NecroManor offers a run for your money
Nine-year-old Jakob McBee sprinted from the exit of the NecroManor Haunted House.
Behind him, two men with roaring chainsaws took chase.
And, like any person who’s being hunted by maniacs, McBee kept running. And he didn’t stop until the sound of chainsaws faded in the distance.
By haunted-house standards, McBee’s fleeing equals success. It was also one of the successful, first haunts for the NecroManor’s cast members.
Before the haunted house opened its doors to the public Oct. 2, the NecroManor offered a few brave – or fool-hearty – souls a sneak peek.
“[This year] is bigger and better than last year,” Jake Wood announced to members of the news media during the early reveal. Wood is president of Rocketpup, the group handling the advertising and public relations for NecroManor. As he talked to those in attendance, the building’s A/C unit kicked on, causing a rattling and hissing sound. People jumped at the unexpected and unusual noises.
“Even the air conditioning is scary,” Wood joked.
His promise of a bigger and better haunted house was no joke for McBee.
“I thought it was great,” McBee said, as he skittishly made his way back to the NecroManor’s exit.
The young man was out of breath from running nearly the length of a football field, as he escaped the chainsawwielding crazies. Now beside his father, James McBee, Jakob stood a little bit taller. “I was 1-percent scared,” Jakob said, convincingly. “Last year, I was as scared as a hog. I was 100-percent scared.
“I got nervous when I heard the chainsaws ... the scariest thing in there was the chainsaw guys.”
Despite the fright, Jakob said he would go through the NecroManor again.
One person who will not take a second trip through the haunted house is Josh Moody. “No! No!,” yelled Moody, shortly after he emerged from the NecroManor.
He, too, was chased out by the same whirring power tools as Jakob.
“I’m sweating right now,” Moody said. While making his way from room-toroom inside the haunted house, Moody regularly had to be coaxed along by friends. Moody’s horror peaked in the house when he had to crawl through a small, dark corridor. Outside, he said the tight space coupled with the fear of someone popping out at any second was just too much.
Comments like that please Cody Robbins.
Robbins works as the NecroManor’s actor manager and is the house’s selfdescribed “technical wizard.” He’s also part of the cast, playing a necromancer.
“I love this. This is freedom … This is stress relief. This is a lot of things,” he said. “You need fear just as much as you need love and sadness.”
Robbins is on his third year of working with haunted houses. Something he’s done across the country.
“The reward is hearing their screams as they go through, then hearing their laughs when they leave. It is so worth it.”
Robbins stands about 6-feet tall. His costume on this night was all black topped with a grotesque mask to cover his face. Despite the gore, he admitted: “I don’t think of myself as a scary person.”
Robbins and his 50 haunting, coworkers are, however, all hard workers.
On any given weekend, they’ll scare crowds for five-hours-a-night.
Asked what people should expect when they go through the NecroManor, Robbins answered entertainment.
“They should expect to be entertained,” he explained. “People should come here for a good time … a getaway from reality.”
–RT Morgan
WANT TO GO?
Purchase tickets either online – necromanor.com – or at the door. The NecroManor Haunted House opens at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday throughout the month of October. Doors will also open during a few select Sunday and Thursday evenings. Tickets begin at $15.
