Japan’s Drive-In Haunted Houses and their Global Inspiration
Image: Drive-In Haunted House by Kowagarasetai
written by Katharine Matthias - July 9, 2020
Around the world, socially distanced events, including drive-in drag shows and concerts, are expanding the possibilities of socially distanced live performance during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of these immersive experiences is taking place in a secret garage in central Tokyo.
The horror entertainment company Kowagarasetai produces and creates horror events throughout Japan and recently created a “drive-through” haunted house event on July 4th and 5th. The stage for this event has moved from a traditional haunted house to a secret garage in Minato, Tokyo. The location for the event is divulged to visitors once they purchase a ticket to the event.
On the day of the performance, the audience park their cars in a dark garage and then a voice starts to recite scary stories. While these stories are being told, someone knocks on the audience member’s car, performers crawl on the windshield, and other performers playing ghosts surround the vehicle. The company notes on their website that there is no touching during the performance and staff members disinfect the car after each performance for audience safety. In fact, the company notes that there is even an option in the performance to cover the audience member’s car in fake blood and take photos of their car drenched in blood before it is wiped off at the end of the performance.
This event is performed to one car for 20 minutes, and the event allows audience members to scream to their heart’s content from the safety inside their cars. In a quote from Mainichi newspaper in Japan, producer Kenta Iwana notes, “I want audience members to be able to loudly scream to release the stress of being confined [during the pandemic].”
Kowagarasetai’s inspiration for their drive-in haunted house is a global one. The idea for the haunted drive-through came from a drive-in rave in Germany. The global inspiration behind the horror event emphasizes the cross-cultural potential within the innovations that are occurring in socially distanced performance.
