Haunted
houses are bigger than ever. There are more than 1200 professional
haunted attractions in the U.S., many of them running all year long. The
people that work at these "haunts" are dedicated to their craft, so
they come together of the annual HAuNTcon, the Haunted Attraction
National Tradeshow & Convention. It's held in a different city each
year, in late January or early February. There are seminars and classes
on fright acting, props, makeup, and setting up a business. There are
all kinds of weird things for sale. There's a costume ball, tours of
nearby haunted attractions, and a chance to show off what you can do.
Leonard Pickel, founder of HAuNTcon, says the people who come are a
close-knit group.
“You would think they’re creepy, but
haunted house people are the best people on Earth. We get all our
frustrations out scaring the crap out of other people,” Pickel said.
To
Leonard, the warmth that permeates HAuNTcon is consistent with the very
nature of haunting, which—while antisocial on the surface—is
fundamentally about forming a connection. “When you scare somebody, they
get an adrenaline rush. But you get an adrenaline rush, too. It’s
symbiotic.”
Read about
HAuNTcon and the people who attend each year at Fusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment