ALTAMONT – "Any open wounds"" asked Madame Lobotomy, an actor at the Altamont Scaregrounds, as she readied the crowd for its journey through Skull Manor.

Last Wednesday, Ultimate Terrors hosted a media night to promote the opening of its three haunted houses at the Altamont fairgrounds.
"If you wet your pants, we’ve done our job," she continued.

Whether or not anyone wet their pants is unknown, but screams ricocheted through the Scaregrounds.

Ultimate Terrors was the brainchild of Mike Maybee, a Guilderland native, who now resides in Slingerlands. Maybee is the assistant director for information technology for New York State.

Maybee said that the idea came from his understanding that multiple haunt events exist in other metropolitan areas, and the Capital Region previously had nothing of this caliber.

The site features three haunted houses: Skull Manor, Code Blue, and 3-D Chaos; a dark museum; a paintball shooting gallery; a sideshow; psychic readings; and airbrush tattoos.
The show, billed as "the scariest place in upstate New York," features three lead characters: Madame Lobotomy, Colleen the Sideshow Queen, and Dr. Henry Heckle.
"Our goals are to continue to grow and be the Capital Region’s ultimate haunt," Maybee told The Enterprise.

Ultimate Terrors opened to the public this past weekend. It will remain open Thursday through Sunday until Halloween.

Corpses awkwardly strolled through Skull Manor, searching for a resting place; while a man dressed in a hazardous materials suit stood guard at the gate that leads into Code Blue’s toxic wasteland.

Strobe lights flashed and monsters ran through the halls, screaming and growling. Surprise and terror lurked around every corner and hid behind every fake wall or doorway.

Maybee has about 80 employees working for the attraction. In order for things to run really smoothly, 65 employees on any given night are ideal, Maybee said.

The jobs range from directing traffic, to applying makeup, to acting, to bravely being a live target for the paintball-shooting aficionados.

The project really got rolling after Maybee got a great response from the Altamont fairgrounds in May, when he suggested renting some space for a haunted house attraction, he said.

Maybee hired Joe Manzo, founder of Dark Attraction Productions, to design the three houses. Dark Attraction Productions is based in Hesperia, Calif. Manzo has designed and built haunted houses since 1992.

Dark Attractions sent a team of employees and the set for the three houses by tractor trailer to the Altamont fairgrounds. Everything went together really quickly, Maybee said.
"Without the two main ingredients, you’re in trouble," Maybee said. "Location and materials."

"Science will triumph"

Scott Payne has been a professional performer for 25 years.
His "warped imagination" created the character Dr. Henry Heckle specifically for the Ultimate Terrors event.
"Because we are on a lighted stage, it is infinitely more difficult to be terrifying," Payne told The Enterprise. "So I am doing strange and creepy things," he said.
Creepy things include demonstrating the "slice-o-matic," and an ancient Egyptian torture device, using help from volunteers in the audience. Strange things include performing mesmerizing magic tricks, duplicating bottles and glasses with a quickness that is mind-boggling.

Payne has been intrigued by magic ever since his brother received a magic set as a gift when Payne was a child. He now teaches magic to children, at the Heldeberg Workshop.

Not only is Payne an actor, and magician, but he is also a professional makeup artist.

Ultimate Terrors uses four makeup artists, Payne said. Employees begin showing up about two hours prior to showtime, he said.

That leaves two hours for four people to do makeup for about 50 people, Payne said.
"There’s a lot that happens before the people are allowed in," he said.

"Mindless woman"
"Let me just turn down my Halloween music," said Peggy Were, as she picked up the line to answer a few questions from The Enterprise.

Were plays Madame Lobotomy, a somewhat flighty lady, who searches for fresh blood to satisfy a craving at Ultimate Terrors.
"Madame Lobotomy is a mindless woman," said Were.
"It’s just like acting," said Were, of preparing – both mentally and physically – for her role as Madame Lobotomy.

Were lives in Clarksville and has been involved for 10 years with Clowns on Rounds – a not-for-profit organization bringing professional entertainers dressed as clowns to hospitals and nursing homes around the Capital Region.

She joined the group after her husband died. She brought flowers from his funeral to local hospitals and nursing homes, and asked if there was anything else she could do to help them. She then got involved with Clowns on Rounds.

Her acting and role-playing has always been for charity in the past, she told The Enterprise. Clowns on Rounds is all charity, she said.

Ultimate Terrors marks her first paying role. It is involved with charity, though. A portion of all proceeds from Ultimate Terrors will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital District.
"They are really a brilliant organization," said Payne.

The charity allows the families of out-of-town patients to stay close to the hospital where they are receiving treatment.

Maybee and his group of talented employees hope that Ultimate Terrors will become an annual event. It is, after all, the first of its type in the area.
"I’m hoping we get to do it again next year," Payne said, before switching tones to the squeaky, high-pitched voice of Dr. Heckle.
"It’s just too much fun," said Were.

***
Ultimate Terrors will be open Thursday night through Sunday night for the remainder of October. The gates will open all nights at 6:15 p.m.; the houses open at 7 p.m. Tickets sales close at 9:30 p.m. and the grounds close at 11 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Ultimate Terrors will also be open for Halloween on Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31. Adult tickets cost $22, which includes admission to all three houses. More information is available online at: ultimateterrors.com