Secrets of creating a haunted house
RICHMOND, TX (KTRK) -- Halloween is right around the corner, and to get in the spirit, many people are looking for the scariest Haunted Houses.
The National Retail Federation expects Americans to shell out more than $7.4 billion on Halloween this year, and that includes admission to haunted houses.
ABC-13 visited the Red Rum Haunt to find out their secrets for scaring visitors.
Business partners Mike Caruso and Ryan Pontbriand say creating fear is strategic.
"People like the euphoria of the fear of the unknown ," Caruso said. "We create the makeup with using cotton balls, gelatin, fake blood."
Pontbriand says it is safe, though you feel the ghouls might get you.
"No actor is allowed to touch a customer," Pontbriand said.
The key is combining several elements at once in a confined space, then adding scary props and startling animatronics.
"Our actors, before you get to their area, they're clanking on metal, hitting on the palettes, banging chains, to build that anticipation," Caruso said.
They say successful haunts are hard to master so creators must come up with different concepts each year. This season, Red Rum Haunt added Zombie Paintball to an outdoor maze.
"Expect the unexpected. Wechange it every week," Pontbriand said.
