# Haunted farm ideas?



## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

Hey guys, I finally decided on a theme (As you can tell on the title) but I need some ideas for a haunted farm. 

I have one about a heckling scarecrow or farmer skeleton, but what about atmosphere? I have a pretty big yard and a good amount of it is open field (The land used to be a farm my family owned since the 1800's) and some parts are foresty. 

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Before anyone asks, no I don't have a cornfield and I want to try something a bit new. I love corn mazes, but I'm not sure if it'll work in my case.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

This is what I utilized as inspiration for my similar theme:











My results:









Most of those are sheeves of phragmites (reed grass) which a cursory google tells me are all around your area as well, as an invasive species. While they CAN seed, the most likely propagation is from the root, so there's a small amount of risk of getting some unwanted ones in your yard. Only some corn stalks.

The thing with phragmites, all farmers everywhere are more than happy to let you come and chop down for them.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

Nice job. One thing, though, about the heckling scarecrow/farmer skeleton, should his phrases be prerecorded or on the fly? I'd prefer on the fly, but I'll try anything.


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## cathartik (Apr 27, 2010)

I absolutely love your idea. I think it evokes the traditional Halloween perfectly.  Love what Unorthodox has done as well.

My girlfriend lives on an 8 acre piece of land surrounded by cornfields and she even has a small barn. She loves Halloween and I plan on moving in with her solely so that I can decorate the property. All I do is daydream.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

I do have an old barn on my property, but it's very rusty and cluttered with junk. I think it kinda fits, actually, but just have some floodlights on it.


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## Haunty (May 31, 2006)

It would be best if you can write a background story mixed with local past events. Why the farm is haunted & who is haunting it. Doing so helps set the tone & the believability / creepy factor. Someone (past farm owner or hired hand) is out for revenge for they were wronged & want justice. They could have sought an local mystic or witch, to help them even the score.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

Haunty said:


> It would be best if you can write a background story mixed with local past events. Why the farm is haunted & who is haunting it. Doing so helps set the tone & the believability / creepy factor. Someone (past farm owner or hired hand) is out for revenge for they were wronged & want justice. They could have sought an local mystic or witch, to help them even the score.


I do have an idea for a backstory. I know this might be an overused plotline with haunted farms, but something having to do with the Depression. Think about it, the stock market crashed two days before Halloween.

He might have gone insane and murdered his family and himself, and all of them forever haunt the grounds. 

That or maybe a Civil War themed backstory. I'm not sure if that'd sit well with everyone, so I'm a bit hesitant with that one. It doesn't help I'm in Georgia either. As cliche as the other is, I might go with that. 

I could probably photoshop some news clippings and use them as props (Well aged of course) plus I have plenty of old farm tools (Shovels, pitchforks, even an old, rusty tractor). The only problem is fitting them with the story, because the way I see it, either it could be abandoned but the residence be restored or have it to where a family recently destroyed the old farmhouse and built a new home over it, but have paranormal investigators search the grounds. 

What do you guys think so far?


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## GhostlyWhitePumpkins (Jul 27, 2008)

Have some evidence that life has gone on at the farm. Like bird feathers, horse shoes, and the like. As far as props go, just set them somewhere in sight and make them look old and rust, or let them collect a huge amount of dust then carefully move them to where you want them. Mice and rats are a thing with farms so if you don't have any props of them, consider getting some or suggesting they are in the area with sounds and raisens. And snakes, don't forget the snakes.
If the barn is stable so someone can walk around, let them. It's amazing how little noises can freak people out.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

GhostlyWhitePumpkins said:


> Have some evidence that life has gone on at the farm. Like bird feathers, horse shoes, and the like. As far as props go, just set them somewhere in sight and make them look old and rust, or let them collect a huge amount of dust then carefully move them to where you want them. Mice and rats are a thing with farms so if you don't have any props of them, consider getting some or suggesting they are in the area with sounds and raisens. And snakes, don't forget the snakes.
> If the barn is stable so someone can walk around, let them. It's amazing how little noises can freak people out.


Bird feathers are not a problem, they're fairly common. Horse shoes are another story. :/

Rats/mice and snakes are a good idea, but the barn, like I mentioned, is full of clutter and random old junk so I can't really do anything with it. I could probably drag a couple of chairs and such out of it.


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## Deadna (Oct 19, 2002)

I've always loved that old movie Motel Hell where Farmer Vincent had a garden of people buried up to their necks and burlap sacks over their heads. The heads sort of bobbed back and forth until he would put a rope tied to his tractor around them and "harvest" them for the sausage he was famous for


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## GhostlyWhitePumpkins (Jul 27, 2008)

mrhamilton234 said:


> Bird feathers are not a problem, they're fairly common. Horse shoes are another story. :/
> 
> Rats/mice and snakes are a good idea, but the barn, like I mentioned, is full of clutter and random old junk so I can't really do anything with it. I could probably drag a couple of chairs and such out of it.


For a horse shoe (if you're interested) you can draw a big U onto cardbored and cut it out, paint it a dark brown or gray color and just put them where they will be seen but not in big detail.


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## ShaoGhoul (Jun 5, 2011)

Ambience will be your friend in this. I would be thinking...lots of rusty lanterns lit dimly from within, perhaps some Pumpkinrot witch jars, little things in the shadows that look like someone has been messing around with dark magic (think of those stick people from the Blair Witch project, clumps of hanging dried plants, candles with long dripping wax, discrete blood drips lit softly, etc.)

Perhaps incoorperate some old dirty dolls, an abandoned and rusted child's tricycle sitting in the tall grass somewhere. Light up your barn with a feint red or green light, and/or put a couple of strobe lights in the building somewhere near windows. Think about a fog machine and chiller hidden somewhere. If you're up to it, create some old-fashioned wooden grave markers like what you'd might see in an old Western cowboy cemetary and create a family plot off to the side...play around with the lighting, add some candles (pvc candles would work nicely, personally I only use real candles where I can closely monitor them), dead blackened flowers...
Jackolanterns as well, with a mixture of uncarved ones. Maybe some cornstalks. I don't know how handy you are with homemade props, but perhaps forge some undead hounds that appear to be bounding out of the shadows at TOTs with a soundtrack of growling and slavering playing at intervals in the background. 

Or even just use that soundtrack WITHOUT the props (not limited to growling...can also use a creaking chair, an unseen child crying, owl hoots, screaming/sobbing eminanting from inside the barn)...people fear most what they can not see. Just like in the good horror movies, it's the suspense and what is not shown that scares you. Try to harness a visitor's imagination using subtle albeit creepy atmosphere.

The best haunts use a mixture of sound, texture, and scent along with the visuals. Think decrepit.
Just throwing out ideas.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

ShaoGhoul said:


> Ambience will be your friend in this. I would be thinking...lots of rusty lanterns lit dimly from within, perhaps some Pumpkinrot witch jars, little things in the shadows that look like someone has been messing around with dark magic (think of those stick people from the Blair Witch project, clumps of hanging dried plants, candles with long dripping wax, discrete blood drips lit softly, etc.)
> 
> Perhaps incoorperate some old dirty dolls, an abandoned and rusted child's tricycle sitting in the tall grass somewhere. Light up your barn with a feint red or green light, and/or put a couple of strobe lights in the building somewhere near windows. Think about a fog machine and chiller hidden somewhere. If you're up to it, create some old-fashioned wooden grave markers like what you'd might see in an old Western cowboy cemetary and create a family plot off to the side...play around with the lighting, add some candles (pvc candles would work nicely, personally I only use real candles where I can closely monitor them), dead blackened flowers...
> Jackolanterns as well, with a mixture of uncarved ones. Maybe some cornstalks. I don't know how handy you are with homemade props, but perhaps forge some undead hounds that appear to be bounding out of the shadows at TOTs with a soundtrack of growling and slavering playing at intervals in the background.
> ...


This is just what I was looking for. I do have some old gas lamps that I can convert into LED rather than have a fire hazard. As for the family grave plot, I have an area fenced off that I could use for that. And the little western styled grave markers, I have some wood from an old swing I could use.

I love the doll/trike idea. I do have a couple of old bikes/trikes that have been rusted and have flat tires and the like. I even plan on using that troll doll I submitted for that $10 prop challenge (The Basket Case)

I just need to work on the fogger (I plan on getting another one and some controllers) and lighting situation (I have some strobes, but I lack floodlights.)

Say, do you perhaps have a link for the Pumpkinrot witch jars? I'd like to try my hand at that.

Believe me, guys, living on an actual former farm does save some grief in terms of haunting. I still want to make a heckling skelly or scarecrow.


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## ShaoGhoul (Jun 5, 2011)

www.pumpkinrot.com is the guy's website. He is wicked cool. 

He is credited for the original idea, but basically a witch jar is just a mason jar glazed with glue to give it a frosted appearance, using paint and sometimes bits of debris for a creepy, sludgy effect. They can then be lit from within and are often hung from trees and such. I personally love the effect! Quite simple also.

An example I found on Google:









I just mentioned the wooden markers because I find them easier and quicker to make than the traditional dryloc stones, plus they just seem like they might fit in on your property a bit more cohesively. 

I envy what you have to work with! We just moved this year and I can not be more pleased with the space, but the majority of it is behind the house and is where our horses reside. I wish we had an old barn and a lot of empty forest/general emptiness nearby to work with. At least the street light isn't polluting up the yard like it was in the last house. However, living on an actual old farm property is like...bonus instant atmosphere.

Do post pictures as you progress.  I think a heckling scarecrow, or any sort of scarecrow(s) really would make a fine addition.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

I'm going to try one of those right now. I found a Mason jar for testing.


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## Flamingchicken (Sep 16, 2009)

I think Haunty and GhostlyWhitePumpkins are right. Make the theme believable. Come up with a story that supports the surroundings. If something seems like it doesn't fit into your haunt, it probably doesn't. You have the opportunity do build a great haunt judging by the way you described your area that your working with. Design as if you were a horror movie director creating the new scary movie of the season. Good Luck!


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas, guys. I actually finished a witch jar upon finding a Mason jar in my garage. I think it came out great. Not as great as Pumpkinrot's work, but it's good to me.


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## Ouizul1 (Jun 3, 2011)

There's a professional haunted farm not too far from us here. One of their most successful "ambushes" is an on-rushing car/vehicle when you 'round the corner of the last building. You think you're the haunt is over and you're safely on your way to your car. Wrong. We watched it for over half an hour and it nailed everyone! It was just a wheelbarrow with two headlights mounted on the front. The headlights were mounted on a pole so as to be the right distance apart. Also mounted on the wheel barrow was a car horn. A 12 volt battery sitting in the wheel barrow and a switch on one handle powered it. The operator would linger about 20 feet or so away, and when the victims rounded the corner, he would switch on the lights, rush toward them, and blast the horn. There were no lights around that corner, and the headlights blinds you at first so all you really saw were the headlights rushing at you.


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## mrhamilton234 (Sep 7, 2008)

I like that idea, but I'm not sure how that'd fit in with my theme. You see the icon of my haunt dabbled with the dark arts, cursing the land in the process...Unless you mean a possessed car, that might work.


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