Southside Sanitorium
‘It’s Not for the Faint of Heart’
Southside Mall and Luncheons and Dragons, located within the mall, have teamed up to bring Southside Sanitorium —a haunted house experience — to Southside Mall.
“Keith and Celeste Gray, owners of Luncheons and Dragons, came up with a nice community event for Halloween,” said Luisa Montanti, general manager of the mall. “They are the masterminds behind the creativity of the actual venue and how it will run through.”
“We’ve always loved Halloween and decorating for Halloween, and we were talking about ways to get people out of the house and into the mall. We had a lot of ideas, but the Southside Sanitorium was the best,” Celeste Gray said.
The Grays went as far away as Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida for ideas on the haunted house.
“We took a group of people to Orlando for Halloween Horror Week to see what they were doing for Halloween,” Ms. Gray said. “Of course, they have a much larger budget than we do, but we got some great ideas.”
According to Ms. Montanti, the haunted house is in a nice-sized area, utilizing every room of the former Myers Cabinetry space near TJ Maxx.
They have created seven different rooms to explore.
“Nothing is gory, it’s all jump-scares —people jumping out and things you aren’t expecting!” Ms. Gray said.
“We have a cemetery, a hospital, a graveyard, a clown’s room, a haunted forest, the Demon Netherworld room and Pleasantville,” Ms. Gray said. “Pleasantville is like a “Leave it to Beaver” room; everything looks normal but nothing is normal. It’s all in fun!”
The haunted house experience will feature a full-fledged cast of live actors, and all are locals.
“Friends and customers from our store heard what we were doing and they all came forward, wanting to be involved,” Ms. Gray said.
“They are volunteering with building props, decorating the rooms, and one of our actors has a lot of experience as a makeup artist, so she will be doing the makeup.”
“It’s been a lot of work, but it will be worth it,” she said. “We think people are going to love this and come back a few times.”
There is no age limit to enter the sanitorium; parents can use their judgement.
“Parents know their children better than we do, so it will be up to them if they allow their children to come in to the haunted house,” Ms. Gray said. “Some kids aren’t phased by anything; some are very sensitive.”
The Southside Sanitorium haunted house will offer up chills and thrills every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from October 6-29 as well as on Sunday, October 30 and Monday, October 31. Visit “Southside Sanatorium—Haunted House” on Facebook for more information.
“They are volunteering with building props, decorating the rooms and one of our actors has a lot of experience as a makeup artist, so she will be doing the makeup.”
“It’s been a lot of work, but it will be worth it,” she said. “We think people are going to love this and come back a few times.”
There is no age limit to enter the sanitorium. Parents can use their judgement. “Parents know their children better than we do, so it will be up to them if they allow their children to come in to the haunted house,” Ms. Gray said. “Some kids aren’t phased by anything; some are very sensitive.”
The Southside Sanitorium haunted house will offer up chills and thrills every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from October 6 through 29 as well as on Sunday, October 30 and Monday, October 31. Visit the Facebook page for more information: Southside Sanitorium.
