# Haunts a waste of money?



## joker

I took my g/f and my dad last night to a haunt that was rated in the top 3 in Texas by Hauntworld. 

Really that was highly rated haunt? Their website show's all these great looking sets, claim to have exceptional lighting, but when we went through it was to dark to so any detail. When talking with them afterwards I was told I could see quite a bit of detail and great shots of their rooms on their website. WTH?!?!

There were dead spots that would have been perfect for scares. The same scare techniques were done repeatedly through the haunt. Really disappointed in what my $17/ea paid for. I knew there was a pretty good chance I wouldn't be scared, but was really looking forward to seeing some top quality sets. Was planning on going to a first season haunt on Sunday, but for $15/ea I'm thinking I might be better off staying home.


----------



## stagehand1975

Went to a haunt last night that claimed to have digital sound. Every scene on the trail used an mp3 player, playing through a small boombox. The maze had a distributed sound system that was distorting. And the hayride had a girl fowllowing a script. To.know when to push play for the story line. And she kept getting the wrong track.


----------



## kprimm

I completely hear you. The problem I think is that too many haunts spring up by people who have absolutely no business running one. By this I mean, It has turned into throwing something out there to try and make money. I believe to have a great Haunt, you have to be a Haunter and know something about scaring. Not a business man only that has no haunt knowledge at all. I really believe I could scare people senseless with a handful of good actors who love what they do more than a haunted house with $30,000 props and no idead or love of what they are doing. Also the haunted house market is going to price themselves right into extinction. The prices have gotten way too outrageous to go haunted house hopping anymore. The price I pay for one bland haunted house for me and the wife, I could buy something I need to make a new prop. I think if the price doesn't drop to a fair amount and if the quality of the haunts don't improve, we may be looking at a dying industry. This is just my opinion, but I know alot of people who feel the same way.


----------



## debbie5

I could go naked to the grocery store and scare more people.

For free.


----------



## ouizul1

debbie5 said:


> I could go naked to the grocery store and scare more people.
> 
> For free.


Hahaha...you're too funny.

But I never really understood why people go to these haunts in the first place. You're going to pay someone to scare the heck out of you?!? Same basic theory for horror movies, too. Strange.

I don't go to either. (read as: scaredy cat)


----------



## Frighteners Entertainment

got to love the rating systems....most of what I see is "self proclaimed" the BEST or likewise.


----------



## -ND4SPD-

We usually try to make at least 2 different haunts each year. More often we are disappointed than impressed but a few drinks & a hot girlie makes for a good time regardless. I usually walk away with at least 1 idea for my Yard Haunt.

We have a pair of Haunted Houses (Asylum & 13th Door) here in Denver that are rated #10 in the nation on Hauntworld (2 locations, 2 different themes, owned by the same company).

I often wonder how they come up with these ranking? Is it who hypes & markets their scare the best. Who networks & attends trade shows & off season events, do they pay to be featured, etc... I've seen video's on TV & online of many haunts that do look to be quite impressive. I've also seen haunts that looked nothing like what I saw in their promo's. Mostly lots of fog & strobes so you can't see anything. There's a Haunted House (Frightmare) that never ranks well on the local Denver HH's rating but consistantly is one of the best in my book (never been disappointed) so who knows... I thinks it's more political, who you know, how much you pay etc...)

I'm hitting up Asylum tonight & 13th Door in 2 weeks so I'll be sure to report back.


----------



## Eternal Unrest

I will say this, as it's hard to bite my tongue on this subject. Larry Kirchner and his dippy dillhole magazine Hauntworld compiles his favorite haunts from across the nation, always puts the Darkness (his haunted attraction) somewhere near the top of the list and year after year it's the same haunts in no particular order.
That being said there are some haunts on that list that are fantastic, Headless Horseman in NY, Bates Motel in PA, and Kersey Valley Spookywoods in NC (ok I'm biased as I lived there and know the owner well). But it's to much of the same repeated over and over. For example, putting Bennett's Curse at the top of any list is absolutely insane. It's a pop tent haunt. Meaning it's a rent-a-tent, some walls thrown up, the latest pnuematic props they bought from transworld, with one motive. Greed. This show has nothing done with love for halloween. Frankly, it irks me off. Because for certain pro haunts it's just about a quick buck. If all of us came together at this forum and put together a show, we'd bury just about everything out there. Why cause what we do, we do for love and passion. For the art of scaring....I could go on, but I'll stop before I write a diatribe of epic proportions.


----------



## Allen H

Joker- Im sorry you had a bad experience at a Texas haunt. It wasnt mine but I think I know which one it was and I know the owner pretty well.
The subject "Are haunts a waste of money?" is like asking are movies a waste of money. Im convinced that there is a haunt out there for everyone just like almost everyone has a favorite movie. 
I am a haunter who cares who is now a director at a mega haunt- Im improving the show to the best of my ability but there are a ton of things I dont have control over and I wish I did. The top 10 - top 13- and top 25 lists are garbage, many of the spots are purchased one way or another, Im not saying some of them arent good shows Im sure a few are.
Joker please be my guest at SCREAMS I will leave tickets for you your girlfriend and your dad at my will call window. I cant guarentee you will love the shows but I have six of them and you are bound to like one. message me your name and I will leave them in an envelope at the will call window. Hopefully you will get a better taste in your mouth for both attractions after wards. Message me ASAP and I will have your tickets there tonight!
Haunted houses have good and bad examples like all businesses I try to be a good one and I know my friends who own haunts do as well- otherwise I wouldnt be friends with them. Please come see screams and enjoy the night on me I will also leave your name at the trail of terror (which I own) and is normally a $5 upcharge. Come out and have fun.
Joker, feel free to also email or call
[email protected]
469-337-4929


----------



## scareme

Allen, I've heard great things about yours and I think that is what people here are talking about. You have a passion for haunting and it shows. If everyone who ran haunted attractions cared about the quality of scare, instead of the numbers, we would see more haunts like yours. But I know the numbers are important, as people who love to haunt have not been able to make a go of their places. It's hard to get the right people and the money in line with each other.


----------



## Darkmaster

kprimm said:


> I completely hear you. The problem I think is that too many haunts spring up by people who have absolutely no business running one. By this I mean, It has turned into throwing something out there to try and make money. I believe to have a great Haunt, you have to be a Haunter and know something about scaring. Not a business man only that has no haunt knowledge at all. I really believe I could scare people senseless with a handful of good actors who love what they do more than a haunted house with $30,000 props and no idead or love of what they are doing. Also the haunted house market is going to price themselves right into extinction. The prices have gotten way too outrageous to go haunted house hopping anymore. The price I pay for one bland haunted house for me and the wife, I could buy something I need to make a new prop. I think if the price doesn't drop to a fair amount and if the quality of the haunts don't improve, we may be looking at a dying industry. This is just my opinion, but I know alot of people who feel the same way.


I agree 100%. We were going to check out some, but for the price, forget it.
We're way too cheap, and the people probably think it's a waste of time. BOY WOULD THEY BE SURPRISED!!


----------



## Darkmaster

debbie5 said:


> I could go naked to the grocery store and scare more people.
> 
> For free.


Way to go! I like this idea! LMAO


----------



## Allen H

at the Trail I have done something novel with the money aspect of it. I made all of my actors part owners. They each make 0.10 $ to 0.15 $ per customer. On the nights they have to work the hardest (the busiest nights) they stand to make $200 or so each. ON nights that are a rainy wash out they make very little but I also dont lose my shirt because my payroll is higher than my income. I dont make as much this way but I dont stand to lose as much either. It also helps to get the actors to promote because they want to make more money. This system really works for me. and Im not going crazy worrying about how much im losing on rain nights I just get to scare people.


----------



## -ND4SPD-

Just found out after doing some research that some of these haunted houses own the websites that are doing the ratings. That would explain why some good haunts aren't on the list & cetain haunts are always at the top.

That's kind of a shady way to do business/ advertise but when you're looking at making $50,000-$75,000 in one month I can see why they do it. Scared of a little competition haha!


----------



## Darkmaster

-ND4SPD- said:


> We usually try to make at least 2 different haunts each year. More often we are disappointed than impressed but a few drinks & a hot girlie makes for a good time regardless. I usually walk away with at least 1 idea for my Yard Haunt.
> 
> We have a pair of Haunted Houses (Asylum & 13th Door) here in Denver that are rated #10 in the nation on Hauntworld (2 locations, 2 different themes, owned by the same company).
> 
> I often wonder how they come up with these ranking? Is it who hypes & markets their scare the best. Who networks & attends trade shows & off season events, do they pay to be featured, etc... I've seen video's on TV & online of many haunts that do look to be quite impressive. I've also seen haunts that looked nothing like what I saw in their promo's. Mostly lots of fog & strobes so you can't see anything. There's a Haunted House (Frightmare) that never ranks well on the local Denver HH's rating but consistantly is one of the best in my book (never been disappointed) so who knows... I thinks it's more political, who you know, how much you pay etc...)
> 
> I'm hitting up Asylum tonight & 13th Door in 2 weeks so I'll be sure to report back.


It's how much money you have to advertise and put your haunt in the top rating.
I tried to get into the America Haunts program and TV show. They said that it is a "Unique Group" of haunts and the owners (members of this group) can have their haunts on the show. Did you ever pay attention as to what haunts are on the TV. The ones that pay the most money!!!! The little guy that wants to get the noteriety doesn't have a chance.
There was a contest for the best "home haunt". The winner was non other than "The Lemp Brewery" posted under a different name. It had the same props, the same scenes, the same sets. It was pawned off as a different haunt and was supposed to be a home haunt. How can a home haunt compete with a commercial haunt that has 100's of thousands of dollars to spend. I commented to the site and never heard back from them with any response.

So, if you have a lot of money you can advertise and hype up a haunt.


----------



## Darkmaster

-ND4SPD- said:


> Just found out after doing some research that some of these haunted houses own the websites that are doing the ratings. That would explain why some good haunts aren't on the list & cetain haunts are always at the top.
> 
> That's kind of a shady way to do business/ advertise but when you're looking at making $50,000-$75,000 in one month I can see why they do it. Scared of a little competition haha!


I agree 100%!!

Not to mention any names, but I LIKE one site in particular and even advertise with them. I have to make my haunt the #1 haunt so that everyone talks about us!


----------



## Eternal Unrest

I think the Laverne and Shirley theme song should start playing right now...


----------



## Howlinmadjack

I can see both sides of this topic, on the one hand, you have a business and need to offset expenses, so you have to make sacrifices to ensure you make a profit. So one way to make sure that happens is market yourself by any means necessary, and pack in as many patrons as possible. Not a great experience for the sophisticated haunter who knows what a good to great haunt is. So they target younger people who want a quick scare, but wouldn't know a quality haunt if it hit them in the face. The other side of the coin is those of us who do this for fun, and are in it to show our customers a good time are harder pressed to make a profit. There's a fine line between the two, and very few people can straddle it without tipping over in either direction. I can't tell you how often I've been to a quality haunt with great ideas, but can't effect a good scare because there are so many people packed in, that you see the scare coming a mile away. My biggest gripe with the industry as has been stated before, is the dollars over quality aspect. The few great attractions I've been to that have made an impression on me, have been those that allow smaller groups in every so often so that the scares are effective, and you can appreciate the ambiance.


----------



## Dixie

I agree 100% with Allen, every haunt is not for every body. I would DEFINITELY not say they are not worth the time or the cost. Joker, if you went to the one I *think* you did, which is pretty much between me and you, I **adored** that one. The dark is what scares me the most, fear of the unknown - and by the time I got out of the 25 minute scare, I was begging for the car!! But I understand now how that is not what you are looking for.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to throw in my support for the Pro Haunters... they have such a hugely wide audience to scare - and we of all people know that what scares a person can be as different as night and day - some like Gore, some like Creepy, some like Clowns, Pirates, etc. Finding one single haunted house that could scare 100% of its guests is kind of utopic.

I personally am loving the opportunity to visit some of the best haunted houses in the nation, here in DFW, and the cost compared to a movie ticket, a night at a bar, amusement park, etc - is very reasonable, in my opinion.

SO worth it.


----------



## fontgeek

It's also tough if you are an experienced haunter, your views can become a bit jaded and biased for what "you" think a haunt should be. No doubt there are way too many people out there trying to cash in on the growing popularity of Halloween and haunts, but I think that the diversity of what people think a haunt should be varies wildly.
To me, the chainsaws, electric chairs, people being hung/lynched and such don't have any tie in with Halloween, for others those are key factors to their haunts.
One of the other problems many haunts have, especially this early in the season, is getting good actors and ones who are revved up/in the spirit when Halloween is still several weeks away. For many, the first week or two are more of a "warmup" but at your, the guest's, expense. If good actors aren't available then haunters may follow the trend that goes "He who has the most expensive/outrageous props wins". While it may be a cool prop, it's a one time scare then it's over. You know it will be exactly the same if you come back in five minutes, five days, or five weeks. Blah.


----------



## Victor

I would be too embarrassed to charge anyone if I could not produce what I claimed. 17 is a lot to charge I would demand my money back for poor service


----------



## Dark Angel 27

i guess i should weigh in on this discussion as well. there are three professional haunts in san antonio (that i know of that aren't related to seaworld or sixflags) and they are Nightmare on Grayson and the 13th floor. the other onoe is ripley's haunted adventure. i have not been to any of these. but in my experiance, the attractions that are the most hyped up always tend to be the less scariest.

case in point is the attraction i went to at a resort in michign. the two attractions i went on was the haunted hayride and the phobia house. the hayride was really hyped
up but it didn't give me much of a scare. only a few of the actors really played their parts to the hilt. some just gave half hearted attempts and only made me laugh. 

and yet, when i went into the phobia house which was a quieter affair, i had to litterally be dragged out for being to scared to move. 

what occured in that phobia house lingers more in my memory then the hyped up hay ride did. luckily we were taken there for a treat and didn't have to pay a dime for anything at all.


----------



## RandalB

I have always found the low cost community haunts to be the best value. Not only price, but the dedication of the folks running them. The best haunted house I ever attended was in the basement of a community church and cost me $5 + a can of food to get in. It seriously outperformed the several $20+ dollar attractions we attended later in the night. You could tell the kids acting in it were enjoying themselves and getting into the parts. 

Now flash forward 15 years (Crap! Where does the time go?) I do a yard haunt and a charity haunt and I get one night a season to check out haunted houses. I now check them out with an experienced eye and usually looking for ideas. I still find the community ones to be a better bet. The local town's haunted house at $10 is a better bet than the mega advertised $20-25 attractions. They may not have 50K in pneumatic props but they have the heart and dedication that makes for a good scare. 

Finally (I know right?),
Went to a mega advertised "Asylum" haunt last year. $20 each to get in. Perfect Location (off in the woods, isolated, etc). Fantastic Set Dressing, You could really see that time and money were spent to make things look great. Then they blew the whole thing by overpopulating the whole thing with actors. I mean literally an actor every 5 feet and all they did was scream at people. Not jump out and scream, stand there and scream. By the time we got to the end and the chainsaw maniac jumped out (really?) it was just boring, even for the petrified by haunted house members of the group (have to bring those right?). Don't just spend money, put some thought into it and get into your patron's heads. 

Off my soapbox,
RandalB


----------



## hedg12

I took my niece and a couple of her friends to 2 local haunts a couple of years ago. We'd been hearing about them on the local radio seemingly non-stop for weeks before & were expecting a good time - silly us. The first one had been in business for 10 years or so & had a reputation for being a really great haunt, so I splurged for the "premium" tickets at more than $20 each, instead of the standard $13 tickets. For the extra money we got to skip the almost non-existant line - and that was it. (There's a sucker born every minute, right?) The haunt was outdoors at a local farm & consisted of 1 animatronic at the beginning, about 10 "boo" scares that were all preceded by strobe lights so you knew when they were coming, and a dot room & claustrophobia tunnel (the best part of the whole thing) in an outbuilding. 
The second haunt of the evening was in a temporary structure with no roof. It was a clear night & the moon was bright, so you could see pretty much everything. Not that there was much to see - just a bunch of high school kids dressed in robes & goth makeup who either screamed or got right in your face & followed you. Not scary. Oh yeah, they also had a "maze" made of what looked like bed sheets. 
At first I thought that maybe I was just overly skeptical & was expecting too much, until my niece & her friends (all in their early 20's) started complaining about how lame they thought the haunts had been. 
Over all I think I spent around $170 for tickets. Had the haunts been decent I'd have probably done it again the last couple of years.

I'm sure there are haunted houses out there that are worth seeing - I just haven't had the pleasure of finding one around here. Over the last 5 years or so I've seen probably a dozen haunted houses pop up, run for a year or two, then disappear. I get the impression that most of the haunt owners see them as "easy money", but people demand some value for their money & if they don't get it they'll stop spending.


----------



## Hauntiholik

I am curious.....
Would a non-haunter find these pro-haunts to be more scary than we do?

I've found most pro-haunts to be not scary because as a haunter I can anticipate where the scares are. Actors give up on me when I don't give them the reaction they want - I'm busy asking questions rather than being scared.


----------



## joker

Hauntiholik said:


> I am curious.....
> Would a non-haunter find these pro-haunts to be more scary than we do?
> 
> I've found most pro-haunts to be not scary because as a haunter I can anticipate where the scares are. Actors give up on me when I don't give them the reaction they want - I'm busy asking questions rather than being scared.


That's kind of what I was getting at. Am I to critical? Do I know to much?

I'm not one to get scared, but I'd like to. Really I was hoping to get caught up in the lighting, set design and ambience and being off guard maybe actually get scared or at least a good startle.

Maybe it was to early in the night and actors weren't in place, maybe they had quite a few new folks that hasn't got up to speed, but I don't know for sure. For the $51 for the 3 of us I don't plan on going back to see.

I've had guests go through our haunt before and for whatever reason a hall or room or different spots weren't ready for what ever reason and I've given the customer the option of going back through or coming back on another night. I work hard and spend quite a bit of money doing what I do and I feel that my name is on every single aspect of the haunt. I would hate to know we didn't give 100% for a group and not have the opportunity to make it right.

With most things to satisfy a customer I feel you need to meet or exceed their expectations. Being a pro haunt with a high rating from Haunt World I had a high expectation and maybe that's why I felt it wasn't worth the money.


----------



## fontgeek

It gets tougher and tougher each year, between movies, video games, and even the commercials we've gotten used to most "scares" and we, as a society, tend to want something new and scarier at each haunt and year after year. Like roller coaster fanatics it gets tougher and tougher to find the thrills, but the technology of today has made that tougher to do, people see so much in their daily viewing that it's hard, if not impossible, to keep up or move ahead.


----------



## hedg12

fontgeek said:


> It gets tougher and tougher each year, between movies, video games, and even the commercials we've gotten used to most "scares" and we, as a society, tend to want something new and scarier at each haunt and year after year. Like roller coaster fanatics it gets tougher and tougher to find the thrills, but the technology of today has made that tougher to do, people see so much in their daily viewing that it's hard, if not impossible, to keep up or move ahead.


I'm sure that's true. I remember being scared silly when I was a kid by a lady in a witches mask that glowed under a black light, because I'd never seen anything like it before. Now I spend hours programming a talking skull & the neighborhood kids don't give it a second glance. Darn kids... I suppose that's why I change my display every year, & spend months kicking around different ideas - I want to come up with something they've never seen.


----------



## Deadlands

It's all about the semi-pro home haunts. There's much more room for experimentation in these that I guess the legal eagles at pro haunts or theme parks just won't allow. Plus, when you can focus 100% of your build budget on one maze, you can focus on detail.

We run one every year that started out rather dull, but the talent was extremely dedicated. Surprisingly enough, we got a lot of very positive reviews. Since then, we've upped the ante each year on the sets, and have seen an inexplicable increase in attendance. In fact, we've added as many nights as we can without making the neighbors angry.

The secret to our success is pretty simple: we do it for the scares, not for the money. Luckily, we have talent and a build crew that volunteers their time (and often money) to pull this off. We also don't subscribe to the animatronic trap. For one, it's too little bang for too much buck. ANY two monsters are better than any five animatronics. If we need a distraction, we rely solely on the actors to set it up.

We also give our actors an unheard of amount of creative freedom. As long as you stay in period and within the storyline, we don't care what you do. Just make it work. Through that, we've gained loyal, and extremely well-versed monsters that we can trust.

So, aside from the few independent pro haunts that do things really well, I'm in the same camp that's typically unimpressed.


----------



## Lunatic

I went to one so called pro-haunt before and it was pretty disappointing. Not to say there wasn't any cool costumes but the actors were terrible. The screams were coming from young voices that would crack as if they hadn't finished puberty. I haven't been to one since.


----------



## -ND4SPD-

-ND4SPD- said:


> We usually try to make at least 2 different haunts each year. More often we are disappointed than impressed but a few drinks & a hot girlie makes for a good time regardless. I usually walk away with at least 1 idea for my Yard Haunt.
> 
> We have a pair of Haunted Houses (Asylum & 13th Door) here in Denver that are rated #10 in the nation on Hauntworld (2 locations, 2 different themes, owned by the same company).
> 
> I often wonder how they come up with these ranking? Is it who hypes & markets their scare the best. Who networks & attends trade shows & off season events, do they pay to be featured, etc... I've seen video's on TV & online of many haunts that do look to be quite impressive. I've also seen haunts that looked nothing like what I saw in their promo's. Mostly lots of fog & strobes so you can't see anything. There's a Haunted House (Frightmare) that never ranks well on the local Denver HH's rating but consistantly is one of the best in my book (never been disappointed) so who knows... I thinks it's more political, who you know, how much you pay etc...)
> 
> I'm hitting up Asylum tonight & 13th Door in 2 weeks so I'll be sure to report back.


Ok, we hit up both haunts this weekend. Just as expected... The Asylum was way over hyped & Frightmare was fantastic! I've seen non-profit/ charity/ church haunts better than The Asylum. Just goes to show those national rankings are more bought than earned.

We going to try & hit two more this year that are by word of mouth rated very good. As always... I'll report back.


----------



## Pumpkin5

:jol: Wow, everyone has an opinion about this topic! Well, here is my humble opinion.....First of all the people on Hauntforum aren't the average joe blows off the streets. We all LOVE haunted things, scary props, fog and lighting and our expectations are pretty darn high! I agree with a lot of the posts and I disagree with some as well. It is kind of bad when you pay $17 to $20 and 15 minutes later you are already through the 'walk through'. At least for a movie you get an hour and 15 minutes or so of entertainment. I suggest researching where you spend your money. First of all, nothing scares me, but I do like going to 'haunted houses' to see their set ups, and what they think is scary and to 'borrow' ideas. The two best I have been to were Scarowinds in Charlotte and Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. Although nothing scared me, I did appreciate the make up, the set designs and the effort of the actors. Universal Studios was far superior, but look at the budget they have. Bottom line is this, can anything really be as good as your own imagination?


----------



## joker

Pumpkin5 said:


> :jol: Wow, everyone has an opinion about this topic! Well, here is my humble opinion.....First of all the people on Hauntforum aren't the average joe blows off the streets. We all LOVE haunted things, scary props, fog and lighting and our expectations are pretty darn high! I agree with a lot of the posts and I disagree with some as well. It is kind of bad when you pay $17 to $20 and 15 minutes later you are already through the 'walk through'. At least for a movie you get an hour and 15 minutes or so of entertainment. I suggest researching where you spend your money. First of all, nothing scares me, but I do like going to 'haunted houses' to see their set ups, and what they think is scary and to 'borrow' ideas. The two best I have been to were Scarowinds in Charlotte and Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. Although nothing scared me, I did appreciate the make up, the set designs and the effort of the actors. Universal Studios was far superior, but look at the budget they have. Bottom line is this, can anything really be as good as your own imagination?


Well I thought I had done my research. The photos of their sets and actors on their website was awesome. A leading industry forum gave them a very high rating and honestly the admission price seemed reasonable all things considered.

As I mentioned I wasn't counting on being scared and wanted to see the set designs and enjoy the lighting and other elements that they had been commended on. From the hype and the photos I actually expected to get caught up in that and who knows maybe even be startled. The actors seemed sparse and the lighting was so dark the rooms just kind of ran together. In the areas of total darkness we didn't encounter one actor at all.

I'll just mark it up to another haunt not being able to live up to their marketing hype and move on. I don't watch movies that get high ratings from critics so maybe I should do the same with haunts.


----------



## Haunt Master

*Here's one thatwill scare you*

Last night on the news there was a report on a local haunted trail in upstate South Carolina that was shut down after one of the actors fired off a shot gun to scare some of the customers. Some of the pellets bounded off the ground, hitting a guy in the leg and sent him to the hospital. I dont know about you but the thought of these idiots hiding in the woods waiting on me to come by........

Wonder what their motto is? If we can't scare the the pi$$ outta ya, then we'll just shoot the $h!t outta ya... :jol:


----------



## CreeepyCathy

Haunt Master said:


> Last night on the news there was a report on a local haunted trail in upstate South Carolina that was shut down after one of the actors fired off a shot gun to scare some of the customers. Some of the pellets bounded off the ground, hitting a guy in the leg and sent him to the hospital. I dont know about you but the thought of these idiots hiding in the woods waiting on me to come by........
> 
> Wonder what their motto is? If we can't scare the the pi$$ outta ya, then we'll just shoot the $h!t outta ya... :jol:


lmao! I heard about this! Danged ********... embarrassing us folks from S.C. Do y'all see what craziness we have to put up with... lol

And I don't go to Haunted Houses because a) I'm cheap; b) I'm a huge scaredy cat....  ...


----------



## TroyO

My favorite "haunt" in Denver is probably lame as can be for some... LOL.

The Molly Brown House museum does a "Victorian Horrors" event that is awesome. They have people dress in period costume and play the characters of victorian era authors doing readings of their works.

http://store.mollybrown.org/store/f...s/victorian-horrors-molly-brown-house-museum/


----------



## dtjurbs

I have not been to a haunt that was worth the money I paid for it in a long time....at least 4 years. The quality is just not there lately. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are some excellent haunts out here, just not in my area.


----------



## dasjman

Screams is always a good time. Even if you don't find the haunts especially scary, it's a fun night out and they do go all out on the scenery! There are a good number of quality haunts in the Dallas Fort Worth area, but I suspect we locals all know which one you went to if you were that disappointed.


----------



## Phantom Scarecrow

I work at an amusement park near Pittsburgh, PA for their haunt, and have heard the same complaint from many people- the LINES are way too long. The park is open 7-1, and some of the lines can be 2 1/2 hours long. That means 3 haunted walk-throughs and/or rides for $27. We really try to give our guests value for that money. I'm a Stalker, so I have free reign of nearly the entire park. I spend several hours creeping through one of the haunt's queue, keeping people entertained. Unfortunately, this is our newest haunt, and is still having some issues, so people are upset about "I waited 2 hours for THAT!?" 
I think the best reviews of haunts would be local news, personal guest experience, and comments on the haunt's own website by their guests (Maybe), instead of national reviewers like Hauntworld.


----------



## BioHazardCustoms

After the debacle of last year(Went to the two biggest attractions around, saw the same things as the year prior, even in the same order), I resolved that this year I would hit 2, maybe three small local haunted attractions. So far, I've been to one. Here's my review.
Alabama Asylum in Lincoln Alabama
Cost:$10.00 to hang out or go through. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!
Lines weren't too long, I was able to separate from the crowd so I could view the scenery at my leisure(Always a plus for people like us!) The actors were in character the whole time I was in their sight. No mind-blowing special FX, but what do you expect for a second year haunt? Scenery was great, atmosphere was creepy, lighting needed a little work, but no big deal, NOT One Person tried to jump out and startle me! In my book that's a good thing. It didn't distract me from drinking in the atmosphere, or checking out some awesome sets.
Website: www.alabamaasylum.com


----------



## VSneader2

I think some haunts are worth the $20 price tag, but just like every one else says we are really critical of haunts since it takes a lot to scare us and we know a lot of the tricks. I live in Indy and I have only been to two haunts that I feel are well worth where they are rated at and the price. Those would be Dead Acres: Haunted Hoochie in Columbus, Ohio and The Dent Schoolhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have yet to go to the new Indy Scream Park as my job keeps me out of town for most of October. Necropolis in Indy has some good detail but really lacks on the actors and the scare factor, to many rooms have no one in them. I walk though there and see tons of places were good scares could happen but they don't. To me the $27 price tag is way to much. I only go there at the beginning of the season when it is buy one get one free. Probably one the better haunts in the Indy area is the one put on by Haunts of Hidden River Inc. last year they had Hauntsburg in Brownsburg, In and this year they are out at the Hendricks County Fair grounds, before that they had the haunted hayride in Brownsburg. They are a non-profit haunt and do a tremendous job. The larger haunts in Indy could learn a few things from them IMO


----------



## EverydayisHalloween311

The haunts in St.Louis are well worth your money. The Darkness, Creepyworld & lemp brewery rock! Check out http://www.scarefest.com


----------



## joker

Here's some info I found in reference to getting a rating for your haunt:



> ...you need to make a lot of youtube videos about your haunt, take lots of professional photos, your website needs to be top notch, you need awesome graphics, logos, all things related to your ONLINE WORLD of promotion must be over the top. If you can't do those things its for a couple reasons...
> 
> 1) You are to cheap to invest in such things which require you to hire outside companies
> 2) Your haunt just isn't good enough to make videos, photos and more out of ... if this is the case forget it.
> 3) If you haunt is good enough to create world class photos, videos and more then see point 1... pony up and do what you have to do to expand your online profile.
> 
> It really starts here and until you can get over this HUMP forget the rest.


----------



## Hauntiholik

Where did you get that from joker?


----------



## joker

Hauntiholik said:


> Where did you get that from joker?


That was posted on the same forum associated with the rating of the haunt I attended.


----------



## Hauntiholik

Gotcha  I figured it came from there.


----------



## Sblanck

My wife and I used to go to the local pro haunts when we were in the hearse club. We weren't ever really scared by any of them. I know one pro haunt owner and I haven't been to his haunt in a while either so I am not sure how it looks as of late or how it does. I feel many of us are just not scared and probably expect a lot more in return since we do what we do for free so surely someone who charges money must be way over the top. Strangely I have never gotten ideas from pro haunts its usually from everyday things. Of course yard haunters have a totally different demographic. My niece who is three and will probably go trick or treating is terrified of the bathtub. so its one little tidbit I am storing away for later use who knows. For me the ultimate haunt is Disney's Haunted Mansion. Yeah its not really scary but it sure is neat to look at all the detail. I will go and read the reviews from the local reviewer and I think almost all the local pro haunts get really high scores. Not sure what their rating system is based on but maybe they are just easily startled.


----------



## wandererrob

Hauntiholik said:


> I am curious.....
> Would a non-haunter find these pro-haunts to be more scary than we do?
> 
> I've found most pro-haunts to be not scary because as a haunter I can anticipate where the scares are. Actors give up on me when I don't give them the reaction they want - I'm busy asking questions rather than being scared.


I'd imagine you're on the right track. I know I never find them scary but I go through, enjoy the show and take in the details and such. I font talk to the actors in the haunt though. I let them do their job while I hang back and watch the crowd reactions and such.

Like yourself, I often know where the scares will be. And the ones I don't... kudos to them!


----------



## Darkmaster

dtjurbs said:


> I have not been to a haunt that was worth the money I paid for it in a long time....at least 4 years. The quality is just not there lately. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are some excellent haunts out here, just not in my area.


Hi, not sure where in Michigan you are, but come and check us out this year.

Terrors of the Night haunted house in Dryden. www.terrorsofthenight.com

We'll do our best to scare you we will even entertain you.


----------



## Ghostwheel

I think it depends on what the haunt is trying to do. Just walking past a bunch of diorama's with gross things in it is not scary to me. But it is to some people. To me, the scare comes with a surprise. The Haunted Trail got me the first year when I had gotten all the way through without anything even remotely scaring me, and as I walk out the exit, a guy outside the exit with a "chainsaw" comes after me. That was good! You think you are safe, but you aren't. Of course, that was years ago, but I still remember it.


----------



## Offwhiteknight

For me, it all comes down to the talent. The folks building, designing and working it. Are they passionate or not?

That means, whether or not they are a broke home-haunter or the full time pros at the originator, Knott's Scary Farm, do they have a passion for this? Are they, as has been mentioned, doing it for money or because it's something they love? I have to say, Knott's hired some new guys a few years ago and you can tell, their mazes have stepped it up a notch. Even my sister-in-laws crappy Nightmare Before Christmas display had passion behind it. (and it did suck, but you could tell it was a dream come true for her to finally bring it to life)

And it's the passion of the scare-actors. A place like Knott's (it is my favorite, we are the same age, I've been going for over a decade straight) hires something around 1,000 actors for their Haunt. A few years ago, getting rehired was automatic and the quality of the actors began to suffer. Limp acting and lots of shaker boxes. They stopped doing that and made *everyone* have to audition every year. The quality has improved dramatically. It takes certain mazes that I don't like, or themes that annoy me, and makes them enjoyable. Hell, for the first time in years, I had a few genuine scares at this year's Scary Farm. 

If you have designers with passion and actors with passion, it takes your haunt to a whole other level, even if you have no budget.


----------



## Sally Doll

Offwhiteknight said:


> For me, it all comes down to the talent. The folks building, designing and working it. Are they passionate or not?


Completely agreed! If you get a good one it is completely worth the money!


----------



## QueenRuby2002

My two cents and it's really not worth much, After Hauntcon last year where I loved the haunts but they really weren't scary for me I took my (at the time) 8 year-old to some of the all age haunts in the area. I noticed that he was scared by stuff that I found boring. So some of it is were just to use to the scares. But the thing that got me and I'm chuckling now typing this is we went to a haunt that was in the basement of our local elks club. It was thrown together last minuet whit almost no props. When we got to the butcher scen the teenager had a red light shinning on him which distorted his features. He was screaming up a storm suddenly he turns his head looks right at my son and screams. 'help me Matthew!" my son is on the floor wide eyed and clinging to my leg. took me a while to calm him down and point out it was just the neighbor kid.

Anyhow my point was (sorry I ramble even when typing) Try taking someone new with you to these haunts and seeing it through their eyes. Not only might you realize hey there are some good scares here you'll have more fun watching them get scared.


----------



## jaege

I don't go to these haunts to be scared, I go to examine their displays. Its more like appreciating their art. At this stage it is difficult to scare me anyway. I ( like I assume many of you) have a good idea where the actors are, what is going to happen, where the scares will be. Besides, the guy in the hockey mask is not really going to whack me with his chainsaw. I know that rationally, so it is not possible for it to be scary.

As to worth the money, well, it is like beauty being in the eye of the beholder. If you think it is worth the money than it is, if not, than it isn't. I have a friend who says it is a waste or money to eat out, where I love eating out and do it all the time. To each his own. Some people love these "scary" haunts, some do not.


----------



## Dark Star

jaege said:


> I don't go to these haunts to be scared, I go to examine their displays. Its more like appreciating their art. At this stage it is difficult to scare me anyway. I ( like I assume many of you) have a good idea where the actors are, what is going to happen, where the scares will be. Besides, the guy in the hockey mask is not really going to whack me with his chainsaw. I know that rationally, so it is not possible for it to be scary.
> 
> As to worth the money, well, it is like beauty being in the eye of the beholder. If you think it is worth the money than it is, if not, than it isn't. I have a friend who says it is a waste or money to eat out, where I love eating out and do it all the time. To each his own. Some people love these "scary" haunts, some do not.


Agreed.

As far as the rating system goes, unfortunately most of it is influenced by advertizing dollars. You will never see a small low budget but amazing haunt listed on a big national site. Word of mouth is always the best way to find a great Haunt.


----------



## ramath

id have to agree with the last poster, to find the best of the haunts rely on word of mouth over the web sites,,, also do a little research never hurts just about every haunt out there it seems like has a video of some sort out on you tube.. for me im a home haunter and have been haunting for 9 years or so ,, while the show I put is free and we are only open 4 days a year we get tons of people and hear a lot of complaints about either the one pro haunt in town or the variety of charity haunts. complaints being eather the ticket price just wasent worth it, to the place wasent scary, or wh ever was running it didn't know what they where doing, on the other side ive also heard some good things to,, the ones I seem to hear the most favorable stuff about are the low budget haunts or the home haunter, as to my haunt I hear mostly good stuff ( basic feed back from visitors) but then again ive heard some negative to ,, mainly it wasn't scary because I didn't have some one dripping in blood chasing them through the haunt lol ,,, it can go both ways just depends on the crowd. personally some of the best memories I have for haunted houses where those home haunts I visited as a kid and teenager,, they always seem to put on the best shows because those are the ones that care the most for the holiday,, I will say on the professional shows look for people like Allen Hobbs or even Leanord Pickle if they have shows going they never disappoint, Why?? because they still remember what it is to care about the scare and how to care for the holiday. you wont be disappointed seeing there shows...

did Joker ever pick up those tickets? would love to know how things went -)


----------

