Most haunted houses pop up for quick
thrills during the Halloween season. But the Duncanville Boy
Scout troop that runs Red Oak's Reindeer Manor has something a
little spookier – theirs is haunted 365 days a year.
The Scouts, celebrating the 90th
anniversary of Troop 1 and the manor's 30th season as an
attraction, believe spirits inhabit the 17-acre property.
Though the Scouts' terrifying props and costumes are fake, the
deadly history of the house is fact, documented in newspaper
articles and accounts from the turn of the century.
"There are things that go on out here
that can't be explained," said Scoutmaster Jim Scott, peering
out from the house's control room. "People have experienced
things out here that make them sure it's haunted."
The manor's history is stormy. In the
early 1900s, James Sharp, a prominent pioneer and banker,
built a wooden house on the site, leasing it to a family of
immigrants. Around 1915, the house burned to the ground,
killing the entire family.
When he learned of the fire, Mr.
Sharp rebuilt the house making it as fireproof as possible
with the concrete, brick and steel walls that stand today. But
while Mr. Sharp was waiting for the manor's completion, he
either shot himself or was shot by his mistress in his home in
Oak Cliff. The coroner's report lists cause of death as "loss
of two to three ounces of brain matter."
Mr. Sharp's eldest son, James, moved
to the new manor, where he was a prosperous ranchman and bred
horses for racing. Rumor has it Bonnie and Clyde once stopped
by Mr. Sharp's racetrack.
Legend, rather than documentation,
dominates the next chapter of manor history.
At the onset of the Great Depression,
the young Mr. Sharp was thrust into poverty, and rumors of his
growing insanity spread. The final chapter of the Sharp legacy
found Mr. Sharp swinging from a noose in the barn and his wife
poisoned in the main dining room.
The house stood vacant until 1974,
when different organizations turned it into a commercial
haunted house. The Boy Scouts took over in 1982 and have run
it every season since.
Mr. Scott, who has lived on the
property for four years, said the house sees close to 10,000
visitors and makes about $60,000 every season.
The troop has averaged 30 members a
year over the last 90 years, and is one of the longest running
in the region. And the haunted house is one of the oldest of
its kind.
"We've had multiple generations
involved in this house," Mr. Scott said. "As much as it has
been a financial benefit, it has been pretty amazing the
abilities it has taught our kids."
Skills to scare
The boys build everything in the
house – from flamethrowers to collapsing ceilings – and learn
carpentry, electronics and engineering skills in the process.
Danny Alexander, who has two sons in
the troop and has volunteered more than 300 hours at the house
this season, said Reindeer Manor is a lesson in everyday life.
"We have 14-year-olds who can weld,
and kids younger than that who know all about plumbing, wiring
and cement work," Mr. Alexander said, walking through the
house to turn on the special effects. In the last year, he
said, Scouts even dug an underground tunnel under a mock
graveyard and are working to repair a broken-down hearse
purchased from a used car lot.
But the Scouts' first love is special
effects. From swinging axes to moving chairs and drawers that
open by themselves, the house is run by gadgets the troop
bought at Army auctions. The house is home to the original
equipment from Six Flags' Runaway Mine ride. And the troop has
a special flare for fire – around every corner something
bursts into flame.
With the increased pyrotechnics come
safety concerns, and the troop has made strides in the last
year in improving security and making the house comply with
Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Mr. Alexander's son Douglas, 14, the
manor's mad scientist, said the house has taught the Scouts
more than building skills – it has taught them people skills.
"This means so much to the troop,
because it's the one thing we do to make all our money,"
Douglas said. "We don't have to sell popcorn like other
troops, and it's taught us to be thankful for what we've got."
Variety of volunteers
The volunteers range from former
Scouts to teenagers assigned to community service at
Duncanville's teen court. These teens like the fact that they
can get community service hours doing something so fun.
Richard Kinney has spent every
October since 1987 working the haunted house. Back then, he
was an apprehensive 11-year-old Scout. Today, he wears his
hair in a bright orange Mohawk and carefully glues grotesque
masks on the volunteers.
"We get the 'troubled teens,' but
it's nice because our Scout mentality can really extend to
them," Mr. Kinney said. "They would never think of Scouting as
being cool, but they get the unnoticed benefits."
Sarah Shelton, a 15-year-old from Red
Oak who is volunteering for the second year, said the best
part is getting to scare friends.
"It's so fun, because everyone from
Red Oak and all around comes out for it, and it's our job to
freak them out," she said.
But visitors aren't the only ones
getting scared. Mr. Kinney said in his years at Reindeer
Manor, he has seen some terrifying things. Such as the time a
large mirror fell off the wall and shattered. When the Scouts
picked up the pieces, they discovered that neither the wire on
the mirror nor the hook on the wall was broken.
"Somehow that mirror had been lifted
off the hook and fell," Mr. Kinney said. "The house is
absolutely haunted, without a doubt."
Reindeer Manor opens at 7 p.m. Friday
and Saturday. For more information and detailed directions,
visit www.reindeermanor.com.
