Haunted house

Planning a trip to New York before Halloween and want to face your deepest, darkest fear ... well, there's now a way. Tim Haskell, an off-Broadway producer, has set up an interactive haunted houses in each of NY City's five boroughs. But the question is - do the 13 phobic obsessions he identified by polling New Yorkers translate to the rest of the world? And would they pay to go into a room to confront those fears? Especially if they knew there were actors in there to stalk and terrorize them? Apparently - since 22,000 visited one haunted house he set up last year. Tickets are available on the web (turn your computer sound down first though) but you'd best hurry if you want to go - the houses close on 2 November - which, incidentally, is the same date that Sculpture by the Sea opens in Sydney.
So, what are those phobic obsessions? Haskell said his survey found that most people were afraid of roughly the same 13 things, such as drowning, clowns, rats or cockroaches, as well as heights and closed-in spaces. Guess a visit the house is necessary to find out what the other seven are! But be warned, the added theatrical elements reportedly make this a more intense experience than your usual haunted house - making it too extreme for some - and I know if I went I'd be one of those that had a physical reaction - heralding a need for dry and/or clean underwear! I went to a haunted house at the Royal Easter Show a few years ago, and was absolutely terrified at the thought of walking 10 paces through a pitch black corridor. But we still do it don't we? It seems part of us loves a good scare - probably because it feels so good when it stops.