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Tuesday
February 9, 2010 Since 1922 |
No rest for the wicked
By Tara Sullivan
The Baytown Sun Published September 28, 2008 Billy Maness and Mike Hanley have taken a page from Ike’s own playbook.
The warehouse attached to their Crosby auto accessory shop took a violent blow during the storm. Parts of the ceiling and outer walls were ripped apart, exposing the interior to the whipping winds of the storm.
As they walked through the facility post-storm, the mirrored walls (remnants of the warehouse’s previous life as a bar and dance hall) refracted bits of light filtering in from ceiling tears, while the dark, debris-laden floor cast an eerie feel.
“When we first came and walked through, my son said it looked like a haunted house in here,” Maness said.
Though the power was out around much of the community, two light bulbs flicked on at the mention of Halloween.
After some discussion it was decided: the eerie warehouse was to become Crosby’s House of Terror, a 9,000-square foot maze of Halloween fun and fear.
While others are mourning the loss of their homes and businesses, the duo turned their misfortune around, giving the entire community something to scream about. Since Sunday, they’ve been hard at work, not cleaning up, but ramping up the Halloween spirit unleashed by Hurricane Ike.
Maness has owned B&M Accessories in Crosby for about four years. The 9,000-square foot warehouse that will soon be Crosby’s House of Terror, is also the former site of Shooters Bar and before that, the Chicken Coop.
When the bar closed less than a year ago, Maness began wondering what to do with the large, empty warehouse.
Just before Ike made landfall, Maness and Hanley planned to convert the empty space into an extension of the accessory shop, envisioning several service and installation bays where locals once gathered to dance the night away.
Their plans were halted when Hurricane Ike ripped through the Gulf Coast.
In the shadow of a natural disaster, the two have found a way to bring a sliver of respite to the entire community.
“I guess we’re just big kids,” Hanley laughed.
Incorporating the debris blown in by the hurricane, Maness and Hanley quickly got to work planning and constructing. Hanley’s brother-in-law, Jamie LaRive, was also eager to grind the idea into a reality, and came on board to help with the carpentry work.
In fact, as word of Crosby’s House of Terror traveled through the community, many others came forward.
“We’ve had the whole community out here helping,” Maness said. “I think everyone just wants a break.”
With nearly 300 hours of labor already put into design and construction, Crosby’s House of Terror will open on Oct. 3, the first Friday in the month of Halloween.
Though they’ve invested about $7,500 in Halloween music, props and other scary do-dads, much of the haunted house came as a gift from the master of freight: Hurricane Ike.
“All of the aisles were made with tin that blew off the building,” Hanley said.
Also, large branches and debris blown in by the storm were incorporated into the scary scenes that line the maze.
Neither Maness nor Hanley had designed a haunted house before, but Ike provided great, creepy inspiration. With florescent spray paint, the two outlined the perfect maze, a DJ booth, and set aside areas in which costumed ghouls will hide and haunt.
Pulling ideas from the movies Halloween, It, Friday the Thirteenth, Saw and others, the haunted house will give locals a break from Ike, ushering in the Halloween season.
Feeling through the disorienting twists and turns of the maze, Maness and Hanley detailed a well-thought plan involving flying bats and diving clowns, illusions created by mirrored walls, black lights and strobe lights meant to confuse and much more.
Fortunately for them, Halloween suppliers in the neighboring community of Humble offered a steady supply of Halloween tricks.
Sounding more excited than upset by Hurricane Ike’s unrelenting terror, the two are inviting everyone to come out and enjoy Crosby’s House of Terror.
Crosby’s House of Terror is located at 117 Ulrich Lane, off of FM 2100, next to B&M Accessories.
Admission will be $10 per person and an adult must accompany children under 13.
The House will debut on Friday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m., and will be open each Friday and Saturday throughout the month of October.
Hours of operation are set for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
For more information, call 281-462-8046 or 713-502-1535.
The Baytown Sun Published September 28, 2008 Billy Maness and Mike Hanley have taken a page from Ike’s own playbook.
The warehouse attached to their Crosby auto accessory shop took a violent blow during the storm. Parts of the ceiling and outer walls were ripped apart, exposing the interior to the whipping winds of the storm.
As they walked through the facility post-storm, the mirrored walls (remnants of the warehouse’s previous life as a bar and dance hall) refracted bits of light filtering in from ceiling tears, while the dark, debris-laden floor cast an eerie feel.
“When we first came and walked through, my son said it looked like a haunted house in here,” Maness said.
Though the power was out around much of the community, two light bulbs flicked on at the mention of Halloween.
After some discussion it was decided: the eerie warehouse was to become Crosby’s House of Terror, a 9,000-square foot maze of Halloween fun and fear.
While others are mourning the loss of their homes and businesses, the duo turned their misfortune around, giving the entire community something to scream about. Since Sunday, they’ve been hard at work, not cleaning up, but ramping up the Halloween spirit unleashed by Hurricane Ike.
Maness has owned B&M Accessories in Crosby for about four years. The 9,000-square foot warehouse that will soon be Crosby’s House of Terror, is also the former site of Shooters Bar and before that, the Chicken Coop.
When the bar closed less than a year ago, Maness began wondering what to do with the large, empty warehouse.
Just before Ike made landfall, Maness and Hanley planned to convert the empty space into an extension of the accessory shop, envisioning several service and installation bays where locals once gathered to dance the night away.
Their plans were halted when Hurricane Ike ripped through the Gulf Coast.
In the shadow of a natural disaster, the two have found a way to bring a sliver of respite to the entire community.
“I guess we’re just big kids,” Hanley laughed.
Incorporating the debris blown in by the hurricane, Maness and Hanley quickly got to work planning and constructing. Hanley’s brother-in-law, Jamie LaRive, was also eager to grind the idea into a reality, and came on board to help with the carpentry work.
In fact, as word of Crosby’s House of Terror traveled through the community, many others came forward.
“We’ve had the whole community out here helping,” Maness said. “I think everyone just wants a break.”
With nearly 300 hours of labor already put into design and construction, Crosby’s House of Terror will open on Oct. 3, the first Friday in the month of Halloween.
Though they’ve invested about $7,500 in Halloween music, props and other scary do-dads, much of the haunted house came as a gift from the master of freight: Hurricane Ike.
“All of the aisles were made with tin that blew off the building,” Hanley said.
Also, large branches and debris blown in by the storm were incorporated into the scary scenes that line the maze.
Neither Maness nor Hanley had designed a haunted house before, but Ike provided great, creepy inspiration. With florescent spray paint, the two outlined the perfect maze, a DJ booth, and set aside areas in which costumed ghouls will hide and haunt.
Pulling ideas from the movies Halloween, It, Friday the Thirteenth, Saw and others, the haunted house will give locals a break from Ike, ushering in the Halloween season.
Feeling through the disorienting twists and turns of the maze, Maness and Hanley detailed a well-thought plan involving flying bats and diving clowns, illusions created by mirrored walls, black lights and strobe lights meant to confuse and much more.
Fortunately for them, Halloween suppliers in the neighboring community of Humble offered a steady supply of Halloween tricks.
Sounding more excited than upset by Hurricane Ike’s unrelenting terror, the two are inviting everyone to come out and enjoy Crosby’s House of Terror.
Crosby’s House of Terror is located at 117 Ulrich Lane, off of FM 2100, next to B&M Accessories.
Admission will be $10 per person and an adult must accompany children under 13.
The House will debut on Friday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m., and will be open each Friday and Saturday throughout the month of October.
Hours of operation are set for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
For more information, call 281-462-8046 or 713-502-1535.