The Curse of Dead Luck

Logline

In the cursed boomtown of Dead Luck Gulch, silver-tongued snake oil salesman, Thaddeus Coil “The Elixir King”, bound by a pact with the Devil, opens a portal to the Underworld in the local gold mine, unleashing unearthly monsters upon the town… only to profit from the terror he’s created by selling his “miracle cure” to the very souls he’s doomed.

Synopsis

Deep in the forgotten frontier lies Dead Luck Gulch, a once-prosperous mining town now swallowed by darkness. In this place, ambition, greed, and desperation have unleashed something far worse than bad fortune. Travelers arrive to find silver-tongued snake oil salesman Thaddeus Coil, the self-proclaimed “Elixir King”, selling bottles of miracle cures and protection from unseen dangers. Bound by a sinister pact with the Devil, Thaddeus has opened a portal beneath the town’s gold mine, releasing malicious serpents that turn the townspeople into monsters one-by-one, all while Thaddeus profits from the fear he has created. Travelers question whether the Elixir King’s promises are salvation from the horrors or simply another trap. The only question that remains is whether fortune will favor the travelers or if they will become the next souls claimed by the curse of Dead Luck.

Project Description

I was fortunate to compete in HauntComp 2026 with some fellow students at the University of Central Florida. My primary role for this project was as a show writer. I worked with the group on blue sky concepts, organizing our narrative, locations, and characters. I mapped out and wrote beats for each scene in the house, as well as our scare zone and character sheets. I also led our operational plan, writing the standard operating procedures. Finally, I created several pieces of background artwork for the haunt, including character silhouettes, wall murals and playing cards. It was such a pleasure working with a great group of people on this haunt concept and I am very proud of what we created.

Project Team:

• Nick Augustine
• Jim Shackelford
• Valeria Portilla
• Molly Wallace
• Danielle Greif

Software Used:

Microsoft Office  //  Adobe Illustrator  //  Procreate  //  Adobe Photoshop

Date:

February - May 2026

Exterior Queue: Snake Oil Wagon

Travelers venture past a crooked wagon lit by amber lanterns. Light flickers on a wooden, hand-painted sign reading “Thaddeus Coil Snake Oil". Out front is the Elixir King himself, Thaddeus Coil, making conversation with travelers waiting to enter Dead Luck Gulch. Eager to show off his product, Coil touts that his elixir is the only way to stay safe from the monsters that lurk in shadows of night. “Something tells me you’ll love it,” he slyly says. As he speaks, the silhouette of a horned figure materializes inside the wagon behind him. The figure’s eyes glow red as they hold up a contract signed by Thaddeus in glowing red script. As they pass the wagon, travelers hear a whisper coming from inside, “It’s a done deal.”

Facade: Barn

Travelers continue along a timber fence, winding through corn stalks towards an imposing, red barn covered in vines. As they pass a large grain silo, they see a red glow coming from inside a mine far off in the desert hillside and hear distant screams echo in the air. As they approach the barn, they discover mutilated pig carcasses bathed in ominous red lighting streaming from inside the building. They hear the creak of the straining rope as they pass under a precariously dangling hay bale and enter the open barn door.

Scene 1: Barn Interior

Travelers enter the barn bathed in dim red light and are hit with smells of hay and manure. In the stall to their left they see several wicker baskets knocked over under a sign labeled “Steele Snake Farm” and hear hissing as something brushes their ankles (air blast). Suddenly a snake pops down from the shadows above, narrowly missing the travelers. They pass another stall with a mangled horse carcass and hear the panicked cries of animals coming from the shadows. Ahead they see a mutilated man swaying from a noose when a bloody horse head suddenly lunges at them from the shadows. They are then attacked by the shadowy monster holding the horse head, but the monster disappears before they get a good look. On the other side, the farmer’s daughter jumps out holding her cheek and screaming. She takes her hands down, showing two dripping snake bites on her cheek and opens her eyes, revealing glowing, red snake pupils. Ahead, travelers see the shadow of a man doubled over and hear pained screams and cracking wood as the shadow morphs into something inhuman with the same red eyes. As they approach the back wall, they see a half-man, half-snake creature lunge at them from the shadows before they exit.

Scene 2: Train Station & Road Exterior

Ahead travelers see a train station, but it is blocked by a flaming derailed train. They smell the burning embers and dry desert dirt as they approach. Travelers feel a drip as they pass under the water tower and are engulfed in steam from the toppled train smokestack as a loud train whistle bellows. They pass the ticket window where the shutters swing open and a clerk jumps out. The clerk has red eyes and most of their human skin has been peeled away, revealing scales underneath. They say: “Now departing… for hell” before maniacally laughing and closing the shutters. Travelers turn and walk down a dirt road past a tent with shadows of a cowboy and a prospector arguing. The prospector attempts to take a bottle of snake oil from the cowboy. “It’s all that’s protectin’ me from those…things,” says the cowboy. “T’ain’t nothin’ but horse shoot,” retorts the prospector. Travelers hear a gunshot and shattering glass as they are hit with a blast of air and see the snake oil bottle has been destroyed. Suddenly the shadow of the cowboy is yanked away as a scream and loud hissing sound is heard. “What in tarnation??,” exclaims the prospector. Up ahead, travelers see a sign saying “Welcome to Dead Luck”, but someone has written “The Curse of” above it. They turn and pass under the town gates as they enter the general store.

Scene 3: General Store Interior

Travelers enter into a cramped, dark store that smells like damp grain. A tall shelf on the left creates a path and they hear the commotion of shattering glass and splintering wood as a scaly hand reaches at them through the shelf. Moments later, a snake creature curves around the side of the shelf, hissing and swiping at travelers. As they walk along the counter, they see a bandit covered by a bandana taking money from the register and putting it into a sack. “This is too easy,” he says. “I don’t know what everyone’s so scared of.” Suddenly a snake creature pops up from behind the counter and hisses at travelers before biting the bandit on the neck. Travelers are sprayed with “blood” from the bandit as they exit the general store onto the main street of Dead Luck. The town has descended into chaos as screams are heard from every building and toppled barrels and debris line the streets, creating a path into the jail.

Scene 4: Jail Interior

Travelers enter the cramped jail, where they see Thaddeus sitting with his feet up on the Sheriff’s desk, counting a stack of gold coins. The sheriff is bound, gagged and tied to the bars on the outside of the jail cell and travelers hear his muffled pleas to be released. “Oh, I can’t let you out,” Thaddeus says dryly. “You would just get in my way.” Then Thaddeus laughs maniacally before turning and looking directly at the travelers. “Have you purchased your snake oil yet?,” Thaddeus asks. “You don’t want to end up like the sap in that cell.” A snake creature in the jail cell loudly rattles the bars at travelers as they pass. When the creature gets to the last bar, they suddenly pull it aside like rubber and lunge out right in the travelers’ faces. Then the creature runs back to the other side, biting the Sheriff through the bars. Travelers hear Thaddeus laugh and sarcastically say “what a pity” as they exit back into the street. Travelers weave through another path of debris and enter the swinging doors of the saloon.

Scene 5: Saloon Interior

Travelers enter the local saloon, which appears to have been ransacked and destroyed. They pass a poker table and see the bartender pinned down to the bar by a toppled shelf. Travelers smell stale beer and sawdust as they see the walls lined with tobacco adverts, wanted posters and steer horns. A patron stands at the bar with their back to the travelers before turning to reveal their red snake eyes, shrieking and lunging at travelers. An eerie melody plays as travelers near a figure seated at the piano. Suddenly one of the posters drops away with a bang as a snake creature swipes at them from a hole in the wall. Up ahead, a saloon girl on the balcony sways along to the piano melody, hiding her face behind a fan. As they pass underneath, the saloon girl pulls the fan away, revealing she is a snake creature, and dives down at travelers before snapping back up to the balcony. Travelers turn and continue down a narrow hallway lined with portraits. As they pass the portraits, some slam down, revealing a snake creature that reaches out at them. They exit the saloon into the street, where they can now see all the way back to the General Store. They weave through more debris, crossing the street and entering the Undertaker shop.

Scene 6: Undertaker Shop Interior

Travelers enter the Undertaker shop, which reeks of decay and florals. They see the Undertaker holding a tape measure up to a coffin propped on the wall. He quickly spins around, stepping close to travelers and holding the tape measure up to them. “Better get yours now,” he says, concerned. “I’m bound to sell out.” Travelers continue down a narrow hallway lined with coffins propped against the wall that have red light glowing from every seam. Ahead, they see a coffin laying on the floor, wrapped in chains. The coffin shakes and the lid rattles up and down as travelers hear hissing and banging from inside. In the window above the coffin, travelers see the silhouette of Thaddeus struggling as he’s being dragged away by 2 snake creatures. “This wasn’t part of the deal!,” Thaddeus screams in panic. “I did everything you said!” The silhouettes disappear and travelers hear Thaddeus scream as they exit the shop back onto the main street.

Scene 7: Mine Entrance Exterior

Travelers walk down the main street, passing a lumber mill and outhouse on the edge of town. The local prospector, Silas “Mongoose” McGraw, runs out from the shadows to a makeshift assay desk and starts connecting sticks of dynamite to a spool of fuses. He looks at the travelers and says “they took that snake oil feller into the mine and I’m ‘bout to send it to kingdom come!” They turn and see a glowing red mine entrance cut into the hillside. They pass “Keep Out” and “Danger: Splosives” signs and hear the distant echo of Thaddeus screaming from inside as they enter the dark red glow of the mine.

Scene 8: Mine Caverns

Travelers enter a cramped, winding mine shaft that is lined with bones and severed body parts in various states of decay. The stench of sulfur, gunpowder and damp earth is strong. To their left they see a corpse sticking out of a rock crusher. A fully-transformed snake creature lunges from the shadows, turning the crank and spraying travelers with “blood” as the crusher starts spinning. As travelers continue, they see sticks of dynamite poking out of the wall, connected by a web of fuses. Travelers hear sizzling and see the red flame traveling down the fuses towards the dynamite. They hear the groan of crumbling earth as the shaft could give way any second. They weave past lanterns, pickaxes and mining tools as a gauntlet of snake creatures lunges at them from unseen gaps in the wall in rapid succession. Bats with glowing red eyes descend from above and snakes shoot up from the ground, threatening to bite travelers. As they reach the end of the caverns, the screams of Thaddeus get louder.

Scene 9: Portal to Hell

As travelers reach the end of the caverns, they enter a large open area and feel a rush of wind. There is a large, red portal in the rock wall surrounded by various digging tools. Halfway out of the portal is a 12-foot-tall snake creature with glowing red eyes and large horns. The creature is holding Thaddeus by the chest, who screams in agony as his limbs are ripped from his body. Travelers see the goo of his innards stretching and ripping apart as a deep voice echoes through the room: “Your debt is paid.” Travelers turn towards a sign lit by a dim lantern reading: “to the surface”. They hear an explosion and see flashing red lights as they pass through a cloud of smoke and exit the mine, having narrowly escaped the curse of Dead Luck.

Scare Zone

Every year the town of Dead Luck Gulch holds the Lückenstore festival at the end of the harvest to bring good fortune for the next season. The festival is a celebration with music, drinking and stations for townspeople to fashion their own good luck charms, including horseshoes, rabbits feet and clover charm bracelets. This year the festival is being run by a former outlaw trying to get on the straight-and-narrow named “Whistlin’” Fannie Ketchum. She was unfortunately the first victim of Thaddeus Coil’s deal with the devil, as she was bitten by a snake creature as she was digging a hole during setup. Fannie has transformed into a ravenous monster and turns the festival into chaos as she slithers through the shadows, biting townspeople and turning them into snake creatures. The peaceful crafting stations turn violent, as townspeople have their heads crushed at the anvil, have horseshoes nailed to their hands, or have their skin peeled and turned to leather by snake creatures. The town drunk and prospector, Silas “Mongoose” McGraw, roams the festival, unsuccessfully trying to alert the townspeople to the monsters that walk among them, along with the sheriff, who is futilely trying to keep order. And Thaddeus Coil is at the center of it all, selling his elixirs to the last few townspeople who haven’t been bitten. Travelers try to make it through the festival unharmed, but they must be cautious, because they never know who could be a snake waiting to strike.

“Whistlin’” Fannie Ketchum

Fannie has been bitten and turned into a snake creature, but was a former outlaw that used to rob trains and carriages. She originally came to Dead Luck to hide from the law, but decided to settle here. She gave up her outlaw ways and worked as a ranch hand. She was excited to host this year’s Lückenstore festival and saw this as the final step to leaving her old life behind. Since transforming into a monster, she is aggressive and animalistic.

Silas “Mongoose” McGraw

Silas is the town drunk and prospector of the mine. He is jovial and kind, but is always making up stories and exaggerating the truth. No one believes anything he says. His family has lived here and worked for the mine for generations and Silas feels trapped by his legacy. During the festival, he is flustered and trying to warn everyone about the snake creatures, but no one believes him.