Meet the Team from SyFy’s Ghosthunters with The ScareHouse Haunted Attraction

The ScareHouse Haunted Attraction is no stranger to the Haunt Industry or Rotting Flesh Radio. They been guests on the show a variety of times as well as Delerium Dog’s music played on RFR.

Well, with the Haunt Season right around the corner and with the kick off of the grand opening of the ScareHouse scaring customers like crazy, they also have their annual meet and greets with celebrities. And on October 1st, 2011 they are back at it once again with the team from Ghosthunters TAPS.

The team from SyFy Network’s Ghosthunters will be joining Pittsburgh’s Ultimate Haunted Attraction, The ScareHouse, to meet fans, hang out and get you in the haunting mood.

On October 1st, you can hang out with Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, Kris Williams, and Amy Bruni. They will be signing autographs, smiling for those pictures and getting to know you crazy ScareHouse customers and GHI fans. This is an exclusive two hour private event for ticket holders only.

The ‘Get to Know Your Local Ghosthunter’ event will be held at the Olive Or Twist bar. Tickets are limited and this is a once in a season opportunity. So if you love Horror, Haunted Houses, Steampunk, and the Paranormal mixed with a few drinks and autographs, then get your tickets before they sell out.

For more information on the ScareHouse Haunted Attraction be sure to visit: www.ScareHouse.com and Click Here to Buy Tickets

Where:
Olive or Twist
140 6th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3306

When:
Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Importance of Sound Design: Tale Tell Heart and Puppetmaster

by: RFR Casket Crew Maestro Macbre

In Poe’s classic story, the beating of a heart causes nervousness and paranoia in the lead character.  The sound of a EKG beeping, growing faster and then flat-lining.  The sound of a video game charecter underwater, as the sound gets faster and faster till the poor little digital creature drowns.  The fact is the tempo of a sound can literally make you nervous, uncomfortable and even cause panic.

However, pairing tempo with frequency can act as a double whammy.  Think of the “Psycho” theme, the shrill of the strings.  Think of the sound of nails on chalk boards.  These high frequencies cause us discomfort and to tense up.  On the opposite side of things, bass frequencies cause us to relax.  So using both makes one edgier and paranoid.

How can you use this.  Increasing tempos at the beginning of a haunt will set your customers on edge before entering.  the human heart beats at 60-100 beats per minute.  Increasing the tempo by just a few beats per minute can physically cause a persons heart beat to rise.  Don’t believe me?  Think of a defibrillator, that is just a amplified electrical current sent through the body to restart the heart.

Unexpected changes in rhythm can also cause discomfort, heightened awareness and that jumpy feeling.  A good example of this is “Tubular Bells” or the exorcist theme to those of you hard core horror freaks.  The tempo settles in and then throws in an unexpected hit every now and then that almost makes you jump.  Some time signatures also create discomfort because of the unnatural rhythm of the human body.  Time signature that are odd like 7/8 and 5/8 feel like they actually skip a beat, causing the feeling of confusion and hypersensitivity.

You as a haunt owner/designer can use both of these to your advantage, however it isn’t that simple.

If you have ever used a “Buttkicker” speaker or a similar system, knows you can physically feel sound.  The best utilization is to invade and manipulate your customer!  Rhythmic beats interrupted by unexpected hits, can startle anyone.

Well most of you don’t write your own music or create your own sounds, how does this help?  Start looking for things that do use these!  The best source is movie soundtracks, haunt soundtracks and sometimes even classical scores.  However, be careful and aware of copyrights and performance rights.

So how do you lay this all out and be the puppet master?

Outside in a Cue, you want songs that will create ambiance and atmosphere.  Think carefully about what your theme is, location and target audience.  Nothing turns me off more than a confusing haunt theme.  If you play on fears, think of those fears and find songs that characterize those.  For example: haunted mansion should include sounds that fit that, a church should be filled with church like sounds and organ drones.

Cue music should be practical not personal, just because you like a certain style or genre, doesn’t mean it will always work.  If you aim toward teens and young adults, heavy metal works, however, you are turning off older individuals, that might not appreciate your desire for GWAR.  So sometimes a combination of the two works best.  Think about it, does your haunt usually attract younger audiences or older?

Also don’t look past finding your own unique style!  Have fun and listen all year.  There are great albums by composers that spend a GREAT majority of their time carefully creating these pieces.  Nox Arcana, Midnight Syndicate, Dead Rose Symphony, Virgil, Jerry Vayne, Rotting Flesh Radio’s Dark Pandemonium and even myself, to name a few.  Don’t overlook the importance of cue music.

Waiting room or welcome rooms, are becoming ever more popular to gauge the flow and also prep your patrons, if you have the space and means, DO IT!  This is where you create a uncomfortable feeling.  Quicken the tempo and frequencies.  The Great thing about welcome areas is that you can use a prerecorded consistent track.  But careful more than a minute makes your scare dull and annoying.  The key is to create immediate discomfort and to make your patrons afraid to enter the haunt.  This is a good primer, but remember, NOT TOO LONG!  20-30 seconds is best!

But the other school of thought is, just send them in unprepared.  This works too, but you have to use the same basis, you have 20-30 seconds to  scare and surprise, use original scares, not the standard, “boo” or prop.

Once inside, Ambient tracks work best, save the music for themed rooms (Music boxes in nurseries, Organs and bells in churches, you get the picture).  I won’t really elaborate on this because I covered it in the previous post.

Remember to make sense with sound.  Using high volume only works if the music or sounds are subtle.  You shouldn’t notice them unless you think about it.  Less is more in there.  It makes your scares more intense and unexpected, when you are waiting for that, SHOCK.  If there is loud chaos and screaming going on it’s more annoying than scary.  So tell your actors to save it for the scare.

I do want to emphasize the need for loops that are short and can be used to lead to the next room.  Great areas for this are vortexes, transition halls, and segues to the next haunt.  use a brief short loop, maybe 20-30 seconds, that take the rhythm from comfortable 80BPM to 130-140 BPM.  This can be easily made on your own, or pay someone to make something unique.

Remember, if it annoys you, it will probably annoy your patrons!

Placement of speakers is important as well, but I will cover this in the next article.  I will show you how to create surround sound on a budget!  Impressive and fun!

As with all tips and tricks, you have to analyze your own haunt and objectives, but these simple tricks can be used to aid you in preparing for this fright season!

If you have any questions of comments, please feel free to contact me at scaretacticproductions@gmail.com or email me at ScareTacticProductions.com

The Importance of Sound Design: The Sound of Silence

by: RFR Casket Crew Maestro Macbre

It’s Mid August, for the most part any of you building haunts are in the final planning or building stages.  Most frequently left till the end is putting in speakers and picking your sounds. Where to start!  What to use!  We don’t have budget! I present to you a brief guide to sound design!

Over the next few weeks, I will touch on the different techniques and examples. Lesson one: The sound of silence The truth is you can make a very stagnant room creepy, just by adding sound.

Not every room can have a scare, sometimes the a mediocre scare can be amplified by building suspense.  How do you do this?

Silence.  Not really silence, but the sound of silence.  Bare with me for a second!  Think of your favorite scary movie, what usually proceeds a scare?  Ambient noise.  This sound not only feels an empty space, but creates an uneasiness.  If you watch Ghost Hunters  as much as I do, they explain the effect of electromagnetic fields. Not only that, but it covers up your actor shifting around in a crawl space.  You can fight sound with sound using it correctly.  You can also achieve this with little resources (check out the last Ask the Maestro!)

In Layman’s terms, electromagnetic fields are produced by the presence of electrical objects emitting radiation.  This causes living creatures to feel the field causing paranoia and sometimes nausea.  This is often attributed to that “being followed/watched” feeling. What does this mean for you?  Using the right sound at the right time, will get your patrons paranoid before they even enter a room!  This is why a sound designer is important! (Shameless plug!)

Sound emits  electromagnetic radiation, but it can also effect people with the tempo, frequency and volume. The tempo of a piece can actually change the pace of a person’s heartbeat.

Think of how a song makes you feel.  Slow songs are often associated with love and fast with movement.  The human heart beats at 120 beats per minute, if you take a song that beats at about 140, you can raise a persons heart rate, making their breathing shallow and creating discomfort. Frequencies act the same way.  Sub bass tones relax you making you disarmed, where are high pitched can make you tense and uptight.

So what does this mean to you Mr. or Ms. Haunt designer?

Depending on how you use your sound, you can prepare someone for a scare.    Think about a transition room in your haunt.  What is the overall theme?  Is it a Carnival?  Industrial?  Outside?  Inside?

These are all factors. Once you do this, look for a great loopable track utilizing the atmosphere you are looking for.  Use droning pads with bass to cover up natural ambient noises.  The best will usually create a space using sound, to shrink or expand an area.  Use sounds that cover the spectrum, occasional mid range sounds matched with a low ambient noise.

Also think If there’s a specific character, maybe a clown for example.  Add elements of circus music, maybe some horn honks or giggling.  The use of pan can also add an air of uncertainty too.  If there is a large beast animatronic or ghost, use deep breathing or chilling sounds.  It’s ok to tip your hand as long as the scare can beat it.

Prolonged loud screeches and shrills, should be avoided.  You will not only drive your actors nuts, but you will also aggravate your customers.  The last thing you want is a high strung customer walking into a room with an actor about to aggravate them more.  But the intermittent loud shrill can catch a patron off guard.

The key is a lot of natural sound with unnatural effects.  All of this can be achieved without using music.  Leave the music outside.  Music should be used to create the atmosphere outside, while making the wait more pleasant and anticipated.  Great ambient music can be used inside.  For example a music box, piano, or other natural music sources.  But I will touch more on music in a later post.

The truth is, sound is a huge part to a haunt, and you need to treat it on the same level as set decorating, costumes and make-up.  You can mix your own or have someone mix them for you (Check out some free samples here).  Programs like Audacity make it free and easy!

In the next installment: Tempo and Frequency, Installing speakers, perfect scare sounds!

Until next time! Sit Back, Relax, and Rot Away!

Eating Purple People? Or much Worse?

by: RFR Casket Crew Claymation Werewolf

Monsters. They come in all shapes and sizes. They all have different motivations but never forget that they are all very dangerous. Some monsters come from the darkest bowels of our world but sometimes they don’t come from our world at all. The history of these “visitations” has been a constant source of debate throughout society and has been largely ridiculed by those who claim to be experts in the journalism and science communities. Even the most extreme skeptics however would have to admit that there have been cases that aren’t so easily explained away. Cases that are so compelling that anyone would have to admit that maybe, just maybe, they’re true.

Today I would like to talk to you about one such case, a case that has been suppressed by those in power over the years but at the time of “the event” caused an incredible stir. On August 2nd 1958, a young farmer by the name of Sheb Wilhelm Wooley was out in the fields inspecting his crops, picking up handfuls of dirt and letting them run through his fingers…basically doing all the things that farmers enjoy. At around 2 o’clock pm , while Sheb was adjusting his scarecrow, he noticed a flash above him, and then what appeared to be something coming out of the sky. As the object grew closer, Sheb realized it was heading directly for his farm. He was able to avoid the impact and the scattered debris, but his farm was not so lucky.

The otherworldly object tore through the middle of his land, displacing all of his carefully organized dirt and killing his scarecrow. Consumed by confusion, terror and heartbreak at the loss of his straw-stuffed friend he approached the crash sight to investigate. What had appeared to be a silver streak when in flight now looked to be a craft of some sort. Badly damaged but still structurally sound. He approached the ship and suddenly it began to hum. Then it started to rock, really rocking around. It was a crazy movement that he had never seen before and he started to quickly back away when the ship opened. A creature stepped from the shadows of the craft. An alien, a…monster. And monster was a good description according to Wooley, the creature was covered in fur from head to toe. In the center of what you would call its face, was an enormous eye and at the top of his head was one long horn. Sheb has gone on record as saying “Ooh eeh, as it stepped into the daylight it commenced a shaking, I still got me a fairly good look at it. It had the look of….well I guess the best way I could put it is that it looked like some sort of people eater. Maybe even a purple people eater but I’m not sure.” When asked if he meant the alien was purple he replied. “Well sir! I tend to be fairly vague on that particular subject. I have to admit I was horrified, I actually began to beg the creature to spare my life, and ideally not eat me” The creature seemed confused and then after possibly taking a moment to process our language said, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday, it said “I wouldn’t eat you because your so tough.” It seemed utterly ridiculous. The creatures voice was so gruff… and yet, it was also high pitched and not gruff in the least…I can’t explain it, it was a confusing time. The creature than began to fly by its own power.

(CLICK HERE TO SEE SHEB ORIGINAL VIDEO)

This one eyed beast eventually landed on a tree. It looked undeniably menacing and Sheb Wooley knew instinctively that while he might not be directly in danger,this creature would feed and WE were its food. He tried to keep the creature talking and come up with some sort of plan but the monster seemed to see right through his actions. It started to cause the tree to swing and sway all the while talking about a plan to blend in to society enough to begin a proper “harvest“. What happened next is best expressed in Wooley‘s own words “Well bless my soul that monster transformed before my eyes he began to look more and more human all the while creati’n this terrible sound kinda like a boop boop aboopa lopa lum bam boom. Now you understand that’s not word for word but it was something pretty similar.”

After it completed its horrific transformation and went on its way, Sheb tried to reassemble the shattered remnants of his life. But never seemed to be able to go back to life among the normal. One evening while watching the television he saw a report about a riot at a rock concert. One girl in extremely short shorts was being interviewed and began to frantically talk about a member of the band. Apparently, during the concert one of “people” on stage suddenly grew a horn from the top of his head and began to blast an incredibly loud sound from it. He dove among the confused audience and chaos ensued. Very few of the people attending the audience survived as most were either brutally killed by the rampaging rocker, or trampled by fellow victims trying to escape.

As Wooley watched in disgust, a powerful fire began to rise within him and he knew what he had to do he had to stop the people eater. He armed himself with all of the high tech weaponry and state of the art armor available to the average farmer and sought out a partner, a partner by the name of Dr. Elliot Demento. Dr. Demento is one of the most respected theoretical biologists in history and would be key to finding a weakness in the creature’s physiology and bring him down. Understandably, it took a little convincing to get Demento on board. “When Sheb first approached me I actually laughed him out of the office, I mean wouldn’t you? A one eyed, one horned flying purple people eater? Sure looks strange to me! But after seeing his persistence I finally took a real look at all of the evidence. It totally blew me away. I mean, this was real and it needed to be stopped. Not everyone believes us but we know our destiny and we will succeed.”

No one has heard anything from Wooley or Demento in many years but it is my true belief that they are still out there still hunting the monster that in turn hunts us all. I think they will destroy the creature, save us all, and go down in history finally gaining the respect and the appreciation of all of the people they have spent their lives attempting to protect.

…Tequila.

Danny Elfman Brings His Haunting Music to Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS

From his days with Oingo Boingo, to being one of Tim Burton’s go to men, Danny elfman is no stranger to those of us who love the strange and are “strange and unusual”. And with the heat of summer comes a refreshing feeling of music, mayhem and more as Elfman is has been preparing the score to the all new CIRQUE du SOLEIL Show themed with a Hollywood feel IRIS

Danny Elfman has written some of the most hauntingly beautiful scores your will hear from Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Nightmare Before Christmas, and more. And this new venture is one that is taking him into a new realm he has yet to tap in to. In fact much of a Cirque show is fluid, based on an artists body movements, driving the crowd, the motion and the story forward much faster than a movie score.

The new show as described from its’ makers is “a lyrical, fanciful, kinetic foray into the seventh art. Bringing together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, the show takes spectators on a fantastic voyage through the history of cinema and its genres, taking them into the heart of the movie-making process. From illustration to animation, black and white to colour, silent films to talkies, fixed shots to swooping camera movements, spectators witness the poetic construction/deconstruction of this art as an object and as a way of transcending reality.”

With that being said, we can only imagine what Danny has planned in that creative twisted mind of his. IRIS opens on preview audiences in Hollywood, beginning July 21st 2011; opening day is Sept. 25th, 2011.

For more on the show visit:www.CirqueDuSoleil.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO PROMO OF IRIS

A Little Metal for your Thurday Deadites

So it is Thursday and the week is moving at a rapid pace this week. As we concluded Rotting Flesh Radio “The Original Haunted House/Halloween and Horror Weekly Show” SHOW #238, we are hard at work with Show #239 coming in a few days. With this rapid pace this week, I thought we would share some tunes from the Rotting Flesh Radio Morgue as we prep the new show with one of our favorite bands, and previous guests on the show, THE MURDERDOLLS.

So Sit Back, Relax and Rot Away on this Thursday Deadites…

CLICK HERE TO ROT AWAY TO “My Dark Place Alone”

This is Heavy Metal on a Sunday Night

As the weekend is almost over, let’s keep the party going with some Heavy Metal! Yes, one of our favorite Horror Bands LORDI can help keep the party going with rocking tunes, riffs, horror, zombies and more.

Sit Back, Relax and Rot Away Rotting Flesh Radio style this Sunday night!

The Haunt Rocker Jerry Vayne’s New EP to Debut at Midwest Haunters Convention

The Haunt Rocker, Jerry Vayne will be at the upcoming 2011 Midwest Haunters Convention (MHC) and vending at Booth 115 with the Devishly Diva-licious Mommie D as his booth babe. While there he’ll have a LIMITED PRESSING of Damnations Embrace (as featured on Rotting Flesh Radio) plus his latest cd, Soul Collector, as well as a limited pressing of the MHC Exclusive EP ‘Sounds from ‘The Attic”, which features 6 tracks from his upcoming 2011 release ‘The Attic”.

There will only be 100 copies of the EP and there will be 2 versions available. 50 will have a 7th bonus track “Necromantix” specially recorded for the MHC EP and 50 will have an 8th track of the music-only version of the same track. They will be randomly mixed together and you won’t know which is which till you play it.

So get your Haunt Rock on with Jerry Vayne at Midwest Haunters Convention or you can also visit: www.JerryVayne.com

New Midnight Syndicate Album Slated for August 2011

PRESS RELEASE

New Midnight Syndicate studio album Carnival Arcane to be released August 2011.

Gothic, Halloween, Fantasy, Horror music composers, Midnight Syndicate have announced plans to release a new album entitled, Carnival Arcane this August. The band’s fourteenth album in as many years, Carnival Arcane takes listeners on a journey through an early-20th century traveling carnival with a mysterious and sinister past.

“The ‘dark carnival’ is a classic horror theme. We’re really excited to put our own spin on it,” said Gavin Goszka. “The heyday of the traveling carnival was the late-19th and early-20th century, which is the time period that really appeals to us in all our work with Midnight Syndicate,” added Edward Douglas.

Carnival Arcane comes on the heels of a busy year for Midnight Syndicate that marked the release of their first motion picture, The Dead Matter, the soundtrack to that film, a collaboration with vocalist Destini Beard entitled The Dark Masquerade, a “best of” collection, and the band’s first two music videos.

For more information, visit Midnight Syndicate online at www.MidnightSyndicate.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MidnightSyndicate.

“Pay no attention to the rumors, the Lancaster-Rigby Carnival is alive and well and awaits you just beyond the outskirts of town. Bring your wives and children for an unforgettable night of entertainment from the four corners of the globe and be sure to enjoy a ride on our Grand Carousel. But hurry ~ as it this once in a lifetime opportunity is only here for a limited time!”

ABOUT MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE:
About Midnight Syndicate:
Midnight Syndicate has been creating instrumental Halloween music and gothic horror fantasy soundtrack CDs for the past fourteen years. The group’s music has become a staple of the Halloween season worldwide as well as a favorite in the haunted house, amusement park, role-playing game, and gothic music industries.

From Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights and Hugh Hefner’s Halloween parties to Monday Night Football, X-Box games, the classic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, and Barbara Walters specials, their CDs are designed to take listeners on a journey into the darkest corners of their imagination.

Happy Halloween from RFR: The 2010 Party Mix Ready For You!

Enjoy the 6th Annual Rotting Flesh Radio Party Mix.

This year we keep it Haunting, Spooky, Freaky, Fun and Rocking away with the Annual Tradition!

This year we have some Twisted Tunes newly added to the list, New takes on Old Classics, a Special Wish from the Dark Prince Zachary and more.

So spin the mix, play it for your Trick or Treaters, Loop it for your party and have some Halloween Fun!!

So Sit Back, Relax and Rot Away to the 6th Annual Halloween Party Mix.

LISTEN NOW:
RIGHT CLICK, SAVE LINK/TARGET AS: RFR_HALLOWEEN_PARTY_2010.mp3 Party Mix

HAPPY HALLOWEEN DEADITES!!!