CLARKSVILLE — The philosophy behind Psycho Mania: Theater of Terror is a simple one. The owners want to keep you scared and entertained from the time you enter the building until the time you leave it.
That’s is how haunted houses are suppose to be, they say.
“We don’t want to ‘boo’ scare them. We want them leaving here knowing they have been in a haunt,” said co-owner Phil Granger.
Granger, along with Matt Kemp and William McHugh, formed Fright Night Productions and have leased the old Greentree 4 theater in Clarksville and are turning it into a house with a theater and stage. Granger calls it “quite an endeavor” turning the former movie theater into a building of terror.
The building is being put through major renovations. The three hope to have all the work completed by June 1, which is more than enough time to begin scaring local residents at Halloween.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Kemp said. “Right now, the main thing is to get the roof patched.”
The group leased the building Jan. 1 and said 9,000 square feet of the 12,000 square feet facility will be the haunted house. One of the existing rooms will be renovated into a theater for high school groups to use or for independent film premiers, weddings or receptions. Those using the theater will be able to bypass the haunted house, as the two will be separate.
“It will be plush,” Kemp said of the theater. “The theater will be the last thing we finish. Our first priority is the haunt.”
Granger and Kemp are not newcomers to the haunted house business. The two teamed up for Fright Night, 31 Ways to Terror in Henryville and most recently the Chamber of Horrors, which was located in the basement of the Louisville Stained Glass building at the corner of Market and Pearl streets in New Albany.
“As far as the haunted house community, we were well rated,” Kemp said.
McHugh is making a movie titled “Screamer,” which is about haunted houses and said he has been following Granger and Kemp around for 2 1/2 years.
“They said they needed an investor, so I said yes,” he said. “We will record our own sound effects and we will have stuff here that other haunts won’t have.”
“This will be an interactive haunted house,” Kemp said. “Visitors will have to figure out a puzzle before they can get to the next room or get out of the building.”
While the three say their haunt will be intense, they said their characters do not chase or touch customers.
Granger said reaction has been positive.
“People have been asking questions, and when we tell them what we are doing, they love the idea,” he said.
Kemp said there is a year-round plan for the building “down the road,” which will include the use of the theater.
There is no date set yet for the opening of Psycho Mania: Theater of Terror. However, there are plans for a charity event in October which will likely coincide with the opening.
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