Terror fills the streets and haunts St. Petersburg this October with Dr. Radley’s Nightmare Machine Haunted House.
Producer Ricky Brigante and creative director Cody Meacham set up the haunted house in front of a private home for the eighth year running. located at 3900 19th St. N in St. Pete. It is open select nights with a suggested donation of $5.
It is Brigante’s first year with the Radley House, but he brings new tricks to the Old Northeast neighborhood favorite, including improved sound, lighting effects and “trigger effects”. For the first time at Radley, scare actors can use the trigger for sound and lighting effects on command.
Meacham created and developed the Radley family and brought them to life. The Radley family is cursed, and every year Meacham and his research team explore a different family member and their terrifying curse.
A short film was projected on a screen in front of the house as guests waited in line to enter the house of horrors. The film gave guests a quick back story on the cursed Dr. Radley.
Ready be to scared? Check out our plot synopsis below, but beware of the spoilers.
Dr. Radley suffered from nightmares and was determined to cure himself. He began to study his illness in more depth. He became a sleep specialist to help himself through treating his patients, but he was not successful.
During his travels, Dr. Radley came across an artifact he was mysteriously drawn to. It was a giant stone in the shape of an owl. He impulsively took the stone and brought it back to his office. His patients had great results while Dr. Radley’s nightmares grew significantly worse and extremely vivid.
Dr. Radley was always haunted by a creature, but he could see it clearly now. He discovered the creature’s name: Somnus, the god of nightmare and the stone he discovered in his travels. As his nightmares grew worse, the less he slept.
It didn’t take long before Dr. Radley’s insomnia caused him to slip into insanity, Meacham says. Dr. Radley’s obsession with subconscious human brain consumed his life. His patients suffered as he conducted unruly experiments to extract nightmares. Dr. Radley believed that “after extremely traumatic events the human brain could virtually reset.”
Meacham says Dr. Radley’s patients began to die during the experiments, but Dr. Radley found use for their bodies. Dr. Radley developed a machine used to access the user’s subconscious and extract nightmares, using human bodies as a power source.
The nightmare machine did not extract the nightmares, but instead brought them to life.
Today Dr. Radley is dead, but the power source remains and the machine still operates. The house is kept alive by the spirit of nightmares, Meacham says.
As brave guests take a step into the Radley House, they find themselves trapped deep inside Dr. Radley’s nightmare. The house becomes a twisted maze of distorted logic and strange passageways and spirits lurking in dark corners.
The scares of Radley are just minutes from campus. But beware of the extent of the scare to be found. The Radley Haunted House is recommended for ages 8 and older.
If you go:
Dr. Radley’s Nightmare Machine Haunted House is located at 3900 19th St. N. It is open 7:30-11 p.m. on Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1-2. Guests are suggested to donate $5. Visit RadleyHaunt.com for more details.
