property there is an old well that has been filled in - great stone walls, you can jump down into it about 6 - 7ft the diameter of the thing is about 9ft....so this thing huge! Of course, the first thing that comes to my mind is GIANT BOTTOMLESS PIT. But I'm not too sure how to go about it with such a large surface to cover - any suggestions? I hope to get it going, it would make a great addition to the haunt.

Bottomless pits are technically easy, it's just assembling and sizing the materials that will be the "hard" part. That would be pretty cool to do it with a real well!

You'll need plexi or glass (recommend plexi as it is safer), the mirror film, lights... the really hard part will be getting a piece of plexi that is large enough to span the well's diameter. That could get expensive. Oh! And you'd have to cut it into 2 round shapes, another headache.



A few bottomless pit/endless hallway threads - they all work basically the same:
http://halloweenpropmaster.com/Wormy..._Pit/pit1.html
Step by step

My Bottomless Mineshaft

Round Bottomless Pitt

Cheap 1 way mirror?

Bottomless Pit using rope lights

Thanks for the reply, some of those pits look killer! I guess my biggest problem is there sheer size of the thing, I know I'll have to do plexi on top, but could you do the film on wood, or some sort of material that's a lot less expensive on the bottom?

If this seems like a huge undertaking or too expensive, I'd suggest making a hellmouth opening... Place a fogger with some red and orange flashing lights down in the pit (test to see how many lights you need to get the best effect) and you should get a glowing, smoky SCARY effect without too much effort.

Or blue and green? That would be spooky looking too...

Small bottomless pits are moderately expensive. Half-mirrored film rolls run about $25 at Home Depot and aren't nearly wide enough for what you want to do. I can't imagine the price on a 9' diameter mirror required for the bottom. The effect also requires a some amt of illumination from the inside of the pit. Is there going to be a power source at the well? How much money are you able to spend for the effect?

Originally Posted by timothyisrighteous

Thanks for the reply, some of those pits look killer! I guess my biggest problem is there sheer size of the thing, I know I'll have to do plexi on top, but could you do the film on wood, or some sort of material that's a lot less expensive on the bottom?

Probably. I'm not 100% sure, but the piece at the top has to be a 2-way mirror for the viewing to be correct. I think you might be able to get away with just a flat piece of wood with the mirror film on it at the bottom... hope some of the others see this and can chime in with a definite answer!

What about splitting it in halves?

Put a beam or something down the middle with a rope "hanging" from it down the center. Use the beam to support a verticle mirror. Now you make two seperate sections. More material, but it should be easier to do with the smaller size.

Originally Posted by Frankie's Girl

If this seems like a huge undertaking or too expensive, I'd suggest making a hellmouth opening... Place a fogger with some red and orange flashing lights down in the pit (test to see how many lights you need to get the best effect) and you should get a glowing, smoky SCARY effect without too much effort.

Or blue and green? That would be spooky looking too...

That's the thing to do. This is just too big to be affordable. If you still want to do a bottomless pit, make a smaller one.

In the bottom of the pit you could put spears and impale skeletons!

What about a pit of lava instead? It might be cheaper and easier because of the size you want, though I think it might be more work.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Gold...ween-Cauldron/
A giant bottomless pit would be cool, though. Big warp hole to another universe!