Catholic Church hosting a haunted house

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daniphi

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A local Catholic Church that has a K-8th grade school hosts a haunted house every year. The students and parents dress up in various haunting costumes such as demons, bloody victims, scary dolls, evil clowns, etc. Is this allowed in the Catholic Church on parish and Catholic school grounds? (Pictures are posted on Facebook).
 
If it happens every year I think you have to assume it’s allowed. I’m guessing it’s a big fund raiser for the school. If you would rather they raise money in some other way, you might volunteer to help them organize another activity.
 
Thank you. I do not attend this church and my children do not attend this school. The photos of the haunted house are morbid and disturbing to in my opinion especially if they are saying it’s fun for the whole family. I was just wondering if I need to contact our local bishop. The site won’t let me upload photos of the event.

I agree they could do a fall festival instead or even an All Saints day festival and have the kids dress up as Saints instead.
 
The knights of columbus would put a haunted house on annually since I was a young child. No harm no foul. We will see you at mass on All Souls’ Day
 
Thank you. I really do not see why a haunted house is needed at a Catholic Church. I thought as Catholics, we are to stay away from hauntings, seances and evil. I really wish I could post the photos of the morbidity and demons allowed at this haunted house. The Catholic Church should be considered a safe place away from these types of things that the secular/pagan world embrace.

Also, Did you mean All Saint’s Day, November 1 which is a Holy Day of Oigation, correct? All Souls’ Day is November 2 and not a Holy Day of Obligation.
 
My church has masses for observing both, 5 o’clock.

Yes, we can attempt to avoid those sorts of things, and should try to. I have a scapular with a Saint Benedict Medal to be extra careful in ensuring black magic and witchcraft do not have a role in my spiritual life.

But, I believe that communities have a standing history of trying to have things for the kids to reduce abduction statistics and so forth. Isn’t that why they are doing it? It isn’t to celebrate ghouls and demons…
 
Yes, my church has Masses on both days as well. But All Saint’s Day is the Holy Day of obligation not All Souls Day.

Then why not have an All Saint’s day festival and hand out candy and have other activities and not have a haunted house? I don’t mind having a safe place for people to trick-or-treat at the church but a morbid and evil haunted house? Why? A haunted house isn’t necessary to keep kids safe and from being abducted. Especially, when you are inviting families with kindergarten through 8th grade.
 
daniphi said:
The students and parents dress up in various haunting costumes such as demons, bloody victims, scary dolls, evil clowns,
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I would say it is absolutely wrong. To dress up as saints is OK, but to dress up as demons, bloody victims, scary dolls, evil clowns, is morally offensive, IMHO.
 
Yep, at and old church I went to the kids dressed up as saints, it was wonderful
 
I agree, I just don’t the stance of the Catholic Church and if it is something that needs to be brought to the bishops attention or if I should just stay out of it.
 
The REAL question is: is it scary? I ain’t wasting a dime otherwise.
 
daniphi said:
Then why not have an All Saint’s day festival and hand out candy and have other activities and not have a haunted house?
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If it’s a fundraiser, then the reason is because very few people would go to such a festival. But a haunted house will actually draw people.
daniphi said:
Especially, when you are inviting families with kindergarten through 8th grade.
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The parents should have common sense about whether or not the haunted house is for little Timmy or not. Not to mention little Timmy can say yes or no. I recall the Boy Scout’s Order of the Arrow putting on a haunted hike near where I live that some people from my Cathoic school would go to. One kid in my grade, when he saw it, spoke up and said it wasn’t for him. Kids have some idea of what they can handle.
daniphi said:
I thought as Catholics, we are to stay away from hauntings, seances and evil.
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Really not the same thing as a haunted house done by a group. Of this was something like a ghost tour done by places that claim to have a real haunting, you’d have a point. But everything “haunted” about that church’s haunted house is done by regular people.
 
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daniphi said:
I agree, I just don’t the stance of the Catholic Church and if it is something that needs to be brought to the bishops attention or if I should just stay out of it.
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Halloween activities fall under the category of prudential judgement. It is not forbidden to celebrate Halloween. If you personally don’t like Haunted Houses you just should not go. If this is YOUR parish or YOUR school, then I could understand asking the parish priest about it.

If this is a local annual fundraiser with photos on Facebook, I’m sure the Bishop already knows it happens. There has likely been some local media coverage. He might even dislike it himself, but again, the church has no official teaching on Halloween. It comes down to personal taste.

Personally, my family would not go to such an event. If it were my school or parish I would make an extra donation. I am personally against things like haunted houses, blood, guts, gore, and demons on Halloween.

However, there are somethings that are in keeping with Catholic All Hallows’ Eve like tombstones, skeletons, saints, and even the Grim Reaper because ultimately All Saints’ and All Souls’ is about honoring and remembering our dead, but it is also a reminder to us to remember our mortality.

One day we will all be a bag of bones, and all our material possessions will be of no avail. What matters is how we live our lives while we are hear so that we might merit Heaven after death.
 
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Many years ago… my former Baptist Church hosted a haunted house in their gym.
 
daniphi said:
Is this allowed in the Catholic Church on parish and Catholic school grounds? (Pictures are posted on Facebook).
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Allowed by whom?

The pastor of a parish has wide latitude in his own parish. Halloween in good fun is not problematic. We are not fundamentalists.
 
That sounds a little scary but they know the community better than we do. Here that would rankle too many feathers of the anti halloweeners who would feel it validated all the smack they’ve been talking about Catholicism.

If the parish had the resources it would be cool if they could do a family friendly one also or a maze for the littles.
 
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Well, two days ago on a Catholic Radio station, I heard these sorts of things are alright. If its not encouraging faithful to engage in sinful acts such as seances and murder, then it’s alright. The way I see it, it’s encouraging the faithful to avoid such acts, lest they end up like the “Bloody Victims” aka souls in hell.
 
Thank you all for your responses. The haunted house has bodies decapitated with blood all over them and wrapped in plastic bags hanging from the ceiling in chains, possessed dolls with blood, a baby doll in a higher chair with 13 nails stuck in the head, girls with bloody butcher knives, to me it’s not the correct location for a haunted house, a Catholic Church. Regardless if this is their biggest fundraiser or not it’s not honoring God or Jesus which is what the Catholic Church was established. This isn’t/wasn’t your cute little haunted house for families this was more morbid and demonic looking. I appreciate all of your help.
 
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