Asian Horror

 Sometime in June or July, denizens of the internet start seeing posts on various platforms asking for ideas.  It's usually something super vague, like, "I need ideas for a witch theme!"

What are they really asking for?  Are they looking for prop ideas?  Scene ideas?  Theme ideas?

In my experience, people start asking about scenes and props way too early in the haunt's development.  Theme & story will tell you what props and scenes.  "Witches" is not a theme.  Not really.  you need to flesh it out a bit.

Let's say you just bought a ten-foot witch from a popular hardware store so you MUST do witches this year.  OK...

Where will this haunt be set?  It could be anywhere.  Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, Antarctica, even Krypton.  Are the witches in a forest, swamp, desert, abandoned movie theater, or...?

When does the story take place? 1000 BC? AD 1000? AD 1692? What about The Dustbowl in the 1930s? Or some other specific decade in the 20th century?

A coven deep in the Appalachian back country in 1907 will look very different from a coven operating out of Edison Studios in The Bronx at the same time.

What are the witches doing? Are they hanging out, doing their incantation thing? Are they kidnapping and eating children or making potions from their fat? Why? What will this accomplish? Are they just causing mayhem in service of Lucifer or Baphomet or are they out to harm specific people? Are they seeking revenge? Are the non-witches seeking revenge?

These elements help you find characters.  These might include the head witch / chief priestess, possibly other high ranking witches and then some lower-level witches. 

Do we see Baphomet? What about minions and familiars? Maybe they have some cool root monster henchmen, or pet werewolves. 

Do they have prisoners? How are they being victimized? Are they being kept in a cell or several cells? Are pieces of them missing or laying around the haunt? Are people looking for these victims? Do all of the victims still want to be rescued, or do they now want only death? Have they been turned to the witches' side?

These questions will drive all your character and scene decisions, which will lead you to your props.

Now you can decide what to do with that very expensive ten-foot piece of plastic.  You know how she can fit into the story.  You can make costume and decorating decisions based on what you've come up with.

For myself, one year I focused on my mad scientist.  Set in a rural part of Eastern Europe in the late 20th century, I did not have to worry much about "period" costuming.  My story involved a small town suffering from the doctor's experiments, which included the kidnapping of children and genetic experiments.  He had been driven to madness by the loss of his wife.  

I had a story that allowed me to walk people from the outskirts of town (past the haunted cornfield), past the cemetery and mausoleum, and finally into the lab.  Not terribly original, but enough to get me a Netflix original movie...  What's more important is now I did not waste time making or buying some prop just because it was cool.  I had focus.

The next haunt was set in another part of that same country years after the doctor had fled there and joined forces with a witch.  Now I had witch and mad science elements to combine and my characters and scenes flowed from that.

The next haunt was set in the witch's underground hiding place, which had a backstory that again led me to specific characters, scenes, and props.  Each haunt grew from an expansion on the previous story.  That's not necessary.  The whole thing could change every year.  It just needs to be developed from a new story.

If you are wondering what to do for your haunt, I recommend spending some time thinking about the kinds of stories that you enjoy and want to tell.  Let that inspire you to create your own story, and in turn let that inspire your creative decisions.  I think you'll find you have too many ideas, not too few.

Then, if you need to turn to the internet for help, you'll be looking for ways to accomplish your vision.  I  think you'll agree it's a much better place to work from.

Happy Halloween!