Most young entrepreneurs have fears about starting their own business. At just 20 years old, former Madison College student Jacob Eugster has turned scaring people into a business.

Eugster’s well-known haunted house, Screamin’ Acres, was created seven years ago when Eugster was just a freshman in high school. Screamin’ Acres has won the title of Wisconsin’s No. 1 haunted house two years in a row.

“It was just going to be a small way to pay for college. Now it’s my full-time gig,” he said.

Since the seventh grade, Eugster had wanted to go to business school. He completed the general courses needed for a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Madison College and now attends the UW-Madison as a business major.

The downfalls of owning your own business are “everything and anything,” Eugster says jokingly. He gives a smile and proceeds to explain how he is constantly learning. Learning more about the insurance and marketing aspects of things through, of course, trial and error.

“It took about 2-3 years for us to learn what worked and what didn’t, Eugster says. Originally, a lot of time and money was spent on billboards and media platforms, but later Eugster figured out that the best source of advertising was Facebook.

The hardest part of being a business owner, Eugster explains, is being as flexible as possible.

“Trying to juggle school, work, helping out on the farm and trying to have a social life somewhere in there gets tough,” he says.

Preparation of the haunted house used to begin about two and a half months prior to October; now, it is his full-time, year-round job. It is a lot of meticulous and hands-on work, Eugster says. Throughout the winter, he mainly does computer-based and paperwork. It isn’t until mid-March that Eugster hits the ground running to get ready for October.

Ideas for his haunted house come from anywhere, as long as they are original. A strict policy Eugster has is that their designs to do not directly copy another haunted house or horror movie.

Screamin’ Acres has an exquisite eye for detail and countless hair-raising, haunted attractions. In addition to Eugster’s favored displays, the crawl space and operating room, his new ritual room is petrifying.

The haunted house is a “never ending evolution,” Eugster says. In his opening year, he had about 20 volunteers and only two attractions. Less than a quarter of the current attendance came. Now with about 80 actors, he sells out at least twice.

Eugster and his team won the top haunted attraction in Wisconsin two years in a row by the free voting website, Wisconsinfrights.com. With his continuing success, Eugster hopes to soon open an additional Screamin’ Acres location.

“As long as people keep coming, I don’t see it stopping anytime soon,” Eugster said, adding that time spent with his actors and management team is his favorite part about the business.

Screamin’ Acres is open every Friday and Saturday night in October from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Blackout Night will be on Halloween from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Those who show up early in the night and early in the season will typically get the shortest wait time.

For the 45 minutes you are in the house, your heart will beat faster, your foot will reach for a step that isn’t there and your body will jump in shock after a monster in the shadows reaches out to grab you.

Although horrifying to some, Eugster believes it to be “fun for everyone.” His advice to first-time goers is to just remember that it is a haunted house with actors and to have fun with it.