how to create scares and horror

step 1 - create an atmosphere
this is quite an important step and a good reason why alot of carival ghost trains/dark rides fail. having ghosts and ghouls around a track and screams may give a little jump but not a proper scare. having the facade covered in vampires and zombies can look cool but not scary. Creepy is the only way to think here. darkness, coldness, flowing cobwebs, suttle light, dark colours. earth colours and dim lights work very very well. in a haunted house or a scare maze this is created by small filtered lights usually a very heavy brown. you dont want pitch black or noone will see anything your trying to scare with but there is a balance where light is so dim that you can just see things, this is the light you want becasue anything above this will pick people up and make them feel ok with the area. you dont want ok, you want to be nervous and not shure of the place your in.

step 2 - props
this is alot more simple than people think. everyone who has been in a haunted house or ghost train will have seen the huge animatronic with blood everywhere and loud screaming, howling and roaring. guess what this isnt that scary. again this is just "wow look at that is very cool" and not horrific or scary. you need nothing more than a pice of paper or a mask to truly scare someone. blend it into the background so people dont suspect it, hide it and have it pop out at the right moment, timing is the key here. distraction is a majour contributer. have a small movement on the right then a large close one a few moments later on the left. probally the best example is this video from a carnival dark rie in germany
[youtube]VuujCexdB9w[/youtube]
nothing more than a mask in the right place and it probally was the biggest scare in the whole thing. you may thing "well shure thats a cheap shot and an easy scare", well yes you would be right it is. if you have ever been throught a scare maze this is what its all about. the cheap scare from the actors. you dont need fany gizmos or hollywood makeup to create a good scare, you just need timing and distraction. a good prop will be a very simple mask or even a piece of paper with a scary drawing on it, used at the right time can make anyone jump, this is only scare though and cannot create horror. horror comes from the atmosphere as mentioned above not from the props you use.

step 3 - set the scene
all horror has a story, weather it be a murder and ghosts or a phycopath a good horror ride and scare factor is the story of how it came to be haunted or a dangerous place. in a scare maze a good way to do this is an opening segment with a dalogue from an actor about the place your about to go into tied in with some scares. again the atmosphere will help set the scene with a gloomy surrounding and a few pictures around. this place should be a little brighter than the rest of the maze so the people can cencentrait on looking at the actor and the scared faces of everyone else. fear breads fear and you shopuld always play on this. its harder to do this on a dark ride but put up photos in the que, make a room that people have to que through and set the story in the room. if people know whats coming after them they will fear it and make for easy cheap and quick scares, this will intencify the horror as people think the scares are coming all the time

final step 4 - have fun
why are the people there? to be scared and why are you doing it? to scare them. its simple the more fun you have with it the more you will create the fun experience.being serious about horror means you will create those "cool" effects and props that basically just scare people less than you think they will. yes you should always have a big scene for the wow factor but small scares make alot more horror so have fun with them, things that pop out create a jump so use them. add somthing silly to it as simple as a small spider or a creapy face. as long as you got the atmosphere there as i said earlyier, anticipation and fear will breed and pratically anything you do will scare people. a very very easy one is to hang threads down to touch people, in a black dark place black thread cannot be seen so they will very easly touch heads and create a scared feeling and increase the horror yeat again. this all plays on anticipation and a big thought out plan basically dont build that. so have fun with it and place things where you think they shouldent really go.


there are a great many rides and scare mazes out there which basically fail at all this and ill let you decide which ones. basically this is just a small guide to creating horror and scares.

[Coasterkidmwm]

I went to a haunted house once where they did everything they could in their power to separate our party. They're succeeded in separating our party, and it worked REALLY well.

Wow! Those are great tips. Every Halloween, my friends and I create a simple Halloween party in any of our houses. I think it would be a great idea to set-up a Haunted House, asking $2 for every kid who wants to be scared and spooked.

Woman.

Only responding to this for one reason, and one reason alone...

^ Kumba avatar.

Thank you Gerst. ^__^

You're schvelcome