Thread: Is it just me or are these commercial "haunted" houses a waste?

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No offense to anyone on the board that runs one but I went to two in Denver this weekend and other than a dark maze with people making what they deem as scary voices and loud noises these houses are nothing more than boring. Dark corner, person jumps out... walk around a corner, strobe goes off, go down a hall and there's a flahing siren light to indicate a warning of some kind... really? That's what it is huh?

There are a lot of pretty damn amazing commercial haunts around the country. Unfortunately, none of them are to be found in Denver, IMO. We used to have Brutal Planet back in the mid-90s, which was pretty much as great a haunt as could be found anywhere in the country. Once Six Flags bought it and moved it to Elitch's, it gradually lost all of its luster. And no one locally has come close to matching it since. We have a couple of decent haunts (certainly better than what you describe), but most aren't too far off from what you experienced. Over the past fifteen years, a few have popped up around here that showed promise, but they seemed to disappear as quickly as they arrived.

I used to be a bigger haunt enthusiast, but it's gotten more difficult for me to muster the energy to spend upwards of $30/$40 (for two tickets) to then stand in a long line in the cold to see the same-ol'-same-ol'. I feel your pain.

I'm lucky to have one of the top 10 Haunted attractions near me which the Mistress of the Night and I try to visit every year. Yet, there are many low budget commercial haunts that are not worth a dime! Which makes me think if only I had the land and the time I could be saying Ka-Ching at my bank because I'm sure with some help I could out do these low budget haunts. Any ways the only way to find out is visit your local haunts and if sub-par mark them off your list or if you have time and are creative higher on as a helper to improve a local haunt but as the old saying goes "you gets what you pay for".

I don't think them a waste, I do think them overpriced. (in general, not all)

I don't know about Denver, but i lost interest in commercial "haunts" when they all seemed to be of the "Look at something gross and dodge the guy with the chainsaw" genre. I want interesting details and a good HAUNTED backstory!

The ones in Houston are all jump and shouts, cattle calls. Take the cash and rush them thru. One actually had security guards with flash lights in the dark tunnel ordering you to move faster. I miss the art of scaring in these places.

Spookzilla,
Which haunts do you like? I went to spookywoods four years ago and are going back this year. Have you been to the Haker house or woods of terror? If I get time I would like to go to another one. Also we have been to scarowinds the past few years also.

Originally Posted by Madame Leota

I don't know about Denver, but i lost interest in commercial "haunts" when they all seemed to be of the "Look at something gross and dodge the guy with the chainsaw" genre. I want interesting details and a good HAUNTED backstory!

^^^ This +1

I enjoy them but also feel they are over priced. yes they are mostly 'look at something gross and guy jumps out and scares you,' but I mean what else are the supposed to be really? I may be jaded, but nothing really scares except mundane things, like getting pulled over by a cop, or not having money to meet financial needs. Horror movies are fun to watch but I don't find them scary. So basically the only other way I get scared is to be startled, which is why I love the haunted houses, cuz they make a cool "scary" atmosphere and then people jump out and startle you.

When I go into one I try to suspend belief, so I don't think of the 'monsters' in there as people in make up, even though in the back of my head I know they are, I have fun with it and let myself be wrapped up in the scariness of it. I hate the people who go in there just to rag on it. The ones who are like "you can't scare me." I mean come on, just have fun with it, or don't go in. I have worked in a few and I got people like that, and I didn't break character I just ignored them, and let them pass.

I also enjoy if there are other things to do there besides the main haunt. The one near me has characters walking around outside, a corn maze and a pumpkin patch and snacks as well. So that even after the scare you can still stick around and have fun.

So in my opinion anyway I don't think they are a waste. I think they are fun. I know they are meant to be scary, but I find being scared, or startled rather, fun. So to me its fun. I just wish they weren't so damn expensive. I think between 8 and 10 dollars would be more reasonable than the prices some of them charge. But last year I was able to get in free cuz I was doing a story on it for my school's paper Maybe I can try that line again even though I'm not on the paper this year.

kickassbob,

Spookywoods is the bomb! It's a must do every year for me and it helps to get my rotten corpuscles flowing. The other haunt I've been to that I liked I think was up in the Mount Airy area, which I believe is Hacker House? Been a few years since I last visited it so I can't give it a thumbs up or down on it now. Most of the others in the area I've been to is the same old, same old, low budget haunts like the one 1/2 mile from me that they should pay me to visit! Maybe that's why my free haunt has had as many visitors as they have paying customers on Halloween. Hmmm.....