The Shovel Newsletter Archives

You've all done it. You know you have. Shake a can of pop in front of your friend and then threaten to open it in his face. The power, the control. With just the flick of one finger you could soak him; you know it and he knows it. But what you may not know is that you've just done an experiment in potential energy.

There are several types of potential energy. A ball at the top of a hill has potential energy. A loaded mouse trap, a dangling dagger, a shaken soda or a balloon expanded to it's elastic limits; these are all examples of stored energy. So what good is stored energy?

Stick with me here.

We have a lot of people ask us how to build props, how to make blood, how to create latex pieces. But in all our years of haunting I have not yet been asked how to make an empty hallway scary. But there is a way.

There is a way to make corners better, halls better, even empty rooms better. The answer is stored energy.

Creating suspense and anticipation is the secret to making a good haunt great. The secret to creating suspense is in plugging your tension leaks. If you walk down an empty hallway and you are confident that you are safe, your stored energy has escaped. If you walk down an empty hallway feeling like you are in a trap and any second the coil is going to snap your neck, you've done something right. But what?

Go back to our friend and the pop bomb. If I shake up the can in secret and then threaten to open it in front of him he doesn't know the full potential of my threat. However, if I shake the can vigorously in front of him and then put my finger on the tab he is fully aware of what I plan to do. (In horror movies this is called establishing a credible threat.)

To make your empty halls scarier you have to show your victims that even the most innocent looking set is threatening to explode. Create expectation in your haunt. Shake the can in front of them and let your victims feel the pressure.

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Sean and Adam Murray