Heartstoppers Haunted House producer Joel Watson talks horror

Heartstoppers Haunted House producer, Joel Watson talks to us about creating a premiere horror destination. People of Rancho Cordova, California prepare to have the living daylights scared out of you!

Boo!

The Mineshaft Property

Heartstoppers Haunted House producer Joel Watson is the genius behind the innovative and terrifying attraction located in Rancho Cordova, California. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this Halloween event, it used to be known as DireWorld in Roseville.

Now in partnership with a 501c3 nonprofit called Theatre Education 4 Theater Nerds, Inc and the Cordova Community Council, the group has found a long-term venue on the Mineshaft property. Which oddly enough is reported to be haunted!

As a result, the Heartstoppers Haunted House will receive community and marketing backing from the council and shared profits will then go to support various community programs in Rancho Cordova run by the two organizations. This is a win-win situation for everyone.

The theme of the horror attraction is the Old West. Unlike your typical haunted abodes, HHH boasts 4 “worlds” so to speak.

• Deadlands – Old West meets The Walking Dead – outdoors under the moonlight
• The Steamghast Asylum – Steampunk Asylum – upstairs
•  Underland 3D – The darkest side of Alice’s Wonderland – golf course
•  MURK – NEW mystery haunt! To be announced closer to grand opening – Basement

Tickets start at $25.00. For $40.00 you can purchase a Fancy Pants pass at which point you will be submitted to the Fast-Q. A season pass is $80.00 which means unlimited visits!

For those of you that want something unusual, then Committed: The Ride tickets are what you should go for. Your $60.00 buys you a private tour in an antique wheelchair with a character guide plus guaranteed “extra” interaction within the attractions.

The creative mind behind these haunted worlds, Joel Watson is a man of vision whose “long-term plan is to not only run the Heartstoppers Haunted House in October but expand to open seasonally for workshops and eventually some other holidays for specialty themed haunts.”

Community Bonding

Watson also went on to talk about what a huge part the community plays in helping the production.

“Our volunteers are the heart of our organization. We are grateful for their hard work and dedication to learn an artistic craft while help us bring our vision to life for a premier haunted house experience that benefits the community.”

Being in partnership with the Council also has advantages because they recruit volunteers, they run the parking as well as securing the venue.

According to the official press release for those of you wanting more information:

Heartstoppers Haunted House will host its Grand Opening Thursday, Sept. 29 and will operate for the public Fridays and Saturdays each weekend in October, 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. Two Sundays, Oct. 21 and 28, 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. And additional dates on Oct. 30, until 10:30 p.m. and 31, until 11:30 p.m. Halloween week will include Tues. and Wed. night. Ticket booth opens at 7:00 p.m. View the full schedule here.

The Interview

We were fortunate enough to sit down and chat with Joel who has a very busy schedule. Here are some keen observations and insights from a veteran of a successful horror event. He may even provide some budding haunted house producers with inspiration.

Tales from the Horror Filled West

Heartstoppers Haunted House – Deadlands – Courtesy of Heartstoppers Haunted House Productions

1428 Elm: Thanks for speaking with us today. This park is like the Westworld of Horror. Who created it? Do they have ties to Hollywood?

Joel Watson: The original idea came from my love of the Western genre as a kid, then as I grew so did my love of zombies and horror. In high school, I was a big fan of the Vertigo comics, specifically the funky take they did on the old Jonah Hex series.

They combined horror into the Hex world and that stuck with me for years. So somewhere in there I figured it would be a fairly original idea for me to take our haunted house’s story line to. And from there it has grown.

1428 Elm: There are 3 very distinct realms. Deadlands, Steamghast Asylum and Underland. Do the concepts change every year?

JW: We update the story line a bit every few years, and we change the scares every year. For example, this year we have evolved Cyrus’s storyline (Cyrus Lynch is the main character in Deadlands).  For years he has been trying to deal with these zombies he accidentally caused to come back.

Now he has realized he can’t really stop them, so no he is just trapping them and locking them up in the old catacombs under the town. Out of sight, out of mind, type of thing. That plan doesn’t work very well!

And there are four separate haunts, and they all tie together. But the Deadlands and Murk storyline kind of tell one story, and the Steamghàst Asylum and Underland 3D tell another.

Building Worlds

Heartstoppers Haunted House – Saloon – Courtesy of Heartstoppers Haunted House Productions

1428 Elm: How long does it take to create each of these different worlds?

JW: We take December off to sleep! Then we are back at it with meetings, conventions, field trips throughout the year to plan for the next year. Actual build takes place all year long now, but the big push is August, September and October.

1428 Elm: How much planning is involved for the attraction every year? Is it like the Thanksgiving parade where it is a year around job?

JW: Our volunteer actors are the backbone of this show. As I say to them every year, without them we are just a poorly lit building!  Many of them have been with us for almost 10 years now, it’s been an unexpected benefit to running this thing.

The family we have created over the years is awesome. Most of them are students, parents, retail employees, and a few professional actors mixed in. But each year they come back to let off some steam and scare the crap out of our customers! It’s the best feeling, very addictive.

Creative Advice

Heartstoppers Haunted House – Ghoul – Courtesy of Hearstoppers Haunted House Productions

1428 Elm: Do you have advice for anyone that wants to create an authentic and unusual horror themed attraction? What do they have to know? How can they get started?

JW: As they say, write what you know. If your experience is working at a shoe store or spending hours at a library or washing cars all day, use that insight and mix it with some horror aspect you also love. See what happens, worst case is you write something fun for yourself, and even just that, you never know where that will lead you.

Then find a haunt to volunteer for, see how it all works, there is a ton more than you think there is. And when you do start, start slow. Don’t take out loans, don’t mortgage the house, just build what you can do and build an audience.  If you put on a good show, if people are entertained and they think it was a good value, they will find you, trust me!

If you would like more information on HHH you can visit their website by clicking on this link.

Have you been to HHH? If not, would you like to go? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.