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that abortions kill human babies; |
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that sexual orientation is a matter of choice, can be changed, and that God hates same-sex behavior; |
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that everyone who is not saved will go to Hell when they die (perhaps sooner, if Jesus returns); |
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that underground Satanic cults engage in widespread sacrifice of humans. |
Some hell houses are disguised to resemble conventional secular haunted houses. The customer only realizes that they have a religious theme after they have bought their ticket and gone part of the way through the scenes.
Typical scenes are:
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A realistic reenactment of the murder of Cassie Bernall, a teenager victim at the Columbine High School in 1999-APR. She was allegedly asked whether she believed in God, answered yes, and was murdered on the spot. The incident never happened. But the story has taken on a life of its own, and is frequently referred to in conservative Christian magazines, books, and radio programs. |
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A person being sacrificed during a Satanic ritual. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) web site warned of Wiccan rituals and stated "... evidence persists that some Satanists and voodoo groups offer sacrifices -- usual animals, but, possibly, human babies" at this time. 15 |
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Women undergoing very bloody late-term abortions, complete with screaming, lots of blood, and particularly insensitive, uncaring health providers. This scene has been partly abandoned in recent years in favor of a portrayal of guilt and depression arising from Post Abortion Syndrome. |
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Gays and lesbians being tortured in hell for all eternity because of their behavior while they were alive on earth. |
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The dangers of "dabbling" in the occult and becoming demon possessed. |
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Personal tragedies arising from pre-marital sex. |
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Disastrous tragedies and loss of life resulting from drunk driving. |
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A man having an argument with his wife and is later seduced by his secretary. |
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Witches pressuring a depressed teen to murder his fellow students. |
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A 9/11 ground zero scene. |
History of Hell Houses
The earliest hell house may have been created by Trinity Assembly of God in Dallas TX. It was popularized by Rev. Jerry Falwell in the late 1970's. The concept was picked up in 1992 by Keenan Roberts. His first Hell House was in Roswell, NM. Since then, he has become a pastor of the Abundant Life Church in Arvada, CO. He sells "Hell House Outreach™" kits to other churches. Included is a 263 page manual which covers "everything from media publicity to casting and costume." 4 A few excerpts from the The 1997 Hell House Outreach Manual are:
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"Pieces of meat placed in a glass bowl to look like pieces of a baby... purchase a meat product that closely resembles pieces of a baby." |
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"Theatrical Blood. Because a large amount of blood is used in this scene and in others, someone should be responsible for mixing a vat of it each evening..." |
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"Chrissy [the woman having an abortion] starts crying. She is extremely distraught...the medical staff is cold, uncaring, abrupt, and completely insensitive..." |
Included in the kit is a video of the previous year's Arvida Hell House and a special effects CD. 2 According to Roberts' literature, the CD includes "the voice of suicide, the voice of God, and the bone-chilling demon declaration of 'HELL HOUSE' in the opening scene..." The 1999 price of the kit was $199 U.S. It has since gone up to $208.80. He commented to National Public Radio: "We're not doing this to win a popularity contest. We're saying look, sin is hurting our nation and Jesus Christ is the answer to what you're going through." Roberts has received international attention through an appearance on the Phil Donahue Show, and reports in the London Times, MS Magazine, New York Times, Newsweek, etc. He told the Denver Post that the exhibit was designed to "show young people that they can go to hell for abortion, adultery, homosexuality, drinking and other things unless they repent and end the behavior." 10 In his first three years of business, Roberts sold 300 kits, and had 20,000 guests. His own Hell House reports about 7,000 or 35% Christian conversions (instances of personal salvation). Admission is $7.00 U.S. or $6.00 if you have brought canned goods for the needy. Bill Geerhart has recorded a somewhat unsympathetic blow-by-blow account of his passage through the Arvada Hell House. 3
Roberts will not have a display in 2004. He told the Associated Press: "It's not gone away; we're just taking a year off." He said that his Hell House idea is now used by more than 500 churches in 14 countries. 13
The American Atheists website stated in 1998:
"Another example of a 'Hell House' extravaganza is in Kingsport, Tennessee where the Higher Ground Baptist Church estimates it will attract nearly 9,000 visitors to its gallery of horrors. Dubbed 'Judgment House,' the tour includes nine scenes and a cast of 200 actors. The themes mimic previous shows which stretch back to 1993 -- drunk driving, suicide and teen rebellion. This year, one exhibit will attempt to portray a teenage girls who dies after having an abortion. The minister in charge of the 'Judgment House' presentation told reporters, 'We have all kinds coming... Devil worshippers, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, everyone'." 15
Criticisms of Hell House
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The Colorado Council of Churches, criticized the scare tactics used in the Arvada Hell House. They were also critical of the literal demonization of homosexuals and abortion providers. | ||||||||||
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Rev. J.T. Tucker, director of youth ministries at Northway
Christian | ||||||||||
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The Human Rights Campaign is a group which promotes equal rights for gays and lesbians. They note that homosexuals are frequently demonized in Hell Houses. The reality of sexual orientation is also distorted. A Florida house features a "demon" who dances around the coffin of an AIDS victim, overjoyed that the dead man is now suffering in hell. He declares "I tricked him into believing he was born gay! Have you ever heard something so silly?" HRC spokesperson Wayne Besen calls such displays "pornography for the soul...It's poising the minds of people...It's especially hurting gay and lesbian youth who are already under pressure." | ||||||||||
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The Rev. Ballard's "Hell House" in Warren County OH was criticized by Doreen Cudnik, executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati. She said that the display "is out of touch with AIDS in the year 2000. To say gay equals AIDS equals burning in hell has the dangerous potential to lead to hate crimes against the gay community." | ||||||||||
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The Merced, CA Sun-Star newspaper criticized the New Beginning Christian Centerfor what the paper called an "unnecessarily brutal and insensitive" event. The church's pastor, Mike Duckworth, said: "We're going to scare the hell out of people and, at the end, show them there's a way out--Jesus Christ. We're bringing controversial issues to the forefront and then giving an antidote." 13 | ||||||||||
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A Christian radio station in Fairfield, OH terminated ads which promoted Kings Point Church of God's Hell House because the ads invited listeners to "come see the funeral of a homosexual AIDS patient." The Cincinnati Enquirer said that the ads were "blatant gay bashing." 13 | ||||||||||
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Author's note: Hell Houses appear to spread misinformation and disinformation about a variety of topics:
We feel that their credibility will suffer in the eyes of the public. Their Hell Houses may do more harm than good to the cause of their sponsors. |
Judgment Houses
New Creation Evangelism, Inc of Clearwater FL sells a Judgment House™ kit. Its literature describes it as "an 8 scene drama that makes people aware of the reality of heaven and hell." It shows "them the joy of having a relationship in Heaven with Jesus." Also shown is hell, "the ultimate haunted house, which is where they will spend eternity if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior..." Their kit is more expensive than the one for Hell Houses; it costs $250 U.S. But for this expenditure, a participating church becomes a Covenant church. They receive a new script each year, attend a training conference. Also included is a manual, advertising kit and telephone support.
Tom Hudgins, youth pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, created the first Judgment House in 1983 "as a Christian alternative to Halloween." 8 It consists of a sequence of eight scenes involving three teenagers: Whitney is saved; Darren rejects Jesus; Billy is initially undecided saved but later trusts Jesus. It "simply presents the gospel through real-life situations and allows the guests the opportunity to choose their final destination." 8 They have recorded over 1000 visitors of whom 150 (15%) became saved because of the experience. They list success stories from other locations: 1500 visitors of whom 105 (7%) came to Jesus; 4000 visitors of whom 400 (10%) were saved. Their conversion rates appear to be much lower than those for Hell Houses. Hudgins rejects the idea that Judgment Houses are similar to Hell Houses. The former appear to be far less horrific.
The various scenes introduce the three main characters. A fire kills Darren and mortally injures Whitney. A medical team unsuccessfully tries to save her life. Whitney dies, is judged, and is granted her reward of eternal life in heaven. However, Darren did not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior while he was alive. He is thrown into the lake of fire for eternal torment without hope of mercy or relief. "The Hell scene usually consists of a dark room heated to about 80 degrees into which the participants are herded to listen to agonizing screams from invisible speakers that surround them. Heaven is usually depicted as a bright white room (with no deficit of air conditioning) where one is surrounded by soft music and men and women dressed in heavenly garb." 6 Jesus is shown welcoming each new arrival. Christian counselors are accessible to the viewers as they exit the heaven scene. Adam Butler and two other members of the Alabama Freethought Association visited a Judgment House at Westwood Baptist Church in Burmingham AL. They were not impressed. Butler wrote: "After I saw two children praying through tears at the end of a performance, I realized just how powerful the fear tactics used by Judgment House really are. The mentality of churches to produce such an atrocity is simple--scare children early in their lives and they'll fear it until the day they die..."...what is the purpose of Judgment House, if not to use fear to convince someone of something that reason cannot?"
Sponsored link:
Revelation Walk:
A third approach is the Revelation Walk portrayed by the Eden Westside Baptist Church in Pell City, AL. 9 It consists of 12 scenes involving over 180 members of the congregation in its construction and operation. It describes "an outdoor drama that will show what the end times will be like for those who are left behind when Jesus 'raptures' the church." The rapture is a conservative Christian belief that Jesus will appear in the sky and call all saved Christians onto himself. Those who have died will have their bodies reconstructed, and will leave the grave, rising towards Christ in the sky. Saved Christians who are alive at the time of the second coming of Jesus will rise bodily into the sky to join Jesus as well. One Revelation Walk scene shows a traffic accident resulting from vehicles going out of control as their drivers exit through the roofs of the car or truck. The rapture event itself is be shown, as well as scenes of Hell and Heaven.
Tribulation Trail:
The Metro Heights Baptist Church near Stockbridge, GA started its "Tribulation Trail" in 1992. They expected 30,000 paid visitors during the Halloween season of 2001. Visitors get to see a demonstration of what conservative Protestants call "The Tribulation" a time when a wrathful God sends massive afflictions to humans. Various scenes deal with:
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The exile of John, whom they believe wrote both the Gospel of John and book of Revelation. |
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, representing conquest, war, famine and plague. |
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Movies of the attack on the World Trade Center. |
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A classroom debate on the separation of church and state. It ends with a black-clad girl (presumably representing a Goth, Satanist or Neopagan) pulling out a gun and shooting a classmate. She shouts that she is "sick of hearing Jesus this and prayer that." [Author's note: It may be worth mentioning that no Goth, Satanist, Wiccan or other Neopagan student has ever been involved in a school shooting in North America.] 12 |
Year 2000 developments:
| Curtis Road Church of God, in Champaign, IL: Their Hell House consists of: a young man [who] dies of AIDS; a "botched" abortion; "bodies [that] lie splattered with blood after a school shooting"; "a high school student blows his brains out after he's cut from the football team"; and "a drunken driver lives to watch his family die." 10 |
| Bible Way Church in Eldon, MO: Abortion, homosexuality, a teen drug party, and occult scene will be featured. Church officials here claim that almost 40 percent of those who came to its first Hell House in 1999-OCT "received Jesus Christ their Savior before leaving." Their Bible Way website, explains the Hell House as an essential tool to combat the "spiritual battle raging everyday. That battle is for the eternal destiny of our soul, and if we choose to follow the world's path the results will be a very real, eternal hell. Sin and rejection of God's truth always brings destruction and devastion [sic]. |
| Proposal for an "Un-Hell House: As mentioned elsewhere on this web
site, the end of October is also the time when Wiccans
celebrate their end-of-year festival, Samhain. Wicca is based, in part, on the
beliefs, symbols and practices of the ancient Celtic period. Samhain is not the Celtic
God of the Dead, as is commonly believed. It is actually the end of summer
Sabbat (seasonal day of celebration). It was a time of great feasting. The veil
between this world and the next was believed to be at its thinnest at this time
of year. The ancient Celts performed divination and hoped that those who have
died would return to visit them. A group in Colorado is hoping to organize a "Samhain House" at Halloween time. Rather than scaring people with a sequence of horrible tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion, they would portray their Wiccan/Celtic ancestors in past settings. One actor in each scene would come forward and explain what was happening during that era. Everyone would then go to a feasting room where they would socialize until a meal was served. |
Year 2001 developments:
| Arvada, CO: The Abundant Life Christian Center will sponsor its 7th annual Halloween Hell House this year. It will feature four scenes which the group feels are consequences of sinful behavior: abortion, a rave party, gay marriage and teen suicide. Cost will be $7.00 per person. The church is considering a $12.00 admission to an "express line" and a $20.00 personal seasonal pass. Liberty for Women, a pro-choice organization, will be holding seven silent protests nearby, in opposition to the Hell House. They will show the names of abortion providers who have been killed by anti-abortion individuals and groups. They will also display drawings of fetuses aborted illegally in the 1970s. Executive director Peggy Loonan commented: "It's graphic, yes, but we want to be in their faces." She feels that church members will be "stunned to have their tactics used against them." Associate pastor Keenan Roberts said: "We're just showing the truth. Nobody is going to change what we say or how we say it." |
| Scottsville, KY: Victory Hill Ministries will be holding Hell House for the fourth consecutive year. It will feature scenes illustrating homosexuality and suicide, a terrorist attack, domestic violence, abortion, and date rape, Heaven and Hell. In the past, critics have referred to what they call the Hell House's rhetoric of hate. However, Senior Pastor Nathan Oakes said the church message is really one of love. "Sometimes it takes greater love to tell the truth than to accept a lie. I’m willing to risk being hated to tell people that God loves them." |
| Various locations: Commercial haunted house events -- without significant religious content -- continue this Halloween. However, many have toned down their content, because of the SEP-11 terrorist attacks. A haunted house in Florida has eliminated "a maniacal gun-toting character covered in blood, along with zombies in bloody business attire." The haunted house in Salem, MA, will no longer announce "My victims are ready" when they send customers into rooms with snarling demons. They will now refer to "fearless souls." |
References:
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Misty Bernall & Madeleine L'Engle, "She said yes: The unlikely martyrdom of Cassie Bernall," Plough Pub. House, (1999) Read 59 reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
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Conrad Goeringer, "Church groups operating Halloween hell hoaxes," AANEWS, American Atheists, 1999-OCT-24. To subscribe, send a blank message to aanews-on@atheists.org
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Bill Geerhart "Halloween Hangover," at: http://www.postfun.com/pfp/features/98/nov/hellhouse.html
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"Hell House," Abundant Life Christian Center, at: http://www.alccdenver.com/
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"Halloween: 'Hell House' kits selling nationally," Christianity Today, 1996-OCT-7. See: http://www.christianity.net/ct/6TB/6TB87a.html
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Adam Butler, "Alabama freethinkers visit 'Judgement House,'" http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/november97/butler.html
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"How to learn about the gospel at Halloween...Judgement House is a haunted house alternative created by Rev. Tom Hudgins in 1988," at: http://www.calvarybaptist.org/jhouse/
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Tom Hudgins, "Morality plays," http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/981214/14lett.htm
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Eden Westside Baptist Church, 223 Wolf Creek Road N, Pell City, AL, 25125.
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Bill Berkowitz, "Christian Right plans holy havoc for Halloween," AlterNet.com, 2000-OCT-16, at: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=9937
- Jason Dooley, "Controversial ‘Hell House’ open again: Victory Hill Ministries’ graphic event defended as one born of pure motives," Daily News, Bowling Green, KY, at: http://www.bgdailynews.com/
- "Halloween spooking, Christian style," American Atheists news release, 2001-OCT-27.
- Andy Butcher, "Halloween 'Hell Houses' Come Under Fire. Christian 'shock evangelism' program criticized for insensitivity," Charisma News Service, at: http://beliefnet.com/.
- "Hell House: A documentary film," Trinity Assembly of God, Dallas TX, at: http://www.hellhousemovie.com/
- "At the cusp of Halloween, a nod to religious origins," American Atheists, 1998-OCT-29, at: http://www.atheists.org/
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Home page > Christianity > Practices > Holy Days > Halloween > here |
Copyright © 1998 to 2007 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-OCT-31 - Halloween
Author: B.A. Robinson
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