Scare for a Cure

rdf:langString Scare for a Cure

rdf:langString SCARE for a CURE is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization that raises money for local charities, including the Breast Cancer Resource Centers. Each year they produce an "extreme, full contact, interactive haunted house adventure" that runs around 45 minutes to an hour long. This combination of interactive adventure game and haunted house was pioneered by Richard Garriott at his Britannia Manor haunted attraction which began in 1988 and ran every two years until 1994. The torch was passed to Keith Ewing, former Britannia Manor construction manager, and continued in Wild Basin's Haunted Trails every year from 1996 to 2005. What makes these three haunts a unique performance medium is the emphasis on script and story similar to a play, but with an emphasis on interactive elements including making the audience play the role of the main character. It also requires a significant physical contribution from the guests, not simply walking through, but running, climbing, crawling, sliding, and occasionally swimming and/or rowing. As their website puts it, SCARE is "a story-driven, theatrical horror experience presented across 26 stages." Volunteers from all over Austin and the surrounding area come together for this elaborate performance that generally runs during the last two weeks of October. High school drama troupes and Britannia Manor and Haunted Trails veterans continue to make up a significant portion of the volunteer pool, but they have been joined through the years by many members of the Elk's Lodge, as well as general theatre and Halloween enthusiasts from the Austin area. The significant presence of movie, video game, and stage industries in Austin provides a large pool of talented individuals. Local fiction writers, video game companies, and the Texas school for the blind are frequent contributors as well.