joe
HH Rookie
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Post by joe on Feb 17, 2015 13:11:32 GMT -5
The Blood Manor Live Journal is down but I happened to save the article when I saw it a couple years ago. Agree, about the things you find on the net, but the references seem to line up with my memories of the old MM.
FULL TEXT Oct. 29th, 2006 10:33 pm BLOOD MANOR AMERICA'S FIRST HAUNTED HOUSE 1971 BY itsi Atkins, cc 2006 part 1 1971 -1977 part two 1977 - 2006
Forward Introduction or Jacket Notes:
OCTOBER 2005. The New York Times is folded open, and Itsi Atkins discovers, that a 54 year old man of the Halloween Season has fallen victim to the monster he created. IT all started in 1971, when he first designed a professional theatrical haunted house called BLOOD MANOR. It was a vacant home solely designed for public entertainment, a sound and light horror happening with college students in the wilds of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Atkins discovered this old vacant dilapidated wooden five story structure overgrown with brush. It was the abandoned dormitory of a convent of nuns. The nunnery dark and exposed to the rain and wind was scheduled for demolition, however in October 1971 it was rescued, and transformed by a creative and unorthodox mind . “Itsi” Edwin Atkins, a local elementary school teacher called the event, Blood Manor. It invited the public to enter for ten continuous and scary years. It became an international sensation noticed by major newspapers worldwide.
Melbourne's Australia’s Daily News, “THE SICKEST SHOW OF THEM ALL”
London, England Mirror, “THE SICKEST SHOW IN AMERICA AND IT BRINGS THEM IN BY THE THOUSANDS”.
IN 1971, the word all represented only one, however, now in 2006 all represents a holiday market of over $300 billion dollars. A retail market only second to Christmas. IN 2006, Itsi Atkins, with a lifetime of production experience in music, theatre and film was not expecting BLOOD MANOR to still be alive. But it is very much alive and living not fifteen minutes form his east-side New York City abode.
Chapter One - Origin and Mythology
Halloween, actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year. One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended on this date, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates. The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
Chapter Two - Wax to Disney THE Horror genre like the invention of the motion pictures started in New York City and during the early twentieth century with the advent of the new technology and art moved west to Hollywood. Eden Musee was founded in 1883. Located on Twenty-third street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, a modern French Renaissance building housed one of the world’s greatest collection of wax figures. For 50 cents in 1905, the lucky visitor could amble among figures of the great leaders of the world such as President Roosevelt, King Edward VII of England and the oft forgotten Willemina, the child-queen of Holland. Elaborate historical dioramas were enacted to portray such scenes as a “Rehearsal at the Opera”, the “Death of Julius Ceasar” and the “Storming of Constantinople” by the Romans. But however, a wax museum wouldn’t hold any credibility if it did not have its Chamber of Horrors detailing the “Horrors of the Spanish Inquisition”, “The Hindo Woman’s Sacrifice” and the “Fruits of Idleness” that would possibly insure a visitor lead a more noble life. Live entertainment was introduced to go along with the stiff subjects. The Eden Musée Orchestra performed daily each afternoon and evening in the Concert Hall. This magnificent room was “tastefully decorated with handsome mirrors and tropical plants”. Here the weary visitor could rest and listen to some music. This room, which stretched the entire depth of Twenty-fourth street had a stage on the south side of the hall. It was believed that this stage would become a leading motion picture theatre as well as a premier vaudeville venue. In Paris about 1896, George Méliès, the magician and owner of the Theatre Robert-Houdin was creating his series of “trick” films with the appearance and disappearance of people and objects. The Eden Musée adopted this “trick” film technique and was fast becoming the showplace for films within New York City in the late 1890’s The Musee theatre moved twice from its original location eventually locating at Coney Island. Now gone, these little stages helped promote the magic of the motion pictures by gone masters of our art. The last remaining Eden Musee exhibits were displayed at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio during the 1960’s. Some of the most extreme Halloween displays include Musee’s tabloids of children with their heads mutilated or total decapation. The artisans had a special talent for creating convincingly dead yet staring eyes which focused on unsuspecting visitors. New York and Paris held important places for the establishment of horror exhibits. The finest examples that blended art with live action was founded in Paris (1897) by Oscar Metenier as an extension of the naturalist movement, which had been popularized by André Antoine's Theatre Libre. At the Grand Guignol Theatre an evening might consist of five or six short plays, ranging from suspenseful crime dramas to bawdy sex farces But the staple of the Grand Guignol repertoire was the horror play, which inevitably featured eye-gouging, throat-slashing, acid-throwing, or some other equally grisly climax. Over the years, and under the direction of several different managers, the Grand Guignol theatre flourished, becoming one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris. By the early 1960’s, however, the Grand Guignol’s formula no longer had the same impact with audiences, and in 1962, it closed its doors. Despite the fact that the Grand Guignol has fallen into relative obscurity, it had a profound influence on the art of horror performance and special effects. Grand Guignol’s also had a special influence on the creation of Blood Manor. The wax museums of the 19th century lost their attendees and melted into obscurity, the amusement parks gained popularity. Parks like Coney Island New York all had scary rides, dark rides and creepy fun houses with limited scare value. They included popups, dangling skeleton devils and witches. These carnival houses used air and mechanical movement while providing little in the way of real fright, as visitors moved thru dark spaces in the safety of a mechanical cart. The summer resorts, state and country fairs used trailers for such commercial venues. The walk thru effects only managed to give a pre-teen a short lived thrill. This all changed in 1969 when Walt Disney created the most popular theme park haunt ever, the Haunted Mansion. The show combined traditional ghost with a degree of wizardry never before achieved. The project began in 1951 and celebrated it’s opening in 1969, two years after Walt Disney’s death in 1967. The visitors rode the haunt in comfortable stereo speaker equipped buggies, as state of the art animatronics and projections created life. This gold standard of amusement was a year around attraction. Itsi Atkins visited the Haunted Mansion in the late 1960’s and it impressive effects provided a good scare. However it was predicable, too secure and non threatening. I wanted to take Disney’s approach and combine it with the Grand Guignol theatre and create something really horrific. Blood Manor was in its conceptual stage. Many other major theme parks such as the Florida Universal Park, and other join the list. In the late 70’s and early 1980’s horror had become a high ticket event and the industry spread to other venues. However, in the years before the creation of Blood Manor, the events were limited to major amusement parks trailer shows or private parties. These fun house Halloween socials featured walking over spongy floors, bobing apples and feeling peeled grapes. The Atlantic Beach Resorts for family haunted house entertainment included two major amusement parks. Brigantine Castle, Brigantine, New Jersey began in 1976 with haunt designs by Jim DeMuz, Willam Browing, Bob Dorian and Carmen Ricci, owner who according to Ricci, credits Sandy Batallini for making Brigantine Castle “one of the best haunted attractions of its era”. Mr. Ricci went on to describe Batallini as an actress who would, "put her heart and soul into every day's performances." The ocean resorts’ haunts were not adequate to handle the rowdy crowds. This resulted in the community filing a law suit. Local community support and strict regulations brought about by the 1984 fire at Great Adventure which killed 8 children in their haunted house created an impossible situation. The castle gates closed for good in 1987. Halloween haunted houses in general except for the Disney’s million dollar models, and some of the large summer resorts were not believable nor scary. Darkness was all that they were selling. Selling darkness with poor soundtracks of howling winds and pathetic screams was a high dollar pinch on tourists, an easy spot for the carnies. This was the state of Morbid Manor when I first visited in the summer of 1973. By the mid seventies Morbid Manor had been run down and poorly managed and neglected. My Blood Manor reputation preceded me when Richard Marchant, the owner of Morbid Manor asked me to remodel and to run the operation during the 1974 season. It was a great opportunity to find actors, promote Blood Manor and establish a new Morbid Manor. It was a surprise to see that Morbid Manor is still a nostaglic touchstone receiving rave reviews. The Morbid Manor I created was brought up to the Blood Manor standards. The actors directed with a sense of professionalism achieved results and soon it was the “scariest haunt on the summer circuit” This produced rave reviews and revenues. I added my signatory chain saw in 1971. This review was posted on a messgeboard in 2006. “I also really miss the old Morbid Manor out on the pier. It is somewhat legendary among the dark ride enthusiasts and is known as one of the better walk-through haunted houses ever. Too bad it was never rebuilt after the second fire. I can remember going through it and being scared out of my wits when I was much younger. The guy at the end that chased you with the running chainsaw nearly made my mom pee her pants. LOL I'll never forget the first room you went into. It was a circular room with several rows of chairs and a small round table in the middle with a crystal ball on it. After the room filled with people they lowered the lights and began a seance. Then all of the sudden the room would begin to slowly spin. Then the table in the middle started rising towards the ceiling, then it came back down and the rows of chairs you sat in started going up. This happened several times all while slowly spinning in circles. After this all the chairs returned to the floor and all the patrons were told to leave the room and you went out the same door you came in but instead of leading you back outside you started your journey through the rest of the haunted house. Boy, today's kids and young adults just don't know what they are missing.” The Morbid Manor experience proved to recruit many of the Ocean City “carnies” for future haunts. Dirty John, the “greaser” who lived under the pier’s roller coaster became a local heor of the summer. His oil and grease covered skin, long black dirty hair created a great character. Other carnies like Joe Orlando became my dedicated crew and traveled at the end of the summer season to St. Mary’s County. During the mid seventies the Morbid Manor and the Ocean City carnies built my sets, acted and lived in the Manor. It was not unusual for me to find one of them sleeping in the caskets when I arrived each morning. This group of “roadies” and Morbid Manor was a perfect segway for keeping Maryland haunts, the gold standard for excellence.
Chapter Three - Yard Haunts
Neighborhood haunts and other ghostly celebrations at Halloween usually took the form of some devoted adults who decorated front yards with ghouls and lights that the neighborhood visitors a special scare. The voice from the pumpkin screamed when trick or treaters approached. The same decorative style during Christmas is used to transform homes to holiday spectatulars. A man in California did this better than anyone. His name was Bob Burns. Bob and Kathy Burns put on their first Halloween show in 1967. It consisted of turning their family living room into a Frankenstien Laboratory. Kathy Burns in tattered gowns distributed the candy and the neighbors love it. In following years the
Burn’s home grew to accomidate more displays for the enjoyment of Halloween visitors. Bob Burns was a “B” movie horror fan with a special interest in SciFi. In 1969 event, he honored the film This Island Earth. He turned his living room into the interior of a flying saucer and his home filled with aliens. Outterspace spooks had reached fever popularity. In 1971 Bob moved the show to his backyard as Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde performed on an outdoor stage. He used a lighting effect to transform the illusion of Dr. Jeckyl to his alter ego Mr. Hyde. The popularity of his show increased with its association wihen Los Angeles based special effects and makeup artist Rick Baker joined his efforts. The Burns’ yard haunts continued into the 1980’s By 1975 Bob Burns was established as a standard of excellence in regional Haunts. His home was worthy of drawing crowds and gawking drivers. Bob’s nostalgic Hollywood tributes and his many Halloween events were neighborhood friendly, usually small in scale and often not publicized. He influenced people to transform their homes into odd psychodrama dwellings, monster movies play on their tv an invited guests to partake in parodied behaviors.
Chapter Four - itsi Atkins Cut the crap and scare the hell out of them!
IN the summer of 1970 during visits to beach resorts, I saw disappointment on faces of suspecting hororphiles. Faces that lacked their money’s worth of fear. What they missed was something realistic, something only our body’s adrenaline could produce as measured in the volume of screams. TERROR, FEAR, AND TEARS. Years worth of dreams, background and a lifetime of eccentric behavior collated in my brain. I drifted into electric storms of sleep by gazing out on the moonlight Chesapeake Bay, mesmerized by the lapping of the waves. In 1971, I was the only inhabitant of a small half acre island nestled in the marsh lands of the Chesapeake Bay. The wooden red shack, only accessible by two boards laid over a inlet stream, moved and creaked as I drove my black 1965 Morgan home from the local schoolhouse. My nights filled with fantasy as I drifted into sleep wanting release from daytime reality longing to co-habitate with the demons of my dreams, By October 1971, I was ready to create. I had visited the technological wizardry of Disney’s Haunted Mansion in Orlando Florida. I had studied the performance art of the Grand Guignol. These culminated into motivation to combine usual trickery and live action into a new concept. I wanted to move the haunts out of the local street and homes. I wanted to find the perfect vacant house, creating a professional horror festival and a haunted house like no other. Not realizing that a new industry of professional setting, with paid actors, and sponsorship for charities was about to begin. This event of mental visual and imaginary horror started it all, and never to be duplicated. My generation showed no mercy for individual choices during the 1960’s. It was a black or white choice with no gray. The cultural conflicts defined by music, drugs, education, protest and fashion. The generation which was split into two groups. The non-freaks and the “freaks”. The supporter of the military, conservative establishment support or the anti war reactionary antiestablishment of which I became a part. You were required to pick a position and survive. Colleges were the breeding ground and the center of communication and protection from the draft. Our Colleges provided the safe harbor and freedom of expressions. It was a College that gave Blood Manor its energy and drive.
Chapter Five - Itsi’s Revenge
A school teacher, who was forced to find an occupational deferment, I was blessed with having a very low number in Uncle Sam’s lottery and after the rejection preventing me from continuing my pursuit of a Master’s degree, I decided to teach. I settled into teaching elementary school children and enjoyed the opportunity to scare the wits out of my darlings. Maybe, in retrospect, I was expressing my anger at having to conform to an acceptable occupation instead of heading to Hollywood for a life of film and fame. The dedication to my intended career did eventually come, but for now I was just a traveling music teacher a professional babysitter for kids who misbehaved and caused havoc. I taught my students the songs, Give Peace A Chance, One Tote Over The Line, You and Me and a Dog Named Boo, and offered guitar lessons after school. St. Mary’s Jr. College in St. Mary’s City had been the only college to give me the opportunity to further my bachelor’s degree and I attended during 1965-67. After graduation from East Tennessee State in theatre arts in 1969, I returned to St. Mary’s County. Armed with imagination, a group of hip “students”, theatrical chutzpah and sleep depravation from many long nights of college partying, Blood Manor was created. Nothing in the world of Haunting had manifest such a scary reality produced with professionalism. The use of magic, lighting, special effects, makeup, talented acting and bizarre sound effects created a show like no other. It did not resemble the yard shows of Bob Burns or the million dollar permanent attractions of Walt Disney. It did not fit into the previous Haunts scenes being created in the late 1960’s. It caused controversy and outraged reactions. The Blood Manor actors assumed their roles with a sense of pride and “Take No Prisoner” and “STTP” (scream till they pee) mottos. The sleepy farmers, the local parishioners and my elementary school principal just plain, HATED IT! A MONSTER WAS CREATED!
Chapter Six St. Michael’s Ridge Maryland would never be the same. The agricultural, waterfront, community of Ridge is historic and the last village before arriving at Point Lookout State Park. Pt. Lookout, the most southern tip of Maryland. Progress developed by expansion of the population. But, this area is well hidden, only 54 miles from Washington DC and avoided the greater amount of economic growth. The farms are still quaint and beautiful colonial homes stand along the shorelines. The Jesuits inhabited the County since the founding of St. Mary’s City. (what group founded it – the British?) It was Maryland’s first capital in 1634. During most of its 250-year history, St. Indigoes (?sp) Manor was home to the Catholics. However, in 1919 the priests’ residence was transferred from St. Indigoes to St. Michael’s. St. Michael’s convent also housed the teaching sisters who presided over very strict Catholic education. The 1933 census has St. Michael’s Convent active with 12 nuns, one cook and 25 students. In the late 1950’s, the school began its decline. It became abandoned until that night in October of 1971. Atop a field of overgrown weeds and trash only professional bush hogs and tractors could cut access to, stood the building. The windows were blown out and the narrow hallways littered with old clothing, books, dusty debris and dead animals. The nuns’ bedrooms each had an entrance from a long hallway. Each room had a closet. It was the perfect layout that allowed us to open the back closet wall. This would later permit a continuous flow of the visitors through a corridor of rooms. The layout was exactly what we wanted. A mile of dark narrow one directional pathways. The years of neglect required the stairs to be shored up to hold more weight. The rooms smelled like faded clothe and moldy paint enhancing a crypt like sense of horror. As I wandered through for the first time expecting to step on nails, rats or snakes, I was surprised to find none. The animals and insects and all other varmints had vanished. Only dirt, dust, and dampness remained. When I continued my inspection of St. Michael’s Convent, at each step I became more excited about the possibilities. The convent still had it’s own chapel. After an hour of torchlight searching, I came to the end and encountered a major obstacle. The convent had lost its exterior doorway and stairs to exit the building. The coming crowds would need to enter the front door, weave their way up three stories and throughout nearly 25 cubicles. When they finished the tour of Blood Manor, they would need to exit without intersecting the next group of incoming victims. The entire traffic flow would descend into a cement dungeon and pass along rusty oil tanks and pipes in order to get out. A rusty lock on a cellar door broke off with ease. I traded up to a bigger flashlight and opened the heavy door to see narrow broken wooden stairs descending into darkness. I needed more light and once I started to climb down, I realized my legs were wet with an oily dark muck. The basement was entirely flooded and only four feet of airspace remained. I was looking at a small lake of toxic water. This was going to be monumental to overcome. The Manor needed sponsorship to provide for insurance and a sense of legitimacy, as well as cooperation with county officials and inspectors. A deal was secured for us to donate money to the local recreation council in exchange for their sponsorship and support. We made the deal for the convent’s lease with the local church and they had no idea what was about to happen. The local fire department was happy to see someone renovating the century old firetrap. The local firemen began to pump out the basement and during this exercise the dead animals that once lurked and fed off debris were discovered. The cellar needed to be open to the outside and to accommodate a very fast moving public. I started to promote, cast, create special effects, alter the space and design the show. Some very talented and creative people like; Skip Smith, Larry Ringgold, Judy & Bill Hoffman and many others, encouraged me. But something kept telling me to build a plank bridge-way for people to exit just in case a small amount of water returned!
Chapter Seven - Blood Manor 1971 over 5,000 people in 7 days On the cool evening of Oct. 22, 1971, traffic on a local crossroad at the most southern point of Maryland is unusually heavy... Route 5 leads to Point Lookout . But what on this night could attract such a crowd? Cars littered the shoulders for as far as the eyes could see. The headlights of more folks in fancy cars with loud music blaring and groups of non locals continued to slowly creep by, asking for information. “Deed by God, hope to Christ to kill me ,where are all them goin”, asks a local oysterman. “Some college scare show”, says another “tell them to go home” he yells from a passing truck. The convent sits atop the hill. The tree limbs moving in the breeze, creates red shards of light and shadows from the dozens 1200 watt concert lights.. A large blood drip letter banner, BLOOD MANOR is illuminated from the rooftop. The limbs of tall oaks are blaring trumpet speakers hidden in their tops. A chant, a monolithic string of monks, wind, effects howl, and occasional human screams pierce the night air. A long line of people are walking down the shoulders from both north and south. The air of excitement fills the night air. Cars have parked in farmers’ bean fields and every other spot available. The first group of visitors to the Manor stands at the bottom of the pathway as hundreds more wait in line. Young faces are full of excitement but are holding tight to one another. Slowly moving in the direction of the convent the sounds swell as they stand looking up at a large wooden door. Drips of blood spell BLOOD MANOR over the old chipped paint. The sounds of heavy chains striking the door as the gates of Hell will soon open and the humble city folk will descend into something they could never imagine.
Chapter Eight Enter At Your Own Risk
A LARGE DOOR slams as the large hooded monk stands guard against anyone’s thoughts of leaving. The little ones are already white with fear. Their parents nervously say, “They can’t scare us” as they try to adjust to the darkness, the darkness which is getting darker by each step. The group turns a corner to find, white lights - white billowing silks of surplus parachute nylons, large ovals with hot light beaming spikes from the ceiling. The hot points of narrow laser beams create burning holes extending into the floor. The movement of these ghostly visions move into you, they bounce off your body and you push your way through the silky apparitions. (HERE THE VISITOR BECOMES YOU - OK) You try to avoid the hot shafts and guard your eyes from intense light. At the moment all sense of grounding is lost and disorientation occurs. You suddenly confront a bloody face – face to face. The non-human creature is inches from you. A black hooded white face with drips of blood flowing from his hairline stares and you feel his breath on your checks. Dr. Fate has welcomes you into Blood Manor. Jr. screams. Your wife shrieks and the “family” moves into the chapel. Darkness turns to light. Then turns dim! The Chapel…
The chapel may offer you relief - salvation. But in Blood Manor you doubt it. This old chapel has an altar which has attended the sins of nuns for over 100 years. It is old and now very unholy. In front of the altar is a full adult casket and large candles which illuminate the off-white, aged fabric scepter. Spider webs cover the room and the casket is wrapped in cobwebs as if it was sealed by a colony of ‘black widows’. The professional Mole Richard's cobweb machine has been spewing webs for the last week and the expense was well worth the results. Suddenly, a spot of blue light appears on an ancient face of a woman sitting in the corner. She has an old accordion on her lap. Her eyes are closed as if she is cheap waxen carnival display. Another light on the casket slowly appears highlighting a funeral wreath of dried, dead, black and red roses. Your family moves reluctantly as monks usher them closer to the altar. Your whole family - kids, mother and father - fall to your knees as a fury of hellish screaming breaks. The casket lid is wildly flung open at the same moment the old lady’s accordion is slammed tight, producing a loud, disharmonious noise. At this moment a bride, dressed as Mrs. Haversham (from Charles thingyens “Great Expectations”) bolts upward and out into your face. She is ghostly and is moving, screaming and reaching out for you. SHE IS ALIVE. At this very moment your family is shot into the next room. Your group moves, as if picked up and placed by the hand of a large deity. We are now in the... Maze… The MAZE consists of long pitch black hallways of nothing. In this moment of relief/terror the mind can reorganize. The mind absorbs the previous images now stamped onto the brain anticipating continued torture. The lungs get a chance to breath the musty air and the eyes become used to blackness. Only the feel of the fingers with Bailing attempts for safety, will lead this family to the end. (unclear what is Bailey) The Maze seems to continue forever as wet rubber strings brush against your flesh. The tension is too great as the fear of what’s next escalates. The uneven floors start to tilt and the floors become soft and soggy with some smelly fluid. Members of the family speak to assure each other that they are alive. Remember it is pitch black. I mean DARK and all together you wonder if you can find your way out. At the far end of the Maze you see Dracula. Under strobe lights, he appears and then vanishes. Will he be waiting when you exit? As you approach the end seeing light for the first time in what feels like eternity you find - Dracula and…
The Bedroom… The BEDROOM has walls with old wallpaper torn, rain stained and peeling. Victorian lighting fixtures provide illumination of a white iron bed. The scrollwork painted over and over until the scrolls and curves are nothing but paint. (unclear) Without speaking a Ghoul directs your group to the bedside. Suddenly as the sounds of screaming voices grow, the room goes black. Animal sounds, monkeys screaming, glass breaking and thunder sheets CRACK. It is a tremendous sound, more sound than your ears want to hear. The Old Lady sits up and a strobe light shows the movement of her thin arms waving, holding a knife which is wielded towards your face. Strobe lights flicker making all distances and space unintelligible. By now your kids are wrapped under Mom’s winter coat. The Mr. and Mrs. are holding each other tighter than ever and your group is a ball of human flesh as it rolls and fall into...
The Monkey Cage… MONKEY CAGES made of stainless wire with five-inch squares of steel are large enough for a jumping monkey monster to reach out and touch you. The human/monkey (one or more?) climbs the wire wall banging and screaming, throwing food, showing fangs and spitting. The strobes makes them look like they are speeding on some inhuman drug that is creating electric shocks with every touch on the metal cage. The city folks now wish they were back in the city where only a barking dog, homeless drunk or a thief might disturb the peace. Nothing has ever been this disturbing and it can only get worse… Quiet… You move into a quiet environment. The Manor unexpectedly seems to change. The storm recedes and morphs to peace. The Manor gave you horror and now it gives you peace. But watch out. It’s a set up for something worse. Witches… WITCHES are welcome as something recognizable. You associate them with a few pumpkins and peeled grapes. But, these Witches are Nuns from the past wearing black and white habits Half naked Nuns and dead nuns, each pleading with your family to leave them alone. Each Nun demonstrates some form of deviance and unacceptable behavior. The Nuns create individual performance art routines; products of the actresses imagination. The college stoners have been directed to expand their minds and move into another realm of being with a chance to be INSANE, SEXUAL, SATANIC or to act out their most disturbing fantasies. You might think that this is half time. BUT NOT YET. Our family battered by nervous energy is weak and emotionally fraught. Fresh emotional meat for any spook that wants to kick up the torture levels. At this point we throw in a few pop outs and sliding styrofoam heads on cables. We slide the bloody heads past the groups from one Ghoul to another and not damaging if “accidentally” sent it into the body of a frail visitor (unclear). The more Monsters with masks and black hoods the better, as long as they stay in character as the “family who wished they never left home” moves down hallways. They pass the bedrooms, bathrooms, closets with slamming doors and up the stairs into an entire room of carved stone.
The Crypt… The CRYPT is the inner sanctum, the first display at the top of the stairs. The fright factor is lowered in this room to avoid a backlash of people falling down the stairs. We wanted to get the people securely onto second floor of the Manor before sending them into another frenzy. The Mummy… The MUMMY is wrapped in strips of yellow cotton with one of the few masks used that first year. His form is realistic and the Mummy rests deadly still. You move towards the Mummy and realize: Yes, it is dead, Yes it is fake, Can it be a mummy getting up from this sarcophagus and walking you in the direction of the adjoining room? The sounds effects change. You hear Egyptian chants and the worst is yet to come. The Hall of Mirrors and Cubes…
The Hall of Mirrors and Cubes forces a single file line as the visitors go through the nuns’ closets and arrive into the next bedroom. This design manages to keep the families moving into… The Bathrooms, & Showers… In the Showers, blood rains from the showerheads. The re-circulating water in the faucets runs red and a mirror is cracked with lipstick messages of warning. One Shower stall has the plastic curtain closed with the familiar sound effect of screeching noise and screams. Yes, it is the Hitchthingy Psycho scene, recreated if a curious person needs to look behind the Shower curtain. Finding a mad woman with a bloody knife is an easy way to move the group into … The Laboratory… In the Laboratory a heart removal operation is performed by Dr. Edwin Blood with his assistant Igor being witnessed by a previous patient, Frankenstein. This Lab was among the most detailed sets created, with blood tubes, unique lighting, beakers and thick wet blood. The commercial version of blood was not used as we made our own brand using red dye with clear Karo syrup. We made it in five-gallon containers. The visitors to Blood Manor observe. Without distractions, we needed to assemble the group for the safe transfer from the second floor. As the group stood in front of the table, Frankenstein slowly moved to the right, Igor to the left and the visitors soon found themselves trapped between the two. These featured characters of Blood Manor, both holding bloody internal organs, used this time to permanently imprint their images into the memories of all present. The visited then exited downstairs to the ground floor. The dining room and kitchen were all that was left, except for that d**n basement. The Banquet… The formal Banquet dinning table has a chandelier adorned with cobwebs. The place settings with bones, raw flesh, and other disgusting food items cover the table drape. All is ready for the feast, except there are no people. A very large covered silver tray with a curved cover is the centerpiece. It is garnished with dead roses. A formal Butler, in waistcoat slowly enters from the kitchen. He moves behind the table and asks if the visitors were hungry? Laughter erupts from the kitchen. “Silence”, he orders cueing a soft childlike moan from under the chafing dish. He slowing lifts the lid to find a young girl not more than 12. Her lower legs recently amputated with wet blood and her bloody stumps jumping. She screams as a Mad Cook rushes from the kitchen wielding a carving knife offering a rare cut of flesh. GIVING AWAY SECRETS For subsequent Blood Manors, we changed the knife to a de-clawed gas operated chain saw. So with a push of the oiler button blood squirted onto the victim. Many times after the attack of the young girl with the chainsaw Joe laid the bar of the saw onto the arm of some screaming running tourist. The reader might want to take a short break and learn how this effect was constructed. The table, a 4 x 8-plywood platform that had two 12” holes cut to receive and hide the real legs. The knees where made to look amputated. The fake legs with fresh cuts were fixed to the table on hinges just below her knees and the girl could move a lever causing the fake legs to flip and move on the tabletop. This Banquet scene, the Laboratory and the chain saw all became favored elements of Blood Manor and resulted in word of mouth popularity. In later years, the bride in the coffin was refined to use two twins. The girl was exposed to the visitors, then the lid slowly closed. This time the girl took hold of a handle of a double false top. As the coffin reopened, the false lid covered the girl and the backside looked like the satin lining of an empty coffin. Her twin dressed in identical clothing appeared behind with a few surprises. Back In Blood Manor… We now needed to get the rattled visitors out of the Manor and the only way available was through the basement. This section of the house continued to give me headaches because the cellar continued to flood. The underground spring found cracks in the Convent footings and it was impossible to keep it dry. We constructed a floating bridge, suspended on cables, and let the basement toxic fluids stay. It was a danger because if anyone fell, drowning or other serious injuries were likely. The public needed to bend forward in a single file and move slowly to the back coal-loading doorway to exit. I used floating objects like rubber snakes, lily pads and added a few air tubes to create bubbles over the ponds surface. Dry ice created fog to add to the realism. At this point the visitors took our warnings seriously and followed directions in order to escape this nightmare. Little did I know that Fishman would arrive...
FISHMAN, worked for me for five Blood Manors. I first saw the strange thin, ageless man with the handlebar mustache on the boardwalk at Ocean City Maryland. Jim’s occupation was creating fish head puppets. He dressed like a fish and spent most of his time in the water. The word had spread statewide and Jim arrived on a Halloween weekend. Horror At The Horror House! Dr. Fate, with a sense of urgency, informed me that the Manor was at a standstill. Visitors were refusing to move. At a peak moment in attendance and without permission, I found Fishman swimming in the cesspool of the basement. The rumors of his presence sent the operations into chaos. Fishman said, “I’m fine” and that I should not to worry. He proposed to position himself totally under the toxic pool and only break the waters surface after the group had moved onto the hanging bridge. I realized it was a lost and futile argument, but gave it a try. The first group all moved to the left side when he appeared, the weight caused the bridge to break. Everyone fell in. We shut down for a short time and immediately had a solid bridge constructed so the walkway was supported and even. Still it required that anyone over 4’10” to bend over with guide wires as handles. With a new walk, we were safe for Fishman to do his thing. OUTSIDE BUT THE FEARS FOLLOW YOU Once the visitors to Blood Manor found fresh air for what seemed like an eternity they had to find their way back to the parking lots. I routed them so that they avoided even speaking distance from the incoming visitors. However, it was important for the new arrivals to witness the exiting victims, screaming or running. We added the graveyard in the back yard that contained the Credits of the Blood Manor staff and crew. The styrofoam tombstones covered with a mixture of sand and gray paint also hid pop up Monsters who had not made the interior show cut. This was the training ground for young future Horrophiles. I was almost at peace with the cast and the displays until rumors arose that SNAKEMAN was in the graveyard. Yes a six-foot boa with an owner as crazy as Fishman had heard about the show. That was the beginning of 10 years of having live snakes in the show. Little did everyone know that I, the master of fear and horror was deathly afraid not only of darkness but also snakes.
Chapter Nine - The Woodstock of Horrors “Parking was a problem with traffic jams up to 20 miles long” and... “What! They hadn’t planned for 500,000 guests” That all happened in upstate New York. two years before Blood Manor after The Woodstock Music Festival. Aug 1969. Blood Manor on a smaller scale was similar to Wood-stock in many ways. It also had problems with traffic, security, protection of property and just too many people. Sullivan County New York, and St. Mary’s County Maryland both were not prepared, happy or wanted a repeat performance. Blood Manor was a huge success because of the spirit of the cast and crews, the clones of the outrageous Janis Joplin’s, the drug culture of Jerry Garcia an the influences of Jimi Hendrix who during concerts had set his guitar on fire . This generation of free love, drugs and open communication. The young baby boomers who In May of 1971 held their own gathering with over 200,000 anti Vietnam protesters in Washington DC. The protests, concerts which arose during the summer of 71 gave the youth of Washington and Baltimore a network of communication. This same network guaranteed Blood Manor an audience as Washington DC is only 54 miles north of St. Mary’s County. The youth rallied in St. Mary’s not as it a local event but because it made a social protest in addition to being a gathering to celebrate the season of the witch. It was intended to show the community that the College could work in the community and serious minds using the elements of fear and theatrical fantasy to document boundaries of human interaction. As with Wood-stock, word of mouth spread, actors and students of the bizarre were arriving day by day. Sleeping in the local dorms, commune or in the Manor, it became the first horror festival. It was a visual spectacle of fear, horror made public prior to the shock jocks like Howard Stern or the satanic routines of rocker, Marilyn Manson. Blood Manor was indeed America’s first haunted house and The Washington DC media including NBC, Washington Star, News and Post all wanted to give us press. Blood Manor ended 1971 with something new, something the press continued to support for the next ten years. HE’S A TERROR
His name is Igor, and he lives in an old, evil house in St. Mary’s County, Md. With the Halloween weekend beginning tomorrow, he’ll be especially busy (see pictures on Page B-1.) Washington Star Oct. 28, 1971 Halloween weekend has a photo of President Nixon above the fold. Directly below Nixon is four-inch high photo of Igor, sending reader to B-1 for the complete information on Blood Manor.
The crowds continued to arrive, the parking spaces cease to exist and the State Police were called to keep order. Ridge’s population doubled in one week with it’s own little “Woodstock of Horrors” and Ridge locals like upstate NY locals were not ready. EMERGENCY MONSTER MANAGEMENT was needed and quick. It soon became aware to me that the security problems of the crowds waiting to enter the Manor need immediate attention. The four hour wait could breed unrest and violence if they were not “entertained” The Manor monster when needing a break and moment of fresh air, “walked the line” giving the crowds a preview. Staged events such as fainting, or injuries were mixed within the canned screams, cries being aired from the tree tops. The “wave” and a loud cry of screams and hysteria traveled down the line till it was out of sight occurred when chain-saw Joe appeared. He slowly walked up with the saw behind his back. without notice he pulled the cord and the smell of gas and oil and high rpm’s of the motor sent the crowd into a frenzy. After the visitors settle back in, a small child (actor) would run up to a Blood Manor official, tugging on his jacket saying, “ a monster took my sister, I can’t find my mother”, crying he always found sympathy from a Girl-scout mother in the line. At this time, a bull horn announced, “ lost mother alert”, “pedophile alert”. A follow spot captured Frankenstein moving across the distant open field. His arm holding a young child (actress)over his shoulder, legs kicking as they disappeared into the woods. Again another bullhorn alert. “please don’t chase the monsters”, It is an art to create diversions as they did not realize they had been standing in line for almost 4 hours. Before they can complain about the lack and smell of the port-a-john they are entering the Manor. In 1971 Clockwork Orange won as Best Picture. The Blood Manor security team of 12 tall lean bodies wearing derbies and swinging wooden canes protected the Manor and they protected the cast, crew and reassured the crowds we were in control of the public.
Chapter Ten - 1972 “its not for the faint-hearted” 1972 Blood Manor had just graduated from a freshman year of Haunt 101. We earned a reputation for adult horror and we learned from our mistakes. The first requirement for a relacement for a Blood Manor was that it was a house. The type of haunted structure you wittnessed many time in your life. That abdanoned old house in the field or sitting ontop of some hill. You have many t imes wondered when it will fall down or be burned for development. This house is haunted , it has stood the time of neglect and created a safe haven for the spirits wandering and seeking shelter. All Blood Manors needed to find this structure as , fire department basements, jaycee lodges or any other such building was not acceptable. Blood Manor was real as real can be. Blood Manors were Haunted HOUSES. The first and most important lesson was that the haunt would generate large crowds and it became absolutely necessary to anticipate for for Manors and publics needs. The parking lot, traffic, security, comfort and an outdoor entertainment was essential. Ridge Maryland appreciated the donation to the local recreation council, but it was not worth the disruption to the community. St. Michaels was destroyed by fire soon after the Manor closed. The nuns, the haunt and all that blood engulfed in flames. The spirits of the Manor escaped as the roaring flames jumped and crackled. It was told that you could hear spirits moaning and a young voice say “we will return” Blood Manor needed space, it need a long preparation schedule and it need the perfect old house. I realized finding another convent was impossible and I did not want to use a hospital or other industrial building. It was necessary for Blood Manor to be in a home as your home is your castle. I just wanted my home to be shared with some unusual character. THE NEW BLOOD MANOR was not going to be anywhere near Ridge Elementary School or St. Michaels. . Just to be sure, the Board of Education removed Ridge Elementary as one of my schools I visited on a weekly basis and added one in the Northern end of the County. It was about twenty mile further north. It resulted in me having to arise each morning one hour earlier than normal. So the Manor and the creator found a new home. The new land was a large land tract in northern part of St. Mary’s County called Laurel Grove. It was large parcel of property which was planning to develop into a wildlife park. The grounds was the home Bowlin Family however the family had died off and moved many years earlier. It was vacate, and weathered, The Latham/Bowlin family had owned a general store from the mid 1880’s. The store records and many items were still in storage in the home when our crews began the transformation. The Department of Recreation and Parks helped us find this site, as they wanted the funds and they wanted to keep Blood Manor associated with the Department. The Recreation and Parks wanted to see this property used to insure the purchase by the County. We all agreed it was small compared to the convent but it had character and could be a permanent home for our little band of blood loving ghouls. The obvious problem was where would I find the ghouls, as the College would not travel this far north to be part of the show. The lack of dedicated talent, would be a big problem and the amount of work to pull off a major production inside as well as outside would add to the preparations demands. The Manor was to be a total new design as we expected to use it for several years. The lighting and sound cables installed, walkways constructed and the traffic flow opening all constructed with detail and a sense of permanently. A full scale gallows, completed with spring release trap door, platform and stairs. This became our performance stage for the Blood Manor Rocketts which appeared to be something out of Rocky Horror Picture. The scantly clad woman showed their skin and moved to the music. It was built in the center of the yard for all to witnesses from the ticket line. The beams of the scaffold were massive 14” solid oak. “There will be public lynching. They look very authentic. After the lynching (complete with drum rolls and priest) the bodies are put in coffins and carried off on horse drawn wagons.” This notice appeared on a full page with three photos on the Sat. Oct.21, 1972 Teen section of the Washington Star. The Star’s Weekender Section featured a full page artist drawing, and the rest of the Washinton-Baltimore media also wanted stories. Other than providing the 3-4 hours waiting crowd with spectacular entertainment, finding the labor and talent became a major problem. The high School kids could not arrive for work during construction until afternoon, the school work compeated with amount of time they could hang out. The maturity level or lack of maturity and the parental demands of the kids worried me to a point where I thinking of hiring actors. I needed a crew to rely on, a team which would stay with me for several years. Skip Smith, “Dr. Fate” stepped up to the calling.
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CHAPTER Eleven 1973 1973 Laurel Grove, St. Mary’s SM Rec & Parks
CHAPTER Twelve 1974 1974 Hughesville, Waldrof Jaycees, Charles Co. Md.
Chapter Thirteen 1975 -Piney Church Rd. Waldrof Jaycees, Charles Co. Md.
CHAPTER Fourteen 1976 loretta moved to fla 1976 Acton Lane, Waldorf Jaycees, Charles Co. Md.
Chapter Fifteen - 1977 “Waldorf Maryland is only a very short drive form the suburbs of Washington. Blood Manor is probably the sickest show in America today, Where else could you see Son of Sam shoot his seventh victim in the eye..” Members of the audience scream and crawl on the floor. They cling to friends and strangers. They sob and wet their pants. They pass out” The Herald, MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA, OCT. 12, 1977. Maybe the review which appeared on the other-side of the world some 10,173 miles from Waldorf Maryland, was just anti American hype. Over 90, 000 people had attended during previous years, and we needed to push the limits in-order for Blood Manor to keep its legacy and give the Nations Capital some to talk about, and the international press good copy. The new mixture of old classics, new entertainment and real time crime combined with the master of fear’s social analysis hit nerves. Big time nerves which pushed the Manor into discussions of the most noticed physiologist and expert in mental health. During the past years we had portrayed the classic monsters, Dracut, Frankenstein, The Mummy and most of the horror film icons. We had included in recent years a mixture of films like Phsyco, Chainsaw Massacre, and Alive But when I added current day crime horrors such as Jim Jones passing out grape cool-aide as you walked over mattresses and stepped on arms, it created a new status and new reactions. Yes, The Manor will make statements of current horrific events. The press and public could not believe that itsi portrayed David Berkowitz, a serial killer know as “Son of Sam” while he was still murdering and not yet captured. The Nation was on nerves end and the daily papers bantered headlined announced the fears of where he might kill next. His rein of fear and death had not been contained, His most recent murder in July of 1977 as a young couple were shot in the head sitting in a parked car. The Nation was looking for answers, to have this fear removed, but REALLY WERE THEY? Little did the public know when they arrived in Waldorf, Maryland that his clone was alive and well in Blood Manor. The scene took place outside under a blue moonlit night. A large oak tree under which sat a convertible Volkswagen beetle. A young couple engaged in kissing were not aware of the public as they strolled by. Once the group was in front of the set a man dropped from the limbs of the tree to the car. Standing with feet secure he slowly raised a 44.mag with his back to the audience, an explosion erupted from the bank handgun. The pre-arranged makeup efx reveals half of the young man face ripped off, as the young woman screaming for help. The Son of Sam turn directly into the faces of the Manor visitors. We had succeeded in creating a new standard or lack of standards in horror fabrication., It created hysteria and made the press and public retrospective and nervous . We showed the public, fear and horror which is among us everyday and yet the public approves by the interest in the daily news events , newspaper copy, television, tabloids and now in the seemingly innocence of a halloween event. . It was time to admit the truth to show the media and population things we had rather not know. Otherwise why does it sell and continue to create economic markets. Why was Berkowitz later part of Sniffled, a Spike Lee movie, included in a Stephen King novel. It was capitalized for years and may have had some influence in a New York state law to seize money earned from criminals. However the Supreme Court declared the Son of Sam law unconstitutional in 1991. The difference between the mass entertainment media’s use of Berkowitz and Blood Manor’s was time. Time which lessened the impact and gave you, me and society an out. Blood Manor showed you, that real fear is a commodity as much a part of the human physic as sex, food and greed. Many mental health and experts interviewed me to determine why the Manor had moved into a new realm of performance art in the style of Paris’s Grand Guignol I responded with the argument that the needs of fear as part of the daily intake of emotions was necessary for a full and complete life. That the interest in roadside accidents, following, fire and police and the box office sales for horror supported that philosophy that, “it means either there is a lack of sophistication (which nobody will admit) or we have a pretty bored society, a sick society. (which we also don’t like to hear) Blood Manor was nothing but a very large and revealing social mirror showing the public, it’s own face. Before September 11, 2001 violence was a necessary blend of life. We needed to find it, taste it and see it, but we were not willing to say it. Blood Manor just wanted to bring it home and test the boundaries of truth. Can you admit you love it, or will I have to reveal the box office receipts and remind you of your 4 hour waiting time to convince the reader. Blood Manor and its creator, staff had pushed you to your limits of acceptance. Would this cause the public to admit to it’s own resolve or to resist, to cry out that we are nothing but a cheap, carnival house showing poor taste. The public will respond with lack of support? After-all you only needed to stay home and protest with your own dollars. SOMEHOW I DON’T THINK SO... as The Daily Mirror in London, released the following, “ “THE SICKEST SHOW IN AMERICA AND IT BRINGS THEM IN BY THE THOUSANDS”
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