Halloween parkworld-online.com


Three to see


Park World asked Larry Kirchner to pick three “unmissable” haunted attractions operating this Halloween in America. Here’s his choice:


, St Louis,


Missouri (scarefest.com). My own attraction, The Darkness is celebrating its 20th year of fear in 2013. Many within the haunted house industry have rated it for its one-of-a-kind special effects and Hollywood level detail. The Darkness features a 3D haunted house called Terror Visions and the Monster Museum with gift shop, and people come to visit from all over the world!


, Atlanta,


Georgia (fearworld.com). This is the most visited haunted house in the industry and features


everything you’d ever want in a top haunt: amazing


costumes, make- up, sets,


animations, actors and more.


Netherworld, Georgia


Netherworld’s best feature is the outside actors who entertain


visitors – even the ones who


haven’t purchased a ticket, in fact some don't because the parking lot is scarier than most haunted houses!


, Baton Rouge,


Louisiana (13thgate.com). One of the most detailed haunted houses in America featuring incredible set design,


animations, special effects and make-up. The 13th Gate expanded a few years back adding Necropolis 13, a haunted New Orleans-style cemetery including a Voodoo Fire Show on weekends. It also features thousands of live snakes to add an extra fearful element!


If the attractions above aren’t enough for you, then check out Hauntworld’s list of the Top 13 haunted houses in America for 2013 at bit.ly/18lxnkz


34


Is there a risk of a theme park alienating its regular family guests by hosting events that are too extreme?


Halloween has become universally accepted by everyone from kids to parents, and the nature of the holiday has become better understood, so I would say no. Every year people are looking for bigger and better Halloween activities.


How do you strike the right mix of terror and entertainment? With a lot of effort and creativity. You don’t want to make a haunt so scary that a visitor never returns, but you want to frighten people enough so that they have an experience they can talk to their friends about. There is no formula for the right mixture; you just have to hope that people visiting your haunt want to be scared. If they don’t, haunts probably don’t appeal to them in the first place.


How important it is to create fresh attractions/mazes each year? Very important. Movies change, video games change and haunts change. It’s part of what draws haunt owners to the industry, the ability to create something new each year, and keep people coming back.


Would you recommend the use of horror film-based intellectual property, or is creating your own story/themes a better option? Yes and no; it depends. Film-based haunts work for Universal Studios because that is their theme, but outside of their world it’s not a popular trend. Original themes are nice, because you can tweak them until they are perfect.


The Darkness, Missouri


How can operators make a living out of season, or would you advise them “not to give up the day job”?


Most big haunt owners gave up their day jobs years ago. All year long they are working to make their attractions better for the coming year. Also, the haunt industry has grown with the popularity of Halloween, but being in the business of scaring people doesn’t end after the holiday. Horror movies don’t only come out around Halloween, so why should we attach ourselves strictly to the holiday?


What are the biggest mistakes newcomers make when creating haunted attractions? Newcomers often don’t realise the scale of the job. It is a monetary and time-consuming project, which requires a lot of passion and creativity. Creating a haunted house isn’t easy; you have to fully commit – it’s go big or go home.


halloweenproductions.com blacklightattractions.com


Guests (victims?) run for their lives at The Darkness, Missouri


OCTOBER 2013


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