Naked Haunted House Raises Fears of Potential Legal Issues
A haunted house in Pennsylvania has issued a naked challenge to Halloween thrill seekers: pass through the hair-raising attraction in the nude -- if you dare.
The provocative proposition (called the "Naked and Scared Challenge") is part of "Shocktoberfest" in the borough of Sinking Spring. The event will provide after-hours nude access to the haunted house this Friday for anyone 18 and older who's brave enough to "bare" it, Fox News reports.
Being naked may make you more vulnerable, but will scared patrons in the buff leave this haunted house exposed to potential lawsuits?
Naked Dangers on the Premises
Shocktoberfest president Patrick Konopelski told Today.com that the "Naked and Scared Challenge" is "the first time [a naked haunted house has] ever been done anywhere in the world." Not to be negative, but it may be the last time if someone sues.
The event itself was inspired by the Discovery Channel reality series "Naked and Afraid," wherein two naked persons must survive in the wild, reports Fox News.
Haunted houses are built to seem dangerous and spooky to patrons, but sometimes even the employees of a haunted house can injure or even kill themselves on the faux frights. And that's with clothes.
Combine faux guillotines, scythes, or sharp fangs with jangly manbits and you've got a pretty good recipe for a potential premises liability suit.
No Sex in the Naked Haunted House...
Part of the criticism of Konopelski's naked brainchild is a fear that the "Naked and Scared Challenge" will quickly devolve into an orgy of awkward teen fondling.
Undaunted, Konopelski told Today.com that the Challenge would be limited to those 18 years of age or older, would be held at midnight (after the park's regular hours), and would require participants to sign a waiver "agreeing to the rules."
Although liability waivers can only protect a business from so much, the Challenge may be able to protect itself from some future litigation by having participants agree to give up their smartphones and cameras.
If someone does manage to snap photos of the Challenge-takers, waiver or no waiver, Shocktoberfest could be culpable for negligently allowing its guests' privacy to be violated.
Nothing says "BOO" like a subpoena.
Related Resources:
- Shocktoberfest challenges customers to go through haunted house fully nude (Cleveland's WKYC-TV)
- Top 3 Halloween Lawsuits of All Time (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Tenants Fear Rental House Is Haunted, Sue for Refund (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Don't Let Your Halloween Become a Legal Nightmare! (FindLaw's Insider)