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, 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.

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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 house for a decade. I’ve always had a passion for entertaining people. 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 some other scary environment. Then, I would scare the trick-or-treaters coming to my house for candy. Enjoying entertaining people, decorating set pieces, and designing attractions started this thing that I have.

Launching the Horror: A Solo Effort

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

Shane – I first created the name Murder House and then devised the storyline, lore, and characters. My haunted house has monsters, and each monster has a storyline. It’s almost like a cinematic universe, similar to what you would see in Marvel superhero movies (but my characters are obviously villains and monsters with superpowers). Those monsters interact with each other, and their storylines cross paths.

After I had created the story, I started purchasing items that correlated with how I had envisioned it all in my head. What was each monster going to look like? How was I going to dress up as this monster? I started purchasing masks and items to follow the characters. This was well before getting the scary stuff in (the props, the masks, etc.). I tried to buy things that made the monster come to life and make it believable. 

Now, this wasn’t my first year of doing the haunted house, but I threw a Halloween party after I bought some of the stuff, and people who came said that I did such a good job with decorating it and making it look cool and fun that I should make a business out of it. The following year, I took that same stuff and bought more, and then I designed a haunted house similar to what I used to do when I was a kid to scare the trick-or-treaters that would come to my house. This time, I created a maze.

I started this business in my own home and ran it there for the first three years. We sold that house not too long ago, and I live in a new place now. When I invited the general public to my haunted house, I also suggested that they donate money because, from the very first year, I would always raise money for a local charity. So, I do this for a purpose, not just for entertainment.

In the third year of Murder House, over 8,000 people came. The party was too big for my home, which was very small and was located in a small residential community, so my neighbors said I could not run the event there anymore.

I was born and raised in the town that I live in. I’ve lived here my whole life, so I know this town well, and there’s a place where they used to do a big Halloween event in my city. Since this thing got too big for my house, and my neighbors wouldn’t let me do it there anymore, I went to the community to find a building. In Tampa, we have a famous historical district called Ybor City. I chose it as the place to search for my building.

It’s a lengthy story because I’ve had many issues with the event and getting open. However, I’ve been able to open the event twice professionally, and it’s gone great, even though the city is not supporting my event so well — and that’s because my city already has an event. There’s a lot of red tape and bureaucracy in my town because the company that owns this event I’m talking about is Anheuser-Busch. This big alcohol company owns Budweiser beer and Busch Gardens, a theme park like Disney World. Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay runs a haunted attraction called Howl-O-Scream. They charge $80 a person to come into the park. So, the city of Tampa has made it very difficult for me to open Murder House. They always cause me big problems. I realize there’s quite a bit of corruption in how business works. Unfortunately, they favor businesses with lots of resources, and that’s what I’ve been running against. I’m just a small business, one guy, but I’m very passionate.

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 criterion for being able to do something like this. Unfortunately, a haunted house is very expensive. It’s mainly because of the building that I have to rent. I’ve rented several buildings here in Tampa, and I typically need a building that is 10,000 sqft. Plus, it has to have on-site parking. It’s very costly, and I have to have a building up to code and with all the fire safety.

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.

My projections are $100,000 in October, but that’s the minimum, as it’s based on my current numbers. 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. But I have to have a building. I have to have a space. I’m a small business. I’m just one guy. I have my own life and career. I’m not Busch Gardens. 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.

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 pool stations and all that stuff. Usually, it’s not in the building, and you have to add it.

I already know I have fans and faith, so I’m not going to give up on my business. People are going to show up. I’m viral online. Every Halloween, the number of visitors to my website goes very high. I also have a slightly viral presence on social media. I grew my TikTok account to 17,000 followers and am on my way up.

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 child activities. If you’re talking about a haunted house, you’re talking about very scary things children should not see. I want to provide that experience, and I think what sets me apart from the competition is that I will focus on adults, causing some type of fear response.

The Team Behind the Terror

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

Shane – I have grown the 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 gave me the permit to operate. They also have a fire watch (I hire multiple fire attendants to watch for fires). There is also myself and the scare actor crew.

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

Shane – I grew my crew to 25. It’s a pretty big crew for a special event. 

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. I have talent in digital marketing and computers. I did all the marketing myself for the event. Number one is creating a website that attracts people, and I did that right in the beginning, in the second year. Then, I made people find out about the website by using SEO. I created accounts on other platforms — Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Then, I also did a guerrilla marketing blitz. I went out, dressed in costume, put signs on the road, and held a sign. Direct marketing works well for special events, mainly because you wear a mask, so people are instantly interested and ask what that’s about. I tell them, and I point them to my website. I have already created everything and have a wide footprint in digital media.

A Day in the Life of a Scare Master

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

Shane – I run the haunted house seasonally during the month of October. There’s about a four-month buildup, starting in May or June. I’m very busy trying to find the building and trying to organize my scary props. Once I find the building, the paperwork process starts. The paperwork is also something that I take care of. I draw the life safety plan. I create the blueprint for the floor plan, the walkthrough, the maze, and everything else. You would find much of my time spent in front of a computer.

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, the owners love what they do, and they just put all the money right back into it, or they make the event so crazy that they never make any money.

The haunted house has opened my eyes to small business. Once I succeed with this, it will be my segue into new business ventures. I already thought about how I could continue doing what I love, but I did it all the time. Once the haunted house is successful or I obtain finances in some way to support it, I have another idea in mind. I will create an escape room that runs out of the same location, but the escape room will not be scare-based. It’s going to be thrilling, and it’s not going to be confined. It will be a hostage-themed escape room with theatrical acting. 

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. You have to get in and spend money and lose it. You have to try. You have to do something 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 I rented a 26,000-square-foot building. The next building I get will probably not be that big, so that will be much easier. If you are passionate, you will learn everything about it because it will make you succeed.

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

Shane – I already have thoughts for a business in that department, too. I call it a haunt contractor, where I come and help you open your haunted house. But you know what? When COVID hit, that really messed up small businesses because we small guys can’t last out of the global pandemic. It was tough on haunted houses. But my advice is to bounce back. You have to bounce back. You can’t just have a hard thing happen and then give up on it.

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