Throughout the month of October, Paul Jeffries gets a thrill from terrifying people who bravely attempt to make it through the Wells Township Haunted House in Brilliant, Ohio. For this year’s Halloween event, Jeffries constructed an out-of-control, elevator-style ride that uses ShowXpress and a DMX-4 Dimmer/Relay pack to control all of the effects.

Those in search of a scare step into the 10-by-4-by-7.5-foot elevator, constructed from rough-cut, 2-by-4 boards, oriented strand board plywood and drywall screws, and the fun immediately begins. The tour guide tells a tale of an accident that took place in the haunted elevator, when all of a sudden, spooky sounds and lighting effects set the scene and the elevator starts lifting up and down. Click here to watch the elevator in action!

ShowXpress is in control from the time the ride begins until it ends. Programmed sounds of industrial light switches, metal twisting, creepy voices, sirens, crashing and industrial motors run in conjunction with flashing red, yellow, green and strobe lights. To move up and down, the elevator sits on top of four tractor-trailer air bags connected to four, half-inch Solenoid valves controlled with the help of a DMX-4 Dimmer/Relay pack. As everything is happening, a giant fan, which is also attached to a DMX-4 Dimmer/Relay pack, blows on the riders’ faces making them feel as if the elevator is plummeting to the ground. 

“I chose to use ShowXpress instead of a DMX control board because I can easily control fixtures and there seems to be unlimited possibilities with this software,” Jeffries said. “The program is very user friendly and you can even use it to control video from an external monitor or projector.”