[Zombie-F]

It's kinda rainy today, which means I was bored and needed something to do. I've been meaning to snap some pics of the exterior of one of our local seasonal pro-haunts for quite some time now and figured "Hey, I'm bored. Just do it". So I did.

The cool thing about this place is they spend the entire off-season completely re-modelling the inside so it's never the same from one year to the next.

Check 'em out. They make quite a good use of MANY of those small posable plastic skeletons you can get from Oriental Trading or from Wal Mart.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y32/Zombie-F/Barretts Haunted Mansion/

http://www.bhmansion.com

 

[mikeq91]

Great pic's! The outside of their haunt looks really cool. I was hoping to go there this year but never got to. They were at the Ma. Haunters gathering and had some pictures of the makeup their actors had. It was really good.

Mike

 

[dewking]

Hey there... I just wanted to say that I'm happy to see that you enjoy Barrett's Haunted Mansion in Abington, MA. I am the web/graphic designer for the Mansion as well as a make-up artist and actor. Its always nice to get feedback on the Mansion and the rooms inside!

Great site you have here! Keep up the good work.

see you at the Mansion!
-Dewking
www.BHMansion.com

 

[mikeq91]

Like I said earlier, the pictures I saw of the make-up were awsome! So nice job!

I'm really hoping that I can go this year, so can you tell me more about it? How many rooms, actors? How long does it take to go through? Just out of curiosity.

Mike

 

[dewking]

Mike... you can check out the web site for FAQ, but since I'm here...

The house changes every year. This year most of all. The house has been completely gutted and we are designing and building the rooms now. Last year there were about 13 rooms. Typically there are around 10-20 depending on the room sizes, amount of transitions, etc... and it can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to get through the house (running-walking).

It takes approx 32 actors to fill the house (again, depending on the # of rooms). Each night a different group of volunteers works inside in order to fundraise for their group. On any given night they may make $700-$1200 for their group. The process to decide which groups get to work it usually starts around January. If a group is good, they come back, if not, they dont.

We have around 5-12 full-time actors (of which I am one) that work the outside of the house. This helps people that are waiting in line to have something to take their mind off of the wait. Each year we are trying to get a little better with our characters. We are now going to different events throughout MA (Brockton Fair, Taste of boston, etc..) to try out new characters, tricks, scares, etc.. as well as to help promote the house.

Its rare that we have complaints about it being a bad house, but with different groups working inside every night, its tough to say. They are usually NOT actors, and do not have a lot of time to "make" a character. The full timers (who also usually help design the rooms), tend to know what will work for each room and we will give them pointers while they are doing their makeup, once they see their sets, and again throughout the night.

So if you do come by, PLEASE tell one of the workers outside what you thought of the house! If they need to step it up, we'll be sure to let them know! Again, with the screening process, its a rare night that we will have a group that does not want to scare!

-Dewking

 

[dewking]

Also, if you would like more updates, we have a mailing list set up (in its early stages) on the BHMansion site where you can find out about the latest news.

Go to www.BHMansion.com and click on the "Latest News" link below the main splash image.

-Dewking

 

[Zombie-F]

Wow, thanks for coming by dewking. It's good to have a pro-haunter slithering around the joint.

Thanks for the little tour of the inner workings of how you pick groups for the mansion. I knew a little bit about it from a co-worker who worked there with his charity once a number of years back.

I'm always impressed with what you guys come up with and always look forward to seeing it every year.

 

[dewking]

Well if you decide to come up this year, shoot me an email. We'll be on the look out for you!

:voorhees:

 

[adamchristopher]

Sweet, I saw this when the circus played Abington, there's a nice steakhouse right next door!

AC

 

[RoxyBlue]

That first shot with all the skellies swarming the house is my favorite.

 

[pyro]

hey Z that could be a cool place for a ma. make and take field trip------lol