Every Halloween, a simple garage in Edison transforms into an intricate haunted house created by Edison High’s very own Matteo Pittenger ‘26. The haunted house has drawn crowds, community support, and now, its own documentary. “Experience Mayhem,” a two-episode project directed by Pittenger, aims to capture the full Halloween experience of the haunted house seen by visitors each year.
Pittenger began constructing haunted houses in 2017, with nothing more than cardboard, tablecloths, and borrowed props.
“When we started, we barely had any decorations,” Pittenger said. “But for the past three years, we’ve used wooden sets, professional controllers, and pneumatic cylinders to fully immerse guests in the scene they are in.” Beginning as a small neighborhood idea, Pittenger eventually expanded his scheme into an engineered attraction consisting of various rooms with unique experiences.
While initially, Pittenger was driven by a desire to instill excitement on Halloween, the haunted house now serves a larger purpose beyond entertainment.
“I wanted to try and recreate this experience of being enthralled by decorations,” Pittenger said. “But then I realized that there could be a true purpose behind this event and not just people being scared. So we started collecting donations for causes such as hurricane relief and families affected by cancer.”
Matteo’s efforts have been noticed by the community, as this year, nearly one hundred people attended his haunted house. “I was pretty surprised by how detailed the rooms were,” said Bryce Hickerson ‘26. “I had a great time, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next year.”
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Pittenger’s haunted house uses a controller board, which manages the various contraptions in the rooms.
COURTESY OF MATTEO PITTENGER ‘26
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Behind every room, intricate arrangements of electrical wires and hand-crafted decorations help add to the house’s interactive exhibits.
COURTESY OF MATTEO PITTENGER ‘26
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Continuing through the house, attendees enter the second room, a farm-themed space filled with jumpscares.
COURTESY OF MATTEO PITTENGER ‘26
With the success of the Haunted House, Pittenger aims to create a documentary to highlight the entire construction process that most visitors never see. “Not many people get to appreciate the sets or the months of work it takes to build a homemade haunted house,” Pittenger said. To create the documentary, Pittenger and his team initially utilized tripods. Once the walls were up, he installed night-vision cameras and modified GoPros to capture quality footage.
After Halloween, the work shifted to months of editing. Although “Experience Mayhem” does not yet have a release date, Pittenger has confirmed that Episode One is already in post-production. Once completed, the documentary will be available to watch for free on YouTube.
“Pretty excited to see the behind-the-scenes footage,” said Nikolaos Schneider ‘27. “Ever since I went to the haunted house, I’ve been curious about how he could create something of that scale.”
What began as a humble garage project for fun has now grown into one of Edison’s most innovative student-led initiatives. Through “Experience Mayhem,” Pittenger offers viewers a fascinating look into the creative and tenacious process behind Edison’s very own homemade haunted house.