Ocean Park's new haunted house may just scare the life out of you

Ocean Park says its new haunted house is so scary it will require visitors to sign a disclaimer in case they fall ill or even die of fright after visiting it.

But while the theme park admits this is just a marketing gimmick for its Halloween attraction, lawyers say a properly drafted document could in fact protect the park from potential claims if something did go awry.

Ocean Park says this is the first time it has introduced such a requirement for one of its attractions. The haunted house, dubbed H14, will open on September 14 and end after Halloween on October 31.

Veteran barrister Charles Wong Tuk-ching, who specialises in civil claims, said a disclaimer could be legally sound if it was properly drafted.

But the theme park could not provide a copy of the "disclaimer" yesterday, saying it had yet to be drafted.

Wong said it was a common practice for organisers of high-risk activities such as boxing, bungee jumps and car racing to request participants to sign a disclaimer.