Popular haunted attraction opens in new, bigger location

Terror 29, a popular haunted attraction in the Sioux Falls area, has relocated to Brandon this year.

The spooky attraction, which started in 2019, is growing so much that it needed a bigger space. The lease was up at its former building near the Crooks-Renner exit on Interstate 29, and it eventually found the space at 1420 E. Cedar St. in Brandon, said Zac Tenneboe, chief haunt officer and partner of Terror 29.

The group is gaining about 1,300 more square feet with this move. The attraction will be split between two buildings, allowing for several more minutes of scaring per tour, outside scares and a bigger team of scarers.

“The housing and commercial markets right now are insane,” Tenneboe said. “We struggled for a couple months to find the right building at the right price and size.”

The business’ goal was to create a bigger haunted attraction that took longer to get through, aiming for 20 to 25 minutes for a walk-through eventually. With this bigger site, it was able to extend the attraction to 15 t0 20 minutes, which is a significant jump from the eight- to 12-minute attraction in the past.

“Two buildings means twice the amount of scares as before,” Tenneboe said.

In the past, the group focused on a circus freak show theme. This year, they’ll shake it up with an abandoned farmhouse theme in one building and a haunted “circus/asylum” in the second building.

“Mostly this year is just to establish the base, get everything set up and build on top of that,” Tenneboe said. “Next year and in the future, we can keep making the haunted attraction longer, bigger and better so there’s more longevity.”

The 2022 season is busy already. Terror 29 opened the last weekend in September with a record number of people waiting in line. That number is expected to grow as it gets closer to the end of the month.

Tenneboe expects to see 400 to 500 people a night by the last couple of weekends in October, which will mean lines extend to about a two-hour wait.

He hopes to curb the wait lines by staggering ticket and entrance times and by introducing the Terror Pass, which allows the buyer to completely skip the lines and enter the building right away. The pass is only usable for the last two weekends of the month, costs $40 and includes a Terror 29 swag bag.

Tenneboe said about a dozen of the passes have been sold already. He is limiting Terror Passes to 18 per night.

The haunted attraction offers general admission tickets, which cost $15 or $16 depending on the day of the week and time of the month, and fast pass tickets, which put people in a faster line for $22. They can be purchased online at Terror29.com.

Terror 29 is open from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It also will be open on Halloween, which falls on a Monday this year. Special “lights-out” tours will be offered Nov. 4-5.