Louisville Halloween explores the history of horror in 3D and how it ultimately became part of the Haunted Attraction Industry.

There are three very distinct 3D crazes in film history, all three driven primarily by horror and science-fiction movies. The first Golden Age of 3D took place in the 1950’s beginning with director Arch Oboler’s “Bwana Devil” (1952) about two man-eating lions terrorizing the first railroad under construction in Africa. Warner Brothers scored a major box-office hit the next year with Vincent Price’s horror film debut in “House of Wax” (1953) which led to Columbia Pictures casting Price in their own big 3D horror film, “The Mad Magician”, the following year. Unquestionably the most famous and arguably the most popular 3D films from the 1950’s were “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) and it’s first sequel, “Revenge of the Creature” (1955). Although Universal Studios’ aquatic monster movies certainly captured the public’s attention, movie theaters were looking for a new gimmick by 1955 when half of all homes in the United States now had a television set to watch “moving pictures” at home.
As quickly as the 3D fad spread, it also quickly faded and Cinemascope

It would be almost 30 years before astounding new 3D technology would start another 3D craze and again it was a genre film that lit the match. James Cameron used the box-office clout he had built over the years making movies like “The Terminator”, “Aliens” and “Titanic” to invest in a new virtual camera system that could deliver a completely immersive, digital 3D

This unprecedented success of “Avatar” combined with the installation of new 3D projectors across the globe led the third and most recent 3D movie craze. In truth, only a handful of movies intended to be shown in Cameron’s new format were ever actually produced. Real 3D production is expensive and time consuming, and requires a particular style of photography and editing to give it the desired immersive effect. Most of the films released in 3D were actually shot in two dimensions and converted to 3D through a digital process. There were a couple of genuine 3D horror films released on the coattails of “Avatar”, including “The Final Destination” and “My Bloody Valentine 3-D”, but audiences quickly caught on to this artificial up-charge in ticket prices for a gimmick that failed to deliver an “Avatar”-like experience.
Recently we published an article attempting to pinpoint the Top 13 Haunt Innovations that shook up the industry, and we got quite a bit of feedback from haunt fans and industry insiders alike. One of most noted absences from our list was 3D haunted mazes. The truth is that 3D haunts nearly made the list, but were ultimately passed over for the exact same reason that 3D

These attractions were often covered in wall-to-wall Chromadepth black-light art that literally popped off the walls when guests wore stereoscopic glasses that diffracts light and color through a holographic film fitted into the glasses. The first time I ever experienced a 3D haunt, I was astounded by the effect of the painted floors that made it appear as if you were standing in three feet of liquid color. The hallucinatory effect has mostly been used to serve carnival fun-house style attractions where creepy clowns are the ringmasters of the realm. It was in 3D haunts that the classic polka dot room found its ultimate purpose, where an actor wearing a black leotard covered in the same color polka dots could really deliver a shock. It was also in 3D haunts that the Vortex Tunnel (which did make our Top 13 Haunt Innovations) had its most dizzying impact. The bright, colorful visuals of a good 3D attraction make a great compliment to the dark halls of a standard haunted house.
To get a little insight on the history of 3D haunts, we spoke with the man who claims to have invented the concept in the first place, veteran haunter Glenn Lewis. Lewis was the original creator of Industrial Nightmare, a

“The 3D attraction was by accident,” admits Lewis. “A sales rep had given me a pair of 3D glasses to sell to my haunt customers. I was wearing them one day just to see how the costumes and objects would appear to the customer. I noticed that the brighter colors seemed to float/separate from the darker colors, giving off the 3D effect.”
“It was pretty crazy looking,” relates Lewis. “We tested fluorescent colors painted on either black or deeper base colors. The effects were amazing.” The resulting attraction debuted in 1996 as The Carnival of Carnage and the name was changed the next season to the Maniac Maze. Industrial Nightmare proved to be a hugely innovative and influential attraction in the mid to late 1990’s and was renowned for its early use of the Claustrophobia Tunnel to create a scene that simulated costumers sinking up to their necks in a green laser bog.
Some of the most popular haunted attractions in the nation like The Darkness in St. Louis and Haunted Hoochie at Dead Acres in Pataskala, OH still maintain 3D haunts every season, but to get a better gauge on the phenomenon throughout the country we consulted with Scare Factor
“After consulting with our review teams, it seems that the prevalence and the definition of 3D haunts (whether they offer 3D glasses or not) varies regionally,” says Scare Factor. “In the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, we’re generally seeing a downward trend from 8 to 12% over the last three years. In contrast, New England seems to be staying consistent alongside consumer demand. The West Coast, Rocky Mountains and Great Plains teams report that 3D haunts are actually few and far between and our Florida team reported they’ve seen a sharp decline in their neck of the woods.”
Just like the roller coaster popularity trend in 3D horror films, it seems that the gimmick of 3D haunted attractions has run its current course with fickle audience interests, but it’s not hard to imagine that a new technology or innovation using the concept of 3D will someday soon reignite the spark of fascination in the third dimension.
In the comments, be sure to tell us your opinion of 3D haunted attractions. What are the best ones you’ve ever experienced?
