Volume 1, No. 10. June 15, 2001
A little swap of horrors
Parks and zoos do it with rides and
animals; now haunted attractions are exploring a way to trade props among themselves.
The International Association of Haunted Attractions has formed a committee
to look into setting up a prop swap program among its members. The initiative
of Ross Karpelman, president of the House of Shock in New Orleans, the committee
not only is exploring a way to set up an on-line trading post through IAHA's
web site, but also a mechanism to rope in those haunters who do not yet have
Internet access.
"I put a thing in the (IAHA) newsletter that if anyone has anything they want
to get rid of, e-mail a description and at least we'll have a database when
we get the site going," Karpelman said. He feels attractions too often waste
money and prop-building efforts because they have no way to recycle some of
their scenery and scare elements. "We have these props we spent a lot of money
on that everybody has seen here, and it would be cool to circulate them to other
sites where nobody has seen them," he said.
He doesn't believe such a program would undercut manufacturers, especially as
the haunt industry in general is still growing. "It's like the record companies
coming down on used CD stores; I don't see where they would have a problem with
it. They'll have their business anyway from people who have the budget. And
they are always coming up with new and different stuff." Some attractions also
would want to keep purchasing new material to secure a warranty.
The key to such a swap program succeeding would be its nationwide reach. Karpelman's
renowned Halloween operation, with a total attendance of 30,000 guests over
15 three-hour nights, is one of several seasonal haunted attractions in New
Orleans, but with different themes and shared audiences, trading props with
the rival houses wouldn't be viable, he said. Keeping props longer than four
years would be even less viable, he said. "You want to keep people coming back,
so you want to keep refreshing your scenery. I'd rather die than have a haunted
house that's boring, that people have seen every year."
For more information, call the IAHA toll-free hotline, 866-462-4242, or check in at the association's web site by clicking here.
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