Terry Townsend, right, poses with his daughter Marissa Townsend, center, and her fiancé Michael Elliott, left, inside their Yuba City workshop on Oct. 15. The family has been working evenings and weekends to prepare for the grand opening of Townsend’s latest haunted house attraction, set inside the old Union Bank building on Tharp Road.

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The Halloween king is back — and this time, his haunt is bigger, louder and filled with more animatronic mayhem than ever before.

Two years ago, Terry Townsend transformed the historic Senator Hotel in downtown Marysville into a two-story maze of horrors packed with creepy clowns, shrieking witches and roaring chainsaws. This Halloween, Townsend and his family are bringing the fear to Yuba City, doubling their footprint with nearly 4,000 square feet of spine-chilling spectacle.

“This is like Christmas to me,” said Townsend. “We get to spend time as a family and create these crazy setups for people to enjoy. It’s definitely a lot of work, but totally worth it for us.”

Townsend’s elaborate haunts have become a community favorite — so elaborate, in fact, that he typically stages them every other year to allow time for new builds and family life in between. After losing his mother last year, he said the return to haunting feels especially meaningful.

Michael Elliott holds one of the oldest masks in Terry Townsend’s Halloween collection on Oct. 15. The mask, more than 30 years old, is believed to be the first piece in Townsend’s extensive collection.

“She would always play the witch for us with this big boa constrictor,” said Michael Elliott, Townsend’s soon-to-be son-in-law. “We’ve inherited part of her collection now and already have some of her pieces set up throughout the haunt.”

The family crew — Townsend, his daughter Marissa, and Elliott — has spent evenings and weekends over the past month transforming the old Union Bank building at 998 Tharp Road into a nightmare come to life.

“I actually was never that into Halloween before I met Marissa,” Elliott laughed. “But now it’s a big part of my life. Both our anniversaries are on Halloween, so there’s no escaping it. I usually focus on wiring and making sure all the animatronics run smoothly.”

Townsend estimates it takes around 40 days to complete the build, most of it dedicated to layout, draping and creating eerie cobwebbed corridors. Each section of the haunt tells its own mini-story, leading guests through twists, turns and timed jump scares.

A section of the haunted house’s “killer clown” room glows under red light on Oct. 15. The scene, filled with animated figures and circus-themed horror, is one of several themed zones featured throughout the 4,000-square-foot maze.

This year’s location, across from Tractor Supply in Yuba City, has proven to be the perfect setting.

“It’s honestly ideal,” Townsend said, referring to the exposed rafters and open floor plan. “I can hang and wire things from the ceiling easily, and since we’re right on the main highway, we’re already getting a lot of curious visitors stopping by to check it out.”

The haunted house will be open Wednesday, Oct. 29, and Thursday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 31 (Halloween night), from 6 to 10 p.m.

A $5 minimum donation per person is requested, with net proceeds benefiting local animal rescue and shelter groups.

The Haunted House is located at 998 Tharp Road, Yuba City, CA 95993 — in the old Union Bank building. Those interested in getting involved can also volunteer to help run the haunt by contacting Terry Townsend at 530-218-6876 (text preferred). The team said help is especially needed on Halloween night.

Michael Elliott and Terry Townsend sort through bins of vintage masks and costumes on Oct. 15. Some of Townsend’s collection dates back more than three decades and is used to outfit actors and scenes throughout the family’s haunted house.