Exclusive Interview with Todd and Scott from Evil Twin Studios

Todd Schroeder and Scott Peterson who are the creative directors of Evil Twin Studios, last years Raymond Hill Mortuary and the all new Ward 13 were nice enough to take some time out of their very busy schedules for an exclusive interview. 
Below you'll learn a little bit about Todd and Scott, some information on this years event and even the charitable organization that the event helps. 

​Updated 10/9/2015 with information about their new haunt Ward 13

For more information on Ward 13, be sure to check out their website and get tickets. We will be there on October 17th, more information on that is coming soon. 

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Below is our exclusive interview with Todd & Scott who are the creative directors of Evil Twin Studios – Ward 13. 

Thanks Todd and Scott for taking the time out of their very busy schedules. 

Q1: How did you get into the "scaring people" business? 
We were both home haunters, setting up mazes and scares in our driveways to spook the trick-or-treaters. After a few years, we outgrew our houses and our wives suggested we team up and go somewhere else… anywhere else.

Q2: To us, your job seems like it would be the best thing ever. What advice would you have for our readers who would like to do something like this on their own either professionally or as a hobby? 
Haunting as a hobby is fantastic. You can go as big or as small as you want and 99% of the people who see it will appreciate the effort. If you decide to go pro, however, there are a LOT more factors to consider. #1) Finding a place. Very few buildings are willing to rent to you for a month. #2) Funding. It takes a lot of money to put together an experience that people will pay for. #3) Safety. You need to be concerned about this in a home haunt too, of course, but when you go pro you’ll have a lot more people coming through and you need to protect them. #4) Crew. Getting volunteers is a job in and of itself. #5) Publicity. Once you’ve built it, you’ve got to let people know. But when it all works out, it’s a blast.

Q3: Onto this year’s event, why did you decide to move locations for 2015?
The South Pasadena Unified School District was kind enough to let us use their location for our 2015 haunt. Since the proceeds of our haunt benefit the South Pasadena Educational Foundation, they allowed us to use the space for free! A new location has been challenging, but at the same time forced us to come up with new innovative scares that our fans have come to expect! 

Q4: Without spoiling anything, what can you tell us about the story for this year’s event? 
Many of your readers are familiar with the Raymond Hill Mortuary, but they probably haven’t heard of its sister facility, the Raymond Hill Sanitarium for the criminally insane. As we are well aware, the Raymond Hill facilities are not operated in a professional manner. It is rumored that there is a secret, undocumented section of the asylum called WARD 13, where experimental procedures take place and patient safety is not a concern. The operators of Raymond Hill deny WARD 13’s existence, but people living in the area have reported hearing strange noises and screaming at night that aren’t coming from the main building. It seems that WARD 13 may be in a separate building out back, but no one has been able to confirm its existence.  

Q5: What element or effect are you most proud of for this year’s event? 
Oh, that would be giving it away. We’d better keep that as a surprise.

Q6: What makes your event different or unique compared to similar events in the area? 
Fans of our haunt have said that two things really separate us from other haunts. #1) There’s no conga line. In the big, pro haunts the crowd goes through in a steady stream so even inside the haunt, you’re still standing in line. We send in groups of 6 to 8 with at least two minutes between groups so you get your own private experience. Guests also love our actors. They are all volunteers so the only reason they are there is because they love it. They get really into it. I also think folks appreciate that we are telling a unique story each year.  And of course, our reasonable prices for a truly haunted experience!

Q7: Southern California has become a kind of "hot bed" for Halloween events. It seems more and more events are popping up every year. Are you afraid of over saturation in the market or are you satisfied that the market is there to continue for years to come? 
We love that Halloween is really exploding. We wish we had more time to get out and see what other people at doing, professionally and at the home haunt level, but we’re so busy in September and October that we don’t get the chance.

Q8: How do you go about selecting the "talent" for the event?  Any specific tips you have for people looking to audition? 
Enthusiasm is key. You have to love haunting to put up with the long hours, uncomfortable make-up, and discomfort of crouching behind a bush and leaping out over and over again. Acting ability or improv experience is great for key roles, but there’s a place for just about everyone who is willing to commit.

Q9: We've noticed you are one of very few events to not offer any kind of VIP or Front of the Line access these days. Is this a conscious decision or is it something you may present in future years? 
We actually do offer a front of line pass, sold at the door for an additional $10 (with haunt ticket, total entry price $25). It’s a nice little perk for those dying to get in.

Q10: Last question, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the entire event is for charity (The South Pasadena Educational Foundation). How did you get involved with the SPEF?  
We are both residents of South Pasadena with kids in the school system, so we were already giving to SPEF as individuals and it seemed natural to sponsor them with our haunt. SPEF does so much to provide the students with classes and services above and beyond what the schools can do alone and it deserves all of our support. And if we can scare the pants off of people doing it, even better! 

Thanks again to Todd and Scott. Find all of the information you need about Ward 13 below

Evil Twin Studios 2015 haunted attraction will make nightmares come true at a new location in South Pasadena. 
This Halloween season, sanity comes to die at WARD 13.

Since its earliest days, rumors about the Raymond Hill Sanitarium have circulated. Rumors of neglect. Rumors of abuse. And most disturbing of all, rumors of an undocumented area where finding a cure was secondary to exploratory experimentation. This was the one thing patients feared more than death...

WARD 13 

1020 El Centro St.
South Pasadena, CA 91030 
(Entrance on Fairview Ave, see map below)

Operation hours 7:00-11:00 PM      

Friday, October 9 
Saturday, October 10
Friday, October 16 
Saturday, October 17       
Friday, October 23           
Saturday, October 24
Friday, October 30      
Saturday, October 31

TICKETS
​ONLINE: $15.00
AT THE DOOR: $17.00

PURCHASE TICKETS NOW

Online ticket sales end at 6 PM on haunt nights. Tickets will be sold at the door on haunt nights until 11 PM or until we sell out. 

For at the door sales, we accept cash and all major credit cards. 

Front of line passes are available at the ticket booth on haunt nights for an additional $10/ticket. 

Proceeds from Evil Twin Studios' WARD 13 benefit the South Pasadena Educational Foundation (SPEF). 

For more information and tickets, visit www.eviltwinstudios.com

Evil Twin Studios WARD 13
​Criminally insane. Pathologically dangerous. Mentally twisted. And those are just the doctors.

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