[Terrormaster]

Greetings haunters. Today I'm announcing that the story of Faegoria has come to a close. Good bye crypts, tombs, ancient graveyards, corn stalks, ghouls, hags, corpses, scarecrows and denizens of Faegoria. So long campy blue, red, purple, and orange lighting. It is time to move on...

Am I closing the haunt? No way! It's just getting a reboot. I've grown tired of the traditional setups. The pumpkins, the scarecrows, the cornstalks, the corpse and zombie infested graveyards, the creepshow style lighting. There's nothing wrong with these things. I've just grown tired of the general trending that Halloween decor has gone. I been feeling like i've been stagnating as a haunter and an artist. I want to do something different and find my own voice. So I'm rebooting.

In terms of atmosphere think Hallowed Haunting Grounds. Or my new personal favorite The House of Restless Spirits. The direction I'm going for is that quiet spooky almost melancholy atmosphere. I'm still thinking a small graveyard to the side of the house - but simple. If there's any sort of presence in the graveyard it will be ethereal. Soft natural warm fire lighting (or a close facimile using LED lighting) as opposed to comic book blues, greens, reds and oranges. Quiet atmospheric ambient soundtracks. The plan is to stay focused on this and back away from changing themes yearly.

If anyone out there knows of or themselves run this sort of haunt already please feel free to share links and pictures in this thread. I would love for additional inspiration outside of the two haunts mentioned above.

For reference, although most will already be familiar with this haunt, here's some selected pictures from Hallowed Haunting Grounds (http://www.hauntinggrounds.org):

And also from The House of Restless spirits (http://www.houseofrestlessspirits.com):

Looking forward to hearing any and all input, feedback, and suggestions.

Thanks,
-TM

 

[StanFam3]

I'll be excited to hear how you go with your plans for the reboot!

We are discussing doing a carnival theme for next year, which is a major reboot from all our haunts (started in 2009). It's exciting and scary to consider a reboot!

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Here, this is for you.

http://johnnysghost.blogspot.com/

Sure he does them up with blacklights a lot, but that's an easy fix to the direction you're wanting to go.

 

[Wolfman]

If you want a more traditional looking lighting effect, you could go with Tiki Torches. But you can't beat black light for bringing ghosts to life. Rememember, most kids are unfamiliar with it...

 

[Terrormaster]

@Wolfman: Oh definitely, blacklight is an eye catcher for sure. I ran with it in the garage in 2013. Was a lot of fun adding UV paint and brightened cheesecloth to some of my older props.

-TM

 

[Terrormaster]

Ok, trying to analyze the specific challenges of my house in terms of the haunt setup. Especially in comparison to haunts like Hollowed Haunting Grounds and House of Restless Spirits.

HHG was more of a front yard walkthrough. I don't know its history beyond what is on the site and how they operated in terms of ToTs. From what I gather it was strictly a haunt and not a ToT stop for candy. The front door was not approachable by patrons. You came, you saw, you left.

HRS looks to have been mostly the same except it was a walk-around - you encircled the house. Generally the same idea - you came, you saw, you left. I don't see any means for ToTs to pick up candy.

Maybe someone here that's been to either or can correct me.

My haunt, like most haunters here, has always been both. You came, you saw, you got treats, you left. ToTs have always been my primary target audience so treats are a must. I've always had the most fun being out in the yard handing out treats personally. So I always try to take that into account when working on the yard design.

With the exception of this year, ToT's would get their treats inside the garage which I had decorated. This year we didn't do the garage at all. The setup has always been in the front side of the house.

2010 the yard to the right HAD a huge oak tree and was lined with trees along the right dividing the house from the side road. I had the graveyard setup in that area. The front yard was a witch hollow. And the garage was a dungeon lab with a cauldron creep. ToTs went to the garage for treats and the yard was for viewing.

2011 was a bust due to the freak snow storm.

2012 saw the graveyard moved to the front as the landlord removed all the trees on the right after the storm. We had a witch hollow between the front door and the graveyard with cornstalks lining the walkway. The garage was SUPPOSED to had gotten setup like a temple.

Sandy reared her ugly head and we pulled everything down. Last minute we decided to run small and setup the cornstalks and witch hollow in the garage. ToTs came to the garage for treats.

2013 Front yard was primarily a graveyard and the garage was a crypt entrance with UV lighting. ToTs came into the garage and approached me and Slenderman to get their treats.

2014 Setup harkened back to the 2012 layout. Graveyard in the frontyard this time with the cemetary gates open and a pumpkin lighted path leading up through the lawn to the front porch. The porch and walkway area was enclosed in cornstalks and ghouls reminiscent of Pumpkinrot's Corn Witch setup from 2009. I decided to stay inside this year to partake in the yearly family gathering for a change. The plan was for the ToTs to come up the lighted walkway and exit through the cornstalk lined walkway leading to the driveway area. I can't confirm it since I wasn't outside, but I believe everyone properly entered but exited out the same way they came in. I don't think very many ToT's came up or exited through the path to the driveway.

Based on this I'm positive I'll need to be outside to regulate ToT traffic. So lets move on to the basic layout of my yard.

The red lines represent property boundaries. We're on a corner so the street is to the right and below. The grey/blue lines at the top mark off an area where a shallow brook USED to run but still occasionally fills with water with heavy rains. During lighter rains it just leaves the area very muddy. Maybe with a stretch of dry days it'd be fine. But if the last 4 years are anything to go by, why risk it. So that area is pretty much off limits. I included it for completeness.

Now I COULD utilize the deck in some way. I mean, there is a ramp on the left. But the steps on the right pose a potential ToT trip hazard - especially in low light conditions. The little circles to the right of the deck are stone slabs. They get incredibly slippery when damp or wet - so again, another hazard it we get any sort of rain. So why not go around? See my note above about the old shallow brook. Maybe with a stretch of dry days it'd be fine. But if the last 4 years are anything to go by, why risk it. So yeah - using the backside to traverse from the left side to the right is not really a good idea.

I'm leaning towards using the left side as the 2015+ graveyard area. And also considering creating a wooden fence to go around at least one or two edges. As noted in the beginning, I used the right side for the graveyard in 2010. But since the landlord remove all the trees on that side it's kinda plain looking and wide open. I like simple - less is more - letting nature fill in the gaps. The left side has trees still and is pretty dark.

Still not sure what to do with the garage or how to direct traffic in a manner that's conducive to viewing the graveyard yet stopping at the garage last to pick up treats. ToTs have a tendency to grab treats and get the hell out to hit the next house. They don't linger to look at all the neat details like the adults do. So whatever I do in the front will be heavily dictated by how I decide to route and enforce ToT traffic.

So that's my current challenge...

 

[weeping angel]

I subscribed to this thread because I know I'm going to enjoy seeing your haunt transform. I'd be thrilled if my display looked half as good as your previous haunts! I especially love the tortured looking flying souls of your 2012 and 2013 haunt.

I've lived in this area all my life, and just this year found out about the two haunts you referred to. I am so bummed I missed out. I really look forward to seeing you capture the spirit of those haunts.

 

[punkineater]

Loved what you've done in the past...looking forward to your future endeavors! Congrats
on your photos featured on pumpkinrot too

 

[Terrormaster]

Just a quick progress update...

Pretty happy with the conceptual layout for 2015. There's a small Ravensbrook family plot to the left; the garage is a quiet little haunted Victorian obscurity shoppe; and the house to the right is haunted.

There's a good handful of new projects for 2015 in this setup which includes a toe pincher coffin, a haunted rocker, a new cover for the tomb which will be animated, a new larger tomb which will double as a fog dispenser, a breathing grave, and my own take on the ghosteps. The treats will be handed out at the shoppe checkout counter.

Over the winter months I will plan out and finalize each design and then try to get started building in the spring and summer.

I'm open to comments, suggestions, questions, and constructive feedback.

-TM