Chills and Thrills for Halloween

If you want to scare frightmeister Jason Egan, tell him his haunted house is as scary as last year's.

Egan, the polite, unassuming Nebraskan who created one of the nation's most popular haunted attractions at Circus Circus, doesn't want to match his previous year's level of scariness.

He wants to surpass it.

"We never get the comment that something was the same as last year," says Egan, whose Fright Dome, a Halloween tradition, opened last week.

You might think after eight years of challenging himself to come up with new material, Egan would be creatively tapped out. But, if ticket sales and attendance are an indication, he's a font of fear. Partnerships with movie studios, which enable him to use themes, characters and settings from horror movies such as "Saw" and "My Bloody Valentine," add a pop culture relevance to the attraction. Egan also makes it a point to surround himself with a team of about 100 who can think creepy thoughts, just like the boss.

"It's a big puzzle and everybody is an important piece of the puzzle," Egan says. "By all means, it is a challenge to come up with new material each year. That's why we've created these partnerships."

Egan was particularly excited about a new element to Fright Dome, a "scare zone" based on the Konami game "Zombie Apocalypse." Scare zones are areas outside of the actual haunted house. Guests can encounter them throughout the Adventuredome.

"You're going to walk through a section of the theme park where a zombie war is going on," Egan explains. "I'm worried we're going to have to tone it down some."

Visitors also can expect zombies to drop from the ceiling anywhere, anytime. Egan expects the zombies to replace Corner of Carnage as the most intense scare zone. Still, the 6-foot-8-inch twins with chain saws will be buzzing around the corner.

The observer sees only the finished product: a horrorfest of costumed monsters hiding in dark and scary places. And it lasts for only a month of weekends. But Egan's Halloween lasts all year.

Installation and construction on Fright Dome started Aug. 1, followed by interviews and auditions for 300 monsters, zombies, victims and tour guides.

When Egan began operating haunted houses in 1998, the planning phase didn't begin until June. After Fright Dome ends Oct. 31, Egan and his team will be back to work in November, brainstorming new ideas.

Their biggest challenge?

"Not enough time in the day," Egan says. "Even starting it in November is not enough time anymore."

To help the process along, Egan hires outside companies to build props or create special effects that his team has conceptualized. Everything is built specifically for Fright Dome. Though he could buy ready-made effects at haunted house trade shows, Egan refuses. That's what makes Fright Dome the singular experience people have come to expect.

"You can go to trade shows and see the popular things, but every haunted house will have it," Egan says. "I don't want to be that haunted house."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@review journal.com or 702-380-4564.