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Haunts: 2001 Planning and Set-up: The Rise and Fall of Our DECA Haunt DECA's Proposal Very early September, I was approached by my friend and officer of DECA (a business club at my school) who wanted to organize a haunted house as a fundraiser. This meant two major things: a $1000 budget and loads of volunteers. So after a bit of talking with Victor and Shawn, we decided to volunteer to be in charge of the whole thing. While the budget and volunteers was enough to get us involved, there were several things we didn't like. For one thing, I didn't like the idea of charging people to go through the haunted house. Obviously, being a fundraiser, DECA would need to charge something, but it just took some of the charm away from the whole project. I didn't want people to miss out on this just because of cost. Then, there was the fact that I wanted to design and create the haunt myself. I create haunts so that I can bring to life a part of myself that I normally don't have the opportunity to display. I feared that if DECA was involved, this haunt would be less of a part of me, and therefore less significant and less important to me. I feared, also, that it would offer more of an impersonal work condition, as opposed to my group of close friends who had worked with me on my previous haunt. There were other problems and dislikes we had about working with DECA to create a fundraiser haunt, but in spite of all that, the promise of a $1000 budget won us over. Planning With DECA Victor, Shawn, and I started planning the haunted house; the DECA officers had given us complete creative control over the project. This haunt had to be exceptionally larger and more impressive than anything we had even attempted in the past. Since we would be charging people to enter the haunt, we wanted our guests to really feel satisfied after leaving. I know how crummy it feels to have paid several bucks to go through a haunted house to find that it consists of no more than a couple bad actors with chainsaws. (Aw, yes... guys with chainsaws. A personal pet peeve of mine.) I spent several hours thinking of effects that could be built, and then I drafted a very rough outline of what effects we planned to include, what materials we already had, what we needed, and the approximate cost of everything. Unfortunately, due to a computer crash, I do not have that original concept any more. However, the basic plan was as follows: The haunt would take place in our school gym, and it would be themed as a haunted house. The gym lobby room would be decorated as a cemetery, and the door to the main gym would be made (with a painted paper covering) to look like the outside of a house. After entering the gym, guest would find themselves traveling through several different rooms, each themed with its own effects. At last, the guests would pass through a boy's bedroom, where they would transition through the closet into a maze of black light painted walls. This area would conclude the haunt, and guests would exit at the back of the gym. Hopes Fall Apart During all of this time, DECA was working on the logistical and technical details of the haunt, such as securing the gym for our use. As this was pursued, it became rapidly more apparent that we would not be able to use the gym for our haunt. Due to volleyball practice in the gym, DECA was only able to obtain the gym during the night. This meant that all of the props, effects, and decorations would need to be taken down every night and replaced the following evening. We assessed the situation, looking at possible options and trying to find another location. After several days with no progress, Victor, Shawn, and I, along with the DECA officers, determined that it would be impossible for us to create a haunt that could be put up and taken down nightly under our budget. Thus, with great reluctance, we abandoned the project and began to look into another garage haunt.
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All original content copyright 2004 Raymond Fero |
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