It would be pretty difficult to “accidentally” wander into an extreme haunted house, completely unaware of what you were in for. The one I went to a couple years ago (blackout NYC) included a mandatory session beforehand explaining in general terms the sort of things that could/would happen inside. (the actors will touch you, they will be rough, there may be “fluids”, there will be nudity, you may be restrained, etc). People go to these things because they know they’re grotesque, not because they’ve been tricked into it.
They’re definitely not like a traditional haunted house. More like an “uncomfortable house”. They set up rooms and situations that aren’t designed to scare you so much as make you so uncomfortable (either physically or emotionally) that you chicken out and ask to leave. They’re at least somewhat effective, since of the dozen or so folks that went in ahead of me, two came out early.
And since they’re outrageously expensive and still sell out every year, it seems there are plenty of people who want that experience. I wouldn’t bother doing it again (not for $50 at least), but I’m not sorry I did it once.
From the linked BB article:
Here are a few requirements you must pass to even be able to enter: you
now must be 21 years of age (previously was 18), you’re required to sign
a wavier, and you must be in excellent physical condition. Only two
people go in at a time, and get this… it can last anywhere from 4 – 7
hours. They actually now only take four people through the haunted house
each week.
from the linked BB article-
Here are a few requirements you must pass to even be able to enter: you
now must be 21 years of age (previously was 18), you’re required to sign
a wavier, and you must be in excellent physical condition. Only two
people go in at a time, and get this… it can last anywhere from 4 – 7
hours. They actually now only take four people through the haunted house
each week.
The only thing that really bothers me here is that the audience for more subtle creepy delights generally must content itself with staying home and reading a book. I love spooky movies, but in order to see one you must sit through countless jump-scare stories about profoundly mentally ill people who have decided to arm themselves with a fancy blade. The evening news is more fantastically occult.
These extreme haunted houses should have a soundtrack that signals when you’re about to be scared. Also, startling intrusions that turn out to be your cat.
The creepiest thing that ever happened to me in a haunted house was that a group of us turned a corner into a small dark room. We looked around and saw nothing and as we turned to go out the far door a clown suddenly appeared about six inches from my face.
Now, I’m not afraid of clowns. I don’t even mind anyone being that close. But what really creeped me out more than anything else was the total lack of any response in any way. He wasn’t menacing, he wasn’t waving his arms around, just standing. Following. It was just a brilliant piece of work and a lot more effective than anything else I saw that night.
His attitude is so “My way of getting scared is better than your way of getting scared.”
“Jackass Escape House” implies unintelligent and immature taste in immersive frightening experiences. Do things a person does not like have to be inferior to things a person likes?
I understand “haunted house” to be an immersive experience designed to be frightening. Qualifying it with the adjective “extreme” distinguishes it as a different type of attraction than those that offer a milder experience. People are capable of understanding that there are different subgenres of haunted house, much in the same way that people understand that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Human Centipede” fall within different subgenres of horror film.
Ultimately, I think the “goal” (if such a thing even exists) of a haunted house is to scare you. Like other genres of entertainment there is a spectrum, with a spooky stroll through a pumpkin patch at one end and these extreme experiences at the other. In a way I find the goal of these production sort of noble. They are meant to provide the most scary/psychologically-intesne experience legally possible. Some people receive a thrill from them. That’s the point. The fact that you personally go to haunted houses for different reasons then the people who come to these houses is beside the point. They ARE haunted houses, and their goal is very similar to that of less extreme houses: to deliver a thrill.
As someone interested in the creation of all forms of entertainment experiences, I feel compelled to say that Oni Hartstein’s piece on extreme haunted houses is one of the best things I’ve read on Boing Boing lately… which is saying a lot.
I thought your story was going to end with the revelation that the well-dressed older ladies were shills, either to try and make it more scary by screaming at everything (the equivalent of a laugh track), or to shock everybody when monsters actually drag them out of the audience and murder them in a variety of ways in front of everybody.
I left disappointed. You should rewrite your life to make for the better story. (Sorry your wife got hurt by inconsiderate other people, though!)
I was at a local haunted house (what, 10 years ago?) and there was a room early on that freaked my the f**k out. You walk in, and there a woman in a chair with her back to you, wracked with sobs. Loud, horrible cries. It goes on. Everybody is increasingly uncomfortable. I was astounded! Then the docent opened a door and explained it was because her daughter was posessed (Excorcist-flavored makeup ensues).
What a let down.
That room, with no door, no explanation, would have been perfect.
I think this article is spot on! I don’t fault people for having the interests that they do, but these “haunted houses” are not haunted houses. They are torture porn rooms. Haunted house attractions are interactive theatrical experiences with character layering and thematic cohesion. These are something entirely different. My fear is also the author’s. I fear that this will hurt the industry either through legal damage or through changing pop culture expectations of haunted houses.
That’s right, there is none. She’s comparing them to the TV show Jackass, not calling the people behind them jackasses. She says so the very first time she uses the phrase, and reinforces it at the end (“it could be an opportunity for the guys who did the Jackass show to co-opt to have some fun with their fans. Seriously. That’s what I’d do if I were them.”)
You should rewrite your life to make for the better story. (Sorry your wife got hurt by inconsiderate other people, though!)