Reindeer Manor is ready to put the fright back in Halloween

By DANIELLE PARKER
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 5:09 PM CDT

Over the past century, the property located at 410 S. Houston School Road near Lancaster has become infamous for its legends of ghosts and spirits that still inhabit the area.

While one Boy Scout troop has been bold enough to brave the haunted house, known as Reindeer Manor, the land has been known for its history of the eerie and mysterious.

“In the early 1900s, a prominent oil tycoon by the name of James Sharp built a home on the site,” Richard Kinney, Public Relations Director for Boy Scout Troop 1 said. “He rented the home to a Swedish family, who were later killed in a house fire after lightning struck the wooden home.”

“Sharp had the property rebuilt, using only brick and concrete this time. But before he finished, he was found dead in his home.”

Sharp’s eldest son, James, Jr., moved onto the property along with his wife, but sometime during the Great Depression, they were also both discovered dead, according to Kinney.

“The property fell into ruin over the next decades,” he said. “There are some disturbingly strange things that have happened here and people that live around here can attest to it. But the house stayed vacant until the mid-70s.”

Reindeer Manor was opened as a haunted house in 1974 by the Red Oak Volunteer Fire Department. Throughout the following years, several other organizations used the manor as a fundraising opportunity, until 1981 when Duncanville’s Boy Scout Troop 1 took over the site.

Sponsored by Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville, the haunted house has been the troop’s product, where they not only participate, but also manage.

“Reindeer Manor is planned, run and designed by Scouts. It is not just the adults working and giving the money to the kids,” Kinney said. “They are out here every weekend working their rears off. And they knock out a few merit badges at the same time.”

In cooperation with the 13th Street Morgue and Dungeon of Doom – a haunted house inherited from the Arlington Museum of Art – Reindeer Manor is unlike any typical haunted house, Kinney said.

“This is not a pop-up-and-say-boo kind of deal.” Kinney said. “We are more like a theatrical presentation, with real actors that interact with the guests. There is a little stage production in every room.”

Preparing for its 35th season, Kinney said Reindeer Manor is one of the longest running haunts in Texas.

Scouts put in long hours beginning in late July to make sure Reindeer Manor continues its legacy of terror.

“We are turning boys into men,” Kinney said. We teach masonry, carpentry, electrical, skills they can take with them. We expect them to learn the projects, then turn around, execute it and finish it.”

Most admit the work is hard, but the Scouts also confess they are loving every minute of it.

“I have fun experiencing something I never have before,” James Moffitt, 14, said. “Each year we are learning new skills and operating different equipment. I am doing something I have never done.”

While the labor that goes into this project is great, Beans Garon, 16, said he is looking forward to show season.

“I enjoy that first group that comes through opening weekend,” Garon said “That is the best part. I’ll be a part of the graveyard scene and I can hardly wait. ”

All proceeds go toward Troop 1 and Venture Crew 3, both out of Duncanville. Kinney said the funds raised will benefit these young men for years to come.

“Working out here since I was 10,” Kinney said, “I owe a lot of who I am to the project. Because of this haunted house, I have been scuba diving, white-water rafting and on tons of adventures I never could have been able to pay for.

“This project enables kids of any financial means to fully participate and get the most out of Scouting.”

Although they are still young, the Scouts can already appreciate the experience and memories they have gained.

“I can say I have a great time every year,” Cody Jankowski, 14, said. “It is worth all the work in the end.”

Reindeer Manor opens Sept. 27 and runs every Friday and Saturday until Nov. 8. Gates open at 7 p.m. and close at 12:30 a.m. For more information visit reindeermanor.com.

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