Ogdens’ Haunted Hollow grows from crazy idea to spooky business
Scaring friends during Halloween was cute at age 12, but two entrepreneurs have made fear their business at Ogden’s Haunted Hollow.
In 1990, Robert Ethington of Spanish Fork and Robert Tillotson of Highland opened their first spook alley, the Haunted Forest, which is still operating in American Fork. The Haunted Hollow was opened in Ogden in 2000 to accommodate the traffic from Northern Utah they saw coming to American Fork.
“I had a crazy idea and thought it might work,” Ethington says.
Only 26 years old at the time and attending BYU and Utah Valley State College, Tillotson said they were trying to earn some extra money for “something like a used snowmobile.”
In the beginning, the two former roommates did everything from planning to scaring. Today, they own and operate a landscaping businesses by day, so they now delegate their frightful job to nearly 40 actors each night.
Kris Palmer of Plain City works with her 19-year-old daughter Jacee at the Hollow. Palmer works concessions while Jacee plays the dark-haired killer Somara Morgan from “The Ring.”
“My daughter almost gets kicked a lot with people trying to get away from her,” Palmer says. “She loves it.”
The actors involved seem to enjoy the terror they incite in those walking the mile long track. Tillotson says he mostly organizes the event, but will still go out into the Hollow to for a little fun from time to time.
Palmer said the worst reaction she’s seen is when customers wet their pants. She says Jacee will frequently send a text message from her watery grave, saying, “I’ve got a pee-er!”
The attraction features an exploding latrine, an auto graveyard and plenty of surprises around each corner. There are conferences and resources available to people planning a haunted exhibit, but the founders say they have personally produced many of the mechanics involved in their sites.
Both owners say the greatest asset of their operation is the location.
The Hollow, Tillotson says, rests near Weber River and has “huge 100-foot trees,” a mile-long track and homemade concrete tunnels interspersed through the attraction.
Working outside has drawbacks attached as well. The seasonal nature of spook alleys significantly restricts available times of operation.
The Hollow opened Sept. 15 and will close Halloween night. This year’s rainy weather has put a damper on the Hollow’s terror. Ethington says they lost thousands of dollars because of the rain last Friday.
The Haunted Hallow is open 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 7:30 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $14 individually but groups of 25 or more can receive a $3 discount or individuals can mention this article to receive a $2 discount.
“If you want to activate your fear glands then come to the Haunted Hollow,” Ethington says. “If you want to see a museum, then go to a haunted house.”
-jfullmer@cc.usu.edu