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Halloween Obsessed - Haunted Attractions
episode 1.2
USA 2022
produced by Linda Palmer, Mark Cardone, Krisd Mauga, Barbara Dolny-Bombar (executive) for Runaway Productions, Refined Rebel
directed by Linda Palmer
starring Teresa Griffin, Lisa Morton, Matthew Murphey, Meghan Murphey, Payton Murphey, Gene Schopf, Jim Schopf, Elena Sherrill, Morgan Scherrill, Nadia Sherrill, Ryan Glasgow, Shane Glasgow, narration by Andonio D. Charity
research and story editing by Linda, Rae Davis, music by Chris Wirsig, main title song by Peter Keys, Donna Britton Bukevicz
TV-series, documentary Halloween Obsessed
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Haunted attractions, or why would anyone go anywhere to just be
horrified - for fun? Well, this episode of Halloween Obsessed
takes all the way back to post revolutionary France, when people, very
much accustomed to real life horrors like public executions and Paris
burning, discovered their sense for the macabre, and as a consequence
morgues would exhibit their deads, the more gruesome the better, for
money, and people would stand in line for it. Madame Tussaud's, then still
a travelling wax exhibition all over Europe before being forced to settle
in London, would soon add a chamber of horrors to their repertoire to
outdo the morgues, and in light of that, it's hardly surprising that the
grand guignol originated in France as well. This all played into the
creation of haunted attractions in the US, along with Halloween
traditions, which started in the early 1900s as simple macabre pranks, but
the desperation of the Depression of the 1930s caused these
"pranks" to spin dangerously out of control, so it was
gouvernmnetally advised to counter pranks with haunts - and the idea of
creating private haunted houses and yards was birthed, which eventually
was picked up by a business idea by both cunning entrepreneurs and
community leaders - and eventually even by the Christian church, who tried
to incorporate the religious themes underlying many horrors to incorporate
some Christian propaganda. And eventually, even Disneyland and the Universal
Theme Parks caught wind of it, with the latter having an advantage due
to their rich
horror staple. And with all this set-up this documentary has
interviews with some showrunners of diverse horror shows, from self-made
backyard attractions to actual hayrides gone massive, as well as
behind-the-scenes footage from these shows - and it shows not only the
shocks and the effects and the spectacle but also portrays the people
behind it all, a closely-knit community that might share a love for the
macabre, but that are otherwise just lovely and loving people intent on
supporting each other (also among different attractions), and for whom
horror hasn't only become a genre but a way of living and a code of
conduct - code of conduct though in the least harmful of ways. ...
and it's really what makes this documentary so special, beyond its
detailed historical discourse of course, that it portrays the horror
community (which I fancy myself a member of) in such a positive light, as
people who can bond over being scared and shocked and scaring and shocking
people, over the macabre and the grotesque - and be better people for that
who don't only provide for other people's entertainment but also for the
community, for the local job sector, and essentially for the good of
humankind as such. And heck, if that's what haunted attractions are for,
we definitely need more of them!!!
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