7 minute read
Fright Night
Secrets from this year’s Haunted Overload will scare you stiff
BY EMILY REILY / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW BOWEN
Eric Lowther loves the art of the scare. A Halloween mastermind and connoisseur of frights, the Exeter resident has been striking fear in the hearts of thousands since 2005 with Haunted Overload, an annual outdoor experience at DeMeritt Hill Farm in Lee.
Each Halloween, he takes his nationally renowned fright fest to the next level, mixing classic scares with mainstays like the colossal, four-story wooden skull and the Haunted Mansion. Feast upon macabre, possessed dolls, 30-foot-high ghosts, giant killer clowns, zombies, runaway murder trains, chain saw massacres and the odd headless horseman. About 30,000 people are expected this year.
To make sure you shiver, Lowther and about 80-100 Halloween-obsessed volunteers — actors and builders — have been dissecting one thorny fear possessed by many: wasps. This year’s production will feature the terrifying sound of thousands of angry, buzzing wasps. And unlike real wasps, Lowther’s army of insects won’t go dormant at nightfall. Wasp nests can grow as big as basketballs, but these hives and its inhabitants are exponentially larger. (Think "The Fly," then multiply by 50).
Lowther’s uncanny ability to scare doesn’t mean he’s heartless: So far, Haunted Overload has raised about $600,000 for animal shelters like the Pope Memorial Humane Society.
Lowther has shared a gooey slice of what makes his haunted house tick, claiming that revealing inside information only makes people want to visit more.
“There’s nothing like being there. You can see it in video and photos, but it just doesn’t translate compared to actually being there,” Lowther says.
New Hampshire Magazine: How big are these wasp hives?
Eric Lowther: Each of the smaller hives is about 8 or 9 feet wide by 8 feet tall. And the gigantic hive is 25 feet around and over 20 feet tall. Inside these hives are wasps, some of which are as tall as a person. We are 3D printing some wasps also that are pretty big, and then we are ordering some from a company that are 5 feet long.
NHM: What else will people see?
EL: There’s a witch house out there, and there’s another dilapidated barn that you go through. We’re making major renovations to the circus tent area. There's going to be a big tunnel full of these mime characters. I think patrons will notice a huge change when they come this year.
NHM: Where do you find doll props?
EL: There’s hundreds and hundreds of them. Some of them we got from antique stores. Some of them we customized ourselves by putting clay on the faces.
NHM: How do you make everything so lifelike?
EL: I like to make everything as artistic-looking as possible. I come up with different techniques for my volunteers to follow to make things look scary. A lot of them are artistic and very talented themselves, so it makes it easy and fun for them to follow the steps and put their own spin on certain props.
NHM: Do you have paid staff?
EL: It’s a very dedicated staff — it’s all volunteer. We give 10% right off the top of gross proceeds to the Pope Memorial Humane Society. All the money that I’d be paying in payroll can go directly to the shelter. It’s something that everybody can get behind and know that they’re volunteering their time. It’s a very worthwhile cause.
NHM: Do the actors make their own costumes?
EL: We attract the most passionate people, so everybody does their own costumes and makeup. Some people have masks. I run around with a chain saw all night, because I need to take the mask off if I need to deal with a problem. I don't want to have to mess with makeup.
NHM: Has a patron ever been so freaked out that they can’t even move? What do you do?
EL: We have to break character or take our mask off and just gently say, “Hey, you want to get out of here? We can lead you to the nearest exit.” And we walk them out. And by that time, they calm down. But sometimes they have panic attacks and don’t know what they’re in for and didn’t realize it would be that scary.
NHM: And actors aren’t allowed to touch people, correct?
EL: Right. People don’t really like being touched. We train them to scare in the right way. Because they’ll just fling their arms wildly, and actors can get hit if they’re not careful. It’s like an instinct reaction. People just throw the fists sometimes, not even meaning to.
NHM: It’s kind of an innate reaction.
EL: It’s like a roller coaster; you can be scared and get the adrenaline rush without knowing that you’re not really going to be in danger. It’s fun for the actors to get that adrenaline rush from the patrons, but it’s fun for the patrons to get that scare and that startle. It provides lifelong memories. People come up to me from years and years and years ago, and it’s burned in their mind. They’ll say, “The chain saw guy came out from this tunnel, and I was really scared and I’ll always remember that.”
NHM: What do you like about scaring people?
EL: All of the very cool reactions you get from patrons. People love being scared and will scream and jump, so it’s extremely fun when it works well.
NHM: I've heard Haunted Overload is extremely scary.
EL: The night one’s pretty intense. But we have Fright Night Lite, where everything is lit up, but all the actors aren’t chasing you with chain saws and stuff. It’s not so scary that people are jumping out. That’s why we like to have the daytime (haunt) so that kids and parents, or people that just don’t like being scared, can walk around and enjoy it without the feeling of being totally terrified.
NHM: Have you been scared at other haunted houses?
EL: It’s hard for me to get scared, because I’m looking at the detail and how they’re running things. But if I do get startled, I’m like, “Oh, wow, that was a good one.” NH Visit hauntedoverload.com for tickets.
Fright Kingdom turns 20
If you’re craving even more haunts, the good folks at Fright Kingdom have got your number.
The Nashua haunted house is celebrating 20 years of terrorizing New Hampshire residents, and they’re just dying for you to join them.
Fright Kingdom boasts five attractions, each with its own tale of woe.
What’s affecting the poor townspeople in “Apocalypse Z?” See if you can avoid whatever IT is and try to get out alive. The use of video and special effects play a big role.
A diabolical family called the Bloodmares lives up to their name at “Bloodmare Manor,” a Victorian-style building with a dark secret.
A rundown old farm house with strange inhabitants has puzzled the town for 100 years. Now it’s your turn to investigate “The Abandoned.”
These are not your average clowns. “Psycho Circus” takes things nuclear, employing a haunted house with 3D capabilities, dizzying illusions, and clowns who are not there to wish you happy birthday. The “Grim” attraction, meanwhile, likes to “use the absence of light” as its weapon of choice.
Finally, watch as creatures crawl and scrape along the ground, spreading fear and whatever else is oozing out of their unearthly bodies at the Monster Midway.
Fright Kingdom, at 12 Simon St. in Nashua, is offering $20 tickets during its opening weekend Sept. 27-28. Visit frightkingdom.com for all the gory details.
