Black Maze...

[Spookyfinder]

Hey guys,

I am needing help with a dark or black maze. Any info you guys can give me about design, scares, effects, etc. etc. would be awesome. This is turning out to be our HARDEST maze to create!!!

Any help would be great! Thanks. -Tyler

[Raycliff Manor]

Believe it or not, something that has worked for us in a pitch black room is to hang pool noodles. Put a rop through the noodles and through a washer at the bottom of the noodle to hold it in place. As long as it is pitch black it freaks people out when they touch the noodle, it swings away from them and then swings back to hit them again. Also, loud heartbeat sounds and whisper voices are effective in a black-out area. You can also use a drop panel in a black-out area and have a light go on for a moment revealing a creepy creature and then off as the drop panel is slammed shut. You can also hang different textures on the walls for people feeling their way through the dark to touch. In the dark a lot of things are effective that otherwise wouldn't be! Even an old piece of shag carpet when felt in the dark can freak people out!

Kel

[Spookyfinder]

THANK YOU!!! I never thought of using a pool noodle, how clever! Ok, so here are the ideas we have:

-Hanging/wade material: Pool Noodles (thanks Kel), Fishing line, and just torn fabris
-Noises and sound
-Textures on walls: fishing worms, fabrics/carpets, vasaline/KY, etc.
-Floor effects: "crunchy" matter on floor, ramps, etc.
-Effects: Drop panel w/light (thanks Kel), blinder light, bubble wrap room, loud noise/buzzers, smells, air blasts/"machine gun" blasts, train horn, sirens, etc.


Again, any more ideas would be awesome! Thanks so much! -Tyler

[gadget-evilusions]

That's sounds cool and all, but what about some actors?

[Spookyfinder]

Well, duh! That's kind of a given... lol... there's no way I wouldn't put actors in this! hahaha... -Tyler

[drfrightner]

Here is a tip... put your black maze at the end or near the end and not the begining because when you do the guests bottle neck up and it really creates problems it did at the Darkness. If you don't have a massive attendance well its okay but on those busy nights watch out.

There are all sorts of tricks you can use as well like pump fog in there and put a bright green light in there for example it will turn all the fog green, so in other words a black mazes doesn't have to be black if you get what i'm saying.

The point of a black maze is you can't see in front of your hand, and well you can accomplish that in a variety of ways not just in complete darkness.

Larry

[Spookyfinder]

Well, the black maze is it's own attraction, one of three! Thanks for the advice, I like the idea of "contrasting" the maze... like you said, just have to be "pitch black" to not be able to see. Thanks! -Tyler

[Haunting Copy]

so here are the ideas we have:

-Hanging/wade material: Pool Noodles (thanks Kel), Fishing line, and just torn fabris
vasaline/KY, etc.

-Tyler

Tyler, I don't know how happy a customer would be after running his or her hands through Vaseline. It's a pain in the butt to get off. KY would be *much* better.

Okay, leave the jokes alone, guys. :roll:

Sarah

[GothycDesigns]

Exnay on any lube used on the walls. You also would not want the guest to rub their eyes or face if used. Go for basic things like a piece of shag carpet for the texture. We had thought, and if time permitting for dry time. To mix a little silicone
such as GI-1000 or skin flex and put thin layers brushed ontop the walls. As they run their hands from a dry panel, then they feel this next odd silicone texture. We never got around to doing it, for the owner of the haunt, which liked the idea. took too much time to think on it and we missed our application time. So we never out it on.

As for Actors...Our haunt does not allow any actors in the Dark mazes. 1. You don't want someone reporting a groping/fondleing of the guests. Although I have been a main character myself and have gone into dark mazes with guests in the past. Its just not a safe mix. you get into too many who said what. And being dark no one could really ID the culprit. 2. If a actor is going to be going through them. Be a designated person as a monitor and not allow multiple actors. Reserve this for a seasoned and responsible player. I usually got the the dark maze entry, listened for anyone, and if nothing sounded like echo or hands on the walls, I went thru. you could always be a element of surprise as the guests enter. They feel thru the curtains and bump something just there or you beat them to the punch and bolt out at them. It can be played very well and with an actor that has great timing. Then let the guests pass and act as if to follow them, then disappear. The onto the next scare.

Fishing line is traditional and works great, but don't be too heavy with the line evenly spaced lines.

We did one year have a gross dark maze. guests went in and this was a long maze. As the got around a corner they would trigger a beam whihc wouldactivate a 1 sec. light flash and on the walls made it to look like dead something "cat" as we called it. fake fur, bloody spots. I think we had a water mister added one year, and always an air cannon is used. An air cannon in the dark maze work very well. too.

Also a different year we used the same 1 sec. light but this time made the whole hall flash of Evil Clowns. We made the look as they were climbing down off the walls, hangupside down in the corners. One was set up as an FCG which made his arms go berzerk. People screamed and needless to say, we did get a few that pee'd their pants or curled up in fetal position. We had IR cameras which we could also monitor if a bottle neck happened plus if any non authhorized actors were going in. There is so much to think about the safety of the guest wbout the dark mazes, but still need to be fun. Hope this helps.

[Spookyfinder]

Ok... so how come the vasaline/KY is such a time honored haunt "staple"... so many haunts use and I haven't heard ANY complaints about it. Also, we have nightvision cameras to put in ALL of our attractions, SO, if a complaint about a "grope" happened to come up, we have it all on tape and could review it... so that's not an issue with us. We can either prove them wrong or we can get rid of that actor and let the people deal with him/her. At the same time, we are NOT promising that you WON'T get touched, that's an impossible gaurentee!

Thanks for the help, I'm really going to use the idea of silicone texture on the walls, that's awesome! THANKS!! -Tyler

[dr0zombie]

Anyone have that layout for the 60 degree maze? We used one for a while and it was a very effective maze.

[Duke of Darkness]

There is a product that we used to use in a dark maze that was made to feel like slime, but wouldn't come of on the fingers. I think it was a silicon mix, but I can't remember what it was called. Anyone?

While I would not go so far as to not have actors in your dark maze, especially if it is attraction unto itself, I would be very selective about who can act in there. One reason is the groping issue. Camera or not, it is likely to happen -- or to be said to have happened -- and even with video evidence it is a major PR and employee hassle. Secondly, people tend to strike out at people in the dark. They feel anonymous, and think that they can get away with it. I have had more actor get kicked, punched, etc in dark areas than anywhere else.

That said, I love to work in dark areas. A couple of gags that have worked well for me...

One is to simply walk up to people and whisper in their ear. I have great night vision. Especially if blinder lights had been used, I could always see them, but they couldn't see me and they found it very disconcerting.

Another gag that was used at a haunt I worked in was to really stress to the guests that they were not to touch the monsters. They were told that if they did not touch the monsters, the monsters would not touch them. A large person was then stationed not too far inside the dark maze. He would simply stand there and wait for people to run into him. He would then yell "don't touch me!" Made people scream their heads off, though it is pushing the limits due to the above listed concerns.

Just some brain food to get your thought processes working.

Dave

[Spookyfinder]

I'm not worried about the "touching" issue... it'll happen in every house whether it's completely dark or extremely well lit. That's why we pay our lawyer what we do and have the cameras inside our haunts.

We'll have the rule like everybody else, don't touch the actors and they won't touch you... but if any of our actors are hit/kicked we have a policy for that too... that guest will be thrown out without refund and if it's serious, will have charges pressed against him/her. -Tyler

[dr0zombie]

Dave that is hilarious. We had a rules video playing while people waited in line. It gave them the don't touch rule. Then in between the rules we would flash back in our theme character reading the rules with sarcastic comments. One of these was "Dan will touch you!!! Don't say you weren't warned". People would be freaking out in line over who is Dan and why can he touch me...LOL.... when we made that list of rules we did that because Dan was the man on the 3 foot stilts with the long skeleton hands. He hit everyone with those things, if he tried or not...and with the extended arms he could reach over the maze walls and tap people and scare the hell out of them. So we worked it in... and at the end of the event if they said the guy in the giant reaper costume touched them we would say... UH, didn't you listen to the rules....

[Greg Chrise]

Maybe it is an open room but the carpet covered Squares keep moving around (because there are people in there doing the Wile E. Coyoty thing.

One I went through is very memorable as the last half of our groupd didn't make it out and were screaming for help. They were just being blocked by the actors. The first couple though did get blocked but slithered through. The customers can also become undetectable by not breathing and generally turning ninja. They get to escape. Screamers must stay.

This successful dark room was simply a tar paper shack, really black as it was in the country with no street lights. As a customer no possiblity of knowing the lay out of the room.

I have gotten annoyed with the trick where you pass the keeper of the maze and go into a room that winds in a u and are directed back a few times like you haven't found the proper way then as time is up the keeper was standing in front of the door the whole time.

I always thought the vaseline thing was just for props someone might grab. Hence no bad report as they were trying to grab something they should have left alone.