Bloody Bill Pon loves horror.
Each Halloween since 1998, he’s run his haunted attraction at 2215 W. Second St., offering plenty of scares and thrills to customers who dare walk through.
Pon, who grew up in Dallas, is a big fan of horror movies, haunted houses and just about anything else that is spooky or macabre.
Pon’s 24th season of his Halloween haunted attraction is called Chainsaw Carnage. The attraction will be open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 28, Oct. 29 and from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. on Oct. 30-31.
The Chainsaw Carnage is an outdoor maze that involves several different obstacles and doors with a bunch of curtains with people holding chainsaws.
“It’s just a very good maze,” Pon said. “There’s a lot of curtains, and you don’t’ know what’s behind the curtains. You don’t know what’s real and what’s not real. Jump scares and all galore.”
Pon’s love of everything horror started when he was in elementary school.
“I’ve been doing haunted houses since the ‘80s — even before they were popular,” Pon said. “My mom was a PTA president of my elementary school, and I volunteered for the school carnival and that’s where I got my first dose of where I wanted to do haunted houses forever. That’s what got me interested in that.”
It was also his love of horror movies that got him interested in haunted houses.
When he’s not busy each fall with his Odessa creation, he’s often making horror movies via his own film-making business, Bloody Bill Productions.
Over the years, his haunted house has taken on different names.
“I came down here to take a job at a local TV station,” Pon said. “I bought this place and started Def Con 1, Haunted Warehouse. Then we did Circus of the Dead murder maze now we’re doing Chainsaw Carnage.”
In the past, his haunted house has taken place inside the Second Street. Pon had to move his haunted attraction outside where there’s no roof because of building code until he can install a sprinkler system. Next year, his business will be back indoors.
“Unfortunately, when COVID hit, it changed a lot of laws with the city and stuff,” Pon said. “They expired on the grandfather clause of the building. Now, they’re wanting a sprinkler system, or a fire suppression system which are like $100,000. But I’ve saved up for it. It just won’t be ready for this year. We’re outside for one more year. We can get by with it legally because there’s no roof over our head.”
Next year, for the 25th season, Pon says he will have something built inside the warehouse “that’ll be even bigger and badder than West Texas has seen.”
Pon said he’s built a tradition with his scary shenanigans.
“There are kids that work for me,” Pon said. “You have to be at least 15 years old to volunteer to work here. There are kids that worked for me when I opened; now their own kids are working here. That tells you how long the haunted house has been around.”
Volunteers that are interested can apply online at tinyurl.com/224km3ce.
“It’s the same mainstay people,” Pon said. “Every year, we have a third of those people, or new people coming in. The thing with haunted houses is we get kind of old, and it’s hard to lug around those chainsaws when you get older. It seems like with the crews, once they get to a certain age, they ‘retire’ but what’s cool is they send their kids out here to work and they still bring their families out here to work. It’s kind of like a family thing out here.”
Pon says there is a waiting list.
“You can sign up,” Pon said. “We start a waiting list and someone can’t show up, we bring in someone else. It’s like a football team.”
For this year’s setup, Pon said they gutted both haunted houses inside the warehouse.
“We took all the props from Circus of the Dead and all the props from Def Con, and we shoved them into this maze to keep scaring people while we get the sprinkler system going,” Pon said. “We took all the walls from both haunted houses and made one big maze. It’s just as good as the one inside. There’s just no ceiling. Mother Nature is its roof.”
Over the years, Pon has collected different items to make his haunted house scarier.
“I collect stuff,” Pon said. “A lot of my stuff comes from garage sales and flea markets and thrift stores and even trash bins. I’m not too proud to dig through a trash bin, but I find the coolest things sometimes. I don’t like the store bought stuff. I like repurposing things.”
While this year might take place outside, he’s guaranteeing that it will be just as scary as before.
“We just added to it and made it more claustrophobic,” Pon said. “Tickets are $15. You can also buy a VIP ticket for $20 which allows you to skip to the front.”
If you go
- What: Chainsaw Carnage.
- Where: 2215 W. Second St.
- When: 7 p.m. to midnight Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 and from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Oct. 30-31.
- Price: $15 ($20 for VIP).
- Tickets: tinyurl.com/3rnrf5c8
