(WICHITA, Kan.)—
Haunting Nightmares has turned into just that for the people who worked there.“All 40 to 50 of us…none of us has been paid,” says Dana Burger who contacted FactFinder 12 Investigators.
Burger, her daughter Holly, and many others gave up the month of October to make some extra cash working for the haunted house in the 55-hundred block of North Seneca.
“Every weekend and a full week,” says Burger.
Employees have only received about 10 or 20 percent of what they’re owed.
“We didn't get paid. We put in 90 hours and we want our money.”
Vaughn Smith owned the haunted house.
He advertised the haunted house as a charity with proceeds going to Shriners Hospitals for Children.
FactFinder 12 contacted Shriners. A spokesperson says the organization never received a dime from Smith.
FactFinder 12 tried for weeks to contact Smith but didn’t hear back, not until we went to his home.
Smith never answered the door but called and agreed to an interview. He later cancelled.
"I've never not wanted to pay them …there's a 100 percent chance they'll get paid what they're owed,” Smith said on the phone.
Leo Kiesling did makeup for the haunted house. He says at the very least he would like to see all the kids who worked for Smith get a paycheck.
“Awesome opportunity….it's not fair to those kids or their parents,” says Kiesling.
He says he’s tired of hearing excuses.
“I work hard every day. Guys like this do people wrong, live in a quarter million dollar houses, drive 60 thousand dollar vehicles and have a boat in their yard. I have to pay my rent...it's unfair.”
Smith tells FactFinder 12 he's not sure how many people he owes money, but thinks he's paid about $8,000 to $9,000 of the $20,000 he says is outstanding.
He says he plans to pay them in full in the next two weeks.
