How Shane Downs Built Tampa’s Terrifyingly Popular Murder House

Shane Downs, the mastermind behind the spine-chilling Murder House in Tampa, Florida, has built a reputation for delivering terrifyingly unforgettable experiences every Halloween season. As the Scare Master (fancy for owner) , Shane has transformed his passion for horror into a thriving business that stands out in a market dominated by big names. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the origins of Murder House, the challenges and triumphs of running a haunted attraction, and Shane’s advice for aspiring fear-mongers.

For additional scares, sign up for Murder House updates and keep your eyes peeled on their social media; the links are in the interview below.

Click here to join the MH blog

The Origins of Murder House

SBS – What’s the story behind your business?

Shane – My name is Shane, and I’m best known as the Scare Master of Murder House. I’ve been running a haunted attraction for a decade. I’ve always had a passion for entertaining people and monster acting. When I was a young kid, instead of trick-or-treating and getting candy from the community during Halloween, I would stay in my house and decorate it as a graveyard scene or utilize some other creepy decorations to create a horror set. Then, I would scare the trick-or-treaters coming to my house for candy. Dressing up as Micheal Myers from Halloween, I had the mechanics jumpsuit, William Shatner’s White Face “The Shape” Mask, and a rather large plastic knife.

I terrorized those teens really well while blaring John Carpenter’s “Halloween Theme” as loud as the boombox would play in the background! I owned that Halloween 4 Soundtrack that is so masterful on CD-ROM and played the song “Still He Kills” on a loop for the entire evening (the track’s so scary)! This spawned the tradition every Halloween, and the Downs family became legendary in the neighborhood during Halloween time!

Launching the Horror: A Solo Effort

SBS – When did you start this, and did you do it on your own?

Shane – I had to find a name for my business, and, as a fan of American Horror Story, Murder House’s name was inspired by the hit horror show! The MH concept was devised in writing first, where the beginnings of the storyline, lore, and totally unlikeable (Smirks) characters were created to make it entirely original. Murder House has monsters, and each creature has a storyline. It’s a cinematic universe similar to what you would see in Marvel superhero movies (but my characters are obviously villains and monsters with superpowers). The monsters all interact with each other, and their storylines cross paths. Follow the terrifying story arcs of Sweet’s The Clown, The Feline, Killer Saw, Haze, The Joke Killer, The Bouncer and more… There is a resistance of survivors in this fictional apocalyptic tale, it is a fight for their lives! Fans will enjoy the ever-evolving horrors as Murder House creates the next dimension of horror in Tampa!

With the basis of the story created, it was time to shop, so I purchased items (props & masks/costumes) that correlated with how I had envisioned it all in my head. What was each monster going to look like? I have found that costumes tend to evolve as you gain experience with the cosplay! Each character in The haunt deserves an elaborate costume, and attention to detail is a must! It took me years to accumulate quality & affordable Halloween decorations to do a great job on the event. To save money for the real costs of business, leasing the building necessary, and purchasing special event insurance, I had to purchase used props! These custom-handmade props are not cheap, and they are vital to the success of the haunted attraction! I must reiterate this importance to new haunters and select quality, used affordable props.

This process should not be rushed, as this is where the time you spend will net you true savings! In the beginning, you start simple and affordable and scale the quality of your decorations and costumes according to the profits obtained in the event — unless you are obsessed like a Scare Master and want to foolishly fund the entire thing on your own without proper start-up capital! Stayin’ independent, baby!

Beginning the event for me, under my circumstances, was a huge risk. I contemplated inviting the public into my own home for the sake of avoiding dramatic startup costs. In 2013, I began opening my home to the general public as a Home Haunted House. Each year, we garnered exponential success and continued attracting the masses for three years at the OG location. While guests sign their liability waivers to get into the haunted house, I also suggested that they donate funds because, from the very first year, I would always raise money for a local charity. Murder House has purpose and meaning! It is not solely for entertainment. As a professional haunted attraction, it’s in Murder House’s business plan to donate 10% of gate admissions to a local charity of Scare Master Shane’s choice!

Wow, it worked! In the third year of Murder House, over 8,000 people came to experience the haunted house. Murder House had a forty-five-minute wait line for this small home haunt. Surprisingly enough, the haunt made enough waves to attract big names in the industry, as representatives from Howl-O-Scream and Halloween Horror Nights announced their visit! Our Murder House scare actor/actress family also caught the attention of multiple news outlets as a featured event in local printed and online publications, as well as broadcasted news segments covering our success. Murder House now had fans coming to the annual event each year! These types of crowds promptly had me seeking and searching all of Tampa for a suitable venue for Murder House! The party was too big for my home, which was very small and located in a residential community.

Being born and raised in Tampa Bay, I have fond memories of the infamous Gauvaween Event that took place in Ybor City for many years. When I was younger I attended that event every year decked out in full costume; it was a wild time! The Historic District of Ybor City has always drawn me in with its monumental architecture and mob family-era roots. Those buildings would be a perfect setting to host Murder House as a professional adult haunted attraction, I just knew that was the spot.

Murder House selected the basement of The Cuban Club, a reportedly haunted building featured on the hit show Ghost Hunters, as a perfect professional venue for the haunted attraction! Just in time for spooky season, the Murder House skeleton crew worked ’round the clock and constructed an impressive event in only 13 nights! I visited that freaky old ghost building for nearly two months straight, with chills and hairs standing on end!!! It had a certain energy there that I cannot quite describe without touching on the paranormal.

The Cuban Club was an awesome experience, the haunted house turned out amazingly scary and wow what a beautiful location for the haunt! It was missing a few key elements to make this a final destination for the vision of the haunted attraction. Murder House’s reputation is tight with The Cuban Club, they love us and we have determined that this will be the location for the Murder House Afterparty!!! As for the haunted attraction, the hunt continues for that grandiose venue location and building space! I let the buildings talk to me, they tell me with whispers, that the customers would go berzek if I ran a Haunt there! That is the type of place we are looking for! Let’s put it this way: I have a whole darn Cigar Factory in my sights!

Murder House had a huge success in 2018 — a real breakthrough for our small business. We leased out the Teco Gasworx Facility. This huge space sprawled over seven acres and had a 24,000 sqft building and onsite parking for over 300 vehicles. This was truly the ideal location and ultimate vision for what I had imagined in the beginning when I conceived Murder House! I cannot believe that only a short time later, I would have the best building and opportunity to host a legendary haunted attraction that would go down in infamy forever!!!

The details of this event are burned into my mind forever and should be saved for an in-depth follow-up interview. The event was railroaded by permitting issues, even though ultimately, we successfully obtained the permits with the city and opened Murder House in a building with adequate space to host an event that can compete with the likes of our most fierce competition: Busch Garden’s Howl-O-Scream. Murder House’s most ambitious endeavor at Teco produced our most intense, what I call Hyper Scare Haunt! The scale of that event was equally as large as any of the mega haunted attractions, which was a true accolade and testament to the passion and commitment of the Murder House family in bringing our fear to the thrill-seekers! Unfortunately, after our 2018 Scarefest, the Teco Gasworx facility was set to be demolished with explosives due to its aging infrastructure. The perfect home for Murder House was now reduced to dust and rubble.

It’s a lengthy story because I’ve had many issues with successfully permitting the event with Land Development and the City of Tampa. It appears as if I may be lacking in support from city officials and fire marshals who oversee the process. However, I’ve been able to open the event twice professionally, and it was an amazing show for the short duration they allowed me to open… It’s obvious to me that the City of Tampa is not supporting the Murder House event so well (my observation and opinion based on my interactions with each department’s representatives) — and that’s because my city already has a favored Halloween mega event. There’s a lot of red tape and bureaucracy in my town, big players are involved in this industry and that’s because it is extremely lucrative to those that hold the market majority in an area. A newcomer is only a disruption to the top-level elites that lobby with city officials to regulate the new business right into bankruptcy.

As a savvy businessman, I call it how I see it, and Scare Master Shane says there’s quite a bit of corruption in how business works. Unfortunately, officials and property owners favor businesses with lots of resources that wield power, and that’s what I’ve been running against. I’m just a small business, one guy, but I’m very passionate, so no one can stop me. I am infinite energy, training my mind and body till invincible! Murder House hasn’t gone anywhere. Our Scare Family ain’t scared, we are in the business of scaring!

Current Challenges in the Haunted Attraction Industry

SBS – What do you believe is the biggest challenge for your business right now?

Shane – Finances are the number one criteria for being able to do something like this. Unfortunately, a haunted house is very expensive. It’s mainly because of the building that must be leased. I’ve rented several buildings here in Tampa, and I typically need a building that is 10,000 sqft to house the adrenaline-producing Scarefest that is Murder House. Plus, it has to have on-site parking. The building must be up to code and with all the fire safety equipment intact, ready to be fully inspected and “Passed,” which is at the total discretion of those decision-makers, the fire marshals. With there being a deadline on the event it further complicates finances as decisions must be made rather quickly. Ahh, now you understand why you must prepare all year long! Do not underestimate the work involved and the amount of slaving you’ll do! The Haunt is a calculated risk and a costly one at that, so be prepared! It’s a total investment of resources, all dead-pooled into one! Time, finances, and all of your energies will be harnessed to become this “Scare Master” in business enterprise!

The risk is high in regards to combating a giant competitor and encroaching on their territory like I did. There is, however, a chest full of gold if you can navigate hostile environments well! Smart entrepreneurs will select a more remote area to experience city officials who have more inviting communication and support for a revenue opportunity, such as a new haunted attraction in an area lacking any type of Halloween event.

Financial Health: Profits and Struggles

SBS – Is it profitable for you right now, or are you still struggling from time to time? Have you tried to look for other ways of financing?

Shane – It is profitable for me, and my projections are very good. However, I’m in the hands of Land Development and their permitting process for a Temporary Assembly Permit. They must give me a permit that says I have the green light to operate. If I don’t have the permit, I can’t make any money, regardless of how good the projections are. I suggest making friends in high places, call the mayor!

My projections are $100,000 in October, operating a successful Murder House Haunt season, but that’s the minimum, as it’s based on my current numbers and projections. To all readers of these revenue statistics — please keep perspective: Murder House has been in operation for a decade prior to excite guests into a fan base of followers. If I operate, those numbers are exponential because you gain new fans yearly. New people find out about you and come and experience, have fun, and tell their friends, so the profit only goes up. The Catch-22: I have to have a building; I have to have a space.

I’m a small business. I’m just one guy. Thus far, I have financed this haunted attraction with my funds obtained by working a regular 9–5. In other words, I’m broke! I have a career doing what I am good at and use what tiny resources I accumulate at my “JOB” to finance what I love to do, Murder House, period! I don’t have the resources to just say, “I want that building right there,” and it’s all perfect. It’s up to code. I have to work with what is available out there in the real world. I save my resources all year and make constant sacrifices to pull this off. I am serious here, no vacations, no weekends out, in my situation I had to funnel all my capital into my small business, to accelerate it so quickly in just 10 years! Now, Murder House is an established brand name and registered trademark!

These buildings are hard to come by. When you’re talking about a 10,000-square-foot building that needs to be up to code, that means it needs to have a full sprinkler system and a full fire alarm system with pull stations, in addition to exit lights, floodlighting, and all that stuff. Usually, it’s not in the building, and you have to add it. Those extra expenses get crazy. It’s also insane to get things like installing a brand new system into a building permit on time. These issues take upwards of six months to clear with the county for a permit, and that is just for the fire safety system. The prices of the buildings that are entirely up to code & ready to go can get beyond what normal folks can finance or afford with these leases.

You must not allow the fact of corruption to deter the business from driving forward as if you titan in the industry!!! What you think, write, and speak happens, especially with focused action. I think vision, I write details, I speak actions & my actions seem mystical to others who witness the amount of stuff the bossman can get done!

Murder House remains an innovator in the horror genre. People are going to show up. I’m viral online on social media. Every Halloween, the number of visitors to my website goes to the Moon! I grew my TikTok account to 17,000 followers and am on my way up. Murder House’s viral presence on all the various social media platforms gives me the energy I need to dethrone a certain corrupted mega-corporation. If only society would evaluate how they choose to spend their monies, and people educated themselves on the companies they supported, real investigative work to find out how influential companies in the Halloween industry (this applies to all industries) invest their revenue/profits and what partners they choose to form alliances with. I am a real advocate for society changing this current celebrity and status culture into a compassionate society that supports wholesome businesses that uphold morals and values in their respective markets and also their personal lives.

Standing Out in a Competitive Market

SBS – Since you have competition in your city, what makes your event different from theirs?

Shane – It truly comes from my passion and commitment to providing a scary experience. That’s what I do differently. This is an adult haunted house that is not suitable for children. Adults deserve to have fun on Halloween, too, but their activities should not cross with family-oriented events with children present. If you’re talking about a haunted house, you’re talking about very scary things children should not see. I want to provide that horror experience that the older audience craves, and I think that what sets me apart from the competition is that I will focus on adults, causing some type of fear response in the safe and controlled environment of the haunted attraction.

Murder House’s primary concern is safety & security. Our focus and commitment here are to maintain a positive atmosphere and safe environment for guests to enjoy the entertainment. It’s our mission to design and safe haunted attraction that meets all the criteria and regulations in place for fire safety. Yes, I will admit that in the beginning when I was a home haunted house, I emphasized the scares and customer experience. Throughout my experiences of running the haunt at my own home, I quickly adapted my thinking into shifting my focus to a professional mindset of safety, security, and compliance! Learn how to keep your customers safe and communicate to them effectively regarding your business’s expectations for haunted house conduct. There will be plenty of time after these life safety protocols to ensure the scares are plenty!

The Team Behind the Terror

SBS – Do you have a team of people helping you with the event?

Shane – Murder House has grown its event to a professional scale. I have full security staff on service here; these guys are law enforcement officers. I work alongside the fire marshals who give the permit to operate. They also require fire watch attendants (I hire multiple fire attendants to watch for fires while the event is operating). There is also myself and the scare actor/actress crew. We have a full-functioning front desk for admission and merchandise sales, a dedicated customer service representative for customers at the event, and phone/internet communications. Our Scare Family does come together close and has one giant shared story to tell each season! We exhaust ourselves every time in the name of customer satisfaction!

SBS – How many people do you have there while the event happens?

Shane – The Haunt Team grew to 25 paid staff members. It’s a pretty big crew for a special event and a small business of Murder House size. I could see that expanding to as many as 50 people once all you horror fanatics find out what Murder House is and how we do it up BIG on the SCARES! My nature is to spend all the money I make operating Murder House right back on the customer and employee experience! Who needs a Lambo when you have the Murder House Hearse (it’s much cheaper)? It’s simply about the acting and theatrics and seeing guests smile as we evoke that fear response! We all just want to have fun and be entertained without some real lunatic in the room! That is why Ii hire so many employees (with background checks) and volunteers so that we can focus on my primary concerns of providing safety & scares!

Generating Interest: The Early Days

SBS – How did you get people interested in your event when you first started?

Shane – This is where my talents and expertise come into play. My talents lie in digital marketing and internet presence. I did all the marketing myself for the event, I had to save money everywhere for the main costs of doing business. Murder House created a website to attract locals and did that right in the beginning, in the second year. I made the public find out about the website by using SEO. I created accounts on as many free platforms as possible — Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn, to name a few.

It’s a must to enact a guerrilla marketing blitz, as they are most effective for all special events. I went out, dressed in costume, put signs on the road, held a sign at busy intersections, and pulled publicity stunts (contact local law enforcement non-emergency line first). Direct marketing works well for special events, mainly because you wear a mask, so people are instantly interested and ask what that’s about, crowds tend to gather around. I tell them about Murder House, and I point them to my website. The brand is strong and enduring. Every year, I obtain a massive amount of phone calls with interest from customers and other businesses alike! Your audience already exists out there on the internet! You must pull that audience from the platforms where it exists and convert customers to sign up as users on your platform! Retention drops the mic!

A Day in the Life of a Scare Master

SBS – What does your typical day as a scary entrepreneur look like?

Shane – Murder House operates seasonally during October. We are a Halloween-special amusement event. There’s about a four-month buildup, starting in May or June. It gets so busy for me trying to find the building, all while organizing my scary props. Once Murder House selects a location by finding the perfect building, the paperwork process starts.

The paperwork is also something that I take care of. I draw the life safety plan, create the blueprint for the floor plan, the walkthrough for the maze, and everything else. You would find much of my time spent in front of a computer with a glaring screen illuminating my space in the wee hours of the morning! I do these things to save money and ensure that the work is accomplished with the highest caliber and degree! You may choose different tactics, and hiring others could work if you find the right people to collaborate with. This comes at a price of $ “Ching!”

Balancing Scares with a Day Job

SBS – Do you have a regular job in the meantime? 

Shane – Yeah, absolutely. Over the years, I’ve had to hold jobs to support my passion. Many people will tell you that haunted houses often don’t make money. That’s because usually, it is true that the owners love what they do, and they just put all the money right back into it, or they make the event so crazy elaborate that they never make any money. Most haunters do this out of passion and on the side of another more stable type of venture. You will need to maintain some type of income in case of haunt emergencies. It is a Haunted House, and lawsuits happen; yes, we carry insurance for these types of situations, but hiring lawyers can be costly for dramas that could occur when you invite the general public into something as rowdy as a haunted house.

The haunted house has opened my eyes to the fundamentals of small business. My conviction leads me to remain independent and true to my moral compass. I will not be influenced by a fancy contract given by handlers to be signed in blood in terms of selling one’s soul! The independent scene is where it’s at and where Murder House will remain. Pure and untainted by the hands of Hollyweird or any elite corp. entity.

If this means that I have taken the slow road to financial freedom, then so be it! If Murder House is to targeted and harrassed, then I say keep my enemy close! The tides are turning and the Murder House event is here to stay, it will be my segue into new business ventures. I already thought about how I could continue doing what I love, but year round! Once I obtain finances in some way to support it, I have another idea in mind. We have designed an all-new theatrical escape room that runs out of the same location as the haunted attraction, but the escape room will not be scare-based. It’s going to be thrilling, and it’s going to be interactive! It will be a hostage-themed escape room with theatrical acting. If you like what you hear and want to see this vision come to fruition, then remember to follow Murder House for insane horror content!

Advice for Aspiring Haunted House Entrepreneurs

SBS – What advice would you give someone who wants to start a haunted house business?

Shane – You have to have passion first. Know that this is what you want to do, and after you’ve decided to do a haunted house, you have to get in and make mistakes. Get in and spend money and lose it. You have to try. Have to do something in business for which you may not have all the answers. I had none of the answers. When starting the haunted house, I did not know about permitting, leasing buildings, and fire safety codes. I’ve had a crash course since then. The last time I ran the event, I spent over $25,000 to get all the education I could ever want about opening and getting a permit because, with that money at stake, you will never forget the experience. Business operations and the experiences obtained are the best educators, more so than any educational institution. There is the risk of either making a nice return or losing it all in a wash. If you are passionate, you will learn everything about it because the knowledge obtained in the trials will make you succeed. It is destiny.

SBS – Maybe someone will ask you to organize a similar event for them because you have so much experience and expertise.

Shane – I am asking the public or others interested in forming an alliance to help me locate that crazy, cool building for the Murder House. I already have a turn-key haunted attraction to set up in that permanent location that I have been seeking. Now I know that I can reach out and ask for help on this particularly hard task! Some Murder House fans out there certainly know of the perfect location, as many new buildings are now available. Please do not hesitate to share all leads with Scare Master Shane.

Most people are waking up to the corruption of big business and the gatekeeping that happens when a new small business enters the fray! I must warn people who support horror businesses and content creators: Please do your research on how those companies and influencers utilize their profits and what organizations they choose to align themselves with! Support small businesses with exceptional leadership, that have a passion for making horror, those that care about how their creation and content affect others.

Until next time, peace, love, and prosperity to all my fellow entrepreneurs who are going after their hopes and dreams of owning their very own haunted attraction! For those who are invested in learning how to do this in detail and desire further mentorship, then please reach out with a story to Murder House’s email:

Murderhousetampa@gmail.com

To the fans of Murder House! You all are the best and most loyal group of horror fanatics that I have ever seen! I love the continued support and all the positive feedback. It is your commitment to Murder House that has inspired me to continue on in the face of adversity! Your positive energies and interest in MH recharge my drained batteries! If you have a question about what it is that we do here, then reach out! Sincerely with passion from the Scare Master of Murder House, Shane Downs!

Read also: Chris Stafford Reveals How to Create a Great Haunted Attraction