Haunted House How-Tos

As Halloween approaches, a great number of professional haunted house attractions can be found all over. In the age, where more and more of our entertainment comes from screens and virtual reality gaming centers, you may think haunted houses are old fashioned and outdated forms of entertainment.  Not only does a good haunted house incorporate state of the art technology, but they are a source of great family friendly entertainment.  

Also, from an unexpected perspective, a trip through a haunted house can help you come back to the present moment.  You were not expecting a dose of spiritual wisdom in this post where you?  Hear me out on this.  If you are like most people and are going through life thinking about all the various future obligations you have, and at the same time worried about your various perceived mistakes in the past, then are you really present with your life?  Much like meditation, its often hard to be present with our lives when we take into account everything we have to do, and its really easy to miss the transient beauty of life only found in the present.  Going through a good haunted house, will scare you out of your to do list, and bring you straight into the present.  This effect usually lasts for a couple of hours, and it can be thrilling to just exist for the here and now.  

Here are a few things to look for in picking a quality haunted house to attend.  

• First, find a haunted house that has a publicly posted policy that actors are trained to not touch the guests.  I can't emphasize this one enough.  There are a few niche haunted attractions where a guest can voluntarily sign a waiver to allow actors to touch them, but I think those few bad apples generally give the rest of the industry a bad name.
• Second, unless you are super comfortable dealing with bugs and the elements, pick a haunted attraction that is mostly or completely indoors.  There is nothing worse than a haunted hayride going through a swarm of mosquitos.  
• Third, for the most family friendly experience, pick a haunted attraction that does not serve alcoholic beverages or allow BYOB.  

Above all else, enjoy the experience with family and friends.  Happy Haunting!