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Road's End Eerie Manor Haunted House 2019; Tomb of the Druid Prince

4K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  jdubbya 
#1 · (Edited)
This year marked our 6th annual collaborative haunted house. We darkened things down a bit and with a simplified layout created an eerie druid themed haunt centered around a main building tricked out with catacombs, lots of skulls, flickering candles, a crypt and several good scares dished out by our costumed actors, all wearing hooded robes. Coupled with an awesome sound track from Sinful Audio and we had the 500+ guests on edge from the time they joined the queue line. Here are some stills from the haunt along with a video compiled by a photographer friend of ours. We didn't have a Halloween night video so these were taken a few nights before, but hopefully you get a flavor for what we did. The front yard scene featured a low crypt that was lit from within along with a fog machine. The effect of the fog seeping out of the cracks was really great. We went with a blue and amber color scheme and included several jack o lanterns, lots of organic elements and real deer skulls. The upright monoliths in the yard and interior catacombs were fabricated out of foam blocks and carved and detailed by my buddy and haunt partner Mark (lewlew on the forum). Mark also designed an epic wall scare with a robed corpse set into an alcove in the back wall. As guests approached, an actor outside of the back of the haunt hit a step pad which triggered a strobe light, and simultaneously blew into an Aztec death whistle while he pushed the corpse forward a few inches on a push rod. The sound was horrific and guests were literally hitting the deck when the scare came at them! Around the corner, a hooded druid made guests stop in front of the crypt to pay their respects to the spirit, and on a cue word twin drop panels opened up above the crypt as two ghouls came through the wall. Screams ensued. We also had a plexi window scare and a few other surprises. All in all another successful haunt with a fresh theme and lots of great scares. Can't wait til next year!
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#14 ·
Thank you sir! I was largely inspired by your own crypt, however time was not on our side and we didn't get the frame built until early October, leaving not enough time to detail it like we wanted. I can add to it down the road and I'm sure we'll use it again at some point.
 
#12 ·
Thank you all for your kind and inspiring comments. As always, we had a lot of fun putting it all together. Mark and I (mostly Mark) are sticklers for details and we enjoy dressing the set out as much as we like scaring the folks who go through. I have stated before that Mark is the driving force behind our efforts. I provide the location, some props, lighting and labor, however he does so much behind the scenes with his fantastic foam creations that truly bring our scenes to life. He spends countless hours at his home 40 miles away fabricating facades and interior elements during the summer months. It's unfortunate that many get used only once. We did repurpose or large foam façade from last year's Frankenstein lab and it worked perfectly as the entrance to the tomb. The catacombs were nothing short of movie set quality and while we're offering them for sale, we'll certainly use them again if we don't find a buyer. Everything from multiple pin spots to light the interior, bags of Spanish moss on the catacomb shelves and in the wall cracks, to containers of leaves strewn on the floor, all added to the atmosphere. It should be noted that half hour before TOT began, we had torrential rain and heavy wind gusts that had me wanting to cancel it and shut it down (something we have never done) just for safety, but ten minutes later the rain stopped and the winds died down and we had a picture perfect Halloween night. Mark had been tracking the storm and being the voice of reason, reassured me that we'd be good to go. I guess the Samhain spirits were pleased with what we did! We are contemplating future haunts and next year plan to go a bit smaller, but it's early so once we have our annual planning breakfast in February, you never know what we might come up with. I know it'll be great and we both look forward to haunting together every year! I have more pics and Mark has a cool video he shot but we have to figure out how to load it. Will put them up soon.
 
#24 ·
Thank you all for your kind and inspiring comments. As always, we had a lot of fun putting it all together. Mark and I (mostly Mark) are sticklers for details and we enjoy dressing the set out as much as we like scaring the folks who go through. I have stated before that Mark is the driving force behind our efforts. I provide the location, some props, lighting and labor, however he does so much behind the scenes with his fantastic foam creations that truly bring our scenes to life. He spends countless hours at his home 40 miles away fabricating facades and interior elements during the summer months. It's unfortunate that many get used only once. We did repurpose or large foam façade from last year's Frankenstein lab and it worked perfectly as the entrance to the tomb. The catacombs were nothing short of movie set quality and while we're offering them for sale, we'll certainly use them again if we don't find a buyer. Everything from multiple pin spots to light the interior, bags of Spanish moss on the catacomb shelves and in the wall cracks, to containers of leaves strewn on the floor, all added to the atmosphere. It should be noted that half hour before TOT began, we had torrential rain and heavy wind gusts that had me wanting to cancel it and shut it down (something we have never done) just for safety, but ten minutes later the rain stopped and the winds died down and we had a picture perfect Halloween night. Mark had been tracking the storm and being the voice of reason, reassured me that we'd be good to go. I guess the Samhain spirits were pleased with what we did! We are contemplating future haunts and next year plan to go a bit smaller, but it's early so once we have our annual planning breakfast in February, you never know what we might come up with. I know it'll be great and we both look forward to haunting together every year! I have more pics and Mark has a cool video he shot but we have to figure out how to load it. Will put them up soon.
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Thanks my friend! The catacombs were really impressive. Under haunt lighting much of the detail didn't show up very well but it really pushed the atmosphere over the top. Mark had made the crypt a few years back for our vampire haunt and it fit perfectly into this year's theme as well. It drew a lot of ooooh's and aaaah's. Interior lighting was mostly done with pin spots, the led candles and a couple small led spot lights. The overall vibe was dim and musty, just what we wanted. We had a plethora of skulls for this year and used them all! One of the little "Easter eggs" I have to point out is the darkened area just above the niches on the back wall that hold the candles. Mark did this to replicate soot from a long burning flame. I didn't notice it until we were setting the candles and skulls in them. He thought of everything!!
Your lighting is fantastic. Do you have a link to the pin lights you used? I have never found exactly what I need anywhere.
 
#18 ·
Wow, you guys killed it this year! Those catacomb walls and niches look incredible, and that cracked crypt was absolutely gorgeous.

I love it all; the lighting, all of the candles, the organic details, and skulls, skulls, and more skulls!

Thanks for posting it all for everyone to enjoy. ?
Thanks my friend! The catacombs were really impressive. Under haunt lighting much of the detail didn't show up very well but it really pushed the atmosphere over the top. Mark had made the crypt a few years back for our vampire haunt and it fit perfectly into this year's theme as well. It drew a lot of ooooh's and aaaah's. Interior lighting was mostly done with pin spots, the led candles and a couple small led spot lights. The overall vibe was dim and musty, just what we wanted. We had a plethora of skulls for this year and used them all! One of the little "Easter eggs" I have to point out is the darkened area just above the niches on the back wall that hold the candles. Mark did this to replicate soot from a long burning flame. I didn't notice it until we were setting the candles and skulls in them. He thought of everything!!
 
#19 ·
WOW!! Absolutely fantastic. You all did an amazing job designing and building your sets. The details put into everything is mind blowing and the lighting is perfect.

You all really should consider doing a professional haunted house and have it opened for more than one night. I would definitely pay to see your haunt.
 
#34 ·
Well done. I like how you changed up your front yard area. I know you take a lot of pride in your tombstones and it must have been hard to not put them out front. I am not sure what area the two of you have improved in the most. But, I want to lean towards artistic detail and theme cohesiveness, but the lighting is looking like it is on a level beyond most. And I am amazed at how many volunteers you can round up which really helps to avoid burnout after all of your years of producing a solid haunt.
 
#35 ·
Thanks for that! We knew that this theme would not lend itself to a graveyard so yup, all the stones stayed in the garage this year. As mentioned, we are both detail oriented and while a lot of things go un-noticed, we like to think that even the small details help make a scene realistic. Lighting can make or break a scene and we put a good deal of thought into colors, angles of the pin spots, shadowing, etc.. Mark is a master of lighting and his focus is the inside of the haunt. The balance lies in creating a creepy dim atmosphere, while highlighting certain props and scenes, and still keeping the scare areas dark. He literally spends hours lighting each room and it shows! I tend to focus on the outdoor scene lighting and after having done it for so many years, I have an idea of where to highlight props or create shadows and dark areas. Once we pick a theme, we use or make only things that will fit in. It's part of the challenge but also fun in keeping with some boundaries and having it remain, as you said, cohesive. Our scare crew is great. We had a couple new players this year but most have been with us for years. We're losing some to college, jobs, etc..but the folks who help us out always have a great time and our haunts have always relied on actors. Can't beat a live scare!! The issue of burnout isn't new and we're looking at a much smaller effort in the next couple years. We're toying with the idea of doing one last big "blowout" haunt to mark next year's Saturday Halloween and what will be our 7th year. Ideas are flowing and we'll know for sure by mid February what direction we're headed in, but an end game is in sight regardless. The amount of work to keep things fresh each year and do the set-up/tear down/packing away, etc.. is daunting!
 
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#36 ·


Can we just talk about this shot for a second?

I mean, we can talk about a lot of things here, but this shot shows quite a bit about the masterwork class on lighting.

The skeleton, cheese cloth shroud and candles are all well done, and the moss and leaves really add to the effect...but the LIGHTING! ho ly cow!

The orange candles are accented by what appears to be an orange pinspot above and slightly left. A white pinspot focuses on chest, accentuating the bones, but is soft enough and angled enough to not wash out the scene. Purple light coming from below and to the left casts a glow and is complimented by purple tea lights or maybe even a string inside the skeleton (my bet is on blacklight tea lights). All lighting coming from towards the left allows the shadows to work their magic.

I could go on with the camera work evident as well.
 
#37 ·


Can we just talk about this shot for a second?

I mean, we can talk about a lot of things here, but this shot shows quite a bit about the masterwork class on lighting.

The skeleton, cheese cloth shroud and candles are all well done, and the moss and leaves really add to the effect...but the LIGHTING! ho ly cow!

The orange candles are accented by what appears to be an orange pinspot above and slightly left. A white pinspot focuses on chest, accentuating the bones, but is soft enough and angled enough to not wash out the scene. Purple light coming from below and to the left casts a glow and is complimented by purple tea lights or maybe even a string inside the skeleton (my bet is on blacklight tea lights). All lighting coming from towards the left allows the shadows to work their magic.

I could go on with the camera work evident as well.
Just re-visited this thread. Was hoping Mark would have seen it as well, but I can try to address the lighting. Actually, you're pretty spot on with your ideas on the lighting here. There was a small black light spotlight mounted on the wall opposite the crypt. This was aimed at the hanging prop on the wall mounted above the crypt, so there a a bit of light bleed from that. There was in fact an amber pin spot on the ceiling angled towards the skeleton's face. We wanted to highlight this to draw people's attention towards the skelly and away from the wall, where the drop panels were located. I believe there may have been a white pin spot as well. again to draw the eye to the skeleton and away from the scare. Mark likes to hang strips of creepy cloth from the ceilings of certain rooms. He also highlights some of them with pin spots to give an otherwise blank ceiling some texture. These also serve to create some added shadows. The purple light coming from the chest cavity was a happy accident. I dropped a pin spot into the rib cage and couldn't retrieve it so just left it there. It glowed for an entire week leading up to Halloween night. As mentioned, the leaves and Spanish moss make for some nice creep factor. The cheesecloth was soaked in watered down black acrylic paint just to tone it down a bit so it ended up kind of a dingey gray; a good contrast with the light colored skeleton. That's all I got! Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. Mark did a great job on light placement throughout the entire haunt.
 
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