?? How do you design a house...for fear? [Curious State]

Leonard Pickel has made a career of the unexpected. From manipulating architecture to designing impossible floor plans, his Hauntrepreneurs business pulls out all the stops to pack the creep factor into every square inch of the 300+ haunted houses they've designed. The company's DNA lies in the Pickel Theory of Haunted Houses. "It's high startle rather than high gore," he says. "People are grossed out by blood and guts and body parts, but they're not really frightened by it."

When Leonard designs a haunted house, he's focused on scaring the most difficult patron: a 21-year-old dude. (As he explains here in a clip that didn't make the final cut of his Curious State episode).

Leonard: He's going through the haunted house saying to himself, nothing's gonna scare me. Because he's with a date or with his buddies and he doesn't want to be seen screaming. He's not going to be afraid of a bathtub with body parts and blood splatter on him. You have to do something he's not expecting. So maybe you show him that bathtub, but then have somebody come flying out through the mirror or something from another direction.

Doug: So a 21-year-old guy is the hardest to scare. Who's the easiest?

Leonard: Well, it's 14-year-old girl, isn't it? One time I was in a haunted house hallway with a flashlight in my mouth, trying to fix a panel that had come loose. And I heard a group coming down the hallway. So I stood in the corner and tried to stay out of the way. The worst thing you can do is stand in the way of a group. Then they're too afraid to pass and all the groups behind them will catch up. Then one young girl in a group sees me and says, "There's somebody over there, there's somebody over there!"

And I just said in a creepy voice, "Maintenance."

And they all screamed and ran down the hallway. They go in because they love that adrenaline rush and they really enjoy having a good scream.

If you dare: Listen to Leonard's episode of Curious State (about 15 minutes long) to learn why you should always "scare forward," where to put your best scares, and the kind of haunted house that chills him to the bone.

?? Check out the full Curious State episode here ??