Local Halloween aficionados all seem to agree that this year the most terrifying haunted house in Seattle is hands-down Georgetown’s Merry Manor, where strangers ghoulishly corner guests into small talk, eye contact and real invitations to hang out at specific dates and times.
“Honestly, I thought I could handle it, but when I got stuck in the dining room with that guy who popped up behind me and asked what my name was, I nearly had a panic attack,” said Thomas Greely after emerging from the house shaking. “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, he asked what high school I went to, what year, and then said since we both went to Garfield, we’re practically long-lost friends. It was a bit much. I think from now on I need to stick to more low-key haunted houses where people with masks only chase you with chainsaws while threatening to festoon their home with your entrails.”
Tara Perkins said that at every horrifying turn she hoped the person in the room was a ghost but they were all real people terrifyingly trying to open a conversation.
“In one of the hallways, twin women rolled up to us on e-scooters in Uggs to say they just moved here and wondered if we could be friends,” said Perkins, tearing up. “They kept making threats like ‘We should get coffee this week’ and wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to a specific date and time. If there is a hell, I hope it’s nowhere near as bad as what happens at 11 a.m. this Friday at Cafe Ladro.”
Merry Manor manager Bethany Webster says that although guests can leave the premises at any time during their haunted house experience, none have so far because it would require asking a stranger for directions.
