Cydney Neil: the queen of Haunts.

• Author: Christopher, Elisha
• Position: People

I found myself alone in a dark warehouse. Somewhere, in the recesses of the building, I heard a bat screeching and boards creaking. Cutting through cobwebs and breaking through dilapidated walls, I finally saw it--a door, slightly ajar, a bright light streaming underneath. The door opened with a groan, and there she stood amidst the haunts and horrors. Thin frame, long black hair, dark sunglasses. Yes, it was her--the brains and inspiration behind Rocky Point Haunted House in Salt Lake City--Cydney Neil.

Forty-three-year-old Neil is often asked how a nice girl like her came to work in a place like this. It began in 1979 when her brother started an impromptu haunted house in the old Rocky Point restaurant in Ogden, owned by their family and tragically destroyed by fire. "There were rumors started when it went vacant that ghosts were up there," Neil says. "It already had its own little legend." Several years later, her brother's friends were still operating the haunted house at the former restaurant. Neil traveled from her home in L.A. to put an end to the haunted house once and for all. "I just didn't like Halloween," she says. "I wanted nothing to do with it, and I thought that it would be a real liability problem on our property." But the kids talked her into staying, and she agreed on the conditions that she would oversee the production and design to ensure safety, and that the money would go to charity. Thus, Rocky Point Haunted House was born.

Now, in its 23rd year, Rocky Point is rated the number one haunted house in the country by both Fangoria and Fright Times magazines, and thrills about 55,000 guests per year. Neil and her cast and crew of about 250 will open this years' show in September, playing off the Olympic theme "Light the Fear Within." "Opening Scaremonies" kick off on Friday the 13th. "My goal was and continues to be to...