Owner of Dr. Slaughter’s helps students resist drugs
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – What started as a birthday party for a local man’s niece has become one of the biggest haunted house attractions in east Idaho.
Darrell Wagner is the manager of Dr. Slaughter’s House of Terror. The project, Wagner says, began in the basement of his home with his wife and three kids.
Today, the same house of terror covers more than 30,000 square feet and is the biggest supporter of drug and alcohol prevention among students in Idaho Falls and Bonneville school districts 91 and 93. In 2000, the Idaho Falls Bonneville County DARE Board took over the business, although Wagner still operates it.
“We have been able to give $1.7 million to the DARE Project in Idaho Falls,” Wagner says.
Wagner is a peer support specialist with the Bonneville County Wood Pilot Project.
The haunted house allows him to give kids something positive to do with their time after school.
“We have 80 to 100 kids volunteering,” Wagner said. “They come in after school, and we feed them.”
The students get into make-up and find their positions in the haunt. Some are part of the Living Dead Dance Team and some are part of the cast.
The Living Dead Dance Team entertains patrons while they wait to enter the house of terror.
Those who enter Dr. Slaughter’s experience an alien invasion before entering Zombie City. Participants are taken upstairs into a 3D maze with glow-in-the-dark artwork and a look at Krazy Krista, as she is affectionately called by staff.
Patrons seem to love it. Check out their reviews here.
Dr. Slaughter’s House of Terror is open Monday through Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight, through Oct. 31.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article listed Darrell Wagner as the owner of Dr. Slaughter’s House of Terror. He is in fact the manager. The business is owned by the Idaho Falls Bonneville County DARE Board.
