A GOOD SCARE
Fright Nights creative mind always ready for a scare
Craig McInnis’ obsession with scary things started back in the 1980s.
McInnis, now 45, was a kid living in “quiet and dark” Connecticut. But not obsessed, as in he enjoyed it. Quite the opposite. When he would hang out with his friends, he always thought he heard something, or that something was out to get them.
He admits to being a serious scaredy-cat.
“It was always the crunching sound in the woods, the classic monster under the bed and the basement,” recalled McInnis. “My imagination was just nuts, my parents were always like ‘Oh my god.’”
But that imagination paid off. He’s now the creative director of Fright Nights at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
While pursuing his art degree from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the early 1990s, he felt a thrill for scary things.
“I was addicted to clowns when I was in art school because they were fun to draw and paint,” said McInnis. “Every time I paint one of these suckers I get looks of horror, and people going on and on about their fears.”
McInnis started being attracted to dark art, and quickly branched out to appreciating scary movies. He took control of his fears by submerging himself in scary things, recreating them and scaring people instead.
He is in charge of the creations at Fright Nights, the annual October spook-a-thon where he has been working the past 15 years.
McInnis, along with six to 12 staff members, work all year gathering new ideas, brainstorming new traps and working on the operations of the annual celebration. They use their artistic skills to make the haunted houses from the ground up — painting, assembling, lighting, costumes, decorating, budget managing, finding volunteers and training the cast.
The biggest challenge this year is trying to continue to raise the bar.
“It’s never scary enough,” said McInnis, who was rushing around recently to get everything done
before opening day. Hurricane Irma caused the production to be more than a week behind.
This year, McInnis warns visitors not to drop their guard as there are no “free scare zones” anymore.
And if you look closely enough, you’ll see McInnis himself. Every year, he dresses up as one of the creepy denizens of Fight Nights. Watch out for the clown with the little red hat.
“I would much rather be the ‘scarer’ instead of the ‘scaree’,” said McInnis.