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Haunted Happenings Goes on the
Block!
Billed as the East Coast's Largest Halloween and
Christmas Attractions, Haunted Happenings, and
Winter Wonderland entertained over a half
million people from1993 to present, and raised over
$500,000 for Diabetes research. This all came to an
end, however, on June 24, 1998, as over seven floors
of props costumes, automations, electronics, tools
and operations equipment was auctioned off,
scene-by-scene and piece by piece to the highest
bidder. Thirty rooms full of props, sets, parts,
tools and equipment was on the auction block and
bidding was heavy on some items.
The sale was orchestrated by Norton Auctioneers of
Michigan, the same company that auctioned off the
Hill Farms Hayride in Akron Ohio in
1996. Norton produced an impressive 20 page, full
color brochure with numerous photos of the larger
items that were for sale. A video of some of the
scenes in action was also available from the company
for $10. Admission to the auction was $25 dollars,
which also included a preview on June 23, of he items
to be sold, in operation, and a "lights on tour" in
the morning before the bidding started.
Owners and operators from as far away as California
came looking for 'steals' on props and scenery to
augment their shows. Over 100 people braved the heat
of the non air-conditioned multi-level, G. Fox
Department Store that has been the home of the Haunt
since 1994. In attendance were Dan Augusto of
Tombstone Productions, Larry Belair, from
Victorian Park, David Fleming from Shady Brook
Farm, Lynton Harris from Madison
'Scare' Garden, Bob Hearshey from Jason's
Woods, Richard Holeyfield from Screams,
Dutch Magrath from the Haunted
Carnival, Ron Martin from Martin's
Haunted Hayrides, and Ed Terebus, from the
Haunted Gallery, to name a few.
Buyers who came looking for 'garage sale prices'
where extremely disappointed however, the general
consensus from the bargain seekers was that most
everything was selling too high. Many would-be
bidders, quickly became spectators as prices for some
props sold at above retail prices. Winning bids
ranged from $50 for a pile of assorted latex props or
a stack of old barrels, to $10,250 for a complete
high gore Torture Chamber complete with sets and body
parts. A beautiful reproduction of a horse drawn
hearse sold for $8,250 and the bidder got a graveyard
full of tombstones and an animated ghost prop to
boot. Each winning bid was subject to an additional
10% paid to the Auction Company, plus prompt removal
of the items from the space and the cost of
transportation it home.
"There are no bargains here," stated John
Urban, who was looking for some big effects for
this year's Madison Scare Garden event in New
York City. Peter Karlowicz of Niles
Haunted House in Michigan, said that he was
"going home with the same amount of money that he
came with!"
The majority of the buying seemed to be done buy the
same few bidders. The deepest pockets were at
Paramount Parks, who bought a large number of
various items for 17of their company owned amusement
parks, which produce Halloween events. Another big
spender in both Halloween and Christmas, was Albert
Schuckert of Time Travelers, Inc., who has
leased the space presently occupied by the
Happenings/Wonderland events and with the help of
Jim Grevas of StageFright Studios, plans
to operate a Haunted event at that location during
the 1997 season.
There were, apparently, some deals to be had however.
John Denley of Boneyard Productions
picked up a band-saw and an animated head for less
than half what he felt they were worth, and Randy
Danials of Frightmare Productions was
pleased with the prices he paid for some foam carving
tools and medical equipment. The best deal of the day
was a MDG (Haze) Machine, a $3,000 value that sold
for $300.
Arnold Chase, the owner and creator of most of
the Haunted items in the auction stated that "Some of
it sold higher than I thought it would, and some of
it lower," but overall he felt the auction went very
well and was pleased with the prices. David
Norton, owner of the Auction Company, was pleased
with the turn out and the bids on the Halloween
related items, which came within 10 percent of
estimates. The Christmas items however, which
belonged to the charity, were selling for a
disappointing one third of projections.
Although he could have stayed another season, Mr.
Chase decided to auction off the infamous charity
event, after the 40-year development rights were
given to the Hutensky Group, which plans to
build a 1,500-seat nightclub in the basements where
the Haunted Attraction had been. "It is sad to see it
all go, but it opens up a lot of opportunities." said
Arnold, who felt that time restraints and other
business responsibilities made it unfeasible to move
the show, which had been built as built as a
permanent attraction. Selling the show was a viable
alternative that paid off. "Halloween is in my
blood!" stated Chase, who plans to take the money
from the auction, and start over from scratch with a
new show in the next year or two. "While taking down
the Frankenstein's lab scene, I was already
redesigning the lab scene for the new show in my
mind!"
1997 Fast Facts
Haunted Happenings
$12 Adult Ticket Price
50,000 Attendance
31 days of operation
Winter Wonderland
$8 Adult Ticket Price
100,000 Attendance
20 days of operation
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