Seasonal Highlights
ALL POSTS
Black Rainbow: Journal Entry #002
Chapter 2: Something Muddy This Way Comes This is the second entry in a multi-part series detailing my happenstance introduction to a community of artists, writers, and creatives who collectively make Metro-Detroit an interesting place to live. CLICK HERE TO READ CHAPTER 1: ALL WOUNDS BLEED INK It was a toasty July afternoon, my blue Chuck’s pounded the hot pavement…
The Lost Reviews
Scrappy & Deranged
Many a haunted attraction was sidelined this fall by the unrelenting spread of COVID-19 — from non-profits to high dollar, professional attractions, few went untouched by the pandemic that dominated headlines throughout 2020. Deranged, entering the crucial third year of operation, decided to implement the necessary changes so that the attraction could open as safely as possible, and it would…
Rotten Manor UnWraps A Bloody Christmas
When Rotten Manor first appeared in the pages of the Fear Finder back in 2015, it was evident from the monstrous facade that this haunt had big plans in mind. Awestruck by my visit on Halloween that inaugural year, subsequent trips in 2016 and 2019 revealed that Rotten Manor had expanded and evolved with impressive results. Having quickly gained a…
Black Rainbow: A Journal of Lucky Misadventures
This is the first in a multi-part series detailing my happenstance introduction to a community of artists, writers, and creatives who collectively make Metro-Detroit an interesting place to live. Chapter 1: All Wounds Bleed Ink Stating the obvious here, but I’m a big fan of horror. A good horror movie is a catharsis for the soul — a timely comeuppance,…
The Mortuary Collection Returns to the Roots of Anthology Genre
Honestly, I am astounded that fright fans are so often forced to defend the anthology genre of horror, because, quite frankly, it is the perfect union of form and function. Vaulted first into America’s mainstream by the equal parts infamous and iconic E.C. Comics, then galvanized through the poignant irony of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone, and ultimately enshrined into…
Halloween Hopscotch
Halloween was, as it always seems to be, a surreal, mad dash toward that invisible veil that separates our world from the next. My son, Lincoln, and I got an early start on our hunt for candy and made a stop first to Churchill Cemetery in Southgate, which was, of course, the subject of a recent story here on Horrorlust.…
Friendly Neighborhood Monster: Adam Grignon on Being A Home Haunter
It’s no secret that Halloween is big business these days, but in America’s Midwest that passion allows bleeds in many a home owner who craft elaborate yard displays and backyard mazes. We refer to these folks as “home haunters” and 31-year-old Adam Grignon proudly counts himself as a member of this curious slice of Americana. Adam and I share the…
All the World is A Mirror
I get to reminiscing sometimes, and I find the entries here at Horrorlust to be a portal to the past. I’ve made little to no time to chronicle my love of Halloween and haunted houses here over the last four seasons and that’s left me yearning for days gone by. This wasn’t an idle choice, of course, nor was it…
Cleveland Trip Underscored by Mix of Emotions
This past Saturday, I took to the road with 7 Floors of Hell and Bloodview on the agenda. It was a fun outing despite some rain but overall I did expect more from my maiden voyage to 7 Floors of Hell. The same can be said of my beloved Bloodview; this was my third trip to the haunt called home…
Derangement Syndrome Part II: Interview with Mike Fini
In Part I of my interview with Mike Fini, we discussed the origin of Deranged and his journey from home haunter to commercial business owner. In Part II of the interview we shine a light on style, theme and character development. Horrorlust: How would you describe the style and theme of Deranged? Mike Fini: I’d definitely say our style is…
Derangement Syndrome Part I: Interview with Mike Fini
Canton-native, Mike Fini is the owner of Deranged Haunt in Romulus, Michigan. He and I first became acquainted at an independent wrestling show held at the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor, Michigan in August 2011. He was making his Metro Pro Wrestling debut that night as an 18-year-old, high-flying babyface (good guy) known as Mike Marvel. I could be found…
Brotherly Love
The weather was admittedly crummy last night throughout Metro-Detroit, but most attractions defied the elements and remained open to the public. My brother, Jason, and I set off into the dreary night in search of fright. Once upon a time, my brother scarcely missed a haunt outing, but then he became a nurse and his work schedule seriously put the…
Sad Face, Happy Face
Ominous clouds roll through the sky, the wind carries a frenzied energy — it’s an ideal night to be one of the horde at any haunted attraction. Unfortunately, for your dear author here at Horrorlust, it’s a work night…and so is tomorrow. But, like last Saturday, I believe I’ll grace a few local haunts with my presence. Where I shall…
With Autumn Air, I Breathe Again
Silver moonlight showered the night, a crispness bit the air and I was alive once more. Last Saturday a local, double feature was just what I needed to kick the season off in style. As fate would have it, an old favorite returned to form and a promising upstart offered a preview of things to come. The Scream Machine was…
Autumn Equinox
Life changes and so too we change with it. My own life and the writings here at Horrorlust are no exception and in a future post I’d like to delve into that more but for tonight I’d like to simply focus on the arrival of the 2018 haunt season. My work schedule will keep me close to home most weekends…
Exit 13 Goes Bonkers
Last Friday, Exit 13 opened its doors for a little event known as Friday the 13th Massacre. But this was no ordinary night — well, there aren’t really ordinary nights at Exit 13. Suffice it to say, this production by the Monsters of Mt. Morris was extra special. You see, once the clock rolled past 10:30pm, patrons were made to…
The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be
A long, strange haunt season came to an end Saturday morning when John and I returned from Cincinnati fresh off of a maiden voyage to The Dent Schoolhouse. The Dent Schoolhouse turned out to be an ideal end to a Halloween season that brought winds of change. We reveled in the festive atmosphere outside the attraction where a haunters market…
Weird October
It’s been several years since I visited so few haunted attractions during the month of October. The season started normal enough on Saturday, October 1 with a trio of stops at Shawhaven Haunted Farm, Awaken and Jackson’s Underworld. A pair of weeknight outings organized by the Michigan Haunters Association then brought me to Rotten Manor on Tuesday, October 11 and…
Hank Hymen: Virgin Slayer
Hank Hymen: Virgin Slayer is a horror-comedy short released Halloween 2012 as part of an anthology special called Our Muddy Nightmare. The sketch, presented as a movie trailer, details the absurd case of a serial lothario Hank Hymen, who surfaces each October to seduce virgins — 31 of them to be exact. Hank is pursued by Detectives Rockford and Grant,…
