• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Animatronic Builder and Friends Moonlight on Haunted House

Posted on: Monday, 31 October 2005, 21:00 CST

By Jim Steinberg, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Oct. 30--It's a labor of love.

For the second year in a row, San Bernardino resident James Brown and a group of co-workers and friends have developed a haunted house.

Like last year, it's at Castle Park in Riverside.

This is a serious -- and expensive -- hobby for Brown, 30, a plastics supervisor at San Bernardino-based Garner Holt Productions Inc.

Brown provided the financial backing for the effort.

Seven co-workers from Garner Holt have helped build the project, called "Chambers of the Mausoleum."

This group is no ordinary bunch that likes weekend building projects.

At Garner Holt, they craft animatronic figures, special effects, sets, scenery and show action equipment for a living.

Their customers have included Disneyland, Disney World, DisneySeas Japan, FAO Schwarz, Chuck E. Cheese and Foster Farms.

They have made some scary stuff: realistic - and scary. In addition to the crew from Holt productions, Brown has enlisted the help of friends he knows in the motion picture industry.

Last year, Brown's haunted house was eight rooms that took up half of a tent on the parking lot of Castle Park amusement park.

But it's much bigger this year. Now 11 rooms take up the full tent.

Visitors take an "elevator" down to a basement area to begin their frightful travel through the rooms.

Because this project involved some large-scale building, Brown said he was fortunate his boss, Garner Holt, founder of Garner Holt Productions, allowed him to use tools and work space for assembly.

But that's not really surprising. Holt launched his company while still a student at Pacific High School from a contract he received to build a Halloween attraction at Central City Mall (now Carousel Mall).

Brown said Holt was helpful in helping him think through some design elements and challenges for this year's Mausoleum.

Brown ran up a credit card debt of $45,000 for last year's project, which he could expect to pay back in about three years.

But that's if he doesn't keep putting money into it. And that's not likely to happen.

"I have this sick obsession to keep building," he said. This year he spent $15,000 for the project, which started in January and lasted through September.

So far, attendance has been better than last year, but not enough to break even.

Brown and some friends have already started designing next year's changes.

"Chambers of the Mausoleum" will be open today and Monday from 7 to 11 p.m.

Admission is $8.99.

On Tuesday Brown and his friends will begin taking the Mausoleum down and put it into storage for next year.

-----

To see more of the San Bernardino County Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sbsun.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

DIS, CEC,

Source: San Bernardino County Sun

More News in this Category