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CK: What makes a good maze? Is it as simple as making people scream or are there other qualities that are just as important?

LVH: It should have a great theme, strong entry, interesting design, and great scare points. We detest the cheesy, corny, or cliché! In fact laughter [at the reactions] is probably our biggest emotional response.

CK: Do attractions designed not to make people scream represent a bigger challenge in terms of design due to the obvious limitations this creates in terms of emotions?

LVH: No - It’s all entertainment. The degrees of emotion are all by relevant design. Our design criteria is actually threefold: make it cool to look at... make it entertaining... make it scary. That way, you are not relying on just one emotion for a result.

CK: What do you think the attraction is for theme parks to add one of your attractions? How do you go about clinching that deal, and is it a difficult job selling the virtues of an interactive walkthrough?

LVH: We have been producing scary shows and attractions for ten years, worldwide. It is a basic human emotion, and has no language barriers. We have so much great evidence of success these days, that it is a much easier story to tell, and sell.

Further, theme parks cannot afford the multi-million dollar rides every single year. We have proven that we can offer an experience that gets audience reactions equal to thrill rides, at a much, much, lower capital cost, but with a higher operating cost. Our worldwide resume also proves that we have tapped into a universal form of entertainment.

CK: Has the Internet helped The Sudden Impact Entertainment Company sell the idea of haunted houses abroad, or are trade shows still pivotal to your success?

LVH: The internet is cool as a tool to show streaming video, and high quality presentations to anyone anywhere. Trade shows are still very important, depending on who you are pitching to.

CK: What to you has been your greatest achievement? Can we look forward to bigger and better in the future?

LVH: The sheer gall of Madison SCARE Garden in New York was an awesome experience. In Europe, I love our show at Warwick Castle, Warwick Ghosts Alive! It still gets people everyday, and we have now scared over 250,000 people in that show alone! We also just finished shooting a television series called ‘Scare School’

CK: Many of your attractions are permanent (Serial Killers: Live, Ghosts Alive!, The Mummy LIVE!), how far-reaching is your involvement once they have opened? Is acting talent within your jurisdiction, or do the parks handle elements like this?

LVH: We mandate through contract to manage our shows that involve the movie studios, The Mummy LIVE! etc, but still manage Warwick Ghosts Alive! at Warwick Castle which has been consistently rated the best in the Tussaud’s Group. I like to think that it is because we manage the cast with our Assistant Director on-site. Continues...