Well, sometimes. As a child, just a mere 15, I found it amusing to scare the bee gee gees out of trick or treaters. My grand finale before going on to college was the porch with the working drawbridge. The little ones would walk up the bridge, ring the doorbell, the bridge would quickly rise, trapping them on my porch, the porch light would go out, scary music would fill the air and then the door to my living room would slowly open…
Halloween was not for me for the next few years. I went on to have some type of life. Met my third wife in 1979 and she had the idea for a Halloween Haunt fundraiser for my acting school. The lunatic JB Corn was born. No need to mention that the haunt biz beginning my marriage also ended it, so I won't mention that. For those that wish extreme pain I will describe my first haunt. It was fantastic, it was dangerous, it was deadly, it was insane, but I survived, and so did my customers, oh, well, most of 'em anyway. We had about 1,000 square feet. I wanted to charge $2 per person, so I had to think of a way to give 'em their moneys worth. First, the customers came in two at a time and had to take off their shoes and socks. Next they walked through the swamp, a 2x6 framed pond with squishy worms and cooked spaghetti, and this was gross. A few turns then up on stage and into the cemetery, thirty bags of dried leaves, branches and of course tombstones, one of the graves had an actor, actually two did, the first actor drove the customers into the second, very effective. Now down on to their hands and knees, they crawled, then they became separated. Each was forced to crawl alone till a dead end, the were told to lie down, then the floor fell out from under them and they landed together on a bed. I may have missed a few points, but they got their moneys worth, had many repeat couples, wonder why? In 1986 I went to the 4x8' reusable panel. I was still using 90-degree walls, but the path was less than 24" wide. It was not till 1988 that I began to use the 60-degree method. It was based on the March of Dimes haunt in Dallas at the time. It was difficult to use. In 1990 I began to refine this design and develop the central corridor, which I have now refined and is a major key in safety and keeping actor costs way down. I can operate Castle Dragon with 4 people at a customer rate of 24 people per hour. True it does not sound like much, but when things are slow, and they do get slow, it is a nice feature. The haunt was originally for fund raising purposes by my acting school. It was a fun way for the students to get involved, raise funds for projects and have fun. Now renamed, Castle Dragon, it is a commercial haunt. My first attempt at a partner was a disaster, followed by two more attempts that became bigger disasters. It began to look like the smooth talkers wanted to steal all they could from me the creator. Creative people are cursed, we tend to believe in the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow. The real stupid people are the ones that take advantage of us. A real quick example is Michael Flaherty. His production of River Dance set the stage for a musical revolution; he was fired on opening night in London by the investors who wanted control of the production. These idiots must be kicking themselves all over the place; Lord of the Dance has blown the entire world of dance light years into the future and grossed more money than a show dog can jump over. Now I have no partners. And should you have money and think you can get my attention, think again. I wear the multiple knife wounds in the back well, my wardrobe conceals most of the damage, and the one thing I do not need is someone that thinks they are smarter than I am. My word of advice for those insane enough to venture this way: stay away from the idiots with the money; they are, for the most part, fools. Have no clue and cannot see the forest for the trees. They do not deserve any part of this business and have all earned my eternal disrespect. Harsh words, not near what my Marine Corp. training can evoke. Start small; look for partnerships that involve location. The best deal I have ever found is Hawkwood, many such opportunities exist. This is a deal where both need each other. You the haunt operator need a permanent location. The amusement park needs additional attractions to deliver to its patrons. The show is the thing. Disney reed, Safety, Courtesy and the Show. Nothing else to be said. The customer must be safe, the employees must be courteous and the show must be fantastic. If you fail to deliver 100% in any category then you will fail, maybe not at first, but eventually. To make all this happen you have to have a good management team. Ahhh, there's the rub. Sounds easy, it is not. I have finally put in place all the elements for a Halloween Family Theme Park, and I have been doing this since 1979. Management is not something you go and buy, others have tried. Another quick example: For a brief moment we had an amusement park here called The Boardwalk. It came into being at an old abandoned park. I had an inside track and wanted to be a part of the creative side. I was told that my talent was not needed and my inside track came to a dead end. About a year later the park opened, my kids and I visited it opening day. I was not there ten minutes when I told my kids this place would not last the season, well, I was close, and it did not open for a second season. I would pass along what tipped me off, but that's another article. Suffice it to say, the Disney creed was not to be found, strike one, strike two, strike three and you're out. A haunt is even more so. We are in the business of scaring the bee gee gees out of people. If a person feels no threat, he cannot be scared. Kinda conflicts with the Safety-first reed. Yes, No. The goal is to create a moment where reality is suspended and fantasy takes over. In that moment the customer can be scared. Sounds easy, he he he, it is not. Again I have been to many a haunt and wondered what they were thinking. The pay off is eventually making it. It is not easy. It has been fun. No matter how bad the season or deep the knife wounds. I would trade none of it; the experience has been enlightening to say the least. As my business grows I have to give up more of the things I really love, like scaring people. Early on any given day when it is slow I can be found doing what I really do best, the timed scare. As things get busy I have to promote myself and turn the scares over to my staff. No one does it like me, and that is to be the case, you train them the best you can and when they make unauthorized changes you fire them. I have fired an entire cast in one night. I am not one to fool with on the Three Golden Rules. The creator of the haunt is the master. There can be none other. True you will have management in place, but the entire operation will run as the creator has set it or it will fail as the creator has set it. This is a cruel business. I suggest working for a haunt in the trenches for a season or two before taking the plunge. After all, it is a blood bath and we must watch our table manners.JB Corn
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