THEMED builds
Following my interest in themed entertainment, I have nearly a decade of experience designing and constructing immersive environments. In 2018 I started Haunt for HEP, combining handmade set pieces and animatronics with scare-actors to create a one-of-a-kind experience for my local community. The event raised over $30,000 for the Homeless Empowerment Program over its five year run.
At the University of Florida I founded Swamp Haunters, a haunted house design team within the Gator Theme Park and Engineering Design Club. Students gained hands-on experience designing, building, and operating a full scale on-campus haunted house for students to enjoy. The design team has established a recurring cycle with a new haunted house built each year.
Here are some of the select builds from Haunt for HEP and Swamp Haunters.
Crimson Carnival
The Crimson Carnival was the first full-scale on-campus haunted house at the University of Florida. The haunted house took nearly 2 years of design, planning, and construction by students. Opening to guests both in April and October 2023, the event operated for a total of 8 nights.
The haunted house invited guests to traverse a series of 7 rooms, each meticulously designed to reveal a story and elicit specific feelings. The addition of scare-actors, animatronics, lighting, sounds, and smells all helped to craft a truly unique experience for the university community. A haunted house is inherently a series of spaces, each utilizing the fundamentals of spatial design to reveal a narrative
church
Inspired by abandoned American churches, this 23' tall facade housed our zombie bride scare actor who burst through the front door at guests. Designed with storage in mind, the church comes apart into 20 pieces that are bolted together. It is made from a combination of wood and foam with the entire top of half of the steeple made from foam for easier maneuverability. I used aging techniques to make the paint peel off the facade and give an overall decrepit look.
Cemetery columns
One must enter through these rather imposing columns to reach the rest of the haunt. The columns are 11' tall when fully constructed but are designed to come apart. A wooden structure is used for support while I carved foam for the stone blocks and other details. I then hard-coated everything for durability and texture. The gates and fence use PVC and foam paper finials.
Mausoleum
The mausoleum is yet another place for scare actors to hide and jump out at guests. Inspired by Gothic architecture, the structure reaches 12' but comes apart into 14 pieces when disassembled. I built a wooden structure and then used foam to create the majority of the detailing. I even used vinyl siding for the roof. For added effect, fog billows out of the turrets on either side.
crypt
The crypt facade is placed at the entry to our house and completely masks the front door. This is because our demon animatronic sits inside the foyer waiting to lurch out at guests trying to get candy. Also a modular setup, the crypt seamlessly comes together to form a facade of bricked-up coffins and an arched entryway with large PVC columns on either side. Each brick was individually cut out of foam and everything was hard-coated.