Asylum 49 makeup director makes up creepy cast to thrill fear-seekers at Tooele haunt

In just a matter of hours, Sonja Andersen transforms nearly 50 teenagers into all things scary — perhaps complete with gaping wounds, dripping blood or burned skin.

It’s a job Andersen, makeup director and part owner of Asylum 49, Tooele’s own haunted hospital, doesn’t take lightly and has perfected over the years.

Halloween has always been one of Andersen’s favorite holidays. One shed at her home used to be filled to the brim with Halloween decorations. In September she would deck out the inside and outside of her home with the spooky things she’d accumulated. That is until Asylum 49 opened as a Halloween haunt in 2006 when her decorations were used at the hospital.

But Andersen’s work at Asylum 49 has not been her first experience in spooky makeup. She first began doing horror makeup roughly 20 years ago.

“I see things and I make up my mind that I want to learn how to do that,” she said. “Basically everything I’ve learned I’ve been self-taught.”

That goes for learning how to do creepy makeup, too.

After watching horror movies and going to haunted houses, Andersen said she thought to herself, “’I wonder if I could do that,’ so I started doing it.”

At first it was a lot of trial and error, but she enjoyed it so much she decided to keep up with it.

Andersen begins doing makeup at about 4:30 p.m. at Asylum 49 on the days the haunted attraction is open. About five to six cast members require heavier makeup this year and take longer to do. If she starts at 4:30 with those characters, she’ll work applying until 7 p.m., jumping around from person to person, waiting for things to dry.

In just five to 10 minutes, she can transform a cast member requiring basic and general slashes and bullet hole wounds into the character they’ll play for the night.

An apprentice who has been with the haunted hospital since it first opened in 2006 assists Andersen.

Andersen uses basic liquid latex, nose and scar wax, products called thick blood and fresh scab and airbrushing to make up the cast. She even uses regular makeup like eye shadows to create bruises, using light purple, dark purple and blue.

“You can use anything to create what you want,” she said.

She stressed it’s important to think about what a face would really look like with a particular wound when applying the makeup and various items to achieve a specific look. A slash, for instance, wouldn’t necessarily be in a straight line.

The hardest part of the body to do makeup on is the neck, Andersen said.

“They’re always turning their head, and wax doesn’t work. I had to find a good way to do open wounds.”

Easy-to-use and inexpensive items like bandages, tissue, batting and cotton balls, she found, seemed to do the trick. Now these items are staples in the makeup room at the haunted hospital and are used to make various wounds and looks.

Asylum 49 has about 100 cast members and are essential to the entire Asylum 49 experience.

“You can have the best makeup and props but you don’t have anything without a good cast,” Andersen said, adding Asylum 49 provides a haven for kids and gets them off the streets.

It’s clear Andersen enjoys what she does and the creativity it fosters. She even visits Halloween conventions to get ideas for Asylum 49.

“I think the biggest reason I enjoy it is I can be creative and I can change it if I get bored,” she said.

In addition, Andersen said she enjoys challenging herself.

“I can’t give up. If I find something I like to do I keep going,” she said. “Every year I find new things I can do, new faces.”

Asylum 49, located at 140 E. 200 South, is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. Depending on how fast people run, it can take 45 minutes to an hour to get through the hospital.

Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com