In the fall of 2022, Dark Corner Haunted House held its inaugural haunt at the National Bowling Stadium in downtown Reno.
During one of the “13 Nights of Terror,” Maurice White, the board president of the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society—a group that preserves and develops the prison as a historic site—visited the haunted house. After the visit, White reached out to Dark Corner and said he would love something like this at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City, which had closed in 2012.
“It took us a few years,” said Guinivere Clark, front-of-house operations director for Dark Prison Haunted House, and vice president of operations for Dark Corner Creative, the parent company of Dark Prison. “But eventually, we were able to put a full haunted house—multiples of them—inside the Nevada State Prison.”
In May, Dark Corner held a three-day “Halfway to Halloween” event at the prison that sold out every night.
Dark Prison Haunted House runs for 17 nights, through Nov. 1. There will be three separate haunted-house areas—Cell Block C, Unit 15, and Jorgan’s Institute for the Unwell. They are all located inside real cell blocks and corridors of the decommissioned maximum-security prison.
“We are very anti-hate. Even though we are scary and we like to scare people, we also like to respect people.”
According to Clark, Dark Prison is in “the same world and the same story“ as Dark Corner. The story is that a disease called the “shadow plague” infected the city of Dark Lane. In 2022, the storyline was that the “shadow plague” was discovered in “Dark Lane Mall,” a reference to Reno’s old Park Lane Mall. In 2024, the shadow plague got out of control, and different areas of the town were overtaken over by people making encampments. In Dark Prison, some of the characters from Dark Corner have been captured and incarcerated.
“There are a lot of mad-scientist vibes this year,” said Holly Spahr, CEO of Dark Corner Creative. Attendees will learn the origin story of the fictitious Dr. Stain, the medic at the prison who conducted experiments on the corpses of executed inmates. In addition, a new mad scientist, Jorgen, turned himself into a cyborg and is now conducting experiments with the people from the Institute for the Unwell.
More than 50 live actors in professional costumes and makeup await anyone who dares to enter the prison. In addition to the three haunted areas, the prison yard, aka “The Yard,” acts as an entertainment zone with live actors, food trucks, carnival games, DJ music, a bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and performances by Northern Nevada artists on select nights. At press time, details were still being finalized, but organizers mentioned Burning Man sculptors, muralists, musicians, fire dancers and actors from local theaters.
“The team of artists from Dark Corner Creative has been working nonstop over the last few months to put together this stunning show,” said Spahr, in a press release. “We’ve built out new spaces, new characters, and new props all while preserving the history of the amazing building Dark Prison takes place in.”
Lucia Maloney, the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society’s general manager, said during an interview that the prison and Dark Corner are a fine match.
“The team behind Dark Prison Haunt has done a tremendous job of honoring and respecting the historic character of Nevada State Prison, while at the same time creating another world within the facility—one that is spooky, unsettling and beautiful in its artistry,” Maloney said.
Clark noted that the prison was built (in 1862) before Nevada became a state (in 1864). “We’re really honored to be there,” she said.
Spahr originally became interested in haunted houses while working at Netherworld near Atlanta, Ga. When she moved to Reno, she met Dustin Ring, who had a home haunt for a decade in West Reno. The two became business partners and founded Dark Corner Creative.
“It was so good in his three-car garage in his backyard that I said, ‘Hey I think we can make this professional,’” said Spahr. “So it’s been a journey since then to bring it to the public.”
When they’re not scaring people, the members of Dark Corner Creative are a supportive community of people who love all things strange, occult and horror. Clark, who grew up in a family where Halloween was treated like Christmas, and started as a “scare actor” in 2022 as a fun distraction from her day job, fell in love with the artists, and her role with the company grew from there.
“Everybody who’s part of the community is so kind and so passionate,” said Clark. “It’s really fun to see them as these, you know, crazy characters doing these crazy movements, and then you meet them outside of their costume and makeup, and they’re the kindest human beings you’ve ever met.”
Both Clark and Spahr described the environment as “a safe space” for people who feel like they don’t belong anywhere else. Both women have made lifelong friends in the community and love having a place to express their creativity and weirdness.
Dark Corner Creative is associated with Haunters Against Hate, a nonprofit charitable organization that provides grants to help local nonprofits throughout the country support their LGBTQ+ communities, with an emphasis on youth.
“We are very anti-hate,” said Clark. “Even though we are scary, and we like to scare people, we also like to respect people.”
In the future, Dark Corner Creative hopes to have two haunted houses: One in the Nevada State Prison and another in Reno. All members of Dark Corner Creative are grateful to the NSPPS for making this year’s haunt a reality.
“This is going to be the best year yet,” said Spahr. “It’s bigger than ever; it’s scarier than ever—and this location, in general, is worth visiting, with or without coming to the haunted house.”
Dark Prison will be open at the Nevada State Prison, at 3301 Warm Springs Court, in Carson City, on Fridays and Saturdays, and select Thursdays and Sundays, through Saturday. Nov. 1. General admission starts at $24.95 to $34.95. For tickets and information, visit darkprison.com. Learn more about Nevada State Prison and Nevada State Prison Preservation Society at NevadaStatePrison.org.