# What type of haunter are you?



## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

People have very different taste, so what is yours? 

Are you classic ( Frankenstein, mummy, Dracula, werewolf, etc.)? 

Gruesome, gory, (blood, guts, killers like Freddy, Jason, saw movies, etc.)? 

Really old school, bump in the night (headless horseman, ghost stories etc.)?

Off hand I can't really think of all the ways to describe the different ways you might like to haunt but I would love to read how you would describe your style.

Personally I LOVE The legend of Sleepy Hollow sort of spooky story, set it up & let the mind take it & freak it's self out. Ghost are also awesome.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Not sure how I would describe us but I'm leaning towards a mix of classic and traditional. We do very little gore, but keep to traditional Halloween icons like ghosts, witches, graveyard, bats, zombies, etc..


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

We are definitely traditional.

Harvest, witches, ghosts, pumpkins, bats, cats, etc.

We may try some Tim Burton type designs some day with a lot of black and white stripes, purples and reds, wildly shaped objects.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

I'd say I'm Traditional or "Classic" Halloween: Ghosts, Witches, Bats, Skeletons, Tombstones. No gore for me.


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## murtermanor (Mar 11, 2012)

I would consider us over the top gruesome


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## Trex (Nov 6, 2010)

We do a little of everything, skellies, cemetery, zombies, JOL's, bats, rats, chop shop and BBQ'd body parts.


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## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

I'm really not into the blood & guts, but my husband is really into zombies. Maybe one of the years I will let him have control over the theme of our haunt. But for now while we start out with the new home, it's about building the graveyard, scarecrows, & other traditional details.

By the way thank you so much for responding to my very 1st real thread. It might sound silly but I was nervous. You guys are awesome.


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## ELH(Erin Loves Halloween) (Nov 5, 2008)

I am a pirate haunter on the outside of my house. But on the inside I do traditional witches, vampires, mad lab etc. Not too much bloody gory. I am not really into that. I guess I would say traditional/piratish.


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## ThakingDbb (Aug 27, 2009)

Like a shepherds pie of Halloween here, use traditional aspects but mix it with live actors which are family members. Not too much gore but some like fake hands and feet hanging from the trees and a squashed toter under the garage door


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## TrickRTreater (Mar 24, 2011)

Everything. Last year was Camp Crystal Lake and Jason Voorhees, the year before that a haunted cemetery. This year is Scream/Ghostface.


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## TK421 (Mar 27, 2009)

GhostTown said:


> We are definitely traditional.
> 
> Harvest, witches, ghosts, pumpkins, bats, cats, etc.
> 
> We may try some Tim Burton type designs some day with a lot of black and white stripes, purples and reds, wildly shaped objects.


That's a fair description for our haunt, too. A mix of classic Halloween characters and harvest festival decorations. I do like my graveyard.


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## zombiehorror (Apr 6, 2009)

Traditional~eerie/spooky graveyard filled with ghouls, zombies, witches, coffins, tombstones, spiders, rats, cobwebs, jack o' lanterns, fog, etc.


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## grogan81 (Sep 27, 2010)

I have to say that I am mostly traditional. Last year I did zombies and one year I did the classic Universal Monsters. Don't know about this year yet. I was considering going back to the Universal Monsters theme again though.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Old school/neo-classical Possessed scarecrows, ghouls/zombies/skeletons, werewolves, vampires, witch doctors, masked lunatics, evil clowns, and more have all made appearances over the years.


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## VirusHaunt (Oct 9, 2011)

Wifeofrankie said:


> Off hand I can't really think set it up & let the mind take it & freak it's self out..


I would say you explained me perfectly...... I incorporate as much as I can with out going too far in any one direction. although in my head a haunt isnt a haunt without cornstalks and a graveyard....


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## Atomic Mystery Monster (Jul 29, 2003)

My themes vary due to budget and housing issues, but I tend to do traditional stuff. As you can imagine, that means there's little to no blood so as to not freak out the little ones too badly. For example, I do use severed body parts whenever I do a mad scientist's lab, but I try to keep the really gory stuff towards the back in the dim lighting.


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## Spinechiller (Mar 25, 2011)

Traditional/horror icons


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## Deadmansparty (Nov 11, 2007)

I am mix between gory and old school/ bump in the night


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## ter_ran (Jan 14, 2006)

*I would have to say I'm more like the "Car Wash" style of Haunter! I have years where I've had the "GOOD" which consist of the normal basic Graveyard, various pumpkins, skulls, skellys and fog machines. Then there is the "BETTER" which consist of Lighting, sound, animated props, pumpkins, Skulls, skeletons graveyard etc... Finally there is the "WORKS" in which I utilize all methods of scare tactics available and up my sleeve! This consist of Fog machines, lights, sounds, graveyard, yard facades, props galore, themed areas, mazes, scharacters/volunteers and Lots of great good old fashioned candy! *


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

i change up my theme every year and i call my haunt more kid friendly. no blood and gore here. scary, i like it scary. this year an adams/munsters style theme. this year kooky and spooky


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

Zombies, skeletons, rats, spiders, and graves right now. Plan to add some ghosts this year maybe a haunted tree.


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## Paint It Black (Sep 15, 2011)

Pretty traditional and kid-friendly so far, but maybe a bit too tame, given what the kids see on television these days! I mean the zombies and vampires and gore on tv make my display look like a costume party - not scary at all. Hmmmm...what to do? maybe I should change things up just a bit....lol.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

Well boys and girls, my house is a "Haunted House" in the original definition of the term. It was built between 1865-70 to be an Inn & Tavern (My Great grandfather worked here as a part time bartender 110 years ago)
It has been rumored to be a "Haunted " house since at least 1925 that I am aware of and was told" NOT to buy the house" by several elderly people in this town for this very reason.
In 1925 during prohibition they tried to operate a speakeasy in the wine cellar but found little success because of a ghostly woman who kept appearing in the northeast corner and scaring away their customers!
I shun almost anything regarded as "Traditional" Halloween in the way I run the house and the way I decorated most of it.
My old neighbor used to be Jeremy Bohr, a mask maker, he would give me his imperfect ones and they are mostly on display in one room, other than that I do no Hollywood monsters here nor traditional monsters, since the house has plenty of it's own haunted history which I usually tell as much of as people will listen to without getting bored. I almost always add attempted humor to the story but the incidents are true. I realized long ago I have the potential here to very deeply scare or upset some people if I tell it totally straight. The humor sort of gives them a choice as to how to think about it all, to believe or to disregard the scary prospects of there actually being a supernatural realm out there(I know some never realistically ever consider such a possibility) This is when customers refer to my house as a "Fun House".
The house is very unusual in it's own right and I have added to this with the work I have been doing to it over these last 25 years, like secret passages, mazes, a long exit tunnel that runs 95 feet through the yard(Yes, it is under the ground and concrete and twists and turns and swoops)
There is no gore or butcher shop motif here (Waste of my time) There are also no strobe lights, no neon glow paint, no black lights, no fog machines(anymore) I have made almost everything here from my own thoughts and ideas and I try to not copy anything someone else has made because people often will be driving many hours just to see MY house, so a Wal-Mart mask show wouldn't "cut it", nor would I expect to ever have any repeat customers if such was my "show" here.
I delight in entertaining people and even scaring them with common, cheap, stupid items that usually will never be thought of as having such potential (Boosts my ego?)
I am not making a "Million Dollars" here , but this all that I do and enough people seem to like it enough to become impressed by my efforts , tell their friends and come back and buy another ticket. (I work long hours here almost everyday, doing probably 95% of ALL the work ever done here during the last 25 years.)
The "Main Attraction"here has always been "Crazy Jim" (me) and The Bad Dream Bed, which scares the majority of living, breathing people who try it out.
I have a new feature in that bedroom now. The canopy over the bed is a black shroud with a couple of skulls "floating", wrapped within the ill-regular cloth shape.
I ask them if the newbies need advice as to whether to try the bed or not?
Then the skull closest to them gives his opinion!
People laying on the bed often feel that they have to let me know they are "afraid"!
I reassure them by telling them that if they were not afraid right now, that they would be abnormal! (Truth!)
I am OPEN for business every night of the year and have been pretty much since "Day-One"... because I LOVE What I am doing !!
The Ravens Grin Inn--Mount Carroll, Illinois.


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## v_gan (Aug 19, 2009)

I love Classic Halloween: jack-o-lanterns, black cats, spiders, skeletons, witches, ghosts... I'm a big advocate of the classic orange and black colors!

I've delved a bit into the gore, but I much prefer classically spooky stuff.


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## Ghouliet (Nov 5, 2010)

Resurrection Vale Cemetery is classic/traditional. We do not have any blood, guts and gore, but we do have headstones, zombies, rats, ravens, owls, werewolf, cats and even a zombie dog and mummy cat. We have a traditional grim reaper and also have a few carved pumpkins. We top it all off with a low lying fog and colored lighting.

You can find Resurrection Vale Cemetery on facebook if you would like to see pictures of our haunt.


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## ollieee (Sep 16, 2010)

Aye 100% pure pirate, not too scary and no gore or the wee little ones won't come up for a treat. Even when I run the Disney Yo ho pirate track some of the little swashbucklers are still too afraid to come to the pirate for a treat. I hand out very large gold chocolate coins, some of the cabin rats walk away yelling the pirate gave me gold !!!


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## Mordessa (Jul 23, 2007)

Wifeofrankie said:


> I'm really not into the blood & guts, but my husband is really into zombies. Maybe one of the years I will let him have control over the theme of our haunt. But for now while we start out with the new home, it's about building the graveyard, scarecrows, & other traditional details.
> 
> By the way thank you so much for responding to my very 1st real thread. It might sound silly but I was nervous. You guys are awesome.


We are pretty classic, I guess. No blood and guts for us really either, though occassionally we do have some small blood & guts stuff, we keep it to a minimum because we like to focus on scary rather than gross. We just like to do things that are spooky in general. We don't really go for the movie themes or the classic ghost story characters though. We do things like creepy children standing in the foggy hallway just staring straight ahead, and wheezing rocking grandpa in the rocking chair, and paintings that follow you with their eyes and then, of course, lots of jump and scare kinds of things. 

Thanks for the interesting thread Wifeofrankie!  

... Btw, my hubby and his friends who come to our party every year, love zombies too. They BEGGED me last year to do a zombie theme, and I relented and allowed the hubby to take over the theme. It was a nightmare! And not in a good scary way! LOL ... Last year was probably my worst haunt yet, because the theme was so uninspiring for me, and my hubby was completely bogged down with work at the time so couldn't really help at all. The whole thing ended up being unimaginative and boring, imo. So, word to the wise, consider carefully before allowing somebody who is not as obsessed as you might be yourself to take over your haunt theme! LOL !! 

Great thread!


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

Oh, good question. I am classic really old school. I like creepy and eerie. I don't do gore.


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

I would consider myself a traditional/classic/spooky haunter, love the graveyard, witches, skellys, etc,, not much gore, 


PS. totally understand the worry with the first thread,, I had it to, and to be honest, don't start many, am still nervous about it, have had some that no one really responded to, so got a bit leery of it ,


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

I find the subliminal mind games of the old school Hollywood scares the best. Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and such create an internal fright that is the best IMO. I don’t do gore or horror, that is terrifying in my opinion. I rather scare, and let the mind wonder about the unknown, than frighten. So, in summary, OLD TIME SPOOKY….ghost, goblins, witches, graveyards, skeletons and such!


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

ollieee said:


> Aye 100% pure pirate, not too scary and no gore or the wee little ones won't come up for a treat. Even when I run the Disney Yo ho pirate track some of the little swashbucklers are still too afraid to come to the pirate for a treat. I hand out very large gold chocolate coins, some of the cabin rats walk away yelling the pirate gave me gold !!!
> 
> View attachment 111865
> View attachment 111867
> View attachment 111866


Love it! The kids made me say :aaaaahhh!


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

Kooky and Spooky I like it 



hallorenescene said:


> i change up my theme every year and i call my haunt more kid friendly. no blood and gore here. scary, i like it scary. this year an adams/munsters style theme. this year kooky and spooky


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## BeaconSamurai (Nov 5, 2009)

I'am a "fun" display. All of mine have a humorous tilt to them. I don't want to scare the little ones, I want to make them smile!


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## trentsketch (Aug 4, 2009)

I'm kind of a fantasy haunter. I go for eerie and dreamlike immersive environments rather than straight up scares, icons, or gore. That's not to say there aren't scares. They're just layered and suggestive rather than a straight up boo. Well, except for one. There's always one jump scare.


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## Deadview (Aug 9, 2011)

I don't know what I am. I lure them in off the street with lights and sound. They walk down the path of uncertainty at Deadview then I shake their inner core and chase them down the street screeming........................................they do call their friends to come over and check the place out, what ever it is, it does work...hee...hee...hee !!!!


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## Spookwriter (Apr 29, 2012)

In our haunted woods, I am the Mortician...the funeral director.
And I carry on. Depends on the people. I may sing, dance or even
pose for pictures with you.

Or I might just scare you.

We have a big woods and a lot of scenes. Different things. People laugh here,
get scared there. 

We try to put on a show for everyone.


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## azazel (Jul 18, 2011)

i am a little bit of all i do a little gore with classic an all the rest an try to throw in some new stuff all the time


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

I remembered seeing this post last week and thought it asked a great question - finally have time to answer it now! I'm a very old school haunter. I love the story of the Headless Horseman and think nothing's scarier than an old graveyard. Our haunt focuses on light and shadows, ghostly figures in the trees and windows. I plan on expanding the cemetery a little bit each year. I also love harvest touches.


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

Love this thread!! It's so interesting to read about how everyone likes to do their displays. I think I'd have to say that we're more old school with a ton of harvest touches. I've also started to lean more towards retro halloween for inside the house. I've really gotten into that and have started a nice "retro" decor collection.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Guess we're more classic yard decor more than haunt. Like to make it friendly for the kids but a little spooky around the edges (love the 'kooky and spooky' description btw, that fits a little too  ).


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## scary1215 (Aug 26, 2007)

well there a few things i am when i get into character. but im really a bloodthirsty make kids cry type of haunter. i love the blood and gore and using my chainsaw to cut up the body props lol. im terrifying as possible, an not very nice. not ver kiddish or a "kid friendy" type od haunt i would say, but nonetheless kids are always welcome haha


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## kuroneko (Mar 31, 2011)

I like doing a little old school spooky. I really don't like all the new blood and gore type stuff you see these days. I want to be _that_ house that kids are always afraid of year round (except mine is only during Halloween of course). During the day its pretty tame for the little kids, but after dark its really spooky.
I have been doing a rather generic no-name theme with pumpkins, skeletons, ghouls/reapers, etc. However, this year I'm actually doing a spider theme.


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## stick (Apr 2, 2009)

I am truly old school, the old cemetery, ghost, etc.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Uh...

I enjoy being unorthodox.  No movie characters. Rarely something standard, and if it is, I'll try to be unique about it. That said, I do kinda fall into the "really old school" category that I'm more the bump in the night/spooky atmosphere type than the gory maniac type, and I do tend to root my ideas in things from history, usually really OLD history.


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## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

i love the point you made about letting someone else take over. if im not into it then i wont be able to make all of the little things happen around it. my husband does not at all have the time to put into it. last year he almost got sent away on a TDY for an emergency on the day of the party & would have been gone through halloween. if it would have been zombies and gore, i dont think i would have been able to make it work. i would have freaked out. but with it being my sort of theme, i didnt even blink an eye at the idea of him not being able to help. i just didnt like that he might have missed it.

anyways, you totally got me to think about it in a way i had not yet. thank you mordessa.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

We are cartoonish, preschool, kiddie-centric. We cater to the tiny tots and children with autism (who get easily freaked at Halloween!). Classic images... Classic colors. Everything smiling and happy, happy happy! So happy that after a decade I'm ready to scream!! LOLOLOL ~ I am yearning to have our display 'grow up' and become an old fashioned spooky eerie haunt. You know... graveyard, skeletons, vampires. Think Haunted English Manor. Sigh... someday.... LOL


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## Kymmm (Oct 1, 2009)

im the goddess said:


> I find the subliminal mind games of the old school Hollywood scares the best. Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and such create an internal fright that is the best IMO. I don’t do gore or horror, that is terrifying in my opinion. I rather scare, and let the mind wonder about the unknown, than frighten. So, in summary, OLD TIME SPOOKY….ghost, goblins, witches, graveyards, skeletons and such!


I think we are long lost sisters!! This is me to a tee!!


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Hilda said:


> We are cartoonish, preschool, kiddie-centric. We cater to the tiny tots and children with autism (who get easily freaked at Halloween!). Classic images... Classic colors. Everything smiling and happy, happy happy! So happy that after a decade I'm ready to scream!! LOLOLOL ~ I am yearning to have our display 'grow up' and become an old fashioned spooky eerie haunt. You know... graveyard, skeletons, vampires. Think Haunted English Manor. Sigh... someday.... LOL


You will get there one day....that's why I didn't join the forum till @ 2 yrs ago. I thought I couldn't offer much. Our kids were small, it was inflatables,lots of pumpkins, occasional ghosts and skeletons. Our freakiest thing was a door bell button that when you press it to ring the door bell, a black tarantula kind of thing pops down and pretends to bite your finger as you press. And the skeleton face makes funny comments. We still have it ! (ok yes- I still put it on the door too)


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Oh in answer to the original thread question, I like to have an ethereal look to my haunt. No blood/gore. Dark,blue, nothing too "stark" (except for my grave diggers!this year!). A kind of haunt that gives you an uncomfortable feeling- but nothing will pretend to saw you up. Whether I accomplish this, will have to be seen. But I keep working on it!


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

matrix, i have that spider. i had a spider room one year in my haunt, and the lady who played my spider was mesmerized by it. she had a blast telling the kids they had to push the buttom to summon the spider to receive a treat. made all the kids jump. and what skeleton face are you talking about?


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

I am "If I can fit it in somewhere" haunter. Classic, I guess, with hints of "The Ring", "SILENT HILL", etc... Heck, if it's cool and I love it, it goes in my haunt somewhere. But NO GORES. I have tons of tots, so, no blood. This year, I am adding "Lady in Black" to the mix. 

Sure my haunt is not too focus, but I can tell you, I never had anyone who was not blown away by it. "Where do you store it all?" is the question I get the most, for some reason?!


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## cherryred (Sep 9, 2010)

Mine changes based on what props I choose to use.


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

hallorenescene said:


> matrix, i have that spider. i had a spider room one year in my haunt, and the lady who played my spider was mesmerized by it. she had a blast telling the kids they had to push the buttom to summon the spider to receive a treat. made all the kids jump. and what skeleton face are you talking about?


The door bell has a skeleton face, and out of his mouth pops out this tarantula/scorpion thingy that pretends to bite your finger as you are pressing. The skeleton eyes light up and says" hey! what are doing?" or "tag! (bite) your it! hahaha"


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

oh, i have a spider door bell, it's been awhile since i used it. i wonder if mine is different, i don't remember a skeltom head.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Osenator ~ I call that a 'shock and awe' display! Love it!


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## KATZILLA (Dec 6, 2007)

I am classic ( Frankenstein, mummy, Dracula, werewolf, etc AND really old school !


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## lisa48317 (Jul 23, 2010)

Add Content


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## lisa48317 (Jul 23, 2010)

I would have to say my Maple Grove Cemetery is classic / goofy. There is no blood or gore, the skellies are dancing amongst the graves and the epitaphs are silly. This is what makes me happy.


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## Snake Eyes037 (Feb 28, 2010)

I'm more into the classics such as Frankenstein. I usually do a Mad Lab show (house is not big enough to do a haunt) with my handmade animatronics and displayed on my front porch during Halloween. Here is a link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7CR90Qehuk&list=UUA6zj-lwQgVcqk5OIJ88_xQ&index=4&feature=plcp


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Great idea Snake eyes!!! I'm always hesitant to do a haunt in my garage (cuz it a mess) or outside (because of FL weather). I could do a set up like this on my porch area with different themes each year. Thanks for sharing...great props too.


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## Snake Eyes037 (Feb 28, 2010)

Thank you MatrixMom and happy mothers day, I'm also in the same predicament here in South Florida with the unpredictable weather in October. The porch overhang is a good a prop saver. Originally I was going to do the mad lab scene in the garage with a background to hide all the tools/mess in my garage. I think it was much better to display it in the porch area so all the tots were able to get a good visual like it was up on stage. It did not rain until another hour after that shot and the only prop effected was Frankensteins Monster. This year he'll be up on the porch level to.


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## HauntedDiva (Oct 1, 2009)

I like the "old school" type of haunting myself. Candles, shadows, cemeteries and lore. That's the kind of stuff that gives me shivers


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery (Jul 3, 2011)

Hmm, I could've sworn I'd posted in this thread before now.  It's been fun reading everyone's replies, thanks for sharing. Me? Oh, I"m an old school ghosts, goblins, & witches kinda guy.  I'm more into the atmospheric type ambiance than blood & gore...although I do have a bleeding head in a bag.  I concentrate heavily on the soundscape, never too much going on at once. So that every little thing draws their horrified & rapt attentions. I like to play with the mind, and let their own fears materialize into reality though their vivid imaginations. 

Sometimes, the best scares are by that which is unseen...or seen only within the confines of their own mind. *insert evil grin here* >:^D


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2012)

I like to think I've yet to find my niche, but I know it's spooky with a little plasma...nothing obscene. Like many I suppose, I consider ROT to be the measuring stick. Johnny Appleseed may be one of the simplest props ever made but is also one of the spookiest I've ever seen. I like a little reality with my fantasy, for instance everything this year is geared towards witches, what the church did to suspected witches and the aftermath of poking the wrong REAL witch. I promised The Boss we'd hit Pirates next year and that should be fun, but this year is burning witches, undead being coaxed from their graves and scarecrows.


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## Bump In The Night (Jun 21, 2011)

As long as the TOT's run for their lives away from the house screaming, THAT'S the type of haunter I am......no matter what that takes!


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## Madhatter00 (May 24, 2012)

I really dont do the whole gore thing, but go for atmosphere. I'm like a potporri of different things. The front of the house is the cemetary, along the side is more or less a transition pieces, then in the back of our house I have a whole pirate/cannibal island thing going.


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## stormygirl84 (Sep 4, 2009)

I guess I'm kind of traditional. Cemeteries, ghosts, witches, that sort of thing, I also love monsters, too, but I tend to shy away from trademarked stuff. It kills the suspension of disbelief, to me. For instance, if Freddy Kreuger or Michael Myers show up in a haunt, it takes me completely out of it. They belong in their movies, and only in their movies, in my opinion.

I'm also not a big fan of gore. A little blood here and there? Fine. But chainsaws and body parts and buckets of blood? Not my thing.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

stormygirl84 said:


> I'm also not a big fan of gore. A little blood here and there? Fine. But chainsaws and body parts and buckets of blood? Not my thing.


I'm the same. There was a haunted house that had a bathroom full of blood and gore, which had the opposite effect on me than they had intended, I'm sure; I seriously couldn't stop laughing, especially since I have dealt with close to that before


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## CobhamManor (Aug 5, 2010)

I'm not sure how I would label my haunt. So I'll just use a larger and more vague word: ECLECTIC! 
That's right. There are various parts to the haunt. Some less scary than others. Overall, I love to push the envelope when it comes to uncertainty and creepiness. If there's one thing to do if you can't scare people every waking second, you can surely create a mood of anxiousness. 
I have the traditional cemetery. I like incorporating a cornfield area with scarecrows, because some people just can't stand scarecrows. And they don't like getting lost in a cornfield, so I have a cornstalk tunnel effect planned. I also strive to include a "mansion-esque" hallway, complete with lenticular portraits and "creaking floors" - with the 21st century finishing the effect with Rosemary Zombie Girl. Most people hate spiders. So I have a Spiders' Lair. Then there're the witches. A witches' brew is crucial in each annual display. We can't forget the classic laboratory scene. This year, I'll do some sort of retro tribute using black lights to give a nice illusion on the walls - something reminiscent of what Terra would do - but with nowhere near the craftsmanship!  Lastly, I have an industrial-type room planned.
I am not into gore - as to me, it just looks distasteful. And I don't like store-bought prop overload. Sure, MOST of my props are from stores, but I change some things about them to make them slightly more personalized. You could call me lazy, but I'd rather focus on the props' atmosphere. I know with many haunters, it's the complete opposite!
I'm not sure what you would call a display like mine in a nutshell, but there is definitely a lot crammed into one yard - and one short walk-through!


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## Spooky_Girl1980 (Jul 12, 2010)

Spooky Hollow Cemetery is all about witch's, ghost's and all the classic stuff but has some blood and gore to it and all the kids big and small love it!


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## BR1MSTON3 (Jul 31, 2010)

I am a fan of the imagination. Nothing over the top, set the scene and let them fill in their own blanks. Kind of a Hitchcock thing.


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## Paint It Black (Sep 15, 2011)

Snake Eyes037 said:


> I'm more into the classics such as Frankenstein. I usually do a Mad Lab show (house is not big enough to do a haunt) with my handmade animatronics and displayed on my front porch during Halloween. Here is a link:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7CR90Qehuk&list=UUA6zj-lwQgVcqk5OIJ88_xQ&index=4&feature=plcp


This is sooo cool. Everyone should watch it. So well done and entertaining!


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## AthenaHM (Oct 27, 2011)

We are very dynamic in our haunting strategy, but I think I could summarize by saying that we normally go one or two of a few ways. We like geeky stuff(only for costumes, mostly); deeply disturbing, really scary stuff; we love historical haunts, and also, new twists on classics. I love super authentic, but do not enjoy most animatronic/ cutesy Halloween stuff. We are more Edward Gorey/Tim Borton/Edgar Allan Poe, as opposed to kid-friendly pumpkins/cute little black cats/witches, etc.


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## theworstwitch (Aug 14, 2006)

Fun thread! I wondered if East coasters would go for old Sleepy Hollow style, midwesters for Harvest, West coasters for monster movies...
I'm actually surprised that most people here are less into gore scares and more into style.
For my haunt, I always go for Old School Halloween-Jacks, ghosts, witches, haunted house sounds playing in the background, and inside retro Halloween decor.

I think I'm trying to give the kids the same experience I had growing up, with that timelessness that so much Halloween stuff has


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

I am really traditional, bordering on 70s cheesy just b/c those are the Halloweens I remember and love best. 

I also put in a good dose of humor. I LOVE making my skeletons do really weird things. I once had one smoking in the passenger seat of my car (cig was unlit, obviously) with a seat belt on and everything. Another time I sat a skellie on my banister and had him with a drink in one hand and waving with another at passing cars.

I always always always have a graveyard and a bajillion pumpkins are a must in this household.


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## LurkerNDdark (Sep 9, 2010)

I'd say traditional with a twist. My goal is to have the classic elements of Halloween like witches and pumpkins, but do something different with them. Gore and trademarks don't interest me at all.

Now if only my homemade monsters weren't so cute.


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## lisa48317 (Jul 23, 2010)

CaliforniaMelanie said:


> I also put in a good dose of humor. I LOVE making my skeletons do really weird things. I once had one smoking in the passenger seat of my car (cig was unlit, obviously) with a seat belt on and everything. Another time I sat a skellie on my banister and had him with a drink in one hand and waving with another at passing cars.


A girl after my own heart! Last year I drove around with 2 skeletons buckled in my back seat for a couple weeks. -I really needed a carseat for them, but they were still easily visible while walking by. Once they got put to work, I drove around with a spider in my back window (the legs spanned wider than my car). It is so much fun doing stuff like this! I also plan to make my bluckies dance in the front yard this year. 

yeah - I said it before - my display borders on goofy. I love it!


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

lisa48317 said:


> A girl after my own heart! Last year I drove around with 2 skeletons buckled in my back seat for a couple weeks. -I really needed a carseat for them, but they were still easily visible while walking by. Once they got put to work, I drove around with a spider in my back window (the legs spanned wider than my car). It is so much fun doing stuff like this! I also plan to make my bluckies dance in the front yard this year.
> 
> yeah - I said it before - my display borders on goofy. I love it!


Oh my goodness, I SO love the spider idea! I may have to "borrow" that one!


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