Jorge Martinez Cerda, technician at 13th Floor Haunted House walks through the haunted house activating the lights, electrical effects and props before opening for the night Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through Nov. 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
The haunt is set to begin in less than two hours. Jorge Martinez Cerda is doing his first of three walkthroughs. He walks through the haunted hallways of the 13th Floor with 15 pounds of tools hanging from the right side of his belt powering up animatronics, fog machines and turning on the eerie music.
By day, Martinez Cerda works as a contractor working on San Antonio homes. By night, he makes repairs on a different type of house.
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He started as a security guard for the 13th Floor in 2023 and transitioned to a technician role a few months later. Between his two jobs, he often works 12 hours a day.
These are the untold stories of the crew that works behind the scenes to deliver frights at San Antonio’s most notoriously popular haunted house.
Literally haunted?
Jorge Martinez Cerda, technician at 13th Floor Haunted House walks through the haunted house activating the lights, electrical effects and props before opening for the night Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through Nov. 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
The 13th Floor opened on Sept. 18, but the team has been planning the haunt since September 2025. There are two haunted attractions: Dose of Decay and Jason Universe: Survive the Night. The experience takes place across two floors, blending the attractions. Visitors start in the basement — which they get to via a slide — and the finish line leads into the gift shop, taking about 30 to 40 minutes to complete depending on their fight-or-flight — or freeze — response.
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The team typically plans out its themes about a year in advance and works on them until opening.
He said he only goes through the house three times a day because that’s about as much as he can handle. Even when no actors are in there, there is still something creeping about.
While the frights in this haunted house are largely manmade, workers claim the building is — quite literally — haunted. Built in the early 1900s, the building once housed the San Antonio Machine and Supply Co.
RJA Ghost Tours, paranormal investigators, took a tour of the building in 2021 and said they heard voices and saw shadows that were not their own.
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When asked if he’d had his own experience, Martinez Cerda said, “Of course, that’s part of the reason why I only go through three times.”
He said a ghost of a girl has followed him through the building multiple times while playing with the strip curtains.
Before the haunt
Sofia Mejia, left, paints white base makeup on asylum escapee actor Mitz Adame, at 13th Floor Haunted House as they prepare for the night’s haunted house, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through November 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
It’s 5 p.m., two hours before the haunt. On the second floor, the actors, makeup artists and the wardrobe manager congregate to transform ordinary people into nightmare fuel. There are about 40 actors who need to get into character and take up their positions before the doors open.
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Galaxy Scott, the wardrobe manager, is one of the first to get there. She sews the straps back on a yellow jumper by hand “just in case,” as actors begin to line up.
The actors are passed through an assembly line of tasks to get into character. The makeup is done in stations starting with the base station, and then they can choose a makeup artist for the rest of their character’s makeup depending on their preferred style.
Connor Castro sits for zombie makeup as staff prepare for the evening at 13th Floor Haunted House, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through Nov. 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
Scott starts her character creation process for the haunt in mid-July. She walks through the house, takes in the themes and creates each character based on the environment.
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Galaxy Scott, wardrobe manager at 13th Floor Haunted House San Antonio holds up a mask as an example of a costume worn by one of their actors, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. The haunted house is open select nights through November 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
“I get most of the materials for the costumes from thrift stores like Goodwill,” Scott said.
She pieces the costumes together using sheets, fabrics and clothing from thrift stores and costumes from previous years. She spends most of her time distressing the clothes: using fabric dye to make them look dirty and worn — or bloody — and tearing them up.
Galaxy Scott, wardrobe manager at 13th Floor Haunted House hands a costume to an actor as they prepare for the night’s haunted house, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026’s in San Antonio.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
She prefers to hand-sew everything that needs mending or creating because the old Singer sewing machine that’s been there since before she started in 2021 tends to break down.
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Puppetmaster
As the front-facing people are gearing up for the haunt, Martinez Cerda is bringing another aspect of the haunt to life.
He turns on the motion-sensor poppers, fog machines and air blasters. He turns off most of the lights, leaving only enough light for visitors to see the path ahead and just enough to creepily illuminate the characters and props throughout the rooms.
He also turns on what he calls puppets. These puppets are about 10 times the size of Kermit the Frog and 10 times scarier, too. When the electronic puppets are turned on, they pop out of a hole in the wall, blocking most of the walkway just before a visitor passes.
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They’re like something out of “Jurassic Park,” if Jurassic Park were a sewer filled with giant alligators and rats.
While Martinez Cerda is deep in the house getting it ready, the rest of the behind-the-scenes crew is everywhere all at once, tending to customers, actors and organizing the chaos.
“It’s 85% crazy and 15% fun,” general manager Blaine Skreenock said.
With clown face paint and ear pieces connected to walkie-talkies, the crew scatters throughout the building, running tests, touching up paint, fixing props and animatronics, cleaning up and making adjustments so that the haunt is a little different each time.
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“We assess every little detail,” Skreenock said. “ Every day we always try to add something, whether it’s a light, whether it is a full-on animatronic or full-on new scare.”
From left, Jorge Martinez Cerda, Blaine Skreenock, and Tonya Sammis huddle in the control room at 13th Floor Haunted House before opening Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through Nov. 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
With over 25 cameras throughout the haunt, the crew does one last look-through in the control room to ensure characters are in place, the lighting is correct and other electric devices are on.
During the haunt
The team working the line and entrance of the house get the OK on the walkie-talkie at around 7:15 p.m., and the first group begins their trek through the multi-story haunt.
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Throughout the night, Martinez Cerda sneaks in and out of the show, climbing stairs, hugging walls and traversing crawl spaces to repair and replace equipment.
Jorge Martinez Cerda unpacks a new fog machine to replace a malfunctioning machine at 13th Floor Haunted House, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Antonio. The haunted house is open select nights through Nov. 8.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
That night, he was called to make numerous repairs. He had to sneak in unseen to replace a fog machine the size of a large shoebox.
“I don’t want to ruin anyone’s experience, so I’ll usually hide in corners,” Martinez Cerda said.
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The chaos continues during the haunt as the rest of the behind-the-scenes team oversees the show — and occasionally escorts scared or belligerent visitors out.
After the haunt
Martinez Cerda’s night isn’t over yet.
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The last group often goes through far past closing time, depending on the length of the line.
Once the house is ready to retire for the night, Martinez Cerda puts the haunt to sleep, turning everything off and making notes of needed fixes before he does it all over again the next night.