This Man Sued a Haunted House for Being Too Scary
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
On October 15, 2011, Scott Griffin and friends went to the Haunted Trail in San Diego, a Halloween attraction run by the Haunted Hotel, Inc. Printed on tickets was a warning that the trail had 'high-impact scares.' Visitors walked a mile-long path along which actors dressed in ghoulish costumes and carrying prop weapons jumped out to frighten—and even chase—them.
Griffin, then 44, and his friends completed the trail and walked through what appeared to be the exit. They were laughing about how much fun they’d had, when suddenly an actor with a revving chain saw came toward them. The Haunted Hotel calls this the Carrie effect, referring to the last scene in the 1976 horror movie, when the audience, believing the film is over, is surprised by one final scare.
Griffin tried to back away, but the actor followed him closely. Griffin yelled, 'Stop!' He couldn’t tell whether the chain saw was real. 'He was pointing [the chain saw] right at me … You could literally smell the gas,' Griffin said in a deposition. 'He was literally running after me … I was fearful for my safety big-time.' While being chased, Griffin fell. He severely injured both wrists, which were in casts for four months.On April 12, 2013, Griffin sued the Haunted Hotel, Inc., in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, for negligence and assault, claiming the defendants 'acted with conscious disregard for the safety of [Griffin] when they were aware of the probable dangerous consequences of their conduct.' He requested an undisclosed amount in damages to cover the costs of his injuries.
The Haunted Hotel responded with a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the lawsuit was governed by the 'doctrine of primary assumption of risk.' Said the amusement’s attorney, David Hall, 'There was a risk inherent in the activity—the risk that you might get scared and react in a way that might hurt you.'
Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal agreed with the Haunted Hotel and dismissed the case, noting that Griffin 'was still within the scare experience that he purchased.' She added: 'Who would want to go to a haunted house that is not scary?'
Griffin appealed to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District. 'Yes, he was paying to get scared,' said his attorney, P. Christopher Ardalan. 'But when does that go too far?'
Was the Haunted Hotel negligent when its actor chased Griffin with a chain saw after Griffin thought he’d exited the trail? You be the judge.
The Verdict
To be clear, primary assumption of risk does not give recreational businesses like the Haunted Hotel, Inc., complete immunity; they still 'owe participants the duty not to unreasonably increase the risk of injury' beyond those inherent in the activity.
In his appeal, Griffin said primary assumption of risk did not apply, because the business included a scare outside the trail. In October 2015, the appeals court disagreed with him. Justice Gilbert Nares wrote, 'Being chased within the physical confines of the Haunted Trail by a chain saw–carrying maniac is a fundamental part and inherent risk of this amusement. Griffin voluntarily paid money to experience it.'
The Haunted Hotel’s attorney summed it up with a Hunter S. Thompson quote: 'Buy the ticket, take the ride.'
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Well, the smell wouldn't be gas.....as chainsaws are 2 storke, so it's a gas and oil mixture that makes a unique exhaust smell......plus, in the real world, how often do you see someone running around chasing people with chainsaws? Yeah, this guy peed himself and now wants to blame someone else for it....welcome to San Diego........
All clowns should be shot yesterday.
This Man Sued a Haunted House for Being Too Scary
Only in America.
Christ, what has become of us?
When I think back to when I got a sliver in my finger from the Disney World tree house, I could have sued and made a million dollars. I wasn't aware that the USA was so filled with litigious maniacs and huge awards were handed out by the judges. In Canada I would have been laughed out of the courtroom.
Land of milk and honey!!!!
Or is it Land of bilk and money.
That too...
I think is a case of being careful what you wish for. The guy went to a haunted house for a thrill and done got himself thrilled real good.
this guy is so greedy that he publically announced himself to be a complete chickens**t.
The shall we say, I don't know, stupidity of some of our fellow humans never ceases to amaze me.
What did this idiot expect in a "haunted house"?
Fluffy bunnies.
Terrifying!!!
Yikes!!
Well, I was thinking more like this,
Added to my Halloween to watch list.....
I saw it at the theatre, it was corny as hell. But, if you want a good laugh watch it.
Talk to Graham Chapman about "fluffy bunnies".
And then research 'The Trouble With Tribbles".
Actually, I find "fluffy bunnies" taste good, especially fried.
Nah, I'll let Kirk, Spock and, McCoy research them.
On a spit over the campfire.
Ok, you get that nice smoke flavor in the meat.
LOL
I sort of remember that movie, the giant rabbits mostly would knock people down and then slap them to death wasn't it?
But think how many people a giant rabbit would feed.
Think about how many humans that fanged tooth rabbits could consume around a campfire!
This makes me think of giant rabbits sitting around a campfire making smores.
Getting into the Halloween spirit, I can think of a couple of people I'd sacrifice. If you know enough people you wouldn't miss and have a shotgun and a few shells, you could eat well for a long time.
You do realize that you have to hate rabbits to keep the campfire smoke out of your face don't you?
Nah, I love rabbits......cooked a whole bunch of ways.
One of my favorites is Hossenfeffer.
I was wondering that too, maybe peeled-grape eyeballs and people in sheets jumping out of doorways and going ("boo!") in a well lit private home?
I hope he elaborates at the trial, it'd be hilarious.
Is it getting near Halloween or what?
Soooo, when are places like Disney World, Epcot Center and, Six Flags going to get sued for being "too scary".
"Its a Small World" freaked me out at Disneyland when I was a kid. Worst ride ever!
People have gone into diabetic coma from going on that ride if they suffer diabetes or not . Personally I just died of sheer boredom. The worst thing in the world that can happen to yours to get that damned song stuck in your head.
Any song (like it or not) that gets stuck in your head can become annoying after awhile.
I've lived in three big cities here in China, and there's NO WAY to get away from that song. The street watering trucks have loudspeakers and they all play the damn thing as they water all year except for Christmas time, when they play Jingle Bells.
You have my deepest and sincerest sympathies.
You have street watering trucks? We don't even have those in Kansas!
I'm sure his friends had a great laugh!
My spouse and I were thinking of great ways to scare the kiddies that come Trick-or-Treating. After each scenario we could only picture the kiddies tumbling down the set of stairs outside of our home and being sued. So, it's just the porch light and a basket of candy.
When I was a kid we had a neighbor that put out a giant talking Jack O'Lantern, he would have the candy sitting next to it and, would use the pumpkin to talk to the kids when they came up, he had a mic inside the house for that.
Good one...but still...they'd be frightened and tumble down the cement stairs outside our home!
It's called "trick or treat" for a reason.
Hey CJ a little Halloween history for you,
Trick-or-treating is a Halloween ritual custom for children and adults in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house-to-house, asking for treats with the phrase "Trick or treat". The "treat" is usually some form of candy, although in some cultures money is used instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating usually occurs on the evening of October 31. Some homeowners signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; others simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely.
Ancient precursors[edit]
Traditions similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house refused.[4][5][6] This tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus.[7]
Now that I live in the woods, just sit in the dark with a AR-15 on the day. Don't much care for pranks.
Not a bad way to deal with it, unless someday the clown punches back..
That's what Bruce Lee said.
Never met Bruce but became friends with Danny. JKD!
Danny was a grand master at sticks swords and knives. Also studied under Grandmaster Remy Presus. Every day I needed some sort of medical help.
I never met Bruce either but, I did study under a woman who had gone to Bruce's school in LA and, had become friends with the Lee family, she and, her husband taught the Sarasota Police Department defensive tactics as well as having a private school of martial arts in Sarasota, nice people.
Did he teach Kali?
Kali, Arnis, Wing Chun, Several Filipino systems as well as JKD. They were friends for a reason.
Forgot Eskrima and Pencak Silat.
Funny how we forget things with enough kicks and punches to the head.
Yeah, ain't it though.
Danny taught Bruce how to fight with 2 sticks.
Yeah, I was better with sticks than knives or, axes or, swords. I mastered "Heaven six" with them.
Sinawali became second nature after awhile. The sticks would get hot and start to burn.
You know you're doing it right when you smell rattan burning.
Yep, it's a good feeling to get those hands warm.