PITTSBURGH HAUNTED HOUSES

In the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lurks a desolate manor. home to the most savage creatures of the undead - Hundred Acres Manor haunted attraction. It’s Pittsburgh largest and most extreme attraction spanning over 45,000 square feet.

This intense run for your life, scream bloody murder HAUNT PAIRS SOME OF THE MOST DETAILED SET DESIGN and WITH SOME OF THE HAUNT INDUSTRIES MOST TALENTED ACTORS TO LEAVE it’s patrons TERRIFIED and screaming.

Located just on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lurks Hundred Acres Manor. The manor itself is a looming castle lit with state of the art show lighting, amped up by hardcore haunt rock produced by Haunt Rocker Jerry Vayne. Signature characters that can only be described as over the top terrifying such as Alexander McWiggins and Willie Makeit roam the queue area greeting guests with an onslaught of terror creating an interactive haunt experience as soon as guests enter the property. The tour of the manor compound begins when guests board a century old elevator, “Dead Lift” destined to plunge guests into a heart stopping free fall style ride to the deepest depths of the manors basement. When the dust settles, guests then are free to explore the manor at their own pace beginning with Damnation, our signature zombie infested manor, and continues with South Valley Hospital, The Family, The Insanity Maze, and ends with one of our bloodiest, brain-bashing attractions yet, the Brine Slaughterhouse. Each attraction has its own unique feel but all have one common goal, to scare the living hell out of our guests. Hundred Acres Manor is one of the most acclaimed, largest and most extreme haunted attractions in the nation. We now invite you to experience our tenth year of terror.

How did Hundred Acres Manor get its start?

Hundred Acres Manor was founded in 2004. Our goal from the beginning was to create a haunted attraction experience that was unlike any other attraction that had been seen in our market. Not only was it absolutely essential from the beginning to create an over the top haunt experience as far as detail, set design, and scares. We also strive to make Hundred Acres a valuable experience that will leave patrons screaming in terror for well over 45 minutes. Our 2013 season marks our tenth year of terror and it is still hard to believe how far we have grown as a team, an attraction, and a part of the haunt community and we look forward to continuing our growth each and every future haunt season.

What inspires your set designs?

Hundred Acres Manor is 100% original designs created from the mind of one of the industries most talented set designers, Ethan Turon. Turon explains that “Hundred Acres Manor is conceptualized on several key elements; individual creativity, haunt industry trends, and most of all what our patrons have come to expect from us: a high startle sensory overdose of terror. When designing a set, I set forth to immerse our patrons in the environment so each and every detail counts no matter how small. The ultimate goal is to create sets that make each victim feel like they are actually walking through a horror film. I also keep in mind that our number one priority is to scare the living hell out of our patrons through unique and intense actor driven scares that sends our patrons screaming out the door each and every time.”

We noticed that your sets are extremely detail oriented; can you explain how this effects your show and what it takes to complete one of your sets?

Our sets begin on the drawing board during the operating season so that we may evaluate how our current sets are working in practice so that we may make adjustments to improve year to year, boost set pieces that people love, and eliminate sets that may not have had the impact that we desired. After the set is on paper Ethan organizes the rooms based on how they fit and make sense in the haunt. Turon strives to have a flow to the event that seems natural. I then search for key set pieces at shows such as Transworld and the Midwest Haunters convention to put at least one memorable animatronic with each set to create motion in the room and bring it to life. Next thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales to acquire all of the materials that truly round out the room incorporating color pallets, set dress and detail, character development, lighting and audio to pull together a cohesive product that leaves our patrons insides bleeding and their underwear soiled.

What is your most popular effect that guests always leave talking about?

“Each and every year we strive to create an original “shock scene” that leaves guests in a state of panic and dismay. Last season we creates a murder scenario where the brine slaughterhouse victim was bound and gagged to a chair, has her head blown off by a cattle gun. It truly was quite the disturbing effect to watch, not to mention that you leave the room covered in what feels like the brains of the victim lying motionless in front of you. I don’t think there was one person that left our haunt last year unaffected by that scene, it was just down and dirty hardcore haunting like we love to do”, explains Ethan Turon, attraction designer.

How important is branding and marketing to your success?

Hundred Acres released a new logo for the 2012 season. Tyler Kozar and Brandon Paul Donnelly took branding to another level. They created unique logos for each attraction. While going through the haunt you will find the logos on posters within the attractions giving a unique feeling that takes the patrons of Hundred Acres to its own world. The unique branding for each attraction allows Hundred Acres to create individual videos, posters and merchandise to take our patrons to the next level of full-fledged fear.

What makes Hundred Acres Manor different from other haunted attractions across the country?

Hundred acres Manor is unique in many ways starting from our location. Our haunt requires you to traverse an altering topography so you are always up and down left to right, in doors then out doors. It is very unique and adds a lot to our show. Also I would say our attention to immersing our patrons in an environment rather than having them walk by a set, we put patrons directly into the environments. We also stand out as an intense high startle event that is very much in your face haunting at its best driven by our over the top actors.

As far as attraction growth over your ten year run, can you tell us what items pushed your event forward over the years and how growth has affected your event?

The event, though a charity haunt, is run as a business with all appropriate structures in place. Hundred Acres Manor is incorporated as a 501c3 corporation that acts as a fire-wall between the event and the charities. Over the ten year period our event has grown by 150% in attendance and 400% in gross revenue. The growth fits well in the business plan allowing to continually improve the event which in turn increases attendance and revenue. As the old adage goes you have to spend money to make money.

How many actors do you staff your event with each night and how do you go about preparing for a night of haunting?

On any given night our event requires 130+ actors to bring the haunt to life. Our haunt, although we do use a large amount of animated effects to enhance the experience, is driven by our dedicated host of actors. Hundred Acres Manor employs 30 staff actors to play key roles within the attraction, these roles require the actor to have intense makeup and costuming as well as dedicated character development. We also pole the addition staff from local drama clubs on a nightly basis to fill our “scare spots” as we are a high startle in you face event. These actors operate our startle scare effects such as pop ups, drop doors, break away doors and slide doors. All of our actors arrive at the haunt at 5pm on any night of operation and begin getting into character. It truly is a daunting task to costume and makeup 130 actors each night in only two hours but we make it happen assembly line style each and every night. We also employ two costumers to tailor and distribute each actors costuming as well as 8 special effects makeup artists to apply some of the most immensely detailed makeup to truly bring the living dead to life. Every night each actor receives custom make-up that reflects their area so the actor can help to deliver our guests the best possible show they will ever experience.

DeadLift
Board a century old elevator to take you to the depths of the Acres family estate and experience a hellish ride to the bowels of the horror within the manor. This first of its kind in Pittsburgh, Dead Lift will send you whipping around and begging for mercy. Discovered during excavation of the estate; the deadlift elevators were originally used to transport guests and staff from the families quarters to the manors deepest secrets hidden within the basement. Going down?

South Valley Hospital
Let us pick your brain in the most intense, in your face, run for your life, scream bloody murder, haunted attraction on the acres family estate. South Valley hospital was opened to the public in 1904 as Pittsburgh’s premier medical research facility. The hospital was closed in December of 1932 and has been abandoned ever since. When the hospital was closed they found the most shocking and brutal display of disregard towards human life. Some say the tortured patients and doctors still reside within the hospitals compounds just waiting for their next patient. Let us cut you open and see if you can withstand the horror and terror of South Valley Hospital.

Damnation
Enter the dilapidated acres family estate and experience the terrifying world of the lost souls buried deep within the manor walls. Traverse the manor room by room and see what makes Hundred Acres Manor Pittsburgh’s Top Haunted Attraction. During your journey you will encounter the most grizzly zombies, bloodthirsty minions of the night, and the restless spirits damned to spend eternity confined within the manor compound. Its only a haunted house right? Prepare for the most relentless, mind-bending journey through hell on earth.

The Family Unearthed
The year was 1945; a time of mass hysteria and shear terror as our country was under constant threat of nuclear attack. A plan was quickly set into motion and a site was chosen on the Acres family estate to construct a Fall Out shelter of mass proportions. The complex lies 650 feet beneath the earths surface. After time they began to do anything to survive. A family that lives together, eats together, and your on the menu!

The Maze
Feel the terror begin to overwhelm your body as you attempt to navigate your way through our all NEW 7,500 square foot maze from hell. Which way to go? Choose your direction and choose it wisely, chainsaw wielding maniacs among other undead creatures roam the premises. The maze will leave you in the dark feeling cold and disoriented! Don’t bother asking our minions for directions, the only thing they wanna do is hear you scream.

Brine Slaughterhouse
Originally opened as a butcher shop for the families of the estate, this slaughterhouse turned into a processing plant for the whole town. Enter the bowels of the Brine Slaughterhouse and witness the unspeakable horrors that await. Your turn of this turn of the century slaughterhouse will unveil torture, gore and more. But beware; legend has it that Mr. Brine still walks the halls of this now-abandoned meat processing plant, with an insatiable appetite for human flesh.

 
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In the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lurks a desolate manor, home to the most savage creatures of the undead - Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House.  It’s a 40,000 square foot intense, run for your life, scream bloody murder, haunted attraction that uses state of the art technology to terrify its victims, coupled with the industry’s most talented actors.  The haunt uses every industry resource known to make this haunt a true mind-bending experience.

The haunt is set in South Park, a sprawling park with tree lined, winding roads that really set the mood early, as you feel you’re getting further and further from rescue the closer you get to the haunt.  The terror begins in the parking lot, with actors working the crowd from the minute you arrive, ghastly creatures, giant characters and queue entertainers provide a glimpse of the horrors that await in the darkness.  The atmosphere is electric, with the sounds of screams echoing around the park, and more than 15 fog machines pumping as fast as the screaming music.

Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House is the brain-child of attraction designer Ethan Turon, who aims to have a haunt that is “a sadistic world of unimaginable and unconceivable horrors!  Hundred Acres Manor is a true shock-show that delivers an extreme overdose of terror that will leave you crying in a corner.”

Once inside you are greeted in the parlor by a skilled character actor who introduces the haunt, along with a state of the art animatronic show, featuring Haunt Bots technology, that really sets the mood.  Then you’re set free to roam the haunt with your party at your own pace.  You’ll find mostly live actors along the way – the haunt has more than 100 actors working on an average night – which really adds to the scare factor.  There are also lots of cutting-edge animatronics props – new for 2010 is one so realistic and disturbing that patrons are not ever going to forget seeing it.  The effect of that many live actors adding an element of surprise, and the high-quality animatronic props providing the most perfect set-up scares, is that you spend your entire visit in total terror.  There’s no slow part in this haunt.

The haunt is actually five haunts in one attraction, making it by far the area’s largest haunt.  A single calling card admits you to Massacre Mansion, South Valley Hospital, Site-R, the Maze and the Grindshow Bazaar.  It’s going to take you about 45 minutes to work your way through the entire experience, and at the lowest ticket price of all the major haunts in and around Pittsburgh, it’s definitely the best value for your money.  And even if you’ve been before, there is so much new each season that you will want to visit every fall.

“We wanted to give visitors every possible scare experience; if you’re looking for gore – you’ll find it in the South Valley Hospital; if a traditional haunted house is your thing, then the Manor is for you.  It gives us every opportunity to scare everyone.” Explains Ethan.  Then he laughs.  “You WILL be scared”

2010 unveils 5 all NEW attractions to pick at your mortal brain and send you into a mental mind twist. Do you dare brave Pittsburgh’s best haunted house; Hundred Acres Manor? The terror returns this fall and will unleash new and inconceivably horrifying chambers for you to tour.

Massacre Mansion

Seven brutal years have passed since the ghastly spirits of the Manor have allowed curious visitors to take a peek behind the walls of the decaying Acres family estate. Many have tried their luck at surpassing the ultimate test of life verses death within the manor compound and even more souls have met their demise at the hands of the most vicious creatures that reside within the Manor compound. Do you dare brave Pittsburgh’s most intense, run for your life, scream yourself to death haunted house?

The horror returns in 2010 and the troubled spirits have already etched your name on a tombstone!  Tours of the manor will reveal new and terrifying catacombs unlike any that have been seen by the mortal eye. The new tombs open for exploration will reveal vast depths of Hundred Acres Manor, but be forewarned; evil lurks behind every corner! The Acres family estate is overrun with ghastly creatures and the undead that are just dying to meet you. Do you have the guts to survive the horror that awaits you? Foolish beings, daring to walk on unearthly ground. Do you dare disturb the slumber of the undead? The legend comes to life this September; Getting in is easy, getting out may kill you! It’s only a haunted house…Right?

South Valley Hospital

Do you have an appointment? Check in at South Valley Hospital for a dose of extreme terror. Brutal, gut wrenching, gory terror comes to life this October at South Valley Hospital. 2010 will bring new meaning to the word Trauma! Check in to South Valley Hospital and discover the horrors that transpired on the grounds of what was once one of the most prestigious trauma centers in Pennsylvania.

South Valley Hospital was opened to the public in 1904. The South Valley Hospital was once Pittsburgh’s premiere medical treatment and research facility. Rumors began to circulate in the late 30’s of botched surgeries, “accidental deaths” during routine procedures, application of mind altering experimental drugs on unknowing patients, necrophilia and other unspeakable horrors. In September of 1932 the medical board began investigations on the staff at South Valley Hospital; what they found was the most shocking and brutal display of complete disregard for human life. Mutilated bodies, failed operations, patients wired up to shock treatment machines and strapped to gurneys like animals, bodies hung like cattle in the morgue, and un-sedated brain surgeries were just some of the horrors that were uncovered. The hospital was closed in December of 1932 and has been abandoned ever since. Some say that the tortured spirits of the patients still reside within the hospital compound.

Do you have the guts to endure the torture? Let us cut you open and find out.

Site-R

One of the earliest American underground facilities was built in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania on the site on the Acres family estate. The military refer to the facility as “Site-R.”  The site was chosen in part due to the suitably dense base of greenstone, the fourth hardest rock on earth, that stretched nearly to bedrock, along with a generous donation by the property owners. Construction began on Site-R in 1950, and engineers had completed a series of tunnels and a three-story building by 1953. Two more three-story buildings were completed by 1963. The complex lies 650 feet beneath the earth’s surface and can be entered through four portals that could quickly be sealed during times of crisis.

Site-R featured everything needed to survive a catastrophe including chemical suits, a medical facility, and a testing ground for top secret military experimentation. It has six 1,000 kilowatt generators and 35 miles of cable delivering power for much needed machinery.

But that’s not what they used it for.

The Maze

Fool me once shame on me. Fool me twice; YOU GO INSANE! Get lost in terror as you attempt to navigate your way through our all NEW 7,500 square foot maze from hell. Was it two lefts, a right and a left? Or was it three lefts, two rights and a left? You better find the answer quickly or you will be hacked to pieces by one of the chainsaw wielding maniacs that reside within the labyrinthine confines. Don’t bother asking for directions, we murder first then answer questions later.

Oh, we just love to watch you squirm in an eternal state of panic. It’s like watching a mouse trying to get out of a trap. There is no escape from the eternal darkness that is the maze. Good luck trying to find your way out of the darkness, it is certainly not as easy as it sounds. New horrors lurk around every corner and each vicious creature is out for your blood. Let the mind bending commence!

Grindshow Bazaar

Step right up to the Grindshow vestibule and unmask a world of wonderment and macabre! This, my friend, is no quotidian ragbag, for the Grindshow Bazzar possesses curiosities beyond your wildest imagination. Saunter through a world that time has a. This is the terrain of the kooky, the eccentric, and the unequivocal carnage and sacrifice. This, my friend, is the greatest show unearthed!

Established long ago, the Grindshow Bazaar amazed and astonished spectators from across the span of the countryside. Folks flocked to bear witness to the show that was said to end all shows. Performers driving themselves to the brink of death, all the while retaining their cool composure, sold stubs like hot cakes, and the threat of bloodshed for the sake of a standing ovation piqued the interest of audiences from every walk of life. Now that is entertainment, friend. Those were the days.

Do not fret my consort; the bazaar, once forgotten by its once faithful patrons, will rise again this Fall on the site of the Acres family estate. Come one, come all, to and try your hand at a game of chance, but be astute for your wager may just be more than you bargain for.

Now Showing: The Grindshow Bazaar

Unlike many haunted attractions, Hundred Acres Manor has a permanent location, which allows them to build really complex sets and install some heavyweight props. You’ll hear improvements being made throughout the entire off-season. Set on the site of an old swimming pool – a site that brims with old ghost stories – Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House has been open since 2004.  Each year the haunt grows, adding new attractions (there are three entirely new attractions this year), reworking old ones (the maze was torn down at the end of last season and totally rebuilt), and upgrading staff training and actor coaching.

Hundred Acres Manor features over 60 rooms and hundreds of corridors that guide your tour through this unparalleled event. Hundred Acres Manor also features a 7,500 square foot maze of confusion. Prepare yourself for a relentless 45 minute journey of mind bending torture and hell that seemingly has no end.

Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House is a charity haunt – the profits from the haunt are donated to Animal Friends, an animal rescue center, and The Homeless Children’s Education Fund, an organization that works to ensure that homeless children and families in transition get continued access to education.  All of the actors are volunteers.  Many of them give significant amounts of their time to the haunt – the main characters are regulars who also help out with building and maintenance, and many put in more than 20 hours a week during the season.

A benefit of being a charity haunt is the celebrity help that the haunt gets – every year the Pittsburgh Steelers players come in a crowd to the haunt to walk through it with their friends and family and then to dress up in costume and act in the haunt.  For wide receiver Hines Ward last year it was an opportunity to scare people in a different way to what he does on the field.  Offensive lineman Max Starks really enjoyed chasing people with the chainsaws. For the 2009 Steelers Player Night, Hundred Acres Manor tried a new night – they opened on a Monday and had the Steelers come out then – it worked well.  “People are really excited to support both their Steelers and give money to a good cause.  Whatever day of the week it is.” Said Ted Sobek, executive director of Funds for Charities, the organization behind the haunt.  Ted hopes that this is the year that his charitable efforts total raised will hit the $2 million mark.

The haunt takes its business seriously – being a charity haunt doesn’t mean they cut any corners in their work.  In the off-season the actors work on character-building and acting training.  The actors are skilled and committed to making the haunt experience as terrifying as it can be; they bring the element of surprise and a lot of fear to your visit.  There are four talented makeup artists and a costumer who works with the actors to ensure that as many customers leave terrified as possible.

Hundred Acres Manor is open nights through September and October and sees over 30,000 visitors in a single season. In 2010 the house opens on September 17^th and will be open for 34 nights.  The haunt opens at 7pm and closes around midnight on most nights.

“Most people think that a charity haunt is simple and standard, but Hundred Acres Manor isn’t like that.  We spend all year on this, and a large budget on props and supplies to make it as professional as anything you’ll find nationwide.  The tens of thousands of people who come to our haunt every year are all the proof we need that we’re getting it right.” States Ethan.  “The Midwest Haunters Convention stopped by last year, with rave reviews, and we’re expecting another fantastic season this year.”

TO LEARN MORE VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT: http://hundredacresmanor.com/ 

TO FIND MORE HAUNTED HOUSES IN PENNSYLVANIA CLICK HERE ... http://www.hauntworld.com/pennsylvania_haunted_houses