History

Marc Mancini decided one Halloween at the age of 10 to build a scarecrow sitting on a bench (as shown in the above photo with his brother Mike). When trick or treaters approached the house, Marc would stealthily control the scarecrow with a string through a nearby window, frightening all who drew near. This event was the spark that started a lifelong fascination with Halloween.

Shortly after, Marc with some of our original crewmembers, attended the Haunted House at Preston Elementary School's Annual Halloween Fair in West Harrison. In high school, Marc along with Mat, Rich, and Frank took over running the haunted house for 4 successful years. Preston Elementary ended the Halloween Fair in the 1990's. The search for a new haunted nightmare began and was finally created where the original scarecrow incident took place!

Inspired by Tales from the Crypt, the crew created the first working prop - a coffin built with a motor to automatically open and close the lid, revealing a ghost inside. This was the prop that led to the creation of other ghouls, goblins, and eventually inspired a yearly theme. We would begin to incorporate current news events and new horror movie characters.

One year later, a crewmember was building a prop outside for the Halloween experience, when a noise came from the wooded area a few yards away known as "The Paper Trail." He went to inspect the noise and emerged in alarm and panic running back to the house. Unable to believe what he had seen, he searched the West Harrison Library archives for an explanation and understanding. Out of breath and frightened he pulled the crew into the garage and relayed the what he had discovered...

In 1863, Jakob (Ikabob) lived with his parents in Silver Lake (West Harrison, N.Y). They lived in a 2-Bedroom apartment above the general store located on Main Street (as seen in the below photo). Jakob's parents died when he was 14 in a horrible accident. Living in an orphanage for three years, angry and feeling vengefully alone, Jackob escaped on Halloween night while everyone was distracted with the festivities. Residents, in an attempt to catch him, began to chase after him as he stumbled in fear and accidentally fell into the nearby lake where he eventually drowned. Residents dragged out his body and buried it in the "Paper Trail". It had been known as "The Paper Trail" from an old story where in 1771 a young boy, a letter carrier, used the trail while delivering military documents to General Washington, which the street leading to the "Paper Trail" is named after.

In the "Paper Trail", Jackob's spirit continues to reside and is awakened every October 31st as trick or treaters disturb him. All are chased away as he was, that fateful Halloween night. Every year at this location Jakob comes out in full force with his chainsaw to frighten all who disturb his peace. Will you be the next brave soul to encounter him...