Jacob Johnson performs at the 10th West Scare House on Thursday in Logan.
Outside of 10th West Scare House, as guests prepare to enter, they keep their heads on a swivel, wary of what might be lurking in the smoke.
For the uninitiated, perhaps they think they are safe until they enter the house itself. This assumption is quickly disproved as a grotesque face, with its mouth sewn shut, sneaks up behind them with a crowbar.
Once they are finally in line, there's nowhere to escape. They're in it now, whether they like it or not. Guests are at the mercy of any slashers, ghosts, clowns or animals that may be roaming the area.
Inside is no different. In fact, it's much, much worse. Guests navigate their way through traps, terrifiers and tricks, all without receiving a single treat.
The ghouls inside the house perform a horrifying dance of sorts. Constantly working together to make sure no one guest is left without a fright. Distractions help the scarers as they skulk in the shadows, waiting for the unassuming to enter their area.
As guests work their way through the carefully-crafted conglomeration of horrors, jump-scares provide the haunters with the fuel they need. Shrieks, screams and occasional profanities fill the air as guests cling to each other for safety.
Once the guests exit the main building, a gust of cool air greets them, giving them a false sense of security. They proceed through the final area, unsure of whether or not they've made it to safety or if they are in the most dangerous part of all. The feeling of someone watching them only grows as they can see the exit but are unsure of how to make it there.
Nearing the finish line, the sound of boots stomping inside of the shipping container mirrors the movement of the guests.
Suddenly a creature unlike anything seen before lunges from the shadows, illuminated by the neon lights, guests look upon the face of a man with a chainsaw coming right at them. His face appears to be a demented amalgamation of Art the Clown from the 2011 horror film "Terrifier" and a band member of Kiss.
With hearts rapidly beating, sweat on their brows and hoarse voices, guests scramble out of the nightmare to the parking lot.
Meanwhile, the grotesque face, the chainsaw-wielder, and all the other haunters continue scaring. That's what it's all about for them.
Dan May is the scare house's infamous chainsaw man. He created his character which sports the aforementioned "Terrifier"/Kiss mask and face paint, a full denim outfit and jet black hair inspired by his favorite pro wrestler, The Undertaker.
May's love for scaring people comes from his love for horror movies, specifically, the "Terrifier" franchise.
"I made this persona through years of doing it and just finding out what scares people," May said, later adding, "It's gotten me pretty far. I turned into a professional wrestler with this character."
That's right. May also competes in Devotion Championship Wrestling with his persona as well as a different version of himself, Dan the Man. His love for wrestling comes from his late grandmother, who was also a huge fan of The Undertaker.
Behind the mask with its mouth sewn shut is Hayden Johnson, one of two brothers who rely on their teamwork to set people up to be scared. Hearing about how much fun his brother Jacob was having, Hayden decided to become a part of the scare house.
"We have a very good, dynamic brain-power," Hayden said.
"We pretty much know what each other is doing and where we are going to be," Jacob added.
Not everyone who works there is a haunter, however.
Kenzi Huskinson, the daughter of owner Scott Huskinson, helps organize the scarers and makes sure the operation runs as smoothly as possible. All while her dad is participating in frightening the guests.
Kenzi lives in Salt Lake City but travels up every weekend because she loves helping out. Even though she knows where everyone is set up at, she still jumps as scarers come after her from all different angles.
So maybe there's hope for you too.
For more information and tickets for The 10th West Scare House, visit their website.