NEWS: Haunted House Draws Accusations of Propaganda

CULTURE: Haunted House Draws Accusations of Propaganda

A haunted house in Lansing, Michigan, billing itself as being rated "R" for "realistic", has some patrons phoning the local Sheriff's office to lodge complaints about what's going on behind the walls.

Many visitors of the House, which is being put on by the youth group of Mount Hope Church, have said that this organization is using the attraction as a propaganda tool. Under the guise of harmless Halloween recreation, the House includes dramatizations of the effects of drunk driving, a date rape, Islamic militants executing hostages, and what appears to be a demon priest presiding over a gay marriage.

The Sheriff's department is unable to do anything for the unsuspecting patrons and their children because, of course, the house is protected under freedom of speech. However, many find it troubling that none of the advertisements or the website promoting the House of Horrors make any mention of who is putting on the house or what kind of "horrors" are being dramatized, and that the only restriction for entrance is that children under the age of 11 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

heheh that sounds terrifying

Man, I would be so fucking furious if I went to that. Normally I'm peaceful, but I would have zero problem tearing that shit down.

Well, it's a church, running a haunted house. Churches aren't known for their love of Halloween. Wouldn't you think something was up with church's haunted house?

that is sooooo not cool

lets be serious, a church youth group puts on a haunted house.

i'd go just be an islamic militant and execute a hostage.

Preachy anti-gay marraige bits aside, what a wonderful idea. A TRUE House of Horrors, instead of plastic masks and rattling walls.

not endorsing this kind of christian schlock/shock tactics but there is a message from "Pastor Dave" on the website for the haunted house and statistics of date rapes, abortions etc.... so it's pretty clear what horrors lie within...

Actually, lots of churches do haunted house type stuff. Maybe not lunatic Penecostal types, but shocking as it may be not every Christian things of Halloween as the Devil's Day where the pagans come out to steal children's souls.

Hell House movie

As Siv said, it's a documentary about a church group that puts on a haunted house depicting things like teenage suicide and abortion. It's in Texas, not Michigan, but very similar...

hollywood hell house

well, of course. they have free speech just like everyone else. that doesn't mean that what they're doing isn't manipulative and sick, however.

A political group I'm a part of just finished putting on a very successful Haunted House last weekend called "Nightmare on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."

We got nothing but praise.

I think us and those churchies should duke it out [I[West Side Story meets Thriller style.

NO WAY!! demons marry gay people? is it legally recognized?

BWWWHAHAHAHAHA!

People were just pissed because they had something rubbed in their face as opposed to see some fantasy shit...I think its hilarious...

wait a min.... that explains all those people at my house.....

This is nothing new. Churches all over the country do this. The beauty of living in a free country(?) is that not only do they have the right to do it but we have the right to call them nutjobs.

Actually, demonic gay marriage sounds like a good wedding theme. If it's ever legalized in Nevada, you could go to Vegas with your partner and get married by a satanic Elvis. Sweet!

Don't the Texas Hell House people sell costumes and kits online or something? It sounds like them. If memory serves, they're pretty Anti-Catholic, and the whole demon priest thing sounds like one of theirs.

The real horror would be for them to have you sit in on a sunday service with the patrons of the church. Nothing scares me more than crazy bible-thumpers wailing about fire and brimstone.

That's funny!

An interesting bit from the story linked above:

Rowe discovered the work by watching a documentary, "Hell House," about a production in Texas. Posing as the director of a youth group, she bought Roberts' "Hell House" outreach kit, which includes a script and tips on marketing the show.

Financed for $15,000, Rowe says most of the money went to buy special effects, costuming and props.

The show runs for 35 minutes and is performed 10 times in the course of an evening. "Hollywood Hell House" had a devoted following, with many repeaters in attendance.

As for devout Christians and true believers attending the show, Rowe says she did not run into any problems. One night, she said a group of 30 arrived. "They were Christians who came thinking it was a real "Hell House." They ... thought it was great. But they didn't understand why people were laughing."



So, it looks like the Michigan people bought the Texas people's kit for their own production.

That documentary saved me from drunkenly putting my penis inside a militantly Islamic gay vagina.

Well, the thing of it is this is the same sort of hypocrisy that leads Jeebus-people to take their kids to see one of the most brutually violent movies ever made, "The Passion of the Christ", while they decry sex and violence in mainstream movies.

Sex and violence is OK if it's Christian.

pretty fuckin' funny.