2018 Haunt | 2019 Scream

2018 Theme

SPIDERS

By Henry Miller

What a year! The spiders were on the attack, and, fortunately for the spiders, our guests were more than happy to donate body parts to feed them.

Crowds gathered in anticipation before the haunt opened, and the wait was well worth it. Screams began as soon as the doors opened, and they didn't stop until late that night.

Room by Room Description

Entry Hall: giant spider web covered walls lit with hidden blue pin spots, a projection of bugs running around the floor, and a pop-out spider, grabbing at guests as they walked by.

The Darkness: separated from all other areas by double sets of thick black curtains, The Darkness had no light, other than brief flashes of narrow beams that occasionally

lit up the walls that were hung with slime-covered skeletons. At the far end were mylar mirror panels that made the space look like it went on and on. Virtually everyone headed to that end, walking right by the exit doorway. These panels were also covered with slime which produced lots of “gross!” comments. In this space guests were accompanied by three floating sets of glowing eyes that kept rushing at them. They were also sprayed with water mist, as if the spiders were spraying them with venom. Eventually they discovered the exit hall, often with the help of the glowing eyes.

Spider Den: the last hall was filled top to bottom with giant spider webs, skeletons and corpses, dimly lit by hidden blue spots. At the far end were two glowing giant moving eyes that peered out through the tangle of webs and shredded white curtains. Below the eyes in the shadows was a pop-up giant spider that sprang up when

someone passed by. Also at this same spot was the air blast that hit guests as they turned to exit the haunt.

Funny Observations

Children dropped all of their candy inside the haunted house on two occasions and we had to close it down to pick it all up for the anxious child waiting outside.
I saw at least one teenage girl that hit the ground after being scared.
There were multiple crying teens that ran out the exit in terror. There were lots of screaming grown men and women too.
Assorted overheard comments: I want out. How do we get out of here?! I don’t know, it’s just a solid wall! Make it stop! Ooooo—the wall is all slimy! Quit spitting on me! That was dope!
One man swore up a storm after I startled him as he stepped through a curtain and I was waiting on the other side with a scream.
One mother came out to me excitedly and told me that this was the best Halloween experience she had ever seen and said she was very grateful for our generosity in putting this on for the neighborhood kids.
A blonde woman raved about how much fun the haunt was and returned later with another group she had gone to get so they could also experience it.
A hooded figure repeatedly reminded everyone in line for the haunt not to forget to come and get candy after they exited, but most people were so scared or so impacted by the experience that they would either run off screaming, or immediately walk away, talking excitedly about what they had just survived (I call it “decompressing”), completely forgetting about the candy.
One man in his 30s gave out a cute little scream when he stepped through the curtains and saw the bugs running around the floor at his feet. For a moment he thought they were real.
One man got frustrated and lit up a lighter to find his way back out through the entrance (passing by the exit to get there), even though we were all screaming “no lights!” I just stepped out of his way because he looked very determined to get out of there.
One of our cast members apologized to one group because of how short the haunt was, but the guests exclaimed, “What do you mean?! We were trapped in there forever!”
Two girls did not want to go in. But when it was their turn to enter, they bravely walked in and about 5 seconds later they ran back out and kept right on running.
A young boy about 8 or 9 years old dressed in a superhero costume appeared to be very brave. He walked in with another boy and seconds later he ran out screaming: “Nope. Nope! Not gonna do it!”
Once when the entry curtains blew open a bit, a girl waiting to enter saw the projected bugs crawling all over the floor inside and asked fearfully, “are there bugs in there?!” Our gatekeeper replied, “Oh yes. There are bugs and spiders all over the place in there.” To which to girl exclaimed: “I CAN'T GO IN THERE IF THERE ARE BUGS!!!”
Several times we had mothers carrying their young children in their arms, in spite of the warnings of our gatekeeper. For them we toned it down a bit because our goal was “to entertain, not terrorize.”
The crowds and people in line looked and felt just like our experience running Scream at the Beach. Everybody was in such happy good spirits, laughing, smiling, and having a scary good time. Our gatekeeper mentioned to a couple that this was put on by the people who produced Scream at the Beach, and they were very excited because they remembered the high quality of that event and how much fun it was.
Two teenage girls from the neighbor’s house across the street were standing in the driveway trying to decide if they wanted to go through the haunt. I was standing behind the curtain at the entrance listening. When it became clear that they were not going to do it, I put my head down and bolted out of the haunt, running straight at them in my black grim reaper costume. They both took off and ran screaming across the street, to the amusement of our onlooking cast members and other guests.

Meanwhile, Inside the House

Inside the house a hooded figure greeted trick or treaters at the front door with candy. They had to retrieve it by reaching into the Candy Cauldron, which contained a motion sensor that activated a loud sparker (sounds like firecrackers) and a recording of evil laughter. This, naturally, produced lots of screams that blended into the screams coming from the haunted house.

First, the kids (and adults) were oohing and aahing when they came to the front door and saw the decorations inside our foyer. A man even wanted to come in and take pictures. He had heard about it through word of mouth and drove quite a distance to see it. He said “it was much better than what he had expected.”
Some children were afraid to put their hand in the cauldron, suspecting that something bad was about to happen, so the hooded figure asked the parent to do it for them, and then stepped back to watch the parent scream when it activated.
One Latino couple came up for candy, their young child excited to reach into the cauldron to retrieve it. The hooded figure warned them about the effect, but they did not seem concerned. Their child reached in for the candy, it activated, and the child ran away crying. The parents just laughed and said it was all fun.
A boy about 12 years old let out a high-pitched scream like a little girl when the cauldron activated, and his same-age friends laughed loudly at his expense. Oh well, as we always say: “six or seven months of therapy and you’ll be good as new!”

At the end of the night we discovered a nice pile of costume accessories strewn from beginning to end of the haunt, including a mink stole. We also found some dropped car keys (which we returned to their owner who returned after discovering that they were missing).

Positive comments spread like wildfire through the surrounding neighborhoods. One lady said she heard lots of “survivors” talking excitedly about the haunt all along her trick or treating walk from many blocks away. She heard them saying how scary it was, and how it was the best haunt they had ever been through. Wow! Of course we have to do this again, but this could easily grow into something with 1,000+ people in line, especially because it’s free. Could this be the rebirth of a new Scream at the Beach?! Now THAT’S scary!