With October here and what looks like no existing haunted house threads, here's a chance to talk about your favorite, worst, or most memorable/unusual haunted house experiences. 
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To make up for the previous two stories, I've saved the best for last.
Happy Haunting!
(Edited for clarity)
As a high school student, our group drove a good 45 minutes away to some haunted house in a multi-story building in a downtown area. Looking back, I should have known the night was going to go poorly when the driver and his front seat passenger got into an argument in the middle of the freeway on the way there and the passenger actually grabbed for the steering wheel at one point during the spat.
Upon arrival, there were people looking out one of the open windows in a middle floor telling people outside stuff like, "Don't waste your time!" "It sucks!" or "Save your money!" Sure enough, they proved to be right. The layout and the props were rather low budget so that whomever ran the event could maximize their profits. There was no surprise with any of the scary stuff as most of it was lit up or dropped into view after being activated with motion sensors.
To get back down to the main floor and exit, people were directed to a hole in the wall marked "Suicide Slide." One might expect a steep drop-off to the bottom, but this was the extreme opposite. The slope was so gradual that you literally had to push yourself through it after entering feet first to get to the other end.
This definitely wasn't worth the price of admission or the long drive there and back.
Upon arrival, there were people looking out one of the open windows in a middle floor telling people outside stuff like, "Don't waste your time!" "It sucks!" or "Save your money!" Sure enough, they proved to be right. The layout and the props were rather low budget so that whomever ran the event could maximize their profits. There was no surprise with any of the scary stuff as most of it was lit up or dropped into view after being activated with motion sensors.
To get back down to the main floor and exit, people were directed to a hole in the wall marked "Suicide Slide." One might expect a steep drop-off to the bottom, but this was the extreme opposite. The slope was so gradual that you literally had to push yourself through it after entering feet first to get to the other end.
This definitely wasn't worth the price of admission or the long drive there and back.
Fresh out of college, I went to another haunted house with a young adult group. This one was halfway decent as it made more of an effort to have spooky happenings at unexpected intervals in the winding labyrinth of hallways. The final part, however, is where things went south. With everyone in a large circular chamber, dry ice smoke was pumped in and we were told we had to find the exit though the smoke and numerous dead-end paths.
Anyone smart would do what they were trained to do in the event of smoke or fire: drop down to the ground and crawl their way to the exit. I did that and found the exit almost immediately. Unfortunately, those in charge took umbrage with my quick discovery and physically blocked the exit while telling me, "Go back!" I never did understand why they did this, but it ruined what was otherwise an alright haunted house experience.
Anyone smart would do what they were trained to do in the event of smoke or fire: drop down to the ground and crawl their way to the exit. I did that and found the exit almost immediately. Unfortunately, those in charge took umbrage with my quick discovery and physically blocked the exit while telling me, "Go back!" I never did understand why they did this, but it ruined what was otherwise an alright haunted house experience.
To make up for the previous two stories, I've saved the best for last.
For this haunted house experience, I was part of a church group. The members were eager to find a decent haunted house, and the group minister found one we hadn't ever attended with what seemed to be the right balance of cost and spookiness based on the description.
None of us expected what would await us upon entering the haunted house, however. After going through the outer doors, paying our admission and going to the first doorway inside, we were greeted by a pair of young women who wore nothing but footwear, short shorts, and electrical tape covering their nipples. Many jaws were agape as everyone in the group walked past them.
That was likely the best attraction of the facility, unfortunately. Because the haunted house was split into two parts, there was a breezeway between them that narrowed down enough that people had to crawl on their bellies over a sealed glass terrarium full of spiders and scorpions 🕷
. That was probably the only part of the night that was creepy or scary because everything else paled in comparison -- especially when compared to the greeters.
On the way back home, the group minister was mortified to know our church group had just attended a haunted house with near-topless women greeting everybody at the starting point.
The best part of the story comes after the fact, though. About two weeks later, the same haunted house made the local news. Apparently, someone took enough of an issue with the greeters' skimpy outfits that they called the police in hopes the haunted house could be declared indecent and forced to close. From what I recall, the police deemed the women's tape jobs to be sufficient enough to avoid indecency laws, but they still suggested the women consider wearing bikini tops instead to avoid the possibility of the tape peeling away unexpectedly. However, the police also brought the local fire marshal who conveniently discovered a few minor violations that closed the place down for a day or two at the most until the issues were resolved to the marshal's satisfaction.
The following year, someone suggested we go back to that same haunted house for shits and giggles. The group minister replied with an emphatic, "Oh God, no!"
None of us expected what would await us upon entering the haunted house, however. After going through the outer doors, paying our admission and going to the first doorway inside, we were greeted by a pair of young women who wore nothing but footwear, short shorts, and electrical tape covering their nipples. Many jaws were agape as everyone in the group walked past them.
That was likely the best attraction of the facility, unfortunately. Because the haunted house was split into two parts, there was a breezeway between them that narrowed down enough that people had to crawl on their bellies over a sealed glass terrarium full of spiders and scorpions 🕷
. That was probably the only part of the night that was creepy or scary because everything else paled in comparison -- especially when compared to the greeters.On the way back home, the group minister was mortified to know our church group had just attended a haunted house with near-topless women greeting everybody at the starting point.
The best part of the story comes after the fact, though. About two weeks later, the same haunted house made the local news. Apparently, someone took enough of an issue with the greeters' skimpy outfits that they called the police in hopes the haunted house could be declared indecent and forced to close. From what I recall, the police deemed the women's tape jobs to be sufficient enough to avoid indecency laws, but they still suggested the women consider wearing bikini tops instead to avoid the possibility of the tape peeling away unexpectedly. However, the police also brought the local fire marshal who conveniently discovered a few minor violations that closed the place down for a day or two at the most until the issues were resolved to the marshal's satisfaction.
The following year, someone suggested we go back to that same haunted house for shits and giggles. The group minister replied with an emphatic, "Oh God, no!"
Happy Haunting!
(Edited for clarity)
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