My wife and I headed out to what it turning into an annual tradition on her birthday, the Repo shadowcast. It took me a few days to recover from that, and a few more to edit the pictures, since I was shooting in RAW.
I was hoping to be able to post some progress this weekend, but being laid up in bed for the weekend sure halted that thought in a hurry.
So, what to do while miserable?
Work on the music.
Music is such a key part of any haunt. In fact, one of the things I was most proud of our haunt in the past was the soundtrack. This just begged a particular brand of music
Now a lot of haunters will tell you “just grab a midnight syndicate CD and call it good”. It’s hard to argue against Midnight Syndicate…
However, the feel is entirely too gothic in nature. A track here or there might have the right feel I’m looking for, but searching for them is difficult. The same holds true for the equally popular Nox Arcana.
Both groups are superb at capturing the feeling of what each CD is designed for. The problem is, neither had gone for a “harvest” feeling.
Last year, we played a few selections from Robert Short. And, while I was happy with those, I need variety. Listening to a few tracks over and over for hours gets annoying.
This weekend I discovered Northaunt. I think we’re circling in on a soundscape for The Harvest, but I’m not entirely convinced we’re 100% THERE just yet…
There is little that can drive more fear than the proper music and/or sounds in a haunt. Now, acquiring a suitable sound for your setting can be quite difficult. Anyone who has attempted to do a haunted house before, and has gone shopping for some music has probably seen the “scary” Cd’s (or tapes, back in the day) that promise some great atmosphere. Only to bring these home to find some music being totally ruined by really horrid cheesy sound effects.
Now, by far, the most common settings out there are nice and spooky, and if you haven’t yet, you really should be checking out Midnight Syndicate.
And, for those of you seeking more sound effect in nature, a couple of great options are found from the guys at Big Scream CD’s. From screams to chainsaws to creeking mansions.
And then, there is the more unique sound experience over at Zombietronix. A surround sound assault on the patrons. Very cool and creepy.
However, as you might have noticed, my stuff really doesn’t fit into the norm. We go much more tribal in nature, and have had to resort to creating my own sound track. This involves searching for music worldwide, and has come to include Native American drumming, Djembe drumming from Africa, Haitian drumming, and Japanese Taiko drumming.
I do want to note Portland Taiko, however. Their CD’s are masterfully recorded, capturing the rich sound of Taiko better than certain better known groups. Very nice. :b:
And yet, I’m never satisfied. I’ve been trying to find some chants to go into the drums as well, and have been searching Native American, African, and Haitian chanting this year for the right sound. So far, I have lots of chants that are fun to listen to, but none that fit the right “feel” for Halloween.
Or so I thought. I was listening to one of these CD’s when picking up my son from Soccer practice. His team mates looked around, and gave the car very strange looks, keeping their distance as the chants blasted out the window…
