MAYHEM MANSION: I Can Smell Your Fear!
One of the HOD!!!'s favorite things to do at a haunt is to hang around the exit or other areas of access. Not only can you gauge how well a haunt is doing by watching the reactions of people leaving, but just listening to the sounds coming from within will give you an idea of how lively the place is and how crazy the actors are. The old two-story house that contains Mayhem Mansion (located on Decoursey Pike in Morning View, KY) proved to be a hotbed of activity. While standing off to the side of the ticket booth, we heard screams and unearthly howls coming from all directions within. Guttural sounding creatures and shrill voices also shouted out explicit details of the plans they had for the groups of hauntgoers currently making the trip through. There were bangings and poundings emanating from everywhere-and remember, this was all heard from OUTSIDE the house! One voice in particular caught our attention-a male voice that seemingly didn't have anyone in its scene, but that little fact didn't dampen its enthusiasm. It screamed out, "I can SMELL your fear! Bring them to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" We moved closer to where we thought the voice was coming from, and that led us to the exit-and sure enough, we were treated to the sight of a large bald-headed man covered in wounds and blood chasing a group of girls right out the side door. They shot out of the exit and across the driveway of the event with 'The Axeman' in close pursuit, all the time bellowing at them what he had in mind for their souls-AFTER he killed them. The Mansion's certainly living up to its name this evening!
Derek Tucker and Jeff Keener were working the Mansion's concession booth and taking this all in. They laughed and told the HOD!!! that several times they've had to stop groups from shooting right across the road and ending up in the lake just a few yards on the other side. "We've put up the white barrel over there-when we see someone get near it, we just start shouting out, Lake! Lake!" said Derek. Bill Martz, the Mansion's man in charge, added that this was going to be addressed in an improvement planned for next year-walls around the exit to keep hauntgoers from seeing the final room from outdoors, and also to redirect them down the side of the house rather than towards an impromptu dunking. That's for next year, though-the Mansion has had many upgrades for this year. Customers now buy their tickets from a booth recessed inside the front door of the house, and the queue line forms up on the front porch. Also being handed out at the ticket booth is a two page flyer giving the backstory of Mayhem Mansion-but more on that later. There's a TV monitor on the porch for hauntgoers to watch showing a live feed from…somewhere…inside the darkened mansion. Eventually cameras will be located in several spots and the monitor will cycle through them. Groups are walked back to the old fire escape at the rear of the house and a guide relates the legend of Haverford House to them. Then it's up to the second floor-and a unique way of entry through a shuttered second story window. Once inside, the house was as noisy and full of whispers, screams, and groans as last year-but not quite as dark. More detailed scenes have been added, replacing some formerly dark areas, making the Mansion a bit easier to traverse-but more fun to go through. The changes are obvious from the first scene to the last one we mentioned above-the Axeman. As you recall, last year the Mansion featured a rather clichéd chainsaw room as its final scene-this year, it's been replaced by a couple of rooms, and the one with the Axeman carries a lot more…impact, in more ways than one. Jeff explains that the chainsaw was removed for a couple of reasons-for starters, local fire officials would have wanted a venting system built to remove the fumes a gas powered chainsaw generates. Secondly, the decision was made to stick more closely to the event's theme-and chainsaws wouldn't have been around in the 1930's (an HOD!!! fun fact-the first gas powered one man chainsaw wasn't developed until 1949!).
So just what is the Mansion's backstory? It provides an interesting mixture of fantasy and reality. Here's the short version, taken from the handout at the Mansion's ticket booth that explains it better and in greater detail. It starts off with some facts-that Bill Martz acquired the land in order to continue running softball tournaments there. He took a photo of the house to put on the Kenton Lakes Sports Complex website, and later was told by his sister that someone appeared to be standing in the top window (the photo's still up on their site for your viewing pleasure). From here things start straying from reality-Haverford House (as the Mansion was known back in the Roaring 20's, the time of Prohibition) was owned by Robert Haverford, who got rich making and distributing bootleg liquor. His wealth steadily increased and he was continuously entertaining at the house, with a movie theater, a hidden speakeasy, and even a nursery for the children of the people coming to party at the house. When liquor was made legal again, Haverford planned a huge celebration-but his daughter Elizabeth grew sick and died. Haverford was wracked with grief, but the celebration, however, was still on. Now combined with a wake for his daughter, the event was to have one more lethal difference. Driven insane by the loss of his daughter, Haverford poisoned the food and liquor given out at the wake. Everyone within died in agony, with some committing suicide to escape the pain. Haverford was the last to go. When police arrived the next day, they were so horrified that Haverford House was boarded up and not a single body was removed-making it a place filled with vengeful spirits. It's said that the figures seen in Bill Martz's photo are Haverford and his wife, anxiously looking out the front window for any more 'guests' that might arrive. The HOD!!! was impressed by the story and the way in which it works in and mentions many of the event's rooms (the dining room, the theater, the hanging closet, the coffin room, the wine cellar, the nursery, the bar, and even the unboarded second floor window). The event sticks to the theme throughout, with even a traditional 'dot room' explained away as a wine cellar-and the dots represent the tops of bottles lying on their side. The coffin room contains the two extra coffins Haverford ordered delivered to his mansion for himself and his wife. The hanging closet ghost was a suicide driven mad from poisoning. Everyone is in period clothing, and there's even some household staff on hand. The theme has the added benefit of justifying all the young actors and actresses on the top floor in the nursery area!
The actors in the Mansion are legion, and among the most vocal and enthusiastic in the business. In the dark, no one can tell just how big or threatening some...thing might be. Entering a pitch black room where nothing can be seen and just hearing plaintive sobs in a corner, strange rustling coming from the floor, or soft laughter can really kick a hauntgoer*s imagination into overdrive. Add to this the fact that, unlike most haunts, the ghouls at the Mansion WILL touch you-this is usually limited to light brushing or a tug on a shirt sleeve, but CityBeat writer Janet Mitchell witnessed a zombie clamp hold of someone*s ankle and refuse to let go even after being drug across the floor! The group of actors in Mayhem Mansion are among the best coached in town, with Bill*s brother Pat Martz regularly going through and helping them adjust their roles and performances. The Mansion*s actors have also received a massive upgrade in makeup and costuming, largely due to a newcomer to the event, Randal Miller. Randal*s Wicked Productions had been trying for years to get a haunt started in Boone County, and when he first entered Haverford House, it was a match made in hell. Not only has he helped put together the new rooms and improved the costuming and makeup, the guy even acts-this night he*s chowing down on hearts and bloody entrails in the dining room with Sister Sammy. Rarely has the HOD!!! seen such a change in an event*s makeup in the space of a single season-we were quite impressed by the amount of attention each actor received, given the large number of them inside. The wounds many received were also varied, being located all over the body and in different shapes. Randal*s wife also was involved with putting together the haunt-she*s expecting, however, and is not at the haunt this evening.
However, she WAS at the haunt one very memorable night, which leads to the question-just HOW true is the Mansion*s backstory? For those of you that have been to the haunt, you*ll know the *hanging closet* is a memorable room that leads to an even darker and more claustrophobic location nearby. The room doesn*t have a house light-Bill states everyone knows that you go in there and go right out the other door. However, Randal*s wife was stuck in there for over an hour one evening while she was working on the Mansion-even when she called her husband (who was miles away) on her cell and he told her where the exit door was located, it wouldn*t open. Finally, someone noticed her absence and let her out-at which time the door worked just fine. Many of the staff, including Bill, attribute this to the *ghosts* seen in the photo. Bill said "Tools disappear and reappear. If you put something down for a second, it always seems to be missing in the time it takes to turn around. One night the sound system was out, and I tried everything to get it going. Nothing worked, but as soon as I said I was finished with trying to fix it, it came back on by itself." Many of the staff agree with Bill, and even though the HOD!!! doesn*t believe in ghosts, it does give you food for thought! And for those of you wondering where the room with the *ghosts* in the photo is located inside the house, it*s the nursery-the second room you*ll come to inside the Mansion. Who knows? There might be a ghostly bonus actor in there ready to send a chill down your spine on any given night...
And what about the event*s other rooms? What*s new inside the Mansion? Well, besides the nursery, a bloody bedroom has been added to the second floor. Sister Sammy is now located in the Dining Room downstairs and it*s much bloodier than before. The *Well Of Souls* is used to greater effect, and right next to it you*ll find the dungeon cell, just right for keeping the hired help from running off. The Spiders Nest (a cool scene that extends down into the basement) is more elaborate than last year, and we*ve already mentioned the Axeman who seems to be collecting souls for the Reverend in the previous room (pssstt....tell the Reverend you*re a Buddhist and watch him REALLY break out the brimstone!). A striking new slanted hallway makes walking through the darkness even more fun. The best of the new is the Speakeasy, Haverford*s hidden bar filled with undead lounge lizards and flappers looking for someone to drink with. Several popular rooms return from last year, including the Movie Room (playing the big screen hit *Help Me!* 24/7), Wine Cellar, Coffin Room, Kitchen, and...oh yeah...I think the two little girls upstairs are still looking for their pet rats. Let *em know if you find them, or if they find you. The rooms have a loud and raucous soundtrack that perfectly complements the action, and a favored lighting technique involves the actors turning on a room light just long enough for you to get a glimpse of something awful, and then plunging the room back into darkness.
The Mansion's tag line this year is 'for the child, the mild, and the wild!' The wild, of course, would be the Mansion itself. The 'mild' part of the equation is the Terror On The Lakes Haunted Trail, a long trek around the woods behind the ballfields and parking lot. Here (weather permitting) are found some basic sets, effects hanging from the trees, and actors. It's toned down from the action inside the Mansion and provides a nice chance to stretch out your legs and unwind from the main event. Interestingly enough, Jeff told the HOD!!! that the Trail was the primary attraction during the Mansion's initial season with much more elaborate sets, effects, and acting. The decision was made to capitalize on the creepiness factor of the old house and shift the focus to it. It seems to have been the right decision. Not only can the house be run in all kinds of weather (the ticket and queue area is located under the front porch roof), but Bill Martz told us that the event had already made more money by the 10th of October than it did during the entire run of either of its first two seasons!
The 'child' is covered by the Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch. From 10 AM to 8 on Saturday and 10 AM to 6 on Sunday, the Scarecrow Pumpkin Fest is open to the general public. The Straw Maze and the unique Garden Train Exhibit are crowd pleasers, while face painting and Pumpkin decorating appeal to the younger crowd. The Scarecrow's helpers provide personal service in selecting your pumpkin from the Patch, and a number of flower beds and Halloween items make the walking tour a good time. The Scarecrow (Denny Robinson) meets most groups at the entrance and gives them a private tour that starts with the viewing of "Big Foot". Admission is $3 for children and adults. Pumpkins are $3, $5 and $7 each. School groups receive a special price of $5 admission that also includes a pumpkin.
So it goes at Mayhem Mansion-the Axeman cometh and the hauntgoers goeth. Sammy is found in the strangest places, the same movie plays endlessly in the movie room, and not buying a ghoulish gal a drink can lead to all kinds of problems. As you can see, you don't need to go looking for trouble at Mayhem Manor-it'll find you. And they'll know just where to look, too-after all, they can SMELL your fear!
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