Hell in Wasilla is no place for kids

Can’t wait to go to Hell? If you visit King’s Chapel in Wasilla you won’t have to.

Pastor Daniel Bracken and the church have opened the controversial Hell House exhibit for the Halloween season. Modeled after the Hell House that began in Arvada, Colo., more than a decade ago, Hell House is like a spiritual version of Scared Straight.

With Scared Straight, kids and teens are taken to a prison for a day, where they meet real convicts who literally scare them into never wanting to become adult criminals themselves. Hell House uses graphic scenes of social drug use, violence, abortion, death and Satan worship.

The images, intended for youths ages 12 and older, are not pretty, nor are they expected to be. By showing them the harsh realities of undesirable behaviors, Hell House hopes to sway young people from making bad choices.

While I understand the concept behind Hell House, exposing young people to horrific, violent and extremely graphic exhibits makes about as much sense as getting a kid to stop smoking my making him smoke the whole pack.

Sure, he may become sick and not want to smoke again immediately, but you cannot undo the damage that pack (and the nicotine contained therein) has already done.

Children and teenagers today see enough violence, drug use and graphic displays of hellish imagery on television and in video games.

Some of the exhibits Hell House has featured over the years include depictions of a bloody abortion, a date rape, a funeral for a man who has died of AIDS and a father who has just killed his family by driving drunk. At the King’s Chapel house, you’ll find actors depicting abortion, domestic violence, drug overdoses, suicide and demon worship.

I have no desire to visit Hell anytime soon, although I’m sure there’s some out there who wouldn’t mind my making a little visit. But promoting Hell House as a spiritual experience is a stretch. Most parents wouldn’t allow their teenagers to view movies with such content. Why let them see it in person at a church?

Wasilla has much to be proud of. We’re on the doorstep of some of the most beautiful country on the planet and surrounded by good-hearted, well-meaning neighbors who can’t wait to lend a helping hand when needed.

In short, the Mat-Su Valley is a little slice of Heaven. Why introduce Hell into our paradise?

I fully support King’s Chapel and its freedom of expression and religion to hold its Hell House, just don’t expect me to attend. I may honor the freedom of speech the church exercises, but I don’t hold with its message. It’s disturbing to know that for a little while before Halloween when people use the colloquial term “go to Hell,” they may mean “go to Wasilla.”

Greg Johnson is the Frontiersman’s managing editor.