The next big movement.

[Cincyscreams]

Within the past decade we have seen the largest improvements in the haunted attraction industry yet. Going from black mazes to elaborate sets with over the top effects. But has anyone ever wondered what's next? It seems all haunted houses are following a standard today set by the top haunts. Everyone wants the biggest elaborate sets, best animations, newest effects, and coolest costumed characters. But with all this detail it seems that haunted attractions are loosing the actual "scare" factor. So what's next? What's the newest innovation to the haunted attraction industry? Do we continue on with this high detail orientated haunts or do we switch gears? Haunted houses are supposed to be a theatrical experience, where you are the victim. But doesn't it seem like most haunts are just museums for their fancy new props now? just thoughts to ponder about as we venture on.

[Haunted Prints (EOM)]

Maybe the "Blackout Haunted House" in NYC is the next big thing. They are taking it to the next level!

http://jadedviewer.blogspot.com/2011/11/blackout-haunted-house.html

[SeanMassacre]

3D haunts seem to be making a large presence these days. Most are just a few small effects, but some are putting a lot into it and actually putting characters and moving props into them. Our haunt just started with 3D last year and we are investing a lot into it this year. Want to make sure people are getting the true effect. The blackout haunt might be going backwards. The scare isn't really there. I would love to try it, but I would feel I was just getting lost in a room. Nothing scary about getting lost.

[HordeOfUndead]

I have to agree with the original poster. Although what's now available to the haunt industry within the last decade is truly amazing, some haunts rely far, far too much on extreme Hollywood set detail, animatronics, and special FX.

I've been to many huge haunts in different areas of the country that are just like what the above post said, "walking through a museum." Maybe getting scared or jumping once or twice.

Last year was our first professional season and we had zero animatronics or special FX (other than a thunder & lightening simulation). We focused on as many creative scare points as possible.

This season we are in fact adding some special FX and animatronics that are very specific to our attraction theme to have a well rounded haunt. But last season all of our tremendous amount of positive feedback came from how many creative scare points we had.

At the end of the day your actors and scare factor points throughout an attraction should still be of the utmost importance.

If guests are walking through a haunt with hundreds of thousands of dollars in set design, animatronics, and special FX, but don't get scared at all...then what is the point?

I think the next best thing is incorporating the technology we have in the industry today to somehow compliment the exact moment an actor scares a guest (or vice versa). Timing, creative original scare tactics from above or below what a guest "expects" to happen are definitely what sets you apart.

We're adding a second attraction this season that won't be very large, but our crew has not seen anything like it anywhere before. :twisted:

Blackout Haunted House in NYC does in fact look wild. We'd love to get to that one!

[Cincyscreams]

I have to agree with the original poster. Although what's now available to the haunt industry within the last decade is truly amazing, some haunts rely far, far too much on extreme Hollywood set detail, animatronics, and special FX.

I've been to many huge haunts in different areas of the country that are just like what the above post said, "walking through a museum." Maybe getting scared or jumping once or twice.

Last year was our first professional season and we had zero animatronics or special FX (other than a thunder & lightening simulation). We focused on as many creative scare points as possible.

This season we are in fact adding some special FX and animatronics that are very specific to our attraction theme to have a well rounded haunt. But last season all of our tremendous amount of positive feedback came from how many creative scare points we had.

At the end of the day your actors and scare factor points throughout an attraction should still be of the utmost importance.

If guests are walking through a haunt with hundreds of thousands of dollars in set design, animatronics, and special FX, but don't get scared at all...then what is the point?

I think the next best thing is incorporating the technology we have in the industry today to somehow compliment the exact moment an actor scares a guest (or vice versa). Timing, creative original scare tactics from above or below what a guest "expects" to happen are definitely what sets you apart.
.

We're adding a second attraction this season that won't be very large, but our crew has not seen anything like it anywhere before. :twisted:

Blackout Haunted House in NYC does in fact look wild. We'd love to get to that one!

I highly agree! I think all these special fx need to be integrated with our actors..l which is something I am embarking in entirely this year. Every animation, sound effect, etc, is integrated with an actors action.

[scary bill]

3D haunts seem to be making a large presence these days. Most are just a few small effects, but some are putting a lot into it and actually putting characters and moving props into them. Our haunt just started with 3D last year and we are investing a lot into it this year. Want to make sure people are getting the true effect. The blackout haunt might be going backwards. The scare isn't really there. I would love to try it, but I would feel I was just getting lost in a room. Nothing scary about getting lost.

IMHO I disagree. 3D haunts I have been to do nothing for me. Now on the other hand a dark maze if done right can be very frightening. Just think, what was the first thing most kids are scared of? THE DARK. A few well placed actors or startle scares go a long way. Cerebral scares are the way to go. I love all the high tech props and animations, but in reality, a dark hall with some good actors and unexpected events are the best for actual scares.

I think most haunted houses are about the show and props, or eye candy, and not about the actual scares.

Just my opinion, that if like most instances, means nothing

[Haunted Prints (EOM)]

Those actor controlled animatronics by Gore Galore encompass the a tor and the animatronic perfectly, maybe they foresee the nest big thing.

[Deathwing]

To put it nicely, actors pretty much suck. Of course you absolutely need good actors but the reason why all the big haunts use spfx and animatronics is because they are what the public wants to see. I would venture to say that 90+% of the actors I've seen in a haunted house were teens or younger using fake British accents and just aren't scary. Then there are those that take haunted house method acting way too seriously and think they are legendary and irreplaceable to a haunt. People just want to be scared, they don't want to hear an "actor" going through long drawn out dialogue that only bores the guest. And a large number of guests will simply not get scared and they are the ones looking for details and animatronics. I've seen guests walk through and COMPLETELY ignore the actor doing his skit and talk amongst themselves about a prop or scenery. Then there are those that not only miss the scenery but the actors as well as they get bunched up and refuse to look up. I think as long as its still scary with scare actors not speaking actors and full of great scenes and animatronics it's a winner to the public.

Jake

[Allen H]

Jake,
In my opinion you are wrong. Yes untrained actors suck. It sounds like you are talking about bad actors- yes bad actors suck and will detract from a haunt, animations do not add scare factor to a haunted house, they add production value and a wow factor.
If our actors suck it is because you have not trained them correctly or you have not thinned the herd as much as necessary. The big haunts use animatronics and spfx because they are "big"- to big to train actors effectively. A smaller show has an energy that the big shows do not have, they have a personal touch. Actors in a haunt are like teachers in a classroom. a high actor to customer ratio only pays off if the teachers know what they are doing. They are hard to train, it is an investment that an owner cannot see for 10 months out of the year unlike an animatronic they buy at the show.
Most owners dont know what they want from their actors so they dont know how to teach them- I have been guilty of it in the past but no more, now i know what i want and what kind of personality/actor/body type can give it to me.
I think good acting is the future of haunts and a more personal tailored scare experience, imagine getting a customers name and having 30 seconds to look at their facebook wall before they get into your set...

[Deathwing]

Allen,

I disagree with you. Show me one haunt that actually has great actors because I've never seen one. If you tell me of one I will make it s point to go see it. The reason why the smaller haunts focus on actors is because they have to because they don't have the money to buy the big props and sets and the actor is the only focus they can present. The big haunts are big not because of their actors people just don't care they just want quick scares and believable scenery. Everyone knows they are in a haunted attraction and not a real haunted house no one really buys into the fact that they might be in real danger but if the sets look real enough they can more easily imagine they are in a real scary situation. I've seen and heard from actors and trainers who fancy themselves as great actors and they actually look foolish not convincing. Ask any guest that tours your haunts and ask what they like and more often than not they will comment on the scares or details and when they mention an actor it was "that guy with the chainsaw" or things like that they will never say "yeah that girl talking about her lost mommy scared me". Again I think the big haunts are big because they invest in great looking sets and animations and hire scare actors with the occasional actor actor. Disney's haunted mansion is considered legendary and they have "0" actors during the ride but nothing but details, spfx and animations.

Jake

[Greg Chrise]

Somewhere out there there is some good acting. I have seen it. I have had the sense of belief and enjoyed zombies slowly following a trailer hay ride after the scare by staying in character. And not all haunts are great because they piled on the animatronics and line up TV sets showing video that are supposed to be some scenery element.

Yes letting loose Shakespear inspired idiots is not scary. True looking at a bunch of go this way ushers in not exciting but, it is up to you to figure out what sucks and figure out what is more powerful and do it. If no one is doing it right in your region you have a moral obigation to make it right and teach people and lead people even if it means on the job training.

Since I got busy I haven't been out much but, I have been able to go to any haunt and answer the question what can we do to make it more scary and mention one body motion that can get even the most hardened haunt goer or serious enthusiast. People want to do it right. Someone has to make themselves available. Any one can bitch. The problem sometimes is the people who volunteers to lead dont have any idea what to do. There are a gazillion haunts that don't even take the first step to figuring out what to do or do any home work at all.

This spells opportunity. It isn't even an arguement. What are you doing to make things seriously as cool as they could be, compensated or not. Any haunt, even ones that are not yours. If everyone does well, the customers are more engaged to go to any haunt they hear of.

[Badger]

Jake,
In my opinion you are wrong. Yes untrained actors suck. It sounds like you are talking about bad actors- yes bad actors suck and will detract from a haunt, animations do not add scare factor to a haunted house, they add production value and a wow factor.
If our actors suck it is because you have not trained them correctly or you have not thinned the herd as much as necessary. The big haunts use animatronics and spfx because they are "big"- to big to train actors effectively. A smaller show has an energy that the big shows do not have, they have a personal touch. Actors in a haunt are like teachers in a classroom. a high actor to customer ratio only pays off if the teachers know what they are doing. They are hard to train, it is an investment that an owner cannot see for 10 months out of the year unlike an animatronic they buy at the show.
Most owners dont know what they want from their actors so they dont know how to teach them- I have been guilty of it in the past but no more, now i know what i want and what kind of personality/actor/body type can give it to me.
I think good acting is the future of haunts and a more personal tailored scare experience, imagine getting a customers name and having 30 seconds to look at their facebook wall before they get into your set...

Thank you Allen, you bring up a lot of points that I make to my clients. It's difficult to weed out poor or unmotivated actors if you don't get a chance to properly train them. I have many haunts write me after the season and tell me how customers (and reviewers) tell them how much the acting has improved. When people start to rely too much on animatronics, the quality of the haunt always suffers...


And Jake, I would suggest you visit the well-known haunts in the following cities and let me know how their actors are. It shouldn't be hard to figure out which ones I'm referring to:
Atlanta
Kansas City
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati

(And for the record, I have not been hired to work at any haunts in the following cities so there is no personal bias)

[HordeOfUndead]

We're just waiting for Larry to chime in to this debate...

We quickly learned last season that actors (especially volunteers) are a handful. But we were very, very fortunate to have such an excellent group of actors that were enthusiastic every single night during our first pro season. Sure we had a couple mishaps and one or two kids we let go, but during each performance all of our compliments were a direct result from our awesome actors and their scare factor.

Bottom line, as long as any haunt (no matter what the budget) is WELL-ROUNDED and doesn't overkill certain categories (animatronics, special FX, etc) then the show is going to be very enjoyable for all guests.

[freak 'n' stein]

We're just waiting for Larry to chime in to this debate...

We quickly learned last season that actors (especially volunteers) are a handful. But we were very, very fortunate to have such an excellent group of actors that were enthusiastic every single night during our first pro season. Sure we had a couple mishaps and one or two kids we let go, but during each performance all of our compliments were a direct result from our awesome actors and their scare factor.

Bottom line, as long as any haunt (no matter what the budget) is WELL-ROUNDED and doesn't overkill certain categories (animatronics, special FX, etc) then the show is going to be very enjoyable for all guests.

I'm waiting TOO!! Hahaha...

But I whole-heartedly agree that a successful haunt is a great mix of all elements. Our haunt is relatively low budget so we're actor-reliant. An excellent mix of elements in my opinion is Netherworld. I can never speak more highly of a haunt. Haven't missed a season in three years and every year it gets better. Our first year, the thing my group remembered most was the doll character they had in the parking lot. Most the lot actors are the best but the sets are extremely detailed and the actors inside have great dialogue which can make or break a haunt.

[mrfoos]

imagine getting a customers name and having 30 seconds to look at their facebook wall before they get into your set...

WOW! Online ticket purchase + field for customer to enter facebook link + ticket bar code scan at entrance = WOW!

It would be difficult (nearly impossible) to manage in a fast moving haunt... but that's a fantastic idea to ponder and day dream about.