At 500grim.com, we love haunted houses, and we love to see people enjoying them. Part of making sure that these environments are enjoyable for everyone is that people need to treat others and treat the property with respect.
We think knowledge is a great way to keep everyone having a good time. Most people who cause problems at haunted houses simply don’t know what the rules are or what the expected etiquette is for using a haunted house. So, we wanted to educate those that might be interested and make things nicer for everyone.
Read the House Rules
Each haunted house will have its own set of instructions. Some of these will be on the website, others might be on the front of the haunted house, some may be in a booklet or pamphlet, and some might be told to you by the guides at the haunted house. Make sure you pay attention to the rules and follow them exactly.
The rules can differ from one haunted house to the next, and there are plenty of reasons for that. Some haunted houses have expensive animatronics that can be very fragile. Others may have live performers, and they could be injured or cause injury if the guests are not careful. These are just a few examples, but you get the idea of why there may need to be different rules for the different haunted houses.
Respect the Property
There will be some haunted houses that allow you to interact with the environment as you pass through the attraction, and some of them will even encourage it. They want their customers to try things out and have a very hands-on approach to the attraction. That’s not all of them, though. Even in haunted houses where you’re encouraged to touch the environment and play with some things, you want to make sure that you’re respecting other people’s property.
Don’t be rough with any of the decorations or props. Do not intentionally damage anything. If you’re trying to interact with something and get it to respond to you, and you have to use a lot of force, you’re probably not interacting with that item correctly. Remember that most interactive parts of haunted houses are designed to respond to light touches, because they are meant to be used many times by many people.
If you have any doubt about whether it’s OK to touch decorations or props or anything else in the haunted house, then just leave it alone. You can always interact with it in your next trip through, once you have permission from the owners.
If you cause damage to the property, you may be required to pay for it. At the very least, you will probably be banned from the attraction.
Don’t Leave Your Garbage
Any haunted house worth its salt will have garbage bins at the entrance and the exit and perhaps a few throughout the attraction as well. Make use of these and don’t throw your food wrappers and other garbage items just anywhere. Remember that the haunted house owners have to clean up every night. You don’t want to add to the mess and create extra work for them. They may even have to hire professional cleaners to keep up with the high traffic and extensive mess left behind.
Be respectful to those who run the haunted house and make sure you put your garbage in the appropriate bins.
Don’t Harass the Workers
It shouldn’t need to be said at any business establishment that customers should be respectful to workers. There should be no reason to abuse workers, even if they are unpleasant or unkind.
It seems like haunted house workers often receive a lot of abuse because customers think they are allowed to be rude to them as part of the experience. You want to be careful about your interactions with workers, especially those not part of the actual attraction. They may say things that are designed to scare you and set the mood, but you still want to respond in a respectful way. It’s OK to play along and treat character actors as characters, but you don’t want to cross the line into abusive and hateful territory with the way you speak or act.
Once again, I want to caution you that if there is any doubt that your behavior may be considered rude, disrespectful, or abusive, you should simply avoid it. Everyone can have a great experience at a haunted house, including those who work there, as long as people respect one another. There’s a lot of fun to be had by interacting with the costumed workers and getting in the mood of the atmosphere they are setting there. Just be careful about your interactions and make sure that anything you say is done in the right spirit.
On a similar note, be careful about asking too personal of questions to the actors. You shouldn’t ask any sexually suggestive questions, and it can be rude to ask them if they are being paid or what their hours are. If they are in costume, they may be trying to not break character. You don’t want to badger them with questions and try to get them to break character.
Arrive Sober
The last bit of haunted house etiquette that we want to share with you is that you should arrive sober to the attraction. Make sure that you’re not doing drugs while you’re there and that you are completely sober when you arrive. That will help ensure the experience is a pleasant one, and it keeps you from saying or doing something you might regret later.
The flashing lights, strange noises, and atmospheric environment can react badly to some drugs, so do be careful about what you’re using ahead of going to the haunted house.
We hope these guidelines help you enjoy yourself at the haunted house. If you’re being sensible and following the rules, everyone should be able to have a good time.