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By Bill Berkowitz
Halloween is in the air and I'm wondering what costume my eight-year old granddaughter will wear when I take her "trick or treating." Other folks are starting to carve up pumpkins, stockpile bags of candy for legions of goblins, ghosts, Harry Potter and Pokemon characters, and toss up some decorations. The most ambitious among us are finalizing plans for turning garages or front lawns into mini-haunted houses.
This is what greets visitors to the fundamentalist Web site of Hell House
To fundamentalist Christians, although the coming of Halloween signals another dart to the heart of traditional values, it also offers an opportunity to scare the living daylights out of teenagers. Take the good folks of Warren County, Ohio: the Rev. Randy Ballard, pastor of the Kings Point Church of God, has put together his version of a "Hell House," which is set to run for two weekends beginning mid-October. The Rev. Ballard told the Associated Press that his "Hell House" is "meant to show teens the effects of sin. It involves a tour through hell, where you encounter the funeral of a gay man who has died of AIDS; a young woman who had an abortion; a teen who committed suicide; a drug overdose at a party; and a car crash involving a drunken father and his children." Unlike Topeka, Kansas' infamous the Rev. Fred Phelps whose Westboro Baptist Church has set the standard for anti-gay remonstrations, the Rev. Ballard takes pains to explain, "we are not saying all homosexuals with AIDS die in hell. We are showing the effects of sin--what happens when, in a hypothetical situation, a homosexual has AIDS and dies and has not repented their sins." The Rev. Ballard's "Hell House" was roundly criticized by Doreen Cudnik, executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati, a gay civil rights organization, who said the Rev. Ballard's church "is out of touch with AIDS in the year 2000. To say gay equals AIDS equals burning in hell has the dangerous potential to lead to hate crimes against the gay community." In addition, Vern Baldwin, general manager of WNLT in Fairfield, Ohio, said radio spots placed by the church that have been running on the station will be put on hold until there is an opportunity to review their content. "We're not out to offend anyone," says Baldwin. For years, some Christian parents have raised, well, holy hell, over the celebration of Halloween--particularly at public schools that have young kids parade around the school yard in their costumes, play a few games, and have juice and cookies at the end of the day. Celebrations like these do not sit well with an admittedly a small, but vocal number of fundamentalist Christian parents.
Since the "H" word has become one of the three biggest holidays of the year for retailers, dropping all mention of "H" in favor of the warm and fuzzy sounding terms like "Oktoberfest," "Fall Festival," or "FestiFall" was a considerable concession. However, Publix hasn't gone totally anti-"H"--it still uses the word in their ads in Miami and Atlanta city markets. Scaring Teens Straight Warren County's activities represent the tip of the "Hell House" iceberg. "Hell House" events are planned for churches across the country. The "Hell House" concept gives Christian parents an alternative activity for their children. In most cases the kids must be 10 or older, and often need to be accompanied by an adult. At its core, the Christian Right's worst cultural nightmares are presented as macabre thrills or "spiritually-based adventures" whose goal is to scare kids straight. The Abundant Life Christian Center (ALCC) in Arvada, Colorado is ground zero for "Hell House" activity. The Rev. Keenan Roberts, associate pastor of the church, is the man with the plan - he popularized the "Hell House" effort several years back. The Rev. Roberts told the Denver Post the exhibit was designed to "show young people that they can go to hell for abortion, adultery, homosexuality, drinking and other things unless they repent and end the behavior." The ALCC proudly trumpets the fact that "Hell House" has been covered world-wide by the media, on NBC Nightly News, ABC World New Tonight, Newsweek, USA Today, Dateline, and "countless other radio and television news agencies around the planet!" According to the ALCC, "Hell House is cutting edge, it is shocking, it is offensive. But it is the Truth. What Satan and his entourage of demons inflict on people through the killing of innocent unborn babies is offensive to the Christian. Convincing the naïve and ignorant they are born gay and then sentencing them to life of bondage and oppression is offensive to the Christian." Here's how the basic "Hell House" package operates:
Scene 1: a funeral of a teenage homosexual boy who has died of AIDS. Scene 2: a "riveting reenactment" of an abortion. Scene 3: a "satanic ritual involving human sacrifice." Scene 4: a "drunk driving accident" where a father realizes he's killed his own family. Scene 5: a teen suicide. Scene 6: "the sights, sounds and smells of hell as well as [depictions of] Satan himself." Finally, the travelers are "rescued out of hell by an angel that escorts them to heaven, where they finally meet Jesus and are given the opportunity to pray the prayer of salvation." Last year, the ALCC got particularly creative replacing Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky "sinning" in the Oval Office, with a gay wedding. The Rev. Roberts said the wedding scene will feature two people dressed as men, but one will be a woman, because they kiss at the end of the ceremony and "I'm just not going to have two guys kissing." At its website (www.alccdenver.com), the "Hell House Outreach Kit" is available for $208.80 including shipping and handling. This kit, which provides "piece by piece, prop by prop, costume by costume, the master plan... organized in a comprehensive manual," plus video and "special-effects audio master," is the model participating churches work from. "Hell House" kits are being ordered and used by churches across the country - often modified to address local issues. Not only are they used to "scare kids straight," but they make excellent fundraising projects as well. At the Curtis Road Church of God in Champaign, Illinois, "Hell House" contains: a young man who dies of AIDS; a "botched" abortion; "bodies [that] lie splattered with blood after a school shooting"; a high school student blowing "his brains out after he's cut from the football team"; and a drunken driver who watches his family die." In the one organized by Bible Way Church in Eldon, Missouri, abortion, homosexuality, a teen drug party, and occult scenes take center stage. Officials at the church claim that 40 percent of those who came to its first "Hell House" last October "received Jesus Christ their Savior before leaving." Bible Way's website (biblewaychurch.com), best sums up the intention of "Hell House" organizers - provide an essential tool for the "spiritual battle raging everyday, a battle for the soul, a battle against sin and the rejection of God's truth," a battle that must be fought for--like hell.
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A scene from Hell House 
© 1997-2000 BEI