Part 1 - Hell Houses
As is common in social environments where fundamentalist religious fervor is allowed to fester unchecked, the use of fear as a tactic for both conversion and condemnation eventually becomes prevalently public. During the past decade, there has been a growing focus by American Christian sects to target Halloween as an actual day of literally evil and a time of battles fought between the forces of light and darkness (see related post here). One particular phenomenon that has rapidly caught on during the past decade, not only as a means of frightening-into-fellowship new members but also as a big money maker, is a 'Christianized' variation of traditional walk-through haunted houses called 'Hell Houses'. And though many of the participants in these events don't seem to realize it, it's a fascinating unveiling of the ugly engine under the proverbial Christian church's hood.
You might not think this is such a big deal, but from the debut of the first 'official' Hell House thirteen-years ago, there were at least 3,000 churches across America operating a similar franchise of fear in 2004. Today, CNN estimated there are between 3,500 and 4,000 Hell Houses expected for the 2005 Halloween season and that this year there will finally be a Hell House in every single state of the nation. So, what's the big deal, you ask? Well, let's start with a little background on the matter for those who aren't familiar…
A Typical 'Hell House':
A Hell House consists of a group of horrific scenes within a type of 'haunted house'. The customer walks through a sequence of tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion. The last scene is different; it is typically a portrayal of heaven. The visitors are then asked to accept salvation by repenting of their sins and trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Hell Houses are a relatively new evangelistic technique used by thousands of conservative Christian churches in North America alone. One of the main intents is to proselytize the 'unsaved' public. Another is to promote certain conservative Christian beliefs:
- that abortions kill human babies;
- that sexual orientation is a matter of choice and can be changed;
- that everyone who is not saved will go to hell when they die (perhaps sooner, if Jesus returns);
- that underground Satanic cults engage in widespread sacrifice of humans.
Some hell houses are intentionally 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 Hell House Scenes:
- 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 and radio programs.
- A person being sacrificed during a Satanic ritual.
- 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.
- Gays and lesbians being tortured in hell for all eternity because of their behavior while they were alive on earth.
- The dangers of "dabbling" in the occult and becoming demon possessed (complete with Harry Potter analogies).
- Personal tragedies arising from pre-marital sex.
- Disastrous tragedies and loss of life resulting from drunk driving.
- A man has an argument with his wife and is later seduced by his secretary.
- Witches pressuring a depressed teen to murder his fellow students.
- A 9/11 ground zero scene.
The History of 'Hell Houses':
The earliest hell house may have been created by Trinity Assembly of God in Dallas, Texas from an idea popularized by Rev. Jerry Falwell in the late 1970's. The concept was 'officially' picked up in 1992 by an ambitious minister named Keenan Roberts who opened his first Hell House was in Roswell, NM. Keenan then become a pastor of the Abundant Life Church in Arvada, CO where he developed "Hell House Outreach" kits for other churches. Eventually, he became minister of the Destiny Church (an Assembly of God affiliate) where the continued marketing of his Hell House kits has become a staple of their ministries.
Here's some helpful advice from the kit that isn't advertised on their web site…
- "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."
- "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..."
- "Chrissy [the woman having an abortion] starts crying. She is extremely distraught...the medical staff is cold, uncaring, abrupt, and completely insensitive..."
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).
The Big League:
Trinity Ministries in Texas mentioned above still runs a really large Hell House each year (click here) and has gained the most nationwide publicity from their efforts. So much so, in fact, that they get a minimum of 10,000-15,000 visitors every year. Click here for the web site for their newest Hell House.
Their heavenly house of horrors was the subject of a documentary made in 2001 by Director George Ratliff named 'Hell House' which exposed the phenomenon for what it really is at its core. Surprisingly, those that were the target of the documentary (as well many churches recommending the film to this very today) apparently didn't get that their effort was being mocked at by the makers of the revealing film. Click here to go to a great site about the documentary and rent it if you can for a real scare this Halloween. It'd be fascinating if not for the fact that what you see on screen is really happening in your state as well…
Moral Madness:
As I said before, in these days of a seemingly religious renaissance of Inquisitorial-views regarding 'morality', this scare-them-to-Jesus path is a frightening glimpse into the controlling psyche of American Christian churches. Not only can Hell Houses be found in every corner of our country, national leaders in the growing fundamentalist scene are throwing in their support for this nightmare to be brought to your city.
Here's what Rev. Dobson's 'Family in Focus' has to say about the Hell House craze…
"Thousands of churches will work hard this Halloween season to frighten young people with the reality of sin—and then win them to the peace of heaven.
More than 3,000 churches present some form of "Hell House" as an outreach to a generation of youth who may not know the love of God. There's even a documentary film that presents scenes of drunken driving, suicide, domestic abuse and AIDS.
"It's not just about scaring people," said Terry Lee, who has organized Hell Houses for several churches. "It's about helping them to see that there's a God who loves them and wants to come to a relationship with them."
"When you use a real-life situation to confront people in their sinfulness, that is a scary prospect for many of them, because they've never seen it as sin. They've just seen it as their daily routine and activities."
On the Light Side:
Fortunately, there are a few grass-root attempts underway by rational citizens to educate people about these fanatical festivals and, more importantly, to make fun of them.
This year marks the debut of the 'Hollywood Hell House' in Los Angeles. In essence, a producer had the great idea to purchase one of the Hell House Outreach Kits and set up several scenes as outlined by the guide but to have the roles of the characters played by comedians. On opening night, Bill Maher played Satan and Andy was Jesus. They followed the scenes word-for-word but, as they say, everything's in the delivery of the lines. It's apparently a hit and is opening people's eyes to the medieval methods of fundamentalists subjecting children to these orgies of violence and archaic prejudice.
Click here for the main Hollywood Hell House web site or here for a story about the production.
Another good jab at Hell Houses comes from one of my favorite online places - the Landover Baptist Church web site (where the 'unsaved are unwelcome'). Landover is an incredible site created for the sole purpose of making fun of the current fundamentalist Christian movement. Truthfully, though, it doesn't take much reading of their fake news stories to see haunting similarities to actual current church dogma. Anyway, in spirit of the season, they've mocked up their own Hell House with an online interactive map (click here). It's too bad it's only a virtual event as I suspect it would be hilarious if enacted.
So, what can be learned from the infectious and rapid spreading of these Hell Houses across our great secular nation during the past 10 years? Actually, it's a simple lesson…fanaticism is frightening, whether here or abroad, and, if anyone cares to look, we again have a once-a-year chance to unabashedly see the fear and hate mechanisms that drive the very soul of American Christian churches… Jage
Next: Part 2 - Judgment Houses
Some Related Hell House Stories Online:
http://www.boulderweekly.com/archive/101801/coverstory.html
http://www.godestiny.org/ministries/hell-house/articles/us-news-and-world-report.php
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/hallow1.htm
http://www.planetout.com/news/article-print.html?2000/10/31/3
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