In my post on Spooky Sounds, I mentioned that Disney’s Haunted Mansion was a pioneer in the haunted house field. You knew I wasn’t going to leave you hanging, right?
From time immemorial, we’ve believed that certain locations were haunted. Maybe it was just a weird vibe, or maybe it was due to the overall look of a place; think back to any house someone told you was haunted, and most likely, the structure was quite old, possibly in disrepair.
We like to assign these spooky stories to buildings because we like to imagine our ghosties contained; they can’t hurt us if they’re trapped behind those walls, but we know they’re there all the same, lurking in the night.
As long as we’ve had ghost stories, we’ve had these sorts of haunted spots, which people would drag others to in order to tell the tales and get a good scare. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that people really started creating true haunted attractions. Magicians and carnivals began to utilize more elaborate illusions, including some that occupied the space of whole rooms. Madam Toussaud’s created ghoulish wax depictions of those put to the guillotine in France; her exhibit in London was dubbed her “Chamber of Horrors.”
This tradition grew as the century turned. The first “ghost house” debuted in 1915 on an English fairground, an early pioneer of the commercial haunted attraction.
It wasn’t until the Great Depression that haunted houses took hold in the United States. This time of upheaval had many kids acting out around Halloween. Many of our Halloween customs come from this period, as adults were doing more or less whatever they could to keep kids from vandalizing neighborhoods and tearing up cabbages (it was a whole thing.)
Most were basement “scares” with those blackout sensory experiences – you know, peeled grape “eyeballs” and cold cooked spaghetti “guts,” a wet sponge hanging from the ceiling and being led through a giant fake cobweb. A few outdoor attractions cropped up, but it was all a little shaky. Some carnivals converted attractions to become “blackout rides” that were scary, but none was really a hit.
At some point, Walt Disney got his paws on the idea. Though it took nearly two decades for the idea to come to fruition, when The Haunted Mansion debuted in 1969, it was a game-changer. It took all of what was successful from other carnival haunts – and real-life haunts, like the Winchester Mystery House – while “imagineering” (ew) all sorts of amazing innovations – many of which would turn out to be infinitely replicatable for other haunts. Most haunted house historians (really?) agree that this is where the trend of haunted houses really began. The runaway success of The Haunted Mansion, which saw some 82,000 souls shortly after opening, was undeniably lucrative.
Haunted houses took off across the country. The United States Junior Chamber began holding haunted houses as a fundraiser. Knott’s Berry Farm had started up a Haunted Shack in their Ghost Town in the late 1950s, but in 1973, they got the idea to give the whole park over to Halloween for a few nights; now, Knott’s Scary Farm is absolutely iconic among haunts. And don’t forget that Jerry Falwell introduced his “hell house” in 1972!
When a haunted attraction fire killed eight teenagers in New Jersey, officials began pushing for more regulation. Small, flim-flam haunted houses never went away completely, but this allowed professionals to really take over and innovate the space. As Hollywood began to embrace the slasher film, the public began to embrace professionally-run haunted houses. They wanted their scares safe, but also realistic and surprising, something the ol’ “Jaycees” couldn’t manage.
Remember I mentioned slasher films? It’s true that Hollywood often steers our fear. Haunted houses have taken twists and turns as scary movie trends have come and gone. The Jigsaw movies came out hand-in-hand with more extreme, waiver-required haunted experiences. Zombie TV and movies led to zombie paintball and runs.
And haunted houses are the source of their own urban legends, of course. Everyone insists that one is actually haunted or some of the decorations aren’t fake... which, as things go, has actually been true a time or two.
Looking for a haunted house near you? The internet has tons of tools to help you out. Don’t forget about amusement parks, carnivals, orchards, corn mazes and festivals that may offer some scares.
A favorite memory: my grade school always held a fall carnival to raise money. From cakewalks to Rook tournaments, ring toss to crowning a carnival King and Queen, it was a hoot. But, of course, my favorite attraction to visit AND work? The haunted house, of course! Half of the decorations were stored under the gym stage in this ratty old coffin that a local funeral home had donated a couple decades before my time at the school; I loved crawling under the stage to steer it out, wafting the smell of cheap plastic and old haunts.
So c’mon, tell me… what’s your favorite haunted house memory?
I'm with FrightFind. Thank you for mentioning us above. We really appreciate it. I'll tell you my favorite haunted house memory. We were getting a walk through on the last night of this haunted house. It was closing for good in the state of Missouri. They had sold all of their props, gear, etc to a haunted house in Texas. I believe it was called Phobia.
Anywho, I walked into the last room and the special effects were crazy simple, but it actually looked like what you might imagine heaven (or hell) might actually look. It was a hallway, but you couldn't see the walls because it was filled with fog machine smoke, but it wasn't all in your eyes or anything like that. It was off to the sides. The illusion made it look like I could look to my left or right and see forever. The horizon went on and on. The ground looked red and the sky was white (heaven or hell).
The bummer about it though. Apparently, if you reach out for the walls, which I didn't do, you would eventually touch the wall and it was supposed to lightly shock you or vibrate. I didn't do that, but found out afterward.
Thanks again for mentioning FrightFind above. We're all about helping you find all things scary and spooky year round. So drop us a note from time to time.
Thanks,
Tracy