Location: Pavilion Amusement Park
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

An Aging Classic: Pavilion Amusement Park’s Haunted Hotel was showing its age:  mechanical props and figures had stopped working, scare elements were no longer scary, colors had faded to gray and the audio and lighting needed a major overhaul.

Inside, new lighting, custom music and sound effects, plus a multitude of new animatronic denizens of the underworld, create a creepy ambience.  “Doom service?” asks a skeleton butler proffering a head on a platter; ghouls pop up in a bed, and out of nowhere; a chainsaw wielding cook works on a leg with wiggling toes; axes crash toward you; pans clang as a rat runs along a shelf; and Gravesley re-appears to prevent your escape.

What Did They Say?  Returning visitors commented on the improvements, and by the second year–with both phases complete–the Haunted Hotel was once again a “hot ticket.”

The Rescue:  The Great American Dark Ride Company was called to the rescue, and a two-phase upgrade began with a thorough artistic and technical review.  Once work began on the interior, attracting visitors was a priority:  Eye-catching signage and exterior design elements were added, along with a “haunting” hat (and head)-raising doorman named Gravesley. Lightning plays across the building facade to the crash of thunder, terrified screams and frightful laughter, underscored by eerie organ music.