Something scary in Homer
Julie Ryan
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Features
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The Homer Mill and Haunted House's latest installment, which the owners proudly call "Frankenstein," plays four different scenes and even sings a morbid version of the happy birthday song. It's just one of many attractions for visitors seeking a good spook.
"We tried to make it so that there is something that can terrorize everyone," owner Lance Cuffle said.
Lance and his wife Susan purchased the white three-story building in 2006. It was built in the 1840s and ran as a mill until 1969. Local residents believed it was haunted, Susan said. Lance, however, thought the haunted house business looked like a fun endeavor.
"People have seen shadows, heard voices - weird things," Lance said.
He said workers were spooked while remodeling the mill and quit. He and Susan heard voices when they were the only two there, televisions turned on without prompt, and dishes have fallen four feet to the ground - failing to break, but spinning around instead. Susan said strange occurrences happen once a month on average.
The mill is now in its first year of operation under the Cuffles. The first-floor restaurant features Blood Curdling Appetizers, Hair Raising Entrees, Lurking Lunches and serves everything from grilled cheese to filet mignon. There are also two venues for live music and dancing on the weekends.
In September and October, the basement and top two levels of the mill operate as a haunted house. Guests come from as far away as California and spend at least 40 minutes tip-toeing through severed limbs, alligators, clowns and other props. Lance said they ushered through 15,000 guests last year.
Musician Alice Cooper, a haunted house enthusiast, rated the mill in the nation's top haunted houses, Lance said. Cooper has visited twice and sits on his own throne.
Cooper initially came to the mill because of Lance's special guillotine with a convulsing body. The guillotine's blade slams down, chopping off the head. The body then convulses, a feature designed by Lance, and blood splatters on visitors.
"Growing up on a farm, I know that things - like chickens - don't just die when you chop their heads off," Lance said.
Lance does most of the prop and animation designs himself, drawing from haunted house shows. He sends designs to friends at Distortions Unlimited in Colorado where they build them and sell back to Lance at cost. The Frankenstein scene cost less than $12,000 and could resell for $20,000.
Down in the basement sits Lance's favorite prop, the first one he purchased: The Shocker. Strobe lights and fog accent a man sitting in an electrocution chair as he convulses with black cloth shielding his face. The Shocker is built out of 800 pounds of polyurethane foam and nailed to the cement floor.
"Want to watch him again?" Lance asked after playing The Shocker for the second time. "I love him."
The Crazy Man also lurks in the basement. Visitors come across him chained to the floor and trying to escape, and employees at the Haunted House give visitors an extra scare when they pass by.
"On that one, we usually have chains in our hands," said Nick Smith, an employee who jumps out at visitors.
The top two floors lead visitors through a claustrophobia room, rooms of spiders and cockroaches and the disorientation room.
"We've got hallways of dead bodies and body bags," Lance added.
Next weekend the mill is holding a preview of this year's haunted house season, so thrill seekers can walk through the basement for a good spook.
"Our motto is, 'Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your Depends,' " Lance said.
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