![]() She talks of joining the team fresh out of college and her excitement at the opportunity to work in an industry she loves, which is a feeling shared among the staff. “We like the spooky,” she comments. ![]() Dark Hour Haunted House owner and founder, Lucy MooreĪmong that group is Laura Kilpatrick, Dark Hour’s social media person slash graphic designer slash actress, coming off the commercial set partially covered in goo after attempting to remove full witch makeup. “Even out of makeup, I still feel like I’m in makeup,” she laughs. In Dark Hour, she’s achieved the perfect balance of the believable and unbelievable, made possible by a surplus of talented people who love to make seriously scary stuff happen. A veteran of the haunt industry, Lucy brought together the talented team that runs Dark Hour after years of working in the business herself. There’s no doubt owner Lucy Moore’s investment in her passion is paying off. Philip Chalut building a trailer for one of the large set pieces / 99% of everything you see in a Dark Hour show is produced in-house For a family-friendly experience, just tell the haunt’s greeter they’ll let the actors know to tone it down a notch for the little ones. This monster-based haunt, aptly named Terra del Monstrum, is smaller and driven by a close crew of talented actors. And if witches are too much, Dark Hour offers a second old school, lo-fi haunt, which can be purchased alone or in combination with the main haunt. Which witch will come out on top remains to be seen. But there’s no clear winner to root for. “We’re a world of evil versus evil,” Amy says. “It’s not a world of good versus evil. Why witches? “Witches draw their power from magic, and anything is possible with magic,” Amy responds. “This year, there’s a new witch in town,” which is bound to shake things up among the coven. And I just have stacks of them,” he explains and elaborates that the productions’ themes are “historically accurate to the fantasy and the mythology of the time.” Dark Hour’s monthly events and seasonal Halloween haunt are all loosely based on a coven of witches and the havoc they wreak on the world around them. “In my office, there are a bunch of historical monster books of what people believe. Chris Bishop finishes off a plaster model of one of the actor’s heads Allen (“lead scary guy,” according to Amy) heads past cans of latex and paint to show off a silicone mold of his own face that he uses to produce Dark Hour’s masks. ![]() A lot of the haunt’s success depends on the caliber of the people involved. “Everybody here is pretty damn talented,” says Allen of the cast and crew, some of whom put in over forty hours a week crafting and building the sets, props and costumes involved in each production. There’s a lot of work that goes into running an operation this big. Fans can even purchase season passes and never miss a show. Dark Hour operates year-round with near-monthly events: February features a love story gone wrong, April’s theme is zombies and June’s all about werewolves. We want to give you a reason to come,” says Amy of their goal to give customers more than the chance to “just to go through a haunted house.” Devoted fans of horror, their dedication to haunt isn’t just a passing phase. Ian Aalderink operates a giant contraption that will ultimately become part of the live showĭark Hour’s big on making sure you get your money’s worth. “We want it to be a full experience as much as possible for our customers. Adjacent to the queue area, a huge stage hosts live performances from a troupe of zombie dancers and other ghoulish entertainers while guests wait. A lobby bar sells sodas and non-alcoholic drinks, and a concession stand serves hot chocolate on busy, cold weekends. The haunted house’s indoor location offers huge advantages that other haunts can’t match: clean bathrooms, a climate-controlled queue area and shelter from the elements. Terror driven by the psychology of fear, not blood and gore, is part of what differentiates Dark Hour from their competition. “That adrenaline, that release when we experience fear in a safe environment-that’s what we give our patrons,” marketing director Amy Reed explains. That kind of uneasy uncertainty is exactly what Dark Hour hopes guests will experience. It’s tough to tell if your surroundings are static, or if they might spring to life at a moment’s notice. ![]() Even with the lights on, the atmosphere feels spooky. ![]()
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