I never seem to take enough pictures on show night. :/ And on a related note, I think I need to invest in a better night cam for 2016.
Nonetheless... here is one of the surviving action pics from the Clown Run that was the last stage of 2014 walkthrough. It was set in the sideyard that runs the length of the house (70ft?) and is roughly 9 feet wide, with too many things planted on most parts of the sides. Static props filled the area while spinning lights were used to "animate" them and possibly disorient the guests. A haunt acter was stationed at the end as a jump scare.
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The guests left the small back yard, turning a tight corner to then be met by my gatekeeper. He was illuminated by a strobe at the front and was backlit by the spillover from the spinning colorful DJ lights. Guests could see some silhouettes of props beyond this, but were immediately met by waist high masked clown props as they passed through the fabric.
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They killed him. At the beginning, this guy was suspended on the rope ladder and partially obscuring a masked prop a few feet behind. Why didn't I take his pic before or during that night.... or even reset just for a good pic? Good question. Also a good learning lesson.
Here is some of what was waiting just beyond the rope ladder clown. It looks much more benign in sunlight. The bordering gardens served to visually soften the path while providing random tough scares to guests as they brushed past the standing masked props that were simple wooden stakes with clothes hangers, some masks, and the uglier of the shirts from my tropical shirt phase (2003-2006) that still lurks in my clothes closet.
This should give a better idea of the path structure and how close the guests had to pass the various masked props that looked very much possibly alive when lit by the DJ lights.
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Again... the big learning lessons are that moving DJ lights (not just annoying strobes) do a lot to bring simple props to life, forcing guests to SLOW DOWN and appreciate some of the haunt that they might otherwise speedwalk right past. And always take many pictures during the build and especially during the show night. Blurry is better than nothing.
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The 2014 Clown Run will be the last for this side yard.
Although this Clown Run was much more successful than the 2013 Ghoul Run (very poor lighting and people just walked through it missing most details)... with a big difference being that the walkthrough direction was flipped for 2014, making the side yard the ending rather than the beginning, my gardening hobby has made it near impossible. That neat mulch path is now littered with stepping stones and other plants.
Soooo... for 2015, the side yard will, at most, hold a large front-facing prop very near the front yard (since there will be no immersive walkthrough in the back). This side yard will then be limited to being a lengthy display of the same (and additional) evil clowns to serve as a distraction while guests enter the adjacent alley that leads to/from the garage-yard haunt in the back. This will allow my plants to live while also permitting me to set up a wilder display without the worry of things getting trampled like the rope ladder clown was and this poor guy:
