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!