<p>Crossing the skeleton-adorned threshold of the mausoleum, a creeping sense of dread builds with every step.</p>
<p>Eerie lights flicker in the distance inside the Asylum House, the southside haunted attraction that has been scaring the brave and not-so-brave for more than 20 years. Screams and otherworldly noises filter in from all around you. With each step, the suspense builds and builds.</p>
<p>Until the first ghoul jumps out of the dark.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>October is the time to get the blood racing and the heart pounding, and the workers at the Asylum House relish doing so. Bewildering hand-crafted mazes, demonic, disturbing sets, and ingenious special effects make every step through the haunt drip with trepidation.</p>
<p>“It means everything to be able to do this. My family will tell you — I live for this,” Greathouse said.</p>
<p>The Asylum House was born out of personal tragedy in Greathouse’s own life. His brother, William Greathouse Jr., died from a lung disease. He had been the head of culinary arts at Ivy Tech Community College, and after his death, the Greathouse family and alumni from Ivy Tech wanted to do a fundraiser in his honor.</p>
<p>Greathouse, who had formerly helped build parade floats in Indianapolis, was also volunteering at a local haunted house at the time. He suggested that the haunt would raise a lot of money for various community causes, and he wanted to put together his own attraction.</p>
<p>Asylum House started as that fundraiser, though it has now grown into a full business.</p>
<p>Greathouse and his wife, Heidi, are founders of the Asylum House. In the 23 years since it was started, they’ve accumulated a loyal and enthusiastic group of people to help bring the nightmarish visions inside the haunted house to life.</p>
<p>Jay Lansberry specializes in fabricating special effects, while Don Mabry is a master of mazes.</p>
<p>Don Trent, Dan Kiro and Tim Eaker have combined their imaginations with deft skill making monsters and spooks to haunt the maze, such as the towering xenomorph from the “Alien” movies, or a scarily lifelike figure of Indiana horror legend Sammy Terry that greets visitors.</p>
<p>“The people that we’ve compiled, there’s nothing we can’t build,” Greathouse said.</p>
<p>Over the years, the haunt has moved to a variety of different locations throughout the southside, from German Park to the historic Hannah House to their current location in the former home of the Southland Family Fun Center, just up the road from Johnson County.</p>
<p>Inside, organizers have assembled a nightmarish labyrinth of corridors, secret passages and dead ends. Each area has a different scene.</p>
<p>The decrepit apartment of Mary Kelly is bathed in candlelight, with only lightning illuminating it further. Blood stains and spatter fill the space; fitting, considering Kelly was Jack the Ripper’s final victim. The infamous serial killer might even make an appearance.</p>
<p>In the so-called Children’s Room, a demonic doll rocks in the corner. Characters such as Chucky and Annabelle move on their own. A miniature Billy, the villain from the “Saw” movies, sits on a tricycle.</p>
<p>Their designs are as realistic and lifelike as possible, Lansberry said.</p>
<p>“We do a lot of research on stuff. I mean, we could probably give a class on the guillotine,” he said.</p>
<p>A hallway of portraits makes you feel like every painting’s eyes are on you — and that maybe those images are alive.</p>
<p>Attention is paid to different effects and details that make the jump scares that much more frightening. Walls seem to close in on you — or are they actually moving? Cobwebs, chains and blood-stained clothing hang above you, obstructing your view and pulling your attention away from the dangers lurking ahead.</p>
<p>The detail of each scene is incredibly detailed: foam painted gray and carved to look like a crumbling cemetery, retro gas station signs and pumps recreating a small-town cannibal’s encampment, a disorienting spinning tunnel of lights.</p>
<p>“We try to do the best entertaining we can,” Mabry said. “If we can’t scare them, at least make them go ‘wow.’”</p>
<p>The new location also features a wooded area in the back, allowing the scares to continue outside before exiting the parking lot.</p>
<p>But while the designs are meant to be intense, great care is taken to keep every visitor safe, Mabry said. Actors and performers in the haunt do jump out and the haunt is interactive. But everyone who comes through is given a safe phrase they can use, so that performers know when to stop. Escorts can go through with children — and parents — who are too scared to go by themselves.</p>
<p>The haunt is handicap accessible, and staff members make special adjustments to lighting and sound to accommodate the needs of guests.</p>
<p>“People come out, they pay their money, we want them to be entertained,” Mabry said. “We want everybody to enjoy the show.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>The Asylum House</strong></p>
<p>Hours: 8 p.m. to midnight today, Oct. 18, 19, 25, 26 and Nov. 1 and 2; 8 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17, 24 and 31.</p>
<p>Where: 6611 Bluff Road, Indianapolis</p>
<p>Information: theasylumhouse.com</p>[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title="At a glance" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Mike Kaiser Poor Farm Haunted Corn Maze</strong></p>
<p>Where: 1650 N. 800E, Franklin</p>
<p>Hours: Every Friday and Saturday in October, dusk to dark for non-fright, dark to 11:30 p.m. for fright</p>
<p>Cost: $10; $5 nonfright hayride; kids 5 and under free</p>
<p>Information: mkpf.com</p>
<p><strong>Nightmare on Edgewood</strong></p>
<p>Where: 1927 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis</p>
<p>Hours: 7 to 10 p.m. Thursdays, 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 2; 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 9</p>
<p>Cost: $25 general admission, $35 fast pass</p>
<p>Information: nightmareonedgewood.com</p>
<p><strong>Fright Manor</strong></p>
<p>Where: 350 Anniston Dr., Indianapolis</p>
<p>Hours: 7:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 26; 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 17, 20, 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31; 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Nov. 1, 2 and 9</p>
<p>Cost: $20 for three haunts</p>
<p>Information: frightmanor.com</p>
<p><strong>FriteLodge</strong></p>
<p>Where: 7525 Acton Road, Indianapolis</p>
<p>Hours: 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 26</p>
<p>Cost: $12</p>
<p>Information: fritelodge.com</p>
<p><strong>Hanna Haunted Acres</strong></p>
<p>Where: 7323 E. Hanna Ave., Indianapolis</p>
<p>Hours: 7 p.m. to midnight today, Oct. 18, 19, 25, 26; 7 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 13, 15-17, 20, 22-24, Oct. 27-Nov. 2</p>
<p>Cost: $23.95 Sunday through Thursday, $27.95 Friday, $31.95 Saturday</p>
<p>Information: hannahauntedacres.com</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
