Scarehouse sound design Asbjoern Andersen


I recently discovered that composer and sound designer Marc Straight’s work can be heard in more than 100 scarehouse attractions. And with this being the spookiest of spooky months, here’s Marc with the story on how he creates the sound for scarehouses:
 

Hi Marc, just what are scarehouses exactly – and how did you get involved with creating sound for them?

Scarehouses are haunted attractions. It’s essentially an interactive live theater of horror. I began as an actor in the fourth grade and while acting I heard our music, which was Midnight Syndicate.

It’s essentially an interactive live theater of horror

I loved working in scarehouses and working with music, so naturally I wanted to make music that scared people.
 

Your work is featured in around 100 attractions. What are some of your favorite ones, and why?

Sadly, I haven’t been able to see all of them, that’s a work in progress. But I generally just like the idea of contributing to the industry. I don’t like to say I like one more than an other, when one may exist that is even more to my style.
 

What are some of the scarehouses you’ve worked on?

This year I’ve worked on Richs Fright Farm, Six Flags of America, The Headless Horseman, and assisted with several others. Production time starts around April and ends in early September so summers are a complete nightmare.
 

Say you’re brought in to create the sound for a new scarehouse: How much creative freedom do you get – and what inspires you?

The process usually involves your visiting and being in the rooms I’m going to be working in. I do a small recording of the room to take home and I begin working from there. With creative freedom, it largely depends on what company I work with.

I treat scoring a haunted attraction as I would a video game

Most of the time I make my version, send it to them and they critique what they want added or take away and we have a back and forth from there.

It is very similar to making video games. In fact, I treat scoring a haunted attraction as I would a video game.
 

Could you describe the creative process behind your work on a recent scarehouse project (or perhaps one of your favorite projects) – from beginning to the final result?

One of my favorite projects was creating music for a 2,500 Sqft, two story room (WITH A SLIDE!) that was made to be overtaken by nature and these horrific monsters. So, I’m going to attempt to describe that process:
I had been visiting the grounds to work on the other 30ish tracks that we were using for the scenes so this was the final piece. I got to see the room start out empty and become fully developed over about three weeks. As this happened, I also worked on the audio for it.

I decided to custom design the percussion then work on the sound effects

I started out with piano because at the time the scenes were a bit understated but quickly switched to church organ for a really harsh impact. From there, I wrote the rest of the music except the percussion. The percussion synth I have is, honestly, pretty weak so I decided to custom design the percussion then work on the sound effects.

For the drums:
• I overfilled a tire to the point where it exploded
• Wrapped a condom around a mic and recorded the sound of a tub upside down inside a larger tub of water while being hit by drum mallets
• Mixed those with a bass drum that I had that was tolerable.

Sidenote: I am sure there are better ways to record underwater but couldn’t think of any.
Once the drums were finished, I took metal cans and scraped them against a mirror, bowed cymbals and gongs to create a really uncomfortable metal underlay. That was probably the worst thing I’ve ever had to mix.

And here’s the story about another one:

One room I did sound for was a dental room gone HORRIBLY wrong. The first thing I did was make an atmosphere layer. For that I took the sound of a refrigerator, slowed and pitched dropped it way down until it felt like a pulse. From there, I combined about 30 different saws, drills and screams to make the dental drill sounds. Afterwards I layered the drills to form different actions – Started the test use, went to the closed mouth and into a sound that seems like you’re drilling through bone.

I combined about 30 different saws, drills and screams to make the dental drill sounds

For the bone part, I used an old pencil sharpener and recorded pencils, plastic and thin rocks grinding in it. Around then I sampled people screaming for an abrasive interrupt layer, cries to add to the refrigerator atmosphere and bowed metals just for flavor. The end result was uncomfortable enough to make me dislike listening to it.
 

Get a haunted house-walkthrough:

Want a tour of a real haunted house attraction? In this video, Marc Straight takes you on an empty walkthrough of Richs Fright Farm during their 2015 season to showcase the music production and set design. All scenes have been changed for their 2016 theme. Nothing that is shown in this video will reveal any information or design about their current season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avKjxthwK5A

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far in scarehouse sound design?

Making scary electric music for a giant UFO.
 

From a technical perspective, how’s the sound typically delivered in the scarehouses themselves? Is it all loop-based, or are there certain triggers etc?

Most of the time you make a loop track, because cost is always an issue. You usually get asked to make it a minute of sound, but for the sake of the actors and the environment I strongly suggest 3 to 4 minutes. By having more time there are ways to add more dynamics to the tracks.

The other thing that is used a lot are scream boxes, which are set by motion triggers

You could add in stings or high contrast changes, hard tempo resets, etc. The other thing that is used a lot are scream boxes, which are set by motion triggers. Those play a huge sound to be a scare, usually a scream, so that the audience is able to be caught off guard and actors voices to be temporarily spared.

Looking for scary sound effects?

If you need scary sounds for your projects, these are 3 of the most popular horror sound effects collections on A Sound Effect right now:

  • The Evolved Game Creatures monster sounds collection brings producers and sound designers a versatile and wide-ranging selection of large to medium-sized creature sounds. Includes monster vocalizations and large angry creature sound effects.

    Includes over 160 distinctive, immersive, optimized creature sound effects, vocalizations, attacks, sounds of monsters dying, special SFX, growling sounds.

    Creating compelling cinematic game characters and outstanding gameplay audio experiences has never been easier. Explore the possibilities for your monster and large creature character sounds thru ten inspiring sound sets in the sound library. Easily outfit mystical creatures, griffins, dinosaurs, and otherworldly critters.

    Creature Character List:

    • Ancient Dragon – (Dinosaur Creature)
    • Balor – (Supernatural Creature)
    • Basilisk – (Lizard/Reptile Creature)
    • Frost Giant – (Large Humanoid Creature)
    • Kraken – (Water Creature)
    • Mammoth – (Elephant Creature)
    • Roc – (Dinosaur Bird Creature)
    • Sphinx – (Lion/Tiger Creature)
    • Spider Queen – (Insect Creature)
    • Treant – (Tree Creature)

    Each monster includes multiple attacks, death, pain, special fx, character specific fx and other vocalizations. All Royalty-Free and all files are pre mixed and mastered, optimized in length and file size to reduce game distributions and memory. RTU-OTB

  • Gore Sound Effects Stethoscope Play Track 32+ sounds included $25

    Get the sounds of the human body with the Stethoscope sound effects library: The gurgling and murmuring of various digestion processes in the abdomen, the beating heart, blood rushing through vessels and the respiratory sounds of the lungs.

    All sounds were recorded from male and female volunteers using multiple stethoscopes and a Sound Devices 633 recorder, final clean up was done with Izotope RX 4.

  • A new sound collection of ticking metal and wooden clocks, designed watch and old clock, large mechanism, retro rusty clock, and mechanical gears.

    Create up and downtempo metronomic ticking time pass and hypnotizing ticking cues, uneasy ticking tick-tock, design gradually building clockworks, dark pulsating ticking clock, metallic clicks that build tension.

    SampleTraxx Clockworks features 4 loop folders at 80-90-100-120 Bpm evolving from half note to the sixteenth note beat plus an extra folder of spare mechanicals sound effects and processed field recording.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biT76c-3qF4

    Features:

    Loops: 207 Wav – 48/24 – 80-90-100-120bpm – 2 bars

    Mechanism: 33 One-Shot Wav samples 48/24

    348 Mb of content

    100% Royalty-Free

Find many more scary sounds in the Horror category


 

How are you using sound to guide, spook (and perhaps even trick?) scarehouse visitors? And if you were to break down the soundscape for a scarehouse, what are some of the key elements?

As far as guiding visitors, the set designers usually handle that. They run all the spacing and make the paths clear to go from point A to B in the area. As far as making it scary, you really just need to gather the intent of the room, the subject matter and everything like that, and make it as if you are basically living in that for a film or video game. I like to think of it as a living, breathing version of Silent Hill.
 

In general, what’s essential to great, scary sound, in your book?

High contrast will always be a huge focus for anyone, but the main thing is getting sounds that are naturally uncomfortable and exaggerating that. Creaky doors, the scrapping of guitar strings in to an amp, everyday sounds that make us uncomfortable. A good example of that is in the opening theme to American Horror Story. All the sounds feel somewhat natural, but still innately foreign and that triggers a good solid response.
 

 

Any special techniques or approaches you’re using to create scary sounds?

A source that I have been using lately that is pretty controversially in the sound design world is the use of Omisphere. I’ll make all of my own sound effects, and they have a really expansive sound effects rack that I like to manipulate to create a lot of my patterns and atmospheres that normally I wouldn’t be able to create. Otherwise, I focus on the standards of panning usage, high contrast and harsh dynamic tones.
 

How has scarehouse sound evolved since you started out – and have you noticed any interesting trends?

The trends haven’t changed very much yet. Scarehouses have a tendency to follow slowly behind film trends, with that in mind I see more and more of scarehouses moving toward sound designs and atmospheres in the future rather than orchestra. Of course the classic sounds styles will always exist, but the intent and tone that designers are looking for are changing.

My first year bringing music into the industry I did a mix of orchestra instrumentation as well as atmosphere and sound design. Most of the customers were intently looking for orchestration but a few were strongly into my sound design stuff.

The way things seem to be going is very focused on ambient sound, driven by harsh sound design

After a year establishing myself in the community, I released an album that took an extreme hard turn away from anything symphonic. That one is called Nyctophobia and to date, that’s my most successful album.

The way things seem to be going is very focused on ambient sound, driven by harsh sound design – an example would be the opening theme for American Horror Story. Sound like that is gripping and raw. It feels uncomfortable. Soundscapes like that and Silent Hill are the two biggest styles that I get asked about every year. I don’t see that stopping any time soon.

Just to add to this, for people looking to break into the industry, as much as I talk about trends and stuff the biggest thing is to bring your best into it. Stand out and bring your own brand. If you have something that’s unique and fits the medium people will respond to it. Disregard fear. Be the fear.
 

A big thanks to Marc Straight for his insights on scarehouse sound – meet him on Twitter right here

 

Please share this:


 



 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Door Sound Effects Noisy Doors Play Track 44 sounds included $10

    This library contains recordings of eleven different types of doors specifically chosen for their interesting sound. I performed all actions with a lot of detail covering “open/close”, “knocks”, “bangs and thuds”, “handle grab and rattle” and when possible also “crackles and squeaks” (all recorded at various intensities)

    50 %
    OFF
    Ends 1711666799
  • Metal Sound Effects MetalMotion Play Track 2000+ sounds included, 239 mins total $110

    MetalMotion is a sound design construction kit that contains four hours of moving metal mayhem: clicks and clanks, rolls and drags, wronks and squeals, scrapes and rattles, ranging from from tiny to monstrous. Nathan Moody’s unique performances with unusual combinations of props produce everything from Foley-like movements to intense groans and howls.

    Whether you’re covering a robot’s movements, sweetening weapon Foley, making crafting or pick-up sounds in a game, placing unusual layers beneath a kaiju’s roar, or crushing a submarine with undersea pressure, this collection covers the full range of subtle to raucous. Each file has many performance variations for creative choice and game audio asset creation.

    While there are some tasty impacts within, this library’s true focus is on characterful movements: handling, rummaging, opens, closes, ratchets, swirls, rolls, drags, drops, spins, rubs, zuzzes, and bows. Metal containers, filing cabinets, modern appliances, vintage (and very rusty) tools, cymbals, bells, grills, plates, bars, rods, and tubes, and many other props lent their voices to this collection.

    This UCS-compliant library was recorded with a combination of standard, contact, and ultrasonic-capable microphones through Millennia preamps. Sample rates vary based on the amount of ultrasonic content in each file. The audio files are mastered for realism, ready for extreme processing and pitch shifting of your own, but still useful in more grounded contexts.

  • Electricity Sound Effects Polarity Play Track 975 sounds included $72

    Polarity delivers more than 950 sounds of electricity, science and technology – captured in several locations around the world, from electricity museums to science labs. About 50% of the library is all about electricity, with various types of Jacob’s Ladders, Tesla Coils, Ruhmkorff lamp and all sorts of impactful bursts of energy.

    Then we go through welders, plasma spheres, 3D printers, starting to cover a more broad technology theme – like old phones, telegraphs, dynamo wheels, rotary dials, whirling watchers, alarm, lab centrifuges, something scientists call a roller and a rocker, servo sounds, neon lights, a wimshurst machine and sparklers.

    Many sounds in this section were captured from vintage equipment, from a 1928’s tram to old telephone switchboards, high voltage levers and control surfaces.

    All content was recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, a couple of Sennheiser 8040 and a Neumann 81i, translating into final assets that have plenty of ultrasonic content, ready for the most extreme manipulation.

    Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free:
    This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.
    20 %
    OFF
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Trench Rammers is a one-of-a-kind sound library, created by sound designer Barney Oram. It features recordings of two 20th century Trench Rammers, some of the last operating machines of their kind in the world. The library features 48 files in total, capturing the Trench Rammers using a variety of microphones and perspectives, supplied in 192kHz 24bit WAV file format.

    This library contains multiple recordings of two antique Trench Rammers, the Pegson ER5 and the Warsop Benjo, and also features additional recordings of four antique stationary engines, the Amanco Hired Man (1920s), the JAP 1947, the Lister D (1940s) and the Norman T3000.

    Recorded in Leeds, UK, this library features multi-mic coverage and a range of distance positions captured on all included source content. Microphones used include; Sanken, Sennheiser, Neumann and DPA, captured with Sound Devices and Tascam recorders.

    This library includes detailed SoundMiner metadata and utilizes the UCS system for ease of integration into your library.

    Behind the Scenes Video:


    Trench Rammer


  • The cozy natural rhythms of hums, scrapes, splashes and thuds soundtrack the pottery workshop where the earth meets art. Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

     

    About Pottery Workshop

     

    84 sounds that are clean, subtle and capture pretty much every object and action of the magic of fire and earth.

    From the rhythmic hum of the spinning potter’s wheel, to the splash of water, the scrape of clay with the tools shaping and smoothing surfaces, listen up for the symphony of creation.

    You will hear the tapping and thud of ceramic pottery, wooden ribs, wire cutters, loop tools, and sponges, all kinds of rummage, and mud actions on the potter’s wheel. The clicking and whirring of mechanisms during firing cycles add a mechanical counterpoint to the workshop’s natural rhythms.

    You will get variations of sounds in different proximity, size, and style of action. This collection is handy due to the clarity and diversity of the raw sounds. They have both Foley and practical usability and room for further sound design.

    You will get intuitive, detailed naming, UCS compatibility and the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail in 84 pristine sounds. Recorded in 24bit-96kHz.WAV format on our favorite Sennheiser MKH 8040 stereo pair and Zoom F6.

     

    Keywords

    Pottery, workshop, electric potter’s wheel, wheel, oven, heat gun, mud, clay, ceramic, glass, wooden, metal, cup, handle, push, pull, move, remove, shape, tap, shake, clank, level, lid, tool, organizer, toolbox, rummage, fiberboard, button, bucket, sponge, plate, Dremel.

     

    What else you may need

    You may also want to check out Drag & Slide for 477 sound files of dragging, sliding, scraping and friction sounds of different objects made of wood, plastic, metal on various surfaces. Our bestseller Crafting & Survival is another good choice to get access to 1000+ survival, gathering, movement and crafting sounds.

  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with Shure KSM 137, Line Audio Omni1, FEL Clippy XLR EM272, Sonorous Objects SO.3 and JrF C-Series Pro+ microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II & Zoom F3 recorders. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Introducing Devils Bane Trailer, a chilling symphony of horror encapsulated in 533 meticulously crafted sound files, ready to unleash terror upon your audience. Dive into a nightmare realm where every creak, whisper, and shriek is meticulously designed to send shivers down your spine.

    • 533 files
    • 3.5 GB of game audio assets
    • All in 96k 24bit .wav
    • Dark Horror Movie Trailer Sound Effects Library
    17 %
    OFF
  • Birdsong from the countryside of the Swedish rural region of Värmland.


   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags are not allowed.