Haunted Houses South Of The Border . . . And I Mean South

by: Philip Morris

After graduating from college and completing a year of mandatory military service in his native country of Argentina, Juan Espéche set out to make his fortune. His life in the Haunted Attraction Industry reads more like a fantasy movie script, than real life, but when he asked me if I would like to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to attend the grand opening of his new haunted house gift shop, my answer was an immediate "YES!" My wife and I were literally on the next airplane out of the country.

On limited funds, Juan traveled to Spain where he worked at various odd jobs until he found a position as an actor in Spain's very first Haunted House. It was a job that he fell in love with, and he knew it would be his life time profession. In 1989, Juan entered into a contract with Warner Brothers Studios, to lease the famous Batman car for one year, with a guaranteed payment of one hundred thousand U.S. Dollars. After he signed the contract, he went out and convinced several partners to put up the funds. He booked the car in shopping centers, using it for photo opps with customers seated in and standing next to the Batman vehicle. The project was a tremendous financial success. Not only did the investors did well, but also by the years end, Juan had the capitol he needed to start his own business.

With his new bride in tow, Juan was off to San Paulo, Brazil where he founded "Indian Mystery", a company dedicated to the development of Haunted Attractions. Within four months his first "Castillo Del Terror" ("Castle of Terror") was up and running . . . The first commercial Haunted House in Brazil. Before long, he was operating four Brazilian year-round haunted attractions, which included a mobile unit. It was now time for Juan open his fifth spooky event in his native Buenos Aires, and he wanted me to come down and see it.

When we arrived at the airport, Juan was there to meet us, acting as our chauffeur and host for the four-day visit. Our first stop was at "Robot Service", South America's only robotic building factory. Along with master engineer Eduro Gerardi, they build outstanding robots like I have never seen before. The robots move, dance, and sing. Juan puts many of them to work in his Haunted Houses.

Next we were off to visit the "Castel of Terros," which was located in Show Center, an entertainment mall similar but not quite as large as the Mall of America in Minneapolis. The mall has a giant food court with 20 or so fast food establishments, as well as several fine dinning restaurants. The complex includes about 30 retail stores, a 14 screen movie theater, a large bowling alley, game arcade, carnival games, amusement rides, including bumper cars, a merry-go-round, and some children's rides. However, it appears that the main attraction of the complex is the Castle of Terror itself. Operated by a staff of 14, including 10 happy and dedicated professional actors and two experienced tech operating managers. The attraction opens about 4:00 p.m. and closes at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. reaching a peak about midnight. The Saturday I was there, 2,000 terrified patrons went through the house, and even more on Sunday.

Keep in mind that this is a permanent location that has been there for a year. Its customer base is from the local population, which means that many of the customers are repeats. More than four hundred thousand people have paid admission to enter Juan's Castel in the one year he has been open. His main attraction in Brazil has had over four million terrified patrons, since it opened in 1990.

The fast moving action-packed show is just under 1,500 feet as everything seems to take place at a fast pace.

After receiving instructions from a guide, you pass through large castle doors and are met by hooded monks who warn you about what lies ahead. From here, you pass through a graveyard and into Castle Dracula. Here a butler advises that the Count is asleep, and not to disturb him. As you enter his chambers, you find an open coffin with the dreaded count asleep inside. All of a sudden, the coffin magically shoots upright, and out flies Dracula. Screaming out of the room, you find yourself in a room where a Priest is performing an Exorcism that will scare the "YELL" out of you.

The next room is a morgue with dead bodies hanging from the ceiling. One corpse comes to life, he reaches, you run, down a long dark corridor to find the Frankenstein monster with bolts of lightening jumping in and out of his body. He leaps from the operating table, as screams are heard from the audience . . . Then Freddy Kreuger appears and you are chased out of the Castle by a chainsaw-wielding masked maniac.

The crowds stand outside and laugh with joy as they see the patrons run out of the Castle screaming with a look of terror on their faces. Mall patrons also get a kick out of the band of flag carrying monster monks who roam the mall, passing out handbills and interacting with the customers. Admission is $4.50 for adults and $3.50 for children, a reasonable admission considering the cost of things in Buenos Aires are equal to New York City. For example, a cup of coffee in the hotel was $4.50.

Even though most of the gift shop's inventory had been held up in Customs, and their display cases were a little bare, there was a buying frenzy for the merchandise they did have. The Argentinians have never seen masks and props of the quality made in the United States and they were willing to buy anything, and I mean anything.

Our stay lasted four days, during which time we enjoyed the traditional Latin hospitality that South America is famous for. Buenos Aires has a population of ten million, and our guide took us all over the city including other amusement attractions such as Park Del Costa, a giant one year old amusement park.

To say that Juan has been a success with five Haunted Attractions to his credit, would be an understatement. It is obvious that his success is the direct result of hard work, enthusiasm, the dedication of his marvelous staff and the love for scaring people. On the way back to the airport, Juan told us that he had just signed a lease on property in Miami, Florida, where he will open his next year-round attraction.

Philip Morris started his career almost half a century ago, and includes over 2,000 television appearances as Dr. Evil on "Horror Theatre", several motion pictures, and over 5,000 personal appearances all across North America. Author of several books on haunted illusions and attractions, he is the President of Morris Costumes, Inc., the World's largest supplier to the Haunted Attraction Industry.