[Graveside Chat] Don't be Lazy with Your Haunt's Icon!

It's been a while since I've done of these, but with the 2014 Haunt Announcement season already well underway, it's definitely something that needs looking into.

Every year haunts try and come up with new and menacing figures to promote their haunt. Sometimes these are based on the back story of the attraction itself, sometimes it's just a random public figure to get the word out and doesn't have much to do with it at all. Either way, it's not something to take lightly.

Many haunts come up with some truly original, terrifying, and sometimes amusing characters that fans can latch onto, but some out there don't even try. We've all seen it too. You go to a haunt's website and you find pictures of Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers or even in some cases the icons from places like Halloween Horror Nights (I actually saw one of those just last year). Not only is that major copyright infringement going on, but to anyone that is even remotely interested in haunts it signifies that your haunt is being run lazily. It also shows that you just don't seem to care. While you might have a great haunt, that's the signal that you're giving off right at the start and that's never good to do.

Just keep in mind that this is often the first thing that people see, it's something that is promoting what you are doing and have spent your blood, sweat and tears on for months or even years. If you can't take the time to come up with something original that will be perceived as your public face, you need more time and you could be rushing things, or might think that people won't notice. Reality check, they will and so will the lawyers if you're really lazy. 

Instead, why not find something that's interesting or unique to your own story and maybe even the location itself? Sure, there's lots of janitors, evil clowns, rampaging farmers, insane doctors and other such creations wandering about out there, but if you dig a little deeper you just might be able to come up with something unique and memorable that really puts you on the map.

Have a circus themed haunt, why just go with the deranged clown? There's tons of other characters that you can dig up that are part of the circus. The same goes with asylums or prisons even, evil doctors or wardens and gaurds are overdone, there's a lot more to those kinds of locations than just that out there. Yes, they are easy and that's why you see so many of them, but don't go easy just because you can. Think outside of the box and not only will your guests be more interested, but you'll be happier too.

Creating an icon that is both meaningful and creative should be one of the first things any haunt does. Sure, your haunt may not need one, but if you're thinking of incorporating such into your own, do yourself a favor and actually think about it!