The spook house is one of the oldest and most beloved attractions in ride history. It is a staple at nearly all carnivals and boardwalk parks. Yet most large theme parks lack them in any permanent form. I've been to many Six Flags parks, and have yet to see much. Cedar Fair doesn't offer many, either. Universal is home to some of the most famous characters in horror film history, and has a wealth of famous scary IPs to choose from. Yet when it comes to a big ticket haunted ride, we've got nothing. In Hollywood, Universal recently closed its walk-through House of Horrors.
So why do they see haunted attractions as only a seasonal opportunity? Is it because scary rides are not that appealing to families and children? Is it because haunted houses lack their ability to scare after multiple rides?
In order to try and tackle this question, I started to think about Disney's approach, as they are clearly the industry standard. In the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland, they feature one of the most iconic rides — the Haunted Mansion. Nearly half a century old, this staple still attracts long waits and is held in very high regard. It's popularity spans all age groups. In my opinion, it is the perfect mix of macabre and fun. It could be mildly scary to children and squeamish adults, but rarely do you see somebody dislike the experience they have. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure, and Disney Studios Paris, they feature the Twilight Zone Tower of terror — another haunted attraction that garners long waits after being open over 20 years.
A combination of thrill and scares that entertains all generations — When you think about it, isn't it amazing that Disney, often thought of as a G-rated thrill park, is the park with the most famous scary attractions?
Clearly, the blueprint is there, and works. Universal has access to so many great intellectual properties that it seems a shame we haven't received a great, permanent haunted house from them. With all the great technology they feature on so many of their new rides, as well as the immersive environments they've created, I believe they could really make something special that would have long-lasting effect and keep the scares coming.
Six Flags calls itself a thrill park company more than a theme park company, marketing mostly to teens. When I get scared, it is most certainly a thrill, and teenagers and twenty somethings are the biggest market for horror films. For a brand of parks that offers little on a rainy day, this seems like a no-brainer to me. In the early 80s, Six Flags Great Adventure had a haunted castle, but a 1984 fire at the attraction killed several guests, resulting in lengthy legal action. Perhaps that is why they've strayed away, but management, ownership and safety at their parks were overhauled long ago. I believe that these parks could do something very special to keep the haunts coming all year long.
There will always be a demand for haunted houses at theme parks. Now, where's the supply?
Our 2015 Halloween Coverage:
Knott's should offer up a haunted attraction. Bring back the Haunted Shack. A tour plus a ride. Universal own so much horror movies that there shouldn't be a problem there.
Let's face it, people don't want scares year round, so while parks can fund the labor and creative to operate haunted attractions during Halloween, it just doesn't work year round because the benefit does not exceed the operational costs. During Halloween, people are paying big bucks to be scared, and that additional revenue can offset the costs of putting on these seasonal events, plus they're willing to spend more in the parks for those exclusive items for Halloween events. Same goes for other seasonal events. If these events occurred year-round, they'd start to lose their luster, and guests would not plan visits around them, typically in addition to regular park visits.
The haunted house concept does work, but it's got to be predominantly automated with high throughput. I'm sure someone could pull it off, but in the end, it would be a huge risk and potentially undermine the success of a park's existing Halloween offerings.
I would note that Six Flags Great Adventure has Houdini's Great Escape, which some may consider a haunted attraction. Cedar Fair also has their crop of Sally dark ride shooters (former Scooby Doo rides) that many would consider in this category as well. It's not a complete wasteland, but certainly not something parks are currently expanding upon.
Some of the local, non-theme park-based haunted attractions have attempted to operate beyond the traditional Halloween season, and it just doesn't work. After trying to operate as traditional haunted houses year-round, many have adapted to attract the seasonal crowds with Christmas lights, Easter egg hunts, non-scary hay rides, and farm-style attractions. Urban haunted houses have moved to a more "puzzle room" model outside Halloween that can be scary for some, but is less like a traditional haunted house, though the trend seems to be picking up steam, particularly in young, wealthy urban areas and in European cites, where the trend is to believed to have been started. However, these puzzle rooms have very limited throughput, some as little as a dozen people per hour. If anything can bring the haunted house into a year-round experience, it's this puzzle room concept, but is definitely not something a major theme park could pull off considering the capacity issues.
For a ride through haunted attraction (such as a spook house), those are still fairly prevalent among the smaller parks, but the only "larger" park I've seen one at is Knoebels. I think the biggest issues with these are that they lack the capacity and immersiveness required at today's theme parks. A ride that seats two people per car just doesn't have the capacity needed at a major regional theme park, and a series of unconnected scares just won't satisfy the average visitor anymore. Therefore, many parks have abandoned the concept and those that haven't often have a modernized version that gives the necessary capacity and increases the appeal for modern audiences (Sally's Ghostblasters attraction is a good example). Yes, they are relatively mild in terms of scariness, but theme parks need attractions that will reach the widest possible audience in order to justify the investment cost. Modern dark rides are the evolution of traditional spook houses and parks do appear to be investing in those again, just with more popular themes (often, but not always, IP based) that are likely to be a guaranteed draw. Just like with movies, a haunted dark ride could potentially be popular, but it is unlikely to be the option generating the maximum return, and when a park is investing tens of millions (or more) into a new attraction they're going to pick the option with the largest benefit.
Hex: A walk through and swing ride based inside the Tower ruins themselves tell the story of an old witch cursing the Earl. Really well themed and very popular.
Nemesis: World famous roller inverted B&M coaster based on the story of a monster unleashed during construction work and pinned down with the steel track. Also spin off scare maze and drop tower based on organisation created to deal with the monster!
Th13teen: World's first free fall drop coaster based on a haunted woodland/crypt.
Oblivion: World's first vertical drop coaster based on the Lord of Darkness and his massive black hole that the coaster goes through!
All great original stories and ideas alongside an interactive Haunted House and spooky woodland walkway. Universal should visit and take note!
(PS, Smiler was left out on purpose!)
I would argue that the Universal monsters are just as iconic as Harry Pottter if not more so. The Universal monsters have been around much longer and are identifiable by all age groups. Every kid, teen, adult, senior citizen etc. knows very well who Dracula, The Wolfman and Frankenstein are. Sure, a lot of people do only know them by name alone, but same with Harry Potter! Even though it does appeal to all age groups, there's still a lot of people who don't know a lot about, or much less care about, Harry Potter. Even teenagers.
And besides you don't need to know much about the classic monsters to enjoy an attraction based on them. Dracula: big scary vampire chasing you through his castle trying to suck your blood. BAM! Next big E-ticket dark ride with super long lines. Wolfman; scary werewolf dude chasing you through a dark forest. BAM! Another big E-ticket dark ride!
And no, you don't need live actors. Just some AAs, or some 3D projections...since that's what Universal seems to be into nowadays. And it doesn't have to be a walk through like House of Horrors. It can be a ride. And, considering the fact that people still queue up for Mummy, if they introduce some new technology, this ride should be successful.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
