Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 69 to do in Victor. It began as a regular corn maze, only scary if you don't like the feeling of being lost (which I don't). But soon enough, people began to demand something a bit more extreme. "Guests suggested we haunt the maze in October and we did," Quinn says. "It was a huge success... It is truly something everyone should come and experience." Seemingly bemused, he adds "Who would have thought that being scared is actually fun?" I try to imagine my response, and ask him whether anyone has ever punched one of his employees. "at's a great question," he laughs. "Our employees are trained at the beginning of each season to stay at least an arm's length away from guests for [the employee's] safety and to have two-three escape routes." But, he admits, "there are occasional stories through- out the season of hits and near-misses." e Kirklands have worked hard at their 19-year-old profession. is year they attended a Halloween convention (yes, there is such a thing) in St. Louis where they collected dozens of diabolical ideas. Pressed for details, they demure: Sally and Quinn don't want to "give away all of our secrets," but they do say that this year they plan to add a "haunted swamp effect," and add that "we hope you're not afraid of small spaces" (which, naturally, I am. Very.) Richard Davenport, owner of the media production company Roothead Studios (in Lolo), can get rhapsodic describing the appeal of Halloween: "I love how [during Halloween] the whole world seems transported briefly to another place that's far from ordinary, and so much more exciting than usual." His work with Roothead Studios, known particularly for its wedding videography and drone photography, have lent themselves well to his proprietorship of e Missoula Haunted House. "Video production is also about transporting your audience, and delivering to them, a specifically curated experience. at, in turn, is what the Haunted House is to me, a specifically curated experience designed to thrill." e elements of video production, he says, like "makeup, costuming, lighting, etc.," have "…lent themselves wholly to design- ing and building the Haunted House." 2018 will be the sixth year of the Missoula Haunted House, and each year the attraction has its challenges. It has always been constructed in the Llama Barn on the Missoula fairgrounds, 7,000 square feet of unused space in which Davenport and his team of nightmare crafters have to, as he says, "construct the Haunted House from the ground up." ey generally only have between five and six weeks to get it running, during which time its "all hands on- deck" at Roothead Studios to top themselves in theme, story, and execution every year. Watch Angela on Haunted Billings www.distinctlymontana.com/haunted184 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL THE ELEMENTS OF VIDEO PRODUCTION LIKE "MAKEUP, COSTUMING, LIGHTING, ETC.," HAVE "…LENT THEMSELVES WHOLLY TO DESIGNING AND BUILDING THE HAUNTED HOUSE." CONTINUED

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