Alex Andy Martinez (Independent Folklorist, emerita)
The Akron Haunted Schoolhouse and Haunted Laboratory has been a staple of the Halloween season in Akron, Ohio for the past fifty years. Haunted houses are a form of live theater and, as in any other form of live theater, the cast and crew of these shows have their own offstage lore. This paper, though interviews with current and former members of the cast and crew, examines the unique lore of the Haunted Schoolhouse and Haunted Laboratory to gather insight into the unique world and lore of haunted houses and see the ways in which they differ from the lore of other types of live theater.
Part of 01-13 Scary Stories Middle America Tells in the Dark, Thursday, November 02, 8:30 am–10:00 am