Haunted house adopts movie-style fright

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Producers of a haunted house built inside Albuquerque’s Winrock Mall say they’ve elevated the attraction to simulate the experience of walking into a horror film.

In fact, the house was built more like a movie-set than a typical haunted house production.

“We had set designers that have done stuff for Universal Studios, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Six Flags,” said Dale Ervin, president of Denver-based Primitive Fear.

The Winrock attraction is called “13th Street Manor”. Customers are taken through a series of rooms, inside a mansion complete with front steps, a wrap-around porch and front yard.

Many of the rooms are four-walled sets, linked by a series of secret passages and hallways.

More than 20 local actors were hired to complete the experience.

“We spent the entire year redesigning, remodeling,” Ervin said.

Primitive Fear has been producing haunted-house attractions for 13 years including five years in Albuquerque.

Ervin says the new “elevated” attraction was a major investment.

“You won’t see anything like this in probably most parts of the country,” Ervin said. “We’ve just really gone to the extreme.”

Primitive Fear actually produces two haunted house attractions in Albuquerque; one at Winrock and another one at the Coronado Center.

Getting in isn’t necessarily cheap, though.

Ticket prices start at $14 a person.