At a haunted house, the performer and the vistors have a fairly predictable routine: (1) he lurches from behind the wall; (2) they turn, they scream, they run. But occasionally it changes pace: (1) he lurches from behind the wall; (2) they turn, they scream, someone throws an elbow and—Frankenstein has a black eye.  

The performers at haunted houses are as afraid of you as you are of them, or at least they should be. Performer injuries are not uncommon when dealing with an audience that is purposefully sent into fight-or-flight mode, and self-control becomes a pleasant memory when being chased down a long, dark hallway by a man with a chainsaw.

To some haunted house owners, scary means loud and aggressive; but this is where the accidents occur. A 14-year-old working at her school’s annual haunted house in Manhattan was kicked so hard in the head she got a concussion after hiding behind a sheet and grabbing students’ ankles.  

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And at some of the more professional venues, breaking character in such situations is strictly forbidden; the injured actor must wait until their attacker is safely out of sight before tending to their wounds. It doesn’t help matters when a large portion of the audience arrives well-intoxicated, thereby greasing the wheel for outbursts of violence.  

More serious accidents can occur when the audience sees an injured actor and presumes their cries of pain are all part of the act. When Jessica Rue, a Missouri teen, found her neck trapped in a noose working at a haunted house, visitors had no idea the choking girl was not simply another off-the-wall scare tactic until she passed out and went into a coma.

But an avant-garde movement exists within the industry.  At this type of haunted house, visitors are treated to a subtler horror with a more psychological bent. The Alone Experience, a Los Angeles haunted house, is a proto-typical example of this brand of fear. You are only told its location shortly before the time of your arrival, and are then sent by yourself through fog-laden halls where tension is slowly, agonizingly built.

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Its owners told Neon Tommy during a phone interview that employee injuries are rare, and the more common response from attendees to being frightened is to curl up in a ball rather than to lash out with fists.  Safety words are given and the show ends when you say it ends, often before reaching the exit.

The haunted house experience is centered on audience reactions. What comes of it depends on whether one’s terror is best expressed through screams or violence. 

In other words, for anyone planning on visiting one this Halloween, please don’t forget the safety word.

Reach Staff Reporter Duncan Gammie here.