AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of the reported event.
- calendar_today October 29, 2026
The Creative Foundations of Haunted Houses
Building an unforgettable haunted house is more than just a matter of cobwebs and fake blood. Inspired by Ray Bradbury’s tales of Martian haunted castles, today’s scaremasters in Las Vegas orchestrate a symphony of sights, sounds, and storytelling. The mood is set before guests even cross the threshold, with each actor, makeup application, and prop working in concert to deliver a true horror experience.
The Balance of Artistry and Psychology
Jason Egan, a seasoned producer of interactive entertainment and the mind behind Circus Circus’ iconic Fright Dome, knows that effective haunted house design hinges on understanding the audience. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egan reimagined safety measures as part of the theme, creating a research lab haunt where masks and social distancing made perfect narrative sense. "It worked out really well," Egan says, recalling how guests, acting as scientists, rode through a 75,000-square-foot lab on golf carts — turning restrictions into story-driven features.
From Iconic Scenes to Immersive Escapes
Egan’s approach carries over to his other projects, such as escape rooms and branded horror experiences. When designing the "Escape It" attraction, based on the It film franchise, he likened the selection of key scenes to building a concert setlist of greatest hits. Rather than squeezing two films into one chaotic space, Egan allowed tension to build across two distinct experiences. Authenticity to the source was paramount — even costly features like the infamous spider Pennywise were faithfully recreated for fans. "We want to make sure that you get all the hits, faithfully represented," Egan explains.
Makeup and Performance: Bringing Fears to Life
Tom Devlin, owner of Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum and producer of Boulder City’s Blackwell Manor, brings a creature creator’s touch to haunted house makeup and performances. With credits on over 170 horror films, Devlin’s focus remains on theatrical, actor-based scares. "It’s not just jump scares for no reason. The jump scares propel the story of Blackwell Manor and the curse that it holds," he says. By optimizing limited budgets and relying on scare actors and detailed makeup, Devlin ensures that guests feel "almost unsafe" in a controlled environment, walking through what feels like a living horror movie.
Universal Horror Unleashed: Training Scare Actors for Safety and Story
Universal Horror Unleashed, located in a vast Area15 warehouse, offers a year-round slate of four simultaneous immersion haunts. Del Wynegar, assistant director of entertainment, emphasizes comprehensive training for scare actors through "scare school." New performers are instructed to stay at least an arm’s length away from guests to allow safe reactions. With themed houses ranging from Universal’s classic monsters to body horror-inspired experiences, the attraction seeks to engage multiple generations of horror fans. "We’ve got these different generational groups coming together to share this love of horror," Wynegar notes.
The Enduring Appeal of Haunted Houses
Whether it’s Universal’s sprawling attraction, Egan’s fright dome legacy, or Devlin’s atmospheric Blackwell Manor, Las Vegas is home to some of the world’s most creative and immersive halloween attractions. At their heart, these experiencers harness a universal, primal thrill — the safe navigation of fear. In the words of Wynegar: "Even scaredy-cats will still go down a dark road, because they don’t know what’s going to happen."
Source: lasvegasweekly.com.
