Test your fear this year at Reign of Terror
Thousand Oaks’ Reign of Terror [ROT] came to haunt the Janss Marketplace for the eighteenth year with an entirely new layout and a never-seen-before eleventh section, “The Forest of Fear.” As of 2023, ROT was rated the number one haunted house in the United States on Yelp. This year, ROT is bigger than ever before with animatronics up to 10 ft tall, new technology and a completely new experience than that of years past.
ROT was first born in the garage of Bruce Stanton, the visionary behind the famous attraction. Stanton grew up in Culver City, L.A., where he experienced a haunted house walk-through in someone’s home. Stanton was inspired to one day build one of his own, and when he bought a house in T.O., he seized the opportunity he had been waiting for since he was a kid. “It started off as just a yard display, and then I converted the whole house into a walk-through,” Stanton said. Over the next eight years, the walkthrough went from attracting 40 people to 4,000, and Stanton’s haunt quickly outgrew his home. “The city said, ‘We love what you’re doing, but you just can’t do it anymore, because you’re blocking off your street. You’re creating a huge traffic jam,’” Stanton said. Instead of shutting him down, however, Stanton was offered a space in the Janss Marketplace, and his haunt became one of T.O. ‘s most beloved Halloween attractions.
Behind the terrifying makeup and mask, scare actor Chirs Hannan is dedicated to bringing the ROT haunted house experience to life. Hannan has been working as a scare actor for over 20 years and has been scaring at ROT for 10. In the queue line, Chirs and his two partners, otherwise known as The Sinister Three, are committed to giving guests an unforgettable experience. “That line gets big and I think people need to be entertained… So they’re not bored before they go in,” Hannan said. The Sinister Three dedicates the entire month of October and a couple of days in November to scaring and prepping people outside of ROT for an overall memorable experience. “If you have a good time outside, you’re definitely going to have an amazing time inside,” Hannan said.
From reading a newspaper article about ROT to being the Marketing Operations Manager of 15 years, Peter Ranck has seen the evolution of Stanton’s vision from its beginnings to the 32,000-square-foot attraction it is today. “Our haunted house is equal to 17 houses, individual houses, so it’s almost like a whole neighborhood crammed into one, building,” Rank said. He was first inspired to join after learning about the attraction’s donations to the Canal Recreation Park District and Thousand Oaks Teen Center. “I’ve always been a big fan of Halloween and haunted houses, so I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to go volunteer and help these people out, and at the same time, help contribute to a donation to the teen center where my daughters were enjoying and spending time.’”
Another member of The Sinister Three, Gradey Filion, is also dedicated to giving people the ultimate haunted house experience at ROT. Filion has a passion for making his own costumes come to life and is grateful that ROT allows him to show his creativity through his costumes. “I truly have a love for this walk-through haunted house…the owners give me their trust to bring my own characters to life every Halloween,” Filion said.
The Reign of Terror Haunted House is a yearly tradition for many students, including Jasmine Smith, sophomore. “Reign of Terror is such a great experience being able to go somewhere so locally… to make memories with my friends, and getting in the Halloween spirit,” Smith said. Smith enjoyed the larger space and unforgettable feeling of the attraction. “I feel like Reign of Terror was a lot bigger this year, and I noticed some more rooms which I didn’t remember from last year. There were lots of things jumping out at you from corners that you’d never expect,” Smith said.
This year, ROT regulars and anyone looking to challenge their tolerance for fear will likely be guaranteed a good time, in addition to a top-quality production. “We don’t cut any corners. We don’t skimp on lighting or audio or props, if the room isn’t [going to] work, because we’re doing this because we love it, and that’s priority number one. And then when you create something that you love, other people are gonna love it as well,” Stanton said.
