Thread: Commercial haunted house show on Discovery Channel?

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OK, every year, I look for some sort of program on TV in October that shows what it is like behind the scenes at a real commercial haunted house! And of course, there are none...

I mean, Discovery Channel has that same show about Disney's Haunted Mansion, but they are so secretive about their stuff anyway, they never show how they do it! Plus, they are so big budget, that nearly everything they build would be so far out of everyone's league.

They have shows about guys building motorcycles, crab-fishing in the Bering Sea, model railroad builders, etc...but they can't put on one decent show about a real commercial haunted house and what goes on in the design, build, and decorating stages. Truly, I would settle for one show, but would love to see a short series on it.

I recently sent a letter to Discovery Channel asking about this. I told them that if they wanted real drama, we throw chairs at each other all the time! They should find a haunted house somewhere in the off-season and film a small reality-series about what has to be done to build these mega-haunted houses each year. I think the show would be great! Plus, it would be a big bonus for all the home haunters out there.

Anyway, does anyone know of a show out there that is anywhere close to this?

Plus it would give Joe Blo off the street a feel for what kinda work goes into them.

We always get the certain inconsiderate individual who goes through a Haunted Attraction and come out saying....THAT SUCKED! If only they knew how hard it is to make these things.

Then there are the reviewers who come in and comment on the action, yet mention nothing of the sets or ambiance!

Lastly...if the Discovery Channel ran off a list of costs....how much it takes to build one...especially from scratch...people MIGHT be less likely to whine about the cost of entry!

That would be cool to see the inner makings of a commercial haunted house. Travel channel did a show on Professional Haunted houses, but nothing about the behind the scenes exept for the scare actors. It seems like Eastern State Prison seems to pop up every Halloween. The place is not only Haunted but is a Commerical Haunted House. Watching that program gave me a few ideas but I have to do my own reseach. Maybe a note to the Travel Channel? They are really into Halloween.

Skeletal,
That's a great idea! I too always search during the Halloween season on the various channels like Discover, TLC, etc. and never seem to find anything related to commercial haunted houses. Like dionicia said, the Travel channel has a few shows related to commercial haunted houses, but nothing truly in depth. It would be extremely interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes in a commercial house...the creative process, set up, etc.

Wow this is such a great idea. We have a haunted house and man is it work. I would love to see something like this come out. I hope you get a good reply back. Keep us informed.

I dunno?
Compeating with hill Billy's welding bare foot and running a metal grinder without safety glasses and grown men whipping chairs at each other having fits like spoiled children?
Even though some of the general public might have low opinions of some haunters I know most haunters would never be doing the aforementioned idiotic things, well ,maybe one, maybe two?
Maybe three would be wacky if he had a bad day..all October long.

Originally Posted by Gym Whourlfeld

I dunno?
Compeating with hill Billy's welding bare foot and running a metal grinder without safety glasses and grown men whipping chairs at each other having fits like spoiled children?
Even though some of the general public might have low opinions of some haunters I know most haunters would never be doing the aforementioned idiotic things, well ,maybe one, maybe two?
Maybe three would be wacky if he had a bad day..all October long.

?????????? HUH?????

Sad isn't Gym....we live in a society where a piece of junk show like Jerry Springer gets better ratings than Meet the Press or anything else of any importance!

Originally Posted by Jack Reaper

Plus it would give Joe Blo off the street a feel for what kinda work goes into them.

We always get the certain inconsiderate individual who goes through a Haunted Attraction and come out saying....THAT SUCKED! If only they knew how hard it is to make these things.

Then there are the reviewers who come in and comment on the action, yet mention nothing of the sets or ambiance!

Lastly...if the Discovery Channel ran off a list of costs....how much it takes to build one...especially from scratch...people MIGHT be less likely to whine about the cost of entry!

All true statements, Jack. I would add though, that I'm sure you and I and many others in here who DO know what goes into a Haunt, have been to at least a few Haunts which certainly DID suck, and badly.

If I've ever received a negative review, so to speak, I've found after asking what wasn't satisfactory, etc., that in every case, the 'reviewer' was barely interested in such things in the first place. I never get negatives from people who know what Haunting and Halloween are all about.

The Halloween person never says 'that ain't right!', they say, usually with a smile, 'I like what you've done, but it's making me think of what I would do with it,' and we're all off inspired by each other's work, knowing what a rare breed we can be.

I'd love to see a show about the entire path of a Haunt project, from concept to build to closing night. Would be informative, inspiring, and sympathetic, haha!

Mike C

Sometimes 98% of something can be there and present but that little creative spark, turn of a phrase, hesitation between two important words in a sentence can make all the difference between "Wow! That was really something!" And "That sucked!"
Unfortunately the proper and timely identification of what that intangible quotient is can be extremely illusive.