# History of the Haunted Attraction



## Cheap Creeps Podcast (Apr 8, 2012)

I did a speech on the history of the haunted attraction, had it recorded, but wouldn't play. I did a written version Here it is:

What is a haunted house? a haunted house, (haunted attraction, haunt, or HA in the industry,) is a seasonal event where patrons are taken through an area, which contains characters, (called scare actors, or scaracters,) animatronics, puppetry, props, and scenes that are scary. When did haunted houses first come about? The history is unclear, but it's elements and origins go back for centuries. In ancient Egypt, Rome, & Greece, automation was used to make doors and statues move. Mazes and labyrinths have been around as equally long. In the late 1800s, John Pepper created a way to make ghost illusions. He put a sheet of plate glass upright in an angle. He had a main stage with a scene, and behind the glass, a , "blue room," with a mirror image of the scene. He had lights on a dimmer, and when the lights were a certain way, an actor could be behind the glass, seem to be translucent, like a ghost, and interact with actors, and fade out. This effect is called Pepper's Ghost. In the early 1900s, circuses and carnivals were starting. These included sideshows, freak shows, oddity museums, fun houses, & later on, dark rides, like the Tunnel of Love. The first record of a haunted house was the Orton and Spooner haunted house, or Ghost House, belonging to the Hollycomb Steam Collection, an Edwardian fair in the UK. Around this time, the Historic houses, and other buildings, of the 1800s were becoming unoccupied and rundown. Parents would make up scary stories of axe murders, ghosts, and haunting a to prevent curios kids from exploring. From the 30s to the 60s around Halloween, movie theaters would pair live shows with horror movies. These shows were called Midnight Spooks. The live shows included seances, magicians, and other acts. From the 50s to the 90s, a new form of music formed, called Shock Rock. These concerts included songs with horror references and theatrical scares. The first of the shock rockers was Screamin' Jay Hawkins. During a performance of, "I Put A Spell On You," Hawkins came out of a coffin. Shock Rock groups included groups in the rockabilly, punk, metal, and rock genres. Bands included The Ramones, The Misfits, KISS, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, etc. Someone probably went one of these concerts and thought of making a haunted house. In the 70s and 80s, groups like Jaycees and Kiwanis clubs created the first haunted attractions for fundraisers and charity. Another spin on the haunted attractions is the Hell Houses, or Judgement Houses, created by fundamentalist Christian groups. The only difference between these and haunted houses is that He'll Houses depicted images of sin and Hell. These were popular in the 90s, during the anti-Halloween movement of that time. In the 70s to the early 90s, haunted attraction groups probably had to make their own props, set pieces, and costumes, or order them from a specialty catalog. Retail Halloween items weren't as good until the mid 90s, or turn of the century. Since haunts were created, there is a vast industry that makes the props, scenes, costumes, music, and the attractions themselves. A new music style was created, in which the music was intended for haunts, called dark ambient music, which uses orchestral music, vocals, and sound effects that makes the scenes seem real. This music makes sound effects CDs and tapes seem hokey. Haunted attractions are driven by fear. As long as there's fear, there will be haunted houses. Whatever your age, haunts have something for everyone.
I worked a home haunt on Halloween, and went through it when there was a break in the crowds.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Nice write-up ...no vid, though.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

The first commercial haunted attraction was at Knott's Berry Farm in SoCal back in 1972 (73?). They are near universally given credit for inventing the commercial haunt and, really, for the modern idea of a haunted attraction. There's plenty of info about this around.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

Nice speech. What did you deliver it at? I would love to think haunted houses were being studied in school.


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