Igor’s Fright Shack has become hobby with horrific twist
RALPH – For creator Michael Moore, Igor’s Fright Shack in the village of Ralph has become an elaborate hobby with a classic, horrific twist. “It’s more like a scare that will last. With many Halloween displays, people jump out with chain saws. Igor’s Fright Shack has an interactive and ongoing storyline. It’s as if guests are walking into a play, and they become a part of it,” said Moore, who, by day, works for Siemens Westinghouse in Monroeville as a mechanical design engineer. He is a 1999 Albert Gallatin High School and a recent Penn State University graduate, where he received a bachelor of science degree in engineering science.
Moore, who was never in a high school production, admits he’s always had a creative side and has always looked forward to Halloween. When his neighbors are decorating for the Fourth of July, Moore is already crafting an elaborate set for the ongoing Halloween production. He continues working on it up until the minute of the productions, which are in their seventh year. They will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October from 7:13 to 10 p.m. There is a small admission fee.
Moore has recruited family, friends and the community to participate in the productions, which usually attract 1,000 visitors, who are up for a frightful night at his family’s property on Route 166 between Republic and Masontown at 526 First St. At least 25 people, ranging in age from 7 to 55, are part of the non-profit haunted attraction.
Moore started Igor’s Fright Shack in high school because he was part of a gifted team that created and patented an invention for the visually impaired in the Albert Gallatin School District. Since it was around the time he started Igor’s, he donated the money to the Fayette County Blind Association for two years. The haunted house was not actually a community service project, but simply because of his interest in Halloween, it sparked the creation of a haunted attraction.
All proceeds for this year and previous year’s productions have benefited the Fayette County Chapter of the American Heart Association. In 2001, money to the American Red Cross 9/11 fund. He’s also given proceeds to Penn State’s IFC Panhellenic Dance Marathon. To date, Moore has donated $4,100 to various organizations.
Moore has organized the productions with the support of his mom, Bernadine, a first-grade teacher at George J. Plava Elementary School in McClellandtown, and his father, Charles. His older sister, Melissa, a graphic designer who designs toys and who has done work with Disney on Ice, has also been supportive.
Moore, with the help of friends and family, made all the costumes. He’s built the props and buildings. He remembers having homemade tissue ghosts and paper bats hanging from the ceiling in his bedroom as Halloween decorations. He always looked forward to trick-or-treating in the “patch.”
In previous productions, a portion of the family’s large garage was used, featuring a gothic house inside the garage. Moore rewired the garage for the production, built doors and an elaborate set. This year’s guided tour production is an all-outdoor event, with a long trail that winds through the woods and ends up in a maze.
The first year, he designed black, plastic walls. The tour lasted only five minutes.
The following year, he built wooden walls and had working doors. He then added a script and a plot. This year’s tour lasts about 25 minutes.
“Guests come in and don’t get this kind of experience anywhere else,” Moore said. “When greeted by an actor, a cloaked traveler, someone playing a role in the storyline, that person interacts and the visitor becomes a guest. Tour guides tell them together they can travel, and he’ll tell them dark and twisted travels. When they meet him, they can tell they are eager to journey through the Haunted Hallow, which may be a mere Halloween adventure. But he’s in search of the old mansion.”
The facade is an old, concrete castle, with a 9-foot wall featuring dungeon spikes and a gothic archway with pillars. Moore describes the set as “the best looking year ever.”
Guests walk through an enclosed cave, family crypt and an old cemetery.
They end the tour in the mansion chamber, which is actually a maze. This year’s production picks up where last year’s story line ended.
As the story goes, it’s been three long years since the mansion was destroyed.
The dark creations of Master Igor became uncontrollable and receded into the depths of the Haunted Hollow, Moore explained.
Moore said they carried with them the remains of the mansion and laboratory, leaving few survivors behind.
Now, the Hollow rests quietly in the darkness, waiting for unsuspecting travelers to stumble upon its dreary countryside.
The main character is Master Igor, a mad scientist portrayed by Moore.
Igor tries to find ways to bring his father back from the dead during the Halloween journey.
There are different twists and turns, assured Moore.
In his Halloween creation, Master Igor creates zombies that can’t be controlled.
“Do you dare to join those that have passed this way before you? Perhaps you are brave enough to journey here – but heed this warning: Sometimes things are not as they appear, and just as the Hollow lies in shrouded darkness – so do all of the evils that lurk there,” Moore warned.
The production has grown to be “very elaborate over the years.” Moore believes it will continue to grow in years to come.
“I want to offer people an alternative to screaming maniacs with chain saws,” Moore said.
“I want to show people what true horror is,” he continued. “I want a part of our attraction to stay with them when they leave our attraction.”
Campfires are on site, and refreshments are sold.
“It’s everything a haunted attraction would be, but it is very family oriented,” Moore said.
For more information about Igor’s Fright Shack, call 724-322-6851 or visit the Web site at frightshack.com.
Directions to Igor’s Fright Shack are available on the Web site for anyone who isn’t scared to take the Halloween trip.