Sunday, August 5, 2007

Haunts - Safety and Security

SAFETY AND SECURITY AT YOUR HAUNTED ATTRACTION

In a previous article I suggested having guests and visitorssign a waiver before entering your attraction. In the samearticle I also said that if you were negligent then the waiverwould not hold up in court. So to help you prevent liabilityproblems here are some suggestions for safety and security atyour event. First and foremost check out my articles atwww.pendragonscastle.com/haunmasters on façade design to learnabout safety for visitors from there car to the ticket line. Tosummarize here make sure the front of your event is lit wellenough that guests can see where they are going. Remove anytripping hazards, and ensure pathways are at least 36 incheswide to accommodate wheel chairs and motorized scooters, orpersons having trouble walking. Remember people will be orshould be excited about coming to your event and may not be ascareful about watching where they are going and what is goingaround. While its great to have a monster or two scaring people in lineremember those outside your event have not signed a waiver. Alsothose outside may be outside as they are not medically fit to goinside, or are two scared to even enter, scaring these peoplecould cause problems and is definitely a liability. Once inside you want your guest to enjoy there visit to yourattraction and to be as safe as possible. To ensure there are noproblems there are some basic safety and security issues thatneed to be addressedFirst no monster should touch any guest at anytime, for anyreason. While touching a guest is an easy scare if the guestshould trip etc, or make charges of an inappropriate touch youare in big trouble and the liability would become great. Youneed to try and make sure guest can not get to your monsters.The best case scenario is to have a railing or short wallbetween your monsters and sets and you guests. If this is notpossible then instruct monsters to try and keep an arms lengthfrom all guests so that accidents do not take place. Make sureall props are secure and safe. You can not anticipate what aguest will do when scared. In my experience many have gone thruwalls, tried to go thru glass windows, and gone thru sets toescape a particular monster or scare. If everything is wellsecured you won't have to worry about a guest being injuredbecause part of the set fell on them. Make sure walkways arewide enough for all who visit. Especially if you are allowingthose that are handicapped or in a wheelchair. Unless you warnvisitors in advice and have installed handrails or other safetyfeatures make sure the floor is even. Using mattresses, foam orother materials to make the floor " squishy " can be a trip andfall hazard. Make sure floors stay clear of water, props, andother items which may become a trip and fall hazard. While welike to make our haunted house dark and ominous hallways andwalkways should be lit enough that the average person can seewhere they are going. Make sure all doors that visitors have towalk thru open the way visitors have to go to get out. Trafficneeds to keep moving in a forward direction. Make sure all yourspooks, guides and others keep traffic going in a forwarddirection to keep visitors from being disoriented and going inthe wrong direction. Use of strobe lights, or flashing lights ofany kind can trigger seizures in some people. If you have suchlight in your haunted attraction make sure you post it at theentrance. NEVER point a strobe or flashing light directly intothe eyes of guest, this can cause a multitude of problems. Makesure there are fire extinquishers in each room. Make sure exitsare clearly marked. If possible install a panic system whichwill allow you to turn on all the lights in the attractionshould there be a medical emergency or other problem. You shouldalways design your haunted attraction so there are hidden exitsyou can use to get someone out of the attraction as quickly aspossible if a problem or medical emergency develops. Finally instruct all volunteers to be careful when scaringvisitors sometimes when an actor gets a reaction from a personthey stay on that person rather then retreating into thedarkness Or finding another person to frighten. A lot of peoplebring already frightened children into the house when thosechildren should be left outside. A visit to a haunted attractionshould be scary, but should also be fun. Fun for visitors,actors, and everyone involved in the event. With a little extra attention, a lot of thought, and attentionto detail you will have a successful attraction, one people liketo visit time and time again thru out the season.

If you have any questions email me at dragonmaster@pendragonscastle.com or check out the Hauntmasters website at www.pendragonscastle.com/hauntmasters

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