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 a deranged bellhop, Gravesley, 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. Lightning plays across the building facade to the crash of thunder, terrified screams and frightful laughter, underscored by eerie organ music.