Hell House
Just in time for Halloween, reader Jess has sent me an intriguing video produced by the Festival Travel Channel wherein “Melody visits a Haunted House in Brooklyn based on the fundamentalist Christian’s Hell House.”
What sets this Hell House apart is it was produced and staged by Les Freres Corbusier, an off-Broadway professional acting troupe, which earned it rave reviews. For the most part, the troupe tried to stick true to the original intent with no sarcasm, so the whole thing is a mix of the bizarre, shocking, scary, camp, and sometimes embarrassing, all the while very well done.
What is a hell house? Les Freres Corbusier explained….
… a nearly exact recreation of the thousands of hell houses staged by Christian Evangelicals in communities across America during the Halloween season. First staged by Jerry Falwell in the 1970s, hell houses take a traditional haunted house’s ghosts and ghouls and substitute teenage cheerleaders getting abortions, gay men dying of AIDS, and secular humanists sipping lattes.
Here is the NY Times review of the production. And a couple others:
“Stange and sinfully entertaining.” ~ New York Sun
“The edgiest entertainment in the city!” ~ New York Observer
“Pretty much the entire journey has immediate shock/laugh value, but over the next few days I find myself disturbed. I didn’t get The Passion of the Christ, the movie, but I’m closer to an understanding of His passion thanks to the Les Freres production of this Hell House” ~ Curtain Up
I didn’t think I could sit through Melody’s half hour tour of Hell House, but I did. In case you’re not sure you want to invest the time, here’s a 2:30 preview:
And here’s the entire show, complete with an abortion depiction, also from the baby’s perspective. There’s a bit of a surprise ending, and Melody’s interview with the Columbinesque actor after that is interesting.
[Photo credit: NYT]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I found this interesting.
My state had a similar haunted house one year. They also showed a fake abortion procedure. A woman in a blood soaked gown yelling “help me!” The local media had a fit.
I am very thankful to say that I have never seen one of these in real life in my fair city, and if I ever do, I’ll protest the hell out of it.
Happy Halloween!
hello there midnite. Happy halloween to you.
Ugh…Halloween is my favorite holiday….Things like this just suck the fun right out of it. I’m with Midnite…if this type of thing pops up anywhere near here, I’m protesting. Halloween is supposed to be fun-creepy, not evangelist-creepy.
*rolls eyes* Honestly. Yes! Parties always end in people mass raping girls! And a fetus is fully grown and 30 years old when it’s taken out of the uterus!
Oh, and obviously, AIDS is God’s punishment for being gay.
This is terrible.
I must concur with Lyssie and Erin.
And Halloween in my favorite holiday as well. I dont like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Hello Erin and Lyssie.
I must admit, I really don’t like haunted houses. Has anyone ever been chased by the guy with the fake chainsaw? Freaked me out!
I oppose Hell Houses for many reasons- none political, all theological.
By the way, I accepted Christ on Halloween day, 1999. I submitted and committed to follow Him because I was won by His love, not by the fear of spending an eternity in a haunted house. Moreover, He is the Lord of my life. I didn’t say a prayer or sign a card and believe that I was saved ever-after, like these people are told. Instead I committed to die to sin and self, take up my cross and follow Him. I think Hell will be full of people that were assured of their salvation by well-meaning Christians conducting such Evangelism that states that you sign your fire-insurance policy and continue living unrighteously.
Did anyone notice when the gay man was dying of AIDs in the hospital the woman next to him was dying of anorexia? And the guide said something like, “you chose anorexia over God so you deserve this.” Well wouldn’t that be saying God punished Terri Schivo with death because she was buliemic at the time she got sick so like the gay man in the play she deserved to die?
BTW, who wears a cheerleading uniform to an abortion? Don’t you think she would have changed into something else?
And what about the girl who lost her virginity to her boyfriend on her parents bed? Why was her boyfriend running away apologizing?
“I submitted and committed to follow Him because I was won by His love, not by the fear of spending an eternity in a haunted house.”
Jacqueline, I think that’s the way it should be : )
Maybe b/c he knew he had sinned Jess? Beats the crap out of me. I dont understand those things and never will. They’re playing into people’s fear of the unknown, and that is wrong.
I think that they should be banned
Ooo, I love haunted houses. I also love getting scared out of my wits. I love horror movies too. This isn’t scary though- it’s propaganda. Also, it’s probably one of the most hysterical things I’ve ever seen at the end.
“I am Jesus! Time for a Gospel Ho-Down!”
Erin, the Ho-Down was pretty funny..*snort*
Lyssie,
Halloween is supposed to be fun-creepy
Actually, it’s simply the “eve” of All Saints Day, which is a very special day in the Catholic church.
Followed by All Souls day. So it’s supposed to be celebrated with mass and communion.
But that aside, do you remember the woman that played satan in The Passion? Now that was scary. This guy reminded me of John Belushi doing a Saturday Night Live skit.
http://tinyurl.com/2zk8g9
MK, that was scary! Great movie!
Didnt see “The Passion”. I mean what’s the point? You know what is going to happen and the ending…
MK:
And actually it started as a Pagan holiday and then the Catholic Church took over. They moved their holiday’s around those of the Pagan’s so the “swtch over” wouldnt be as obvious to them.
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe’en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day”,[1] also which is now known as All Saints’ Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions,[2] until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar.
The modern holiday of Halloween has its origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain (pronounced /ˈsˠaunʲ/ from the Old Irish samain). The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is regarded as ‘The Celtic New Year’.[2] Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The Ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.[3][4] When the Romans occupied Celtic territory, several Roman traditions were also incorporated into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated in late October by the Romans for the passing of the dead as well as a festival which celebrated the Roman Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit were incorporated into the celebrations. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which is a proposed origin for the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.[5]
Halloween is very popular in Ireland, where it is believed to have originated, and is known in Irish as O
It’s actually numerous pagan holidays- because it’s around the Winter solstice, a time sacred in nearly all pagan religions. The Saturnalia is the one we think the Romans took it from, seeing as it was a different faction of their own culture. How about Eostre? Fertility celebration at the Spring Equinox. It’s where Easter comes from!
I love Halloween also because of candy corn. I could eat candy corn for the rest of my life, I’m pretty sure.
Whoops, see, I see pagan holidays and I automatically assume people are talking about Christmas being bunk. My bad!
Midnite,
Doesn’t matter…just click the link.
Or better yet watch this clip and only pay attention to “satan”…seriously scary stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viNo_l8lASs
OK, who was the devil? Nothing scary jumped out at me in there MK
Well wouldn’t that be saying God punished Terri Schivo with death because she was buliemic at the time she got sick so like the gay man in the play she deserved to die?
Terri Schindler Schiavo was NOT bulemic. The potassium imbalance was a theory, never substantiated. Pathology shows that she was choked until she collapsed, also that she had multiple fractures in different stages of healing and the doctor said someone had been beating her.
And God didn’t punish Terri with death- she was starved and dehydrated over a 13-day period by her abusive husband.
Jacqueline: Were charges ever filed against him? B/c if it is not fact you are teetering on defamation, and that is illegal.
Yes Erin and Midnite,
This is true.
While I don’t like it’s pagan roots, and am very uncomfortable with the gorier depictions, I don’t ban it at my house. The kids dress up and I give out candy. My birthday is 2 days before it and when I was little I thought the whole hulabaloo was for me…
It can be really fun if you keep it in perspective.
Midnite,
Look at the link I posted above the clip. That’s her (she looks like a man) and then watch the clip. She’s not in it much, you really have to look. Mostly, she just lurks in the background. Which is why I found her so creepy. Those eyes!
And God didn’t punish Terri with death- she was starved and dehydrated over a 13-day period by her abusive husband.
He, on the other hand, will definitely be punished…bwaaaahahahaha…
MK:
OK, I know who you were talking about now. Eh, it takes a lot to scare to me, and I didnt find her scary at all.
Halloween is about getting scared though. I love haunted houses and seeing the scary movies on TV around this time of year. I put out a bowl of candy for the kiddies in my neighborhood and then I dress up and go to a party for the night.
And as Erin pointed out. Most “religous” holidays have roots in Pagan Holidays..
I have never heard of a hell house before. Are they trying to be funny? It seems ridiculous to me.
Midnite,
It loses something in the trailer. She’s in it much more in the movie.
I love scary stuff…always have. Stephen King, Dean Koontz.
I just like it when it’s subtle. My rule is never show the monster. And less is more when it comes to blood. Blood is not scary. It’s gross. But NOT scary.
Hitchcock understood scary.
And most religious holidays do NOT have roots in paganism. They simply fall on days that offset paganism. The holi(holy)days stand on their own.
The celebration of Christs birth, death, and resurrection do not “come” from pagan roots. Only their dates.
Jacqueline: Were charges ever filed against him? B/c if it is not fact you are teetering on defamation, and that is illegal.
If it’s indeed defamation, it’s not just me. It’s me and thousands of others, including renowned pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who has released this information in television interviews.
I’m not worried.
He, on the other hand, will definitely be punished…bwaaaahahahaha…
I pray for him daily because I’m required to. I, personally, would like to tie him to a bed and starve and dehydrate him for 13 days, while enjoying a Big Gulp and a Double Cheeseburger right in front of him.
True MK, but when the Catholic Church was converting the Pagans, they moved their holidays to dates near the Pagan’s and tried to include some of their own traditions in the “new” holiday (date) to make it easier for them to convert to Christianity and leave behind their Pagan Gods.
MK- actually, stories of virgin births, savior resurrections, boy teachers, and the like are all extraordinarily common themes in almost all mythology, much like the great flood stories.
Yeah there’s a church in here in Dallas, TX that does the same thing. I have never been to it since Dallas is about 3 hours away from me. But I want to go check it out. Maybe I will this halloween.
Jacqueline:
Just trying to save you some $$ in a defamation suit.
But as to you starving him, what happened to “turn the other cheek”?
To each their own I suppose…
Thanks, Midnite. I’m not worried.
But as to you starving him, what happened to “turn the other cheek”?
I’m not that good of a person just yet. I want to see that evil son of a bitch PAY.
Terri Schindler Schiavo was choked by her husband and he then killed her by starving her with help from liberal judges.
Jasper:
Sorry to inform you, but (if I am correct) she didnt have a living will and therefore her husband had the control to remove her from life support.
This case is the sole reason I have a living will. I am under no circumstances to be kept alive artificially on a machine.
MK, christianity actually has many roots in paganism. If you look at he birth of Jesus, it is incredibely similar to the account of the birth of,(I think) a Persian god. Christmas wsa moved to saturnalia, and the gift giving originates from there. Easter has pagan roots in a holiday which celebrates fertility (thus the eggs, I believe. And the easter bunny of course).
To make it simple, most of the christian tradition has borrowed from past religions, just as all religions before and after it have done. It mkes it easier for a movement to gain followers and thus distinguish it from the movement before it.
Example we are talking about in my world religions class: Jesus denounces the pharisees publicly and without mercy it seems. However, what Jesus teaches is very similar to that of the Pharisees. Yes, there are some differences, but the two movements are very similar. The point of the denunciation of the Phariees and the other Jewish groups? to distinguish itself from past movements and make itself seem more unique. Mor followers means that it is more likely that the movement will continue, so compromises are often made and action taken, so long as they don’t interfere with the overall goal of the movement.
Sorry to inform you, but (if I am correct) she didnt have a living will and therefore her husband had the control to remove her from life support.
She wasn’t on life support. She just needed food and water. If food and water is life support, I’ve had life support several times today. You likely have had life support, too. Should we take yours away?
This case is the sole reason I have a living will. I am under no circumstances to be kept alive artificially on a machine.
Terri wasn’t on any machines. Do you want to be starved/dehydrated to death if you suffer an injury and can’t communicate?
Here is the partial testimony of a woman who recovered but was starved for 8 days:
At age 33, Kate Adamson collapsed from a devastating and incapacitating stroke. She was utterly unresponsive and was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Because of a bowel obstruction she developed, her nourishment was stopped so that doctors could perform surgery.
Adamson eventually recovered sufficiently to author “Kate’s Journey: Triumph Over Adversity,” in which she tells the terrifying tale. Rather than being unconscious with no chance of recovery as her doctors believed, she was actually awake and aware but unable to move any part of her body voluntarily. (This is known as a “locked-in state.”) When she appeared recently on “The O’Reilly Factor,” host Bill O’Reilly asked Adamson about the dehydration experience:
O’REILLY: When they took the feeding tube out, what went through your mind?
ADAMSON: When the feeding tube was turned off for eight days, I thought I was going insane. I was screaming out in my mind, “Don’t you know I need to eat?” And even up until that point, I had been having a bagful of Ensure as my nourishment that was going through the feeding tube. At that point, it sounded pretty good. I just wanted something. The fact that I had nothing, the hunger pains overrode every thought I had.
O’REILLY: So you were feeling pain when they removed your tube?
ADAMSON: Yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. To say that–especially when Michael [Schiavo] on national TV mentioned last week that it’s a pretty painless thing to have the feeding tube removed–it is the exact opposite. It was sheer torture, Bill.
O’REILLY: It’s just amazing.
ADAMSON: Sheer torture . . .
In preparation for this article, I contacted Adamson for more details about the torture she experienced while being dehydrated. She told me about having been operated upon (to remove the bowel obstruction) with inadequate anesthesia when doctors believed she was unconscious:
The agony of going without food was a constant pain that lasted not several hours like my operation did, but several days. You have to endure the physical pain and on top of that you have to endure the emotional pain. Your whole body cries out, “Feed me. I am alive and a person, don’t let me die, for God’s Sake! Somebody feed me.”
Unbelievably, she described being deprived of food and water as “far worse” than experiencing the pain of abdominal surgery. Despite having been on an on an IV saline solution, Adamson still had horrible thirst:
I craved anything to drink. Anything. I obsessively visualized drinking from a huge bottle of orange Gatorade. And I hate orange Gatorade. I did receive lemon flavored mouth swabs to alleviate dryness but they did nothing to slack my desperate thirst.
Apologists for dehydrating patients like Terri might respond that Terri is not conscious and locked-in as Adamson was but in a persistent vegetative state and thus would feel nothing. Yet, the PVS diagnosis is often mistaken–as indeed it was in Adamson’s case. And while the courts have all ruled that Terri is unconscious based on medical testimony, this is strongly disputed by other medical experts and Terri’s family who insist that she is interactive with them. Moreover, it is undisputed that whatever her actual level of awareness, Terri does react to painful stimuli. Intriguingly, her doctor testified he prescribes pain medication for her every month during the course of her menstrual period.
Food and water (in some cases) could be considered life support. I am sorry, but I would not want to live the way she was. She could not move, she could not eat/drink on her own, she could not talk or communicate her thoughts/feelings. That is no way to live.
She could not move, she could not eat/drink on her own, she could not talk or communicate her thoughts/feelings.
Yes she could. Where are you getting this information?
That is no way to live.
Maybe you are so blessed to have all your faculties, but you can’t impose your wants on others. I know paralyzed people that are happy to be alive. I know several developmentally disabled people that live more fun, fufilled lives than I do. I know of a person who had communication issues following a stroke who is happy to still be here.
People you think like isn’t worth living if you aren’t perfect, doesn’t make it okay to kill the imperfect- like Terri.
Once again I hear, “If I can’t have my pony, I’ll just die.”
Jacqueline:
I dont believe I said that I would push my opinions or wants on others (which is why I am pro-choice FYI). I simply would not want to live that way and why I have a living will…
Well, living wills are rarely honored. A durable power of atty and a trusted proxy are your best bet.
I dont believe I said that I would push my opinions or wants on others (which is why I am pro-choice FYI).
Of course I disagree- I think pushing wants and opinions on others is exactly what abortion is, as an “other”, the unborn, is pushed out of the womb, dismembered or otherwise imposed upon by the belief of the one doing the choosing. Abortion is the wants of the mother override all the interests of the baby.
Beyond that, saying “I wouldn’t want to live with Down Syndrome” and aborting for such a condition is pushing your opinion on another.
and secular humanists sipping lattes
Gotta love it…. I had a nice latte on Monday, a “quad venti latte” from Starbucks. Darn things cost $5.61 though.
Doug
“Darn things cost $5.61 though.”
Dude, this is getting out of control! I love a good latte as much as the next guy, but I can get a whole lunch for cheaper than that.
Fred Thompson: Govt Shouldn’t Intervene in Cases Like Terri Schiavo
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 23, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Fred Thompson responded to questions about Terri Schiavo on Monday and said he didn’t think that government should intervene in cases like hers. His comments were the first since saying last month he didn’t recall the details of her painful dehydration and euthanasia death, but he said Monday that he followed her case.
While campaigning in Florida on Monday, Thompson told voters and the media that the loss of his own daughter to an early death helped shape his views on end-of-life issues.
Thompson shared details about the death of his own daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy” Thompson Panici. She died in January 2002 at the age of 38 from a brain injury she suffered after a heart attack resulting from an accidental prescription drug overdose.
“I had to make those decisions with the rest of my family,” Thompson said.
“And I will assure you one thing: No matter which decision you make, you will never know whether or not you made exactly the right decision,” he said.
The presidential candidate said he likely would never address the issue again and indicated his perspective on how government should be involved.
Why do liberals get stereotyped as “latte sippers”? I don’t like coffee period, let alone over priced soy based coffee or whatever a latte is.
What’s funny is the Democrat running for governor of my state was accused of being a “latte sipping liberal”. Now, this guy was a friend of my dad’s in college, he’s a down home guy. My dad only drinks black coffee, my dad is also a Democrat.
Also, I went to one of these Hell houses when I was a sophomore in high school with my church youth group.
Jacqueline: Were charges ever filed against him? B/c if it is not fact you are teetering on defamation, and that is illegal.
Posted by: midnite678 at October 24, 2007 3:02 PM
Right midnite, and OJ is innocent….
“Darn things cost $5.61 though.”
Bobby Bambino: Dude, this is getting out of control! I love a good latte as much as the next guy, but I can get a whole lunch for cheaper than that.
Yeah, Bobby, it’s insane, but Starbucks’ marketing plans have worked pretty well.
Doug
Why do liberals get stereotyped as “latte sippers”? I don’t like coffee period, let alone over priced soy based coffee or whatever a latte is.
I’m a moral conservative that loves a good amaretto latte.
And I’m a moderate that LOVES her caffe mochas (finished one just about ten minutes ago)….oh, soooo damn good. :D
I looove coffee!
Why do liberals get stereotyped as “latte sippers”?
Years ago I heard Rush Limbaugh speak of “wine-drinking, Volvo-driving liberals.” I had to laugh – that’s a dead-on description of some people I know.
Doug
I’m sorry, call me materialistic…but the only really big material want that I have is a nice car…I could live in a shack as long as I have a nice car. I think Volvos are nice cars… what the hell does Limbaugh drive? I’m sure it’s a much nicer vehicle than I. (I don’t drive anything at all at the moment…I’m at college, stranded without a car. Unless you count me driving my boyfriend’s Toyota Matrix around town if he needs me to drop him off somewhere).
I would kill for a 3-series BMW. Or an M3. Or a Porsche. Besides, I have to get one now…I was voted “most likely to succeed” in high school…I would be a failure if I didn’t get a really cool car, a good job, and a trophy husband. *giggle*
By the way, I accepted Christ on Halloween day, 1999. I submitted and committed to follow Him because I was won by His love, not by the fear of spending an eternity in a haunted house.
I know it was a while ago, but I really wanted to commend you on that! Jacqueline, that is absolutely wonderful! I hate the idea that people try to feed you that you should be Christian because if you don’t God will damn you for eternity. If you are attracted to Christianity, it should be because of God and Jesus’s love. That is why I love religion.
What?? Common ground?? Cool!