Cave of Camazotz: The Search for Dr Deathingstone
I conceived this hypothetical haunt attraction in part as a way to challenge myself to render concept art in different historical art styles; in this case, 1800s-inspired pen and ink. I’ve always appreciated haunted attractions that 1) imply a larger world/lore and 2) actually give the guest an active role instead of reducing them to victims or onlookers.
Therefore, the attraction itself casts the guest as part of a search party, out looking for a lost expedition led by famed explorer (and original character) “Dr Deathingstone”. It is made clear to guests that Deathingstone (a not-so-subtle parody of “Dr Livingstone”) was a greedy, colonizing and virtueless explorer. As they make their way through the jungle, it is forensically implied that his lust to find the legendary temple to the Mayan bat god of death, Camazotz, ultimately led to his and his crew’s transformation into gigantic bat-like vampiric creatures via a terrible curse. Guests are confronted by several of these creatures along their path, until they are finally brought face to face with the now-transformed Dr Deathingstone himself, within the ruined cave temple he had sought out to find.
Every piece of concept art designed for the attraction was rendered in this historical style, including the breakdowns of the monsters. The vast majority of these would be actors in costume, but the “final boss” of Dr Deathingstone is an animatronic, the sketch for which I based upon a BBH Exhibits concept I viewed at the Florida State Fair (I adapted it quite a bit for the purposes of this project).
