Haunted Houses: Actors

2005

Okay, you've got a location, and props, and scenarios, and insurance, so now you need the all-important part: the actors. Actors who get into the story are the ones who make a haunted house successful; they engage the guests in ways that mere props alone cannot.

However, finding such wonderful people is a difficult task, especially at prices you can afford. Serious actors know their worth, and a person who is just going through the motions— actors call it "phoning it in"— hammers home the unreality to the guest. Someone who is obviously bored makes a haunted house boring.

How do you get good actors, then?

First of all, expect to audition far more people than you actually use. If you can't bring in enough people to have a choice, you will have a problem. (An exception is if you are part of a theater group who is voluntarily putting on a haunted house, because everyone involved will be acting their hearts out for the house to succeed.)

Secondly, you will have to consider whether volunteers are worth the price. Sometimes a group of apathetic volunteers is more costly in the long run than paid actors. If your house is boring or unenthusiastic, the all-important repeat business simply does not happen.

Thirdly, a large number of the people who want to work in a haunted house will be minors. This can be problematic. Check the labor laws for your area to make sure that any underage employees are properly taken care of in terms of hours, breaks, permits, and pay scale. You may also want to limit their participation to areas where they cannot be cornered by belligerent guests.

And, sad to say, many minors are unaware of the demands of working in a haunted house and absenteeism is common. Carefully screen to make sure you hire reliable teenagers. They do exist, no matter what you think.

Good places to look for haunted house talent are the local community theater groups and colleges. If you can find an improv group, that's gold. Also consider people who have done such things as work at summer camp or who have worked with small children, as they are used to infusing everyday activities with enthusiasm.

As for payment, remember that you get what you pay for. A community haunted house can get away with pizza and sodas as payment, but a professional operation should certainly be paying at least minimum wage, and probably a good bit above that. Haunted houses should be fun for all involved, and because there are hazards that most guests never see, the pay should reflect that.

Next up: Props

Haunted Houses: Guests

2004

The truth of the matter is that no matter how carefully you plan your haunted house, something is bound to go wrong as soon as the guests appear. It can be as accidental as the guests noticing some problem that you and the rest of the staff managed to completely overlook, or it might be as deliberate as the trashing of the sets that occurred on Halloween at the Bayou Brewing Company's haunted house. Guests can be mirthful or terrified, skeptical or gullible, overprotective or downright dangerous. You have to be aware of the possibilities and how to minimize danger.

First of all, there are two forms of haunted house: controlled and uncontrolled. An uncontrolled house is a bunch of set pieces that guests are allowed to freely wander through. This works pretty well for houses geared towards kids under 12 but can be a preparation for disaster with older groups. The aforementioned Bayou Brewing Company house was uncontrolled; though the maze was set up to push the guests in one direction, anyone who wished to loiter could do so unimpeded, and anyone who wanted to put a foot through a piece of panelling could do so in relative privacy with no fear of getting caught.

A controlled house is one where the guests are led through the house, such as the "Aliens" setup I described earlier. This usually requires a leader and a follower; the follower is specifically charged with keeping the stragglers up and with making sure any children or adults who need to leave suddenly for any reason are escorted to the nearest exit. This has the benefit of reducing vandalism but requires a larger manpower commitment.

In a controlled or uncontrolled environment, one thing must be taken into consideration: You are not allowed to touch the guests. Ever. Not to grab them or to scare them; not to tap them on the shoulder; not to stop them from kicking an antique into pieces. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that in our lawsuit-happy culture, even the slightest touch might prove the fodder for a personal injury lawsuit. Don't give yourself that kind of grief.

However, looming, screaming, growling, and general menace are all allowed. And, naturally, if there is a medical or safety issue, you are allowed to intervene as would any bystander. If you are really concerned about vandalism, consider hiring a security guard who can take care of troublemakers in ways that you cannot.

Of course, there is always the possibility of unintentional damage. A frightened person might run against a wall, or over a prop. The only thing to do in such circumstances is to back off and let the person calm down. If the guest gets hysterical, call for a plainclothes staff member to escort the guest out. (A costumed character might frighten the person more.) This is a rare occurence but one that should be considered.

Above all, be flexible, and react to the guests as much as possible. An interactive haunted house is more interesting than a static museum setup.

Next Up: Actors

Haunted Houses: Practical Considerations

2004

Haunted houses are not, alas, very cheap to put on in practical terms. There is the cost of the location; there is the necessity of obtaining actors; and, in most cases, there are props to be acquired or built. And, of course, there is a need to get guests - usually paying guests - to the haunted house, which means advertising costs.
Rare is the setup which has plenty of money and manpower - usually there is a tradeoff. A well-funded enterprise might have access only to those indifferent, unwilling, or just plain unknowledgeable, or a group of theater students might have the paltry profit from the last student production. A volunteer group might have to put up with bored teens just helping to get required "service" credit.

In general terms then, these will be the probable costs:

• Location. Unless one of your group is someone with a handy building just sitting around, it is likely that your group will have to rent a suitable building for your haunted house. Warehouses are very popular for these purposes, but be aware that such a building requires excessive construction of interior "walls". An actual building can be used, but be aware that there is a large probability that the location will be damaged over the course of a run, sometimes even deliberately. (More on that later.)
• Actors. While you might be in a group of friends who think that putting on a haunted house is the coolest thing in the world, chances are that you will need to solicit other people. Obviously, volunteers are cheap, but they vary in quality from sublime to sub-par. Some may even be entirely unreliable. Your best bet is to look for theater students, but be aware that they are saavy and will only work in quality conditions. (If you are unable to provide financial recompense, try to arrange a crediting scheme with the school or university. That way, the students get recompensed in the form of grades and extra credit.) In other words, if you are treating your actors badly, don't be surprised when they stop showing up entirely.
  
  All paid positions must follow your local business laws. In fact, with certain for-profit haunted houses, you may not be able to accept more than a certain percentage of volunteer help - make sure you know where you stand before you start.
• Props and Sets. You can't get around the fact that folding chairs and T-shirts and jeans, by themselves, don't make for a very effective scare. Whether it's fishline or a fully automated screaming skeleton, props will cost money and time. If you do haunted houses every year, the props become a sunk cost, getting used year after year, but when you're first starting off they can be large.
• Insurance. This is the one that nobody thinks about. No matter how many disclaimers a guest may sign, there is still the risk that someone will get hurt— or claim to get hurt— in order to win a suit. Actors also pose a need for insurance; some stunts are dangerous. (Due to the chance of accidental hangings, it is advised that any "hanging corpses" be dummies rather than actors.) Keep yourself safe; if the event is open to the general public, make sure to carry the proper insurance. (Safety precautions can minimize the cost of insurance. Be sure to ask the insurance adjustor about them.)

A haunted house is a major undertaking. Make sure you know what is involved before you start the process.

Next up: Guests

Haunted Houses: Narrative

2004

This section could also be called "How to Build a Scare." Most people don't realize how a scare needs to be crafted; the legions of bad horror movies are a testament to that. Relentless attacks on the senses produce stupor, not fright; a true craftsmaster will also prefer to let the audience use imagination to produce a scare rather than showing his hand too early.

Remember Alien, the first movie? The title creature got very little screen time and, in fact, was not evident for the first half of the movie. What was evident was the disquieting elements: the radio gone silent, the skittering noises, the movement caught out of the corner of the eye. When the audience first saw the facehuggers, they were so keyed up that it was far more frightening than if those creatures had been in view from the start.

As with painting, the white space is important. In this case, it is the calm before the storm. Don't be afraid to let your guests have to wait during an early part of the tour, especially if it is in an area geared to produce disquiet. You could have a bloody antechamber with desperate handprints near the exit and a near-constant dripping sound nearby. You could have a coffin with chains around it. You could have a plain room - but with random scratching coming from the other side of the wall. Such a setup not only gets the guests worried but engages their imaginations - what is that sound supposed to be?

Likewise, save your biggest scares for the end. If you've got a killer with a chainsaw at the beginning, don't be surprised when the guests merely shrug at the cartoony witch near the end. The trick is to lull the guests into thinking that everything is normal and then hit them with a shock or a surprise.

For example, to continue with the Aliens theme, above, the entry could be of a typical space station, with a tour guide willing to show them the new state-of-the-art facility. After pointing out a few things in typical tour-guide fashion, he has to communicate with someone else on the team, who does not answer. (Disquiet.) Then a little skittering noise is heard. The tour guide makes a few calming comments but is obviously disturbed himself. As he leads the group into the next room, he realizes that it is in disarray. (More disquiet.) He realizes that something is wrong and he tries to contact someone else. No answer. He instructs the group to stay where they are and then leaves.

After a minute, more skittering sounds are heard, distinctly moving from one side of the room toward another. The lights flicker. Something moves past the door, too fast to be seen. The tour guide's scream is heard, then laser-style shooting or explosions. The tour guide, considerably worse for wear, shows up and instructs the group to follow him. After passing by some destroyed rooms, the tour guide starts indicating that he feels ill. (You could see that one coming.) His shirt starts jumping, and he points the group on. Heavy footsteps are heard behind. The tour guide screams for the group to run. They do, and then the lights go out.

Again, there is a pause while strange noises happen around them. Then a couple of marines show up with flashlights and urge the group to follow them. As they are hurried past a junction, one of the marines is pulled away abruptly, screaming. The group can barely see something, something big. The other marine points them towards the "escape pod" (possibly an elevator), which the group crowds in. The doors take forever to close, during which time the group can almost see something big coming towards them. The marine shoots, but is pulled down. The doors finally close.

For this narrative, the true shape of the alien is never seen. This is especially good if your creature-building skills are suboptimal. The use of dark is important; people fear what they can't see. And leaving the group alone at points leaves them adrift - they don't know what they are supposed to do, and the confusion adds to the sense of fear. By crafting a story from beginning to end, the sense of control rests firmly with the actors, and the fear inspired when the guests are a part of the narrative is increased.

Next up: Practical Considerations

Haunted Houses: Themes

2004

When setting up a haunted house, a theme can be your greatest ally in crafting the scare. By insuring that all of the frightening elements have something in common, the actors do not end up by confusing the guests but can instead build on each element into a complete storyline.

A theme does not have to be complicated and can, for example, be built around props or costumes that the group already has. For example, if the actors are primarily drawn from the Society for Creative Anachronism, your theme could be that of a Medieval Torture House, or the Tower of London with all of its attendant ghosts. Drawing on common costume elements available today, one could create a house based on Movie Moster Horror, with Freddy Kreuger, Béla Lugosi's Dracula, and Elvira in attendance. Or if the location is a creepy Victorian-era house, one could, well, do Victorian Horror.

When I was in college, I took part in a haunted house run by a pseudo-Louisiana company called the Bayou Brewing Company. Naturally, the haunted house had swamp-themed elements in it; however, even though it was very well-designed, it did not have a coherent theme. This became a problem later on when the designer left, because the company gentleman in charge did not have the same sense of drama that the designer had; he allowed the various different elements to blend, which not only sapped the tension but caused confusion - the Aliens birth scene does not, for example, go very well with the creepy swamp guy.

If you are running on a tight budget and can only do a haunted house with the different elements on hand, make sure that you spend a lot of time crafting the narrative. I call it a narrative because it is exactly that: a storyline crafted by the actors and the guests together.

Next up: Narrative

Haunted Houses: Community

2007

How well do you know your community? Do you know if it's primarily singles or families? Or maybe it's an aging community.

Knowing your market is essential to designing your haunted house. A Mike Meyers Halloween will play well to your young adults but will be given a wide berth by both your young families and your older folk. And planning a loud haunted house next to a nursing home would be, as they say, a Bad Idea. So the first thing you need to do is to figure out your target audience.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how wide your range is going to be. If you're setting up a professional house with a large advertising budget, your target audience will be drawn from a large geographic area. Those kinds of haunted houses need to promise and deliver huge thrills to get the people to visit and return. In fact, that type of haunted house would do well to have variances in the scenarios so as to provide something new on every visit.

But for the most part, your house is likely to be a local affair, and the first thing to do is consider the demographics of your location. If it's kid-centric, with lots of playgrounds and parents with strollers, you'll probably want to design a house for the younger set, with storytelling and minor scares rather than the heavy-duty thrills. If it's teens in the area, you can go a bit stronger. And if you're in the neighborhood of a university or community college, you've hit a sweet spot— both your workers and your guests are likely to come from the college.

The next thing to take into account is the local interests. See what clubs and organizations are popular in the area. A local history club can be a great source of inspiration. Local "ghosts," complete with accurate historical personalities, will add a unique flavor to the proceedings. Or perhaps your area is big on football. Why not have a haunted team?

The most important thing is, of course, to get the community on your side. Don't set your house in a heavily residential area and be loud late into the night. Make sure to provide safe areas outside your house. And figure out concessions you can make if people will be upset with you— it is not done to be the neighborhood bogeyman, even if you have a bogeyman in your house.

Next up: Themes

Haunted Houses: Introduction

2004

In October, thoughts turn to Halloween, and many people celebrate by going to productions known as haunted houses. These can vary from the community production to the Hollywood-produced theme house, but the level of money put into a production is no indication of quality. A so-called amatuer production can pack more punch than a professionally created one; the true indicator of quality is in the level of planning and quality of participators.

There are two basic types of haunted house: the Creep and the Shock. The Creep is a type where little things happen to make the guest uneasy, such as skitterings in the ceiling. A good example of a horror movie where Creep is the major factor is The Others, where the isolation and confusion lead to a sense of dread. The Shock is a more in-your-face kind of horror, where frightening things might jump out at you. A subset of Shock is Gore, where blood and guck rule the day. This is more of the Nightmare On Elm Street or Friday the 13th kind of production. Of course, the best haunted houses partake of both Creep and Shock; a bad haunted house in one that either never elevates the fright level above Creep, or that abuses Shock until the guest is bored with it.

Think of how the movie Alien (the original) delayed showing the alien for as long as possible; the tension was drawn out by using strange noises and half-hidden glimpses. Horror movies of this stripe are a good example of how to construct a haunted house; they have a gradual build to an eventual climax. If one constructs a haunted house in the same manner as one constructs a good story, the house will have a greater impact than a strung together collection of random scenes.

When deciding to produce a haunted house, one should take into consideration the following aspects:
-The location. A haunted house is nothing without a "house", whether that is an actual house, a warehouse, or a community center. The shape of the space that you obtain will have a direct effect on the types of scenes that you are able to produce.
-The actors. The quality of people you have available to you will help determine the level of haunted house you can produce. There was one haunted house I participated in where a large number of high schoolers volunteered to help fulfill community service credit; most of them didn't care about the haunted house and were little more than indifferent actors. The house suffered as a result because there were too many roles that required an active commitment.
-The resources. This includes the amount of money that is available for the house, but this can be offset by willing volunteers and available props.
-The community. Is this a suburban neighborhood where they will bring their kids (even if you specify an age limit)? Then you should take this into account and ensure either a low-key haunted house or a safe area where children can be looked after while their family takes the tour. Is it a teen-heavy area? You might want to go for the gore.

Once you have figured out where, when, and how your haunted house will take place, you will be able to pick your theme, and begin to design your haunted house.

Next up: Community. *NEW*