26 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2008
H A L L OW E E N
STEVE
KOPELMAN’S
FAVORITE
HAUNTS
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Whatdopeopleexpect thesedayswhen theypay their
haunted-house entry fee?
Bigger, better, and scarier. Theywant to feel like they’re in
amovie. Animatronics, robotics, pneumatics, andminicom-
puters [are used with] almost every scene. These are the
same things used at themajor amusement parks. It’s really
realistic and really high-tech.
So, howmuchdoes it cost to set upone of thesehigh-
techhouses?
For a good one, close to $500,000. [Plus], you have to pass very stringent safety require-
ments ... [sometimes] evenmore so than a restaurant. Fire-alarm panels, sprinkler systems,
strobes, everything.
But the idea is tomakepeople feel as if they’renot safe, right?
Even though people knowwhen they go that nothingwill happen to them, you want them
topsychologically cross that comfort level. That’swhen they’re happy, when they go running
out, screaming, at the end.
TheBigScare
Thrillvania, Terrell, Texas
A50-acre complex built
by former Disney Imagineers. Includes VerdunManor,
twoanimatronic shows, ahaunted trail, a swamp, anda
graveyard. New this year: a torturemuseum. $25.www
.thrillvania.com
Woods of Terror, Greensboro, North Carolina
A
nearly one-mile trek through scarywoods, plus a tomb,
a haunted farm, and a creepy carnival. “They don’t give you too much time to
breathe,” Kopelman says. $20.
Bennett’sCurse,Baltimore
By far thebestof thehaunted-house-in-a-tentgenre.
Amazing costumes carry out themedieval theme. $22.
Nightmare: Ghost Stories, Miami
With Off Broadway producers at the helm,
NewYork’sNo. 1 haunted attraction comes toSouth Florida. Kopelman calls it “the
most [absorbing] haunted house in the country; you’re right in the middle of the
scenes.” $30.
Screamworld, Houston
Fiveattractions onfiveacres,with3-Dmoviemonsters
and lots more special effects. New this year: even-more-realistic scenes with, ac-
cording toKopelman, “an extremely high fright level.” $22.
WANTTOKNOWHOW
TOBLEND INTHISYEAR?
Dress as one of these characters, which are
expected to get bigplay onOctober 31.
Batman/
Batgirl
Indiana
Jones
Mummy
John
McCain
Hannah
Montana
Barack
Obama
Forgetpeeled-grapeeyeballsandspaghettiforbrains.Thesedays,haunted
housesarehigh-techcinematicextravaganzas,completewithanimatronic
creaturesandcomputer-driven light shows.And that lunaticchasingyou
outthebackdoorwithachainsaw?Professionalactor.
SteveKopelman
,
anexpert inHalloween showmanship (he’sownedandoperatedhaunted
houses invariouscitiesfor22years,andherunstheonlinehaunted-house
sitewww.hauntedhouse.com), gives us the skinny on this holiday attrac-
tion thatbrings insome32millionpeopleayear. —TracyStaton
