We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon DeSorbo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My family loves Halloween and we enjoy giving back to our community. Thousands enjoy our creation each year and that warms our hearts. We truly enjoy the creative expression of everyone who contributes artistically to the haunt. Set up takes months, but it is well worth the wait.

What should our readers know about your business?
We begin to build in August and continue to fine tune until opening day. We love expressing our creative side. It’s extremely rewarding designing a masterpiece for everyone to enjoy. Creativity and safety are extremely important factors to our success. We try to change haunt so no one knows what to expect each year. Safety is a consideration during the set up of each room. The actors are the most important factor behind our success. If we didn’t have them our haunt would be just creative decoration. The end goal, rent a building an go professional. For now we are free to our community but donations are always welcome.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Personally, I’m a huge movie/music buff. So, I would have us be a part of the creative juices that make Southern California what it is! We would start by going to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, ending with dinner at the highly renowned and reputable club 33! Next, we would do the full bizarre (Hollywood) experience! We’d hit Universal Studios and see the star walk of fame then attend a live taping of Jimmy Kimmel! Followed by a drive around the city to find iconic movie locations! We would hit a Padres game in San Diego followed by sneaking into the eccentric and mind-bending speakeasy’s hidden throughout the city! We would finish our night by walking the stunning beaches San Diego. If my guest was visiting during the Halloween season, we would go to some of the terrifying haunts that inspired me!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My father started the haunted house when I was a child. Today it has blossomed into a a family masterpiece, named the best home haunt on the west coast. Without my dads passion none of this would have ever happened.

Instagram: Escondido_Madhouse

Facebook: The Escondido Mad House

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@BranxD2727

Other: TikTok THE ESCONDIDOMADHOUSE

Image Credits
Brandon DeSorbo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.