Creating a Legend: HANGMAN'S HOUSE OF HORRORS

By: Darla Ann Robertson

In plain view from Interstate 30 in Fort Worth, Texas, is a large, unassuming gray building—at least for eleven months out of the year. Each October, however, the crowds arrive to experience the extravaganza that is Hangman's House of Horrors. This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the event, which is recognized as the most successful non-profit haunted attraction in the United States, with annual attendance reaching 35,000. Under the creative vision and leadership of the event's producer, D'Ann Dagen, Hangman's has raised close to $2 million to benefit Multiple Sclerosis. Assisted by over 1,000 volunteers and 200 contributing companies each season, the event has frightened a quarter of a million people over the past nine years, and is ranked in the top 20 events in the Greater Fort Worth, Tarrant County, area.

A native Dallasite, D'Ann Dagen is a 21-year veteran of the haunting business. A petite, five-foot tall blonde, one would hardly suspect her to be such a Queen of the Macabre. She created her first haunted house in 1977 as a fundraiser for the Drama Club of Oklahoma Baptist University, an organization for which she also served as president. Admission to attend this one-night event was $3. It included a Halloween dance and a 7-minute tour through six haunted scenes in the basement of a local Catholic Church. Over 300 people attended—over 25% of the entire population of the school!

The very next season, D'Ann was hired to manage the West Texas territory for the March of Dimes. While her job required her to oversee activities in 21 chapters, D'Ann invested her personal time on behalf of the charity as well—as chairman and creator of the first major haunted house in Lubbock, Texas. After three scary seasons in West Texas, D'Ann was promoted to a training position for the local March of Dimes chapter, teaching special event fundraising and volunteer development throughout six Southwestern states. She moved back to the D/FW area to accommodate her travel requirements and made her home in Fort Worth, where she immediately became involved in the local March of Dimes Haunted House. After growing weary of her intense travel schedule, D'Ann accepted the job as Fort Worth's Executive Director, where she was responsible for a sizable staff and numerous fundraising events, each season, including the chapter's Haunted House project. After leaving the March of Dimes in 1984 for a career stint as a marketing research analyst, D'Ann satisfied her desire for haunting by consulting for Haunted Attraction clients and staying personally involved in a local March of Dimes production each fall. Her expertise, and passion, were very marketable commodities.

In October 1988, D'Ann accepted the position as Executive Director for the National Association of Private Enterprise, a 100,000-member organization benefiting small business owners throughout the United States. Her increased income and executive position presented D'Ann the opportunity she needed, the financial resources and scheduling flexibility to pursue her dream of creating a haunt "the right way."

For D'Ann, "the right way" meant investing the resources that were truly needed to create a great show, effective marketing, proper motivation and rewards for all those involved. Her experience in the non-profit world proved to her that most charities lacked the vision—and the financial backing—to create an effective, profitable haunt. D'Ann's goal was not to personally profit from the venture, but simply to meet the challenge of testing the ideals she'd so often preached as a trainer and consultant. With her own dollars the only ones at risk, a love for haunting, and her reputation as an ethical, but savvy fundraiser, a cooperative charity had nothing to lose—and lots to gain.

After locating adequate, and donated, space for her venture, D'Ann's next step was to seek out a deserving non-profit organization to receive the proceeds. She selected Multiple Sclerosis, secure in knowing that the money raised would stay in the Fort Worth area and be used for direct services to local patients. She enlisted volunteer help primarily from the Advertising Club of Fort Worth, for their marketing expertise as well as their warm bodies. Carswell Air Force Base and past volunteers from her March of Dimes days also provided much needed manpower. On Friday, October 13, 1989, the Hangman, a.k.a. Hezekiah Jones, was born, and Hangman's House of Horrors, became a Texas legend.

In 1993, Hangman's evolved significantly when D'Ann realized the time had come that she must commit to her haunted attraction full time. That year she left her position with the national association and incorporated La-De-Da Productions, an entrepreneurial venture she had begun a year earlier. La-De-Da Productions, with D'Ann as president, moved Hangman's to a permanent, larger facility. While profits from the production still go to Multiple Sclerosis, expenses now include rent, more elaborate equipment and a small staff—the essentials necessary to keeping Hangman's alive in today's sophisticated, competitive Haunted Attraction industry.

"The key to the success of Hangman's has been the unique marketing of its lead character, the Hangman," explains D'Ann. "What better spokesman could there be for Fort Worth, a city humbly known as Cowtown?" No one has ever seen this huge man without his black shroud and tattered noose, but he appears live in frequent television spots, generously donated by the local NBC affiliate and Cable provider, and in as many as fifty personal appearances each season via radio remotes. His image is portrayed on posters and coupons distributed by area Blockbusters, AMC Theaters, Taco Bells and Jack-In-The-Box restaurants as well as on ads in virtually every local print vehicle and on the worldwide web http://www.hangmans.com. Over 12 million impressions of the Hangman were generated last season alone!

The Legend of the Hangman

 They say it was a brisk October night back in 1882 when an angry lynch mob finally put an end to the murderous rampage of Hezekiah Jones, a man known simply as the Hangman. When the sun fell, he would stalk his victims along the banks of the Trinity River and hang them until dead. By his rope, one hundred and sixteen people died.

Then one October night, he was strung up by the neck with his own bloodstained rope. The mob watched as he gasped for breath through the blackened bag covering his face. They left him hanging there in the damp night air to die. But when the gravedigger came back in the morning, all he found was a broken rope dangling from the limb of a rotting oak tree down by the river's edge.

As legend tells it, the Hangman won't die until the souls of those 116 victims are gone. Every year he takes a soul from his rope to continue his horrible existence. But when they're used up, he'll die. Unless of course, he kills again.

Last year marked the 116th and final soul left on the Hangman's rope. Reports are circulating about his successful rampage. Over 30,000 people claimed to have seen the Hangman stalking victims along the banks of the Trinity in search of new souls to carry on his murderous wrath.

No one knows for sure how many new souls he found. But there are telltale signs that he's looking for victims once again. The sound of jingling spurs; creaking rope and his growling, maniacal laughter have been heard in the area.

You can bet your boots that he will be around again this October, stalking the banks of the Trinity. Be warned—he just might come looking for you NECK-XT!

© 1998 - Hangman's House of Horrors a.k.a. La-De-Da Productions, Inc.

Located in an abandoned car dealership of over 40,000 square feet of structure on 3.3 acres of property, the haunt is redesigned each year to create a fresh walk-through of chills and thrills. Volunteers using predominantly donated materials, skillful ingenuity and lots of hard work, engineer elaborate physical and visual effects. An especially enhanced level of technical sophistication is met through the generosity of Derek Kennedy, proprietor of Magic etc/Fort Worth Costume, housed in the same building with Hangman's. Derek donates his invaluable expertise as well the use of thousands of dollars worth of lighting equipment, special effects and a few distinctive costume pieces each year.

Hangman's is proud of its reputation as a family oriented, "Haunted Funhouse." The Dallas Morning News said it best: "Special effects—and lots of them—can make or break a Haunted House. Hangman's House of Horrors in Fort Worth has taken this concept to heart. The house is one of the most effect-laden in the area!" Considering the renowned competitive market for haunts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, that comment speaks volumes.

Hangman's effects are created to invade all of the senses: sight, touch, hearing and even smell. Lasers are interwoven with cobwebs and rags to magically form a backdrop for the Black Widow character. Burning incense is used to create a dank, musty aroma in appropriate scenes. Touch is affected by passages such as the storm maze, which showers victims with a light rain before entering into the swamp. Thunderous, high-wattage woofers are placed discreetly to create not only a low rumble throughout the house, but an unsteady vibration to those blindly feeling their way through the darkened corridors. Each scene has its own unique sound source and selected characters are amplified for increased dramatic effect. Hangman's has even created its own version of the spinning tunnel, engineered by volunteers and painted with a muddle of day-glow colors. It is an effect of nauseous proportions!

With the Hangman character always as the focal point, a new house theme is selected each year to give continuity to the house design as well as to drive promotional efforts. It was easy to decide the theme for this year's Tenth Anniversary Show: "Déjà vu—the Best of Hangman's!" Exit polling of patrons each year provided a list of the most popular rooms from the past. For this year's house, volunteers will recreate, and hopefully even improve upon, these oldies but ghoulies. Guests will revisit all of their favorite haunting scenes, with some surprises of course!

Preliminary plans have victims being greeted by a dead Miss Kitty retelling the original legend of the Hangman, Hezekiah Jones, in a saloon setting. From there, they will be transported in time to relive their worst (or best) nightmare experiences. The maze of hallways will include three sets of stairs and a sixty-foot ramp leading victims to and from a second level during the walk through.

One of the first scenes, Café Hell, from the original 1989 house, is a campy and gory revisit through the school cafeteria line—a nightmare in itself! Other favorites include the Dentist Office from 1990 and 1991, where victims are not only reminded of the sound of a drill hitting a raw nerve in a tooth, but are chased by a demented dentist and hygienist. There are plans to expand this old favorite this year to include a reception area and a lab technician. A more "Cowtown" oriented room, originally used in 1993, will be the reconstruction of the Haunted Rodeo, with zombie cowboys and maniacal rodeo clowns.

A favorite psychological experience for Hangman's victims over the years is the 'false sense of completion.'' There will be two exits from the house this year. Of course the first is not a real exit. It leads back into the house, a tribute to the "Night at the Movies" theme used in 1992 where victims walked out into an abandoned drive-in theater only to be chased back into the house by a chainsaw-wheeling madman.

Two of Hangman's House of Horrors classics, are rooms designed to play on one's sense of claustrophobia. The Sheet Room is a maze of white sheets hung from the rafters at various angles. Not 10 or 20 sheets—more like 200—which must be pushed and pulled out of the way to find the exit. Frustration is key in heightening one's vulnerability, and victims have been lost in this room for up to an hour. The Disorientation Maze is built at varying tilts, with the walls, floors and ceiling painted in a black and white checkerboard pattern. Strobes are added to enhance the dizziness and chaos.

Hangman's House of Horrors is built, operated and staffed entirely by volunteers. Design and construction are carried out each year by the privileged "Core," a group of volunteers who have donated a minimum of 40 hours each to the previous year's production. (This past season's Core was comprised of 130 volunteers who averaged 125 hours of service time to the project.) It takes 100 actors each evening to staff the house, and this number does not include assignment coordinators, costume designers and makeup artists, which are all also volunteers. Security for the show, including up to 30 uniformed officers, 40 Hangman security and half a dozen licensed EMS personnel, are all volunteers as well. The ratio of patron to volunteer "staff" averages 10 to 1. This volume of manpower allows Hangman's House of Horrors to stand out as an exceptional example of operational smoothness, safety and production quality.

Twenty-four volunteers have even met their future mates while helping out the Hangman. This situation grew so frequent, it sparked the house theme for 1994, "The Hangman Takes a Bride," a theme volunteers say that the matrimonially phobic Miss Dagen also inspired. A few of these unions have already begun to "multiply," creating yet another generation of Hangman volunteers.

The event has expanded onto the surrounding grounds in recent years with the addition of a Haunted Midway in 1996. The Midway is packed with spine-tingling thrill rides, carnival games, karaoke, concessions, a 3-D Funhouse and a variety of festival-styled artists.

It was opening weekend 1996, and although the House was doing great, the Midway was empty. It seemed patrons were too conditioned to standing in line for the attraction, and were not riding the rides. Then producer D'Ann Dagen recalled an article in Haunted Attraction Magazine (Issue #6) in which Steve Walls described numbered ticket method that he uses to keep his lines short and his patrons free to participate in optional activities. As a result, Hangman's introduced its "No Waiting in Line System," in which guests can mill around, play games, ride rides and generally enjoy themselves instead of waiting in line. They are only allowed to get in line when their group number is called, and then they are in line for just a few minutes before entering the Haunted Attraction. "This ticketing system has benefited us beyond our initial motive," remarks Dagen, " Of course Haunted Midway revenues have increased, but our patrons are also happier. A contented customer enhances the entire atmosphere. Additionally, our in-house security issues have been dramatically lessened since people are no longer irritable from the long wait."

Kids Day, also added in 1996, is a special day when the house lights are brought up and Hangman's ghouls are replaced with friendly characters passing out goodies. Children and their families are invited to come in costume and trick-or-treat each scene in the house. There are no scares, just lots of giggles and fascinating fun. This "event within the event" not only generates additional dollars for Hangman's charity, but also serves as a good will gesture to the community that mourns the passing of a safe, fun Halloween experience for their younger children.

"I have seen our audience evolve, especially over the past few years," comments D'Ann regarding the Hangman's clientele. "We still draw primarily teens and young adults, the "dating" crowd. But each year we draw more families with elementary-aged kids. And we are beginning to see significantly more couples in their 50's and 60's just out for an evening of entertainment." She attributes this trend to the operation of an event that is clean and safe, with an emphasis on "frightening fun," rather than the morbid or macabre. Hangman's location is highly visible, in a decent part of town, and the volunteer "staff" is made up of responsible adults motivated by having "a great time for a great cause."

With a solid history of producing a high quality event, the future for Hangman's House of Horrors, its volunteers, its sponsors—and its producer—is anything by scary!

1998 FAST FACTS

Hangman's House of Horrors

2300 West Freeway (I-30 & Forest Park Blvd.)

Fort Worth, TX 76102

InfoLine: (817) 336-HANG

Website: www.hangmans.com

Ticket price - $10

Hours of Operation – 7pm-Midnite Fridays & Saturdays

7pm-10pm All Other Nights

Days of Operation – Every Friday & Saturday in October plus Nightly October 23-31

Kids Day is Sunday, October 25, 1pm-5pm

34 Scenes plus Haunted Midway and Festival Area

Tenth Anniversary Season in 1998!

Hangman's Maximum Manpower Needs:

100 Actors

40 Support Personnel (makeup, costumes, coordinators, "monster moms," cashiers,

Festival staff, etc.)

40 Hangman Security (in-house, festival area and parking lots)

30 Uniformed Security (varies)

6 Licensed Emergency Medical Technicians

All Volunteers

Darla Ann Robertson is a ten-year veteran of Hangman's House of Horrors. She currently serves as Publicity Chairman and Co-Chair of Social Activities. Five times she has been awarded Hangman's highly coveted "Best Actress" award, determined by a vote of her peers. By day you can find Darla in a much scarier place as Public Relations Manager for Neiman Marcus in Fort Worth.