Haunted Attraction - Hell House

Hell House

Hell houses are haunted attractions typically run by American, fundamentalist Christian churches or parachurch groups. These depict sin, the torments of the damned in Hell, and usually conclude with a depiction of heaven. They are most typically operated in the days preceding Halloween.

A hell house, like a conventional haunted-house attraction, is a space set aside for actors attempting to frighten patrons with gruesome exhibits and scenes, presented as a series of short vignettes with a narrated guide. Unlike haunted houses, hell houses focus on occasions and effects of sin or the fate of unrepentant sinners in the afterlife. They occur during the month of October to capitalize on the similarities between hell houses and haunted attractions.

The exhibits at a hell house often have a controversial tone focusing on issues of concern to evangelicals in the United States. Hell houses frequently feature exhibits depicting sin and its consequences. Common examples include abortion, suicide, use of alcoholic beverage and other recreational drugs, adultery and pre-marital sex, occultism, homosexuality, and Satanic ritual abuse. Hell houses typically emphasize the belief that anyone who does not accept Christ as their personal savior is condemned to Hell.

One of the first hell houses is Scaremare (still presented each October) in Lynchburg, Virginia; it was created by Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s. Similar events began in several regions during that period. Hell houses have faced criticism for advertising themselves as traditional haunted houses. Most involve biblical lessons and some ask customers to pray to Jesus Christ before exiting, regardless of their beliefs. Some hell houses are much more graphic than traditional haunted attractions and not appropriate for all audiences.

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Famous quotes containing the words hell and/or house:

    Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib’d
    In one self place; for where we are is Hell,
    And where Hell is, there must we ever be.
    Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)

    Between the house and barn the gale
    Got him by something he had on
    And blew him out on the icy crust
    That cased the world, and he was gone!
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)