Last week I talked about the history of haunted houses as
staged events and ended with some Halloween facts. This week I'm talking about the big business
of professional haunted house attractions.
In the U.S., there are approximately 4,500 professional
haunted house attractions opened to the public during the Halloween season—300
theme parks that operate a seasonal haunted house venue, 1200 large-scale
haunted houses, and 3000 such attractions operated by and/or for charity
organizations as fund raisers. And, of
course, Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida have the year
round Haunted Mansion ride.
What is America's oldest and largest commercial Halloween
haunt? That honor belongs to the Knott's
Berry Farm theme park in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles,
California. Or as it's known this time
of year—Knott's Scary Farm. It's the
world's first Halloween theme park event, the largest Halloween theme park
event, and the largest special event in the amusement park industry. The park makes it clear that the event is not
recommended for children under thirteen years old.
It should be no surprise that many of the professional
haunted houses/scare attractions have an organization of their own. Many of the most famous haunted house
attractions in the U.S. have formed America
Haunts. They even hold a national
convention every summer. The attractions
that belong to America Haunts are as
diverse as the people who operate them.
These attractions have been consistently reviewed and are rated as
excellent by scores of media sources and considered safe, fun, and an extremely
scary show for horror and haunted house fans.
These are amazingly detailed, cutting edge attractions that rival many
Hollywood horror movie effects.
Definitely not for the faint-hearted.
The many America
Haunts attractions [located across the country from San Diego, California,
on the Pacific coast, to Baltimore, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast], annually
draw in millions of brave souls during the Halloween season. The haunted house industry, like most other
industries, has its own tradeshows, experts, consultants, suppliers, magazines,
associations, education seminars, gatherings, and events. Haunted attraction owners annually spend
millions of dollars with haunted house vendors for supplies such as fog
machines, animatronic monsters, lighting equipment, and costumes and masks. In recent years, the overseas market has
provided the biggest growth in business for the haunted house vendors of
supplies.
The Otis Elevator Company estimates that 85% of the
buildings with their elevators do not have a named 13th floor, with that actual
floor being given the number 14. Some
businesses don't want to be associated with the stigma attached to the number
13 as being unlucky. Some don't want to
take a chance on losing customers/clients due to them having an aversion to the
number 13. And that probably explains
the basic reason for the name of one of the largest haunted house attractions
in the U.S.—The 13th Floor Haunted House in Denver, Colorado.
In the 1940s, the building that houses The 13th Floor
Haunted House operated briefly as a hotel located across the street from the
Sunset train station. A group of
children arrived at the station on their way to their destination south of
Denver. The weather had turned bad, so
the bus driver taking them from the station to their final destination decided
it would be better to wait until morning to complete their journey. They checked into the hotel across the street
and in the morning continued on their way.
The school bus became stalled on the tracks just south of town and was
struck by a train, killing 10 of the children.
Legend has it that those children continue to haunt the hotel,
protecting others from a similar fate.
Several of the large, professional attractions, such as The
13th Floor Haunted House, offer more than one venue as part of a specific
location. Each of the venues has a
different theme. And some of the
attractions have both indoor and outdoor fright areas.
One such outdoor attraction is Hundred Acres Manor in
Pittsburgh. The attraction boasts 6
haunted attractions for 1 price.
Another outside offering is The Haunted Trail in Balboa
Park, in San Diego, California. It's a
mile long trail through a twisted grove of pines and gnarled oaks. Last year they initiated a creepy stroll down
a reproduction of New Orleans famous Bourbon Street complete with vampires and
other creatures of the night. The
Haunted Trail also offers the return of the 3500 sq. ft. haunted maze
And this barely scratches the surface of what the large,
professional Haunted House attractions have to offer those looking for the
ultimate scare. So…have a happy, sane,
and safe Halloween.
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