correct me if im wrong

[PAT MATTHEWS/HOUSE OF WAX]

I may be wrong here but Ive noticed over the past few yrs many haunters are getting lazy in design and waiting to see what new props and animations will be coming out before committing to design. Whos setting the trend for haunts us or vendors? I remember back in the day when we were not limited to what you could buy. You simply made what you needed to match your theme or idea. Now in this super size me haunt industry its all haunting by #s (ill take the #3 with extra core and a foot pad) I love and admire the stuff that the vendors have worked so hard to produce but whos creatively steering this ship them or us??? Dont get me wrong where would we be with out the great products? Im simply asking are we becoming a bit too dependant?

[WeAreTheUnion]

I may be wrong here but Ive noticed over the past few yrs many haunters are getting lazy in design and waiting to see what new props and animations will be coming out before committing to design. Whos setting the trend for haunts us or vendors? I remember back in the day when we were not limited to what you could buy. You simply made what you needed to match your theme or idea. Now in this super size me haunt industry its all haunting by #s (ill take the #3 with extra core and a foot pad) I love and admire the stuff that the vendors have worked so hard to produce but whos creatively steering this ship them or us??? Dont get me wrong where would we be with out the great products? Im simply asking are we becoming a bit too dependant?

I definitely think most haunts are way too dependent on props, especially animatronics.
I hate animatronics. They are a waste of space, time and money. Unless you need a 50 foot tall monster, a good actor will always provide a far better scare factor.
I've been to the hollywood haunts, I've been to trailer haunts. Guess which ones are consistently more fun and way scarier?
If I wanted to shuffle forward at granny speed in a mile-long conga line and watch animated props trigger, reset and trigger again, I'd go to Disney World.

[Jim Warfield]

How "Entertaining" is it?

Another e-mail got here today a Sept. first time customer, haunt fan, very impressed with the show we put on here.
He said he has never been as entertained in any haunt like he was here and even though he has been to many and never gets scared in a haunt, he jumped several times when he was in my house.
Is it about the robotics? The actors? Or should it be about entertaining the customers?
Any combination of props and people can do this...if someone has a good idea of what is required by the human mind to be entertained and unfortunately from what I have heard many people who are calling the shots either don't know (it's just about the $$$!) or they just don't have a clue, which leaves behind all those great missed opportunitys to be something more, at least in the lowly customer's mind.

Wait a moment, I'm sorry. Something more has to be explained about his house tour last Sept.
Probably a greater number of haunters could be more entertaining if they took more time to try it.
I know and realise time is the October enemy of most of us. The ability to please customers and do it as quickly and as efficiently as possible is the huge consideration for those necesarry financial considerations.
I didn't remember the tour he and his group had but he said they were in my house from 10pm to 1 am that night!
3 hours in a haunted house runs the real risk of boring most people (maybe some of them were?)
Another 15 minutes added to their time and I might have been arrested for kidnapping?
This whole "Haunting" field has alot more to it than the average person or customer ever trully realises.
The average "quick" tour here runs about 60 minutes, even in October on the weekends.