The Kingwood Asylum is Houston’s Premier haunted house.

2007 Shayne Torrans (owner) and Kirk Fuson (owner), started building props and small sets in 2007. The first year, the haunt was no more than an industrial, custom smoke machine, a few latex masks and the front yard of Shayne’s house. The little residential haunt had people stopping in their tracks. Several trick r’ treaters refused to even walk up to the front door for candy. The small success from 2007 spurred Shayne and Kirk to go bigger in 2008.

2008 The Spook House is created. Shayne and Kirk along with a dedicated group of family and friends conceptualized, marketed and built “the Spook House” in three days. Utilizing Shayne’s driveway, garage and backyard, the Spook House was like nothing Kingwood had ever seen before. The Spookhouse was run from 7pm – 11pm and pulled over 500+ visitors. Several visitors took the time to compliment the Spook House team. With another success under the belt, Kirk and Shayne decided it was time to give the haunt 100% effort and marketing for the next year.
POPULARITY
2007: 300 visitors/day
2008: 500+ visitors/day
2009: 1,200+ visitors/day
2010: 1,400+ visitors/day

2009 The Kingwood Asylum is created. Utilizing most of the year leading up to October, Kirk, Shayne and the dedicated team of family and friends designed, built, marketed and worked the Kingwood Asylum. The Kingwood Asylum operated Halloween day only from 8pm – 12pm. Not really sure what to expect in number of visitors, the Kingwood Asylum was overwhelmed. 1,200+ visitors journeyed to Kingwood, TX in order to walk through the Kingwood Asylum leaving an Oregan Trail through the graveyard, due to weeks of rain prior. The Kingwood Asylum was a success.

2010 The Kingwood Asylum gears up for its second year in operation. Building on 2009′s success, the Kingwood Asylum steps up the haunt on every level. Marketing, props, design, operations and costume/wardrobe are all overhauled and geared for professional haunt level. Haunt for Hunger is established as a food drive charity for The Society of Saint Stephen’s. The Tribune gave the Kingwood Asylum front page coverage in order to promote the Haunt for Hunger food drive. The Kingwood Asylum operated Saturday and Sunday for a total of six hours and generated 1,500+ visitors and over 2,000 lbs of canned goods. Which doesn’t even account for the candy that was dropped.

2011 This year (2011), the Kingwood Asylum has a new location. The haunt name is the same. The core staff is still the same. We have moved location to a 5.5 acre plot of land on Northpark Drive, Kingwood, TX. With the move also comes the responsibility of running a safe haunt. Here are the members of the Kingwood Asylum for 2011.

The Kingwood Asylum Core Staff.

Shayne Torrans – CEO and Prop Master

Part Engineer and part madman, Shayne Torrans is the problem solver and prop builder for the Kingwood Asylum. Charged with constructing and simplifying everyones off the wall ideas, Shayne has created one master piece after the next. Each year, the Kingwood Asylum grows not only in size but also in complexity. This is chiefly due to Shayne’s ability to deconstruct problems and come up with solutions that not only solve the problem but also are more effective and cost less than what the industry expects. Leading the company with a big smile and his noble steed (Sebastian), Shayne is our fearless leader.

Kirk Fuson – Chief Branding Officer and Art Director

Brand Designer, Web Designer, Production Designer, Set Designer, Photographer and all around creative, Kirk Fuson has been working with Shayne Torrans on the Kingwood Asylum since its inception. Kirk is the owner of DesignByOne.com a graphic design company. With 20 years of graphic design and photography under the belt, Kirk brings all of the marketing and web goo to life. Often compared to Penn & Teller, Kirk and Shayne share a brain when it comes to all things horror and scare related. The dynamic duo have been dreaming up scary situations since 2007.

Kim Schweinsberg – Makeup Expert

New to the group, Kim auditioned for a role in the Kingwood Asylum and has quickly established herself as our master makeup artist. Leading a dedicated group of makeup apprentices, Kim has a wonderful personality and is treasured by everyone at the Kingwood Asylum. Always ready to create zombies, insane patients and sadistic doctors, Kim’s work rivals the best in the industry.

Alex Evans – Wardrobe Officer

Once the youngest of our company, Alex is a Godzilla among costume designers. Specializing in full body armor, fabrics and special costume making, Alex has raised the bar for what we expect. Tasked with creating and fitting all of the costumes we will use year in and year out, Alex has taken on the challenge with a wit and sense of humor that we find milk out the nose funny.

Paula Ellisor – Social Media Officer

Staying on top of the social world is a tremendous task. Thankfully, Paula is a beast when it comes to Facebook, Twitter and blogging. Opening up new conversations and business opportunities on a daily basis is what we have come to expect from Paula. With an extensive background in social media, Paula has established herself as an invaluable part of the Kingwood Asylum team.

DJ Turner – Production Assistant

DJ has been involved in the production and acting of the Kingwood Asylum for the past three years. This year, DJ stepped up to the plate and quickly became the moment to moment problem solver and direction giver during operational hours. Doing everything from driving nails to coaching zombies to stomping out all of the operational fires that pop up every other minute, DJ is a invaluable asset to the Kingwood Asylum.

Alli Nauert – Actor Director

Alli joined the Kingwood Asylum in 2011 as an actress and set designer. Her acting and leadership skills became obvious over the course of the 2011 haunt season and we have asked her to join the Kingwood Asylum team. Her new role in the Kingwood Asylum will involve: assisting any actors that are having difficulty with their role, teaching the actors how to work together to create a scarier environment for the haunt seekers, helping the actors become more open and accepting with being crazy and how to be perceived as a real crazy patient in an asylum.