Dan Smeiska — Software Developer, Sound Designer, and A/V Technican based in Minneapolis, MN
Zombie High (2013-2016)

Photo Credit: Valleyfair
This haunted attraction was designed to be told like a story. Like many of ValleySCARE’s mazes, this is a one-way maze: Many twists and turns to disorient, but there’s only one way to siphon everybody through. Therefore, setting up the soundtracks to build up sequentially as you progressed from zone to zone led to a building tension by the end of the maze.
The maze is actually divided into 7 separate sound zones; the first zone has no sound or speakers at all, to give an uneasy silence to listeners that pass by. Then the next 6 zones contain sound as outlined in the track below. Have a listen-through, then continue through this page to learn more about the design of each zone.
{{It is worth mentioning that the following track simply samples what happens in each zone. Each zone’s soundtrack consists of music containing at least 30-45 minutes of unique content per zone, so it keeps things at least somewhat fresh for the scare actors that work the maze for 5 hours a night.}}
The Six Zones of Zombie High
[Zone 1] - A low drone. It gives off the vibe that something's not quite right here. We're just getting started in the maze, so it gives us a point to build tension from.
[Zone 2] - In a hallway you pass through multiple times, the same drone plays with several annoucements on repeat from the principal... although it seems like we're trapped in time. What exactly is going on here...?
[Zone 3] - The drone has intensified now. In this room you also see Zombies attacking you, severed limbs on a table in the school's shop class. Broken glass and experiements from science class everywhere. You venture further in...
[Zone 4] - You're in the kitchen, boiler room, and cafeteria, and everything is overheating. You can hear the sounds of something horrific in the distance, crunching, chewing, cracking and choking sounds. Is this the result of the zombie outbreak? Are they after you now? Despite it all, you continue forward.
[Zone 5] - Here is where all the action is happening, you're in the gym locker rooms, gross things are hanging everywhere, including towels and jockstraps that have mummified from years of neglect. The crunching and chewing of zombies can be heard all over. This is decidedly the climax of the maze, and you go through a claustrophobia chamber on your way to the final room and zone which is...
[Zone 6] ...A prom at the gym! In the initial design of this last room, the aim was to have nothing but well known, emotive 90s love songs to provide a creepy juxtaposition to the rest of the maze, in a gymnasium that is filled to the brim with zombies. The music simply plays, as if the DJ had passed away and left these songs playing for years and years.
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Zombie High (2017 - present)