So you have extremely deep pockets for your Haunted Attraction. A well endowed charity, a rich sponsor, or a bank account equal to the national debt. You went to Transworld and bought half of the floor samples. You spent more on furnishings for your Haunted Attraction than James Cameron did for Titanic. A giant event, tons of promotions, long lines, carnival rides, everything a Haunted Attraction owner could want. So, why is everyone saying: "Sure, it looks nice, but the little haunt down the street is WAY scarier!" Pulling your hair out, you ask "What went wrong?" You forgot one thing: THE BASICS!

Using massive amounts of furnishings and expensive props to generate fear, is not enough, and this approach is being proven wrong, time and time again. The core of your Haunted Attraction design must include the basics, or no amount of frills will make your show effective. If you start out using the basics, then as your haunt budget grows, you can get better furnishings and props, and still ensure that your Haunted Attraction will do its fright job successfully.

Tell Them A Story
Steven King once wrote: "A house can not be haunted, unless it has a history!" Even if you are running something other than a classic haunted house story, you STILL have a story to tell. Your patrons are intrigued to find out more of the storyline as they venture deeper into your haunt and your unfolding storyline.

Entertain Your Guests
You are running a Haunted Attraction, not a museum. Tons of lighting, superb furnishings and props will not entertain a teenage male customer, (and wont do much for scaring any other age group, either). Make sure that there are plenty of things happening, so that your guests have a great experience in your attraction.

Keep Them Guessing
Use variety in your scares. Keep them on their toes, alert, tense, waiting, guessing from where the next dose of your tender mercies will be coming from. Think of your Haunted Attraction as a roller coaster ride, alternating small thrills, with large ones, while keeping the story moving along rapidly. Do not keep a high scare level going all the time, because it desensitizes your patrons. Let up on the scare briefly, only to send them down the next drop. Keep it entertaining. Keep it fun. Keep them guessing. Keep the emotions dynamic, and keep flipping the adrenaline switch.

Fill All The Senses
You are already playing with their emotions. Attack the senses as well. Create numerous sound effects to add to your music soundtrack. Alter the volume or speed or the music itself for each room in your attraction. In a dark passageway, the sound of a chainsaw or a super low bass throbbing. Use sound as a palette to paint your aural landscape. Vary the textures your patrons experience as they move through the show. The cold feel of a stone grave marker, dank cave walls, rough house siding, trees of a forest, or corn stalks all add to the touching sense. Light props and areas that you want your patrons to see, and mask areas to ignore with darkness. Draw the eye to what you want them to see or know using different colors to advantage. Even smell can be used to heighten the experience be it the rotting dead of a graveyard, the musty attic, or the weird smells of the alien mother-ship.

Give them a Scare!
Concentrate on what is going to do the scaring, and build each room around the scare. Use misdirection to get the patron looking the away from the scare, or startle them with sudden noises or explosive movements of the actor. If your room does not include a scare, make sure that it advances the storyline or sets them up for a more intense scare. Ask yourself: "What does this room do for my Haunted Attraction? Story? Scare? Atmosphere?" If it does not advance the show, save it for another year!

Without the basics in your Haunted Attraction, no amount of frills will make your show effective. With the basics solidly in place, you can then create a showpiece and still ensure that your event will do its fright job successfully. It is the basics that make a good attraction great!

Antonio Gonzalez jr. is co-owner of Free Spirit Enterprises, using years of research to create new products for the Haunted Attraction industry. He can be contacted at htraver@dreamsys.com