For all you prudes out there, no need to get your panties in a twist over that haunted house that was planning to allow visitors to tour the place naked.
Pennsylvania’s Shocktoberfest has canceled the nude part of its “Naked and Scared” tour after local township officials asked the scream park to reconsider.
The original plan was to offer both a “nude” and “prude” option for the tour but now, people can only buy “prude” tickets — though they can strip down to their underwear instead, said Shocktober’s president and owner, Patrick Konopelski.
“We’re trying to be good neighbors,” he said. “We don’t want to pick fights with our municipalities, and they prefer us not to do the naked portion.”
News about the attraction — which would have allowed thrill-seekers a chance to tour the haunted house while completely naked — went viral over the past week, completely overwhelming officials in the two townships where the Shocktoberfest property sits, just outside Reading, Pa., about an hour west of Philadelphia.
The park, which opens Friday evening for the season, will issue refunds to anyone who has already ordered the $20 ticket online.
Konopelski said he’s extremely disappointed by the change in plans. The “Naked and Scared” tour was supposed to be about heightening people’s vulnerability and lowering their defenses for the ultimate scare, he said.
“We were just trying to take haunted hauses to the next level. It’s not about sex, it’s not about erotica, it’s not about deviant behaviors,” he said. “We wanted to give our customers the most unique, scary, frightening experience they’ve ever had in a haunted house. When you combine the fear of a haunted house and the fear of nudity, it’s almost like, ‘Why didn’t we do this 10 years ago?’”
Konopelski couldn’t provide an estimate of how many tickets had been sold for the attraction, but he said he received an overwhelming response from people “interested in experiencing a haunted house with absolutely zero protection.”
Still, he understands why people may misconstrue the intent behind his attraction.
“We all need to have a moral code and live within it, but unfortunately, it seems that some people feel they have a right to dictate what other Americans can do based on their individual moral code,” he said.
While his attorney assured him he has every legal right to offer the naked tours, Konopelski said he didn’t want to kick up a legal battle or cause any ill-will with town officials.
“Look, we are a legitimate company. We’ve been in business for 30 years. I’m a normal guy. I raise a family in this town. I have four kids. I live a pretty normal life,” he said. “Yes, I own Shocktoberfest and we scare people but it’s kind of a boring life other than that.”