A haunted house is defined as a building that is the center for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena.  The illusions created by actors, animatronics, sounds, lighting and other special effects that are made to frighten us, make today’s haunted houses excellent scary venues.  What is it about Halloween that transforms ordinary people into seekers of these so-called dark scary venues?  It’s the whole Halloween haunting mentality that brings out the ghost hunters and thrill seekers.  Haunted houses, haunted woods, haunted graveyards…they all thrive on darkness and bringing out your minds deepest fear of the unknown.

Haunted houses also feed off of people’s fear of darkness or Achluophobia.  The whole premise of a haunted house revolves around darkened rooms, basements, attics and even darkened corners!  Have you ever noticed that haunted houses aren’t open during the day?  Many people love the fear they get when entering a pitch black haunted house where you don’t know what’s waiting for you in the darkness.  The not knowing is what causes your palms to sweat, your heart rate to speed up and your imagination to run wild. 

A haunted house should terrify, mystify, shock and disorient its patrons and then let them laugh at their own fears upon exiting.  Fear is one of the strongest emotions a human being can experience. 

There are two basic types of fear a good haunted house can generate:

·         First, the “boo” scare. This is the cheapest but most sought after fright. In the human psyche, there are no lingering effects from this threat. It is accomplished by simply introducing a shocking element by surprise. While causing a scream and a jump in blood pressure, the effects wear off quickly when the person realizes there is no real threat.  Chainsaws are typically the favorite for invoking this type of fright. 

·         Second the “lingering” fear. This type of fear is actually a deep sense of dread of what is to come. Approximately 70% of the population is afraid of the dark and their imagination goes into overdrive for what they perceive might happen.  The boo scare is the release of this dread. Without the release, the lingering fear can bother guests even after they have left the haunted house.

The haunted houses of yesterday are nothing compared to the haunted houses of today. The Halloween decorations and props they use are unbelievable.   It’s amazing how much they’ve changed since I was young.  When I was in middle school, I helped some friends put on a haunted house for our school.  I’ve always been petrified of haunted houses so I thought this would be a good way for me to face my fears.  It mostly consisted of strobe lights, eerie coffins, spiders dropping down from the ceiling and jumping out at people as they walked through.  Compared to the haunted houses of today, it was child’s play.  Now when somebody jumps out from behind a door they usually have blood all over them, their missing an arm and their face isn’t even a face.  Then to top it all off they’re either wielding a 12 inch butcher knife or a chain saw!  Modern technology, special effects and elaborate makeup put the haunted houses of today off the chart.  Gone are the short little walk through one level haunts.  Now they are three and four levels in old condemned buildings and dark barges on the riverfront that have you scared to death even before you go in. 

It is estimated that there are over 3000 haunted houses operating every year in North America alone. According to Hauntworld, the 2008 top 13 haunted attractions in the United States are:   

1.       13th Gate - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2.      The Darkness - St. Louis, Missouri

3.      Netherworld - Atlanta, Georgia

4.      Haunted Overload - New Hampshire

5.      Scarehouse -  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

6.      House of Torment – Austin, Texas

7.      Bates Motel – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

8.      Headless Horseman - Ulster Park, New York

9.      Dead Acres – Columbus, Ohio

10.  Spookywoods - Kersey Valley, North Carolina

11.  House of Shock - New Orleans, Louisiana

12.  Erebus - Detroit, Michigan

13.  Cutting Edge - Dallas, Texas

What is it about Halloween that makes people go out at night looking for ways to be scared?  I can understand walking through a cemetery or watching scary movies with every light in the house off, but actually paying money to walk into darkness and have someone scare you half to death by going to a haunted house isn’t exactly my cup of tea!  Me, I think I’ll stick to the good old tractor hay rides and pumpkin patches - you know, the kind of things you do at Halloween during the day time!