San Antonio’s newest haunted house, The 13th Floor, delivers a new brand of fear this year for those seeking to add some thrill to their October. Featuring two haunted attractions in one location and spanning 40,000 square feet in an historic cold storage facility, the location alone is enough to make shivers run down your spine.
Inside awaits a masterpiece of high-action, high-thrill horror and entertainment that is sure to make its mark this year for those brave enough to attend. The scares, the monsters, the sets and the special effects all work together to create a frightful night of fun and fear. Taking a departure from traditional haunted house design and construction has made the creators famous in the Halloween attraction industry, and The 13th Floor is no different.
Peeling back the layers of this haunted house reveals in-depth, high-tech, innovative, exciting and flat-out smart design and production elements that in addition to scaring the pants off you, may surprise you with their scope and level of sophistication.
Set and Decor
Extensive theatrical set construction is first executed by constructing a series of wall panels made from two-by-fours and plywood and then adjoining them together. Black tarp and trash bags are far beyond archaic and ancient construction techniques in today’s large commercial haunted houses. The wall panels are then assembled to create something similar to a maze with one path. For most haunted houses, that is the beginning and the end of building the structure. Add some black paint, maybe some fake blood here and there, and you’re typically done if you’re an average, run-of-the-mill haunted attraction.
For The 13th Floor, however, assembling these walls is merely creating the skeleton of an incredible beast. Once the primary structure is in place, additional walls and architectural structures are added in multitude to create massive, overwhelming sets in some places and eye-catching and even jaw-dropping features in others.
When the skeleton is in place and the desired structural features have been added, a small army of specialized theatrical painters and set dressers go to work morphing the non-linear, non-traditional shell into a wonderland of decrepit and vile themes. Taking something new and pristine and turning it into something rotten and oppressive is no simple task, and it’s one of the main highlights and features of many of the other haunted houses the creators of The 13th floor have produced.
The work is not finished until ever corner of every room has been touched by the artists again, departing from what is normally considered acceptable in commercial haunted houses. For some, simply having a portion of the structure decorated and painted is enough; but at The 13th Floor, the creators insist that no matter where you look, you experience an impressive and detailed environment.
Once painted, set pieces are either added or created to fill the scenes of The 13th Floor with the most realistic and complete components possible. From base molding, trim and wall coverings to old cigarette butts left in an ashtray, no detail is left unattended when it comes to developing scenes into realistic, seemingly lived-in places of chaos and mayhem.
Lighting and Sound
With pinpoint precision, lighting and sound installation is executed methodically, as lighting and sound are two of the most critical components in executing scares and sequences that will leave patrons breathless. Utilizing colors, luminosity, direction and misdirection, the lighting and sound technicians create an audio and visual symphony of intentionally highlighted and non-highlighted places that deceive customers’ focus, setting them up for shrieks and screams.
Lighting and sound technicians use the latest technology in theatrical illumination and directional sound, including programmable, DMX-controlled lighting and sound sequences, mini LEDs, Gliderfluke audio control boards and a dizzying array of concert-grade production equipment.
Costumes and Monsters
The 13th Floor spares no expense when it comes to developing and creating its horrid cast of monsters. Masks, costumes and makeup are either purchased from movie costume production companies and special effects warehouses or created in-house by The 13th Floor’s talented team of makeup artists and special effects wizards.
Costumes are specifically designed to highlight the features of the intended roles they are used for. Some are giant, while some provide the wearer with easy flexibility and movement, but despite the wide range and their differences, all are created or implemented with a purpose.
Enter if You Dare
This Halloween season, those who dare to enter will learn about the legend of the 13th floor and experience the most intense special effects, jaw-dropping animatronics and mind-blowing illusions. The 13th Floor haunted house presents a prime setting for people to experience a new flavor of Halloween entertainment, thrills, adrenaline and fear.
For more information about The 13th Floor, please call 210-338-0382.
