This weekend, the last weekend of the Shocktober event, Dave and I visited the renowned Paxton Campus to experience a paranormal recreation of what has been deemed to be truly haunted by spirits. The event offers four chilling attractions across the property’s 17 acres: The Paxton Manor, The Haunted Well of Souls, The Funhouse and The Last Ride, each with its own frightening twist.
After parking our car, we approached the haunted house entrance, signed the waivers and moved to the Paxton Manor attraction R.I.P. line.
While in line, actors dressed in various scary Halloween costumes were trying to scare visitors. They did a great job! It was a beautiful warm evening and lines moved pretty well. We only waited about 20 minutes in line at the mansion, and then about 25 minutes at the Last Ride. There were no lines at the Well of Souls or the Funhouse. Jane and I.
Another costumed character is lying on the ground.
Approaching the manor entrance. Spooky, isn’t it?
The manor looked like a real haunted house – dark and spooky. The Paxton Manor has real history full of horror and paranormal activity. The manor, also known as Carlheim Mansion, was built in 1877 by Charles and Rachel Paxton, wealthy industrialists from Pennsylvania who had one daughter, Margaret. Rachel Paxton, having outlived her husband, daughter and grandson, lived alone in the mansion until her death at age 95 in 1921.
For Halloween’s Shocktober, the manor resembles an old hotel and the souls of those who operate it. Paxton Manor Inn is filled with large rooms and dark halls run by the mysterious Mrs. Scarlet. The house is built on top of an underground lake full of unexplored caverns. Over the years many strange and horrific events have taken place in the rooms, trapping restless souls to haunt the halls.
In the Paxton Manor attraction, we entered the house, where Mr. Hitchcock greeted us inside the hall and explained to us the safety rules. He made a few corny jokes, then opened the door to the rest of the manor. Our journey started with the creepy elevator, wich took us to the top of the house. They used the physical spaces extremely well and the lighting was utilized brilliantly.
With more than 32 rooms inside the mansion there’s plenty of mystery and more than enough room for your imagination to wander as you walk past dead nurses, zombies hiding behind hidden walls, a scarred up hospital staff and ghouls who are waiting for you around most every corner. It’s bad enough that it’s dark inside the entire house, but it gets worse when the occasional strobe will show the face of an undead actor who is closer to you than you thought.
Sets in the mansion were so realistic: tiny walkways, creaky floors and doors, and creepy old bathrooms. The house is enormous and the winding path made it seem even larger! The tour lasted about 20 minutes. I was impressed that they only let a few people through at a time. Afterall, it’s really not scary if the people in front of you scream and you see what is coming! The manor entrance door.
Underneath the Paxton mansion is the Well of Souls, where we climbed down to the basement of the mansion. The cellar sits on top of caverns and there is an underground lake down there as well. The haunted Well of Souls is awaiting everyone who dares to enter the dark dirt basement. Brick walls, old furnaces and dirt floors are just some of the features that came along with the house. The cool thing about the story is there really is a well in the basement and we went right by it. Entering the Well of Souls.
After the haunted Well of Souls we ended up in a spooky cemetery.
The Funhouse, which is a crazy clown haunted house in 3 D, was awesome! We walked through mazes and misleading hallways running into the occasional clown. While it was not scary from a startling standpoint, there was a prominent presence of ghoulish clowns. Different rooms took us back to our childhood. One room has a hidden wall maze and another has a large ball pit to walk through.
Some rooms had absolutely stunning decorations. The 3D effect was enhanced by use of special 3D glasses. At one point one clown seamlessly separated from the wall and moved across the room in a costume that made him look as if he was part of the wall. It was really neat! There was the coolest bridge in a spinning light tunnel right as we exited. We enjoyed the Fun house more than the Penn & Teller New(kd) Las Vegas haunted house at Universal Studious.
The Last Ride scare is a simulated coffin ride in which guests, who dare, lie down in a replicated coffin with the door closed and are shaken around to simulate the feeling of being buried alive. This is an extremely scary experience of descending you into the grave in a wooden pitch black casket.
You lay on your back, you hear the sound of cars driving by, friends sobbing, and feel your coffin lowering into the ground! The dearly departed face in the coffin is captured by an inside camera and the footage is displayed on a monitor outside the coffin. The Last Ride, the coffin experience, really didn’t do anything for me, but I suppose, if you’re claustrophobic it might freak you out.
Dave and I had a great Halloween experience at Paxton Manor. The grounds and buildings are beautiful and old, which gave a great eerie feel to the night. Paxton Manor itself was fun, because it is an authentic old house with not too much need for props. The grounds of Paxton Manor are said to be the site of an old Civil War battlefield and so therefore already haunted, which is kind of neat. Also, all of the proceeds go for the learning center that operates there year round for autistic and learning disabled children. Here is a picture of the Paxton Manor during the day.
- from fairfaxtimes.com