The Haunters Thread

[billbot85]

Hello Everyone,

I've searched the forums here and found threads regarding Halloween, horror films, paranormal experiences, etc. However, I did not come across anything relating to haunting or haunted attractions. If there is already a thread about this that I missed, please feel free to redirect me.

Anyway, since there are a lot of horror movie and Halloween fans here, I was wondering if anyone here works at haunted attractions or enjoys going to them during the Halloween season? If so, what fond (or terrifying) memories do you have of them?

There are quite a few haunts in the New England area, such as Spooky World, Haunted Overload, Barrett's, and Factory of Terror. I work at a haunt here in MA called Ghoulie Manor. It's a fairly new haunt as it's only been in business for 2 years. It started out as a home haunt and was featured in a 2012 documentary called "The American Scream" which actually was filmed in my hometown! It's available on Netflix instant if anyone would like to check it out. The website for Ghoulie Manor can be found here:

http://www.ghouliemanor.com/

I've been haunting for 2 seasons now (this fall will be my 3rd), and so far I absolutely love it! You get quite a rush from scaring the crap out of people and seeing their reactions (it's best when you have screamers). It's great bonding with the other haunters as well, you bond just like a theatre cast does, and work together as a team to make the scares more effective, play off each other, etc. I still have a lot to learn about the art of haunting, but each year I'm willing to try out new ideas and approaches. I come at it from an acting perspective, only it tends to be mostly improvisational as opposed to scripted. :tgrin:

So, what do you guys think about haunted attractions? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Had to bring a change of underwear because of one??? For those of you who have worked at one, what was your experience like? Any interesting stories to share?? Anyone here do makeup for a haunt?

Feel free to discuss all of it here, it should be a scream. :tgrin:

[blindturtle02]

Sweet thread! I love haunted atractions. Never gotten to work at one but it would be fun to scare rather than having the living daylights scared out of me for once. I used to hate them as a kid but have grown fond of them as I've gotten older.

There was one attraction no one had to pay to get into. It served as an attraction, nonetheless. This was located in a little Arkansas town I called home as a kid. They called it the haunted caboose. It was a permenant landmark in this park where we'd all spend the last day or so of school when I was in elementary. My 4th grade teacher was awesome because she actually took the whole class through the train car. She was a big fan of ghost stories and haunted locations. Can't seem to find any pics of this car online, but I can remember not liking the feel of the place. It was cold in there in spite of the sunshiny late May weather outside. I'm not sure if it's still there, but I do remember wondering why no one ever had it removed. Want to say we all ate lunch in there the day we played at the park. Local legend told of a disgruntled conductor who commited suicide in the caboose, if memory serves correctly. Wish I'd gotten to visit the place at night. Now that would have been fun.

[billbot85]

Sweet thread! I love haunted atractions. Never gotten to work at one but it would be fun to scare rather than having the living daylights scared out of me for once. I used to hate them as a kid but have grown fond of them as I've gotten older.

There was one attraction no one had to pay to get into. It served as an attraction, nonetheless. This was located in a little Arkansas town I called home as a kid. They called it the haunted caboose. It was a permenant landmark in this park where we'd all spend the last day or so of school when I was in elementary. My 4th grade teacher was awesome because she actually took the whole class through the train car. She was a big fan of ghost stories and haunted locations. Can't seem to find any pics of this car online, but I can remember not liking the feel of the place. It was cold in there in spite of the sunshiny late May weather outside. I'm not sure if it's still there, but I do remember wondering why no one ever had it removed. Want to say we all ate lunch in there the day we played at the park. Local legend told of a disgruntled conductor who commited suicide in the caboose, if memory serves correctly. Wish I'd gotten to visit the place at night. Now that would have been fun.

Awesome story, Blindturtle! Thanks for sharing!

I would love to see some info on this caboose, awesome to hear that you and your 4th grade class got to check it out! I loved ghost stories as a kid, too! Though I also was afraid of haunted house attractions when I was little. Now I absolutely love them. Any more details about that caboose based off your memory?