He puts a good scare into people — for the kids, of course

By Andrea Domanick

Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014 | 2 a.m.

For months, Jacob Bailey headed straight from his office at Nevada Child and Family Services to the Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center parking lot, where he would spend several hours each night building and decorating a 2,000-square-foot haunted house.

Bailey is finally getting to enjoy the results, as he and his wife, Charity, opened the Undead Maze on Oct. 3.

The spooky attraction — a partially open-air maze styled as a haunted house with rooms of ghoulish décor and actors to spook guests ­­— is designed with the community in mind. Proceeds will benefit the Southern Hills Hospital Scholarship Fund and Shade Tree, a local shelter for women and children, as well as an orphanage in Taiwan.

“At the time, there wasn’t a haunted house on this side of town, so I saw it as an opportunity to do something huge,” said Bailey, 26. “I’ve always been a big fan of Halloween, so it seemed like a good occasion to give back.”

The Baileys ran a free neighborhood haunted house from their garage and backyard for the past few years, donating the modest proceeds they earned to local charities. After a strong turnout last year, Bailey was inspired to take their event to a commercial level, both to raise money for those in need and to offer the community an affordable, family-friendly activity.

As he put the finishing touches on the maze last month, Bailey admitted the project, which he began planning last November, has been a learning process. Launching the haunted house meant getting permits and licenses from the county, as well as insurance. The structure came together over evenings and weekends with the help of family and friends. Bailey also spent about $6,000 of his own money to make the attraction a reality.

Though he’d rather keep the focus on the Undead Maze and the organizations it benefits, Bailey said his own struggles with poverty growing up in a small California farming community have motivated him. Similar donations and support, he said, allowed him to enroll at UNLV, where he earned a degree in psychology before landing his job working with children as a developmental specialist.

“I know the hardship (poor children) face, and I know many won’t make it out and will repeat the cycle,” Bailey said. “For me, the focus is on giving back to kids and doing something positive with my life instead of just making money.”

Though he still needs volunteers to help run the Undead Maze, Bailey has received support from local businesses such as Gordon Biersch and Rita’s Frozen Custard, which donated gift certificates for raffles.

The maze will have its share of ghosts and ghouls, but Bailey said the team made a point of avoiding overly gory or satanic content. He touts Undead Maze as an all-ages attraction that “anyone can make it through.” He hopes the low price point will help draw families for a night outdoors instead of the movies.

“It has been a huge undertaking,” Bailey said. “But for us, it has always been worth it.”