1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and today 4 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: we are talking about haunted house history. Uh no, not 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: a place that people actually believe might be haunted, but 6 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: the kinds of places you go to be scared on purpose, 7 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: that kind of haunted house or just called they're called 8 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: haunts a lot these days. So fun, and I thought 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: I forgot about an event that happened when I was 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: a kid that was not fun at all and really 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: shapes haunted house history, and so we had to include it. Um. 12 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: My apologies that that part is not fun at all 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: and it comes towards the end. Still, I will say 14 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: this offers up a lot of delights. There is some 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: very good newspaper quotes that I quite enjoyed and giggled 16 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: uproariously while reading them the first time. Um, and we 17 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: get to mention a couple of my favorite subjects. I 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,119 Speaker 1: promise upfront for those of you that are concerned only 19 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: the briefest mention of Disney's haunted mansion. We have to 20 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: do it because it's contextually important to the bigger story. 21 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: You'll also notice, and we'll talk about this some in 22 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,639 Speaker 1: the behind the scenes that, Um, we're talking mostly about 23 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: North America and the US in particular, because haunted houses 24 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 1: seem to be our thing. Uh. We'll talk about that 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: and that aspect of our culture a little bit more 26 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: in Friday's episode. But other than that, get ready haunted 27 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,559 Speaker 1: house discussion. Yes, humans have been making things to scare 28 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: other humans and potentially to scare other creatures or entities, 29 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: probably for thousands of years. Think of things like scarecrows, 30 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: or decorations on tombs, things like that. Even Greek and 31 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: Roman mythology feature tales of things like mazes, uh that house, 32 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: frightening beasts. But the idea of a haunted house meaning 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: a space that is set up as an entertainment that 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: is based on the idea being scared on purposes fun. Actually, 35 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: that idea is pretty new, only a few hundred years old, 36 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: and even before haunted houses the way we would think 37 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:20,959 Speaker 1: of them when what comes to mind when we say 38 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: that word developed, there were other entertainments that you could 39 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: pay a fee to go and see and be frightened. 40 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: One of those was the phantasmagoria, and this was essentially 41 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: horror theater. It was enhanced by the use of early 42 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: moving image devices to create astonishing for the time visual 43 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: trickery that left audiences frightened and often questioning their reality. 44 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: Magic lanterns played a big part in the development of phantasmagoria. 45 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: A magic lantern was an early projection device which used 46 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: a light source like a candle or burning mineral lime, 47 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: and it allowed users to cast an image onto a 48 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: green or a wall so that numerous people could view 49 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: it at once. These weren't moving images, but some expert 50 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: lanternists would combine multiple projections at once layered together to 51 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: create really intricate imagery. A popular motif for this was demons, 52 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: which would sometimes be projected by multiple layers at once 53 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: onto a gauzy material to make the optimal eerieness possible. 54 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: Yeah gave it an almost three D effect allegedly, and 55 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: by the late seventeen seventies this technology was used widely 56 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: by magicians and performance mystics. But the name that's perhaps 57 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: most famous in this space is Etienne Gaspa Robert, who 58 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: came to be known as Robertson. That was the stage 59 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: name that he took, and he took the use of 60 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: magic lanterns to entirely new levels in his storytelling performances. 61 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: Robertson realized that by moving the lanterns during performances and 62 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: incorporating sound effects like bells and thunder collapse, he could 63 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: create an immersive experience that seemed alive rather than just 64 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: having people look at static images. Robertson performed in Paris 65 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: in a converted space that had once been a convent. 66 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: The physics scholar found ways to make people believe, for 67 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: the span of a performance that they were seeing the 68 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: grim Reaper, or a ghost or a demon floating before them, 69 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: all too real. His advertisement for his earliest show read 70 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: Phantasmagory by Citizen E. G. Robertson. Apparitions of specters, phantoms, 71 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: and ghosts such as must appear or could appear in 72 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: any time, in any place, among any people, experiments with 73 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: the new fluid known by the name of galvanism, whose 74 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: application gives temporary movement to bodies whose life has departed. 75 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: An artist noted for his talents will play the harmonica. 76 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: Well this ad, it's really good. That harmonica that's mentioned 77 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: is probably not what you're thinking. Uh. He was referring 78 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: to a glass harmonium, or you'll sometimes see it called 79 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: a bowl organ, which used water on glass goblets to 80 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: create these spooky, other worldly noises, and this may have 81 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: actually been a version of that device invented by Benjamin Franklin, 82 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: known as a Franklin harmonica. There's no h there, um 83 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: uh there. You've heard them before. They make a very wonderful, 84 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: spooky noise, and if you have listened to any Halloween anything, 85 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: you've probably enjoyed the sounds of a glass harmonium. Attendees 86 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: to Robertson's shows would enter the space and take their 87 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: seats in dim lighting. Normally there were already static images 88 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: projected onto the walls to sort of set the scene, 89 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: and then once the crowd had settled, Robertson would snuff 90 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: out all the light and begin the sound and vision production. 91 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: And he was later quoted as saying, quote, I am 92 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: only satisfied if my spectators, shivering and shuddering, raise their 93 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: hands or cover their eyes out of fear of ghosts 94 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: and devils dashing towards them, if even the most indiscreet 95 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: among them run into the arms of a skeleton. His 96 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: shows became so popular in Paris that he soon started 97 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: touring them to great success. Next Halloween season we might 98 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: actually do a whole episode on him. Tracy referred to 99 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: him as a physicist. He was, and yet he ended 100 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: up in this area of of of employment, so as 101 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: you can imagine, he's kind of an interesting figure. Yeah, 102 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: and the image that we have gotten to go on 103 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: our social media with this episode is an artist's interpretation 104 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: of one of these events. H And there is indeed 105 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: a whole lot of raising their hands and covering their 106 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: eyes out of fear in the success. In eighteen o two, 107 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: in London, Marie two sawed, fresh from Paris herself, set 108 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: up a display tableau of famous French icons without their heads. 109 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: The theme of beheading meant that Robespierre, right, King Louis 110 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: the sixteenth, and of course Marie Antoinette were all included. 111 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: This separate chambers display, which is a name that Tussled 112 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: used for this display, was created using death masks that 113 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: she had created of those people. If you've listened to 114 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: the Madame Tussaud episode by previous host Sarah and Babilina, 115 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: you also know there's some doubt about whether she was 116 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: actually able to cast the faces. Of the royals or 117 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: whether she artfully recreated their faces. Either way, though, this 118 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: exhibit caused a sensation, and while she had displayed her 119 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: work in France, her set up in England was where 120 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: this really modeling theme as a separate area caught on 121 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: as an attraction in and of itself. By eight thirty 122 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: five she had a permanent exhibition in London which included 123 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: the now famed Chamber of Horror. It wasn't exactly a 124 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: haunted house, but it made it pretty clear that there 125 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: was an audio ants for this kind of maccab entertainment. Yeah, 126 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: that episode that Sarah and Deblina did talk a lot 127 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: about how her wax works were so impactful because, of 128 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: course wax looked so realistic to people compared to anything 129 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: they had seen before representing any of these gory scenes. 130 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: So in the spirit of the phantasmagoria, of course, that 131 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: Taskla do Glogogno, which we have talked about on the 132 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: show before several times, debuted in the late eighteen nineties, 133 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: once again offering a taste of horror to an audience, 134 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: But that was still a passive situation. Although guests certainly 135 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 1: reacted with great intensity, they were still all seated there 136 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: as the imagery of the stage played out. In nineteen fifteen, 137 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: the first true commercial ghost house opened at lip Hook 138 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: Fair in England. This is a project undertaken by the 139 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: company Orton and Spooner. George Orton was a wheelwright and 140 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: Charles Spooner was a woodcutter, and they combined their skills 141 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 1: into a company that produced fair ound rides and attractions 142 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: in the eighteen nineties. The attraction they built, which is 143 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: said to have been designed by a man named Patrick 144 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: Collins as a gift to his wife, Flora, was a 145 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: steam powered walk in house, similar to a lot of 146 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: carnival funhouses at the time. The floor rocked, there were 147 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: blasts of air and purposely wobbly walls, but it was 148 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: themed with scariness instead of silliness in mind, and that 149 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: made it a first. The Haunted Cottage, as it is called, 150 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: and we say is because it still exists today, is small. 151 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: It's about the size of a train car, and the 152 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: Haunted Cottage changed hands over the years until it landed 153 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: at the Hollycomb Steam in the Country Museum in lip 154 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: Hook and it remains there on display. It was restored 155 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,439 Speaker 1: in so you can go visit it if you are nearby, 156 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: or once travel becomes more realistic. Pranking behavior was common 157 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: as part of Halloween celebrations in the US in the 158 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: nineteenth century. Something that traveled from Europe. For example, on 159 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: right Up from the Cincinnati Daily Star in eighteen seventy 160 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 1: nine described various stunts pulled by kids on Halloween night. 161 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: There's one potentially terrifying prank that's described as follows quote 162 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: on the Louisville Short Line track in Newport, the boys 163 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,079 Speaker 1: laid a stuffed man. The engineer of the passenger train 164 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: saw the man on the track in time to check up. 165 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: He got off his engine and went forward to pull 166 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: the fellow out of danger. When he was greeted with 167 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: shouts of about two hundred boys. Strange to say, the 168 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: engineer never cussed a word. It reminded him of when 169 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:40,959 Speaker 1: he was a boy and practiced the same tricks. I 170 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: love that the newspaper right up concludes that he didn't 171 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: do any swearing. But one can imagine how fearful it 172 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: would be to think you were seeing a body on 173 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: the tracks. Yet he was cool as a cucumber. Uh, 174 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: And that account is pretty benign. Thanks to the good 175 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,439 Speaker 1: nature of that engineer. But reading accounts of what happened 176 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: each hall Aween, because a lot of papers would do 177 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: like a here's what played out on Halloween night, you 178 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: definitely get a sense over the years of people getting 179 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: really tired of these pranks as the years wore on. 180 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,719 Speaker 1: In in Arlington Heights, Illinois paper in nineteen two, the 181 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: following was written under the headline malicious Halloween mischief quote. 182 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: Many innocent parties were victims of cowardly Halloween tricks committed 183 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 1: under the shade of darkness, and considerable property damage resulted. 184 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:31,839 Speaker 1: It might be all right to tell in a police court, 185 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: but it is hardly suitable to mention in a clean 186 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: home paper. No intelligent person will stoop to such dirty tricks. 187 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: Those who committed depredations should be exposed and required to 188 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: make good all damages. Most everybody enjoys a joke or 189 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: fun to a proper degree on suitable occasions, but when 190 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: property is damaged or destroyed, it is time to call 191 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,359 Speaker 1: a halt. Over the next few decades, the pranking continued 192 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: and adults reached a point where they had simply had it. 193 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: We will talk about that and how haunted attractions figure 194 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: into this story after a quick sponsor break. The Great 195 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: Depression drove the growth of the haunted house concept in 196 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: the US. This was, to some degree, a way to 197 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: keep all those Halloween pranks at bay. The idea was 198 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 1: that if the kids who would normally harass people or 199 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: destroy property had something to actually do on Halloween, they 200 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: would not indulge in those undesirable behaviors. Halloween had for 201 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: many years been largely about pranks, less about seeking candy 202 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: from strangers. That kind of develops a little later, but 203 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: in some places those pranks had just continued to escalate 204 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: to a degree that started to alarm people. On November 205 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: four three, a ride up appeared in various Minnesota papers 206 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:01,439 Speaker 1: that was titled Halloween Hoodlum's so and with quote Tuesday 207 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: was black Halloween and Minneapolis and the city never wants 208 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: to see another like it. The night was given over 209 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: to gang terrorism and destruction, and youthful vandals held the 210 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: upper hand from first to last for sheer, viciousness and insolence. 211 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 1: Minneapolis has never had a Halloween to equal it. The 212 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,439 Speaker 1: police were virtually powerless to cope with the marauders. Property 213 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: was wantonly destroyed, and the lives of citizens endangered in 214 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: every part of the city. It was, in every sense 215 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: a nightmare in which not the slightest regard was shown 216 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: for the rights of others, and through which hoodlum's paraded 217 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: with the utmost contempt for even elemental decency. And that 218 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: article describes to go on some of what happened, unlike 219 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: some of the previous papers who dared not discuss it, 220 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: writing quote when windows are smashed, street cars derailed, automobiles overturned, 221 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: hydrants turned on, telephone and power, polls sawed down, and 222 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: thoroughfares blockaded, Desperate chances are being taken with human life. 223 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: That article also blames beer, the depression, and a breakdown 224 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: of parental authority as the various causes of the mayhem, 225 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: although the writer struggles to decide which of those should 226 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: get what portion of the blame. Are kind of things 227 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: that have been blamed for a long time for UH 228 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: youths getting into trouble. So in the years that followed, 229 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: this idea of creating a fun and scary place for 230 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: young people to visit really started to grow. One seven 231 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: pamphlet that offered ideas for setting up a Halloween haunt 232 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: at home gave adults a very vivid description of what 233 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: they could achieve. Quote an outside entrance leads to a 234 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: rendezvous with ghosts and witches in the cellar or attic. 235 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: Hang old for strips of raw liver on walls, where 236 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: one feels his way to dark steps. Weird moans and 237 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: howls come from dark corners, damn sponges and hairnets hung 238 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: from the ceiling touches face doorways are blockaded so that 239 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 1: guests must crawl through a long, dark tunnel. At the end, 240 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: he hears a plaintive mew and SE's a black cardboard 241 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: cat outlined in luminous paint. The idea developed that these 242 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: kinds of home built haunted houses would be a collective 243 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: community effort. Multiple homes in a neighborhood would create spooky 244 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: scenes in the homes, and kids in the neighborhood would 245 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: go from one to another on a sort of Halloween 246 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: Holmes tour. From there, the local haunted neighborhood tour expanded 247 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: with the creativity of the residents of any given neighborhood, 248 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: and it became a staple in a lot of communities. 249 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: The idea of let's all go into each other's houses. 250 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: It's so alien at this point. Um. We have, as 251 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: I said at the top of show, talked about Disney's 252 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: Haunted Mansion before several times. But it does have a 253 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: part to play in making a haunted house attraction mainstream 254 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: in the US because this serves as this important moment 255 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: for haunted houses culturally. And that's because one, it brought 256 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: a high level of technology and artistry to the idea, 257 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: kind of elevating the whole thing, and too disnease. Haunted 258 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: Mansion was created entirely to delight. It's not really there 259 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: to divert the energies of kids away from misbehaving. It's 260 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: just there to be enjoying. And the pristine exterior that 261 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: Walt had insisted on to house the attractions n happy 262 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: haunts made this idea of a haunted house seemed fun 263 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: and a little less threatening and even wholesome. The nineteen 264 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: seventies were significant for the development of the haunted house 265 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: attraction for several reasons. One of those was the United 266 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: States Junior Chamber, better known as the j CS. The 267 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: j CS is a not for profit civic organization that 268 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: focuses on leadership development for people eighteen to forty with 269 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: attention on community improvement. It's believed that as early as 270 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: the sixties, various JAC'S chapters had started setting up haunted 271 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: houses as fundraisers. The lack of certainty is due to 272 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,679 Speaker 1: a lack of clear documentation, but what is documented is 273 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 1: that by the mid nineteen seventies, chapters all over the 274 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,479 Speaker 1: U s we're doing it. And the person who's usually 275 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 1: cited as being the most important to this spread of 276 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,120 Speaker 1: charity haunts for the j c's is a man named 277 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: Tom Hilligas. He was head of the Bloomington, Illinois j 278 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 1: c's chapter, and after having put together a number of 279 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,399 Speaker 1: haunted houses for his local organization, he decided to write 280 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: how to manual for other chapters to use, and he 281 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: did that along with fellow j C Jim Gould, and 282 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: this book was approved and published by the j c's. 283 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: Twenty thousand copies of it were distributed, and it laid 284 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 1: out exactly how to put together a haunt for charity revenue, 285 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: and soon Tom was also touring and giving seminars as 286 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: a haunted house expert. Eventually, Hiligas decided to open the 287 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 1: Haunted House Company and turn his expertise into a business. 288 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: Over the years, the Haunted House Company introduced a full 289 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: range of Halloween and hot related products, and even went 290 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: on to design the first Santa's Village seasonal attraction. In 291 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: the US and the world of charity, haunted houses grew 292 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: as well. A lot of people learned how to build 293 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: haunts from Tom's book, both for charity and for commercial haunts. 294 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:29,719 Speaker 1: In n evangelists Jerry Folwell through Liberty University joined in 295 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: on the haunted house trend with a project that he 296 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,160 Speaker 1: called Scare Mayor That's an attraction that continues to the present, 297 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: although it has not run the last two years due 298 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: to covid UH. Soon other churches launched their own haunted houses, 299 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: and these attractions, which are often called hell houses, are 300 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,360 Speaker 1: intended as a didactic measure on the part of conservative 301 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: evangelical churches. They normally depict the various sins that church 302 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: leaders believe will lead a person down a path to 303 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: eternal damnation, and often these are really shocking and horrifying, 304 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: as well as being disparaging to a number of communities. 305 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: We mentioned it because it is an important part of 306 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: the story in the US. The third thing that happened 307 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 1: in the nineteen seventies was the rise of the theme 308 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: park haunt. Knots Berry Farm held their first haunt in 309 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three, called Knots Halloween Haunt. It lasted for 310 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: three nights and featured a makeover to some of the 311 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: park's regular attractions to give them a more Halloween feel. 312 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: Crowds loved it and came back the next year, selling 313 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 1: out every night of the event. Over the years, it 314 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: has continued to grow, and now the Not Scary Farm 315 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: event takes up the entire hundred and sixty acres of 316 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: the California theme park. It runs from mid September to 317 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,680 Speaker 1: the end of October. Once the Knots Haunt was a success, 318 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: other amusement parks followed suit, but that led to a 319 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: tragic event which significantly changed the haunted house game in 320 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: the US forever. We're going to take a break, and 321 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: then we'll hear from the sponsors that keep stuff you 322 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: missed in history class going before we get into that 323 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: sad part of the story. Unfortunately, as haunted houses got 324 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 1: more and more elaborate, there were also instances where they 325 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: became legitimately dangerous. In an attraction called the Haunted Castle, 326 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: at the Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park in Jackson, 327 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,959 Speaker 1: New Jersey, burned to the ground. The blaze began at 328 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: six thirty five pm on May eleventh, and just a 329 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: little over an hour later it was under control, although 330 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: park officials had believed that the building was evacuated. Later 331 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: that night, it was discovered that eight people had died 332 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: in the attraction, all aged twenty and under. While they 333 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: were within twenty five ft of an exit when they died. 334 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 1: Seven of them had been trapped in a maze segment 335 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: of the attraction, apparently either unable to find their way 336 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: out or believing that the smoke effect was part of 337 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: the attraction. That was something that several part guests would 338 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: later say that they had thought themselves when they saw 339 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: the smoke. The building itself was not really a building 340 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: at all, but seventeen aluminum trailers that had been connected 341 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: together with a stucco facade added on the structure. Operated 342 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: under a temporary building certificate, but had been running for 343 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: six years when the fire occurred. Temporary buildings have different 344 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: regulatory requirements about safety equipment, and this lengthy period operating 345 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: as one got a lot of attention at the time 346 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions had standards 347 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: in place for mechanical rides, but not for haunted houses 348 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: or so called dark rides, meaning ones that operated with 349 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: low lighting conditions inside. One week after the fire, New 350 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,679 Speaker 1: York City Mayor Ed Coach made the announcement that haunted 351 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: houses operating in New York had to have new safety measures, 352 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: including emergency lighting and smoke detectors installed, as well as 353 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 1: fire extinguishers and no smoking and no open flame signs. 354 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 1: Many haunted houses in the city already had safety measures 355 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: in place, and when Coach made this announcement, he was 356 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 1: also joined by Fire Commissioner Joseph E. Spinado and Buildings 357 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: Commissioner Charles M. Smith Jr. And in their press conference, 358 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: the commissioner stated that their preliminary survey of the city's 359 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: haunted houses had shown that they were up to code. 360 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 1: At the same time, haunted houses along the Jersey Shore 361 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,439 Speaker 1: were all closed depending an investigation. Though at that point 362 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: the cause of the Haunted Castle fire hadn't yet been determined, 363 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:38,199 Speaker 1: there was enough concern that similar attractions might also be 364 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: unsafe as in an emergency situation, so that shutdown was initiated. 365 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:47,360 Speaker 1: Because of that concern, State and local officials inspected haunted 366 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: attractions in the area to assess their fire safety. One 367 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: haunted house, the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, was built 368 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: with the same temporary multi trailer set up that the 369 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: Haunted Castle had. Management chose to close voluntarily even before 370 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: the fire officials called for closures. Yeah, that setup was 371 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: actually like a UM kind of a modular design that 372 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,400 Speaker 1: that these theme parks could order from a company where 373 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: it was like each trailer had its own scene that 374 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: you could add on to your your haunted attraction, So 375 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: it was it was part of a package you could purchase. UM. 376 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 1: A problematic aspect of enforcing safety measures for amusement parks 377 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: really came into the spotlight in the wake of the 378 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: Haunted Castle fire. Multiple municipalities were responsible for sometimes overlapping 379 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: things relating to coding permits and fire safety regarding theme parks, 380 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: and sometimes there were actually gaps. A New York Times 381 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: article from outlined how complicated the situation was. Quote in 382 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: New Jersey, for example, the Department of Labor and Industry 383 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: is responsible for checking all rides for mechanical safety compliance 384 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: with fire electrical, plumbing and construction codes. However, is enforced 385 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: by local authorities under local statutes and the statewide Uniform 386 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,840 Speaker 1: Construction Code. The code applies to all buildings put up 387 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: since nineteen seventy seven. Earlier buildings are checked by the 388 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: state's Community Affairs Department and Fire Safety Commission. It came 389 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: to light that because of this confusing situation, the Haunted 390 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,879 Speaker 1: Castle had never been inspected. When reporters started questioning officials, 391 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: it seemed that no one really knew who was supposed 392 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: to have inspected it. When the mayor of Jackson Township, 393 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: William Schreiber, was interviewed, he initially said that it wouldn't 394 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: have been inspected because it was a temporary structure, but 395 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: that status should have only lasted ninety days. When pressed 396 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 1: on the matter, Schreiber made some calls and came up 397 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: with the information that because it was a pre nineteen 398 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: seventy seven structure, the Uniform Construction Code didn't apply to it. 399 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,120 Speaker 1: But Haunted Castle opened a and the mayor had no 400 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 1: further explanation when that was pointed out. The state Governor's 401 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: office described the theme park Haunted House as an instance 402 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,199 Speaker 1: of a structure that had slipped through the cracks of 403 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: ambiguous building codes. As for the cause of the fire, 404 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: it was determined that a teenager had lit a cigarette 405 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: lighter in a dark room because he couldn't see and 406 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: he was trying to figure out where to go, and 407 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: that his lighter had brushed against foam padding on a 408 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: wall that had almost immediately caught fire. He had tried 409 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,199 Speaker 1: to put it out but failed, but then he proceeded 410 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 1: through the haunt without informing the staff of the fire. 411 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,719 Speaker 1: While there were multiple lawsuits on the parts of the 412 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: families of the deceased, the amusement park was not held 413 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,480 Speaker 1: accountable because its management had been misinformed by local authorities 414 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,639 Speaker 1: regarding the need for a building permit, and a grand 415 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: jury report on the matter, it was concluded that quote 416 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,360 Speaker 1: Jackson Township and its officials were neither qualified nor capable 417 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,879 Speaker 1: to handle code responsibilities in a pride checked as large 418 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: as great adventure. In an interview with The New York 419 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: Times after the verdict was handed down, jury foreman Gloria 420 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 1: Lujo said, quote, they tried to meet their obligation by 421 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: going to get the permit. They left the building open 422 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: and available for inspection. We felt they did what they 423 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: were required to do. The township should have been doing more. 424 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 1: Somebody there wasn't doing his job. They were never told 425 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 1: they had to put in sprinklers or the place would 426 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:32,040 Speaker 1: be closed down. But an interview with another juror, Irving Powder, 427 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,439 Speaker 1: revealed that not all of the jurors agreed that the 428 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: township should actually take the blame. There just wasn't any 429 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,679 Speaker 1: kind of law on the books that would cover a 430 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: structure like the Haunted Castle, So he kind of felt 431 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: more like it was a tragic outlier rather than someone 432 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 1: being negligent. The new Jersey state legislature enacted new safety 433 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 1: standards for amusement attractions, and even at the national level, 434 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: the event impacted fire codes in As part of the 435 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: response to the fire, the National Fire Protection Association added 436 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 1: a new section to its Life Safety Code titled Special 437 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: Provisions for Special Amusement Buildings and included regulations about sprinkler 438 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: systems even for temporary buildings, and specified smoke detection devices 439 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: for low light conditions and amusement attractions. Yeah, there are now, 440 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 1: of course, all kinds of laws on the book, like 441 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,160 Speaker 1: there are even laws that say if an emergency situation 442 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: arises in some municipalities, whatever alarm goes off has to 443 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 1: also immediately shut down any of the noises that the 444 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 1: the attraction has so that nobody gets confused about what's 445 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,959 Speaker 1: going on. Um Now, I mean there are there's an 446 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: extremely high level of standards for places like this. And 447 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,479 Speaker 1: if you're wondering why we're spending so much time talking 448 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 1: about this incident, it's because it was a really significant 449 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: moment in the world of haunted houses. For for profit haunts, 450 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: it meant there was more overhead needed to ensure that 451 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: all of the attractions were up to new codes, but 452 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,640 Speaker 1: for charity haunts it posed an entirely new level of challenge. Suddenly, 453 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: just finding an empty building to put a charity haunt 454 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,120 Speaker 1: in was not enough. Those spaces had to be brought 455 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 1: up to code, even if they were only going to 456 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: operate briefly, and that was often far beyond the budget 457 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: of a charity build. In addition to that, despite all 458 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: of those new regulations around setting up haunts, a lot 459 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: of commercial haunted houses started popping up, and they quickly 460 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,679 Speaker 1: made it really difficult for homegrown charity haunts built on 461 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: meager budgets to even operate. There are certainly still charity 462 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: haunts to be found, and people putting in a lot 463 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,600 Speaker 1: of time and effort to make them scary and fun 464 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: and unique experiences for visitors. Those regulations may have temporarily 465 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:48,120 Speaker 1: paused some commercial enterprises, but the haunted house industry has 466 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,960 Speaker 1: only grown in the years since then. Universal Studios Theme 467 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: Park in Orlando, Florida held its first Freight Nights event, 468 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: which has since grown to be a massive, weeks long 469 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: event called Halloween Horror Nights. It takes place in Universal 470 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,200 Speaker 1: Parks around the world. The ongoing popularity of horror movies 471 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: and explosion of the genre has also contributed to the 472 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: growth of the haunts sector, as haunted attractions replicate moments 473 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: or places from those films. Today, the range of haunted 474 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: attractions is massive, encompassing everything from those fun neighborhood homemade 475 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: yard haunts and then escape rooms and some attractions that 476 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: rely more on the concept of torture than anything ghostly. 477 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 1: According to trade organization American Haunts, there are more than 478 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: twelve hundred paid admission haunted attractions in the US, three 479 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: hundred amusement facilities with Halloween themed events, and more than 480 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: three thousand charity attractions that opened briefly for the Halloween season. Yeah, 481 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: I am. I was looking for kind of revenue information 482 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: and the things that I found were kind of old, 483 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: because nobody has been doing those sorts of ooculations the 484 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: last couple of years. That's why we're not including that, 485 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: because it's a little bit of a difficult time to 486 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: really judge the trajectory of things. But that that is 487 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: a very brief overview of haunted houses in the United 488 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: States as attractions. And now I have a listener mail 489 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: related to our Todd Browning episode. This is from our 490 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: listeners Cyrus, who writes, I just recently listened to your 491 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: two part episode about Todd Browning. I've been a fan 492 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: of Todd Browning's films, but had not had any insights 493 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: on his past, so thank you for doing an episode 494 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: on him. Furthermore, I was quite intrigued to hear about 495 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: his circus in vaudeville life and how that inspired his 496 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: films such as Freaks and The Unholy Three. I myself 497 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: am a professional sword swallower and have performed in a 498 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:49,720 Speaker 1: couple of circuses and sideshows alongside some pretty remarkable people, 499 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: namely the Freaks of the natural borns. Working with these 500 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: professionals and some long time show owners came with some 501 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: lessons in history in itself. I appreciate you mentioning the 502 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 1: bit of out exploitation, how some felt that Todd Browning's 503 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: Freaks was exploitation of the performers, and how some played 504 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: the superhero by claiming the exploitation people most definitely did 505 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: feel that sideshows exploited these different individuals, even to the 506 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 1: point of getting the sideshows shut down and the natural 507 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: borns then being put on welfare. This, however, ended up 508 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: hurting the natural borns more than helping them, because their 509 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 1: quote differences actually made most of them unable to work 510 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: a typical day job outside of the circus. The natural 511 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 1: borns were also most often the top build acts in 512 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,240 Speaker 1: the side show, and some would become so wealthy that 513 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: they became owners of the side shows. This does not 514 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 1: go without saying the exploitation against the performers wishes did 515 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: happen in some instances, which is definitely not okay. But 516 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,680 Speaker 1: to quote famed magician and sideshow historian Todd Robbins no 517 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: relation to author Todd Robbins in reference to exploitation quote. 518 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: That was the exception, not the rule. I cannot speak 519 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 1: wholly for how Todd Browning treated the performers on set 520 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,280 Speaker 1: of Freaks. However, I have a gut feeling that he 521 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: had a respect for them because he has been on 522 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 1: that side of the tent flap, so to speak. Thank 523 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 1: you so much for your show. It's one of my favorites. UM, 524 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: thank you for sending this because it's a great unique 525 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: perspective that um, you know I had not had not 526 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: had to include in that that episode. UM. And it's 527 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: just I'm I'm always glad for more discussion of that 528 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: whole topic and how it's handled both of them in 529 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 1: the thirties and today. UM, So thank you, thank you. 530 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 531 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. 532 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media as Missed 533 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: in History and if you would like to subscribe and 534 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: you haven't gotten around to it yet, no time like 535 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: the present, you can do that on the i art 536 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 1: radio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. 537 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,360 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 538 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. 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