Susan Stringer, Chris Fugate, Jake
Stringer and Jeff Stringer are getting their House of Horrors ready in Red Bank. Click to enlarge.
photo by Suzanne Walker
Though Halloween still seems nearly a season away, Susan and Jeff Stringer, have been working on their House of Horrors since May.
The Stringers have been involved in “haunts” for many years, but last year was the first time they created a house of horrors in a house they formerly lived in. Susan said last year they only had three weeks to throw together a haunted house, but this year they have spent months of preparation.
Jeff said he doesn’t know of any other haunts in Chattanooga that are actual houses. “It’s scary because it’s familiar,” he said, but unlike normal houses it’s full of terrifying surprises. Chris Fugate, who is Susan’s brother said, “The rooms are small, so there is no place to run.”
The Stringers feel that running a haunt requires much creativity that they call “art of the scare.” “It’s amazing how much psychology goes into it,” said Mr. Fugate.
The Stringers have even recently attended a haunt convention and trade show in Chicago to get more creative ideas. Susan said local haunts were open that weekend for convention attendees to go through.
She said there are three kinds of haunters: home haunts, professional haunts and charity haunts. Home haunts are typically displays in a front yard that people can walk through. The Stringers previously did home haunting, but they said they “outgrew the yard.” She said the professional haunts are generally just really expensive gadgets and decorations. On the other hand, charity haunts do not cost much money or bring in a lot of money, she said.
A charity haunt is the type of haunt the Stringers do. Jeff said, “Volunteers really want to be here and do it because they love it.” One dollar from each ticket will go to a charity called “Pennies for Vicki,” a breast caner fund in Chattanooga. The Stringers said they chose this organization because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and they wanted to support a local organization.
Tickets are $7.50 each, so the rest will go to cover their expenses. They have collected an array of items from flea markets, thrift stores and craft stores to create an intricately detailed haunt.
Mr. and Mrs. Stringer said they do a good job at being creative and innovative rather than spending money on expensive equipment that often has the tendency to break. Jeff said, “You can either throw money into a haunt or put heart into it. Many haunts end up looking like a store display.” He said he thinks many haunts are less scary because all the decorations are so mechanical that they hardly seem realistic.
Susan said last year they had about 600 people come through the House of Horrors, but this year they expect more. Only six people worked in the house last year, but they are planning on having 12 people on staff this year.
“You have to be twisted to do this,” Jeff said. Chris adds, “It’s like the saying, ‘You don’t have to be crazy, but it helps.’”
The House of Horrors will open Sept. 30. It will be open on Friday and Saturday nights through Halloween. The House of Horrors is located on
Culver Road, right off of Dayton Boulevard in Red Bank.