Ripley's Haunted Adventure is a
haunted house franchise owned by Ripley
Entertainment. There are currently four locations for the franchise at the time of writing: they are Gatlinburg, TN; Myrtle Beach, SC; San Antonio, TX; and Pattaya, Thailand.
The interior (and exterior) of each Haunted Adventure differs, but they all follow the same basic theme: the
haunted house was once a casket-making company, owned by two ominous individuals known only as Grimsby and Streaper (hint: see if you can spot anything familiar in their names). While they remained in charge of the company, strange happenings would occur: people and pets would go missing, strange smells would emanate from the building, and strange noises would be heard at night. After several years, the original owners of the company mysteriously disappeared, and the company was abandoned. Another several years passed, and then the old company was discovered by Ripley
Entertainment, who purchased it. Pending a decision on how to further develop the property, Ripley
Entertainment is now leading "tours" of the company- but they are quick to warn that they will not be
responsible for any disappearances or loss of sanity!
The Gatlinburg location was the first to open, in 1999. It was followed by the Myrtle Beach location, then San Antonio. The Pattaya location is the newest to date (October 2004). Most of them are open year-round. Visitors to the attractions can find them easily recognizable by the presence of a monster named "Stumpy", who sits in a box outside. He named for the fact that all this ghoul has is a torso... he is missing
everything but some spine and a pelvis below it!
It is noted that the Haunted Adventure attractions are very dark, and can get very intense. Many special effects are involved, including strobe lights and
animatronics. There are also a number of live actors involved, who will most certainly do their best to get a scare out of you. The attractions are not recommended for children under 6-8 years old, and any child between the ages of 6 or 8 to 11 years old must be accompanied by an adult (the age limit varies with the location). Depending on the attraction, it can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to tour it. Prices will vary.
The Haunted Adventure locations do have one special event each year: their October "Fright Nights" shows. Generally held every Friday and Saturday (and sometimes Sundays) night in October, the
haunted house is stocked with many more actors on those nights, and the attraction itself is revamped to fit the year's "theme". For example, past themes at the Gatlinburg location have included "Carnival" and "Scary Tales" (a spin-off of "Fairy Tales").
