Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica McElroy, Carroll Moore
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like?
Erica-We have both worked in the haunt industry for a very long time. I started when I was a kid back in Southern California. My elementary school was famous for the fall festival and haunted house they put on. After high school I moved to Denver for college and worked for a large haunted house company for over 14 years. I traveled to haunted attractions all over the country and helped them train their actors and help the general managers open their shows. In the “off season” I helped design escape games and teach axe throwing for the same company. Working for that company is also how Carroll and I met.
Carroll- Well, being a Nashville native, I began working as an actor in haunted houses back in 1999 at a local Nashville area attraction called, Monster Mountain. Then in 2006, I started building and designing and finding my own art style. Working with hard working and talented people we went on to build and design other attractions in the Nashville area. Monster Mountain, Scream Creek, Dark Descent, and Death Yard all had a touch of my style to them. After the closing of Death Yard I was hired full time by another large Nashville haunt and stayed with them until the corporate haunt group that Erica worked for acquired it. That company sent me to Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, and Phoenix before I left the company to work for the amazing team at Epic Entertainment Group. Once I got onboard with the Epic team in Orlando, we worked together to create Dark Horizon in 2019. Things went so well they invited me to California to work with them on the Queen Mary and their event Dark Harbor. I toured the ship and property and within a week, the country shut down for Covid-19. I was devastated. I went from building and creating haunted worlds, to stocking shelves at a Southern California supermarket. I found haunt work late in 2020 back in Tennessee, which later made me realize that owning my own haunted house again was what I needed to be doing. Plans were made, property was found, paperwork was signed, and Halloween Hollow was born and we opened its giant pumpkin to our spooky fans in the fall of 2022. After everything I’ve been a part of, opening the Hollow was definitely the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my professional career.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Carroll- Have you driven on the Nashville interstates? It’s been like that, lol. It has been tough from time to time and it’s also had its smooth moments. Although this business is not your typical brick and mortar we still have to treat it like a business. Customers need to buy tickets for us to be successful. They have to find us. It’s hard navigating the social media waters and getting your ads in front of them. Weather is also our best friend and worst enemy. Halloween Hollow is an outdoor attraction so you can imagine what some inclement weather can do to our business on a busy October Saturday.
Erica- I also think that our talented group of teammates create a lot of smooth lanes with us. They are top notch and a very important piece of what makes the Hollow run like a well-oiled machine. Without them, the struggles we have had would not have been as easily conquered, especially in the first few years.
Carroll-100 percent. We would not be going strong into our 4th season without them. Between our management team, our amazing seasonal staff and performers, our partners, and our fantastic community, we are very fortunate to be in the position we are currently in.
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
Carroll- The team creates and builds as a unit. Now, Erica or myself may have a desired direction to go but I feel we all get there together and help each other along the way. Whether it’s Brad Loftis, working with actors, or Brittany English creating costumes, it’s all a communitive effort. Same with LeeAnna Player in the makeup department, Kamron Presley in maintenance and operations, Chuck Duty as Technical Director, Philip Clark as Site B Engineer and Escape Gamemaster, and even Jayme Gavisk, our Feline Fortune Teller. We also have a great hype-man and crypt shopkeeper in Jim-Jam Eppes. We have a team that is unmatched. As for me personally, I love the style of haunting that I do. I try to create realistic sets that transport our customers to a place where they have a hard time telling what’s real and what’s not. Our video store for example. It looks like an abandoned video store of the 90’s. That’s what I love to do. Create and build things that people think are cool and scare them while they experience it. Or at least try to, lol. Also, I love using hauntporn! Hauntporn is anything you can add to a set to make it sexier in spooky appeal. Layers of detail. I love detail.
Erica- Mostly everything at Halloween Hollow was built from the ground up. There was nothing on the property when we started. We have basically built a Halloween town right here in middle Tennessee. You start your journey by walking through a 25 foot pumpkin that you could drive a truck through! We currently have an old haunted mansion attraction called Dark Raven, our video store called Video Slashback, a feline fortune teller, a corn maze, a themed escape game and so much more. This upcoming season will bring big changes to the Hollow. Meltdown: Nuclear Nightmare will be replacing Big Top Meats, but that in turn will become its own Fear-Zone. Who doesn’t like chainsaw wielding killer clowns, right?! lol. We are also adding an additional corn maze to our 2025 season. We have a non scary corn maze already, but this second corn maze will be offering up plenty of scares as we call it, Dark Acres: All Hallows’ Eve.
That’s what sets us apart from most haunts. We put a unique spin on things. We try to make it our own. Built not bought and if it is bought, it’s bought from amazing artists.
Carroll-What I want people to know about us is to not let the drive fool you. We are less than an hour from the Nashville airport. (BNA if you’re fancy.) You and your family can spend 2-3 hours at Halloween Hollow. We consider ourselves a Halloween destination. Halloween fun for everyone. I know I have talked to quite a few upper Cumberland folks who told me they are so glad they don’t have to travel to Nashville for a large haunted attraction anymore. We have people screaming from Nashville to Knoxville and because we are at such a great location, there is no reason to not come and see Tennessee’s own spooky hidden gem, Halloween Hollow. If you’re tired of the same ole same ole, come out and see us this Halloween season. You won’t be disappointed.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources that help you do your best in life (at work or otherwise)?
Erica-
Podcasts:
Big Scary Show
Morbid
Obitchuary
Conspiracy Theories
The Chernobyl Podcast
Park Predators
Carroll- I love pop culture and true crime. Any docs or podcasts that are sent to me I’ll always give them a listen. I’m all over the place, lol. I find ideas in my everyday life, in everything I do. Vintage Fangoria’s are a nice read in the evening or streaming Mindhunter on Netflix while cleaning the house and folding laundry does the trick for me. Maybe because I’m an Aries? Who knows, lol. Matty Matheson on YouTube makes me want to get back into cooking (I never have time anymore) Thrifting and yard sales helps my soul and the haunt. I love vintage everything. I’m not a very big tech guy and my phone is always broken so…yeah. Tik Tok and other social media platforms help our business tremendously. We allow customers to go live through certain attractions and we have “Travelers” (traveling actors) that do the same and it gets us a huge following every season. People love to see what’s going on at the Hollow and those platforms let them see what’s happening.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Halloweenhollowhaunt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halloweenhollowhaunt?igsh=NnkyMjgwanYwcmN3
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18qmgD1UfR/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@halloweenhollowhaunt?si=YeKCCOgTcpmfPKP9
