Fame Is A...


So my local newspaper ran a story (written by my neighbor) on a guy who does an annual home haunt. If you think you know where this story is going, you're wrong. It wasn't me. I'm STILL waiting to get in the paper for Highbury Cemetery. But I'm not bitter. Really.

The story talks about this guy, 18-year-old Dave Shonk, who is putting on a free haunted house with 13 rooms throughout his driveway, garage and back yard, called The House of Morbidity. The cover photo is great! It's him standing in a morgue, in front of an autopsy table with a mannequin's guts all over. It looks really well-done. I read the entire story and I'm very interested in checking it out. 

So Sunday night, Scrapes and I drive over to see it. When we get there, there are no other cars on the street. "The day after Halloween," I say. "Everyone has already been to it." We continue to walk up and immediately notice a slew of props in the front yard cemetery. Great lighting and even better prop work. We are excited to go see the rest (and secretly compare it to ours). We get to the entrance, where we meet Dave himself.

It's at this point, he tells us that while they are open, they only have 5 rooms open. What!? Apparently, with all of the exposure from the newspaper story, it got the interest of quite a few people. Unfortunately, one of those people was the city Fire Marshall who came over and promptly shut them down because of fire code violations. The ultimate letdown. We did end up hanging out for a while, talking with Dave and the rest of the actors. And although there were only 5 rooms, I must admit that they were really good. I would have loved to see the whole thing. The morgue room was unbelievable.

So Dave, if by chance you ever read this, a tip of my zombie cap to you and everyone at the House of Morbidity. Keep the Halloween spirit alive (and add some exits to your haunt next year!).

And while you'd think the story ends there, it doesn't. The story was also posted to the paper's website, where a heated debate erupted in the comments. Be sure to read it in all of its glory here. It's hilarious!!

And Dave, be sure to thank the Akron Beacon Journal when 2,000 people show up next year!!

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