Out in the Nevada desert, thirteen years after its closure, Carson City’s historical state prison on East 5th Street has been transformed into the Dark Prison Halloween-themed attraction.
Stepping onto the property, sunlight slowly fades into the skyline. The haunt begins to bustle, actors and crew stalk into the prison preparing for the night. The sounds of an electric drill in the courtyard and the excited steps off the metal railways echo in the air.
Dark Prison is an immersive haunted house crafted by local artists, actors and horror lovers. Holly Spahr, the owner and operator of Dark Prison Haunt, was previously featured on HBO’s Craftopia as a Halloween enthusiast.
Matthew Hakins, 27 year old, makeup Director, works fast with his air brush to face paint actors, trying to keep up with the 15 minute intervals.
Behind every mask and makeup design is Matthew Hawkins, the haunts makeup director and props lead. His team of skilled artists and the custom department transform actors into nightmares. Hawkins coordinates a tightly run make-up operation that begins each show at 6 p.m..
“I show up at three [p.m.] to refill the paint bottles, make sure all the stations are together,” says Hawkins.
“I kind of have them separated out to do like 15-minute intervals,” he says. “It keeps us also kind of on schedule to know that every 15 minutes a new group of people is gonna come through.”
While some character designs were carried over from their former location at the bowling stadium, the majority of looks are crafted in-house from scratch.
By creating three designs for the other 40-50 actors working on the site, Hawkins helps create a visually diverse and immersive environment for every guest who enters the site.
“Then in addition to that there are kind of a few larger characters that we're adding to our list of what we call icon characters that I've been fortunate enough to design masks for and kind of create a more head-to-toe design for them,” Hawkins says.
The “icons” of Dark Prison are fully custom creatures, sculpted with detail and intention. One of these twisted characters includes Jorgen, a futuristic nightmare built from both latex and LED lights. That design was a collaboration between Hawkins, the Vice President of Build and Special Projects Ryan, and Russel, the actor who coded a fully functioning bionic suit complete with air pistons and LEDs.
“Jorgen is this cyborg creature that runs experiments on people in the prison,” Hawkins explains.
“For his mask I created this like a human you know hybrid situation so he's got these like long slits where his mouth is usually supposed to be and then he's got like boils on the top of his head.”
And while the looks are specific, the masks are designed to be versatile. Hawkins hand-sculpts and mends together the silicone masks on a generic bust. This allows the character to shift from one performer to another without losing their terror.
Tiara Quintana, 28, is the talent director for the haunt.
It’s what's behind the masks and under the makeup that brings them to life. Tiara Quintana, the haunt's talent director, helps the actors to build out their characters from within.
“We did it really in a cool way where we had three different zones,” says Quintana.
The goal is to create a space where actors feel safe to become the monster and scare.
“We had a room where we were playing, like, really heavy EDM metal music. And when the beat would drop, they would have to break into a character. Whatever that would be. And I gave them free range.”
Even with free range, Quintana gave some directions. Quintana guides the actors through improv, music, and movement.
“Are you a zombie? Are you a monster under a bed? Like, are you a mental asylum patient? Like, what are you?”
“But when that beat dropped, they were going freaking nuts. And it was so iconic,” says Quintana.
Quintana brings an outside perspective into the Northern Nevada haunt scene community. The talent director, having moved to Reno two years ago, is a former Hollywood Universal scare actor. Quintana shares that the scare community offers space that fosters creativity, talent, and connection.
“Coming from Los Angeles, and coming from such a big city to a small town and literally still being part of the haunt….Dark Corner and Dark Prison is just that they took me in. So even though I got to say goodbye to home,I was, like, the home away from home.”
The basketball court was added by Tom Selleck when he filmed the movie An Innocent Man in 1989. The Haunt uses the basketball court as a walking scare zone to keep people immersed into the haunt.
Dark Prison isn’t just a stage for horror but one of refuge for local creatives. For those who don’t always fit in, the haunt becomes a second home.
“We scare because we care, literally. These are people that love haunt,” says the talent director. “The haunt community, horror, Halloween, and we're just here to have a great time and make sure you have a great time as well.”
The haunt's most chilling element might just be that it is located at the Historical Nevada State Prison.
The prison closed its gates in 2012, but its legacy is hard to bury. The prison stands as one of the oldest correctional facilities in the country, Opening in 1862. Now it serves a new role, blending tourism and education in Northern Nevada.
Jim Spahr points out cellblocks, factories, and guard housing.
Jim Spahr, 75, known affectionately by the crew as “Haunt Dad,” ushers guests out of the attraction and into the reality of the prison’s past. He is the site's prison history buff.
“If they have any questions that they want answered, I can basically answer all the historical issues that people bring up,” says Spahr.
“Like, where are the prisoners buried? I can answer questions like that. So my job is to facilitate their closure of their experience.”
While Dark Prison is the first haunt attraction to use the facility, the facility is also used to having historical firsts.
“So there's a lot of historical firsts on these grounds. So the first telegraph, the first state legislature, the first state prison…the first gas chamber,” says Spahr.
The haunt operates on a rental agreement with the historical preservation society, splitting ticket profits to help maintain the aging facility. In exchange, they’re granted access to the historical site.
“It's a win-win for both. We get this cool location. They get a portion of the ticket sales,” says Spahr.
The Dark Prison haunt brings a new creative outlet to inspire a new crowd to come onto the historical site and experience something only halloween can inspire.
Holly Sphar, Matthew Hawkins, Tiara Quintana, and Jim Spahr will continue to welcome guests into the haunt for the next four weeks between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. For specific dates to witness the haunt or more information go to https://www.darkprison.com