Fiendish Friday Interviews :: Norm Glenn of The Mansion of Terror

I spent a year researching the family entertainment center (FEC) business. What I had found was that most of the owners of roller rinks, laser tag facilities, and multi-element FECs weren’t happy. Many were wanting out of the business. They all complained of the long hours and countless headaches. The most important aspect was that I found I really wasn’t passionate about FECs. About the same time that this was happening I was creating a yard haunt each Halloween that was growing like crazy. The last year that I had the yard haunt, we had well over 500 people on Halloween. I was amazed at the car loads and pickup truck loads of kids that came down the street that year. That same year during October I went to two haunted houses in my town and was really disappointed at the quality of the show.

All of this came together in November of 2002 and the light bulb turned on. My mission statement was to create a quality haunted house that was different than the others. I was content on being happy if I broke even because of the business experience I gained from the ordeal. In December 2002 the planning started for the 2003 season. The rest is history.

What’s the scariest Haunted House you ever attended?
I’ve always been partial to the Screams haunted house in Waxahachie, Texas. I don’t get scared very easily but Screams was pretty good.

Do you still find time to attend Haunted Houses?
Over the last 4 years it’s mainly been year round attractions in the off season that I go to. As a haunted house owner you have to sacrifice much of the holiday for the rest of the people in your city to enjoy your haunted house. This year I have some great managers in place so I am definitely going to some other haunted houses in Texas during October this year.

What inspires you to create?
Everything!!! Any true haunter will tell you that they pull ideas from everyday life. We see things that a normal person doesn’t while we go through our daily lives. A normal person overlooks that pond or aquarium filter pump at a yard sale. Haunters look at that and say, “Hey I can put that pond pump inside a dummy and make him puke into a barrel”. Horror movies are inspiring sometimes. I think especially for set design elements.

Do you ever get scared anymore?
Not really.

What does scare you?
Well, I have a teenager so that scares me!  The movie Hostel kinda creeped me out.

Do you believe in real Haunted Houses? Ghosts? Etc.
I’ve read stories on naturally occurring infrasound found in places supposed to be haunted. Otherwise, if haunted houses were real or ghosts were real, there would be hard evidence to show it. But you know we all have a fear of the unknown and sometimes it’s good to keep wondering if it’s real.

What is Fear?
I think fear is the natural human reaction to a potential threat we perceive to be real and imminent.

Who’s your average customer?
High school students and college students.

What are your 5 year goals?
To have a permanent location. We have several ideas for using the property outside of the Halloween season. There is so much more you can do with a permanent location. It would let us take our set design and creativity to the next level.