[ZodiacWarrior]

I won't claim to have enough knowledge of haunting to get fully into this discussion, but I don't think that absolutely not using something due to a few accidents by careless people is the answer. I think making absolutely certain that the person using ANY prop, be it a gun or otherwise, is competent with it's use and maintenance solves MANY issues.

My late grandfather was an ex-Marine, and an avid hunter who took my dad with him from the time he was a young boy. One of the things that I have always been taught in regards to guns is to NEVER point them at someone, even when you're sure it's unloaded. Firing a blank in the air? Perfectly safe. Firing safely in a stage show type situation? Fairly safe as well, so long as the training is there. Firing a blank AT someone, especially at close range? INCREDIBLY stupid. As would be firing that gun without cleaning it prior to it's use AND making sure the proper blanks were being used in it.

My personal opinion? In the right context, blank firing guns can add to the overall show, be it as part of an integrated stage show or in a position where it poses no real threat to the well being of guests, and when used safely and sanely. Should they be used willy nilly? ABSOLUTELY NOT, as that news story shows.

'If you can't do something safely, don't do it at all' is the short version of what I'm saying, I suppose.

[Terrorknight]

People don't think, that's the problem. And i'll say it again if you can't figure out how to scare someone without grabbing them ,pulling their hair, running a fake knife across their neck or body or the big one pointing any kind of fake, blank or real gun at a person GIVE UP you suck and no nothing about scaring people or haunted houses.

Robert Dudzieck
Fright Factory
Philadelphia PA

[Nightmare_Trance]

Here is the link to the other story
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/...3201257101449/

[Jim Warfield]

A few years ago when two young girl haunt customers were shot while on the hayrack at a haunt?
One killed, the other paralyzed.
The shooter might have been drunk, sitting by the campfire in a scene. His claims of "Didn't know" rang hollow when it was found to have been his gun.
So imagine yourself as the haunted attraction owner. You hire a guy to be in a scene, he seems OK, then that night he gets drunk and kills and maims two people.
Just an example of "Unpredictable" and "Not Thinking".

[soultrkr]

I hope those injured heal well. I really wished people would stop and think about things like this. First rule of firearm safety don't point a gun at anyone!!! Contray to popular thought blanks are dangerous they do use powder which can propel the wad of the blank or any debry that might have fallen into the barrel at someone with deadly force. If you ever watch the videos of how movies were made almost all professional stunt coordinators treat guns even with blanks like they had live rounds in them. stunt people now days are usually wearing more protection under their costumes just to be on the safe side especially after the Brandon Lee incident in the crow filming. things like this incident make the haunt industry and gun owners look bad

[mindtumor]

I don't support the idea of having any sort of group that regulates us and forces us to join. We already have that within our individual cities.

That being said I don't think Larry was trying to push that. I believe his point was someone did something stupid, someone got hurt as a result of it, and that the nature of the event is something that could reflect VERY poorly on all of us, and the haunt involved was possibly a haunt that doesn't educate itself and actually THINK before it does something stupid. Correct me if I am wrong Larry but that was your point, correct?

That all being said it is my personal belief that guns should never be used in haunts, even those ones that just shoot air. I own guns, I love guns, and I support the right to have guns so that isn't why I feel they shouldn't be involved. It is just the fact you never know if the gun is real or if the gun is something a disgruntled actor snuck in and might actually shoot you for real, or if someone off the street snuck in the haunts back door and is actually robbing you or what.

The sad truth is I know people that love to haunt but still have the dumbest, most unsafe ideas but don't want to compromise their artistic integrity even at the cost of saftey. I agree it is a problem that needs to be dealt with but I still can't get behind being forced to join an association that attempts to regulate us further.

[bhays]

Real guns in an indoor haunt are a BAD idea, period. That's my opinion and it's very unlikely to change. We need some vendors to produce high quality fake guns at reasonable prices, however. We needed a fake shotgun for our suicide scene and a solid rubber one ended up costing me substantially more than a real one.

[shawnc]

Originally Posted by bhays

Real guns in an indoor haunt are a BAD idea, period. That's my opinion and it's very unlikely to change. We need some vendors to produce high quality fake guns at reasonable prices, however. We needed a fake shotgun for our suicide scene and a solid rubber one ended up costing me substantially more than a real one.

Now there's an idea. I know that there are some companies that make them for other industries but they are pretty expensive - like you said, almost as much as a real gun.

[drfrightner]

I do think a vendor should develope a fake gun that fires air blasts or something I think it would be cool...however I personally wouldn't buy one for an indoor haunt because pulling a gun on people might just cause a panic or something. Today you have people who can carried weapons on them and who knows if they pull it because some actor of yours pulls what looks like a real gun on them. I don't know... I think on a hayride or something it might be kinda cool from really far away and it shoots like a water blast with high powered air but certainly not a real gun that can really hurt someone.

Larry

[WelchWitch]

I think using a gun in a haunted house is stupid and plays no part in a haunted house. Unless you want a gangster type real life type haunt, then posting that before one goes in would be smart. I agree, someone who is packing and sees your gun thinking your going to do something regardless of blanks will shoot you thinking otherwise. I thank god we had a metal detector this year at our haunt. Everyone had to go through it before coming in. Was a real piece of mind for us actors. Air guns that we have used do not look like the real thing, were you cock it everything, so that is different in my mind. What is next throwing knifes at people and hope we miss??