This article will be in the running for one of the coolest ones that Small Guy has created so far. In this edition Small Guy visits local haunted attraction, Z-Bunker, located at 23301 West Maple Road, Elkhorn inside of Camp Fear.
I thought since we were in the month of October that it would be fun to cover an experience that was Halloween themed. What better way to do that than to visit with my friends from Z-Bunker. I had already known Fred and Shantae Humpal (part owners) from being participants in some of our expo events, most recently the Small Guy Promotions Community Expo. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to promote another local business. I actually think I killed like 5 birds with one stone; it must have ricocheted. Promote a local business, support local friends, be entertained, new blog material, etc.
I had not attended a scary attraction in years so this was something that was very fun. I am not the type that typically will scare easy, but getting the chance to see and hear other people scream in terror is pretty fun. Haha. Since I was out of the horror themed scene I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got to Camp Fear and saw a ton of cars parked in the lot. I showed up just as Z-Bunker was preparing to open for the evening. I met Fred and Shantae while they were putting down mulch to soak up some of the rain that had fallen. We talked about how the night would probably be slow because of the Nebraska vs. Wisconsin game that night and the plan for me to walk through the bunker.
Bunker Entrance
After the mulching was done I was introduced the the man that came up with the whole concept of Z-Bunker, Tom Buder. While Tom has been successful through other business ventures he always had a desire to create something different for Halloween enthusiasts. He loves the season and had been thinking about the idea for years before actually putting wheels into motion. Buder and the Humpal’s friendship goes back to their high school days and they, in the last couple of years, got reacquainted after bumping into each other at the mall.
Tom is the mastermind behind the blueprint of the bunker so it was decided that he would accompany me through the facility as I tagged along with another group. I was behind a couple of young ladies that had told me they went through the bunker last year and said it was not that scary. There was also a young couple where the girlfriend seemed to be a little scared before we began our trek through the bunker. While walking through the bunker, many of areas were darker than I expected but there was still plenty to be seen. The 2 couples could be heard screaming as we walked through the maze of rooms and I could see that they were grasping each other’s hands. After we exited I asked the young ladies if they thought it was scarier than last year and they said that it was.
I could tell that Tom had a huge passion for what he has created and his attention to detail stands out. After the walkthrough with the group he took me on a behind the scenes look so that I could see more details of what was actually going on. I was amazed that there was so much thought put into this facility. With 30 rooms it can take about 20-25 minutes to walk from beginning to end. Tom talked to me about how the actors are stationed and the secret areas that allows them to flow between different scares with little effort. There has been so much work put into this place and Tom was very proud of that fact. He says that this bunker is definitely different than any of the other haunt spots in town with real props taken from hospital facilities and more prosthetics than you can count. The bunker was also designed to give a shock to your systems, but I will not give anything away on that front and you’ll have to find out for yourself.
About to Enter
Shantae with a group at the entrance
There’s still a couple of weeks to give Z-Bunker a try if you need a scare in your life.
Get tickets to Z-Bunker.
Follow Z-Bunker on Facebook.
As always, thank you for taking the time to check out another article from Small Guy!
