WESTMINSTER, Colo. — The Frightmare Compound has been scaring visitors in Westminster for decades.
Brad and Teresa Holder opened the haunted house in 1983. Brad passed away in 1999, when their son Josh was just 13 years old. Family and friends kept the business running for a few years before Josh took over when he was 18.
“September and October are full chaos,” Josh Holder said. “I call it the no-sleep months.”
He said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I always knew I wanted to scare people,” he said.
Josh has lived onsite since he was a kid and said he's never known an October without a haunted house.
“They had a real strange childhood growing up because we were so busy with Frightmare,” Teresa Holder said.
Josh’s dad built most of the haunted house, but Josh didn’t realize his dad would stop building so soon. Family and friends stepped in to keep Brad Holder’s dream of a haunted house going.
“I knew when I was 18 that it was this. It was time to step up and make the legacy bigger and better for sure,” Holder said. “It was hard growing up in it and becoming a boss and learning.”
He said he learned a lot from his dad, who will always be his friendly competition.
“I’m always comparing myself to what my dad built, too,” he said. “So I try to one up it now.”
All the family members keep Brad Holder’s vision alive.
“Mom still does all the tickets, my little sisters take tickets,” Holder said. “It's for the legacy of my dad, and now my legacy, and my mom, and my family.”
Frightmare is open this season through November 2nd, 2024. To get tickets, click here.