# physical touching for startles?



## Sickie Ickie

Okay, I know we all have opinions on this. My question is thus:

Should actors in a haunt touch patrons for a startle or scare?

My personal feeling is never touch a guest, but how do others feel?


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## TwistedDementia

Never Ever!!!


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## 1031fan

while i would never say touch a guest directly - we do need to attack all the senses - so i try to make the guests have to "touch" stuff as they walk through - could be as simple as string hanging down or something like the ankle ticklers...cloth curtains they have to walk through...air cannons - there are ways to make the guests "feel" something without having to touch them - and i think we are missing out on opportunities if we dont take advantage of them - my .02$

riley


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## Hauntiholik

Wasn't there a guy (madmax?) that was accused of inappropriate touching of a patron?


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## IshWitch

I have always held to never tough a guest.


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## BuriedAlive

I agree. Touching is a no-no for a number of reasons.


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## Frighteners Entertainment

no touchy touchy!

Though, this doesn't mean your props can't.
This is what I've done for the last 3-4 years.
Whether it is latex skeletons flying across the room or falling onto their feet, spider eggs sacks falling from the ceiling, water dripping from the cavern ceiling, ankle ticklers thrashing about at their feet and for the very special guests, the dreaded wet toilet paper toss (oh mom, what was that, it's stuck on me, ahhh, what is it??? Get it off, get it off!!!)


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## TwistedDementia

Frighteners Entertainment said:


> no touchy touchy!
> 
> Though, this doesn't mean your props can't.
> This is what I've done for the last 3-4 years.
> Whether it is latex skeletons flying across the room or falling onto their feet, spider eggs sacks falling from the ceiling, water dripping from the cavern ceiling, ankle ticklers thrashing about at their feet and for the very special guests, the dreaded wet toilet paper toss (oh mom, what was that, it's stuck on me, ahhh, what is it??? Get it off, get it off!!!)


I was going to reveil your technique but figure I'd let you do it!


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## Lakeside Haunt

touching is bad and props touching is sometimes bad as well air cannons and such are ok but in one haunt I visited they had a 3 ft spider attached to a string that they would shove in front of patrons. When I went through the person in charge of pushing it had bad timing and it wacked me on the head as I walked by. That is not Ok if I was a sue happy person this would be bad fortunantly im not.


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## 1031fan

i agree - i dont think that moving props - ankle ticklers being an acception - should touch the guests - i try to have my "touching" stuff be innitiated by the guests - like when they walk through a shredded curtian - nothing really coming out and touching them - they cant really feel violated just by walking through some string or cloth whereas - even if the actors werent directly having personal contact with them - it they were in controll of somthing that was they would be in the same position as if they just stuck there hand out and grabbed them - riley


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## Frighteners Entertainment

All I can say, as in the last 3-4 yrs, never had 1 complaint and I would about 1000-1200 folks through. Everyone loved it.


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## dave the dead

wet TP???? that sound hilarious.
One year at our campground haunt we had a 5 gallon bucket of wet spaghetti noodles that we threw on guests one or two noodles at a time...all went well until one person with no sense of humor didn't like it on his Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirt and called the sherriff on us claiming to have been assaulted.....we had to shut down while four sherriffs and a team of park rangers investigated the complaint. They made us promise no more noodles and went away irritated at the person who made the complaint....

yeah, no touching for your own good....people can really be jerks sometimes.


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## Eric Striffler

We have a no touching policy in our haunt, however like someone said, sometimes people position themselves so that you have to touch the actor to get by or whatever. They might have to brush past them or whatever. But pretty much there's a no touching policy. I'm sure that's the same almost anywhere.


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## turtle2778

so how does the dot room and such work then? How do they know you are even there?


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## 1031fan

have you ever been in one? the actors have to be perfectly still when you enter for it to work - the slightest movent can be seen cause it looks like the dots are moving - thats what freaks people out - riley


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## ScareShack

I say this, just my opinion, if i go somewhere, or even here when we do our thing...............
No actors touch.....keep a 1 foot distance from quests.......
props....well we need to hit that sense...so if they get close enough for the effect ok.
Bottom Line....no real people touch any quest in any haunt!
Think of it this way.....an actor walks up behind you or u lady for the scare....touches either one...perhaps a starttle, maybe a scar, perhaps a angy person....just dont do it i think...just my opinion.


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## skeletonowl

take an empty can. Put two quaters in it. Tape the top so they don't fall out. Rattle it for attention. It's that simple without touching.


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## Empress Nightshade

Hauntiholik said:


> Wasn't there a guy (madmax?) that was accused of inappropriate touching of a patron?


Really, Hauntiholik? I guess I've been away too long! 



skeletonowl said:


> take an empty can. Put two quaters in it. Tape the top so they don't fall out. Rattle it for attention. It's that simple without touching.


 Ah. The Rattle Can. Several Haunted Houses in Amusement Parks use them to save the actors' voices. Although, they do give a startle scare, it tends to make the customer rather irrate. I'm not sure why, but I've seen it time and time again -- that look of irritation when it's rattled for the scare.

I agree with what many have said already -- using other items that the customers have to either brush by or make their way through is a great way to utilize the sense of touch. Besides the two air cannons we're using, we're also making them walk through a nasty laundry room that has lots of wet, stained and stuffed pillowcases hanging from the ceiling.

Now, if I can only figure out how to get "taste" involved somewhere in the haunt, I'll be a happy camper!


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## Beepem

lawsuits start when its physical


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## Frighteners Entertainment

Beepem said:


> lawsuits start when its physical


I would say ,when you charge. Dollar signs are a big motivator!
Home Haunters are still under the radar, but your actors still shouldn't touch.


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## oct31man

Frighteners Entertainment said:


> (oh mom, what was that, it's stuck on me, ahhh, what is it??? Get it off, get it off!!!)


LOL! Now dats funny!


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## 1031fan

im kinda with you on that one EN...i know of several haunts that do the rattle can - even steve hickman at TS - even so im not a big fan and would never do it in my haunt - sure it gets a startle - but then so would jumping out with a new years noise maker and we wouldnt consider doing that - couple reasons why i dont like it - first off - like EN said - it does get annoying - and why is it so annoying? first off its an irritating sound to begin with, but if its used over and over again in the haunt it just gets old hat and boring - we wouldnt consider putting the same yell for an audio track on 2 different pop ups - so why would you want to have the same rattle over and over again?

prolly the biggest reason i dont like it is - - what is it supposed to be? why would a monster or a psycho whos trying to eat/kill/maul you be shaking a can with coins in it? - and i know your prolly thinking what is an air cannon supposed to be then - but thats tried and true and only lasts for a split second and no one questions it - - - why not be more creative in your noisemaking techniques - i totally agree that saving your actors voices is a good trick but dont just give em a can with coins - theyll sound like an angry bum coming after you! - - if its a ghost/monster - give them a one foot section of chain to bang on the ground/wall - - - if its a butcher / torture room give them basically any metal object and have them bang on a box specifically for that - hell - make a small piece of metal on top of the box to give it an extra souns - even a 2x4 slammed against a box would be more realistic than a tin can - i know these ideas arent the best ones - i kinda just threw a few that came to my head out there - but i personally think that the can with coins doesn't really have a place in a haunt - possibly the only place i would use it is in a clown room and MAKE it look like a noice maker - those annoying clowns would prolly enjoy it - but dont use it any more in the haunt - it will just annoy the hell out of ur guests and they will be happy to get out away from the can because they are annoyed and not because they are scared

just my .02$

riley


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## Revenant

If you're doing evil clowns, instead of a rattle can have them shake a "Giggle Stick" (do they still make those?) It's a funny and surreal sound but kinda weird and wrong at the same time. Sort of like the laugh-box sound with the puppet in "Saw". A good actor can make the silliness seem even more sinister than a traditional "scary" sound.


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## Eric Striffler

ScareShack said:


> I say this, just my opinion, if i go somewhere, or even here when we do our thing...............
> No actors touch.....keep a 1 foot distance from quests.......
> props....well we need to hit that sense...so if they get close enough for the effect ok.
> Bottom Line....no real people touch any quest in any haunt!
> Think of it this way.....an actor walks up behind you or u lady for the scare....touches either one...perhaps a starttle, maybe a scar, perhaps a angy person....just dont do it i think...just my opinion.


See we get closer than one foot. We go right up in your face and it's okay. Everyone loves it. We don't do it to little kids so much, or old people haha. But everyone else we do it to. If they look rowdy, we stay back. Most of the time they're fine though.


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## Sickie Ickie

some people get physically violent when others are that close...


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## Hauntiholik

Sickie Ickie said:


> some people get physically violent when others are that close...


Well, that could depend. It's an environmental psychology issue. In some cases people can handle their personal space being violated. Hmmmm, I smell an experiment!

General question for this post: Do you find that people allow their personal space to be violated in haunted houses?

My answer would be yes. I've seen too many instances where small groups of people cluster together while going though a haunt.


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## Sickie Ickie

People clustering together is for safety. An actor that close (in my guess) is considered a danger, so now you have the added psychology of protecting the group. Dr. Ghastly would have a great insight on this.


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## slimy

I had a trick or treat dad ball up a fist and almost swing at one of my clowns. Of course, both the clown and the dad laughed it off, but a few seconds later and the outcome could have been totally different. 

The clown, by the way, never touched the dad. Only came within a couple of feet from him.


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## BRAinDead

Sickie Ickie said:


> People clustering together is for safety. An actor that close (in my guess) is considered a danger, so now you have the added psychology of protecting the group. Dr. Ghastly would have a great insight on this.


Don't know about "great insight", but I'll add my 2 cents...

First, I agree with the consensus here - never touch a guest.

Second, you might not touch someone, but you can invade their personal space. It adds to the scare, makes the person uncomfortable, and generally won't get you sued. The concept of personal space revolves around a person's notion of what is a comfortable distance between him and someone else. It varies by culture and age, and generally extends about 3 feet ahead of a person, 2 feet behind, and 1 foot to the sides. This means you do not have to get as close to someone when coming from the front in order to invade their personal space, especially when coming at someone head-on (greater overlap of personal space there). Also, this may be obvious, but the closer you get, the more discomfort it produces.

As for the huddled group, the key word here is "invade" - people in a group are huddled close together by their own volition, and therefore the closeness does not make them uncomfortable.

However, another shopper standing too closely behind me in the grocery check-out line is often perceived as an invasion of my personal space - and it makes me very uncomfortable.

In regards to people getting violent, I think this is a mixture of several things - the invasion of the personal space heightens the scare. The feeling of discomfort of being intruded upon and the scare of a startling actor are similar, and they come from the same parts of the brain. You have also put an actor in arm's reach of a patron. The patron may have a variety of traits that predispose them to violence, and the more you stimulate them (with fear/discomfort/confusion/intoxicants), the more likely they are to react physically. Another factor is that when a person becomes "afraid", their instincts are to run or to fight. If an attacker is already within your personal space, you are much less likely to be able to run away - so instincts would lean more toward the "fight" mode.


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## Revenant

It also depends on the nature of the approach. The butler at the Haunted Mansion just working his way up close to someone and staring at them is going to make someone uncomfortable (maybe even totally creep them out), but not get the same reaction as someone who jumps out in front of the person, charges at them, or makes "threatening" gestures and loud noises. The more threatening, abrupt, and in-your-face the approach is, the greater the adrenaline dump and thus the more exaggerated reactions.

Good (i.e. experienced) scare actors are better at reading people and modifying their approach accordingly.


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## octoberist

*Physical touching for startles.*

Physical touching doesn't startle me, it just gives me the creeps. In a big way. Especially flesh on flesh touching - _that is the worst_. That is why on the rare occasion that I do leave the house I bundle up under layer upon layer of clothing (even in the summer) and wear two pairs of powdered latex gloves under two pairs of new cotton gloves. At the store I always use a debit card instead of cash so that the cashier doesn't have to give me change - where an accidental touching may likely occur. I feel sick just thinking about it. Talk to you later. Have a nice day.


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## Head Spook

I agree on the no touching. We do make our guests touch certain items. For example, we usually do an incredibly dark maze which requires the guests to put their hands out and feel their way through. The walls they feel may have furry fabric or jello hanging down in medical gloves, etc.


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## Ross

touching

always a bad thing, it opens you up to liablity issues and possible legal issues. Never do it.


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## lerandell

i also have a no touch policy in our haunt. How ever while watching some of our actors I have seen them get very excited about doing their job and over do it. Once a group was being chased down a long hall and the first guy tripped and of course the whole group of 4 went down. our actor was hot on their heals and ended up landing on the last guy a little. I hate to scold them when they are having fun in the role but I do pull them back and say "remember, no touching". 

also we have had groups go through that I followed and when they got out said to others in their group "man, that guy in there grabbed me!" when I know they did not. Of course they were not complaining, just discussing their experience.


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## Daughter of Darkness

*Don't do it-for your own safety*

I feel the need to put in my 2 cents worth. I worked at a haunt called Scaregrounds for two years. We had so many injuries the first year because cast members got too close or tried to touch the patrons. I should tell you that we had about 15 ambulances over the course of the haunt to pick up our cast members! We had two people running around in the graveyard and not paying attention or having a plan and they knocked each other unconscious, two people were kicked by patrons-one in the head(concussion) one broken arm and various cuts and bruises mostly because they either touched someone or got too close to them. People have personal space bubbles and they will either (from reflex or just to be mean)kick out or swing at you if you get too close.

I personally got too close to the tram while in the middle of a bit and could feel the wind of a persons foot really close to me. Taught me to pay attention to where I was at all times. Personal safety should always be a priority over a scare. It is easy to forget your proximity.

I wanna add also that there are other safety issues in a haunt that made me a little uneasy and that is when a female cast member is alone in a secluded area of the haunt. With the wrong people in that situation a rape could easily occur and your screaming would not be noticed. I personally refused to stay in an area they placed me in and pointed out to the mngmnt the potentially dangerous situation(they put a guy there for a while and then just a static prop)

Keep yourself safe -first priority!


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## Eric Striffler

Daughter of Darkness said:


> I wanna add also that there are other safety issues in a haunt that made me a little uneasy and that is when a female cast member is alone in a secluded area of the haunt. With the wrong people in that situation a rape could easily occur and your screaming would not be noticed. I personally refused to stay in an area they placed me in and pointed out to the mngmnt the potentially dangerous situation(they put a guy there for a while and then just a static prop)


Very good point! My girlfriend actually also works in our Spooky Walk, but believe it or not, she doesn't work in my exhibit haha. She works in another exhibit, which is good because it's in a house and I know she's safe. We're in the woods, so like you said that could easily be a problem. I'm glad she's in the house because you can't possibly be alone for a second in there, there's ALOT of actors either hidden or visible.


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## cindyt7

Revenant said:


> If you're doing evil clowns, instead of a rattle can have them shake a "Giggle Stick" (do they still make those?) It's a funny and surreal sound but kinda weird and wrong at the same time. Sort of like the laugh-box sound with the puppet in "Saw". A good actor can make the silliness seem even more sinister than a traditional "scary" sound.


I think I've seen those giggle sticks at the Dollar Stores in Illinois.
I have a friend who does an amazing haunted house. One of the clowns from his clown room waved at us, tilted his head and then skipped close to us. He then, without touching her, leaned toward my daughter with his big white clown hand and said "boop, got your nose..."
It was great! No touching, a bit of sillyness, but very creepy.
I say no touching of the patrons. This actor had the hair on the back of the next standing up just fine without touching us.


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## oct31man

No touching here! I stress over and over to the volunteers, no touching! Some people go to Haunted Houses looking for trouble! I don't give them an excuse!


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## Gothic Nightmare

Totally agree with everyone. No touching.

I have to relay an experience I had at a popular local haunt last year. This haunt was done at a house, the ENTIRE house, and yard. They advertised on radio and paper, and charged admission. They always got a lot of hype over the years, so I was really excited to check it out myself.

It was the worst haunt experience I ever had. Why? Because they touched everyone, practically non-stop the entire time. They were literally picking people up and setting them on tables, dragging them closer to props, you name it. They grabbed my Wife (big mistake) and she was really pissed. She was yelling at them to stop, but they would not let her go until I threatened to beat the crap out of them several times, and grabbed one of them. I'm 6'1 and 240 but they still needed convincing that I was serious before they let go. Then they just grabbed someone else. They kept trying to grab me even after I told them repeatedly I would either sue them or kill them, which ever they preferred.

Everytime you walked past an actor they would follow, touch and harass you through the haunt. By the end we had like 15 costumed actors right up our butt. To top it off, some idiot had this trick of lighting his gloved hands on fire with a flammable liquid and coming towards people! He stumbled and actually touched me with his flaming hands! I didn't get burned, but man I was so mad I shoved him. I was yelling at them in front of the haunt as loud as I could. These knuckleheads totally brought out the worst in me, when I was there to have a great time and support a local haunt. I ended up just telling everyone I knew not to go there, and the reasons why.

The part that bothers me the most about this whole thing is that this was a locally very well-known and established haunt. Now I know why many people would ask me if someone was going to touch them in my haunt. This kind of behavior is what can get haunts banned in many areas.

Please, no touching! If you do this in your haunt, I hope you stop before you get sued, because you need to stop before you ruin it for all of us.


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## Beth

No touching, ever. Period.:xbones:


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## Uncle Fred

In the States, it's a capital NO, but I understand that haunts in Japan (yeah they do this there too), touching patrons is not off-limits. 

Not sure how I feel about that...


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## DeathTouch

If they are really hot, I think they should touch as much as they like. I might even stand there a while so they can have a little pratice trying to scare me. LOL


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## Darkside

I remember when I was a kid and dad took me and brother to the local haunts, there was mild touch. like a creepy hand on the shoulder from behind, or a scary figure lightly running there hand down your arm or things of that nature. I think as long as it is like that is fine and actually adds to the scare factor.
BUT, I see everyone’s point; unfortunately, we live in a society of people who are easily offended and of those who look for any reason to sue. It’s the old adage “one rotten apple ruins the whole basket”. A shame really.


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## Uncle Fred

What about a zap from a air hose?
Most commercial haunts don't do this now, but I seem to remember a dark ride or two using this thrill.

Imagine a plexiglas tank full of cockroaches, with hidden air zaps all over.


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## Sickie Ickie

I think air is fair game.


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## Revenant

The little poisoned darts in front of it, however, are
not.


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## bozz

We use a blow dryer last year in my garage maze and it was a hit, we just made sure it was not aim at their face, we taped it on a ladder behind a curtain wall with a hole cut out, We set it up in a narrow tunnel and had a operator hit the high speed button as somebody walk by.......it was great loud and powerfull, turn out to be a heck of a last minute prop.


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## Beth

Uncle Fred, I LOVE the cockroach idea!! Course it would have to be a different insect.....wouldn't want any of the roaches getting loose!! Brrrrraaaaahhhhh. CREEPY!! I actually have goosebumps thinking about it!!


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## Uncle Fred

Beth said:


> Uncle Fred, I LOVE the cockroach idea!! Course it would have to be a different insect.....wouldn't want any of the roaches getting loose!! Brrrrraaaaahhhhh. CREEPY!! I actually have goosebumps thinking about it!!


You'd have to have enbreakable lexan, given the yahoos who raise mayhem on such nights. Maybe other cages with snakes and rats. Everyone gets creeped out by something. Then the shock comes from the opposite wall, since the truly frightened gravitate over there.

Some of the old dark rides used to have air cannons positioned in the floor, to add a sort of "Marilyn Monroe" effect back when ladies wore dresses...:googly:


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## Beth

Have to give that some thought. We usually don't have too many jerky kids. Normally we have someone escort them through the barn. (Kind of helps to keep them in line.) I was wondering if there was a way to magnify the bugs so that they look huge. Any ideas??


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## princewally

Revenant said:


> The little poisoned darts in front of it, however, are
> not.


Well, dang it. I was planning on using this in my haunt.


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## darklord

you should never touch anyone, your just asking for trouble. give them a good blast with the air cannon.


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## Toktorill

In our haunt physical contact is an absolute no-no, not only patron/haunter, but also patron/prop. It's a sue-happy world. Everyone walks around in their own private bubbles, and damn those things are expensive when they pop!


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## Sickie Ickie

Toktorill said:


> ...Everyone walks around in their own private bubbles, and damn those things are expensive when they pop!


Now That  is a quote for this year!!!


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## Eric Striffler

I agree that was actually a REALLY great quote!


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## Cassie7

LOL Fantastic AND true saying!

I have worked a few commercial haunts and the first and foremost rule was NO TOUCHING ANYONE EVER. And we enforce that same rule at our home haunt. Water, air or silly string is fine, but absolutely no personal touching at all.

Not only would it open doors for legal woes, it also could promote a knee-jerk reaction by the victim and get your haunters hurt. Even with the 'no touch' rule in the commercial haunts, many of us were kicked or punched by guests. It's simply a reflex to their heightened level of fear.

A definite no no no no no.


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## Eric Striffler

Last year there was a drunk kid walking through. Security was alerted immediately and they found him and took him to the police to be taken home or wherever. We have police and two ambulances at our haunt every night it's open luckily. I can't imagine what would have happened if he got pissed. Not only would he hurt those around him, he could slam into a wall and knock it over onto other people!

Baddddd news.

Anyway, back to relative input lmao.
No touching. Period.


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## Steve Filpansick

I agree with the "No touching" deal... see MI is a state that embraces the 2nd amendment, and MANY people (myself included) have concealed pistol permits. 

While I would never do it (as I know that I got to haunts specifically to be scared, and that no harm will come to me), if someone got frightened enough to believe their life was in danger... you might get to see what real blood and guts look like!


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## Terrormaster

*House of Shock - Jefferson, Louisiana*

This past weekend the wife and I were down in Louisiana visiting my family (moved to CT about 7 years ago). When I lived there I used to love visiting the House of Shock every year. Back then entrance was only $8 bucks but now it's $18 bucks.

I wanted to show my wife how lame the CT haunted attractions were so I took her to House of Shock while there. It turned out to be a crappy experience because, and to our dismay, their actors DO rely on physical touching for their scares. My wife had her face caressed (in a demonic you look mighty tasty fashion) twice: once in the cue line and once inside. I had my arm grabbed, my shirt pulled at the chest level, and my ankles grabbed.

They have a warning on the outside that says "House of Shock is an interactive haunted house and as a result there may be incidental contact"... Lemme tell ya, none of that was incidental.

The also did some pretty questionable stuff. Their only saving grace was the opening show which featured a lot of pro-grade pyrotechnics (flames, etc.).

I have a complete review on my site but for the most part the touching thing was totally annoying. Don't even get me started on the placement of their pneumatic props.

-TM


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