I build the horror others only watch. As Doc Symonstein, I fabricate fear from the ground up 365 days a year to keep real nightmares alive
Help your favorite Halloween fanatic appear in Rue Morgue Magazine, take home $13,000, and join Kane Hodder for a ghost hunt.
Dying to know what Face of Halloween is all about?
What’s your most memorable Halloween experience?
A group of adults stopped by thinking my walkthrough was just a modest display for neighborhood kids. Once they saw the level of detail, they all insisted on going through. The real payoff was watching their casual curiosity instantly vanish into genuine jump scares around the corners. Having full-grown adults walk in expecting a simple yard display and walk out completely blown away by the quality confirmed that the months of fabricating and staging deliver real impact.
Tell us why you would make it to the end of a horror movie.
Because I build the traps, design the mazes, and wire the mechanisms. Slashers thrive on victims making irrational choices in dark corridors, but as a builder, I read room layouts, know where the blind corners are, and recognize mechanical triggers before they fire. Plus, monsters don't intimidate someone who spends 365 days a year fabricating them in a garage. I wouldn't just survive the killer I'd lure them into my workshop and turn the tables
What would you do with the unlucky $13,000?
Reinvest every dime straight into SymonHaunts to elevate our multi-tent asylum into an unholy, pro-tier walkthrough terror experience. It would fund high-pressure pneumatic systems, industrial soundscapes, professional-grade animatronics, and materials to build the wildest, most immersive maze this community has ever witnessed. It wouldn't sit in a bank account it would be transformed into raw adrenaline and terror for everyone brave enough to step inside.
Who is your real-life hero who you would want to survive a horror movie with?
Even behind the Doc Symonstein persona, my real answer is my dad. He spent 27 years as a firefighter braving zero-visibility infernos and saving lives. Fictional slashers rely on panic, but a veteran firefighter thrives under pure chaos, breaches barriers, and executes calculated extractions. He taught me the calm nerve, mechanical problem-solving, and grit it takes to face down danger without blinking. In any real survival scenario, having a genuine lifesaver at my back beats fiction every time
Help Symonhaunts become the next Face of Halloween while supporting a great cause! Cast your daily vote below, or make even more of an impact with a tax-deductible donation supporting the Starlight Children's Foundation.
Limited-time: 2X donation votes ends on Tue 10/20 at 9PM PDT
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