Haunted House creators are artists.
Their canvas may include blood, gore and slime but it is no less a work of art than anything hanging in a museum.
“I guess we’re not in Kansas, anymore,” got the requisite eyeroll from my partner in crime – the teenage son who had talked me into this wild ride in the first place. My chuckle was both of amusement and nervousness, as I tried to adjust to the sensory overload of my first glimpse at the massive tradeshow floor that makes up the TransWorld Haunted Attractions convention. After three straight years of attending this convention of close to 10,000 haunt enthusiasts converging to celebrate all things Halloween, words still fail me.
The sheer spectacle of it all – the lights, the lasers, the fog, the music, the jump scares, the steady parade of ghouls, vampires, witches and monsters of all shapes and sizes marching by – is like stepping in the technicolor land of Oz. The pictures can’t do it justice.
Similar to Comic-Cons, this is so much more than a convention. These people are a family. They jokingly describe themselves as “the island of misfit toys” but just like that fictional island, they all fit. They are a perfectly imperfect community. Everyone has a role to play. They embrace each other’s differences whole-heartedly. When they see friends from past events, it is a joyful homecoming.
They may be competitors for Haunted House business, but they’d rather everyone’s haunt succeeds as opposed to theirs succeeding to the detriment of another. No haunt is too small, no idea too crazy, no aspiration too big. They believe in the twisted beauty, art and storytelling of the pure Haunted attraction.
The truth is that the beating heart of this business is its storytelling. Haunted House creators are artists. Their canvas may include blood, gore and slime but it is no less a work of art than anything hanging in a museum. Their storytelling is in every space you encounter. The sights, the smells, the noises, the actors, the surfaces, the slimy feel of the fog you walk through, the darkened maze you maneuver around – it is all intentional. Every detail matters in how the story unfolds to immerse you in their world.
Therefore, these haunters spend years creating and recreating their stories. At conventions and on chat forums, they come together to discuss all aspects of the business – from how to engage customers waiting in a long line to how to get just the right look of mold or rust from various paint applications. They take advice from each other, buy from each other, and head off, freshly energized for another season of scaring their audiences with the latest animatronics, costumes, props, even scented fog.
Yes, that fog does smell like rotting corpses.
You aren’t crazy. You’re just getting spooked in 4D.
These artists often spend more than they make. They have limited windows to show off their creations. Their biggest challenge is always some version of “I don’t like being scared” as they try to win over newer, bigger audiences. Yet, they persist because, like any starving artist in any medium, this is more than a job, it is a passion.
When I read the NYT article “At Capacity,” that encouraged us to “engage with things that someone put a lot of work into,” I immediately thought of the Haunters.
So, if you are looking for a new experience, mark your calendars for spooky season and immerse yourself in an art form that someone has put their heart, soul and some guts into. Face your fears! Look at these attractions with new eyes, appreciate their every little detail and enjoy their storytelling.
At the very least, remember what a strong community can achieve if they all work towards a common goal of making their corner of the world the best it can be, as crazy as that seems. As all artists can attest, and as my favorite convention shirt says:
“We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be.“
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