The people lined up outside (the line was over an hour on Halloween night) all the way to the Wilk. I heard there was some live entertainment as some of the people in line put on some sword fights etc.
After going through the FRONT ENTRANCE, groups of about 10 were led through the haunted house by a guide. We did this to avoid mischief and allow the scenes time to reset before the next group.
The first thing they came to was a GRAVEYARD. We were going to have a groundskeeper with a weed whacker that didn't have any string, but he didn't show up. Notice the fun epitaphs on the tombstones: B Andre Turn, Barry D Live, D K Ying, S Care DeCat, Willy Dye, etc.
When they came in the building, the first thing they saw was a COFFIN on a table. When I was a guide, I usually picked someone at random and asked them to open the coffin for the group. Of course they were expecting something to jump out at them and were freaked out at the thought. When someone finally gathered the courage to open the coffin, they saw that it was empty. This kept them on their toes through the rest of the haunted house because now they knew that not every corner had something hiding behind it.
After passing the coffin, they were met by a couple of screaming people locked up in an INSANE ASYLUM. I made the jail out of old trampoline poles. Once again, sorry there's no picture.
The guests then passed a large JACK-IN-THE-BOX. Someone was asked to turn the handle while everyone sang the music. Towards the end of the song, someone sitting under the table sprayed their feet with compressed air.
As the people filed around the corner, they saw a TOXIC WASTE SPILL. Someone dressed up in toxic waste-splattered clothes and a radiation mask fell down at their feet coughing and warning them to turn back before it was too late. We had a fog machine in one of the tipped-over barrels that sprayed "toxic waste" all over the guests as they filed past.
The guests then entered THE TORTURE CHAMBER.
The first torture device was the GALLOWS in which a chair was pulled out from under someone being hung. They flopped around a bit then settled down as their last breath was taken. We had a little problem getting the rock climbing harness and ropes to work and ended up running out of time, so the end result wasn't quite as clean as we would have liked. It still made a nice effect though.
They went around the corner and came face to face with a large GUILLOTINE.
We had a nice skit set up in which the executioner welcomed everyone into his torture chamber and started showing them his cool devices. An escaped prisoner then ran straight at the crowd screaming to help him get out and that the executioner was going to kill him. The executioner then tackled the prisoner and threw him on the table of the guillotine. A mask identical to the one the prisoner was wearing had a ball in it and was put through the neck opening while the prisoner wiggled it for effect. The executioner dropped the guillotine blade and the ball-in-mask dropped to the floor and rolled toward the crowd.
The next torture device was a HANGING CAGE like you see in movies. It was really easy to make. All it took was bending some rebar, drilling holes through the base, and putting cotter pins through holes in the rebar under the base.
We then hung the cage from the giant overhead crane (an advantage of doing the haunted house in the structures lab) and put someone in it. Maybe next year we'll find a way to keep the side chains from slipping down.
A few 2X4s, some scrap plywood, and a can of black spray paint lent themselves nicely for our electric chair. Pictured is one of the CE students helping build the props on the Saturday before Halloween.
This is the finished ELECTRIC CHAIR. Actually it's not quite finished because we added the head piece later.
The next room is the GHOST-GIRL'S BEDROOM. The guides stopped and told the groups this story, "Four years ago to this very day, Halloween night of 2004, a girl named Sarah Whiting was brutally murdered in this very location. Ever since then, she has returned each Halloween night looking for the man who killed her." At that point, the lights go out and Sarah's ghost can be seen in the mirror above the nightstand.
The mirror is actually a picture frame with regular glass in it, but by getting the lights just right, it works like a 2-way mirror. The effect is really cool and can be seen better in my video.
The guests went through the STROBE LIGHT TUNNEL which was made from a canopy with black curtains dividing the sections.
Then they emerged in the MAD SCIENTIST'S LAB, where Dr. Frankenstein proudly showed off his new creation.
Spare body parts used in creating Frankenstein's monster.
The guests were asked to help remove the sheet covering the monster, and after they tightened the clamp on his head, someone jumped out from under the table scaring everyone out of their wits.
Devices in Frankenstien's lab. (Too bad someone broke my lava lamp when helping set up.)
Everyone then moved into the next room at the top of a flight of stairs. This was our DUNGEON. It was really creepy because we filled it full of fog and had a strobe light under the stairs flashing up through them. The guide then told everyone, "before we go down the stairs into the dungeon, there are a few thing you all should know. The first is to avoid that guy (someone then ran up the stairs at them.) The second is that the exit is right here (he then pulled a tarp back revealing the real exit). Have a good night and thank you for coming."
The last picture shows those who volunteered the second night. There were about 20 people in all, and it made for a great show. Thanks everyone who helped make this year's haunted house a success!
Some more pictures of setup etc.
As a side note, there was an article in the Daily Herald covering the haunted house as well as an article in BYU's Daily Universe.
You can also see the pictures and more in my Picasa web album.
