Behind the Scenes at Maryland's Scariest Haunted House

Greater Elkridge residents looking for a fright this Halloween need look no further than their own backyard.

A stone's throw away in Jessup sits the number-one ranked haunted house in Maryland, according to HauntWorld.com. 

Operated by brothers Allan Bennett and Tony Bennett, Bennett's Curse Haunted Attraction draws more than 20,000 guests a season and employs around 70 actors, make-up artists and support staff. 

"We've been putting on masks and scaring people since we were 8 and 9 years old," said Tony Bennett, who manages a supermarket when he's not scaring the pants off people.

The giant tent-like structure houses three attractions: "The House of Vampyres," "The Zombie Kingdom in 3-D" and "The Sanctuary of Insanity." 

Some of the attractions' inner-rooms can cost around $20,000, said Allan Bennett, whose full-time career is operating and advancing Bennett's Curse. Much of the work inside the attractions are custom-made, partially due to the quality of the room but also due to the Bennetts' innovation.

The brothers do their best to shy away from the norm, and continually look to push the envelope in what causes people to be scared.

This year, they're introducing a brand-new 3-D attraction. The scariest part is that when guests wear their 3-D glasses, they lose the ability to know which bodies are real and which are just mannequins, said Tony Bennett.

"Fear is all in the mind," he said.

The Bennetts gave Patch an inside look into their nationally ranked haunted house and showed what all the critics are raving about.

Where: Bennett's Curse is located at 8024 Max Blobs Park Road in Jessup.
When: It's open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 27; and from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, it's open from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
How much: Ticket prices vary from $25 to $40. Check the Bennett's Curse website for details.