Nightmares Haunted House open until Nov. 1
The only nonprofit haunted house in the area, Nightmares Haunted House, behind the Kozy Heat store just off U.S. Highway 71, started as a fall hay ride 30 years ago. While a core group of volunteers plan and create the scares every year, it takes many more bodies to man the haunted house.
In 2003, the original volunteers partnered with the Bentonville Lion’s Club to help host the Haunted House. The Lions sell tickets and concessions, and help behind the scenes as well. They distribute profits back into the community each year.
Two Lions, Kathy Scott and Ann Gray, recruit many of the volunteer actors by visiting high school drama classes. The two women who are nicknamed “Good Mama” and “Bad Mama” arrive early to supervise as the young volunteers start to get ready.
Each night that the house is open, there are up to 90 young volunteers working, Scott said. She’s “Bad Mama” because she’s the disciplinarian — if the need arises.
The volunteers work every weekend from the end of September until Nov. 1. At the end of the season, they receive a letter detailing their volunteer hours and a banquet.
About half of them will return, but few stay longer than three or four seasons, Scott said.
Matthew McAllister, a Bella Vista resident who is a senior at Bentonville High School, has been working at the Haunted House for four years. He wasn’t recruited by the Lions, but rather a family friend. He plays a statue that comes to life as victims walk by.
“I have a blast every year,” he said, “It’s awesome. It’s also good to know the charities you’re supporting.”
McAllister actually has two jobs in the Haunted House swamp area. Not only does he scare people, he’s also the team leader for his area, so he makes sure the other actors get breaks.
He especially enjoys scaring people he knows.
“I will sometimes say their name. They don’t know who I am because I wear a mask.”
The best reaction he gets is when his victim is so frightened they actually fall to the ground and curl up in a corner.
Jacob Williams, also a senior at Bentonville High School, prefers to work behind the scenes. This year, he’s running the control room inside the Haunted House. There are 48 cameras throughout the space, so Williams can watch for any potential problems and keep both the volunteers and the visitors safe. But he also has some scares of his own, like an electronic ghost he sends out.
“It’s so much fun — especially seeing the ones who collapse,” he said. But he can’t laugh out loud because the walls of the control room are thin.
“I hear screams, profanity, whatever someone is thinking,” he said. “They’re terrified.”
Madison Davis graduated from Rogers Heritage High School last year and is attending NWACC. This is her third year at the Haunted House and she’s playing her third character. Although aspects of the Haunted House change each year, the vortex — where she works — has become a staple.
“The vortex is a spinning tunnel of air,” she explained, “It’s really an optical illusion. You wear 3D glasses and there’s a doorway and the hallway seems to be spinning. So you feel like you’re spinning. I run up on people in the middle. I’m all up in their face, all of a sudden.”
She once made a group of grown men scream, she said.
Several of the characters, including Davis, wear 3D make up which is carefully applied by graphic artist Danny Smith using an air gun.
Under the black lights, wearing 3D glasses, the effect is very surprising and frightening.
It’s not unusual for the visitors to lash out when they are frightened, the actors agreed. They are all warned of the possibility in advance and there are adult actors in key positions around the house who can intervene. Each of the actors is given a code word they can shout if they feel like they need help.
There are always off duty law enforcement on the premises for security, Scott said.
But most of the time, security isn’t needed because both victims and actors are having a good time.