Next Haunt

For Halloween 2014 and 2015, I was the art director for Next Haunt — a haunted house / escape-the-room that is created and run by a student group based out of my college dorm, Next House. We make a physical structure using lumber and plywood, and then paint/decorate it to look like an actual house. Groups of 4-6 enter the house and must solve puzzles to escape, all while actors are hidden inside to provide an occasional fright!

As art director, I created the vision for how the outside of the house should look and feel, and then led a small art team in painting the entire exterior.

I also designed the layout and decoration for the interior “puzzle rooms” to fit with each year’s unique theme.

For the interactive experience, I helped make / source puzzle and prop elements! Shown below is a puzzle that involved taking advantage of negative space to spell out letters/numbers. I laser-cut out 4 clipboards using a pattern I created in Illustrator. When all four are overlaid, the cut-outs align to spell "ZOMBIE" forwards and "3181 7705" in a mirror (that was in the house).

For other purchased props, I became a frequent customer of a local thrift store. :)

Working alongside this group of passionate and fun-loving students was a delight! I really loved coming up with creative puzzles and experiences, and working hands-on to make the ideas real. Getting to watch others go through a haunted house that I had a part in defining was a great way of celebrating a job well done.