TheRPGSite

Here is an interesting article about a Japanese Haunted House
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/10/haunted_house_attractions_in_japan_are_more_immersive_and_intimate_than.2.html

DISCLAIMER - this is one article about one Japanese Haunted House ("JHH"). I have NO IDEA if this one JHH is representative of most JHHs. If anyone know about JHHs, I'd love to hear more.

MY THOUGHTS...
In my experience, HHs are essentially LARPS and LARPS are essentially RPGs where you walk around. Sure, there are lots of differences, but at the core, when you enter a HH, you are playing a person who believes in monsters and seek to "escape" the monsters. Or in the case of this JHH, you are playing a hero seeking to free a victim and dispel the monster ghost.

In reading the article, I was impressed by how much the author felt that the inclusion of a role (as hero) and the concept of a story (background on the JHH) and the need to take action in the JHH created a deeper immersion.

Role + Setting + Need for Action = Immersive Event

I also like the author's discussion about being charged by the ghost.

The monster did not wait. It charged.
Also, it got uncomfortably close to the victim.

We are so used to "rolling for initiative" that we forget some monsters don't need initiative. The monster heard (or otherwise know) the PCs are coming and the monster now lies in wait to attack.

Also, the monster did not stay to its 5 foot square. We forget many monsters attack with teeth & claws and much like Earth beasts, they engage not at spear or sword length. Their bite is upon their prey.

Another notable discussion about the JHH was how the monster maneuvered through the maze to surprise attack the "hero"

The PCs are the invaders in the dungeon (or other encounter area), but the monsters live there. It is their hunting ground, their killing ground and their home. Talk about home court advantage!

So...now you make words about the article!!!

OR...tell us your thoughts about how Haunted Houses can inspire RPG play.

Sounds like some that have been in the US since I was a kid. Problem is. In the US it would work. As the guy described. The reaction would be to possibly throw a punch. Which is exactly what happened at one I attended way back.

The one described is not a LARP in the normal sense but it has some elements to it if I am reading it right. The one in the article is odd as it is geared for single people going through with no guide.

The immersion would be fairly high if you bought into it as there would be no others to brag it down. Fear tends to work best when you are alone. (Unless it is a herd panic moment - and those can be deadly.)

Years ago there was also things like this. Alien War in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-aBs7TB000 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-aBs7TB000)

A year or so ago there was a LARP called ELE which had a simmilar tight focus on just a small group of "players". I am pretty sure there have been others. The original Dream Park theme park was g oing to have that sort of action but sadly the technology had not yet caught up with fully realizing it.

These sorts of "Theme Rides" can be alot of fun and are indeed very immersive.

We have a bunch of haunted houses here in October and I find those very immersive experiences. However they don't feel at all like an RPG kind of immersion to me. They feel like attractions and you get immersed in the experience of the house itself (I never feel like I am a hero or investigator or anything). Of course our haunted houses are relatively simply things where you walk through it and get spooked by the denizens.

I agree that a haunted house like the one described would not work well in the US. Someone would end up getting hurt and lawsuits would ensue.

I'm pretty meh on haunted houses. But I like them a lot better than LARPs.

While checking out the link I noticed this other article (http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_things/2015/10/29/vampire_bats_walk_jump_and_run_on_a_treadmill_on_video.html) which has video of a galloping Vampire Bat. Who knew Vampire Bats could run and jump?

Well, in general I think haunted houses are awesome, particularly compared to the most of the rest of mainstream US culture. Of course they vary widely by style, the people making and running them, and the audience. Usually I'd rather be playing a game I like unless it's somehow a haunted house made to my taste. Like, if a bunch of gamers made a house or building into a soft combat dungeon, um, yeah, that could be really fun.

I went through a halloween corn maze a few years ago and it was very well done, but of course was aimed to include young children. I appreciated how they did it, with monsters stalking in places you couldn't get to, sneaking up behind, pretending to be bodies, revving chainsaws, in various styles, etc. The women and children I was with had a great time. I enjoyed it but had to resist my RPG combat reactions a few times, and didn't want to roleplay being terrified, but I appreciated it. I wouldn't go by myself, but it was fun to take the others there. Well, I might even go alone if it didn't involve going out to the countryside and waiting around for hours.