“Tunnel of Terror” to be Open Halloween Night

Chris Compton’s love for Haunted Houses initially motivated him to build the “Tunnel of Terror” at his East Lansing home, but the positive reaction from the community makes it worthwhile to continue with the tradition every Halloween.

“I remember some houses growing up that did something and I always thought that was neat,” Compton said. “I think that probably was sparking it.”

Now, Compton enjoys seeing community members come to Oakland Drive each year to see his attraction.

“When I grow up, I want to have a house like this,” he remembers a child gushing after passing through. 

Compton has been creating annual haunted attractions for 20 years, shortly after his family moved into their current home. He started small, including a few monsters that he created out of paper mache and put out on display. 

The attraction then expanded to start at the front door, eventually leading into what it is today, the Tunnel of Terror, which is structurally made out of plastic sheeting canopies and PVC pipes. The tunnel stretches through different rooms–each with its own theme. 

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted attractions everywhere, and Compton’s commitment and dedication to Halloween persisted even during difficult times. He moved the attraction to his front lawn to allow for social distancing.

With more space available on the lawn, Compton was able to expand and add more rooms. Additionally, he incorporated new elements for the Halloween COVID year, such as adding a skeleton biker gang on vintage bikes. 

As a way to keep the attraction fresh and engaging, Compton will add or change different elements, like adding a new monster, a new room entirely, rearranging the maze path, or switching the room layouts.

The process of creating the Tunnel of Terror starts long before Halloween night. In August, Compton begins creating monsters. Since the monsters are made out of styrofoam and paper mache, they require sufficient time to dry in between each layer. 

After a paper mache monster takes shape, Compton spray paints and brings the monster to life. Every arm, eye and tooth Compton creates, spending a great deal of time to ensure perfection. 

When he isn’t creating East Lansing’s spookiest attraction, Compton is an engineer at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University—primarily in charge of maintenance and working on the accelerator. 

Being an engineer has helped Compton create the structural aspects of the haunted rooms. By utilizing basic materials such as chicken wire, PVC pipes and plastic, Compton can create most things on a budget. For example, he used old fan motors so the monsters were able to spin and break down. 

“He’s super creative,” Chris’ wife Erin Compton said. ”I’ve always encouraged him to not spend money on things that are made cheap, [Compton’s] is so unique because nobody has your paper mache monsters, just keep making your own thing.”

Compton primarily goes to flea markets to find a variety of things he can repurpose. For instance, he bought an old glass dryer door and ended up using it as the eye of a monster. 

After spending months creating monsters, he spends two weeks staging the decorations and setting up the layout. This includes late nights and early mornings to work on the attraction. Compton even takes Halloween off of work and spends all day on the Tunnel of Terror, making sure it is ready by 6 p.m. Halloween night. 

“I really do enjoy the kids, and there’s so many kids that come here specifically for it now and the families say it’s better this year than last year,” Compton said. “The final product is always cool and I enjoy it.” 

A lifelong Haunted House enthusiast, Compton said he enjoys analyzing other haunted attractions and researching how to improve his site each year. 

Every detail from the individually carved pumpkins to the painted veins in the monsters’ eye are accounted for. Compton’s production is a labor of love and passion, with creativity being the driving force. 

Residents are encouraged to see the Tunnel of Terror during Trick-or-Treating hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Halloween night.