This Halloween in Lansing there's horror, and then there's HORROR.
Jennifer Dent took a birthday-party group of 11-year-olds to the "House of Horrors" in Delta Township on Saturday night.
Dent, who lives in Lansing, expected to treat the kids to the standard, good-natured haunted house-type thrills. Instead, she got graphic depictions of:
? Teen suicide
? Date rape
? Child molestation
? Abortion
? Drug abuse
? A terrorist beheading
And, oh yes, a marriage between two men ... performed by Satan himself.
Early in the tour - about the time an older man started unbuckling his pants while a teenaged boy got down on his hands and knees - Dent pulled the plug, and demanded a refund, which she received. Admission to the House of Horrors is $6; $10 for an "express lane."
Dent's purpose in calling me was to warn others who might blunder into the House of Horrors - at 644 Migaldi Lane, off West Saginaw Highway - thinking it's good, clean fun.
House of sin
The exhibit is sponsored by Mount Hope Church, on Creyts Road, which created similar "sin as horror" Halloween displays in the late 1990s.
The 2004 version opened Friday. Since then I've heard from a dozen readers, all of whom were appalled by the display.
Jamie Ackerman, an MSU sophomore who blundered in, said it was "nothing more than a ploy by the church to push its beliefs onto unknowing people in search of a little Halloween fun."
Aaron Mitchell of Holt wrote: "It is not this church's right to blindside the unsuspecting public with crap like this.
"These are topics that deserve to be taught to our children at the appropriate age, and in an appropriate manner. Not in the context of a fun Halloween event."
Mike DeRosia of Lansing wrote: "They let me go in with children under 11. We left when the kid hung himself."
Alternative horror
Defending the House of Horrors, Ricardo Torrez, Mount Hope's assistant youth director, said:
"We definitely understand why people would be upset and moved by the scenes. They're shocking events."
Torrez added: "Our number one goal is to supply an alternative to the ghost-and-goblins entertainment side of Halloween."
Torrez acknowledged that advertising for the House of Horrors neglects to mention its affiliation with Mount Hope Church, but denied that it was a deliberate attempt to deceive anybody.
Mount Hope Church fliers are distributed at the House of Horrors, Torrez said - as people leave.
The recording people get when they call the House of Horrors number included in the ads also makes no mention of its connection to the church.
It does, however, warn callers of the "real life and graphic nature" of the display, and informs them that it may not be appropriate for kids younger than 11.
The final station of the House of Horrors features Mount Hope representatives offering membership in the church as an antidote to the devil's work.
Torrez acknowledged that "a handful" of House of Horrors patrons have asked for their money back.
What do you think? Call John Schneider at 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail
jschneid@lsj.com. Include your name, phone number, city, town or township.
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