As House of Shock fans can tell you, tours of the Halloween haunted house maze usually begin with an operatic outdoor pyrotechnics-punctuated performance that pits the forces of good against the forces of evil.
Naturally, since it's the House of Shock, evil has always won.
But this year, the House of Shock has been swept up in politics. Based on a smartphone video that a HOS crew member shared, at the climax of 2016 performances, flamboyant presidential hopeful Donald Trump is cast into a fiery pit and otherwise manhandled – actually a Trump stunt double, of course.
"The climate of today's politics is kind of a joke, as far as I'm concerned," said the House of Shock's head devil Ross Karpelman. "We're making a joke out something that's already silly."
The HOS has received emails, Karpelman said, calling for bipartisan victimization. But it would be harder, Karpelman claimed, to fit the stunt man with a Hillary Clinton ensemble.
The House of Shock was prescient in another topical matter. Last year, long before the plague of creepy clown sightings swept the nation, the HOS introduced an elaborate graffiti-decorated, ultraviolet-lit, killer clown-infested addition called "Laff in the Dark."
Karpelman does not take responsibility for fostering the coast-to-coast menacing clown sightings, of course, but he acknowledges the sinister serendipity.
"The fact that all of that (the clown phenom) coincides with what we're doing; I guess that's just the luck of the draw," he said.
Note: The House of Shock attraction is decidedly not for the squeamish or sensitive, whether they are Democrats or Republicans.
Where: 319 Butterworth St., near the foot of the Huey P. Long Bridge.
When: Oct. 27-31, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Halloween (Monday). Thursday and Sunday until 10 p.m.
Price: $25 to $50, rising to $30 to $55 on Oct. 28-31.
More information: Check the HOS website for a schedule of live bands and more details.