Hell house

For other uses, see Hell House.

Hell houses are haunted attractions typically run by evangelical Protestant churches or parachurch organizations designed to act as moral instruction. They depict acts which the organizers deem sinful and their consequences, including the torments of the damned in Hell, and usually conclude with a depiction of Heaven.[citation needed] Scenes portrayed may include date rape,[1] same-sex marriage, gambling, abortion, extramarital sex, raving, the use of alcoholic beverages and drugs, and teen suicide.[2][page needed] Other hell houses focus on the theme of the seven deadly sins.[3] Hell houses typically emphasize the belief that those who do not repent of their sins and choose to follow Christ are condemned to Hell.

A Hell house, like a conventional haunted-house attraction, is a space set aside for actors to frighten patrons with gruesome exhibits and scenes, presented as a series of short vignettes with a narrated guide. Unlike haunted houses, Hell houses focus on real-life situations and the effects of sin or the fate of unrepentant sinners in the afterlife. They are most typically operated in the days preceding Halloween.

History

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The idea was first popularized by Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s.[4] The first known hell house was set up in Lynchburg, Virginia, beginning production in 1972, and was called the "ScareMare".[5] Similar events began in several regions during that period.[citation needed]

Trinity Assembly of God in Cedar Hill, Texas is known to have presented a hell house since 1990.[6]

From 1995, the concept was promoted and adapted by Keenan Roberts, originally of Roswell, New Mexico, who started a Hell house in Arvada, Colorado. Since that time, Hell houses have become a regular fixture of the Halloween season in parts of the United States. Roberts remained active in the Hell house ministry by providing kits and directions to enable churches to perform their own attractions.[7] As of 16 January, 2017, the "Hell House Kit" was still available.[citation needed] As of 2023, a package of hell house scripts and scenes was being sold for $479.[8]

In October 2000, documentary filmmaker George Ratliff filmed a production of a Hell house in Cedar Hill, Texas from scripting to the final night of the production.[9] The resulting documentary, Hell House,[10] has inspired numerous live plays and hell-house performances, including one based on Pastor Roberts' production, which played for a month during the 2006 Halloween season in an off-Broadway production in Brooklyn, New York by Les Freres Corbusier.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "'Hell House' to include sin scene of date rape". www.deseret.com. 18 October 1997. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  2. ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. United Kingdom: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
  3. ^ Herman, Marc. "Evangelical 'Hell Houses' Still a Thing This Year, Now With Additional Creepiness". Pacific Standard. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Hell houses, judgment houses etc". ReligiousTolerance.org. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  5. ^ Brulliard, Karin (30 October 2004). "Faith Through Fright; Depictions of Death and Hell Aim to Save". The Washington Post. pp. A1. ProQuest 409744170. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  6. ^ Yardley, Jim (1999-10-29). "Church's Haunted House Draws Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  7. ^ "'Hell House' Kits Selling Nationally". Christianity Today. 1996-10-07. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  8. ^ "Judgement House | NEW OR RENEW PARTNERSHIP". judgementhouse.org. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  9. ^ "Hell House (2001)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  10. ^ "Documentary Focuses on Dallas 'Hell House'". NPR. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 8 March 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Hell House". Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  12. ^ Theresa Smalec (May 2007). "Celebrate Like True Believers': Performing Evangelical Christianity in Les Freres Corbusier's Hell House". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-07-17.

Further reading

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  • Nixon, Elisabeth Ann (2006) Playing Devil's Advocate on the Path to Heaven: Evangelical Hell Houses and the Play of Politics, Fear and Faith (PhD dissertation).
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