From the traditional haunted houses and mazes like Nightmare on Loganberry, to the more extreme and controversial like McKamey Manor, this 2017 documentary directed by John Schnitzer, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, offers viewers a behind the scenes tour of the haunting world.
When Halloween comes around, it’s time for these haunters to shine and show the world what they’re capable of. These creators and actors love what they do, looking forward to October ten times more than Christmas. Haunting and terrorizing others is more than a job to them, it’s a way of living that they wish they could do 24/7, and hearing them describe their emotions of participating in this kind of work was very fascinating.
“It’s my destiny, to scare people.”
“Ever since my first time scaring someone, it was a drug. I was just hooked.”
These are just a few things some of the scare actors have said that really stood out to me, because although these statements are a bit weird, you can tell that the actors really love it and give it their all.
What I also loved about this documentary is the history behind how the haunts started and why they continue to be popular today. Finding out that the most popular haunts came from an Evangelical church was unexpected, and yet their success is what helped set the basic standard of what we see in traditional haunts today.
Courtesy: Maxim
However, there is also a clash between the traditional and the more extreme haunts, because it brings up the question: “how much can we push before we go too far?” With the creation of the interactive, violent haunts where attendees are grabbed, hit, have food thrown at them, and etc., there is a concern over how it would affect the haunts that don’t go that far.
Some say they attend McKamey Manor to conquer their fears, but seeing some videos of what these people go through is a bit disturbing and worrying because it makes me wonder why it takes being restrained and repeatedly having your head dunked in a pool of water to be able to conquer those fears. And yet, we can’t really blame the creators of these haunts because at the end of the day, it’s the customers that are seeking this experience.
Haunters: The Art of the Scare was a lot of fun to watch, and I got to learn so much about this world that I only ever get to see when it’s Halloween. Though I don’t think I will ever experience something like McKamey Manor or Blackout- another immersive haunt, seeing the effort and passion that these creators have for their job just makes me more thankful that all these different types of haunts exist.