Scott A. Johnson is classic American horror writer. His first novel, An American Haunting, is a classic haunted house story in the vein of Richard Matheson's The Legend of Hell House and Stephen King's The Shining. His second book, Deadlands, was released in 2005 by Harbor House Books, as was The Mayor's Guide to the Stately Ghosts of Augusta, the first in a series about real ghosts across the nation.
Scott A. Johnson and the Cold Spots crew checked in with this great report about what it takes to run a haunted attraction. More of his work can be found at Dread Central.
Every Halloween season, people line up in droves to walk through darkened corridors where monsters and madmen reach through walls in an attempt to tear their souls from their bodies. They pay the ticket, stand in line, and cross into an experience that leaves them rattled, terrified, and altogether euphoric because no matter how frightening the experience may be, it is still safe. Isn't it? But what many people do not take into account when attending one of these seasonal treats is all the work that goes into building one.
When a person wants to learn to bake the perfect soufflé, he asks the best chef he can get his hands on. But when someone wants to learn about the trials and tribulations of building a world-class spook-house for the Halloween season, he seeks out the best in the business. Named the best haunted attraction in the nation by Lionsgate Films in 2005, The Mansion of Terror in Roundrock, Texas, was gracious enough to allow Dread Central and our cameras into their facility to have a look behind the scenes before they officially open to the public.
"It really is a labor of love," says owner Norm Glenn.
The whole process for each year's Mansion of Terror attraction begins in March with a barbeque at Glenn's house, in which the participants and partners of the previous year's attraction meet to plan.
At this meeting, according to Glenn, they discuss the previous year, what parts worked and what parts didn't, and go through the feedback received from patrons about what they'd like to see. Then the arduous search begins for an actual location, which Glenn says is the hardest part.
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1 - diana hartman
I am pleased to tell you this article is being featured in the Culture Focus today, October 2nd.
Diana Hartman
Culture Editor