Our featured FearMaker for the week, Jon Schnitzer, is an expert in haunts. His upcoming film Haunters: The Movie explores the ins and outs and the drama of all things haunted events. We Are Indie Horror asked Jon to give us his five favorite haunts and like most other creative types, he was not able to give us just five; Jon gave us seven. Throughout the week we will explore these haunts and explain why he loves it and where you can find it.
For the past 12 years, Jeff and Tyler Gustafson have been scaring the residents of Burbank and out of town visiters with their glorious home haunt; The Backwoods Maze. A post-apocalyptic playground puts haunt goers in the middle of a world over ran by radiation exposed freaks. Here are Jon’s sentiments on the over the top home haunt:
1 mile away from Rotten Apple is a haunt that feels like it was ripped from the world of Mad Max. Great scare actors and creepy post-apocalyptic structures that the owners keep up and work on all year long.
Do not let the term home haunt deter you, this maze has intricate built up sets and feels enormous due to the creative construction. The maze started as an amatuer Haunted 3D experience in 2003. 2004 saw the change to The Backwoods Maze. The setting started in the depths of a rural Texas at Farmer Porky’s Farmouse. Although a farm; pig and cows are not the only livestock ready to be eaten. As you walk through the front yard, a cemetery is full of tombstones being towered by mannequins. Even one is a demon that stands 12-feet high. Rumor has it to not bring the kids to this event, as it is incredibly intense and horrifyingly scary. As time went on they changed it over to the post-apocalyptic wasteland scene you see today.
In all the reviews, the scare actors are billed as top-notch. The best in town. They are crazy backwoods mutant cannibals who hunt you as you go through the maze. The rather intense and detailed masks and costumes really bring the characters to life.
The Backwoods Maze is located at 1912 North Pepper Street Burbank, CA 91505 and is completely FREE. They do accept donations though and when someone is volunteering their time, energy, and craft to such a passionate filled home-haunt, donations are greatly appreciated. Head over to their Facebook for more details and information. The remaining dates are this weekend only October 30, and October 31 7-10 PM.
And do not forget to check out Jon Schnitzer’s upcoming Haunters and the marvelous V.I.P. club with exclusive clips to the film.