CCAD’S monster factory

Halloween is just around the corner. And there’s no better place to be than Columbus.

We have the nation’s most elaborate costume party in HighBall Halloween. And we have two top fabrication studios that specialize in haunted attractions — thanks in large part to CCAD.

According to a recent piece in 614 Magazine, “Much of this has to do with the late, great mystical monster-man” Mark Hazlerig, a pillar of CCAD’s Illustration program who taught here for more than four decades.

There’s Unit 70 Studios, “one of the largest exporters of horror props and animatronics in the country,” according to 614, where CCAD alum Bo Bruns (Class of 1998, Media Studies, Illustration) is owner, founder, and CEO.

Plus, there’s Scare Factory — “another full service fabrication studio that specializes in haunted attractions,” according to 614.

Without Hazlerig, “neither of these macabre powerhouses would exist,” reporter Danny Hamen wrote in 614.

“Half my people have had a big impact from” Hazlerig, Bruns told 614. “He was known as the go-to monster guy in town.”

Hazlerig passed away earlier this year, but as 614 pointed out, “through the hands of his students, and the thousands of scares he has provoked worldwide, his legacy lives on.”

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The Mark Hazlerig Endowment Fund was established by CCAD alumni and friends to support a yearly scholarship for an outstanding student who excels in dimensional studies. Learn more here.