More on the NYC haunt event

[cupcake_goth]

Ooh, a write-up of last year's version!

http://jadedviewer.blogspot.com/2010/11/nyc-haunted-house-vortex-theaters-nyc.html

No supernatural themes or elements, just crazy people. Which, scary enough, I'll admit. I now know for sure that I wouldn't be able to go through one of these "attractions".

Reading the description does make me think of what sort of similar thing could be done with an actual haunted or supernatural storyline or theme. That would be fun to put together.

Comments

[amaliedageek]

Having read that -- yeah, no.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I was sort of intrigued by your description, but that sounds like a truly awful experience and not fun at all.

But something more supernatural and less torture-y could be fun.

[bork.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

I draw the line at being staplegunned.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking. Something with really threatening vengeful ghosts, and hands touching you in the pitch blackness.

But torture-porn? No thanks. Hell, I even skipped the "Hostel" -themed maze at Halloween Horror Nights last week, because it just didn't interest me.

[theda.livejournal.com]

I am in the same boat, sounded interesting till WHOA! No Way!

[oldhalloween.livejournal.com]

Having been through a lot of haunts that is not what I would call fun. From an actors standpoint if you touch you risk being touched back so its a mixed bag. You can never tell what will creep people out.,,and well that is part of the fun. We go through haunts with friends that will chase the monsters though so its always interesting. At some point I have to say to my friend Mort stop chasing the dead guy....they hate it when you do that. There is also a difference between scary in a good way and ick. The inflating walls that you have to squeeze through are gross. They are never cleaned so you get the stuff from every patron who has passed through pressed on you. Its not the claustrophobia I worry about but the sticky walls. Ewwww.

[reddheart.livejournal.com]

Let me premise this by the fact that I like movies like "Saw" and "Hostel". For me, it's a mix of being curious how far a director will go and how good the special effects are at squicking me out. The more real it is, the better they're doing their job.

Having said that..this might be a bit much for me. I'm very much on your wagon; get these folks pulling for scares with less of the torture-porn (emphasizing on the porn part mostly...sex sells but c'mon..) and it could be fun. Heck, I'd be all for coming out with fake blood all over my clothes (though I would probably say that one would be advised to wear clothes that can be stained/damaged, so you can save the end messy results as a souvenir of the experience)

[unowncafe.livejournal.com]

I feel traumatized just reading his posts.

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

yeah.. this is a house of "fucked up cruelty people do to one another" which puts it completely in the category of horror that is Bad For Staxxys (as I already am a bit misanthropic, I do not need specific inspiration on why most of the human race needs to be obliterated).

Bleah with a side of "no thanks" and maybe a dash of "your kink is okay, but it is Not My Kink."

That said, a supernatural version might be kind of awesome. I am pretty sure that if we broke out the cauldron and started a brewing we could come up with something that would freak people right the fuck out... but that's probably Not A Good Idea really...

[ghost-girl.livejournal.com]

Your user icon sums up my thoughts perfectly :D That seriously sounds awful. A staple gun?? WTF.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Right?? WHAT THE HELL. OUCH.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I would assume they don't actually staple people, and it's just the noise and impact of the gun being fired against your skin. Not ACTUALLY DRIVING METAL INTO YOU. But still. No. Not even.

[ghost-girl.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about that, and yeah it's most likely an empty staple gun being pressed against your skin. Speaking as someone who stretched and stapled all of her own canvases in college, those suckers still makes me jumpy. I managed to pinch myself with those things a good amount even though I never stapled myself (thank god!)

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Sweet mother of G-d, I just read the write-up of the Spring "scare attraction" the same group put on. No. Not enough NO in the world. http://jadedviewer.blogspot.com/2011/05/disoriented-recollection-of-nyc-haunted.html

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

FYI: do NOT read the second link I just edited the post with. It's a write-up of the invite-only Spring "scare event" they did, and ... good G-d. Essentially, they invited people to pay to have a starring role in a torture porn story. Ick.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

What the fuuuuuuuuck. That one seems simultaneously tamer and worse.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Taking away your clothes! Gloved hands in your mouth! NO FUCKING WAY.

... Now I really do want to plot out an eerie, supernatural ghost story version of this sort of idea. Without the torture aspect.

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

um. ew.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

The mouthrape sounds pretty bad, but I probably would have been unduly terrified once the rope went around my neck. The October one sounds horrific, but there are parts of this Spring one that I can actually see "enjoying" in a way, but that could mostly be the way the guy wrote it up as a personal narrative rather than as a list of terrible things. There's a certain appeal to being safely put in uncomfortable or scary situations where you intellectually, at least, know you'll be fine. But they cross a lot of lines.

[amy37.livejournal.com]

Oh my GOD. I only read the spring one, and I feel ill. NO WAY ON EARTH.

i'm the jaded viewer

[the jaded viewer (from livejournal.com)]

thanks for reading my posts. even though most of you think you wouldn't wanna do this, it really is awesome (for a depraved group of people like myself).

its really like being in a mini movie and playing "the victim". a bit of role playing on your part so to speak.

i'll be writing up a review of this years Vortex Theater haunted house called "Blackout" so be sure to check back at jadedviewer.com for that.

[stephl.livejournal.com]

Despite all the waivers and stuff, I can't believe some of what they do is legal. Particularly the rope around the neck thing. One wrong move on the victim's part, and you're shut down and facing a lawsuit. It ain't that hard to strangle someone, or for someone to inadvertently strangle themselves.

I know the victims consented and stuff, but it sure doesn't sound like fully informed consent. I mean, it couldn't be, or else the surprise torture porn wouldn't be a surprise.

I don't even like cheesy haunted houses (I loathe people/things jumping out at me), but this is...yeah, I feel kind of violated just having read the descriptions.

Re: i'm the jaded viewer

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Hi there! Thank you so much for coming by and commenting!

I'm very much looking forward to your write up of this year's Vortex Theater haunted house; as I've said, there is no way my nerves would be up for an event like that, but I'm fascinated by what they're doing.

[elialshadowpine]

I can think of some people that would really be into that, but *shudder* not me.

Longtime lurker crawls from the woodwork...

[emmiepsyko.livejournal.com]

...and is going to be the odd one out here. I got as far as the strangulation bit before flailing at the screen going "I wanna do it, I wanna do it!"

Aside from that, though, the spring one especially sounds a bit...boring. Or rather, where most are crying torture porn I'm going "hmmm, that sounds like a pretty standard, uninspired haunt except with full nudity and direct audience involvement." Which I'm sure does make it all a bit more intense, it just also kinda feels like a gimmick, like without it this would all be very mediocre. Also a lot of this reads like simply porn porn, or at least nudity for the sake of nudity where it doesn't really add to the scare.

As to the staple gun, my guess was actual staples, fired from slight distance (they don't hurt if it's a couple inches from your skin), then felt dumb when someone else mentioned using an unloaded gun. XD Yes, that is probably what they do.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Augh.Things around my neck? Fingers in my mouth? I don't care WHAT waivers I'd signed, the actors would be getting hurt, because I have REFLEXES, dammit, created by too many incidents of grade-school torment.

I mean, I already knew it wasn't for me when they mentioned that you'd be getting touched. That ALREADY drags it into Automatic No territory for me. But what's described is just... HELL NO.

Re: i'm the jaded viewer

[lolicaor805.livejournal.com]

I would indeed be up for experiencing something like this. There's no actual harm happening...

In comparison to things going on at scenes in the BDSM world, this is quite tame.