Manufacturing Fun At The Haunt Factory

By Hal Raygun

"I wasn't always this way.” explains Oliver Holler, “When I was five, I distinctly remember making Dad remove a poster featuring Sesame Street's 'The Count', from my bedroom wall. It was too scary, that big monacled muppet-eye staring at me in the dark, but that soon changed. “Ahh, ahh, ahhhh.” Brothers Oliver and Chris Holler, (yes, 'Holler') began living up to their last names as young boys, by scaring their younger sister Nancy at every opportunity, and by turning their home into a Haunted House for Halloween. Tolerant, but always encouraging parents, Cato and Susan Holler may have thought it more of a phase than a life long passion, but time has proven differently. Today the brothers are 34 and 32 respectively, and although the location and show have changed, the elements of heart, family and friendship remain at the core of their success, (and sister Nancy is still their favorite 'victim'!)

 

“If I had to choose one defining moment that may have influenced my fate as a 'Halloween type person', I'd say it happened in First Grade.” reminisces Oliver, “That Fall, my teacher Miss Nicholes had a Halloween party and everyone in my whole class came to school dressed in their costumes. That is to say, everyone but me, (I don't know why; maybe I was absent the day before, or perhaps I lost the take home note). Princesses and ghosts were running around laughing. Kitty cats and super heroes were playing.” This was Oliver’s first real awareness of the fantastic concept of Halloween, and he felt sadly separated from it. According to Oliver, “That hasn't happened since!”

At the tender age of nine, Oliver’s mother planned a birthday shopping trip to the Morris Costumes retail store in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Never before had I seen so many wonderful things all in one place.” Explains Oliver, “I now liken this first visit to a twisted, Tim Burton version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, a wondrous place filled with creepy-nifty things!” Shortly after they had arrived, a gentleman with a bubbling personality, wearing a bright red sports jacket, took Oliver aside to show him around the store. “We looked at the magic section and the make-up counter, and then he demonstrated for me a simple, inexpensive effect that I could do for myself,” remembers Oliver. With the assistance of a small drop of “secret liquid,” he proceeded to put a needle through the skin of Oliver’s little wrist. “He took great care and time in teaching me how I could do this safely, and to complete the simulated injury, he added a few drops of Zauder's stage blood, for added effect!” This newfound knowledge thrilled Oliver to no end, and as he ran over to show Mom, one can only imagine her realizing the serious error in judgment that she had made by introducing Oliver to Philip Morris. “This visit to Morris Costumes, soon became a regular event,” states Oliver, “and I would never be quite the same again.”

 

As children, the Holler siblings were as always doing goofy spooky things for fun. “My younger brother and sister and I once took a battery operated coin bank, (you know, the one with the skeleton hand that reaches out of the box and grabs the penny,) and huddled together in a closet.” Describes Oliver, “We taped the button down to make the hand operate continuously, and with a flashlight we projected an eerie clawing shadow on the wall, creating our first automated haunted house effect!” One Halloween the Hollers ran a speaker from the car CB radio to the bushes. “We would hunker down in the front seat of the blue Volkswagen Beetle and wait in the cold for trick or treaters to come to our house just so we could scream 'Boo' into the microphone.” Recalls Oliver adding, “Of course we'd always save time for some intense treat gathering ourselves!” Another prank pulled on dear Mom, was Oliver running down the stairs to the kitchen screaming, 'It popped! It popped!' covering one eye with his hand. Fake blood streamed through his fingers and down his face. “Seemed like an ingenious scare-prank to me, -prior to the spanking, of course,” jokes Oliver.

The Hollers started public Haunting in 1983 with a fundraiser for a local community theatre in Marion, North Carolina.  With Oliver at the helm, the MACA's Haunted Castle was a big success, so the event was repeated in 1984 with an Egyptian theme and called A Halloween Experience. Upon graduation from High School, Oliver explored different cities and jobs, and attended the University of North Carolina, later transferring to the University of Hawaii.  He returned to Marion in the summer of 1991 to work on the film Last of the Mohicans and fortunately, shooting wrapped just in time for the October season. "Using some of the money I had earned from the film, as well as some discarded props, we financed our own haunted house called The Scare Chamber," recounts Oliver.  "I had originally wanted to call it Horror –Big Time, but fortunately, little brother overruled that decision!"  In 1993, Oliver and Chris, along with their family, and both of their girlfriends, Terry Droho and Brenda Brown (now Terry and Brenda Holler) temporarily took over a gothic-style building in the middle of Hendersonville, North Carolina. At one time the building had been a church, and to steer clear of any religious implications, it was decided that the theme of the attraction was to be a dark and dilapidated manufacturing plant, filled with ghosts and ghouls. "We were given use of the former church in exchange for cleaning it out,” recalls Oliver, “which seemed like a pretty good deal -until we saw the interior!" The building had been used as storage for years, and was jam-packed full of junk, old restaurant equipment, and boxes of papers. With this junk and equipment at their disposal, the theme of a factory began to really take shape. Adding to the challenge, the small team found themselves shoveling hundreds of pounds of dried pigeon dung out of the choir loft in order to use the balcony as an overhead vantage point to control special effects. "It was a ridiculous amount of work just to get the building ready, much less the haunt,” grin Chris and Oliver, “but we were blind with enthusiasm!" During the construction/clean up process, staple characters that inhabit the factory were created, including 'Raoul, the Insecurity Guard', and 'Elsie' the ever-popular ghost watch dog. While the maze structure, and construction techniques were primitive, the Hollers were already experimenting with air driven props on motion sensors to animate scares. One final touch was for guides wearing hardhats to give the tours of the attraction and The Haunt Factory was born.

 

The following years produced a rush of improvements in the wall construction and in the brothers’ animation skills. The theme was articulated and solidified, as was a Haunt Factory Crew.  In the summer of 1994, one particular encounter proved key to fuller development of the attraction. Terry and Oliver had moved to Little River, South Carolina, a town just north of Myrtle Beach. Chris and Brenda were visiting and the foursome decided to hit the tourist strip. "We toured Mayhem Manor,” recalls Oliver, “and just had a blast.” A summer seasonal Haunted Attraction, Mayhem Manor is themed around a single character, performed by one actor. At the end of the attraction, the Hollers stopped and were discussing what they had just seen, when the mad doctor himself, appeared and introduced himself as Leonard Pickel, the proprietor. On that day an awareness of a previously unknown haunted industry was brought to the Holler brothers attention. “Several techniques were shared, which helped [us] solve some maze layout problems we were having.” Explains Oliver, “Leonard was also doing some work at an architectural firm at the time and his knowledge of building codes and safety made a big impression on me. We were able to apply some of his principals to what we were trying to achieve with our own theme."

Out of necessity, a trailer was purchased in October of 1994 to store the growing inventory of the Factory’s walls and props. This symbolized a commitment to continue operating The Haunt Factory for years to come. One early choice that the brothers made had to do with wheelchair accessibility. "Our grandmother, Mae Holler moved around in a wheelchair so it just seemed natural to make sure 'Amaw' could continue to visit the Factory after her stroke," recalls Oliver, "Her final year with us, we constructed our own spinning tunnel and although we had never seen one with a wide bridge and ramp, we designed it and built it." Today, the Factory’s devoted following of individuals in wheelchairs makes it out of the question to have it any other way.

Crew

The Haunt Factory gears would grind to a halt without it's “dead-icated” Skeleton Crew. The fellowship and camaraderie are readily visible when they venture out to other attractions, or when a “guest-ghost” (fellow
haunter) stops by to help out for an evening. The shows that occur backstage are sometimes more manic than what happens in view of the audience!  "The opportunity to scare people is what initially attracted me to this industry.” recalls Chris, “I now gain equal satisfaction, however, working with the quality people on the Skeleton Crew.” The Haunt Factory’s Skeleton Crew is in fact an exceptional bunch of individuals whose dedication to the event is unparalleled. Factory photo albums tell stories of cookouts, bus excursions, and general images of the crew celebrating one another’s friendship. Almost every night of the show, someone will bring a tray of snacks to share backstage. Often, homemade gifts are brought for fellow crewmembers, like spooky hand decorated candles or Halloween mugs filled with rubber bats and treats. This past year, a second season volunteer applied his skills at a sign shop to make everyone custom Haunt Factory vanity plates for their automobiles, and one of the newest ghoul-gals who is a talented hair stylist gave everyone certificates for free studio cuts!

 

The Skeleton Crew is united in what they are trying to accomplish. They enjoy visiting other haunts and have been both hosts and guests to some of the finest haunters around. The diversity and styles of individual attractions in the industry is recognized, and little judgment is passed when it comes to other haunted attractions. "Everyone has resources available to them, and they're never all the same", says Oliver. "We do our best to take what we have, as far as we're able.” The philosophy is that after every season the patrons have witnessed the most incredible 'The Haunt Factory' in the world.

This outstanding gathering of generous and enthusiastic people makes The Haunt Factory a success long before the doors are even open. The brothers agree, "It is important that the event be as much a fulfilling experience for the crew as it is for the patrons." Entering its ninth season, the Factory has been fortunate to attract a tremendous amount of talent over the years. Duke Mays, who works for a large automatic door company, was among the first (non-relatives!) to join the crew, and has been haunting ever since. His extensive knowledge of electronics, motion sensors, door control systems and actuators has brought the 'state of the art' to the deceivingly archaic settings of The Haunt Factory. "Having been a member almost since the inception, I've just about seen it all" says Duke. "I have to say one of the most fun things is actually when the event closes each night and we have 'lobby', where the crew assembles in the Factory lobby to discuss the nights' events.” During this wind down time, stories of shrieking patrons and tales of how many 'take-downs' (patrons being so startled they actually go to the ground) each of the crew had are compared. “It is truly amazing,” ponders Duke, “to see such a diverse group of people from all walks of life, education level and socioeconomic backgrounds come together in the interest of having a good time and putting on a good show."

Every crewmember leaves their own unique mark on the attraction, be it skillful artwork, or clever improvised moments that become favorite memories told year after year. But just what exactly is the secret ingredient that bonds this group so tightly? "In my opinion,” reveals Chris, “it is what we stand to gain from the entire experience that keeps us coming together year after year. For one thing, the entire event is quite an education in itself. It's an endless learning experience from the planning and designing stages to the actual construction and operation.” Along the way, crewmembers learn about everything from tool use and safety to illusions and special effects. The Skeleton Crew loves a good challenge, and when an idea for a new prop arises and the fabrication begins, it soon becomes an interesting puzzle for them to solve. Pieces that fit are added and pieces that do not are reworked. “As the project comes to fruition, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment.” Continues Chris, “There is great satisfaction knowing your creation works properly, especially when judged by the audience's reaction.” In all honesty, the greatest benefits of The Haunt Factory are friendships that are formed. “No doubt these relationships are based on trust, respect, and a whole lot of ribbing!" smiles Chris.

 

Fashion Make-Over!

 

In 1994, The Haunt Factory was located in a former Revco Drugs space along a strip shopping mall. Next door, a young couple was just beginning their renovations to turn a FASHION BUG clothing store into a pet shop. Friendly exchanges occurred in the parking lot as both tenants busily worked back and forth toward their individual goals, occasionally stopping to give the other a hand when needed. One day, it was mentioned that the large neon channel lettering over the soon-to-be pet shop would need to come down. Quickly rearranging the letters in his head, Oliver volunteered to climb the roof and help remove the sign for the couple. In a short time, by reworking the 'F' into a 'T', and building a metal light box from old store shelves and fluorescent fixtures, the skeleton crew soon had a surprisingly large, professional-looking sign that lit up the night sky with the words: The Haunt Factory!

"We're not the biggest, not the most expensive, nor highest attended attraction.” Oliver humbly boasts, “We're just a small-time, hand-made, must-see haunt!" Favorite gags are the one's that no other haunt has -and, according to the crew, no one else in their right mind would ever want! The Haunt Factory time clock is one such example. It is custom built, has a neat scare feature, is functional and immediately immerses the patron into the unique theme. Oliver describes, "It's the perfect way to focus and involve them with the action of 'clocking into the graveyard shift' and prepare them for what to expect (and what is expected of them). Plus, it can give a great scare right from the start!"

"I think I'd cry to see a time clock mounted on the tent flaps of a haunted circus, or nailed to a tree in a haunted swamp just because someone read about it here and thought it was a neat idea," says Oliver. Admittedly a favorite soapbox issue, he continues: "Sharing is half the fun in this industry, but you should adapt borrowed ideas to make them unique. If not out of respect or professional courtesy for the individual who shared them, at least to make the idea appropriate for your own type of theme and show." Holler finishes, "If you strive to be unique, you can be the 'best' of whatever you are."
Currently, the crew is preparing for The Haunt Factory's 5th Annual Beach Haunt Summit, a mid-year tradition in which they gather for a weekend at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to play, reminisce and plan for the coming season. In Asheville, the search for a permanent location to house The Haunt Factory continues. "With five different storage locations in three different cities, plus a trailer, it will be nice to finally have all the creatures under one roof in a place we can call home," says Oliver. Just imagining what the Skeleton Crew will do with their very own facility should send chills up even the most seasoned of spines!

Hal Raygun, of Marion, NC, appeared in M.A.C.A.'s (McDowell Arts and Crafts Association) Haunted Castle, the very first haunted house organized by the Hollers in 1983.  Hal has haunted them ever since.

The Haunt Factory Tour
Fast Facts:
Dates/Hours: Most of October, closed Mondays. Average 6-10pm.
Location: Asheville, N.C. (Different temporary location each year.)
Ticket Price: $7
Size: Varies from 4,000-7,500 square feet.
Maze: Mostly triangular grid.
Style: Low gore, industrial strength startles using both gadgets and 'ghosts'.
Theme: Abandoned haunted factory.
URL: www.thehauntfactory.com
Affiliation: Charter member-International Association of Haunted Attractions.
Miscellaneous: Self guided groups of 8 or less pulsed through intermittently, wheelchair accessible, almost entirely hand built props, sets and effects.


"I visited The Haunt Factory in 1997 and was blown away. This is a show without blood, gore, scary masks, chain saws, Freddy, Jason, or any of the usual classic monsters. What they do is create a true haunted attraction. The Haunt Factory is just that, a haunted factory. The sets are incredible, steeped in realism, and reflect an abandoned factory, filled with ghosts and skeletons." Tim Harkleroad, author of The Complete Haunted House Book describes his encounter at the factory.

The Haunt Factory is a self-guided adventure through creatively eerie passages of an old, abandoned industrial plant. From the very beginning, patrons are aware that this is 'a different kind of haunted house.' You are given a time card rather than a ticket to begin an adventure on the graveyard shift. Factory ghosts (collectively known as the Skeleton Crew) monitor and startle patrons every step of the way. A blend of theatrical flair, magical illusions, misdirection, and technical know-how produce a variety of effects that keep the patron guessing.

At the end, guests are wished a 'Happy Halloween' and given a treat for enduring the tricks. This simple tradition is a vital part of the crew’s philosophy in keeping with the Halloween spirit, to surprise and entertain, rather than upset. One of the things that keep the event special is that, like theatre, it can only be fully experienced live and in person. The audience takes with them something exclusive that no one else can have. Public videotaping is prohibited, there is no footage commercially available of The Haunt Factory and viewings of private recordings are a rarity.

The following description is only a highlight from select 'moments' patrons experience first hand. You first enter the factory's dimly lit dispatch area, where an attendant in a hard hat sits behind a caged counter issuing patrons their time cards. A conveyor belt curves out into the room disappearing through shipping and receiving flaps at each end. Various apparatuses invite you to interact, whether it is the simple motion of pressing a suspicious looking industrial switch to discover the results, or pulling levers on mysterious machines to receive unknown surprises. You may catch a glimpse of a haunted 'hand' truck, pushed only by a severed hand moving crates around. The shift supervisor organizes you and your fellow teammates together and asks each one to insert your time card into the coffin shaped punch clock. The key factors to working a successful graveyard shift at The Haunt Factory are explained: 'Your crew must stay close and work together as a team, always make progress by exploring forward (this is the point of no return), and finally avoid any physical contact with factory ghosts, as it distracts them from their work inside.'

At this point, you will experience one of several ways to continue deeper into the factory. You choose Wrenchbone's Fright Elevator! Stepping into a warehouse corridor used for moving freight inside the factory, you hear music faintly echoing from an old radio inside a cobwebbed elevator maintenance area. Although the stairs are recommended, a heavy steel cart bearing large wooden crates has smashed into the stairwell door, rendering the twisted mass of metal permanently impassable. The corroded door to the freight lift is dead ahead and you hear grinding, sparking, straining motor sounds coming from inside the shaft. A rusted sign above the door reads “Fr_ight Elevator,” as the 'e' has long since fallen off. Through a grease-stained window in the door you see an eerie green light descend with the arrival of the elevator car. A sickly bell 'dink' is heard and the door opens with a wheeze. Above, a single dish lamp illuminates the elevator interior, and it flickers with uncertainty. Inside, the floor-level display mounted to the wall has sparking sounds coming from it. The interior is completely metallic, rusty and painted in a faded stain-covered industrial green. The walls are made from scrap sheet metal riveted in a pieced together, patchwork fashion. The ceiling and sides are an open-air cage screen. The brickwork of the shaft can be seen through the sides. The floor is a grating that allows a view of the bottomless darkness below. Once the door seals you into this mechanical tomb, the elevator starts to rise with vibration and a bump, and the lighted number display counts up slowly. Bricks pass by slowly as you climb. At floor 13, the lights go out as the motor bogs down under strain, the cables fouled. After a few dark seconds of suspicious creaking, the cables snap with an explosive flash! The elevator 'plummets' with the ever-growing vibrations rattling the flimsy shell, sparks fly through the cage windows, air rushes from below. A deafening rumble, along with screaming brakes and cables slapping and ripping past the sides of the walls are the last sounds you hear before. . . 'dink'. You have arrived.

Your crew steps out into a dark hallway with a wall mounted exhaust fan slowly turning, leaving a pool of blue light and shadows on the floor to guide you. As you round the next corner, you discover Raoul, the (in)security guard all but wasted away, sitting quietly as a tiny snack attempts to escape the confines of a dusty antique metal lunch box. Suddenly, the guard summons the strength to spring from his chair, shining his flashlight at you and sending you running with a blast of his whistle. Barrels entrapping other loud spirits call to you as you enter a washroom just outside the showers. A sink beneath a row of mirrors bubbles with glowing green goo thanks to ancient plumbing, and as you gaze into one mirror, your own reflection distorts into the image of a long-passed factory worker. Another ghoul seems to reach through the glass of a different mirror in an attempt to pull you deeper into the factory. After exploring the twists and perils of the showers, you come to a locker room, with a dark uniform storage closet looming on the other side. Unfortunately, you must continue through the suspicious rows of uniforms to access the rest of the factory. As you step around benches and wire baskets, boots and other items, some hung on pegs above the metal lockers, the room charges to life. Hardhats rise up to reveal screaming faces in the walls and locker doors slam open and shut to send you leaping into the waiting darkness.

The dusty warehouse stores many surprises within the endless stacks of wooden shipping crates; some stenciled “Handle with Scare.” The incinerator and trash collection area reveal an equal number of spirits as you navigate around lively trashcans and rats. Pipelines and huge turn valves along the way lead you past ruptured vats and barrels. The smell of electricity tells you that the factory's power plant is close. A jungle of wires draws you past a throw switch with a skeletal hand still grasping (and twitching). Electricity arcs from a transformer and the supervisor of this sub station, Mr. Killerwatt, leaps at you with a high voltage charge, the power obviously having gone to his head. Eventually, the old dog kennels come into view. Years ago, the factory was guarded by highly trained dogs who patrolled the grounds at night and were kept in the kennels during work hours. One would surmise that the ghosts of these dogs might still be around to haunt the factory, as do their human counterparts. You must enter and pass through the kennels to reach the exit, and if awakened, Elsie may think you are an intruder and chase you out the door!

At the very end of the attraction, you are wished a “Happy Halloween,” as you and your shift mates decide to run back to the dispatcher to work some “overtime” at The Haunt Factory!