Freakling Bros Horror Shows
Established in 1976...
The Freakling Bros. Las Vegas tradition has gone through various iterations, but the core concept started over 40 years ago, when Duke Mollner, his wife Ginnie, and oldest son Daniel decorated the entry way to their house on Rochelle avenue, built a coffin from scratch, and began to scare unsuspecting neighborhood children during a night of Trick or Treating. Over the next decade and a half, the sets became more elaborate, the lines longer, and the notoriety more broad. The local news was a fixture each Halloween night on Rochelle Ave, and one year, the following day, Duke's own version of The Phantom of the Opera graced the front page of the Review Journal. The home haunt was not a commercial venture and only performed each year for one night – Halloween. This was satisfying enough for a while, but after over a decade of scaring Trick or Treaters, Duke was craving more.
In 1992 Duke and Daniel partnered with close friend Craig Lewis to open one of the first free-standing commercial haunts in the state of Nevada, The Circus of Horrors. Over the next 10 years the company expanded to 3 attractions, including the Dungeon, Black Box and the Mortuary. Later the Dungeon became the world famous, illusory Castle Vampyre. In 2011, the first and only R Rated attraction in Nevada, the game-changing Gates of Hell was unveiled. Freakling Bros has become a world renowned institution for haunt aficionados in the years since, but one thing as not changed: It's always been a family affair: Ginnie (aka Momma Freakling) sells tickets, Duke (aka Dukula) is still the grand maestro, creating and designing the attractions now alongside his youngest son, managing partner JT Mollner, who has been instrumental in bringing out Freakling Bros darker, more provocative side in recent years. Both Duke and JT have always believed that haunts shouldn’t just be for kids, and have proven it with the crowds of adults that now grace the property each year.
Freakling as a family venture extends beyond blood ties, however. One of the things we treasure most here is the tight knit community of supervisors and managers we've assembled over the years…. As well as the cast, which is our true life's blood. Dukula’s philosophy has always been "live actors over animatronics". Sticking to that creed has kept us the scariest. When we team up each year to put on "The Greatest Shows Unearthed", it's not work, it's a celebration. All of us LOVE Halloween. And the only way we know how to celebrate it is by scaring people. All of us, including the owners have "day jobs" the rest of the year. We don't do this for the money; we do this for the love of horror.
Please come by this Halloween season and celebrate with us. We can't guarantee it'll be easy, but we can guarantee you something you will never forget. We will stay with you long after you leave, and live with you for years to come, in the dark recesses of your mind... and perhaps even your bedroom closet.