Behind The Screams

ScareHouse attractions have hosted all kinds of famous faces over the last 20 years: Martin Lawrence, Elijah Wood, Kristin Stewart, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and even the Impractical Jokers… but as die-hard horror nerds, the most mind-blowing visit will always be the night that writer/directors Guillermo Del Toro (Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) and Michael…

“I do things!” Melissa Sapienza says with a laugh.  In 2016, she started her ScareHouse career as an actor before becoming a show manager in 2017. “And then for 2019, they asked me to be a part of the core management team and also gave me the task of operating Bold Escape Rooms which then…

“Tech guy” Kip Polley laughs when asked what his official title is at ScareHouse. “That’s funny. I don’t officially work at ScareHouse. I actually live in St. Louis. I don’t know what you’d call me.” Talk about the ultimate mystery from the man behind the Stalked By A Killer escape room.  Polley, who owns the…

Graphic designer Steve Benton got his start with ScareHouse when he and co-founder Scott Simmons worked together in the Creative Services department at WPXI-TV. “Scott and I always had a good working relationship. When he started to move into the professional haunted house realm he started sending me a lot of print stuff to work…

Believe it or not, Makeup Manager and Scenic Artist Mollie Himes is a complete scaredy cat when it comes to haunted houses. “I trust nothing,” says Himes with a laugh. “I cannot walk through ScareHouse without a person in front of me and a person behind me. I need the person in front of me…

ScareHouse co-owner Wayne Simmons, creative director/co-owner Scott Simmons’ father, recognized his son’s unique interests very early. “My wife and I just have one son, Scott,” says the elder Simmons, “and I’m not sure how he picked it up, but from a small child, he was always excited about Halloween and scary things and scary movies….

ScareHouse scenic coordinator and show manager Heather Heitzenrater doesn’t have your typical work to-do list. “‘Hang up the babies, bloody up the nun, and move the body,’” Heitzenrater says with a laugh. “It’s ridiculous.” And yet, she wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, maybe it was even written in the stars. Heitzenrater’s older…

ScareHouse Design and Operations Manager Nicole Conniff is living every horror fan’s dream. Not only does she get to have Halloween and scares on the brain every month of the year, but she has made a career out of it. “It’s a small team of us, maybe three or four that are involved year-round,” says…

According to sound designer Bengt Alexsander, the process of putting together the frightening soundscapes of ScareHouse is pretty intuitive. “At this point, I think they just trust me with it,” says Alexsander of working with the ScareHouse crew. “[Scarehouse creative director] Scott Simmons and I have a lot of the same references for movies, so…

Allison (2014 Costume Manager): Every top secret project at ScareHouse starts off with a really vague question about your availability. It’s like, “Hey, what are you doing Wednesday and Thursday this week?”, and when I ask why it’s was like, “Well, you might need to go somewhere overnight, maybe, possibly….” Creative Director Scott Simmons: Basically…

We’re taking you “Behind The Screams” of our new season – and sharing some of our favorite moments from the last 20 Years Of Fears for Pittsburgh’s Ultimate Haunted House. Keep watching this page for updates all season long!