1

Volume

BRUCE HALL ASSOCIATION

Savannah Shafer

Haunted House Manual

SAVANNAH SHAFERS

Haunted House Manual

2013. Savannah Shafer. 1624 Chestnut Street Denton, TX 76201. Phone: 940.565.2000

T able of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1 Importance of Bruce Halls Haunted House ........................................................... 1 Purpose of Manual ................................................................................................. 1 Frequently Used Terms.......................................................................................... 2

Official Haunted House Calendar ....................................................................................... 3 Creation of Haunted House Official Calendar ........................................................ 3 Requirements ............................................................................................ 3 Overall Duration of Haunted House ....................................................................... 4 Closing the Basement ............................................................................................ 4 HHC Meetings ........................................................................................................ 5 Preceding Meeting 1 ............................................................................... 5 HHC Meeting 1.......................................................................................... 5 HHC Meeting 2.......................................................................................... 5 HHC Meeting 3.......................................................................................... 6 Preceding Meeting 4 ............................................................................... 7 HHC Meeting 4 (Combined with Build-Night) ........................................... 7 Build-Nights ............................................................................................................ 7 Regular Build-Nights ................................................................................. 7 Mini-Build-Nights ....................................................................................... 8 Big Build-Night .......................................................................................... 8 Final Build-Night ........................................................................................ 8 Staying on Schedule ................................................................................. 8 Scare Camp ........................................................................................................... 9 Scare Camp Outline .................................................................................. 9 Haunted House Build Deadline .............................................................................. 9 Duration of the Official Haunted House Event ..................................................... 10 Clean-up Procedure ............................................................................................. 10

BHA Member Responsibilities........................................................................................... 11 Advertisements .................................................................................................... 11 Gathering Members ................................................................................ 11 Notifications ............................................................................................. 11 Official Haunted House Event ................................................................. 11 Haunted House Budget ........................................................................................ 12 Room Development ................................................................................ 12 Taking Inventory of Lamar Room ............................................................ 12 Other Expenses ...................................................................................... 13 Closing the Basement .......................................................................................... 13 Supervising HHC .................................................................................................. 13 Build-Nights ............................................................................................. 13

Updated Lists ....................................................................................................... 14 Official Contact List ................................................................................. 14 Future Scare Camp Volunteers List ........................................................ 15 Official Actor List ..................................................................................... 15 Fulfilling RS Requests for Materials ..................................................................... 16

Creating Haunted House Rooms ...................................................................................... 17 Room .................................................................................................................... 17 Choosing a Theme.................................................................................. 17 2013 Room Examples ............................................................................. 17 Floor-plan ................................................................................................ 20 Materials ............................................................................................................... 21 Lighting ................................................................................................................. 22 Traditional Lighting .................................................................................. 22 Strobe Lighting ........................................................................................ 22

HHC Member Responsibilities .......................................................................................... 23 Builders ................................................................................................................ 23 Tour Guides ......................................................................................................... 23 Doorman .............................................................................................................. 24 Actors ................................................................................................................... 25 Character Background ............................................................................ 25 Dialogue .................................................................................................. 25 Costumes ................................................................................................ 25 Makeup Artists ..................................................................................................... 25 Water-boys ........................................................................................................... 27

Codes of Conduct and Safety ........................................................................................... 29 Safe Word ............................................................................................................ 29 Purpose of Safe Word............................................................................. 29 Expectations of Walkers ......................................................................... 29 Damage to Rooms .................................................................................. 30 Phobias ................................................................................................................ 30 Photosensitive Epilepsy ....................................................................................... 30

Index ................................................................................................................................. 32

H A U N T E D

H O U S E

M A N U A L

Chapter

Introduction
Importance of Bruce Halls Haunted House

ruce Halls Haunted House (HH) is a largely anticipated event that has been held every October, just before Halloween, for generations. Although the exact year of the first HH is unknown, HHs have been held by Bruce Hall for almost four decades.

Bruce Hall is well known for being haunted by several ghosts. This fact makes the HH more authentic in comparison to other halls of UNT. Subsequently, the HH sometimes offers its audience a chance to donate cans of food to a good cause. Each can of food is treated as a fast-pass when waiting in line. The event is also important because of the audience it attracts. During 2013s HH, 1300 individuals attended within the three days it was held; each day averaged between 300 and 600 individuals each night.

Purpose of Manual
When used correctly, this manual helps HHC and BHA members design and host better HHs. Since the event is carried out primarily by Bruce Halls freshman and sophomore residents. This manual can be a resource for new members of BHA and HHC. HHC and BHA can use this manual as a guidebook for future HHs. This manual should be reviewed by all new BHA members before developing HH because it includes past examples and techniques that could be replicated or adapted to aspects in future HHs.
The purpose of this manual is to provide a resource for future generations of HHC and BHA. This manual intends to make the process of building and running the infrastructure of the HH more efficient and less stressful so that each HH will have the highest potential for success.

Unfortunately, this manual cannot list new ideas for costumes, rooms, and acting skills. These aspects of the HH must be original to each generation of HHC and BHA members. Without the originality and creativity that is brought through the new members of each years HH, the event will lose its uniqueness. However, this manual does give examples from past years that might spark some creativity for the future.

Frequently Used Terms

A Actor B BHA
BHAM BN
an individual who acts within the rooms of HH

Bruce Hall Association BHA member who purchases the materials for HH Build-Night

F Floater H HH
HHC HHB

a person not bound to an RS who participates in the BNs by helping multiple RSs

Haunted House Haunted House Committee Haunted House Budget; the total budget HH

P Plant

an individual who is placed within a group of walkers and functions as an actor for a surprising effect

O OHHE R Room
RS

official HH event; this is when the actual HH as an event occurs

an area dedicated to a specific theme of decoration and setting Room Subcommittee; a group of designated HHC members who design and build a specific room during BNs

T Tour Guide W Walker

a person who leads a group of walkers through the HH (see page xx)

an individual who walks through the haunted house and has no affiliation with the development, creation, and production of the HH

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Official Haunted House Calendar
Creation of Haunted House Official Calendar
Requirements

Chapter

The HH official calendar is created and determined by BHA. The HH calendar is important because it gives HHC and BHA a clear picture of how events align with each other within the HH process. When making the calendar, BHA must remember to label all dates for scheduled HHC meetings, BNs, Scare Camp, HH deadline, and the OHHE dates. Other HH dates should include the date for closing the basement and the Final BN. The requirements of each event are described throughout this chapter.

Listed below are the requirements for each of the major HH events. On the next page, the calendar of 2013 HH is shown as an example in figure 2.1. All green cells of the calendar are considered BNs. HHC MEETINGS Three of these meetings should occur before October 7th. The four HHC meetings should be held between September 25th and October 9th. See page 5. CLOSING THE BASEMENT October 7th. BHA must officially close the basement by

BUILD-NIGHTS BNs should occur at least three times each week. Schedule BNs for 7 11pm. Label on the calendar which BHA members will be supervising each BN. BUILD DEADLINE The deadline should occur one week before the OHHE.

SCARE CAMP Scare Camp can be coupled with a BN because its duration is less than two hours. It should be held at least one week prior to the OHHE. BIG BUILD-NIGHT before the OHHE. Big BN should be scheduled one and a half weeks

OHHE The OHHE is usually held for two or three days. In the HH of 2013, the event was held for three days: October 28th, 29th, and 30th. The OHHE is held from 7pm until 12am each night.

Figure 2.1: Haunted House Official Calendar

Overall Duration of Haunted House

Generally, the HH process will begin during the last week of September and will last until the first week of November. This event requires a lot of time because of delays that occur during the process. More time planned for the development of HH reduces pressure on the HHC and BHA.

Closing the Basement

Bruce Halls HH is located in the basement of Bruce Hall. The basement has 12 practice rooms that are regularly used by Bruce Hall residents and music majors. The basement must be closed in preparation of the HH, so these rooms will become unavailable to the public throughout October. See page 13 for more information about the procedure for closing the basement.

HHC Meetings
HHC meetings offer a specific time for BHA and HHC to develop the general ideas of HH. BHA must host four of these required HHC meetings. General HHC meetings, other than the required four, are not required because HHC concerns can be brought to BHAs attention during BNs. Listed below are the generalized plans for the first four HHC meetings. These outlines are directed toward the members of BHA because they are hosting the meetings.
Preceding Meeting 1 HHC members found that HHC meetings held at the same time every week were helpful. However, members agreed that meetings on Sundays were not practical.

1. Create HHC meeting advertisements at least one week prior to the first HHC meeting and place them within Bruce Hall. Advertisements can be placed in other residence halls with permission. See page 11 for more information about creating advertisements. 2. Ask students outside of Bruce Hall to participate. HH needs as many members as possible.
HHC Meeting 1

1. Request HHC members for their personal information for future contact. This includes name, phone number, and email. See page 14 for more information about making a contact sheet. 2. Stress the importance of HHC meetings and the commitment that is required for HH. 3. Prompt HHC members to think about potential rooms ideas. HHC must bring these ideas to the next meeting. 4. Ask the HHC members to recruit more members before the next HHC meeting. HH needs many builders, actors, makeup artists, and tour guides.
HHC Meeting 2

1. Finalize the official contact list of HHC members and keep it updated from this day forward 2. HHC members openly discuss the designs and themes for the rooms with BHA. 3. Work with HHC to generate a general floor-plan similar to the one shown in figure 2.2. See page 17 when considering room layouts and themes. 4. Explain that, during the next meeting, HHC members will divide themselves into room subcommittees (RS).

Figure 2.2: Example of 2013 HH Floor-Plan.

HHC Meeting 3

1. Re-announce the room names so HHC members can divide themselves in RSs. Ensure that each RS has at least three members before the meeting progresses. 2. Have external group members, such as tour guides and makeup artists, form separately from the RSs.

NOTE: The members of external groups may still be floaters within

various RSs, but it is their responsibility to keep in contact with their main group.

3. Have each RS brainstorm ideas and layouts for the rooms. See page 20 for examples.

NOTE: These thematic ideas do not have to be finalized during this

meeting. 4. Have each RS provide a list of materials they will need to use in their room. See page 21 for an example material list. 5. Show the RSs the basement so that they can begin planning the perimeters of each room. Use duct-tape to label the placement of the walls and doorways on the floor. 6. Encourage RSs to update their material lists continuously by contacting BHA members or the BHAM specifically.

Preceding Meeting 4

1. Take inventory of the items in the HH closet of the Lamar Room. 2. Designate a BHAM to buy supplies and materials, within reason, that were requested by the RSs. Please see page 16 for more information about BHA responsibilities when buying materials.
HHC Meeting 4 (Combined with Build-Night)

1. Informally evaluate how each RS is working within their groups.

Problems may include: members not attending BNs or other essential

meetings, being rude to other members, or unwillingness to cooperate. 2. Proceed with RSs to the Lamar Room and show RSs the available HH materials. 3. Have RSs bring materials from the Lamar Room to the basement. Only bring materials that will be used in the HH rooms to reduce clutter in the basement. 4. In the basement, RSs should build the walls of each room with tarps, zip-ties, and duct tape. Use the beams and piping for support. 5. RSs should begin working on settings their rooms during the rest of the BN.

Build-Nights
Regular Build-Nights

BNs are designated times for building the rooms of HH. BHA should schedule at least three build nights each week after the HHC Meeting 3. BHA schedules BNs at least one week in advance, but the dates and times may be changed or shortened with short notice.

For instance, if only a few RSs worked during a BN and each RS finished early, the BN would end earlier than planned. Similarly, if many RSs are present and each are working diligently then a BHA member should extend the BN by a reasonable amount of time. At least one BHA member must be present during all BNs and any time that the basement is not locked. This ensures that that the BN is properly supervised. For more information about BHA responsibilities during BNs, see page 13.

Schedule each BN to have at least two BHA members in case the BHA member must leave due to an unforeseen circumstance.

Mini-Build-Nights

Mini-BNs are informal times that RS members can work on their rooms. These are planned aside from the regular BNs. RS members may request a mini-BN if they are behind in their building process. Traditionally, mini-BNs will not be announced to HHC, so RS members need to be aware of the pre-scheduled build times. To request a mini-BN, an RS member must address a BHA member. The RS member must give BHA at least one days notice. Similarly to a regular BN, at least one BHA member must supervise the event by being present in the basement at all times. Additionally, a BHA member has the right to cancel or end a mini-BN early without consulting BHA as a group.
Big Build-Night

The Big BN is an event that BHA requires all RSs to attend. During this event, a majority of the rooms should already be pre-built or in the process of being finished. The rooms during the Big BN do not need to be finished by the RS at this time. However, the progress of each room must be significant. In order to keep the HH in line with the deadline, BHA members will assess the progress of all the rooms during this event. The rooms should roughly 80 percent finished after the Big BN.
Final Build-Night

The Final BN is intended for the finishing touches for the rooms of HH. This is an unscheduled event, but occurs the day before the OHHE.
Staying on Schedule

Although RS members cannot always be present during these build times, each RS must ensure that their room will be finished by the Final BN. BHA does not require RS members to attend every BN because RSs are often unable to work during specific BNs due to lack of supplies. However, RSs are responsible for asking for the materials they need, checking in with BHA members, and staying in contact with their group members.

RSs must stay in contact. Miscommunication between RS members can cause confusion and delays in the overall process.

If a room is not progressing as scheduled, BHA has the right to take control of the room and reassign the RS with new members. A situation such as this is unlikely to occur if BHA properly supervises RS progress and if each RS properly communicates with the BHA members. To ensure a room progresses as scheduled, each RS member must stay in contact with each other. This means that the RS may need to schedule informal meetings or contact each other via social media or telecommunication. In any case, an RS must continue discussing and working on their room until it is finished.

Scare Camp
Scare Camp is an event hosted by BHA and HH alumni who have participated in at least one previous HH event as an actor. The purpose of Scare Camp is to help new actors develop their characters and practice their acting skills before the event.
Although HHC and BHA members are not required to attend; all actors, tour guides, plants, and RS members should attend.

This mini-event gives HHC members an opportunity to provide a safe environment for constructive criticism and supportive feedback before OHHE. Some actors need more time to modify their characters than others, so Scare Camp should be scheduled before the OHHE.

Scare Camp can be coupled with a BN because it requires less than two hours. Given below is an outline of the Scare Camp for 2013.
Scare Camp Outline

1. HH alumni introduce themselves and begin the meeting with some ice-breaker activities that will get everyone familiar with each other. 2. Have the actors form a circle so the predetermined acting exercises can begin. 3. Ask all actors to take a moment to develop a back-story for their character. 4. Ask volunteers to show the characters that they have developed so far.

NOTE: During an actors performance, ensure that everyone in Scare

Camp feels that they are in a safe environment. If an actor provokes another person, being that the performance is too scary or offensive, then BHA and HH alumni need to take control of the situation immediately.

5. HH alumni must present example characters that from the past. Make sure to act as dramatically as possible. 6. End the event with games and other fun activities to relieve tension and stress from HH, and then proceed to the scheduled BN.

Haunted House Build Deadline

The HH build deadline helps RS members plan for their BNs. The deadline is a guideline for when the rooms should be finished before the OHHE. It is the job of BHA to enforce this deadline so that RS members do not delay the developing process. See page 13 for more information about the scheduling of the HH build deadline.

Duration of the Official Haunted House Event

The OHHE is usually held for two or three days. In the HH of 2013, the event was held for three days: October 28th, 29th, and 30th. On these nights, people visited the HH from on and off campus. Each OHHE night is held from 7pm until 12am, and this time is divided into four parts: Makeup, Shift 1, Dinner, and Shift 2. 6:00PM MAKEUP
Actors, tour guides, and doorman arrive in laundry rooms for makeup. RSs check rooms for fallen props or weak elements in rooms.

6:50PM

All actors go to rooms and prepare for Shift 1. Doorman heads to the back door of Bruce and prepares to let walkers in. Designated BHA members go to lobby and tend to the line that heads to the basement. Water-boys return to the laundry room to prepare refreshments for walkers in the anti-scare room.

PREP FOR SHIFT 1

7:00PM

SHIFT 1

Actors remain in their rooms. Tour guides sit in their designated area and prepare for guide walkers Doorman lets groups of walkers in from the back door.

9:00PM

DINNER

BHA has pizza waiting for the HHC members of Shift 1 and Shift 2. Makeup for Shift 2 is reapplied on new actors or actors who need touchups.

9:20PM

PREP FOR SHIFT 1

All actors go to rooms and prepare for Shift 1. Doorman heads to the back door of Bruce and prepares to let walkers in. Designated BHA members go to lobby and tend to the line that heads to the basement. Water-boys return to the laundry room to prepare refreshments for walkers in the anti-scare room.

9:30PM

Actors remain in their rooms. Tour guides sit in their designated area and prepare for guide walkers Doorman lets groups of walkers in from the back door.

SHIFT 2

11:30PM

Actors reset props and elements from the room. Line for HH disperses.

END OF OHHE

Clean-up Procedure
The Clean-up Procedure occurs the weekend following the OHHE, but before November 7th. This entails that all HHC and BHA members dismantle the rooms for HH and proceed to take down the elements of HH, such as posters used to advertise the HH.

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3
BHA Member Responsibilities
Advertisements
Gathering Members

Chapter

Shown below is a list of the advertisements, and their descriptions, that must be made.

HHC MEETINGS (1-4) Advertise in residence halls, particularly in high traffic areas. Make sure to include the time and place on the advertisements. Meetings should be held in the Bruce Halls Concert Hall. The meetings and times should also be posted on the BHA Facebook page for a broader audience. GENERAL VOLUNTEERS Advertise for actors, makeup artists, tour guides, doormen, water-boys, and builders. Begin posting these posters at least one week before the first HHC Meeting and continue throughout the HH process. Requests for new members can be posted on the BHA Facebook page for a broader audience.
Notifications

CLOSING THE BASEMENT BHA must notify those who use the practice rooms by putting various signs around Bruce Hall at least four days before it closes. The basement must be closed by October 7th. An example sign is shown in figure 3.1. BHA should place a sign regarding the closing of the basement in the following high traffic areas: Bruce Hall front desk Basement door B100 Bulletin-board (located just outside of B100 wing)

Official Haunted House Event

The OHHE should be advertised all around campus. BHA should put signs in residence halls and create picket-posters that can be placed along the sidewalks on campus. The posters should be placed at least two weeks before the OHHE. Make sure to include all the days and times of the OHHE. The OHHE should be posted on the BHA Facebook page for a broader audience.

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Figure 3.1: Example of 2013 Notification Sign.

Haunted House Budget

Every year, BHA must ask UNT for permission to hold the HH. When asking for permission, BHA must also request a certain amount of money to be used toward HH. This budget is usually $2000 and all unused or leftover funds are given back to the university. The budget allows for the following purchases.
Room Development

About $1000 is designated toward the development of the rooms in HH. This includes building materials and some costumes. With around seven to ten rooms in HH, each room receives an average of $100 to spend on supplies. Each sub-budget given to RSs is determined by BHA and the general size of the room. Simply, more intensive rooms receive larger budgets than smaller rooms. However, the total budget for all the rooms remains unchanged at $1000.
Taking Inventory of Lamar Room

In order to cut unnecessary costs, HHC and BHA members save usable materials in the HH closet of the Lamar Room of Bruce Hall. It is BHAs responsibility to take inventory of the HH closet and take inventory. Although this is primarily BHAs responsibility, some HHC members may help in this process.

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Other Expenses

About $1000 is designated toward other expenses of the HH. During the OHHE, BHA is required to purchase amenities for the HHC members who are working. Required purchases: o o o o o Bottled Water Gatorade Pizza, intended for the Dinner of OHHE Cough drops, for the actors to preserve their voices Makeup for actors

Closing the Basement

The basement must be closed before HHC Meeting 3 in order to prevent delays in the HH process. See page 6 for information about HHC Meeting 3. In preparation of closing off the practice rooms, a BHA supervisor must request that a lock be put on the basement door. This door must be locked when the basement is not in use by the HHC or BHA. Expect that some residents will not respect this part of the process. Some individuals will try to use the practice rooms without permission and others will attempt to sneak into the basement to view the progress of the HH. Only HHC and BHA are allowed in the basement. Do not let anyone who is not an official HHC or BHA member into the basement. This puts the HH at risk of theft of materials and destruction of rooms.

Supervising HHC
Build-Nights

BHA schedules all build nights for 7 11pm. These meetings should be scheduled at least every one to four days. BHA responsibilities during the BNs are listed below: A single BHA member must be in charge of the basement key during each BN. This prevents the key from being lost, stolen, or misused. Only BHA members should be in possession of the key.

Exception: if a single BHA member is supervising a BN and must leave

due to unforeseen circumstances, at least two BHA members must consolidate before temporarily giving the key to a trusted HHC member. The key can never be in possession by anyone who is not an official and trusted HHC member. If a room is not progressing as scheduled, BHA has the right to take control of the room and reassign the RS with new members.

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Updated Lists
Official Contact List

Always keep the contact list updated. It is the responsibility of a designated BHA member to keep the contact list updated. At the start of each HHC Meeting, said BHA member must request new members to fill out a contact form similar to the one provided in figure 3.2. As shown in table 3.1, HHC members can function under multiple positions, and the status of these positions needs to be updated regularly.

Table 3.1: BHA Official Contact List

Name
Sarah Hunt Savannah Baman Alex Touch Paula LaCoeur Michael Travis David Rosa Michele Pidman

Email
sarahhunt@yahoo.com sns1996@gmail.com x_box76@yahoo.com paulalacoeur@gmail.com (I dont check email) david.pink@ymail.com michele1_el@aol.com

Phone Number
(xxx) xxx xxxx (xxx) xxx xxxx (no phone) (xxx) xxx xxxx (xxx) xxx xxxx (xxx) xxx xxxx (xxx) xxx xxxx

Primary Room Name

Zombie Rm Feral + Bug Rm Feral Rm Wandas Rm Asylum Unsure None

Position
Actr, Bld Bld, Actr, Mkup Bld, TGuide Actr, Mkup Actr, Floater Actr Mkup

BHA may create an HHC Facebook group and an official HH calendar for BNs and HHC meetings. These Facebook events and groups must be up to date in order for them to be helpful for HHC members.

Some HHC members found that contacting a BHA member directly through telecommunications was helpful. BHA members should discuss and agree on a way to be personally reached by HHC members. If a BHA member is uncomfortable with giving out a personal form of communication, then the member has the right to revoke HHC rights to it. Acceptable reasons for communication between HHC and BHA members are shown below. RS questions if supplies have been purchased by BHAM. RS questions when a material will be purchased and when it will be available for the RS to use during the BN.

HHC considered Facebook to be less reliable in comparison to texting, calling, or emailing members individually.

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HHC member is unsure of the next BN or if the BN has been cancelled. However, BHA is expected to make a mass notification if this occurs. RS member asks for advice regarding aspects of the room. The BHA member might not be able to answer all questions. It is the RS responsibility to design and build the room.

Future Scare Camp Volunteers List

BHA should keep a list of HH actors to host future Scare Camps. This list should be saved for at least one year. Use the BHA Dropbox account to save this information electronically.
Official Actor List

The official actor list is the list that is used to show who will be working during each shift of the OHHE. The name is misleading because actors are not the only positions that are required to run the HH. The HH requires many extraneous positions such as water-boy, doorman, and safety supervisor. The official actor list for the OHHE must always be up to date. Changes will occur, and if they are not added to the list, then miscommunication will result. To keep the official actor list up to date, a designated BHA member should pass the list around during the last week of BNs and use email updates to reach HHC members who do not attend the BNs. Use the official actor list example shown in table 3.2. See Chapter 5 for information about how many members are required for each HH position.

Table 3.2: Example of Official Actor List

Official Haunted House Event SHIFT 1 (7:00 9:00pm) Name
Savannah Baman Alex Touch Thoms Poulin Michael Travis David Rosa Michele Pidman

Room Name
Feral Feral Rm None Asylum None None

Position
Actr TGuide Doorman Actr Waterboy Mkup

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Fulfilling RS Requests for Materials

For each HH, a BHAM purchases for the HH. BHA decides who will be the best candidate to be the BHAM. For example, some BHA members do not have a form of transportation, so they would not be the best candidate for the position. BHAM should not buy costumes for actors. BHAM also cannot reimburse HHC members for items they have purchased with their own funds. HHB does not allow for any reimbursements of any kind, so it is strongly urged that materials needed for the rooms be written on material lists and given to BHAM. BHA members should refrain from buying supplies that are too specific for rooms. RS ideas are often modified before an RS member can notify the BHAM. RSs might also ask for an impractical material. The 2013 HH Flashback, shown below, is a real scenario in which an unnecessary material could be substituted for something more practical in order to save costs.

2013 HH Flashback For the RS of a Childrens Room, a large quantity of brown butcher paper was requested to spread around the perimeter of the room for a wall-paneling effect. The RS specifically asked for 75ft of this paper after already using 30ft. Because the butcher paper cannot be used for future HHs and is very costly, the BHAM did not purchase the material. Instead, the BHA member informed the group that a leftover brown tarp could be used instead. Although the weight of the tarp was an issue at first, the RS was able to make the tarp work just as well.

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4
Creating Haunted House Rooms
Room
Choosing a Theme

Chapter

RS should generate themes and general descriptions that are not too vague. Scary Dead Room is not an acceptable description for a room; however, Zombie Room is a much better description. HHC should brainstorm themes during HHC Meeting 2, see page 5.

Wanda, a ghost of Bruce Hall, is incorporated into one of the rooms of HH.

When choosing themes for the rooms, HHC should choose the themes that are creepy and scary. However, themes should never include offensive topics, such as abortion or rape. Creating descriptions for the themes is easier than reducing all of the ideas into a theme. HHC members must narrow down the ideas so that the room is organized. For instance, one should not put a zombie in a nursery with a butchers knife. To accommodate, HHC should designate the items to their own room: Zombie Room, Childs Play, and Hells Kitchen. BHA members should help the RS spark ideas. HHC members will benefit from coming up with as many ideas as possible during this meeting.
2013 Room Examples
SPLIT ROOM: Two smaller rooms; Choose Your Horror option before entering the HH G RAVEYARD SHIFT: Zombies, coffins, gravestones, strobe lights, relatively dark CREEPY CRAWLERS: Toy bugs, spiders, cobwebs, foam mattress to make the floor squishy WEEPING ANGELS (DR. WHO) Three weeping angels, Tardis, The Doctor, strobe lights, leaves and twigs, vines FEAR OF THE DARK (DARK ROOM) Lightless tunnel consisted of black trash bags and hanging fishing line WANDAS ROOM Wanda killing her baby, strobe lights, hanging lantern, drapes FERAL ROOM Dirty crying children, broken baby toys, static TV, alphabet floor spell words ASYLUM (BRIGHT ROOM) Brightly lit mental institution, patients foaming at the mouth, breakdown room, electro-therapy, nurses, a patient with cut smile, a schizophrenic, utilized an official HH Plant MEAT LOCKER Hanging limbs, chains, butcher with hook, ice box for bodies, severed body on table, butcher chases walkers

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Figure 4.1: 2013 Graveyard

Figure 4.2: 2013 Creepy Crawlers

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Figure 4.4: 2013 Wandas Room

Figure 4.3: 2013 Weeping Angels

Figure 4.5: 2013 Feral Room

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Figure 4.6: 2013 Meat Locker

Floor-plan

When creating a floor-plan, HHC members must consider the space of the basement. Each room will measure to an average of 15ft by 10ft. Typically, BHA and HHC decide on having between seven and ten rooms total. In some areas of the basement, there are boilers and machines that must be worked around to form clear paths and rooms spaces. These obstacles can become a hazard for walkers if they are not dealt with.

The walls of Wandas Room are prone to leaking when it rains. This made the room soaked with water and mold began to form. Rooms placed near this area should proceed with caution.

After creating the general floor-plan for the HH during HHC Meeting 3, RS members can plan for their space by placing duct-tape, provided by BHA, along the basement floor as guidelines for doorways and walls. Duct-tape can also be used to reference the shape of the path that will be designated to the walkers. While in the basement, RSs must agree on the specific perimeters of each room so that RSs can better visualize their rooms space in respect to neighboring rooms. Some rooms will be larger than others according to the HH floor plan, so RSs must plan accordingly. Each room size must be planned with consideration to content so that the total number of rooms is practical. In later meetings, and during future BNs, the details for each room will be checked for approval by BHA. For instance, a Dark Room will be smaller than a Zombie Room because tripping and falling in a pure dark room would be a hazard for walkers.

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2013 HH Flashback One wall of the basement leaks when it rains, and this was unknown by BHA and HHC during the 2013 HH. This led to Wandas Room being underdeveloped. During OHHE, the room was soaked with water and the room was partially taken apart. This made the rooms success very dependent on the actors performance.

Materials
RSs must generate a general list of materials that are needed for their rooms. This is only possible once the official theme of the room has been chosen by the HHC. In order to create such a list, the RS must visualize both what could and should be in their room. With these two aspects in mind, RS must identify what will be purchased with the HHB and what will be purchased by the individual members of the RS. When creating a list, RS should examine the examples of the following sample lists that are given below. To make an effective list, RS should be as descriptive as possible. The BHAM will not know the difference between a green hat and a forest green baseball cap when only having the list for reference. In the scenario below, one can easily see that more detail is always better than less. Thrift shops are useful when looking for cheap and bulky supplies. They are especially reliable for having cheap furniture and clothing. However, the quality of supplies is sometimes important. For instance, tarps are sometimes better to use for walls, instead of bed sheets. Tarps are reusable and will not tear as much over time, but they are very heavy. Although, bed sheets are much lighter, they are more expensive, flimsy, and easily torn.
Figure 4.7: Material List Examples

Good Material List

Bad Material List

3 White (non-fitted) bed sheets Wig with long blonde hair 10ft of thick, plaited rope 16, 1.5in PVC pipe with matching pipe connectors

Some white sheets Wig Rope Pipes and pipe connectors

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Lighting
Traditional Lighting

Traditional lighting is required for most rooms. Traditional light ranges from colored lights used to set the mood of the room, to lights that are used functionally to make the room less dark. Lighting is important and must be considered when designing a room. Listed below are a couple of thematic colors to use for certain rooms.
WHITE: Use white light when a natural light is necessary, such as when the lighting is supposed to represent the normal lighting within a living room. RED: Use red light when there is an emphasis on sudden death, blood, or evil. This color will wash out the scene and dull any other color. ORANGE: Orange is typically not a color that should be used by the HH. However, when used with blue, an earthy brown tone can be created for forest scenes. Orange is better to use when showing heat in a setting. YELLOW: This color emphasizes illness or impure when used in a room like setting. When used in an outdoor setting, the light means peaceful and sunny. G REEN : Green is best used as an earthy tone to represent the environment. BLUE: Blue is best used in environmental scenes. This color also represents cold temperatures. PURPLE: Purple is good to use for a soft lighting that wont take away from the scene. Purple will not washout the settings colors. BLACK LIGHT: This light is best used when the emphasis of brightly colored objects such as a white gloves or white lettering are important

If the room is supposed to be very bright, RS needs ensure that they have the light bulbs and necessary adaptors that are needed for the effect. For more information about lighting used in HH safety, see page 29.
Strobe Lighting

Strobe lights are lights that flicker, flash, or pulse a frequency of light. Most rooms must have an alternative light source, other than strobe lighting. Due to photosensitive epilepsy concerns, rooms should never have only strobe lighting. Strobe lights can cause headaches, nausea, and disorientation in certain individuals. In people with photosensitive epilepsy, seizures may occur. A TV with static is considered strobe lighting. RSs must be aware of strobe lighting because this might cause an epileptic episode in certain persons. For more information about codes for photosensitive epileptic walkers, see page 30.

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5
HHC Member Responsibilities
Builders

Chapter

Builders are the individuals of HHC who build the HH with materials from past HHs or with the materials they have requested from the BHAM. Most HHC members should help in some way during the build process. For practical reasons, builders should communicate within their RS. If a builder is not bound by an RS, then the builder is considered a floater. Floaters are unique in that they are not required to work on a single room for the HH. They primarily help give advice and tips on making each room better. Floaters are not required to attend each BN, but they should help out as much as they can during these times. From past experiences, HHC members agree that it is better to have more members during the BNs than not enough because the HH build process will often fall behind. Builders may have other positions of responsibility such as acting, makeup, water-boy, and so on because the HH is finished being built during the OHHE. However, they are not entitled to having another position during the OHHE. It is the responsibility of the builders to request the materials that are needed for each room. Sometimes the materials will not be purchased until one week after the material list has been received by the BHAM, so builders need to turn in their material lists as soon as possible. For an example material list, see page 21.

Tour Guides
Tour guides are important because they lead the walker through the HH. They function as an actor during the HH, except their character persona is independent from the rooms they walk through.
HH requires that a minimum of four tour guides be present for each shift of OHHE.

Tour guides often create contradictory personas to their HH. For instance, one tour guide can appear to be funny and condescending when speaking to the group of walkers. Another tour guide may be creepy and somewhat shocking towards their groups of walkers.

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In any case, it is the tour guides duty to keep track of their group of walkers. Sometimes a walker will drop something in the dark and the HH must be stopped. Rarely, some walkers will misbehave by interfering with the actors in a room. For more information about safety codes regarding walkers, see page 29. When guiding walkers through the rooms, a tour guide should interact with their group by talking to them. One recommendation for tour guides is to communicate with the actors before the OHHE to develop unique and unexpected scenes.

2013 HH Flashback Before a shift of OHHE, an actor of the Feral Room asked a tour guide to create a specific scene to scare the group of walkers. In the scene, the tour guide would begin yelling at the children, and one child would begin crying because she was scared. The tour guide would then react by dragging the child by her pig-tail into the next room while she screamed and kicked. According to responses from groups of walkers, this planned event was very shocking and unexpected.

Doorman
The doorman is the individual who mans the door.
Each OHHE shift requires As a group of walkers enters the HH, the door man one doorman be present. will bang a trashcan lid with a stick. This serves three main functions. The loud noise signals that a group of walkers is entering the HH, how many walkers are in the group, and how easily scared the group is. Coincidentally, the banging on the lid is meant to make the walkers initially scared by the sudden loud noise to set the mood for entering the HH.

If a group of five walkers enters the HH and they are easily scared, then the doorman will quickly bang on the lid five times. If a group of four walkers enters the house and they are not easily scared, the door man will bang on the lid four times in a slow manner.

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Actors
Actors are vital for the success for the HH because they bring life to rooms they are in. Actors should begin practicing their characters at least four days before Scare Camp. Actors are required to attend Scare Camp and must present their characters progress before OHHE. This ensures that their characters are not too offensive or underdeveloped before OHHE. During the shifts of OHHE, actors are not allowed to leave their rooms unless they have an emergency. Each OHHE shift has an unscheduled five to ten minute break where actors can leave their rooms if they wish. A full description on safety is located on 29.
Character Background The total number of actors that are required for HH is dependent on the number of rooms and the number of actors that are required for each room. Always check the official actors list to ensure that there are enough actors for each OHHE shift.

To create effective characters, an actor should determine the room that they will be working in. From there, a background for the character should be made in as much depth as necessary. Although most characters can be developed this way, some characters such as zombies cannot be developed as easily.
Dialogue

When developing a background, note that monologues, long dialogue, and significant character depth is difficult to portray when acting in the room because the walkers will pass through a room in between three and ten seconds. Dialogue for characters should not exceed 15 seconds.
Costumes

Actors are responsible for their own costumes. They must create their own costumes by either purchasing from thrift stores or using old clothes. BHAM will not supply costumes unless the RS has decided to put money towards specific elements of costumes. BHAM will not reimburse money spent by actors to buy costumes.

Makeup Artists
Makeup artists do the makeup for the actors, so they must arrive one hour before the beginning of each At least two makeup artists OHHE shift. Makeup artists are not required to have must be present for each other positions during OHHE. Makeup artists have OHHE shift. creative freedom when designing character makeup styles. During 2013 HH, makeup artists used liquid latex and tissues to make skin look rotten for zombies. Figures 5.1 5.3 show different shading techniques used during the HH of 2013.

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Figure 5.1: Zombies

Figure 5.2: Children

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Figure 5.3: Clown

Water-boys
Water-boys are individuals who give refreshments to the walkers after the HH. They also tend to the needs of the actors by passing out cough drops and water bottles during the OHHE shifts. Actors often rely on these individuals because they are not allowed to leave their rooms during the OHHE shifts.
On average, two waterboys should be present during each shift.

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6
Codes of Conduct and Safety
Safe Word
Purpose of Safe Word

Chapter

The safe word is used when HHC members feel threatened in a situation. The safe word ensures that the HH will pause or stop if people in the HH feel threatened.

Choose a word that is easy to remember and difficult to misunderstand.

The safe word must be responded to immediately by turning on the basement lights. Although not required, a designated HHC member should be in control of this responsibility. When left to no specific individual, the response time to the safe word is too slow to be effective. The safe word for the past two HHs has been Ollie-Ollie-Oxen-Free. To use the safe word, an HHC member, being that they are an actor or tour guide, must yell the safe word allowed. Any HHC members, who hear the safe word, must also yell the safe word until the basement lights come on. If the individual who provoked the safe word to be used is incompliant, the police will be called by a BHA member and the individual will be removed from the HH. Similarly, if the individual attempts to return to the HH, BHA members will not allow the individual to enter.
Expectations of Walkers

Listed below are sample conditions in which the safe word should be used. Walkers need to be controlled when entering and exiting a room. If a group of walkers is uncontrollable when moving through a room, in which actors or tour guides feel threatened, the safe word must be used. Walkers are not allowed to verbally threaten any actor. Actors have the right to use the safe word if they feel threatened by a walker. Walkers are not allowed to come in contact with any actor, tour guide, or other HHC members while in the HH for any reason. This rule will only be waived if the HHC member who was touched feels unthreatened. In such instances, a walker will have accidentally brushed, touched, or bumped into an HHC

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member. Any violent act or violent behavior will be treated as a threat and the safe word must be used. Walkers will often lose items within the HH. If the item causes the walker to stop and look for the item, the safe word should be used. When the lights turn on, the walker may continue to search for the item. Once the item is found, the HH should resume once the lights turn off again. Deliberately destroying any aspect of the HH is prohibited. If a walker appears to be doing so, the safe word must be used in order to preserve the HH.

Damage to Rooms

Walkers might walk clumsily or accidentally damage certain aspects of a room due to their fear within previous rooms. If the problem can be easily fixed, the actors should attend to the problem before the next group of walkers enters the HH. If the damage is significant, and cannot be fixed without assistance, the safe word should be used.

Phobias
Some people have phobias that need to be considered when creating the HH. Although the HH is meant to No clowns! be scary, the HH is supposed to be a safe environment and the health of walkers is important. For instance, if clowns are used within the HH, the doorman must shout no clowns. Any clowns within the area must then hide behind room walls or be covered so that they are in no way visible to the group of walkers.

Photosensitive Epilepsy
Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy in which an individual may experience an epileptic episode due to exposure to frequencies of flickering lights.
Strobes off!

Strobe lights flicker, flash, and pulse a frequencies of light that can cause an epileptic episode. Strobe lights must be turned off if an epileptic person enters the house. To signal that an epileptic person will enter the HH, the doorman must yell Strobes off! During the next 30 seconds, actors must turn off any strobe lights within their room. If the actor does not turn off the strobes within the 30 seconds, or has difficulties preparing for the code, the safe word should be used.

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31

Index
Actor
character background, 25 costumes, 25 definition, 2 description, 25 dialogue, 25

Floor-plan
creation, 20 example, 6

HH
definition, 2 duration of process, 4

Advertisements, 11 BHA
definition, 2

HHB
definition, 2 description, 12

BHA Member Responsibilities, 11 BHAM

definition, 2 fulfilling requests, 16

HHC
definition, 2

HHC Meeting
description, 4 meeting 1, 5 meeting 2, 5 meeting 3, 6 meeting 4, 7 preceding meeting 1, 5 preceding meeting 4, 7

BN
bha responsibilities, 13 big bn, 8 definition, 2 description, 7 final bn, 8 mini-bn, 8 staying on schedule, 8

HHC Member Responsibilities, 23 Lamar Room

taking inventory, 12

Build Deadline
purpose, 9

Lighting, 22
strobe safety, 30 traditional lighting, 22

Builder
decription, 23

Calendar
example, 4 official hh calendar, 3 requirements, 3

Makeup Artist
description, 25 examples, 26

Material List
bham, 16 example, 21

Cffcial Contact List

purpose, 14

Clean-up Procedure, 10 Closing the Basement

example sign, 12 preparation, 13 purpose, 4

Materials
describing items, 21 finding materials, 21

Official Actor List

example, 15 purpose, 15

Doorman, 24 Floater
definition, 2

Official Contact List

example, 14

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OHHE
definition, 2 shifts, 10

Scare Camp
description, 9 future scare camp, 15 outline, 9

Plant
definition, 2

Strobe-Lighting
description, 22

Room
choosing theme, 17 definition, 2 examples, 17

Tour Guide
definition, 2 description, 23

Safe Word
actor safety, 29 damage to room, 30 expectation of walkers, 29 phobias, 30 procedure, 29 strobe-lights, 30

Walker
definition, 2 expectations, 29

Water-boys
description, 27

33