There is nothing but darkness and three figures all in white seem to emerge from the shadows. They do not move, but stand looming in eerie silence. A loud wail echoes through the room. The scent of sawdust and fresh paint hangs in the air. The walls are rough and there seems to be no way out. 

Then a voice rings out from the other side of the room along with a good-natured laugh. It’s Brian Harris, an operator at Panic Park, who generously agreed to give a tour of both that haunt and Heart of Darkness in their off hours. 

Harris’ eyes crinkle with well-intentioned mischief as he says that the room is easier to navigate once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness. The rest of the Heart of Darkness had been completely lit, and the sudden gloom is disorienting. He walks over to a door in the other corner and beams of soft, hazy light flood into the space as he opens it. 

Now clearly illuminated, the room appears as it really is. The three ghostly figures all in white, once startling, are only bulbous forms draped in white sheets. The raucous screaming and creaking from a loudspeaker have lost their intimidating tones in the light of day.  

It shows how frightening a few well-placed shadows can be. The people who build Panic Park and the Heart of Darkness pride themselves on the amount of detail that comes from experience in the field and a simple passion for scaring. 

There is friendly competition between haunted houses to see who can scare better. This is what drives the amount of detail. Both Panic Park and Heart of Darkness have tremendous amounts of gruesome elements, from blood-splattered handprints on walls to iconic characters that greet you on your way inside. 

They want to disorient you, leave you breathless and certainly leave you wanting more. 

It’s down to a science with them, mastering each kind of thrill from hiding in plain sight and springing to life, to chasing guests through the house’s winding, ever changing, dim corridors. 

The creator and owner of Heart of Darkness, Kevin Schults, stresses the importance of redesigning the houses each year, “We always need to rebuild and retool for the shock factor.”  

In Heart of Darkness, there are 10 different themed areas, and each year, one or two of them is leveled to the ground, given a new theme and rebuilt. This year the new area features the home of a ghostly girl. 

The Fear Engineers, who work on creating this haunted experience, work tirelessly to perfect it.

It’s been 14 years since Heart of Darkness came into being, and 13 years for Panic Park. 

Mike Hendrickson, Park Ranger for the Black Hawk County Conservation Board oversees Panic Park, said that the house has been worked on at least since April, but planning starts early in winter, making Halloween haunting a year-long process. 

“We are providing a fun and safe activity every single weekend in October,” Hendrickson said.

Heart of Darkness has brought back their iconic characters, Crispy, Johnny the Crow, Chopper and Papa Voodoo, who are free to roam as far as the parking lot in order to spook the guests as they arrive.  

 At Panic Park, a gypsy fortune-teller spells doom for all who enter. Both are open every weekend through Nov. 1.

People of all ages stream through the gates every year, looking for a good scare. The mind is the greatest weapon: the fear of the unknown, the fear of the darkness or what could be lurking in the darkness.  

The scare is purely cerebral, because they won’t grab or touch guests if guests don’t touch them.    

“We don’t need to touch you to scare you,” Harris said.