This time of year, professional haunted houses scare up a lot of business and provide jobs for part-time ghosts, ghouls and zombies.
But some haunted attractions don’t just stop there. They claim to be located at supposedly haunted sites, and allegedly have full-time spooks that stick around all year long, even after the last group of pimply-faced teenagers skedaddles through a creepy clown corn maze or a zombie-infested school bus Halloween evening.
America Haunts, a group of 28 different haunted attractions across the U.S., has just released a press release claiming at least 25 percent of their spook houses have had some form of paranormal activity.
Frankly, we think there’s more than a ghost of a chance these places are just playing up paranormal claims to scare up publicity. Everyone knows that a haunted attraction that also has real ghosts is better than one that just has community college drama students in makeup yelling at you.
And while science has never proved the existence of ghosts, if they exist, there are certainly benefits for a haunted house owner from a business standpoint: They work for free, never ask for days off, and they never ask for workmen’s comp if a customer bites them on the arm.
But even doubt can be turned into a selling point.
“The supernatural presence and urban historical locations adds to the allure of our haunted attractions,” America Haunts spokeswoman Arnett-Bequeaith said in a release. “We recommend people test their own courage and see for themselves for proof that these attractions are truly haunted.”
Sadly, the recorders did not pick up anyone saying, "Not you! I meant that ghost over there!."
Of course, paranormal investigators rarely say, "Sorry. Didn’t see anything. It’s really dark in here."
