Gore vs creepy

[Matt Colton]

I know this view point can change but I am really curious what you guys on here think is scarier. Does extreme blood and gore do it for you or does creepy, chilling, clean but more decay induce more fear. I know both are needed in a fair balance but what view do you find more scary/

[Jim Warfield]

No Gore Here@ Ravens Grin

But I found out strange items, displays, rooms can creep people out or at least get their minds working, Then you have a chance to reach them, entertain them, scare them.(Scratch a little line on their brain's memory chip?)
Visual memories will be stronger in some people but I like the people whose imaginations delve into the storyline and linguistic areas of brainwork. I think this can also be much more dangerous and the scare effected might be prolonged or even damaging to everyday happiness and self-confidence levels. Proceed with caution.
I intentionally sprinkle attempted humor in with the actual haunted history of this old house to lessen the blow and give their fragile mind a safe way to hopefully enjoy what I am trying to do, if they need that escape route.
Everything is really a balancing act if you think about it.

[Matt Colton]

Very true I like the added humor. I would have to agree that the creepy atmosphere definatly adds more scares but I can't help but have this feeling when you see something EXTREMELY morbid where it literally makes your skin crawl (especially us haunters) and when I mean morbid! I'm talking about really over the top almost something in bad taste because it's so grusome.

[Badger]

I think it's fairly easy to become desensitized to gore no matter how over the top it is, (Troma films anyone?) but a genuinely creepy place will be that way forever...

[piercemanor]

Patrons

It only depends, this is why you need a good mixture of both, its true (to me) that a creepy atmosphere would creep me out more than a pile of guts, but some patrons could easily argue different

[Don_OfThe_Dead]

Gore is so over done and so easy that people become desensitized to it. Creepy is an atmosphere that is so subtle that people cannot always place their finger on what exactly is the cause of it. Nighttime will always be creepy because it's in our nature to be afraid of it.

[Dreamreaper]

We are in our 19th year and have never had a drop of blood or gore in our haunts.

[Matt Colton]

I feel the same, a good atmosphere can really trigger fear. Back in the day when I would work on The Forsaken Crypt late at night, in the dark and alone, I felt extremely uneasy and had to turn a few lights on.

[zombietoxin]

I think the key is ther 'er' in cleaner.

Gore will always be around in varying degrees, but it's certainly not necessary to soak the place. It would seem to work best whae the two are coordinated.

Fear is psycological and lasting. Repulsive things are expelled pretty quickly because people tend to avert their eyes after identifying it as such.

I have yet to hear anyone say "Wow! That blood stain was scary!"

On the other hand- that 'thing' in the dark over there equalls whatever the victim thinks it is- which is usually their greatest fear or something near it. The point is they try to identify it by associating it with their own mental catalog of fearful things. And that, my friends, is the door of opportunity opening wide for the ghost in the room!

...or at least thats the way I think it works in my own little world...

[Matt Colton]

Couldn't ask for a better definition of fear

[WelchWitch]

I scare more and deeper with things that affect my mind. Things that could really happen. Bloody and extra gore, just makes me lost. 3 headed dogs and such don't scare me. Things that aren't real so to speak. So give me cleaner, mind tricking real stuff and you have this witch crying like a little girl!

[jakprintsHAUNT]

It's all about atmosphere for me. Being in this industry and into horror of all types...I am very desensitized to just straight gore, however when you add in things like scents, textures that just feel wrong and the like...goes a lot further than just plain guts and gore in my opinion.

Mike "Pogo" Hach

[Dreamreaper]

I scare more and deeper with things that affect my mind. Things that could really happen. Bloody and extra gore, just makes me lost. 3 headed dogs and such don't scare me. Things that aren't real so to speak. So give me cleaner, mind tricking real stuff and you have this witch crying like a little girl!

I have been working on a room the last few days that leads up to and is an elect. room. I have a truck equipped with horn lights and movement. crashing through the wall into barrels that come crashing down on both sides of you. I had my first scare today from the owners daughter she dropped to the floor when i was just showing the barrels falling. Makes me feel that this room will be great this year...

[WelchWitch]

Oh yeah Dream that sounds great. It would get me for sure. I also love things that happen above or below the normal angle of vision. Very sweet, you will need to post pictures when it is done.

[Jim Warfield]

When My Son was about 12...

He thought the gory, bloody mutillational stuff was just so Neat! He was a huge fan of such fare.
Then all that radiacally changed quickly when he and I were requested to move a dead dog from the basement to the garage. (It was very heavy)
He loves dogs, he was asked to babysit this dog while the owners took a few days away. The dog had just had an operation and it got infected and died.
The owner did not want his kids to see the dog when they came home.
They were even younger kids. It made sense.
We have no way of correctly guessing which of our customers have had live-altering experiences that may have left them hyper-sensitive to certain things.
October is when I see customers here (I'm open every night of the year) who were drug or even tricked into coming in here by friends and they do Not wish to be here...but they are.
Sometimes a very un-fun time for all.