___ Jonathan Houghton/DN
TOMB OF DARKNESS EMPLOYEES Shelby Follis (left) and John Miller put on makeup before heading to their spots
inside the haunted house. Follis, a senior film and art major at UNL, does makeup for several of the Tomb of Darkness
workers.
costumes and makeup, although he does
have a vast collection of costumes to
offer each worker.
"It all depends." Egan said. "1 have
eight or nine who have their own cos
tumes. Sometimes they like to intermix
some of what 1 have, and then go shop
and see w hat they can find on their own.”
Before the hired ghouls ever have the
chance to scare one person. Egan said,
they are required to go through extensive
training classes.
The meetings include lessons on
makeup, costuming, safety and “scaring
tactics."
After working in many haunted
houses. Egan said he has a feel for “what
works and doesn't work." During the
classes, the employees all have a chance
I
to try out their scare tactics on the other
monsters in a sort of trial run.
“We just don't throw them in there,”
Egan said. “They go into character. They
are a monster.”
Keeping things safe while also keep
ing them scary is instrumental in a haunt
ed house. Besides fire safety, Egan said
the most important rule is
no touching.
"The visitors are warned four times
before they enter the house not to touch
the monsters either," he said. “We are one
of the safest haunted houses in
Nebraska.”
Tomb of Darkness is high-tech in
more respects than just its special effects.
The safety system includes a voice acti
vated fire system, handicapped access,
1 I
and a staff of employees who have been
thoroughly educated on all safety proce
dures.
“This is not your average haunted
garage,” Egan said. “We take the codes
strictly. One bad thing could cost a for
tune.”
Jack Bruns, Lincoln fire investigator,
said all haunted houses have to be prop
erly inspected and licensed before they
are ever allowed to open to the public.
He said the houses are inspected for
adequate emergency exits, emergency
lights and sprinkler systems.
"We just make sure everything is up
to snuff," Bruns said.
He said problems with haunted hous
es have been rare in the past few years.
“Once we get them right the first
KflMitti let scared
Tomb of Darkness
ay.
7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
through Halloween
Admission is $7 at the door.
The Edge of Darkness
61st Avenue and Grover, Omaha
7 p.m to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Admission is $7.
The Fright Zone
1711 California St.. Omaha
6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through
Thursday,;6:30 p.m. to 12:30 im. Friday and
Saturday:
Admission is $8, a $2 discount is available
on Sunday withacan of food or with a Baker's
Value Card from Monday through Wednesday.
Academy of Terror Haunted Barracks
11000 N. 72nd Si.. Omaha.
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday,
7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
Admission is S6.
Chambers Of Horror
812 S*FbitCfoo.\Roaa. one bloek: south of
GaiitSskerRoac in Bellevue.
Through tfaPoween. 6 p.m. to 1 am Enday
and Saturday 11 .
Admissbn is $7 for adults. $5 for people 15
and under
Jon Frank/DN
time, there is rarely a need for going back
again.”
Egan said it takes about 25 employ
ees to staff the house on a typical night,
but he employs about 40 total.
Most work on a rotating basis, but
Egan said he lets the monsters make their
own schedules.
“Some of them work every night,” he
said. “They get good incentives, like free
passes to other houses or free pizza. Plus
they make new friends ”
Haunted house monsters aren’t nec
essarily assigned to only one portion of
the haunted house, and sometimes have
the chance to get a little variety in where
they scare.
Harvey’s plan of attack consists of
blending into the wall at first, then “pop
ping out” under a black light, where his
monochrome costume begins to eerily
glow.
“People have actually stopped me in
the middle of the damn maze and said
‘Hey, that’s cool! How do you do that?’ I
tell them to move along,” he said, laugh
ing. “But the response is great. I love it.”
Afraid that
you'll miss
the big game?
(That would be the Nebraska
vs. Kansas St. game, in case
you were wondering.)
The Daily Nebraskan can
place an ad for tickets in
the Kansas State Collegian.
Just call us at 472-2588.
m
CANDY IS OVERRATED.
The house with the real tricks and treats lingerie • swimwear • dancewear • adult novelties • video
rentals and sales • personal massagers • body lotions • massage oils • gag gifts • games • toys
Priscilla s
adult novelties • where fuu&faitasr meet
2929 T Street 477-C5CC
ivicswt or vMVBWfoi.ro rrmsOrl
"Vsrfr^ ?
» #=-ggy..„^ ^
- «JS" is* _.
ROCKY HORRoh
PICTURE SHOW!
POOR -:’ POCK : F^fCK
_<?>_ T* _ T*7 __ IQ T> . rf ._MTOWfOMT _
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
JOYO THEATER
6102 HAVELOCK AVE. 466-2441
g
«
