October 22nd, 2012
| by MARTIN CIZMAR
Features |
Creeper Crawl: Butteville Manor
Small-town scares in Donald, Ore.
Who's the weird old person hanging around the packs of high school kids at Portland-area haunted houses? The one who reeks of good coffee and cheap gin? Yeah, that’s a Willamette Week writer out reviewing local haunts for Creeper Crawl 2012.
Butteville Manor
20775 Butteville Rd Northeast, Donald. 752-8692.
The scene: A dank old farmhouse on a country road outside the tiny town of Donald. We were the only people in the tiny gravel lot on a Saturday night. The ghouls seemed eager to work when I got inside.
Cost: $10, cash prefered.
The backstory: The house has been in the family for a century though no one has lived in it for the past 20 years. Owner Christie Kelly is slowly renovating the 4,000-square foot mansion but plans to use it as a haunt in the meantime. There’s another sad angle, too: Part of the proceeds are being given to Doernbecher Children's Hospital, in the memory of Kacy Sue Lunsford Duda, a three-year-old who was killed by her mother’s boyfriend, Benjamin George. Kacy Sue’s father, Micheal Dudas' runs the haunt with Kelly. George, an ex-Marine, was babysitting the child in 2010 when he performed “ultimate wrestling” moves on her, collapsing her lungs, lacerating her liver and causing massive brain swelling. He is serving a life sentence for the child’s death.
Biggest scare: The bubbling fear of wondering what happens if and when the doctor calling for you finds the glowing mark on your hand. I pulled the sleeve of my coat over it—no joke.
Blood spilled: There are buckets of blood in this house, covering the hospital gown-clad actors and in a theatrical operating table scene. The suspense build by the actors, and from genuinely wondering if you’re lost in this big, old, smelly house is even more effective, though.
Lamest moment: The ghouls popping over the back fence to stare at me as I turned my car on to go. They weren’t very busy at 8 pm last Saturday night, though I understand the line can grow long closer to Halloween.
Letter grade: A.
Read more Creeper Crawl:
Milburn Manor
Scream Portland
The Haunted Maize
FrightTown
The 13th Door
20775 Butteville Rd Northeast, Donald. 752-8692.
The scene: A dank old farmhouse on a country road outside the tiny town of Donald. We were the only people in the tiny gravel lot on a Saturday night. The ghouls seemed eager to work when I got inside.
Cost: $10, cash prefered.
The backstory: The house has been in the family for a century though no one has lived in it for the past 20 years. Owner Christie Kelly is slowly renovating the 4,000-square foot mansion but plans to use it as a haunt in the meantime. There’s another sad angle, too: Part of the proceeds are being given to Doernbecher Children's Hospital, in the memory of Kacy Sue Lunsford Duda, a three-year-old who was killed by her mother’s boyfriend, Benjamin George. Kacy Sue’s father, Micheal Dudas' runs the haunt with Kelly. George, an ex-Marine, was babysitting the child in 2010 when he performed “ultimate wrestling” moves on her, collapsing her lungs, lacerating her liver and causing massive brain swelling. He is serving a life sentence for the child’s death.
Biggest scare: The bubbling fear of wondering what happens if and when the doctor calling for you finds the glowing mark on your hand. I pulled the sleeve of my coat over it—no joke.
Blood spilled: There are buckets of blood in this house, covering the hospital gown-clad actors and in a theatrical operating table scene. The suspense build by the actors, and from genuinely wondering if you’re lost in this big, old, smelly house is even more effective, though.
Lamest moment: The ghouls popping over the back fence to stare at me as I turned my car on to go. They weren’t very busy at 8 pm last Saturday night, though I understand the line can grow long closer to Halloween.
Letter grade: A.
Milburn Manor
Scream Portland
The Haunted Maize
FrightTown
The 13th Door
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