The Bakersfield Voice
Haunting the Neighborhood
Haunting the Neighborhood: Talladega Frights!
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Posted by admin Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:48:44 PDT
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In October of 2007, on a plot of land over an area of about 3,000 residential square feet, Mike Wilbur transformed the property surrounding his house on Talladega Court in Northwest Bakersfield into one of the most frightening Halloween “haunts” ever constructed in Kern County.
With $20,000 of his own money, the 33-year old father of four purchased costumes and props, then converted his yard into a wall-to-wall nightmare by erecting a labyrinth so elaborate and well developed that many of the 3,000 people attending the haunted “house” over the three-day period didn’t realize the haunt was constructed entirely outdoors.
“They thought they were in my house!” said Wilbur.
But for Wilbur, his back yard wasn’t enough.
“I’m used to 110,000-square-foot warehouses in Utah,” he said of his home state, from where he moved to Northwest Bakersfield in 2001. He added that huge, permanent “haunts” (as he calls them) are commonplace where he lived and elsewhere around the country. Growing up, Wilbur fell in love with haunted houses, and that love is what drives him today.
Two weeks after the success of the Talladega Court haunted house, Wilbur began putting out inquiries for a future site on which to build something bigger and, hopefully, more permanent.
Roger Perez, marketing director for North of the River Parks and Recreation (NOR), along with the Exchange Club of Bakersfield, sat down with Wilbur and listened to his idea to build bigger and better for 2008. Wilbur described more square footage, more actors, more costumes, and more frightening rooms.
For Perez and NOR, it was an easy decision.
“We’d been looking for something for teens, and when we saw Mike’s passion, we were in!”
That won’t be an easy feat. Wilbur says he spends roughly nine months of the year researching and traveling the United States touring other permanent haunts that remain open only for tours for others like him, who make a hobby of spooking people.
“I go to haunt conventions. We brainstorm ideas, find out what works and doesn’t work,” said Wilbur. Then, he says, he brings the really good ideas back to Bakersfield.
Some of those good ideas involve chain saws, a vortex tunnel, cob-webbing guns, and a claustrophobia hallway. But that’s only part of the fun.
“I go for realism,” said Wilbur during construction. He pointed to plywood boards that had been treated with concrete to make them feel like old brick walls. In the dark, he said, no one will be able to tell that the walls aren’t stone.
But there’s more. Wilbur purchased a 1963 doctor’s exam chair, a wheel chair from the 1950s, and surgical tools from the early 1900s that he said would add to the realism of the experience.
“I’ve also purchased some quality costumes,” he said.
Some of the costumes the actors will wear come from the Exchange Club, whose members have been gathering each weekend to create frightening attire.
“They are a big help,” said Wilbur.
There’s more help. Each day after school, a group of around six teenagers have been arriving in cars, on bikes, or walking to the park to help create the haunt.
Kevin Boone, a 16-year old junior at North High School, shows up nearly every day. “I’m just here to build things,” he said. “I’m excited! I can’t wait to scare people!”
He isn’t the only one. Keith Jensen, 45, has been involved in the project since last year.
“I’ve always scared kids,” said Jensen. “My dad scared kids, so I wanted to.”
Jensen said when Wilbur wanted to build bigger and better for this year, he pitched in because he knew it would be even more frightening. “Last year, we had grown adult men in the fetal position,” said Jensen.
That’s pretty scary. How scary?
“We’ll make Chuck Norris cry,” laughed Doug Porter, a sophomore at Liberty High School and another of Wilbur’s loyal construction crew.
The teenagers are pivotal to the haunt’s success, and not just by building the walls. They are the actors, too.
“Last year we had 25 actors,” said Wilbur. “This year we have 60. I don’t need 60 to do the show, but close.”
Wilbur takes the acting as seriously as he does the haunt. He uses real people instead of props when he can and holds nightly practice to ensure that the actors know what is expected of them.
“I try to create great scenes and let the actors do their thing,” he said. “We try to 
And real it will be, from the beginning to the end, which should take nearly 20 minutes.
“The moment you walk through the walls, you’ll be entertained,” said Wilbur, smiling in the way of a person hiding a big secret.
“Once you’ve paid … you’re now victims of ours.”
Let the terror begin!
*Would you like to join the cast of Talladega Frights? Click here to learn how!
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