Haunted houses have long been an October fixture on many Halloween buffs’ calendars. However, as many facets vital to a successful haunted house have become more dead-on (pun intended) – makeup, lighting, even goo and gore that better replicate human blood and entrails – spooky or downright frightening haunted houses have mushroomed, and such attractions have become big business.
One of the nation’s most famous haunted houses resides in Pontiac, MI, where proprietor Edward Terebus has created Erebus – a clever play on his name – with his brother, Jim. According to Greek mythology, Erebus was a malevolent deity born from Chaos who represents darkness. Erebus was also a name Greeks gave to an underworld area through which the recently departed past.
At the haunted house’s entry – the building spans four stories and was formerly the world’s walk-through largest haunted attraction – stands a sign with a very menacing depiction of Erebus in all his fanged, musclebound glory.
Erebus’ in-house staff fabricated the signs from fiberglass, which forms the head and body, epoxy-resin to forms the horns and teeth, and the brick-wall backdrop from polyurea-coated, expanded-polystyrene board. A plywood backer bolsters the panel, and a steel frame secures it.
Have you built signs for a haunted attraction, or have you taken pictures of cool haunted-house signage that you’d like to share? Please send images and fabrication information to Senior Associate Editor Steve Aust at steve.aust@stmediagroup.com.