The father-and-son duo of Chad and Dylan Payne have converted their passion for building, decorating, and haunting into a business. After more than a decade of decorating homes during Halloween and organizing haunted trails at campgrounds, they decided to create Blue Moon Frights.
The mobile haunt team can organize a haunted trail or experience and customize it for any location or occasion. Chad Payne said they are open to anything and eager to set up at fall festivals, company gatherings, or any other event.
“My parents live in Brookhill, and we’ve been decorating their house for 10-12 years,” Payne said. “We developed a large following there with hundreds of people walking through our trail.”
The Paynes build most of the animatronics and props they use at the activations. They’re in the process of potentially building those props to sell.
Chad’s wife Missy is also involved in the family operation, often acting during the haunts and painting many of the props. The two also have a 9-year-old daughter who often greets people at the beginning of the trails.
The Paynes construct the trail out of fencing they’ve built and customize it with animatronics, actors, props, and digital videos. They can customize the experience and level of scariness to accommodate varying age groups.
“We always make it work with the location we have,” he said. “We’re not sure how far we can take this, but we certainly love doing it. Even a little money will help offset what we’ve put into it.”
Another element of the father-and-son venture is how it has strengthened their relationship.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to bond. When I started decorating, he really got into it and encouraged me to start building,” Payne said. “We started making things together, and he would begin dressing up weeks before Halloween.”
Payne said they’ve both acquired new skill sets. He admires how Dylan used his wiring and electrical background and learned how to program some of the animatronics.
Dylan said he enjoys being outside and working on things and that Halloween creates the perfect opportunity to experiment. He said the added time with his dad is also a plus.
“I love the positive feedback we receive from the community and people,” Dylan said. “I’ve been doing this with my dad as long as I can remember. We have some long-term goals, but our ultimate goal is to have fun along the way.”
Blue Moon Frights did their first event recently at the Calhoun Harvest Days. To inquire about services or to book them for an upcoming event, reach out on Facebook here.
