Story by Rick West

TPA's Johanna Atilano takes pictures of Jeff Schiefelbein as he shows us around the new Sinister Pointe digs.

Nestled inconspicuously in a quiet business park, Sinister Pointe appears to be just another company workplace. But behind the bolted doors and tinted glass, something horrible and menacing is taking place. Jeff and his team are hard at work, creating this year's massive first maze in its new, long-term location! The haunted house structure itself is done, and the Sinister Pointe team is beginning to spook-tify it, and make it look like a grim ol' haunted attraction.

Situated within a 14,000 square-foot space at 195 Arovista Circle in Brea, Sinister Pointe will launch this year with one large-scale walk-through attraction and a number of vendors outside, in a really big parking lot space also leased by Jeff as part of the location.

The great thing about Sinister Point is that the entire maze area is indoors, which gives Jeff complete creative control over lighting, temperature and sound conditions. That is really critical when it comes to haunted attractions - especially in places such as Southern California, where October temperatures can climb well into the "hotter than Hell" digits one week, and pour rain the next. With the bulk of Sinister Pointe's operation indoors, there will be no stopping Jeff and his crew regardless of what Mother Nature may wish to inflict on us this Halloween season.

In the not-too-distant future, Sinister Pointe will also be made available for special events and gatherings. There are big plans in store for the company - but first, Jeff is focused on getting the 2011 haunt up and running. Once that happens, Sinister Pointe's maze (or mazes - the facility is easily big enough for two, perhaps even three) will remain in place year-round, where it will constantly be tweaked and changed, opening for holidays such as Christmas and Valentine's Day, which has become the latest craze in the haunted attraction industry.

With the success of Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2010 notched into his belt, Jeff is working on a handful of other haunted attractions this year in addition to Sinister Pointe, including a highly-anticipated maze at the iconic Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Make no mistake however; Jeff's totally focused on raining terror down on Brea, and he's bringing it hard this year.

Jeff is well-known for past Sinister Pointe presentations such as the industry's first official SAW maze in 2008, as well as an awesome recreation of Silent Hill in 2009. His expertise in the dark industry has grown by leaps and bounds, and this season, he promises fans that he and his crew are going to raise the bar yet again and terrorize Orange County like never before!

This is the first of several visits Theme Park Adventure will be paying to Sinister Point as the haunting season draws near. We know that a lot of you are very excited to experience Sinister Pointe in its new home; rest assured, you won't be disappointed!

For more information on Sinister Pointe, visit their official website at: SinisterPointe.com

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