Parents' Guide to American Haunters

TV AMC Reality TV 2011
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Common Sense Media Review

Matt Springer By Matt Springer , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Behind-the-scenes look at haunted house creation.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

Located in Poughkeepsie, New York, Kevin McCurdy's Haunted Mansion is an annual haunted house experience put on during the Halloween season. With 35 years of experience, McCurdy's team has become masters of great scares, with an actual old mansion, a warehouse full of supplies, and their own creative minds at their disposal. AMERICAN HAUNTERS tracks the evolution of the 2011 Haunted Mansion in a series of three-minute episodes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

AMC has taken a unique approach to their series American Haunters, which chronicles the development of one of the nation's most amazing seasonal haunted houses. The show is a series of three-minute episodes. As such, these episodes move fast, picking a specific topic and focusing tightly on that topic to illustrate the work involved for the Haunted Mansion team.

It's an interesting approach, and the show's content is engaging -- teens especially may enjoy the inside glimpse at how these neighborhood haunted houses are developed by very passionate and eccentric creatives. Perhaps the major drawback is that each episode is so short. It does leave one hungry for more, but also somewhat dissatisfied. Here's hoping AMC puts the episodes together into a single special that will make for a more cohesive and enjoyable experience.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the level of violence in the haunted house. Does something need to be violent to be scary?

  • Do you enjoy visiting haunted houses? What makes them fun? What about watching scary TV or movies?

TV Details

  • Premiere date : October 17, 2011
  • Cast : Kevin McCurdy
  • Network : AMC
  • Genre : Reality TV
  • TV rating : NR
  • Last updated : February 15, 2023

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