The "Stupid-Season " Is HERE!

[Jim Warfield]

I told my wife this a day ago and last night it proved to be correct, unfortunately.
This is the time of the year in which we speak slowly in simple english ...and they hear what they want to hear!
Being OPEN year-round I see smarter, nicer people come here the rest of the year who usually have a certain civilized degree of respect and humanity displayed by what they say and do, but then many of them are returning "Fans" and almost all of the Want to be here Maybe this is part of the difference? In "Season" many are drug along to see the house , maybe they really aren't comfortable being here so they act badly.? (Trying here to allow them the benefit of a doubt-excuse, if you will..)
I have said this before, I feel sorry for all of you who are only OPEN in October.
That is when all the stupid, nasty crap happens from the customers, not the rest of the year.
Financially it was a successfull night, now I just have to find the time to repair all the things they broke..if something looks like a door to you but is screwed shut, do you keep yanking and pulling on it until you rip it loose? Some people do.
I would like to follow them home and see how macho I could be on their place.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[damon carson]

jim you could always screw the draw bridge shut to keep out all the idiots! But then its sometimes always hard to pick who is or who isnt? Maybe have them take a small survey before they enter your haunt. Have them write there name, where there from, do you drink? Do you drink socially? Do you drink excessively? Are you an alcoholic? This might weed out a few bad ones too! Espessically if they mark an X on the line with name! LOL! Keep your head up Jim! Put a few more screws in those doors!!!
Damon

[minetruly]

I'm an actor/tourguide (I hope it's ok to post in here!), and my house is open all summer for the summer tourists, day and night.

The "problem groups" tend to be kids/teens. I can only guess that either they're covering up their fear, or act this way all the time. A haunted house gives the appearance of having "less" or "different" rules because it's dark and the employees act funny and try to scare you. I've had kids talking back to me, telling me I'm not scary, threatening to hit me, making punching motions, "accidentally" hitting me, jumping and screaming at me, talking so loudly to each other they and other guests cannot hear me, and touching props. All while laughing with their friends. Since this is a guided tour, I can threaten to throw them out for doing any of the above, and then do so if they don't shape up. Drunk adults actually are less of a hazard. They'll get loud, but generally honor requests not to be too loud or touch props, especially if there's even one person in the group who's responsible. Kids seem to have developed absolutely no instinct to respect rules, while drunks can be reminded. Whenever you're reprimanding a kid, you're fighting all their anti-authority mannerisms.

I've discovered that shouting something attention-getting and immediately FALLING SILENT AND FREEZING while pointing at them for 2-3 seconds will quiet even the rowdiest group and turn their attention on me. Then I can follow the silence with the "If you ____ again, you will be thrown out" statement. In the first room when I give the instructions, I tell them that if we can't even make it through the rules, I can't bring them through the house.

In two seasons of working there, the most damage has been done by clumsy employees. I don't recall a single prop being broken by guests.

[minetruly]

Oh yeah, and we get "problem" crowds in May, June, July, August, and September as much as in October. Since it's a tourist town, people will say "Hey look, a haunted house! Let's go inside!" We get crowds of kids who spontaneously decided to go in and act like they're not scared. They're not even in "it's Halloween and we want to get scared" mode. Maybe the problem in October specifically is you get people who themselves are in "scare others" mode. Maybe they view Halloween and scaring as a sport you can "win?" Of course, October also sees the highest volume of groups-- thus, a higher number of *******.

[Jim Warfield]

"Minetruly", you stated some Very Good points here. (Some of which I knew already, some I didn't)
There is a motocross track just up the road from me and some of those dirt biker kids are just over-spilling with too much confidence that they can do anything, jumping 40 feet high on a bike and landing safely might be inspiring this attitude?
When I ejected one of them from the first room the Father and brother also stood up to leave. (Of course I didn't know who they were until then) I asked the Father if he thought his son deserved to be kicked out, since he was sitting right there when he was misbehaving? "Oh, yes, he should be." He said with no accusitory tones directed towards me, it was all his kid's doing.
If I don't quiet a disrupter down, then other customers will not be happy with them having taken their time and spent their money to hear and see the tour I have for them, versus the idiotic, disruptions being provided by the amateuors at being different or somewhat anti-social.
I might have some advantages over a mere employee because people realise I am the owner.
I may also have another advantage in the fact that I open and close a very heavy door behind them as they walk in and the door makes all those BIG, HEAVY clunky sounds, telling them what it is.
"Now that you are my prisoner........"
hahahaaha!