Economy doesn't keep visitors from haunted houses

— -- The economy is frightful, yet haunted houses and other ghoulish attractions are still scaring up big bucks.

At Antonio Casola Farms in Holmdel, N.J., folks pay $12 each, and line up hundreds deep, to be spooked by a chainsaw-wielding madman, a deranged sheriff and a tyrannosaurus Rex during a heart-racing haunted hayride.

Visitors to the House of Shock in New Orleans pay $25 to $50 to be terrorized by gruesome and bloody scenes. About 25,000 people come each season.

Haunted attractions such as ghost walks, creepy caverns and terror-themed amusement parks are luring in hordes of customers, says Larry Kirchner, editor-in-chief of Hauntworld Magazine. Hauntworld.com lists more than 4,000 creepy outings.

"People love being scared, and people love haunted houses," he says.

The evil economy may have helped the horror business. Cash-conscious consumers have realized that outings with family and friends are a better value than filling homes with stuff, says consumer behavior and marketing specialist Michael Solomon, a professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

"People are more inclined to spend discretionary income on experiences rather than things," he says. Many scare fests offer "a reasonably accessible form of escapism. (It's) cheap thrills, campy fun and a shot of physiological arousal thrown in for good measure."

What else is enticing customers:

•Spine-tingling technological advances. Improvements in everything from animatronics to audio sound allow for scarier settings. "Haunted houses have gotten better and much more sophisticated," says Kirchner. And cheaper to create: "We're able to do a lot more on a smaller budget," says Todd James, owner of Cutting Edge Haunted House in Fort Worth.

•Classic hair-raising tactics. "Clowns and chainsaws are always winners," says James, who's showcasing a "clown town" of carnival workers. "People are always afraid of clowns."

•More local choices. Seeking new revenue streams, businesses such as pick-your-own pumpkin farms are creeping into this arena, Kirchner says. Through social media, they can easily spread the word of their haunted hayrides and other frightening attractions.

Matt Miller, a 16-year-old from Spotswood, N.J., has been to four scary attractions this season. He uses money saved from a recent job, as well as cash from his parents for earning good grades.

But keeping customers intrigued isn't cheap. Haunted attractions have to continually create new and better props and showcase scarier creatures, as well as cover more mundane expenses such as insurance and security.

"There is an extreme cost of doing business," says House of Shock co-owner Ross Karpelman.

It not only takes money, it also takes creativity to out-creep competitors.

Six Flags America in the Washington, D.C., area has a plan to keep customers coming. For Friday and Saturday's "Fright Fest," it's offering attendees free passes to cut to the front of any ride line. But they have to earn the privilege — by eating a live cockroach. "Yes, they are actual bugs," says spokeswoman Julia Filz, who ordered the critters from a shop in New York. "I haven't seen them yet, but they're supposed to be about 3 inches long."