There’s nothing to fear but fear itself … and maybe, family curses.
St. Petersburg resident Cody Meacham is weaving an elaborate story about the fictional, cursed Radley family, which centers around a haunted house in his parents’ front yard every October. The tale enters its sixth chapter this year, and it keeps getting weirder.
The story: A team of paranormal investigators discovers the ruins of a burned orphanage next to an old schoolhouse and attempts to piece together what happened there. In the basement of the schoolhouse, they find the remains of eight children and one middle-aged woman, who turns out to be Agnes Woodrow Radley, the matron of the orphanage. The team is haunted by a female spirit and at a loss as to why the orphanage burned, so now they are asking the public to walk through and help them figure it out.
Meacham picks a different Radley family member to be the focus of his house each year. Two years ago, the theme hinged on an inherited camera that reanimated corpses — Meacham called it the most movie-worthy of any of his storylines so far. Followers of the Radley Haunted House Facebook page were updated with the storyline for this year in early August. Since then, frequent posts have kept the anticipation building.
Meacham, 25, is a set designer at the Home Shopping Network and creates all of the scenery and props for the houses himself. This involves months of searching for materials, and months of labor. Local artist Frank Strunk, who works with metal, loved the project so much he created a gramophone for this year’s house and a wrought iron gate last year. Besides that, everything is handmade by Meacham.
Walking into the attraction is like walking into another world. That’s because when it comes to horror, Meacham is a big fan of letting environment tell the story. His inspirations include Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” the classic Universal horror film and the Haunted Mansion ride at Walt Disney World.
“I like realism with a touch of fantasy,” Meacham said.
This year’s house features walls lined with eerie photographs and images, and lots of dilapidated furniture (including creepy miniature children’s beds). The charred orphanage walls look authentic, and antique dolls and decorations complete the trip to another era. The fire, the story goes, broke out on Halloween night of 1933.
About a dozen of Meacham’s friends portray the characters in the story with elaborate costumes that are more haunting than horrifying.
Meacham also mixes his own audio track each year to fit the mood of the story. He says his favorite part of the process is doing the distress painting on scenic pieces, making them look aged and ruined.
“You have to be fully dedicated to something like this,” Meacham said.
Outside of the house, a documentary about the paranormal investigations at the orphanage is projected for those waiting to enter. Meacham’s neighbors volunteer to help run the entrance and manage the large and excited crowds that show up on a nightly basis.
Meacham said he created his first house in 2007 because his neighborhood never got many trick-or-treaters. The project has gotten bigger and more elaborate every time since then, and now thousands visit the street each year. Meacham’s concept has even received praise from Mike Aiello, one of the head directors at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.
The money Meacham raises from donations at the entrance goes back into the next year’s house, but he said he still usually goes into debt building them. In the future, he said he hopes to obtain a bigger space where he can put on a professional and free-standing attraction. Ultimately, he hopes to work on a design team at a theme park like Universal Studios.
The Radley Haunted House is located at 3900 19 St. N. and is open 8 p.m. to midnight, every Thursday through Sunday through Halloween. The recommended donation is $4.
Photos courtesy of Cody Meacham.
