SALEM, Va. – Owners at The Meek's Manor are putting the final touches on the haunted house in Salem ahead of the grand opening next week. After more than a year of planning and design, The Meek's Manor will open to the public on September 28.
From the outside, the house on the grounds of HopeTree Family Services doesn't look too scary. Inside is a different story.
Creators, Jess and Joe Palotas teamed up with Scott Gibson the day after Halloween last year to start working on the project. By Christmas, they had signed a lease with HopeTree and have been working on writing the story behind The Meek's Manor and creating the haunted house ever since.
"We definitely try to play on everybody's phobias. Each room is completely different than the one you just went through," says Joe Palotas. "There's none of this one room looks exactly like the next and the next, and then when you finish your haunt you don't know which room was your favorite."
While the crew behind The Meek's Manor has created other haunted tours before, this is their first major undertaking of this size. They say support from the community and other haunted houses throughout Southwest Virginia has been key.
"We're the only commercial haunted house in the Roanoke Valley, which is cool," says Scott Gibson, a co-owner of The Meek's Manor. "There's been a lot of support from other haunted houses to what has been really cool, it's been a real experience."
One of the biggest things that makes this house different from any other is the storyline. Instead of just going in and starting to decorate, the creators set down and wrote a horror story.
They took that story and used it to create the haunted house, making sure each room adds to the story that guests will learn as they move through the house. Creators say The Meek's Manor will have guests feeling like they just walked into a horror movie.
If the full tour is a little too scary or you're interested in getting a closer look at the year's worth of work that went into the intricate design of each room, you can check out the lights on tour on Sundays. That's another unique aspect of this house, a chance to take a tour without actors jumping out to scare you. It gives visitors time to spend in each room checking out the design.
"We worked so hard on our artwork, it's like a big art show. We really want people to come in and learn about the story," says Jess Palotas. "It's basically going to be like a tour through the house. We're going to tell you what each room represents to the story."
The Meek's Manor is teaming up with HopeTree Family Services to make this a reality. The haunted house itself is on the HopeTree campus. A portion of the proceeds will go to support at-risk children and youth, making a big dent in the more than $1.5 million HopeTree spends on care each year.
"It will make a big difference and we hope that other people will see, if these guys can get involved and do something to help the kids, then we can do that too," says Mark Early, the director of communication for HopeTree Family Services.
The Meek's Manor and HopeTree are also working to raise awareness about foster care and other work the organization does to support families throughout the community.
Admission is $15 per person and parking is $5 per car.
To buy tickets for tours of The Meek's Manor, click here.