The Saukville Examiner - Part 1 of 3 - Conception

Today, we will take the first of a series of in-depth looks at a very unique prop of mine that appears in the attic scene of Greywood Manor - The Saukville Examiner. This fictitious newspaper, made entirely by myself using Adobe In-Design, is the connective storyline between the three families of the attraction - the Greywoods, the Baywells, and the Rukas.

A still from the Greywood Manor 2010 video.

Saukville, by the way, is the town where this haunt resides.

We can find the purpose of this prop by taking a quick glance at the Back-Story I posted a few weeks ago...

"So what became of the mansion? For more than forty years, Greywood Manor sat vacant.  Then, in 1949, the Baywell family moved in. Just a few months later, they moved out.  It is said that on Halloween night of 49’, the Baywell family encountered extraordinary ghostly activity that frightened them away. Rumor has it that on Halloween Night of 49’, the ghostly Christmas decorations reappeared, along with signs of Elizabeth’s presence. Had the Baywell family stirred up the spirits by making Greywood Manor their home? Neighbors of the Baywells say that they must have left early on November first. They left all of their possessions behind. No one knows where they vanished off to. It is rumored that they moved down to the state of Mississippi, wanting to have gotten as far away from Wisconsin as possible. But others, perhaps the more sinister, believe they never left. A newspaper ran a story on the report soon after. An investigator left a copy in Greywood Manor’s attic, so the next family to move in would know what they were going to be up against." 

As you can see, this fake newspaper gives the sense of the haunted history of the mansion. The paper itself is dated Sunday, October 01, 1950. In summary, the leading story - "Greywood Mansion Haunted?" - looks upon the Baywell family's disappearance that occured in the year 1949. After almost a full year of investigating, the SSS, or Spirit Society of Saukville (a fake paranormal investigation group), has finally pieced together the mysteries of the mansion's past.

Even though only one half of the front page of the newspaper was viewable this past year sitting on a table next to a photo of Elizabeth Greywood, there is more to the paper! Since I created this newspaper as a project for my Computer Design class I took this past year, I added a full other three pages that are full of both original and period-specific newspaper articles.

In my next post, entitled Design, I will display full high-quality images so you can read all the stories present within the newspaper. I'll also take you a bit behind the creation of these stories and the layout of the newspaper in general. In the final post, Part 3, about The Saukville Examiner, I will talk about what I had to go through to actually get the newspaper printed, and the logistics of displaying it this past Halloween.

Happy Haunts Materialize - The Clrset Ghost

Taking a somewhat turn off the beaten path, this week I would like to discuss a "haunting behind the haunt."  The Ouija Board used in Greywood Manor has its own haunted history - that which concludes with perhaps video evidence of the dead.

Before the Ouija Board was retired to Greywood Manor, it was, infact, used as a true Ouija Board should be - a means to contact the deceased.  Having been interested in the real paranormal, I had recieved the Ouija Board as a boardgame to be played over my summer break from school.  This was around the year 2004.

Flashforward to 2006.  After conversing with the board, my cousin Dan and I decided we wanted to get the "spirit" to show itself.  It ended up giving us a time and place in which it would do so, and guarenteed that we'd be able to pick it up on our video camera.  Thusly, we set up the camera, left the room, guarded the door, and let the camera roll for about ten minutes or so - giving the ghost a nice five minute window on each side of the supposed time of contact. (This would give the spectre some extra time if it decided to show up early or late.)

After the ten minutes were completed, we went back into the room.  Noticing no oddities of any kind inside the room, we packed up the camera, and took it downstairs to view the footage on our television.

The findings were startling!  At about two to three minutes into the film, a semi-translusent white orb appears coming in from the bottom left side of the frame.  It traverses a distance of about two to three feet, and disappears within the camera shot right in the middle of the closet - the agreed upon sight of appearance.

So is this truly proof of the dead?
All we know for sure is that we are honored to have this prop in our possession, and take pride in displaying it every Halloween!

Below is a video of the phenomenon caught on film.

If you would like to find out more on this oddity, you can check out my interview with Jim Harold on Jim Harold's Campfire podcast.  I was featured in this past weeks episode, entitled "Ouija and More," Episode 51.  Below is the link.

Jim Harold's Campfire Podcast - Ouija and More - Episode 51

Timeline

This is a follow-up to "The Back-Story" I posted last week.

Below is a timeline of important dates within the story of Greywood Manor.  Just like the written back-story, I use this information to find correct time-specific props to use in the show scenes.  Again, the casual guest would have no way of knowing all of this information, but us using this information to make decisions for our haunt greatly adds to its "correct" feeling.

May 13, 1825 – William Greywood is born in Maine.

October 01, 1829 – Lillian Welle is born in Maine.

December 24, 1847 – William married Lillian.

April 04, 1848 – Village of Saukville is established.

July 1849 – William & Lillian headed out west.

April 1850 – William & Lillian reach the Village of Saukville.

October 31, 1850 – Greywood Manor is completed.

September 22, 1856 – Lillian dies giving birth to Elizabeth Greywood.

December 24, 1865 – William dies hanging himself.

October 31, 1908 – Elizabeth supposedly dies.

July 1971 – Baywell Family moves into Greywood Manor.

November 01, 1949 – Baywell Family abruptly moves, or vanishes, out of Greywood Manor - supposedly down to Mississippi.

1996 – Ruka Family moves into Greywood Manor.

October 31, 2008 – Ruka Family opens up the house every Halloween for paranormal investigations.

The Back-Story

It seems that if you want an experience to be very rich, it has to have a solid story behind it. Today, I'm presenting what could be considered the story of Greywood Manor. It is important to point out that in viewing the haunt, there is no way to pick up all of the details behind this story - although this is a goal we try to forward each year. The back-story's main purpose is to aid myself and others that help me set up the haunt to have a solid foundation to rest upon. When we are adding props, musical cues, or special effects, we use this back-story to make sure everything fits. The fact that we are following a kind of "rule book" makes the haunt feel much more organic and correct to both us, the creators, and the guests who view it during trick-or-treat.

The following, thusly, is "The Back-Story of Greywood Manor." It is important to know that this version was updated for Halloween 2010 . Not all aspects, however, were able to make it to the show - the ghostly holiday decorations being what was left out. Due to budget and time constraints, it was decided to omit that part of the segment, or what may even be considered an overlay, this past year. It will, however, make it's grand debut this 2011!

"The Back-Story of Greywood Manor"

Pioneer William Greywood, a fisherman, lived in Maine all of his life up until the year 1849.  During the 20 years of his life in Maine, he married a woman named Lillian Welle on Christmas Eve of 1847.  In July of 1849, they decided to move out west, in search of gold.  A true 49er, William, along with his wife Lillian, made their way out to the just established village of Saukville.  Located in Southeastern Wisconsin, the village (established April 4^th of 1848) was only scarcely populated.  Most of the settlers lived out near the larger town of Port Washington, a prominent fishing port off the shore of Lake Michigan.   William decided to build out in wooded seclusion a few miles from the Milwaukee River.  He loved the area so much that he decided to build his house out in the woods, away from everyone else, to live in peaceful solitude with the land and the love of his life.  He was tired of being a fisherman, and figured that he could easily supply for himself and Lillian.  If he ever did need to go into a larger town, Port Washington was only a few miles away. On October 31st, 1850, Greywood Manor was completed.  This was just in time for the harsh Wisconsin winter brewing in the months ahead.  They loved their house, and easily survived the winter months.   Visited only by a few locals, William and Lillian believed that they were living the perfect life – quiet and peaceful.

On September 22, 1856, Lillian died giving birth to Elizabeth Greywood. William was devastated.  His true love was with us no longer.   He was left to raise Elizabeth by himself.  The following years, he slipped slowly into a deep depression, for his soul mate was gone.

Christmas of 1865 was fast approaching.  Being a practicing Christian, William still decorated for the holidays.  This would be the last time he would decorate the manor.   He had managed without Lillian for almost ten full years, but finally couldn’t take it anymore. He hung himself the night of December 24, 1865.  Extremely distraught, Elizabeth, 9 years old at the time, struggled with his death.  She had loved him very much, and was sad to see him go.  She tormented herself for believing she was the one that killed both her mother and father. She decided to keep living her life in the manor.  Because of the grief stricken by her father’s death, the Christmas decorations never came down.  She, along with a few townsmen, buried her father in the front yard near her mother's grave.  Following this, Elizabeth went into isolation.  No one is quite sure what happened to her after this incident.   

This story goes that she lived up until All Hallows Eve of 1908.  Sometime near the end of the 19^th century, it is believed that Elizabeth caught wind of the great Spiritualist movement that was started by the Fox Sisters in 1848.  She is thought to have learned about the movement while she was in town once or twice (always dressed in disguise) to obtain a few essential items for her survival.  She was said to have tried to contact her parents in the spirit world using many techniques, including the use of a Ouija Board.  No one is sure if she ever succeeded.  Some believe she aroused a demonic spirit in place of her parents.  The evil spirit may have pretended to be her parents, gained her trust, and then turned on her.  On Halloween of 1908, she is said to have died, perhaps by the evil spirits that had become part of her life.

So why did no one intervene to help her?  Common knowledge around the town at the time was that the house was vacant.  The tales, though, kept anyone at bay that may have investigated at the time.

So what became of the mansion?  For more than forty years, Greywood Manor sat vacant.  Then, in 1949, the Baywell family moved in.  Just a few months later, they moved out.  It is said that on Halloween night of 49’, the Baywell family encountered extraordinary ghostly activity that frightened them away.  Rumor has it that on Halloween Night of 49’, the ghostly Christmas decorations reappeared, along with signs of Elizabeth’s presence.  Had the Baywell family stirred up the spirits by making Greywood Manor their home?  Neighbors of the Baywells say that they must have left early on November first.  They left all of their possessions behind.  No one knows where they vanished off to.  It is rumored that they moved down to the state of Mississippi, wanting to have gotten as far away from Wisconsin as possible.  But others, perhaps the more sinister, believe they never left.  A newspaper ran a story on the report soon after.  An investigator left a copy in Greywood Manor’s attic, so the next family to move in would know what they were going to be up against.

After the Baywell family left, the house, again, sat vacant for another forty years.  In the year 1996, the Ruka family moved into Greywood Manor.  They, however, were smart enough to leave the house every Halloween night.  They would stay at a local hotel instead.  The haunting, apparently, still continue to this day.  In 2008, the son of the family, Justin, started to open the house up to the public on Halloween night as a form of paranormal investigation.  Every single person that has visited thus far has experienced something paranormal.  Come witness the phenomenon for yourself this next Halloween.  Relive the story of Greywood Manor!

Greywood Manor 2010

In my first content driven post, I wanted to give a brief summary, or overview, as to what Greywood Manor is all about.  I cannot think of a better way to do this than to post a video.

Following is a six minute edit of what guests experienced at Greywood Manor this past year. The content was recorded on All Hallows Eve; October 31st, 2010.  Trick-or-treating was held between the hours of 4:00 and 7:00 pm.  Thusly, you will see shots of both day and night, as this is what I must cater the haunt for.  The two main show scenes this past year were the cemetery and the attic.  I've compiled video from both, editing in only the music that goes with each scene or prop.  For clarity, the background noise was discarded, as to fully experience the ambiance of Greywood Manor.

Please enjoy!  More detail will come in following posts.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment as to the material you would like to see in future topics.

Welcome Foolish Mortals

To my readers,

Yes, the title says it all.  Welcome to this new blog!


This, however, is not about the Haunted Mansion attraction, as the title of this post might suggest, but of my own creation - Greywood Manor.  Greywood Manor is a unique, one-of-a-kind Halloween yard haunt I create for the trick-or-treaters year after year. Inspiration, as you may have guessed, is taken from the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion attraction.  Yes, I am biased to Walt Disney World's version, as that is what I grew up with!  I in no way directly copy anything from Disney's Mansion, however.  It is fact that you will find great references throughout my haunt to Disney's masterpiece, but Greywood Manor is something quite different.  I have combined compelling effects with great visual and auditory cues to create a compelling yard haunt - all driven by an interesting, original back-story.

I plan to use this blog to document my haunt - and the many detail driven aspects of it, as well as post on upcoming future items I am working on for this hobby of mine.  My hope is to post once a week, with the possibility that I'll lapse into bi-monthly postings if I don't have enough content, or if my college course work gets to me!  Preferably these will debut every Sunday, as to keep this blog orderly.

So here's to the future - a great 2011!  The first content driven post should be up the second of the year.

Enjoy,

Justin