Don’t open the door! Japan haunted house goes drive-in
A car horn beeps and the horror begins: a bloody murder and rampaging zombies. But this drivein haunted house in Japan protects against the most terrifying enemy of all – the coronavirus.
Inside a car, guests can scream as loudly as they like, with no mask needed, as hideous creatures daubed in blood swarm towards them.
In fact, the new format might even be scarier than a traditional haunted house, producer Kenta Iwana, 25, said.
“Guests are confined in a car, so they can’t escape the horror until the end,” he said.
Iwana came up with the idea after struggling with a string of cancellations amid the outbreak.
“It’s because a haunted house creates an environment with three Cs,” he said, referring to the conditions that Japanese experts warn risk spreading the virus: closed spaces, crowded places as well as close contact settings.
“Orders for conventional-style haunted houses were cancelled and we lost about 80% of our clients.”
The squad is usually hired to set up haunted house experiences at amusement parks and similar venues. A normal experience might involve a windowless facility with actors playing ghosts quietly following visitors and whispering directly into their ears to scare them – all impossible in the age of Covid-19.
Iwana and his team Kowagarasetai – meaning “A squad wanting to scare” – initially tried to create coronavirus-compatible performances by wearing masks painted with fake blood and playing recorded screams, but most of their events were cancelled anyway.
Ayaka Imaide, 34, the head of the squad, hoped the new format would help lift the mood of entertainers struggling during the pandemic.
Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency has already been lifted and some amusement parks are slowly beginning to reopen.
But the squad is moving ahead with its drive-in concept for now, with tickets for its first dates next month at a Tokyo garage already sold out.