For many, haunted house season is a time of fog machines, feeling through dark rooms, and exiting out to the parking lot, only to be chased by one last maniac with a chainsaw and the stench of gasoline. And while this is the typical experience for literally thousands of attendees in Middle Tennessee, local businesswoman Dana Chapman has a little more on her mind. Owner of the Lebanon area’s Dead Land Haunted Woods, Dana is now entering her fourth year as a proud owner of an establishment that provides unique business to the Rutherford County area. Her business is fear. And business is good.

Having spent almost ten years planning her own murder mystery parties, Dana finally decided to take her planning skills to the next step. Setting up shop in 2008, Dead Land Haunted Woods is, in fact, an outdoor haunted attraction. Using almost 80 actors, the Haunted Woods actually consists of two trails dubbed “The Curse” and “The Portal”. Each trail has a theme that tells something of a terrifying story with 20 scenes. Each scene for the trail is symbolic of a new chapter of the nightmarish narrative. “The Curse” tells the tale of the original owners of the land, and how magic and malevolence spawned into the madness that possessed them and the evil they became. “The Portal” is something closer to a re-imagining of classic horror, with this year’s theme being “Twisted Story Time”—a corruption of all your childhood favorites. Just think of Snow White, except instead of eating the apple, she’s being gnawed on by one of the dwarves.

Being the one to create the scares isn’t all fun and games, however. The efforts to scare people for the haunted house season are actually the fruit of almost a year’s worth of labor. After January, the Dead Land Haunted Woods both establishes its budget and plots out the haunted house, creating the themes and stories of the haunted house, as well as crafting some of the scares. By March, the planning phase ends, and the purchasing of materials to make these ghosts and ghouls is under way. By April, the attraction goes through construction and remodeling, and the layout of the trails is created. And, as early as July, the right monsters are selected with enough time to prepare to scare the pants off of patrons by opening time, which is late September. And if that’s not scary enough, dedication to the attraction means that Dana herself might be putting in 18 hours.

In addition, one must also take into consideration the additional challenges that the creatures at the Woods face. Given that the attraction is outdoors, the lighting for the trails is never the same. Also, climate and weather affect electricity, the pace at which patrons move, and also means that more actors are needed to continue the excitement for those looking for a good scare. The payoff for coping with all of these elements, however, is that using woods instead of a controlled atmosphere only adds to the chills that eager attendees will feel, ensuring that they have gotten their money’s worth. But according to Dana, people are the most important component of any haunted house. It’s not enough that the creatures are in the dark, but that your friends are as well.

“For us”, she says “we want to create a sense of family for the workers, as well as the patrons, more than just make money. We want to help make memories, to create interaction. It’s the actors that make the scene.”

Dead Land Haunted Woods actually has a dedication to both making sure all of the cardinal rules of haunted houses are obeyed (such as having zombies or strobe lights) as well as going the extra mile to make sure that people have a good time. The attraction has a bonfire and concessions, and also offers the opportunity for birthday parties. Dead Land Merchandise can also be purchased from vendors, so that you can also take home a souvenir (in case coming out in one piece wasn’t enough). There are even rumors of a party on Halloween night, for the younger crowd that’s too old to trick-or-treat, but still looking to have a good time. Dana is even planning ahead for what she would like to do next year.

Dead Land Haunted Woods is located at 7040 Murfreesboro Rd, Lebanon, Tenn. 37090. For more information, schedule, and pricing for general admission or group rates, visit deadlandwoods.com or look them up on Facebook.