Haunted Houses: The Roller Coasters of the Fall Season

What do a great roller coaster and a great Haunted House like the Asylum or Hotel Fear have in common? While they may have several things in common, it can best be summed up in one word…  Anticipation.

Think about the last time you rode a roller coaster. The experience begins long before the first big drop. Standing in the queue, you hear the screams of the riders ahead of you. You watch the coaster climb impossibly high before suddenly disappearing over the edge. You know your turn is coming.

Then you strap in.

The train rolls out of the station and begins that slow climb up the first hill. Click… click… click… With every second, the anticipation builds. You know something is coming—you just don’t know exactly when.

Then comes the DROP!

But here’s what makes a great roller coaster work: it doesn’t run full-out for the entire ride.

After the big drop, it gives you a moment to recover. Maybe there’s a turn, a slower climb or a stretch where you think you’ve caught your breath. But while you’re relaxing, the coaster is already setting you up for what comes next.

A great haunted house works exactly the same way.

The experience begins while you’re still outside. You see the building. You hear the sounds. You watch other guests enter—and maybe hear them screaming somewhere inside. Actors roam the grounds. As you get closer to the entrance , the anticipation builds.

Then the door closes behind you.

Inside, a well-designed haunted house doesn’t simply throw scare after scare at you as quickly as possible. Just like a roller coaster, it has peaks and valleys.

There are moments when something jumps out and sends your heart racing. Then there’s a dark hallway, an unsettling room or a strangely quiet passage that gives you a chance to recover.

Or at least you think you’re recovering.

Because while nothing is happening, something very important is happening.

You’re wondering what’s coming next.

Every shadow becomes suspicious. Every doorway could hide something. That strange noise behind you suddenly seems much closer than it did a few seconds ago.

The anticipation starts climbing again.

Click… click… click…

And just when you think you’re ready for it – DROP!

That’s the rhythm of a great haunted attraction: anticipation, scare, recovery… then anticipation all over again.

Roller coasters discovered long ago that the climb can be every bit as important as the drop.

Haunted houses know the same secret.

Sometimes the scariest moment isn’t when the monster jumps out.

It’s those few seconds beforehand, when you know something is coming… but you have absolutely no idea what – or from where…. You know, like a good roller coaster!