Haunted houses are terrifying environments characterized by shadows, cobwebs, hisses and barks from rats or other creepy creatures, rats/roaches/mist, etc. People visit haunted houses to be scared by ghosts.
Haunted houses typically represent sites of past wrongdoing or places where evil spirits have been trapped for some time, including ghost houses and hell houses, both operated by churches or parachurch groups.
Origins
Haunted houses are an unforgettable Halloween treat. From community center productions to high-budget fright-fests with Hollywood-quality special effects, haunted houses offer thrills and chills. But as with any form of entertainment, haunted houses must adapt in order to keep pace with consumer demand and remain relevant.
Burns asserts that today’s haunted houses are descended directly from macabre exhibitions that emerged to disturb audiences in the 1800s, such as Marie Tussaud’s “Chamber of Horrors,” an exhibit which featured wax sculptures depicting decapitated French royalty such as Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Marat.
Orton and Spooner created one of the first purpose-built haunted houses for fairgrounds in Liphook, England in 1915. While somewhat subdued by today’s standards, their haunted house featured moving floors, cold air blasts, recorded screams, as well as moving floors – signaling its beginning in this ghostly attraction tradition.
Structures
When we think of haunted houses, our minds tend to conjure images of mist-covered Victorian manors on dark October nights. While many haunted houses fall into this category, others operate without an obvious exterior and even during daylight hours!
Ghostly houses may be public, private, or commercial buildings and come in all shapes and sizes. Older places are especially likely to be haunted given their longstanding history of use and deaths occurring underneath their roofs.
Certain architectural styles can also add to the haunt-ability of a building, like turrets and towers which make a home feel isolated and forbidding. Other eerie elements could include creaking floorboards, moving furniture, foul smells or door slamming sounds – people report feeling as if there is someone or something present; headaches may arise along with profuse sweating, pain in hands or feet and rapid heartbeat rates; psychic researchers suggest haunted places may cause psychological fear as well as feelings of being attacked from within themselves – they suggest haunted places have psychological fear within themself as much as anything else.
Infestation
Haunted houses don’t just involve ghosts and poltergeists – they may also be plagued with pests like raccoons and squirrels that make an unwanted appearance by chewing through wires, damaging electronics, leaving behind chewed wood debris, and spreading mold and cobwebs throughout.
Electronic equipment, plumbing fixtures, refrigerators and heating/air conditioning units often produce noises and sounds that may be mistaken for paranormal sounds when trying to sleep. Such sounds can often be mistaken as paranormal sounds which can be very disconcerting when trying to rest.
As such, haunted houses typically include trap doors and other features to control infestations, but even without ghosts and spiders present, some scare tactics used at haunted houses can still cause injuries – from puddles and broken floorboards to moving objects and loud sound effects, there are numerous hazards present which could result in slip and trip hazards and cause injuries – not forgetting costumes or props which might trip someone.
Experiences
Haunted houses provide an immersive experience that blends gore, creepy characters and emotional storytelling to produce an unforgettable atmosphere that provides both fear and amusement – perfect for team-building activities at work events and parties!
Haunted houses are an evolution of an age-old tradition: parents would organize their houses so they would scare away children on Halloween. But with technological innovations becoming more and more prominent during the 1970s, attractions became ever more elaborate.
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, famously dubbed America’s haunted house, introduced high-tech effects such as Pepper’s ghost illusion and projections. Furthermore, visitors were transported through this attraction on carts similar to rides.
Few have died at haunted houses; most do not. Instead, these attractions use science to create psychological effects on visitors – physiological responses include dilated pupils, sweating and an increased heartbeat – all indicators that your body is getting ready to either defend itself from an attacker or flee away from potential danger.
