America Haunts Behind-the-Scenes Web Video Series Reveals Secrets to Creating a Great Scare

DETROIT, Oct. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ever wondered how your favorite haunted attractions create scenes and characters that make your worst nightmares come to life?  "America Haunts: Tricks Behind the Trade" shows you how it is done.

The association of elite haunted houses that delivers fear-based entertainment to millions of thrill seekers every Halloween season released today the first of a five-part, behind-the-scenes web video series, giving fans an inside look at how members manage to evoke bloodcurdling screams from even the bravest of souls.

"As experts of scaring people every Halloween, we are committed to doing everything we can to frighten our visitors in new and exciting ways each year," said America Haunts board member Amber Arnett Bequeaith.  "This video series demonstrates the dedication we have in making our haunts a place where visitors' wildest imaginations come to life."

"America Haunts: The Tricks Behind the Trade" takes viewers on a tour of five members' haunted houses to uncover what makes America Haunts attractions the best in the country.  From high- and low-tech secrets to creating stunning designs and creepy and realistic-looking monsters, viewers get a look behind the curtain and hear from the craftsmen, engineers and makeup artists.

All five videos can be accessed on the America Haunts' YouTube profile.  Each will be posted at 9 a.m. on the following dates:

October 5
The Darkness (St. Louis)—Hear about how CGI technology is used to create characters ranging from dancing ghosts to a painting on the wall with eyes that follow visitors wherever they go.

October 10
Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses (Ulster Park, N.Y.)—See how this haunt uses a combination of today's technology with techniques dating back to the 1930s to create illusions so real you think you have just stepped back in time to Sleepy Hollow.

October 12
Erebus Haunted House (Pontiac, Mich.)—Meet "Bernie" a computerized system that "keeps an eye" on more than 100,000 square feet of this haunt, monitoring visitors and activating the animatronics and special effects at just the right moment.

October 17
The Bates Motel (Philadelphia)—Learn how this haunt uses its actors and animatronics to elicit the biggest scare it can get from its visitors.

October 19
Netherworld (Atlanta)—Find out how your favorite haunts make their monsters look so real (they are just actors, aren't they?).

For more information, including hours and ticket prices, go to www.AmericaHaunts.com/attractions.

With 30 haunted houses and attractions across the country, America Haunts delivers fear-based entertainment to more than a million thrill seekers annually. America Haunts has been featured on the Travel Channel and its members recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records on multiple occasions. The organization is committed to providing technical excellence, stunning set design, Hollywood-quality make-up, costumes and actors. For more information, visit AmericaHaunts.com.

SOURCE America Haunts