Ranch o' Spooks Scenery
Ambience
The front yard and porch are flooded with
over 1200 watts of black light coming from a 400 watt flood lamp, numerous
48" dual fluorescent fixtures and miscellaneous supplemental units.
Various dead and undead props are scattered among a grave yard crowded with
tombstones, each glowing with eerie phosphorescence. Fog rolls across the
ground, and the air is filled with the sounds of a creepy alien swamp (Sound
Ideas General collection, disk 6039, track 47). A pair
of color shifting spotlights scan the tree tops, then highlight various
undead props, pausing to highlight each in turn. Approaching the area it is very evident that
strange forces are at work (as evidenced by a 30,000 volt spark continuously
climbing a Jacob’s ladder atop a 10’ pole in one corner of the
property.)
Large string webs span across the entire
front yard at heights ranging from 6 to 22 feet. Over the center of the
driveway hangs a 6 foot black widow. Another sits on the garage
roof. A life-size spectre
hangs in the upper corner of the porch, his skeletal face glowing green, while
numerous other phantasms, undead characters and paranormal apparitions populate
the grave yard. Blair Witch stick-figures dangle ominously from the webs
and the front porch.
The path to the door is flanked by a pair of vampyre skull tiki torches and guarded by a 12’ tall demon. To reach the apparent safety of the porch and the front door, one must pass close by a large grave whose occupant has apparently been disturbed by foraging vermin. Various skulls, bones and body parts are also evident along the way.
Active
Scenery
Bad Weather
The Bad Weather sequence is intended
to startle and disorient visitors. Triggered when guests are detected
entering the lot, Bad Weather begins with a loud thunder crash, synchronized
with strobe flashes dancing across the entire yard. The thunder subsides
to an ambient level, with occasional claps and flashes continuing throughout
the next minute-and-a-half.
Bad Weather is controlled by Scare-O-Matic
Panel 1.
Garage O' the Damned
This sequence brings the firey tumult of the infernal
pit right into the garage of Rancho Manor!
The garage door is an older type that opens
as a rigid unit, by gradually tilting the top of the door inward. The
mechanism is ideal for this effect as the door can be partially opened, with the
bottom edge about two feet off the ground. This creates the impression of
a gaping maw opening up. The opening and closing actions are done by a
standard garage door opener that is operated by the Scare-O-Matic.
As the door jerks open, fog
spews angrily from the opening and a bank of incandescent red floodlights beam
out ominously from the lower edge of the door. A laser effect projects a spinning red
pentagram (OK, OK -- for you Christians, it's a star) onto the garage
door. The red lights get brighter, then dimmer; they flash on and off in
strange patterns (courtesy of the Fright Light Plus, from Haunt Master
productions). Multiple strobe lights inside the garage flash in tandem at
random intervals.
But most disturbing of all is the lovingly
handcrafted soundtrack for Garage O' the Damned. Assembled from dozens of
sources and digitally mixed right here on
Garage O' the Damned is controlled by Scare-O-Matic
Panel 2.
Those brave (or foolish?) enough to proceed
toward the front door of Rancho Manor may find themselves unexpectedly ambushed
by the re-animated corpse of a long dead highwayman with glowing eyes and a
fiendish laugh, leaping toward them over his tombstone.
Spectres
and Ghosts, Oh my!
As guests approach the front porch, they are greeted by yet another eerie
surprise. The spectre hanging in the far corner
of the porch begins his mournful wailing, a reminder of the fate that awaits
them if they step onto the porch.
Spectre is controlled by Scare-O-Matic
Panel 1.
Through the front window of the house, an
eerily glowing, flying ghost
can be seen trying to escape the confines of the house to reach the visitors.
Trash Can Trauma
Sitting at the base of the tall palm trees is an ordinary green plastic garbage
can. Well that's a relief -- at least there's one thing in this accursed
yard that won't -- WHAT!?!? Without warning, the lid flies up and a horrifying
zombie jumps up from the can, bellowing angrily and reaching out to touch
guests as they walk by.
Trash Can Trauma is entirely self-contained,
and triggered by a switch inside the house or a wireless remote.
