One of America’s “Top Haunts”
The Haunted Attraction Association has certified ScareHouse as one of the Top Haunts in America based on our continuing commit to safety, customer satisfaction, and ongoing elevation and education within the industry! It’s a huge thrill for us to be recognized by a worldwide network of professionals who own, operate and/or design Haunted Attractions, Haunted…
ScareHouse Opening Weekend Reviews!
“ScareHouse excels at world-building; it also excels at creating iconic characters, creatures whose mere appearance supplies nightmare fuel – a girl with bleeding, bandaged eyes and needle-sharp teeth, a white-eyed madman on the verge of turning into something no longer human. The world that the hauntrunners create is both gritty and gorgeous. The scares are…
Weird, Wicked and Overly Caffeinated
After she graduated from Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effects Program, Christalee Lema knew exactly what she wanted to do next. “Right out of the gate, I knew I wanted to work at ScareHouse,” says Lema. “That was the only place. When I was 12 or 13, I had gone for the first time, and it…
Unleash Your Passion For Fear
Calling all thrill-seekers, theater aficionados, and Halloween enthusiasts! Are you ready to dive into a world where fear becomes fun and the eerie becomes exhilarating? Look no further – your gateway to an unforgettable experience awaits at ScareHouse! Whether you’re an actor, a makeup maestro, a security pro, or a customer service wizard, we’ve got…
Night of the Living Evil Dead
George Romero and Sam Raimi are two of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time. While they may have come from different backgrounds and had their own unique styles, there are many connections between the two that have helped shape the horror genre as we know it today. Both filmmakers created their own creative…
“You Needed the Bleeper!”
Hilarious video as WTAE anchor Andrew Stockey & meteorologist Jeff Verszyla face their fears at ScareHouse … ScareHouse 2023 starts on September 8th and all General Admission tickets are just $19.99. Thank you Pittsburgh!
Thanks Yinz Guys!
October is Almost Over! Don’t miss your chance to get scared this weekend…
Even More Easter Eggs
When terrorized inside the Demon Hour room filled with dolls, watch out for a sound from overhead. How sure can you be that one hasn’t started talking? Sound designer Bengt Alexsander said he included a sample from the band Le Tigre’s song “Decepticon,” that sounds like it originally came from a children’s book. “It’s this…
Row House of Horrors
After you get in a good scare at ScareHouse this month, pack into Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville for Row House of Horrors, a series of classic horror films, which runs from October 14 through October 31. “Summer was busy, but people love to see scary movies for Halloween,” says Cara Popovich, Shift Lead at…
A ScareHouse Builder’s Work is Never Done
Mike Richter found his calling as a carpenter because of the haunted house industry—even if he says he was scared of haunted houses growing up. “About nine years ago, my buddy got me to audition for a haunted house up in Erie,” says Richter, “and I just kinda fell in love with it. Then I…
The Woman Behind THIS Scary Woman
If you’ve been through the haunt this season, or seen any of the promotional materials for ScareHouse, you may have come across this woman with rotten teeth and a bandage over her eyes. She stems from the imagination of another (less scary!) woman—ScareHouse Backstage Assistant Melary Stanko. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved…
Over $50,000 for Local Families
While ScareHouse is known for creating scares, we also like to create smiles when we give back to the community that supports us every fall. Every October, we partner with Burgatory on a ScareHouse Shake, where a portion of the sales benefit the Mario Lemieux Foundation. This year, the donation will provide funding to Austin’s…
Pittsburgh’s Pinball Wizard
There’s a new attraction this year at ScareHouse, and it’s something you can experience without ever entering the haunt: Play a couple of rounds of pinball and other classic arcade games before or after your ScareHouse experience, courtesy of PGH Pinball. “If you enter the mall from the movie theater, ScareHouse is to the right,”…
Jill of All Trades
Like many ScareHouse employees, Amanda Barnoski is a bit of a Jill of All Trades. “The first year I worked here, I was acting,” says Amanda, “but now I mostly do makeup.” When Barnoski joined ScareHouse in 2017, the Cleveland native brought with her years of experience from other haunts. “I’ve been in the haunt…
A Night in Scream School
As his employees chant “Cheese, cheese, cheese!” in unison, ScareHouse founder Scott Simmons says, “I may have accidentally created a cult.” No, it’s not part of a new lactose intolerant haunt—it’s ScareHouse Employee Orientation! Before every ScareHouse season, the employees gather at Pittsburgh Mills to go over the rules for the new year—and of course…
When is ScareHouse Basement Coming Back?
The short answer is that we don’t have any specific dates yet but we’re committed to bringing The Basement back as soon as we can. We won’t be offering it this fall during the haunt season at The ScareHouse in Pittsburgh Mills. However if all goes as planned, you won’t need to wait until October…
The Light Guys For The Job
The father-and-son team of Bert and Adam Zelten go by many titles at ScareHouse: “Lighting/tech,” “saviors,” and most notably “the guys from Wisconsin” who make the long drive to “vacation” in Pittsburgh every summer (even though they’re really helping get ScareHouse off the ground for the season). “All the people at ScareHouse make the scenes…
“ScareHouse Changed My Life”
Auditions and interviews for ScareHouse 2022 are coming up this weekend! (Click here for details). Have you ever wondered what it’s like to scare strangers every night? Or why so many of our staff keep coming back year after year? We asked a few veterans from the ScareHouse cast and crew to tell us in…
“I stuck around. It’s hard to leave!”
To be the CSA Manager at ScareHouse means to be the “Customer Service Associate Manager.” But for Ann Kelly, it may as well stand for “Committed ScareHouse Associate Manager,” as she has been with the company for 13 years. “I had friends that worked here as we were all in college and they said, ‘Come…
“Creepo actually loves children. That’s why he kills them.”
Tom Smith has been playing ScareHouse’s Creepo the Clown character for so long that he gets recognized even when he’s not in Pittsburgh. “My wife and I were vacationing in New York state, and I happened to have a ScareHouse shirt on, and one of the guys came over and said, ‘Do you work at…
“I fell in love. I knew. I’m at home!”
For ScareHouse store manager Ashley Vattimo, her experience with the haunt is a love story. “I decided to go on an interview back in 2016, a leap of faith, and it was just right,” says Vattimo. “It was immediate. I fell in love. I knew. I’m at home. Hire me!” Vattimo was drawn to the…