Last year, Katarina Ryanna, a funeral director at Heber Valley Funeral Home, approached Carrie Zabaldo, founder of Charitable Acts Theater, and offered her business as a venue for events — “because we don’t want the community to be scared of us.”
These days, Ryanna roams the funeral home, a mop of black hair obscuring her face, screeching at any jumpy teenagers (or reporters) who approach her.
For the week of Halloween, Heber Valley Funeral Home has been transformed into a haunted house, complete with cannibal clowns, a ballerina with a monstrous mouth and even some ominous polka-dotted creatures.
The production was made possible by a Wasatch County Trails Arts and Parks tax grant and dozens of volunteers, including a professional scarer teaching the greenhorns how it’s done. Zabaldo said the effort took “12 to 14 hours a day for the past week.” One of the biggest challenges comes in having to inflate and decorate their two tents every evening.
“We’re honestly ready to sleep tonight,” Zabaldo joked.
The haunted house serves as a fundraiser for Charitable Acts Theater. The theater company donates all proceeds from their plays (outside of those used to cover production costs) to local charities. Since their creation four years ago, they’ve donated $72,000, according to Zabaldo.
“I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a place that’s had more charitable-minded people, not just financially, but with their time and their talents,” Zabaldo said. “I had this idea when I lived in Oregon, but I just didn’t think it would fly, because who gives away all their money?”
When Ryanna and Zabaldo came up with the idea for a haunted house in October 2024, they were worried that Francis Mortensen, the funeral home’s new manager, would say no — but he was thrilled by the idea. You may see him at the entrance, introducing a Nosferatu statue as his “great-grandfather.”
For Mortensen, the event provides an opportunity to rebrand the funeral home as a community space.
“Even though this is a haunted house, this building is not spooky,” Mortensen said. “We’re seeing the transition of people not knowing how to handle death, and they just put it away. ‘We don’t need a service. I don’t want a service. Then I’ll feel sad.’ But that misses a big point of everything that we’re here to do. We’re here to help you grieve. We’re here to help you have fun. We’re here to help you remember your loved ones.”
After Dark at the Mortuary runs through Oct. 31, 7 to 10 p.m. at Heber Valley Funeral Home (288 N. Main St.). Tickets are $15 for adults and teens and $10 for children under 12, who must be accompanied by an adult.