Haunted attractions allow us to play with our fear. Fear is such an intense, sky-rocketing emotion that ramps up your adrenaline and gives you almost a rush as the danger passes. It’s no wonder that horror movies and haunted house experiences are so popular, particularly around a certain Spooky Season.
But what is it that makes a haunted attraction genuinely frightening? Knowing the answer can help you pick the best experiences near you this upcoming Halloween, allowing you to take your thrills to new heights.
Terrifying Visuals
The first level of any genuinely terrifying haunted experience is the visuals. Even those who love a horror flick will find it daunting to suddenly be in the set of one, complete with dark corners, gruesome details, and actors dressed up to look downright unnerving. These visuals are out of place in the normal world, and even if they are what you’ve come to expect, it can be hard to look at it dead-on without that animal part of your brain freaking out.
Nerve-Wracking Interactivity
Touch is the next big element on the list of what makes a haunted attraction genuinely terrifying. You’ll notice immediately how much more scared you are during a walk-through tour of a haunted house, as opposed to walking down a well-lit promenade that happens to have a few scary sculptures along the garden paths.
At a minimum, it’s the claustrophobia of the space. It’s feeling the walls as you brush past them, the burst of air from a fog machine, and, in some cases, even the actors. Interactivity is what makes certain experiences, like the Massacre, a haunted cornfield maze by The Haunting Experience, so terrifying.
Not only are you walking through dark, twisting cornfield paths, but you’re being actively chased down by chainsaw-wielding actors who are, by the way, going to touch you. Perhaps it’s a hand on the shoulder, or a brush of your hair, but those slight (and objectively respectful) touches add to the fear when combined with the horrifying setting.
Frightening Unpredictability
Unpredictable scares are intensely more frightening than predictable ones, which is why jump scares are so effective. That being said, we’re also more likely to get freaked out if our friends or family next to us are also getting scared. What this means is that haunted houses can (and do) use not only jump scares but the expectation of jump scares to heighten the fear and the fun.
Haunting Soundscapes
Sounds are another critical component of a properly terrifying haunted house experience. You can have all the spooky sounds you want, but if they’re all running on a single track and being blasted by tinny speakers in the ceiling, it just won’t have the same fear effect. That’s why top haunted house designs use a 360 sound experience. You’ll hear different sounds in different areas, the screams of the actors, and even terrifying ambience. That chainsaw massacre experience? Their chainsaws sound like chainsaws, coming from the chainsaw.
Movie-Quality Special Effects
Special effects are finally used as the cherry on top of this horrifying sundae. Rather than just cheap blood and some bandages, the costumes look out-of-this-world realistic, the chainsaws spark when they hit the ground, and the sets move. It’s these special effects details that go beyond just a scary picture and into something even your rational self can struggle to comprehend. Not only do these special effects components add to the fear, but also to the sheer impressiveness of the haunted experience.
Amanda Lancaster is a PR manager who works with 1resumewritingservice. She is also known as a content creator. Amanda has been providing resume writing services since 2014.
