ISSUE 41 : COVER STORY

Believe It Not... It's Scary

By Tim O’Brien

I f there has ever been a perfect brand extension and a natural transition for a company to make, it had to be Ripley Entertainment entering the dark amusement industry in 1999. That’s when the entertainment company opened the first Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Ripley has been amusing, entertaining and scaring, the general public with its walk-through Believe It or Not! museums since 1950. Today there are 28 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums worldwide, featuring wonderful items including Vampire Killing Kits, Shrunken Heads and Medieval torture paraphernalia.

“We had been thinking of creating a haunted house for years and when the opportunity to expand our operations in Gatlinburg presented itself, we went for it,” said Norm Deska, executive vice president of Ripley Entertainment, who headed up the original design team for the haunted concept. Since then, Haunted Adventures in Myrtle Beach, and San Antonio have opened.

Interestingly, the limited street frontage in Gatlinburg helped direct the design that has stayed somewhat the same for all three attractions. “Originally, we were presented with the space formerly occupied by a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store, but it was only 50 foot wide and really didn’t give us the space we needed,” Deska said. “However, the landlord also owned ample space on the third floor of the adjacent building and that’s where we have the show. The funicular and the outside themeing fills the street frontage, and the 10,000 square-foot walk-through show is on the third floor.” (See Issue 21 Haunted Attraction Magazine)

Bob Fleming of Idle Time Network developed the old mill themed exterior in Gatlinburg. The three story tall façade stands out amongst the other attractions along the parkway and garners great attention. The interior design was by Sue McTavish.

There are now three Ripley’s Haunted Adventures, with at least two more on the drawing boards. In June 2001, the Myrtle Beach haunt premiered, and in March 2002, the San Antonio house opened its doors for the first time on the third floor of an abandoned Woolworth building across from the Alamo. Myrtle Beach is the only one of the three with seasonal operation, closing each year right after New Years and re-opening in mid-March. Both Gatlinburg and San Antonio operate year round and have done very well during what many consider the off-season.

The Myrtle Beach Haunt was created entirely by Ripley Entertainment’s in-house design and creative teams, with Norm Deska and Barry Anderson playing key roles in its development. Suzanne DeSear, the manager of the Gatlinburg haunt provided strong input into the design, and several other Gatlinburg haunters provided expertise for the actors.

Deska is quick to point out that the Ripley standard for Haunts is much more than a series of dark rooms, boos and scares. “We developed this really cool story for Gatlinburg, and then carried on a related, but different theme in Myrtle Beach,” he said. The same overall story line continues in San Antonio.

“What sets our attractions apart from the rest is the detailed storyline and the professional themeing,” Deska said, noting that the more than $2 million spent per attraction, also puts the Ripley haunts in a different category than most.

Three Adventures, Three Experiences

Many of those who took the Pre-Show Bus Tour prior to HAuNTcon in May 2004, experienced the Myrtle Beach Haunted Adventure for the first time and most were pleasantly surprised to see that it differed a bit from the first Ripley haunt in Gatlinburg. More fine-tuning took place in San Antonio, giving that attraction many unique attributes not found in the others. (That means you have to visit all three!)

Veteran haunters Brian Harvel, Greg Weir and Sergio Guerra Jr., have outlined the major differences between the three Haunted Adventures.

The Building Plans

Guests in Gatlinburg and San Antonio walk through a one level haunt with the entrance and exit on a lower level. In Myrtle Beach guests navigate three floors before they exit. Gatlinburg and San Antonio are 10,000-square feet and Myrtle Beach is 12,500-square feet.

The Way Guests Enter

In San Antonio and Gatlinburg, guests enter a funicular to take them up to the first room. They travel in an open, cage-like car in a ride similar to an inclined railway to the third floor. Myrtle Beach has a freight (fright) elevator that takes guests to the first room on the third floor.

The Story

Both the San Antonio, Texas and Gatlinburg, Tennessee attractions are themed as a casket factory where odd things are reported to have happened. Myrtle Beach is a cargo company that receives strange shipments from around the world. Grimsby & Streaper left their casket manufacturing business in Gatlinburg to set up their import/export business in Myrtle Beach.

The Greeting Room

Gatlinburg and San Antonio keep with its theme and inform visitors the rules while everyone stands in a casket showroom. Myrtle Beach provides plenty to see while guests are told the house rules while standing in an artifact display room.

The Show

Myrtle Beach is more of a showpiece than the others, meaning that with the lights on, it’s a prettier house inside, but with the lights out the actors can’t get much closer to guests in Gatlinburg or San Antonio. Because of that more-distant actor interaction, most feel Gatlinburg is scarier than Myrtle Beach, but the most recent guest reviews seem to indicate San Antonio may be the best yet!

The Suppliers

Suppliers to the three attractions include Morris Costumes, Scare Factory, Distortions, Orlando Special Effects, and in San Antonio, local specialist, Joe Pedigo. Costuming and make-up companies include Alcone Company, Cinema Secrets, Ruby’s Costumes, Broder Brothers, S&H Uniform, Nu Products, and Alan Sloane.

The Legend of Grimsby & Streaper & Their San Antonio Operations

The Grimsby & Streaper Casket Company was founded in the early 1900s. The two partners who owned it built the best coffins in the state. However, local authorities became wary of the operation after rumors of customers disappearing, the reclaiming of coffins after burial, and some very strange visitors at all hours of the night. There are still open investigations concerning the disappearances of people who were eventually found dead near the vicinity of the building that held the company’s headquarters. Through the years, business was hurt by the rumors and locals would often drive hours to another town to buy their coffins, especially after Grimsby & Streaper’s main competition strangely disappeared.

Local authorities never actually interviewed Grimsby or Streaper. One night in 1928 the two burst into an argument and the screams could be heard blocks away. Apparently, there was a disagreement over the operations of late. The next day neither of the two could be found. Their mysterious disappearance forced the business to close it doors and the town went back to normal.

In 1930, Streaper’s nephew and new deed holder Dr. Kilt, along with his wife, claimed this unsavory piece of property. The building was reopened as in import/export business in honor of Streaper’s famous uncles. It wasn’t long before strange and unusual clientele started showing up and although it was no longer a casket factory, many shipments that went out from the warehouse closely resembled old, dirty coffins that had been dug up in the middle of the night.

In late 1940, the business was once again shut down when a massive electrical storm produced a bolt of lightening that hit the building and killed nearly everyone in the warehouse. Dr. Kilt and his wife were never found and the business was closed and boarded up leaving only the old caretaker Earnest Gooden to tend to the building’s needs. That is until recently when Ripley’s came to town looking for a building to establish a new business. Upon completion of this new project, the old caretaker himself mysteriously vanished without a trace.

The business is now open and thriving, and once again, there are rumors of strange things that continue to happen inside. No one is talking, but they do allow people to come in and experience the strangeness for themselves with Gooden’s grandson, Billy, as their tour guide.

Welcome to San Antonio

San Antonio’s Haunted Adventure is located in downtown directly across from the Alamo, Texas’ most visited attraction. The area known as “Alamo Plaza” has strict codes for signage as well as what can and cannot be done to building facades. Therefore, there was a concentrated effort to have the inside of the lobby visible to the street traffic. The creepy, run down theme of the lobby features the legless monster illusion “Stumpy,” who hangs in mid air inviting visitors to enter, if they dare! The funicular and the outside themeing fill the street frontage, and the 10,000 square foot walk-through show is on the third floor.

Bob Fleming of Idle Time Network also worked on this attraction. He developed the street entrance and lobby, as well as the interior design. As in Gatlinburg, the three story tall funicular stands out and garners great attention.

Step-by-Step Tour of Ripley’s San Antonio Haunted Adventure

The façade of San Antonio’s Haunted Adventure gives one a glimpse of the old loading dock that was used in the early days when the casket company was still thriving. A box labeled “Stumpy” sits at the front of the building with a very scary and very realistic half-corpse warning guests about the dangers they will be facing inside. Upon purchasing a ticket, one moves up a ramp past old newspaper clippings mounted on the wall chronicling the strange incidents relating to the factory’s past. An ominous looking funicular looms above, ready to carry more guests up its rusty old tracks to the dimly lit third floor loading area. The funicular operator provides a few house rules along with some history of the old casket company before sending guests off on a bumpy ride to meet Billy.

Billy is the all-knowing overseer of the casket company. He leads guests into the company’s former main office while providing a more detailed history of what happened on the grounds. He then leads everyone into a larger room lined with paintings and curious old artifacts. More noticeable are the old coffins propped up against the walls and in the center of the room, there’s a large, fairly new, casket with more than just padding inside. Billy explains the rules of the house in this room and gives everyone one last chance to leave. Those who decide to continue must walk down a very dark corridor as Billy leads them to the point of no return. In the midst of the darkness a flashing light goes off overhead and old wooden spikes covered in fresh blood become clearly visible. Guests have only a matter of seconds to move out of the way before the spikes impale them.

As they wander out of the darkness the guests find themselves in a large room with numerous body bags hanging from the ceiling. The bags move as if they had a life of their own. One stands out from the rest as it shakes wildly and violently. As the crowd scurries down the hallway, they see myriad medical posters and anatomy pictures on the walls as they enter into the doctor’s autopsy room. Straight ahead, a body rises unexpectedly from under a bloody sheet and it becomes quite clear that the building is anything but abandoned. From behind the crowd, a noise is heard. Everyone turns and sees the good doctor working on a body on the table in front of him. He looks up from the body, sees the intruders, and starts flinging blood drenched body parts in their direction sending them quickly on their way.

As visitors stumble out of the autopsy area, only to get lost in the dark hallways, they soon get a sense of something getting closer. Screams reveal the truth. Rats! The rodents scurry down the hall, brushing against the intruder’s legs. There’s nothing like rats to get a group hysterical, but eventually most find a door that leads to another darkened room. As one enters, a single beam of light in the middle of the darkness can be seen gleaming down from the ceiling. The door slowly closes and the beam of light is extinguished, enveloping the room in total darkness. Voices start coming from every direction. They taunt and seem to whisper into everyone’s ears. An apparition presents itself in front of a flashing panel. The light lasts but a moment and as the room plunges once again into total darkness an unknown force is felt as it shoots across the room and escapes, leaving the door open allowing the crowd to move into what appears to be a room of torture.

Sparks fly through the chamber and desperate screams can be heard. At one end, a man is strapped to the wall and is thrashing back and forth. Another man screams in agony as he is fried alive in an electric chair. Anxious to get away from those images, guests exit through a narrow passageway filled with cobwebs and deadly spiders. A giant tarantula blocks the way before they can make a clean get away down the hall. Then it’s into the butcher area.

It appears that through the years, the old casket making machines have been used for cutting more than wood. There are body parts hanging on the walls with what appears to be price tags hanging from the freshest ones. A large guillotine comes down with an enormous BANG and the butcher appears from behind. He is covered in blood and wearing an apron made of people’s faces.

As the group proceeds through several blood covered plastic curtains they enter the sawmill part of the factory. The voice of another “guest” is heard. He is trapped inside a locked cage, strapped down and unable to get up. He asks for help but it’s too late, the saw begins to slice him in half! As the blades hit him, those nearby are sure they feel the spray of blood. However, there’s no time to check as the butcher has jumped from a cage directly adjacent to the crowd and chases the hysterical group into yet another twisted hallway!

This hall is different. The walls seem to be made of human flesh with faces, ears, eyeballs, hands and other body parts. From within the flesh wall a giant mouth full of razor sharp teeth roars open and comes toward the group.

When they reach the end of the hallway the only escape route that can be found is on the other side, across a long, thin piece of wood. Far below, the basement can be seen. “This can’t be for real,” the crowd screams, totally baffled.

Reality soon sets in and everyone realizes they must walk the plank to escape! As guests make their way across the plank and near the end, a ghastly ghoul comes out from a hidden panel behind the group and runs after them. Those in the back start pushing as the ghoul gets closer and those still on the plank nearly lose their balance.

Just when everyone thinks things are under control and are looking forward to a short respite from fear, another panel drops and another “thing” starts grabbing anything and anyone in sight. The crowd moves quickly ahead and ends up in an attic, a weird and whimsical room full of odds and ends, old artifacts, paintings, toys, broken radios, and raggedy clothing. A ghostly woman steps out from behind a large radio, an action that gets the group moving a bit quicker. Before getting too far, a large creature pops out of an old window, forcing the group onto a floor vent under which a large fan menacingly rotates. The strange laughter of children can be heard coming from below the vent. Laughter also seems to be coming from the next room, a small padded area with dingy yellow, blood-covered walls.

The laughter comes from a madman who peers from behind bars. The group tries to round a corner, which isn’t easy because the man reaches from behind the bars, begging not to be left behind. A bright light flashes as the madman breaks loose from his cell. He’s getting closer and the group screams and as it hurries searching for a way out. The madman is right behind them as they walk through a corridor where the walls are moving and everyone seems to be spinning out of control.

As the crowd stumbles out of the spinning room, another creature pops out from behind and chases them down a long hallway. The black walls in the hallway come to life and reach out at everyone as they try to escape. They exit the hall and turn the corner. The madman appears again directly in front of them screaming that he won’t let anyone leave. By now the guests are worn out but have no choice except to keep running. “There it is, an escape.” An elevator looms ahead and as the group gets in, the ghouls that have been chasing them get closer. Buttons are pushed to close the door, but the right one can’t be found. As the madmen appear to need only one more step to join the crowd in the elevator, the doors miraculously begin to close. Horrible, leering faces can be seen just out of reach, until the door becomes fully shut. “We’re safe,” the group thinks aloud. They relax and begin to laugh and breath sighs of relief. It appears they have made it to the end. But something seems strange. The elevator isn’t moving. Suddenly the doors open and everyone freezes as a madman jumps inside laughing maniacally.

“You can’t go!” he screams. But before the door closes again, he is stopped. It seems Billy has a soft spot for this group of guests and grabbed the madman by his straightjacket. He pulls him out of the elevator as the doors close and the group immediately descends back to the first floor.

The guests are still shaken but all have survived. There is reason to laugh and be joyous. Or is that levity shown too soon?

The elevator suddenly has stops, but the doors won’t open. Buttons are pushed in an attempt to get out as two different doors in the back of the elevator open. Everyone turns around to see what is happening, when a cadaver slams into a cage door just outside the elevator. A large loud blast of air and sound hits the crowd, the front elevator doors open and everyone jumps out into the lobby.

Realizing that it is finally over, the group starts laughing in relief as they try to catch their breath. It’s obvious to the people in the lobby that the group before them had a great deal of fun and that they survived. But will their group be so lucky? Let the adventure begin all over again!

Tim O’Brien is the VP Communications and Publishing for Ripley Entertainment. He can be reached at obrien@ripleys.com or by phone at 615-646-7465.  Contributing in a big way to this story, were veteran Ripley haunters, Suzanne DeSear, Ryan DeSear, Brian Harvel, and Greg Weir and Sergio Guerra Jr.