Category: Haunted House Stories

It’s an important question, to be sure: What should you wear when your date wants to take you to a haunted house? You want to look your best, after all, especially if this is a first date or someone you’re really trying to impress. But trust us – leave the stilettos at home, unless of course… you have a death wish.

Wear comfortable walking shoes: Yeah, those 8-inch platforms look ultra-sexy, but they’ll also make you look like a laughingstock when you fall on your tookas in front of everybody. Keep in mind you’re going to be covering some pretty treacherous terrain. No guy wants to have to carry his date through a haunted house – no matter how good you look.

Wear something washable: Remember, we’re going to be trying our darndest to scare the living daylights out of you. At some point you’re likely to jump, take off running and flee right into the arms of one of our actors who’s covered with fake blood and grease paint. You definitely don’t want that dry cleaning bill.

Wear dark clothing: For that same reason, you might want to wear dark clothing so the blood and make-up doesn’t show up so much – especially if you and your date are going somewhere brightly-lit and public after you leave the haunted house.

Wear something warm, yet open: During peak times you may have to stand outside in line for a while so wear something appropriate for the weather. On the other hand, once you move inside the attraction it’s going to be warmer. So wear something with a zipper or buttons that you can open and close when needed. Don’t worry. Our “monsters” aren’t looking for something they can grab on to. We just want you to be comfortable so you can enjoy the whole park.

Don’t wear a costume: A little bit of makeup or glitter is fine, or even a silly mask. After all, it IS Halloween. But save the really gruesome, full-body costume stuff for later. Our actors might think you’re just one of them and ignore you, and what fun would that be?

We’ve held our fair share of seances in haunted houses in Dallas / Fort Worth area and we can tell you from personal experience Ouija Board parties can either be a whole lot of fun, or they can be hella-scary. But even hella-scary can be fun if you do it right. Here’s how to host your own Ouija party safely.

Invite a good mix of people – Invite a couple of people who truly believe in the powers of the Ouija and a couple of people who think it’s pure malarkey, then invite 4 or 6 people who fall somewhere in between. This ensures you’ll have enough serious-minded folks to make a concentrated effort at contacting the spirits, and enough folks who just want to have fun to maintain a fun party atmosphere.

Beware the witching hour – We’ve always had the best luck contacting spirits during the hours between midnight and 3 a.m. – the witching hour – so it’s best to start your Ouija party later than normal, say around 10 or 11 p.m. You want your guests to have just enough time to relax, mingle, and maybe have a drink to calm their nerves before you get started.

Don’t drink and drive – While it goes without saying that friends don’t let friends drive drunk, we’re talking about “driving” the planchette here, that little pointy thing that moves around the board landing on letters. There’s always the chance there’s a demon lurking in that dark, gloomy corner over there and if you’re drunk you might say the wrong thing and invite them in.

Set the mood, but be careful – The best way to set the mood is just to make the room as dark as possible. Close the curtains, drape them with black cloth or scarves. Cover the table with a black tablecloth. Of course, nothing makes a room creepier than flickering candlelight but be careful, especially if you’re serving alcohol. Place candles away from high traffic areas and away from your Ouija Board circle so they don’t get knocked over if someone gets scared and bolts.

Use protection – No, we don’t mean that kind of protection. There are some who say it’s dangerous to even have a Ouija Board in your house. Here are some tips to help protect you from the spirits:

1. Never use the Ouija Board alone, always have at least two people.
2. Never dare the spirits.
3. Never use the board when you’re drunk or using mind-altering drugs.
4. Never ask questions about your own death or someone else’s death.
5. Use white or blue candles in the room.
6. Visualize yourselves being surrounded by a white, protective light.
7. Clear your mind of all negative thoughts or distractions.

Be polite – If you only remember one thing after reading this, let it be this: Always remember to thank the spirits for speaking to you and tell them Goodnight before you get up from the Board. If, after thanking them, the spirits don’t move the planchette to point to Goodbye, then you should do it yourself. Otherwise, the channel between you and the spirit world will be left open and anything can come through.

Lighten the mood – Once you’ve finished your séance, lighten the mood so your guests can all make it home safely. Turn on the lights, put on some music, and have fun for a while.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our experiences with haunted houses in Dallas / Fort Worth, it’s how to tell a good horror story. You know, not those hokey stories you told around the campfire back when you were a boy scout. One that your listeners remember long after you’ve turned the lights back on. One that makes them pull the covers all the way up and sleep with the lights on – every night for the next month.

Research It – We’ve all heard the story about the guy with the hook who tries to nab the couple at Lover’s Lane, but do you really know all the details? Google it. Research your story and dig up all the “facts” you can. The more details you can give your listeners the more believable your story.

Localize It – How many times have you heard someone start off with, “This guy and his girlfriend decided to go camping somewhere out west.” Right off the bat you know this isn’t a real story. At best it’s an urban legend that might be based on a true story that somebody’s sister’s cousin’s boyfriend’s uncle heard a hundred years ago.

Set your story in Your Town, Texas USA. It’s a safe bet that your tale of horror is made-up, as most are, so it doesn’t matter where it happened – as long as it happened close to home. It’s much creepier to imagine that guy with the hook is lurking just around the corner in a deserted warehouse on the corner of Main Street and Vine because sooner or later everybody has to pass that corner.

Personalize It – Give the characters names so your listeners can make a personal connection. “This guy and his girlfriend were driving along…” is too vague. It could be anyone, or no one at all. Give your characters names. Give them physical descriptions. Give them personalities so your listeners will feel sorry for them when they get killed by The Mangler.

Increase Your Vocabulary – Gross, ugly, monster, bloody… yeah, those are all OK. But what if you threw in “horribly disfigured” or “a gelatinous mass of blood, mucus and gore” Spend a few minutes with an online thesaurus to learn one or two new useful words that will help make your story more exciting.

Rehearse It – Now, turn out the lights, stand in front of a mirror with a flashlight under your chin and rehearse your story until even you’re scared. That’s when you know your story’s ready for the campfire.

Happy Scaring
Thrillvania Haunted House Park