Being in the haunted industry as a vendor or attraction designer for over 30 years, Angelus Perez has become tired of the homogenization of many haunted attractions in America; after visiting thousands of attractions one seems no different than the other. It doesn’t matter if the attraction is new or it has been around for decades, they all appear basically the same and predictable.

Haunted attractions are a separate species; they are allowed and expected by consumers to be less ‘Hollywood’ and more raw. Because of this, there is an ever increasing need for many attraction owners to get to the next level of fear entertainment. Some are cutting corners when it comes to safety and taking risks in the name of the ultimate scare. This attitude is endangering the lives of the haunt’s actors, staff and customers!

While it’s fine to walk the edge when it comes to haunted attractions, unprofessional techniques and practices that raise safety concerns and put people at risk should not be tolerated and tend toward the dark side of the haunt industry. To get an idea of what I’m referring to, check out the movie, “The Houses October Built”; though the story is fictitious, many of the interviews and stories are true. People have died, animals have been tortured, mistreated and left to die, local laws have been broken and environmental issues were created; all for the goal of the next big scare and good old fashioned greed. The atrocities done by some in the haunt industry are shameful; do a simple Google search and you’ll be amazed…

When our new haunted attraction Creeprum opens next year, we will do just the opposite; we will have entertainment with scares while keeping it safe for all! Creeperum will have many of the traditional scares that people love, want and expect, and it will be the job of the creative staff of Creeperum to specifically think outside the box and take artistic risks. Their job is to be part of Creeperum’s think tank and come up with ideas for the future of the haunt industry, while ensuring ethical and professional safety practices. Sadly, many haunted attraction owners do not get this and that is the reason why so many haunted attractions fail within the first two years.

At Your Custom Haunted House, we use a method called back engineering: instead of just jumping into building the physical haunted attraction, we create the attraction 10 years into the future on paper. Much more than a basic business plan, which can be a projection of a few years – or in this case, just a seasonal job, it is a complete diagram of an annual full time tourist attraction. We are attempting to create a permanent, year-round entertainment center for people who ‘love all things Halloween’ and can also be used by professionals: artists, designers, managers, production directors, etc. With the opening of Creeperum, we hope to become a model to other up and coming small businesses in and out of the haunted industry.

Happy Halloween!