BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) – Terror 29 is back again for its second season in Brandon with scarier concepts and options for faster wait times.
Terror 29 opened Thursday night and broke its record for opening night attendance. It will be open every Thursday-Saturday in October, along with Halloween and Nov. 4-5.
“Each year, we change it enough to make it a little bit different,” owner Zac Tenneboe said. “More scenic design has changed. We’ve added more onto the rooms to make it more visually stunning, more spooky, more blood, more gore.”
Tenneboe moved his haunted house to Brandon last year from the previous location off the Interstate 29 exit (hence the name, Terror 29). The Terror 29 team is ready for their sophomore season in Brandon and have added new thrills, jump scares and haunted scenes, along with expanding on the scariest aspects from last year.
“Without any spoilers, we’re super pumped because there was an area we discovered that terrified people,” Tennenboe said. “We’re doubling down on that. It was an afterthought last year and we’re like, ‘Holy cow, this is actually working really good.’”
Although Terror 29 is a traditional haunted house, Tenneboe brings something a little extra to the haunting experience with tasteful elements of magic.
“It’s not magic tricks or illusions that you see, but it’s illusions that help the scares happen,” he said.
Tenneboe’s love for all things horror and Halloween stemmed from his parents, who ran a home haunt during his childhood. In 2019, Tenneboe wanted to recreate his parent’s home haunt, but the small project quickly turned into Tenneboe buying a warehouse and starting a business.
The creative aspects and behind the scenes are Tenneboe’s favorite part of running the haunted house. He loves creating new concepts and watching them come to life, or rather death, in the distressing and building process.
“Obviously, when people come through the haunt and you hear their screams, that’s the actual physical reward, but the behind the scenes is way more fun,” he said.
Tenneboe attributes Terror 29’s five-year success to his following on social media and the loyal adrenaline junkies who keep coming back year after year for the thrills and horror. He described the allure of haunted houses with the analogy of fearing to jump out of a plane, but knowing you have your parachute.
“That’s what it’s like to walk through a haunted house,” he said. “You know you can get terrified and get scared but you’re gonna be safe.”
This year, Terror 29 is introducing the Terror Pass, which is a step up from a Fast Pass. For $43, you can skip the line entirely and get some Terror 29 merchandise. General admission tickets are $18 and the Fast Pass is $23.
If you’re planning on getting your horror on this spooky season, Tenneboe encourages people to order their tickets online, come earlier in the season or on Thursdays to cut down on the wait time.
“We’re super excited; it’s opening weekend. We’ve been building throughout the summer to get ready for the whole month of October,” Tenneboe said. “Last year, we got established, so now we can build on top of that and make it more scary, more spooky.”
