Do You Touch?

[Empressnightshade]

In my haunt, we've always had a "no touch" policy. For the customers, do not touch anything or anyone and for the actors, do not touch the customers.

Well, this past season, there were several customers who wanted to know if we would be touching them. When we told them "no" they sighed with relief. They said they were touched by some of the actors in two other haunts here locally and it freaked them out.

Now, I thought about this and said to myself....isn't freakin' them out what we desire to do?

So, here's my question: DO YOU TOUCH? If not, why? If so, why and has there been any negative consequences?

[Ken Spriggs]

Well

Honestly...I touch people! When they deserve it!

We never let the actors touch people...if they do they are done.
Our actors are also taught the difference between a bump...a hit...a punch...

The worse thing in the world is an actor complaining about being hit....They jumped out at a deaf guy (ok they didn't know) when he finally saw what was coming he scooted so fast out of the room he pushed someone out of his way.....Then they said He hit me!

BS

[MindWerxKMG]

Why? One word. Lawsuit!

[Empressnightshade]

Why? One word. Lawsuit!

How can someone be sued for touching another? Please elaborate.....

[ClusterOne]

That may have been us...

I tell all 19 of my actors each night not to touch, but I have to admit that I do touch some of them!

I feel that I have been doing this long enough and that I can read most people better then my volunteer actors.

I only go after the men, because even I am not about to go groping women! That is a lawsuit! And I generally go after the guys much bigger then me, saying things like 'oh, this ones got a lot of meat on his bones, your gonna be popular in here!' Tends to really freak them out! It freaks out the ladies in the group as well, give them the feeling that no one is safe.

So to answer your question, yes and no. No for my crew, but sometimes yes for me.

[ScarlettP]

I do occationally touch a customer, but I'm not a 'scary' character. I'm just the 'hostess'. Sometimes, our people need a little encouragement to move along... so a hand on an elbow helps them find their way. This passed season, we had to offer a hand to negotiate a tricky step down onto a ramp.

But touching to scare? No. Never.

[MindWerxKMG]

In today's litigious society people will sue for anything. An accidental touch or a "guiding hand" is one thing, but touching to scare is a no no! Why chance loosing everything you worked so hard for?

[GhoulKraft]

In the haunt I work at, we have a no touch rule. Its just too much responsibility on the actors part to read patrons. How far can they go? Is the boyfriend going to slug me if I touch the girlfriend? What about the group of 8-10 teenage girls who take a 1 ft x 1ft space as they go thru, if I touch one are they going to take off and fall down and hurt themselves? It is always a smart policy to enforce no touching.

[drfrightner]

Up in Canada all haunts touch you! Its actually very disturbing what they do up there especially at Screamers.

Larry

[Empressnightshade]

Larry,

do your actors touch?

[Scream Shack]

Larry,
As an owner of a Haunt in Canada I can assure you not ALL haunts touch, You should really think before you Post.

Colin

[Jim Warfield]

Touching may be ok sometimes but anti-cootie serum is very expensive, especially if all the hired help needs to have some.
I like the almound bark-vanilla flavored anti-cootie serum the best.
(Stains my shorts though and smells like Grandpa's old pet weasel "Bucky") Never touch Bucky.

[Duke of Darkness]

There are exceptions to every rule, but I don't think that touching patrons is a good idea and always direct actors not to do so.

That said, I worked at a haunt a few years back (not my attraction) where they did have one gag in which people were touched by a monster. Right before entering the attraction, the guests had it drilled into them that they were not to touch props or monsters. Early on in the haunt they entered a totally dark area. I would stand in the middle of the pathway and let them run into me in the dark. I would then yell "don't touch the monsters!" It got good reactions and was pretty safe, complaint wise, since I never touched them with my hands (I kept them behind my back).

As well as that worked, I still don't like the idea as a general rule. While the above gag didn't draw any complaints, and probably wouldn't, it is exposing the actor to unnecessary risks. It is situations like this in which actors get punches.

As I said, exceptions to every rule, but you have to put my vote down as no touching.

Dave

[Murphy]

We had a haunt open up in our area a couple of years ago and they advertised that it was "interactive" and their actors can and will touch you. I had a number of patrons come to our place complaining that the actors at the "interactive" haunt were chewing on girls hair and and even groping some customers. An angry parent called a local news station and told them her daughter had been touched improperly. The news station did a big story about the "incident" and the day after the story was on tv, they had their biggest night that year! Any publicity is good publicity I guess. I believe that you do not have to touch someone to scare them!!! As far as I know they have switched to a "no touch" policy, which is smart because you can't trust everyone. I make sure that everyone at my place knows that there is to be no contact at all, that way if I get a complaint that a patron was touched I can defend my people without having to drag the actor out and have a face to face confrontation. Safety of actors and customers should always be the number one priority of any attraction. All it takes is one person to get hurt and the whole show could be shut down for good. Peace :twisted:

[Empressnightshade]

With the haunted house tour videos I've watched, it is nearly impossible for the actors not to have bodily contact with the customers with the way they get in the customers faces and crowd them, so to speak.

However, what if you touch a customer not with your own hands, but with the hands of a costume? For example, you know the costumes that have extra large heads and extra long arms that you hold on to by a pole? What if you touch the customers with these hands or even a prop? Would that be acceptable?