Germany would be a great location for an "Alone" house. They could call it "Alein In Der Schwarzwald" I would especially like it if they utilize similar techniques. Alone used technology to move walls and make the house seem longer.
Howl-O-Scream Concepts
- Thread starter Tony
- Start date
Rhine river legends I think it would work. It could take a bunch of stories, water related or not, from the areas that are depicted in the park. And i wouldnt affect the flow of visitors getting through the park, like having a haunted train would. Also if your doing this in the dark (as dark as allowed of course.) it will be easier to say oh i see something and while your eyes are adjusting to the dark it will be harder. And it wont really require much in the way of staff, one good actor who can tell some stories.swimmerboy29 said:
Valid point... i was more or less saying that while there will be nothing really there to jump out just using the what you cant see is scarier than what you can notion. For example there was a HA i went to a couple years back that was deep in the woods(deep enough that there was no light filtering from other places) you were taken out to the middle of this area, we hear a scream and the guide gave us some story about going to check on the other group. And left us there. There wasnt really much to it but ppl were really scared by what they couldnt see. It was so dark that there common sense was kinda taken over by the fear of what they couldnt see.
Both sound really cool.
Honestly, I think BGW could use some different types of scares. They seem to rely almost exclusively on startles.
Honestly, I think BGW could use some different types of scares. They seem to rely almost exclusively on startles.
The main problem then is that they run the risk of big hype over nothing. Wendigo Woods last year was a great example of how psychological horror is a hit or miss with most people. I don't think this would be in the best interest of the park, because they keep hearing about people being disappointed by the lack of scares. If Tampa can't pull it off yet (Deadfall), nobody can. The people in Tampa are masters at their art, and I don't think Williamsburg should even attempt a scare style immediately that has already failed for Tampa.
I don't think WW was particularly well executed, which I think was a large part of the problem. KD's Haunt is very successful, and it relies much more on anxiety and disorientation.
True. Although, I doubt you would ever see Busch Gardens simply turn off lights in most areas, rather than change the lighting everywhere. Busch Gardens has had scare zones similar to that, however they have never continued with them.
I dont really have a frame of reference on KD's haunt,as ive never been.But i agree with this those are two key components to any succesful haunt. But i will say from working in a very low budget haunt and having to make every dollar count sometimes less is more. WW was the year i went was underwhelming. Its one of those ideas that are really good in theory but it takes a lot of imagination. Rather than have the "creature" in the cage make it look like its broken out and could be anywhere, in the trees, in the bushes or behind you. Also if you have actors who do more than just yell in your face that helps too :-/ Ive learned alot can be done with just the right of amount of imagination on the actors part. Now ive never done acting for a theme park in this sense so im not sure how that figures into the equation because im sure there is much much more to it than dont touch ppl, and dont break character.Nicole said:
CastleOSullivan said:
I've been going to HOS for many years, and BGW has rarely had scare zones/terror-tories/etc that really relied on much more than startles. I can think of two well-executed examples: the path between the two houses behind Oktoberfest, and the cemetery in Britain (sorry I have been going for so many years, I lose track of which house is which; they all blend together for me, because most really aren't that memorable).
At KD in the past I have felt lost, disoriented, and vulnerable. They also allow their actors to stalk guests and invade their personal space. I have actually been physically boxed in and separated from my friends by two actors in a maze before.
To be clear, there are some great scares at BGW, and I have nothing against the startles. I would just like to see a wider variety of scare tactics. I would also like to see them either get back to a pure Haunt, or embrace the Halloween Party approach fully.
Nicole said:
Are you thinking of Sea Dog Cemetery? Now that was an excellent scare zone.
This is what i love to be able to do as an actor! Just being in someone elses space and not relenting in that was always fun. It also allowed us to help another actor out by keeping a persons attention so they can come up behind you. Now we were always taught to be on our toes since we couldnt touch them, and technically they couldnt touch us. I would love to talk further to anyone who has done acting in a bigger more proffesional haunt (the one i did was community ran, but really LOVED by the community. And we always brought in a good crowd) just to see how the training was for them and their rules on working with the patrons.Nicole said:
I was also thinking for ways to improve the London area(sorry if my terminology isnt right i have a hard time remembering proper names D-
I was thinking maybe if they did like the plague and have people creeping around in the Plague masks. While have bodies laid around in piles or on carts or such. Put a few actor sitting of to the side coughing and reaching for help. To me stuff like the plague was creepy because it was real.
I was thinking maybe if they did like the plague and have people creeping around in the Plague masks. While have bodies laid around in piles or on carts or such. Put a few actor sitting of to the side coughing and reaching for help. To me stuff like the plague was creepy because it was real.
That was one of the first characters you encountered in Wicked Woods, which was based off of disasters in olden day England. Wicked Woods was an new high level of immersion for guests. Many of the set pieces were reused in Cursed. I wish I had the plans for that house.
angelicurrr said:
Since it was a big open space and incredibly foggy you felt more vulnerable because a scare could come from any direction!