Haunted House Rules: What First-Time Guests Should Know

You bought the ticket. You gathered your bravest friends. You’re standing in line wondering why someone inside keeps screaming.

You’re ready.

Probably.

Before you enter your first haunted attraction, there are a few things worth knowing. Every haunt has its own rules, so always check the attraction’s website and listen to the staff before entering. But many haunted houses have similar policies; and most of them exist for very good reasons.

Here are a few rules of the haunt that may not be obvious to a first-time victim… er, guest.

Don’t Touch the Actors

This is probably the most universal haunted house rule: keep your hands to yourself.

Actors may get surprisingly close to you. They may jump from dark corners, whisper in your ear, crawl across the floor, or stare at you from an uncomfortable distance.

That doesn’t mean you can grab, push, hit, hug, tackle, or otherwise touch them.

Remember: the monster chasing you is actually a person doing a job in a dark room. They know where the walls, props, stairs, and escape routes are. You probably don’t.

If you get startled, try to keep those reflexes under control.

Don’t Touch the Props… or the Scenery

That creepy book, rusty medical instrument, mysterious button, dangling chain, or glowing artifact may look like something you should investigate.

Usually, you shouldn’t.

Haunted attractions are filled with props, scenery, electronics, pneumatic effects, hidden mechanisms, and things specifically positioned to create scares. Something that looks like an ordinary wall decoration may be part of an effect, or may have an actor hiding directly behind it.

Unless the attraction specifically invites you to interact with something, admire the scenery with your eyes rather than your hands.

Walk. Don’t Run.

Running away from the chainsaw guy seems like a perfectly reasonable survival instinct.

Resist it.

Haunted attractions are dark by design. Floors may change height, pathways may turn unexpectedly, and there may be other guests just a few feet ahead of you.

The actor knows when to stop chasing you.

Move forward, move quickly if necessary, scream as loudly as you like, but keep your feet under you.

Put the Phone Away

We know. You want video evidence that your friend screamed louder than you did.

But many haunted attractions prohibit photography or video inside the show.

Phones can ruin carefully designed darkness, distract you from where you’re walking, reveal scares to the people behind you, interfere with performers, and potentially record other guests who didn’t agree to be part of your video.

There is another very practical reason to put it away: haunted houses are remarkably good places to lose phones.

Enjoy the experience while you’re in it. Take the group photo afterward.

No Flashlights Unless You’re Told Otherwise

Your phone flashlight may seem like an excellent defense against whatever is lurking in the darkness.

Unfortunately, darkness is part of the show.

Haunt designers carefully control what you can, and cannot, see. Shining a flashlight around can expose actors, backstage areas, special effects, emergency equipment, and the scare waiting around the next corner.

If the attraction wants you to carry a flashlight, lantern, glow stick, or other light source, they’ll give you one.

Otherwise, embrace the darkness.

Keep Moving

When something terrifying appears in front of you, freezing in place is understandable.

But eventually, you need to move.

Haunted attractions depend on groups progressing through the show. Stopping for long periods can cause groups to pile up behind you and may ruin scares for everyone involved.

If you need assistance, tell an actor or staff member. Otherwise, keep moving along the path.

And please don’t deliberately wait around trying to watch how a scare works. Half the fun is not knowing.

Don’t Bring Weapons

This includes real weapons and, at many attractions, costume weapons or realistic replicas.

Remember where you are: actors are deliberately approaching people in dark rooms. Adding something that looks like a weapon to that environment creates problems very quickly.

Leave it in the car, or better yet, at home.

Arrive Sober

A haunted attraction can already mess with your balance, senses, and judgment. Alcohol and recreational drugs do not improve the situation.

Intoxicated guests are more likely to fall, damage scenery, become aggressive with performers, or cause problems for other guests.

Many attractions will refuse entry to someone who appears intoxicated, even if they already purchased a ticket.

Save the celebratory drink for after you escape.

Secure Your Stuff

Phones. Keys. Glasses. Hats. Wallets. Sunglasses perched inexplicably on top of your head at 10 p.m.

Anything loose has the potential to disappear.

Haunted attractions often include dark rooms, uneven surfaces, tight spaces, moving effects, and actors whose entire job is to make you jump unexpectedly.

Use zippered pockets when possible, and don’t bring anything inside that you don’t need.

If something does fall, tell a staff member rather than wandering backward through the attraction looking for it.

Follow the Path

That mysterious doorway off to the side may look interesting.

It may also be an electrical closet.

Haunted attractions frequently hide backstage passages, actor entrances, emergency exits, control areas, and technical equipment within the scenery.

Follow the intended path unless a staff member tells you otherwise.

The attraction wants you to get lost in the story, not literally lost in the building.

Listen to the Staff

Every attraction is different.

One haunt may allow photography while another doesn’t. One may permit costumes while another prohibits masks. Some attractions involve physical contact, crawling, confined spaces, water effects, or other special elements.

That’s why the instructions you receive before entering matter.

The person giving you the rules isn’t just delaying your inevitable doom. They’re telling you what you need to know to experience the attraction safely and without accidentally ruining the fun for everyone else.

The Most Important Rule: Play Along

A haunted attraction works best when everyone agrees, just for a little while, to believe in what’s happening.

You don’t have to prove that you aren’t scared. You don’t need to explain loudly where the actors are hiding. And you definitely don’t earn extra points for trying to scare the scareactors.

Let yourself get startled.

Laugh when your friend abandons you.

Scream when something comes out of the darkness.

And when you finally stumble through the exit insisting that you “weren’t even scared,” remember one final rule:

The actors heard you screaming.

They know.