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Pumpkinrot's Haunt Theory: Static Props

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Pumpkinrot's Haunt Theory: Static Props



The following was previously written by Pumpkinrot on his own blog:

I'm a static prop haunter. I've always been one. Until my site went live back around 2003, I never even knew there was a name for what I did. If your props move or have a spring-action mechanism which activates when they're approached or if your props are powered by compressed air cylinders, you're an animatronic or pneumatic haunter. If your props are made with tiny animal bones, you're a sociopathic haunter.

As a static prop haunter, my props are motionless. So I have to try to achieve a potential for movement - an appearance that my props are in a moment of rest, or waiting. I've found that the static props that work best are the ones that look like they've just paused for a second:

Corpses that just pushed out of the ground and are now surveying their surroundings...
Witches that are staring into a steaming cauldron thinking dark twisted things...or a skeleton stretching out its hand seconds before the hand drops to the ground for leverage.
The static props that I've been most disappointed with in my display are the ones that end up looking like they're trapped in time - frozen in movement. That's a totally different animal than a moment of rest. It's like a photograph of a moving creature, rather than a creature about to pounce.
I think that's why I love scarecrows so much. They're motionless by their very nature. Hanging on their posts, waiting. And moving only when the wind blows.
Every Halloween, after I've set up the display, my father will come out and do a casual inspection of the haunt, "It's a shame you can't make these things move and put red lights in their eyes." I'm not about to explain to him that I'm a static prop haunter. He already thinks I'm a whacko.

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