Thread: theme and props for 09

Tweet

I bought a building a few years ago that was a church, in 09 I would like to set up a haunted house "haunted Church";So I'm trying to come up Some kind of theme and some props to build over the coming months. and I would like to ask the community for some Idea's.

IMO, I would stay away from something like that in this day in age. It could be construed the wrong way by some people. While I think the idea sounds good, it is pushing the boundaries to what is suitable for some. It might cause some negative feedback and it doesn't take much to start a uproar. Just remember, Halloween might only be one day, but your presence and reputation in your community will be slandered for it by those who disagree with how you portray a church year round.

Now with that said, if you do something tasteful you might be able to get away with it. One idea you can do is make it more like a house of choices. More religion based with something on a purgatory theme. It will be more of a story board from room to room that shows you the outcome of your poor choices and where it will end you up. We used to have a Haunted House like that here but wasn't in a Church and it was very popular. Let me do some digging around and see if I can find you some exact details on it.

Yeah, I agree with Texan, a 'haunted church' could give you some unintended grief. Instead, I would just make a haunt. Now the church structure is probably great to make a Dracula's castle. Some minor changes to get rid of church icons and you are good to go.

Halloween Horror Nights had a great Dracula house one year. They called it Castle Vampyr. The one element that really made an impression is they had a ceiling that was open in many areas (like a floor had fallen through, etc.) and they had vampires that were on those contraptions that makes it look like you are flying and they buzzed around up there scaring the daylights out of you. Also, they had a 'Blade' inspired Techno dance room. Here's some pictures I found of some of the rooms there:



Here's the entrance room:



Body storage:



Dining room:

let me clearafy: it used to be a church years ago now it's just a building.I do see the point of repurcusings though.But the the building would/will make a great huant.and the castel vampyr is kinda the thought.thinking more like skelotn, graveyard, Ghosts more than gore and blood everywhere.I'll post some pics later of the inside and out.

Does it still look like a church, was the church the last thing to occupy this building?

Keep in mind, that in order to operate this in a church you are going to need to make sure this building is zone for commercial use to get the proper permits and C.O.

If it has been vacant for years since it has been used it could strike some nerves in the community that someone is taking a church and turning it into a Haunted House for one month out of a year. Just keep that in mind because that is a huge investment to get negative publicity and a bad rep for yourself.

Who buys a old church building for anyways and does nothing with it for a couple of years?

Personally, I wouldn't do a 'haunted church' theme. Too easy to get hassled about being a Satanic cult and it's not like haunters don't get enough of *that* nonsense. If you like ghosts and graveyards more than gore, think about going with a narrative ghost story. Find something regional if you can or write something basic--restless spirits of homicidal landowner and victims scare the bejeesus out of townsfolk for generations is usually a good start. It's hard to go wrong with jealousy, insanity, murder, suicide or other untimely death as the foundation for a haunting. A classic vengeful spirit takes out its wrath on the living is hard to beat. This gives options like a family cemetery and/or crypt, unmarked graves of victims, ghosts, skeletons, zombies, corpses, scarecrows, maybe witches or a vampire or werewolf. And it can allow some gore if you decide to throw some into the mix. Nothing like a bloody apparition appearing right in front of them to get a deafening, bone-etching shriek out of a teen girl. The up side to a narrative is that each room/scene builds on previous scenes and moves toward a climactic uber-scare near the end. The down side is that it takes some serious prep work for your audience to figure out and/or understand the storyline.

I say do what you want. You can't please everyone. The people that want to come will and the ones that don't wont. They might even stir up some controversy that will wind up giving you publicity anyways.

Besides, If I'm understanding you right, It is a building that a church used to use for service not an actual church with a steeple and cross. If its empty use it. Not sure about a haunted church theme but if thats what you want to do go for it. Besides I've been to several haunts that had funeral scenes with the stain glass windows, crosses, church seating the whole nine yards. just my 1/2 cent.

Negative publicity is not always good publicity. The people that won't come are usually the first that will come forward and say something about disliking it and cause you problems. You don't ever hear anything from those that do like it. That is one problem with this world today. People have no problem speaking there mind when it is for no good, but you don't hardly ever hear people speaking up or defending for the the good of a person when they have done something right or they agree with.

We don't know that this wasn't a Church with a steeple and cross. He just said he bought a building that use to be a Church. If it was a old grocery store turned church then became vacant it probably wouldn't be such a big deal, But seeing he said he wanted to do a "haunted Church" then I am going to assume this building was actually built as a Church and looks like a Church, etc...

check this out it might help halloweenmonsterlist.info

i say go for it. just get the permits if you will need them. you know your community best. a great thing to consider is involving rotary groups, elks clubs or some other community group in the building and planning.

its all in how you present it.