JustJimAZ

The Invisible Haunt

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A blind acquaintance of mine turned me on to a "video game with no video" - Papa Sangre:



The same group has also released The Nightjar and Papa Sangre II.

Both "video" games put the player in a scenario where they must escape using only sound. I thought it sounded like the perfect setting for a haunt!

Now, I know there have been entire haunts done in "total darkness" where the people use glowsticks or whatever to move through the haunt. What I am imagining here is a haunt where the only props could be the sounds and the walls. Maybe it is done in absolute darkness, or maybe the patrons simply wear blindfolds. In either case, as they traverse a labyrinth, they make their choices based on the sounds they hear.

Using sensors that play different sounds from different speakers depending on where the patrons are, they could take any number of paths through the labyrinth - all of which will eventually lead them out, but by making different choices, they get a different experience.

I imagine building walls of wood, plastic sheeting, and sheet foam, each textured or coated differently. I see bare plastic sheeting here, foam textured like stone there, great stuff vines (or are they veins?). Patches of fur are on some walls. Sand coats others - or slime - or spray adhesive - or water...

Discreetly hidden in the corners are the scent packs. Imagine the scent of dirt, stone, rotting...***? It all depends on which way they go. Do they move towards the weeping or towards the dripping water? Away from the bobcat scream or the chainsaw? No reason for the choices to be easy. The only reward is another set of choices, with of course, the occasional scare. What is scarier - a sudden loud roar behind them of a sudden whisper to the left?

Let's not forget to pair some sounds with all the tactile scares like ankle whips or squirts of warm water or air cannons! Really looking for elaborate? Blasts of icy air here, hot air there... maybe a mister in one section... Could copper tubing or metal pipes be filled with dry ice and actually create a wall covered with actual ice? One thing haunters know how to do is to go over the top!

What about the back story? One path might be the panicked pleas of a girl - eternally in front of them, never quite reached. Maybe the other paths are bonus features for those who go through more than once?

Perhaps the path is through the haunted daycare - with the sounds of demonic children chasing you through. Maybe it is on a "deserted" space station - but what happened to the crew? Is it a cave? Is there a minotaur? Are those voices the Stygian Witches? Beats me... but it seems like a concept with many possibilities worth exploring, whether your space is limited to a garage or a yard.


Love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Haunting!
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