What do two chainsaws, several pounds of whipped cream, 87 horror masks and gallons of fake blood have in common?

All these items are sitting in the upstairs portion of Jason Erskine’s outdoor horror studio. The items stay there for more than 11 months out of the year, awaiting that magical time in late October when they will be used in Erskine’s backyard haunted attraction, dubbed “Darkness Pines.”

Erskine, along with a large group of his friends and family, will host the event throughout the last half of October. This haunted attraction is literally two years in the making after this crew of horror-philes hosted it last in October 2006.

The haunted attraction was put on hold in 2007 after Erskine served a year overseas in Afghanistan. He returned from his tour of duty on May 9, more ready than ever to create a haunted attraction where guests get the most for their money.

“I can’t say it enough; I’m not in this for the money,” Erskine said, “We are all in this for the people. We want to entertain people and be the best horror attraction for the most affordable price this year.”

With an approximate running time of 25 minutes and the cost set at $7, Erskine and his crew just may reach their goal. The attraction is set in Erskine’s backyard and can best be described as a series of scenes that include classic horror motifs like a mummy’s tomb and more creative set pieces like a haunted playground.

After a haunted attraction that was held together by “duct tape and a prayer” in 2006, the newest iteration of the attraction is vastly improved, Erskine said. Everyone involved has logged hours of work over the past year, even while Erskine was overseas.

According to Mike Poland, who plays the host of the attraction during every night of the production, assembling the crew and making an attraction like this work is not an easy task. He said timing is key, with the crew having to remain in character and act on cues at exact moments in order to get the proper scares from guests.

“Breaking character is forbidden,” Poland said, “We’re all looking out for each other to make sure we’re each doing our jobs and at the same time making sure both the guests and crew remain safe.”

In addition to Erskine and Poland, other core crew members vital to the attraction’s success are Chase Brown and Blake Erskine, Jason’s brother and go-to man for a good mummy actor. Brown, meanwhile, dons a specially ordered costume that will remain secret until opening night.

All four of the core members have a history working together at other haunted trails and houses. They used these prior experiences as a means to learn everything possible about running a successful haunted attraction. Brown said Jason’s decision to host his own attraction in 2006 was obvious.

“Jason is a connoisseur of horror,” Brown said, “He knows what it tastes like; it only makes sense that he start his own attraction.”

According to Erskine, a successful haunted attraction must have the three essential elements of any great horror film: the startling, the mentally creepy and the comical. He feels that this “rollercoaster pace” keeps people on their toes but also allows them time to relax before the next big scare.

Poland, Brown and the Erskine brothers all agree that their attraction will set itself apart mainly because guests will not be rushed through it. Since Poland acts as host he can dictate the pace of the tour, so if he feels things are moving too fast he can slow the tour down and vice versa.

“We’ve all gone to other haunted houses because we’re fans and because we want to learn from them,” Poland said, “We’ve paid $15 before and been pushed through a tour in four minutes; that’s not what we’re about.”

To keep the people waiting in line for the tour from becoming bored, Erskine is also offering concessions and even lining the area in front of the entrance with some spooky characters and imagery. This strategy of entertainment before the tour is simply to allow the paying guests to get the full experience once they begin.

However, potential guests with weak stomachs should be warned before they experience this tour. Erskine and company insist on parental guidance for children and don’t recommend the tour for anyone under the age of 10. Parts of the tour involve scares piled on top of scares; a butcher-themed attraction, in particular, shows the crew’s penchant for pulling out more scares after the audience thinks the shocks are over.

Erskine knows from experience that pushing people’s limits too far can ruin an event like this and turn people off. He recalls one incident at another haunted house involving a fake leg being sawed off with blood timed to spurt out at the guests.

“You can shock people to the point of offending them, and [the leg scene] definitely offended people,” Erskine said, “We don’t go that far, but it’s always a big challenge finding that medium so we can appeal to a wide range of people.”

Erskine said no one was offended in 2006, but the crew did get a reaction from people. Pants became soiled on numerous occasions and one guest lost a shoe in an attempt to flee the attraction. According to Erskine, the man was too afraid to return for it because of the costumed crewmember chasing him.

“Targeting the already-scared 18 to 30-year-old woman is easy,” Erskine said, “The real challenge is frightening the macho guy who insists he can’t be scared. If we can scare those guys without even touching them we know we’ve done a great job.”

The coming weeks will see the crew putting the final touches on the attraction, although Erskine is already looking forward to scaring people for years to come. He plans on making the attraction an Anderson institution and many on the crew admit they would love to continue scaring locals ten years from now.

With more money come more improvements, grander sets and more elaborate scares, so Erskine and company plan on putting all the money earned at this year’s attraction right back into sets and costumes for next year. As Erskine continually said, the attraction isn’t about the money, and his wife Kirstie confirmed this and managed to sum up Erskine’s obsession with horror at the same time.

“A lot of people dream about doing certain things in life, like running 25 miles or something like that,” Kirstie said, “Jason dreams about hosting a haunted attraction and scaring people; he truly is living the dream.”