Haunt Theory: Point Of View

I've often said that even if I didn't get one child trick-or-treating on Halloween night, I'd still do my yard haunt. And I would.

But since I probably don't have to worry about that happening at the current suburban location of my haunt, I started to think about an aspect of my display that I've never really spoken about - it's designed for kids. Not in the dripping dried-up organs and armless zombies sort of way, but rather in the way I build the props and display them.

During the construction process of a prop, I'll find myself lowering my point of view to the height of a child to see what they'd see. I use that technique to determine the height of my props, or the tilt of a head, or the height of a reaching arm. The Hollowmen scarecrows were placed lower on their posts so a non-adult could see more details. I didn't want trick-or-treaters looking up and seeing scarecrow nostrils. The Ghost Dead were all made with height in mind. My Witches' faces are all about the height of a child, as they crouch around their fire. I think it's more intimidating and personal that way. The trick-or-treater is face-to-face with a Witch - not just looking up at one.

Nothing too severe, just a few inches to a foot on the height of a prop, or a more drastic head-tilt or positioning on a taller prop, as if it's looking down at a child rather than straight on at an adult.

So if I lived somewhere that never saw any kid-traffic on Halloween night, I'd do the same all-out haunt. It'd just be a few inches higher.