Last year, a haunted house called Nightmares Fear Factory became an internet sensation when photos they took of people being scared out of their minds went über-viral, and this year they're at it again.
The new batch of the company's freak-out photos is beginning to spread and many feature the same kind of over-the-top, unrestrained reactions that made last year's such a hit.
"People just like to come here and get the crap scared out of them," says Vee Popat, the haunted house's director of marketing and social media. "We've been photographing it for years."
Founded three decades ago, Nightmares is located in Niagara Falls, Canada, and housed in a building that used to be a coffin factory. According to legend, the building is haunted by the spirit of the former factory owner who was killed when he was crushed under a pile of falling coffins.
Popat wouldn't divulge exactly what makes the place so scary — other than being haunted — but did say that instead of featuring the normal blood and guts, Nightmares has developed a system that "preys on people's fears and phobias."
Groups are encouraged to stick together as they wander through the haunted house, which is why so many of the photos feature lines of people clinging to each other.
At one point in the attraction — which usually takes 10 to 15 minutes to navigate — the groups come to a spot where they trigger a Nikon D80 camera and flash at the exact moment where they encounter some unknown fright that is so scary it provokes grown men to hide behind their wives and friends to jump into each other's arms.
The idea for the photos was inspired by photos of people yelling as they ride rollercoasters. Popat says the owner used to actually sit in the haunted house and take the photos himself.
Just like amusement parks, attendees at Nightmares can purchase their photos after they've recovered from the excitement and the "best of" photos circulate on monitors in the lobby.
Because people know it's coming, Popat says nearly 119,000 visitors have bowed out before they got all the way through. Nightmares issues those people "chicken cards," which allows them to go back through if they can muster the guts.
He says that if someone yells the safe word "Nightmares," they can also be escorted out without having to finish.
"It really depends on the person or the group of people," Popat says. "Some people don’t last more than 15 seconds."
