What is the Lantern Protocol
Simply put, our Lantern Protocol is a set of Standard Operating Procedures enacted, upon request by the end user, in order to meet the needs of specific under served populations.
Maybe that wasn’t as simply put as it could have been. Haunters are story tellers, so let’s start with a story or two…
Several year ago we were a part of a fledgling haunt that encountered something we were not really prepared for. A parent came up to the ticket counter and explained that his child was autistic and was sensitive to flashing lights and loud noises. This was also his- the child’s- first haunted house experience. Neither the host organization or ours, had encountered this before. But, both the host organization and our rag tag group of altruists were heavily child focused, and we certainly weren’t going to run from a challenge!
We asked the parent to give us a few minutes, we put our heads to together while waiting for the haunt to clear, and then methodically went through and turned off the special effects, turned down the music and instructed all of our actors to take it down to a “G” rated scare. The young man and his father went through the haunt. At the end, he came up to thank us and the young man was all smiles. They went through again the next day, with the same requests, and with Mom in tow.
The next year, doing a different haunt with the same host organization, word had spread about the accommodations we were willing to make and suddenly multiple families with children who had sensory sensitivities- not just ADHD, but epilepsy as well- were coming to our haunt. We had to be able to communicate very quickly with the backend of the haunt, and one of the members came up with the idea of giving the individual a Lantern to hold.
This gave the individual ultimate control over their haunt experience. By having the lantern, we – and our actors- knew to take it down a couple of notches (which later refined itself into a “Rated G” scare, a “Rated PG” Scare, and a “Full Scare”) and we also knew that we needed to tone down the effects. Within a night’s practice our team was able to make these changes within just a couple of minutes, and by the end of the season we had a new protocol in place. We didn’t realize at the time how far reaching these accommodations- and our willingness to make would go.
And it wasn’t just about sensory sensitivities. Guests who have never been to scarehouse before- old and young alike- would ask for a lantern before returning again to do the full scare. Or sometimes they would simply enjoy the scarehouse at the level they were most comfortable with.
One young man was there with his mother as a part of a much larger group. She very much wanted to go through, but he was reticent about going through. The lantern wasn’t even enough to convince him to go through! Even his group filled with extended family, having all gone through it just previously couldn’t convince him! But mom really wanted to. And so we did something very different with him- we took down the effects, turned down the ambient noise and lead him on a backstage tour so he could see how all of the effects worked and meet the actors without their masks and out of character.
What started as a potentially tense situation which would really shape how this young man viewed haunts, turned into a learning experience for him- something he could take with him for years to come!
It took a little extra time, but it was worth it to ensure everyone could have an enjoyable experience at our haunt.
So the Lantern Protocol was codified for those very reasons- so everyone, regardless of their various requirements, could enjoy the haunt to their fullest!
As the seasons came and left, our Lantern Protocol matured into a Standard Operating Procedure, and became part of the regular training for our actors. We still have the Lanterns, but we’ve also added tour guide style headsets so that those who may require them- or who would simply prefer them- could get a guided through the story of each haunt (and make no mistake, our haunts to tend to be story heavy!).
The Lantern Protocol is written on sign directly in front of the ticket counter, and all someone needs to do is to request a Lantern. After a couple of questions regarding specific tolerances, and a couple of minutes to communicate that info to the back-end, the haunt is ready- customized to those specific requirements!