The Hellview Cemetery caretaker, Mark Muncy’s alter ego.
Hellview Cemetery brings spooky fun and donates to local charities.
Every October for almost 20 years, Mark Muncy, 44, has transformed his yard in Northeast St. Petersburg into a labyrinth of horror he calls “Hellview Cemetery.”
Muncy was a regular at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights, but when he started a family, he decided it was time to bring the haunt to his suburban neighborhood.
What started as bloody handprints on the windows in 1996, grew larger each year as Muncy developed Hellview Cemetery, and his alter ego, The Caretaker.
According to Muncy, legend has it that St. Petersburg is filled with Native American burial mounds and forgotten cemeteries.
And Hellview Cemetery might just be one of them, he added.
“The whole area is a huge graveyard,” Muncy said. “You could have a house on top of one.”
As an avid fan of traditional horror, Muncy plans to have “classic monsters” this year, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Jack the Ripper.
One of Hellviews most popular characters is Madame Oar, a 19th century brothel owner who was rumored to be behind the disappearances of visiting sailors.
Some of Muncy’s most notable finds for the cemetery include an organ for the Phantom of the Opera room, an Overlook Hotel bottle from the movie, The Shining, and an authentic coffin from a flea market.
And for the grand finale – everyone’s worst nightmare.
A clown.
“I’ve always been Mr. Jingles,” said scareactor Aric Stevenson, 29. A veteran of Ohio’s notorious “Haunted Hoochie,” a metal-head’s scare house mecca where typical rules don’t exist.
During the first hour, Muncy gives what’s called the “Scooby Doo” version – a toned down, guided tour. Characters from cartoons and games guide young guests with a torch from the Minecraft video game to ward off monsters and “creepers.”
“We’ve had lines down the street,” said Dale Aden Jr., 44, a long-time Hellview volunteer.
The Hellview Cemetery is open five nights in October, for three hours each night. Muncy said the biggest night had about 1,000 people, doubling the average of 500.
Hellview is free and open to the public. However, donations are appreciated and given to three charities: Kind Mouse Productions, Child’s Play and Florida Bat Conservancy.
Information:
510 49th Avenue N
Oct. 23-25, 30 and 31
7-10 p.m. Line closes at 9:30
