Old Crow Manor rises from the dead in Georgetown
As shrieks of terror ring out from the walls of Old Crow Manor this Halloween season, Brock Rogers will likely be grinning from ear to ear.
After hosting a popular haunted house at his home on Neptune Road near Milton the last three years, Rogers worked out an agreement with Sports at the Beach to take over the former Screams at the Beach spot on the Georgetown property.
“It’s been a dream of mine to do this,” Rogers said.
The new Old Crow Manor is set to open to the public Friday, Oct. 2, running every Friday and Saturday through Saturday, Nov. 1. There will also be an extreme haunt night Friday, Oct. 16, which will offer a more intense experience. Rogers said there will be a little more touching and members of a group could be taken away at some point.
Rogers is also planning a no-scare night Sunday, Oct. 25, when visitors can walk through the experience without having to worry about actors jumping out to scare them. Trick-or-treating will be held at Old Crow Manor Nov. 1. Rogers said it will essentially be a second no-scare night, as the actors will be handing out candy instead of scaring.
Old Crow Manor will reopen Friday, Dec. 11, for a holiday horror night.
Screams at the Beach last operated in 2017, so little has happened at the site since then. Rogers and his all-volunteer crew have been working hard to get Old Crow Manor ready to go since March. Rogers said he couldn’t wait to tell his acting managers the news.
“We all went down to Nicola and I wrote on a napkin, ‘We’re moving Old Crow Manor to the old Screams at the Beach,’ and handed it over to them,” he said. “All big news has to be written on a napkin. We started working immediately. We’ve been back here since March 17, almost every day.”
Over the last few months, the crew has been building, painting and creating the experience. In addition to what Rogers already had – 60 bins worth of haunt-related items – he’s been scouring Facebook Marketplace, picking up furniture along the road and accepting any donations available.
The walk-through haunt takes visitors through an experience based on the movie “The Crow.” It begins outside Old Crow Manor, weaves through various rooms, before heading into areas around the town such as a cemetery, barber shop, funeral parlor, Gideon’s Pawn Shop and Draven’s Bar. After exiting the main part of the attraction, visitors are guided to an old chapel/church, where they must navigate a maze in complete darkness.
Rogers said he has 30 to 40 actors lined up to participate in the haunt; he had 15 to 20 actors at his home haunt last year.
As a home electronics expert, Rogers is using his professional skills to enhance the experience. Rather than have sounds or music that play over the entire haunt, Rogers has wired it so every room has its own sound and sound effects.
Upon entering Sports at the Beach, visitors should have little trouble finding the ticket and merchandise booth in the parking lot. Unlike baseball tournaments at Sports at the Beach, visitors will not be charged to park while attending Old Crow Manor.
From the ticket booth, guests will walk back to the haunt. Actors will be placed throughout the attraction to not only scare visitors, but to also guide them in the right direction.
From the actors to the volunteers who’ve helped since March, Rogers said the community has been incredible.
“All the years prior to last year, it was just me,” Rogers said. “Last year, we had our actors come in and help me build it. This year, we have even more, and they’re all volunteers. The crew coming out here, spending their summer here to build something because they share a passion and they see the potential, it’s just amazing.”
Rogers has ambitious plans for the future. If insurance allows, he’d like to add a hay ride or some sort of transportation to take visitors from the parking lot to the haunt. He’d also like to have food trucks and other vendors in the parking lot.
As for the haunt, there are already plans to expand it next year. As visitors walk out of Old Crow Manor this year, they’ll see fake ads for a circus. If all goes to plan, the (haunted) circus will be coming to Old Crow Manor in 2027.
“Everybody says a five-year plan, but I want a three-year plan,” Rogers said. “I want to get it done faster to build the momentum – keep it going, keep it fresh and keep it strong. There’s 7 acres back here to mess with.”
Because Old Crow Manor is moving, Rogers won’t be having a haunted house experience at his home this year. But, he is planning to continue the over-the-top front-yard display for which he’s become well known.
