A Witch Runs Through It

Experience:
Patrons walking down a long hallway suddenly see an witch/actor running toward them. Right before she runs into them she disappears and blast of cold air is felt in the patron's faces. The witch will them reappear behind them, cackling hysterically.

Blueprint:
As the witch/actor is about to collide with the first patron, a strobe can fire as she ducks into a side cubby-hole. At the same time, a fan can blow a blast of cold air through tubes mounted on the walls.  These tubes would work similar to a homemade device for chilling fog machine fog for a better ground effect. You'll need ice and/or dry ice to chill the metal vent pipes. A second actor costumed the same as the first, can then appear from another cubby-hole hole behind the patrons.

Sketch:
Coming soon.

Practical considerations:

• For the chilled air effect, it is probably more important to be cold than to produce a big windy effect.
• To avoid accidental collisions between actor and patrons, the hallway could contain some divider mechanism so that they never actually meet.  In this case, there would be a side exit from the hallway at the point where this divider is set up.

Running on the Ceiling

Experience:
Patrons walking down a long, narrow hallway suddenly see an actor running upside-down on the ceiling toward them.

Blueprint:
Two story hallway with two large 45 degree mirrors at the end of the hallway will reflect the actor in the upper hallway (running toward the mirrors) will look to the patrons as if he is running toward them on the ceiling on the lower hallway.

Sketch:
Coming soon.

Practical considerations:

• Cost of the two mirrors
• The timing of the actor is important.  He needs to start running so as to reach the end of the hallway approximately when the patrons do for the best effect.
• The footsteps of the running actor in the upper hallway should enhance the effect if the acoustics of the hallways cooperate.

I Want to Hold Your Hand

Experience:
A pair of patrons reach a portal with two side-by-side exits.  An actor explains that the patrons must go through as pairs, one in the left exit and one in the right exit. After they go through the exit door frame, they must hold hands. The pair can see each other through Plexiglas divider as they walk about 10 feet together. Upon reaching the end of their parallel hallways, and rejoin in the next room, they realize they were not holding each others hands, but that they are each holding the hands of an actor between them.

Blueprint:
The devil is in the details on this one.  There must also be cooperation of both patrons to willingly follow the instructions for the effect to work.  The space between the Plexiglas needs to be just barely wide enough for an actor to fit into and walk back and forth in.  The actor needs to hunch over so that he is not seen as the patrons look at each other while walking.  Also, the slot for the hand holding needs to be below the Plexiglas, so as to not give away the secret.

Sketch:
Coming soon.

Practical considerations:

• Since actors are deviating from the no-touch policy, advance notice for patrons should be considered.
• Possible pacing problem as an actor must explain that pairs go through each side individually.
• Possible pacing problem as a single actor may not suffice for a large group.

Bloody Mist

Experience:
A darkish room is entered with a spotlight pointed on an actor against the opposite side wall.  He is chained to a table and screams for help. Another actor enters behind the table with a chainsaw. As he cuts into the stomach of the man on the table, customers feel the spray of blood on their faces.

Blueprint:
Create a simple PVC tube mister attached to a garden hose, such as is setup at outdoor public events on hot summer days.  It just needs two vertical legs and one horizontal beam across the top with the spray nozzles pointed downward.  This will be setup above the patrons such that they must walk under it to exit the room. The idea is to spray a minimal amount of water to get the sensation of being splattered without making anyone wet for the duration of the haunt.

Sketch:
Coming soon.

Practical considerations:

• Although only a fine mist, advance notice for patrons should be considered.
• The floor under the mister should be non-slip and should drain or prevent the water from puddling.