Why Hell Houses ususally suck... Anti-Gay Haunted House

[iHaunt]

Click on the link and read on below:
http://www.hauntedreport.com/2009/11/wh ... _suck.html

[adrian]

ok this can get touchy..
its according to the church really
we have a good church down here who puts on a really cool hell house that i go to every year (i am a christian)

but there are those who are extremest and tend to push the lines and actually wind up pushing people further away from God. they get lost in their own extreme ministry and forget the goals they set in the past

[Murfreesboro]

Well said, Adrian.

Once, several years ago, I went to a local church attraction around Halloween. Their theme was a young couple who got killed in a car crash; one had accepted Jesus, and one hadn't. At the end, they had church members to talk to people about being "saved." It was OK, not as extreme as some of these things, I'm sure, but I wasn't too interested in going back the next year.

I think if a person wants to go to a church "Hell House," he has to expect that this is going to be used as an evangelical tool. The church isn't going to represent anything that is against their theology, and it's going to be didactic.

[adrian]

this is true... if you really can't complain about being shot if you point the gun at your foot and pull the trigger you know? a church is a place for worship.. if you don't want any part of ANYTHING they have to offer... just simpy DON'T GO. you're just throwing yourself to the lions if you do.. i personally like it bc of my religion.

[Corvus Kulde]

So long as they are open about what kind of Haunt they are creating there isn't much to say. I don't personally like them because it's a case of using something fun to sell an ideal, but as I said, if you know going in what it is....

[Rising Dead Man]

I have never been to a hell house. But just the idea sounds really stupid to me. A 'haunted house' designed to preach about the torments of Hell. Just....stupid.

[adrian]

I have never been to a hell house. But just the idea sounds really stupid to me. A 'haunted house' designed to preach about the torments of Hell. Just....stupid.

well a "hell house" isn't technically a "haunted house"
one is full of ghouls and ghosts yada yada

hell houses are designed to portray that church's vision on hell and heaven

[MacPhantom]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with churches running "Hell Houses". Evangelism is a major component of Christianity, though some sects place a greater emphasis on it than others. Anyone attending a function, ANY function, organized by a church ought to expect to be exposed to that church's teachings.

I do think it says something about the weakness of the persuasive argument being made that deception has to be employed to lure people in to hear a message. It would be nice if churches made it clear that a Hell House is intended for indoctrination rather than entertainment, but truth in advertising and honesty of intention are not what anyone ought to expect from a church.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, I'm a Christian, raising my children in my husband's Lutheran church (I am Episcopalian, though I attend with him). I don't think churches are deliberately deceptive, at least, not in my experience. Their attitude around Halloween is a little weird to me, though. I don't find Halloween threatening or anti-Christian, but many denominations do, and that's why they come up with these attractions, and the (separate) Trunk-or-Treat thing, to try to counteract the influence of what they perceive as "Satanic" secular traditions.

Our church doesn't have a Hell House, but they have started doing Trunk or Treat. I'm fine with that, as long as it's not on Halloween night, but this year it was, so I didn't attend. For me, nothing can replace the street masquerade of TOT on the 31rst. The Lutherans have an interesting dilemma, though, because Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral on Oct. 31rst. So for them, "Halloween" is Reformation Day, and the anniversary of their whole church. Often, some adult members will costume as Martin Luther, the Pope, and other key figures from that event, and they will put on a skit inside the church on or around Halloween. I don't have a problem with it, but I don't go or take my kids when they do it as a competing event to Halloween.

[Pumpkin_Man]

It pretty much goes without saying, that if a Christian Funamentalist group is advertising a haunted attraction, it's very likely a dig against Halloween, and a way to preach their message. We have that here in my town. I've gotten junk mail from various Christian Conservatives and Evangelical Protestants who whole-heartedly condemn Halloween. I even went to one of those "hell houses," and it was actualy pretty good as the presentatin goes, but the message was loud and clear about sinning and damnation to hell. So I agree that 'hell houses' are not really a part of Halloween, especialy since the organizations that run them are dead set against the celebratin of Halloween.

Mike

[Rising Dead Man]

I see it as an excuse to celebrate Halloween. They know they can't s they find a Christian way to do it.

[adrian]

technically.... almost ALL of our halloween traditions have STRONG christian back grounds.. its this "new age" christian that isn't looking at hallowmas or the halloween day as a celebration.. they're looking at it like they do the Harry Potter movies... "it mentions witch so off with it's head"

[Murfreesboro]

technically.... almost ALL of our halloween traditions have STRONG christian back grounds.. its this "new age" christian that isn't looking at hallowmas or the halloween day as a celebration.. they're looking at it like they do the Harry Potter movies... "it mentions witch so off with it's head"

LOL (about Harry Potter, which I also love, and which I personally think is not anti-Christian ).

While watching the History Channel's Haunted History of Halloween, I was reminded that the Puritans were very anti-Halloween, because they were anti-Saints' Days. (They didn't celebrate Christmas, either.) They associated Halloween not only with paganism (as modern Evangelicals often do), but also with Catholicism, which they hated just about equally. Being against Halloween is not, IMO, necessary for a believing Christian. Those sects which have their roots in Puritanism are anti-Halloween. To them I like to revive Shakespeare's taunt in Twelfth Night (Toby Belch to the Puritan Malvolio), "Dost think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?"

I am not anti-Puritan in every respect, but I do part company from them in their party-pooping ways. Happily, though, we live in a country where everyone can observe/not observe whatever traditions they like.

[adrian]

when christianity become a strong religions, their traditions for celebrating the harvest season was mingled in with the pagonistic and druid traditions, along with a few spices of others to create the foundation of what would become our "modern day halloween".. in matter of fact the largest base for the skeleton of our trick or treat tradition was created when the christians rallied together to put a stop to sacrifices on Hallowmus and instead chose to leave "soul bread/cakes/treats" out on their front porches for the poor.. the poor would then come and offer a prayer for the departed in exchange for these treats.. its one of the ways the tradition began..
the actual american holiday of halloween is a Mut of many back grounds of political and religious propaganda...
i love it.. i love reading about it.
its so much fun to hear what others have read and learned and compare the two

[Murfreesboro]

I hadn't heard about the skeleton thing, Adrian, but I am very familiar with the English tradition of "souling," which I believe usually happened on Nov. 2 (All Souls' Day). After the Protestant Reformation, that custom went dormant for the most part, although the Episcopal/Anglican Church still recognizes All Saints/All Souls' Days.

It is fun to learn about this stuff, and you are certainly correct that our modern American Halloween is a "mutt" of many origins!

I wonder why it is that so many who are dead-set against Halloween still decorate Christmas trees? That's not exactly Biblical, either. I believe it came from the Druids. However, Martin Luther, who kicked off the whole Reformation, was enthusiastic about Christmas trees and is credited with having invented the first "lighted" Christmas tree, using candles to emulate stars seen through tree branches.