Jim Thorpe

The train parking was entirely full when we arrived, so we had to keep driving until we stopped by a church quite a walk away (thankfully my mom knew about a church, due to one of her friends parking there when she visited). Parking was $25, and we walked down to the train and visitor's center. Outside the center was an Italian bakery selling lots of food; it looked good.

We waited in line for tickets and thankfully were able to purchase ones for noon, which was less than an hour away. We went into the visitor's center right next to it and looked around. This town made its money through Anarcite coal, and used to go by Mauch Chunk, meaning "Bear Place," presumably after the nearby "Bear Mountain." It was named to "Jim Thorpe" due to the family of the Olympic guy wanting to name a town nearby after him, and despite him never stepping foot in the town, they won the bid and got his ashes to bury. This wasn't info in the visitor's center, but I read later that there were lawsuits about it. Huh.

It was nice to see Palmerton mentioned on one of the signs.

We went back outside and just waited around for a bit, Tim buying some bakery goods. I had eyed the blueberry scone before but decided to not buy it, only for Tim to buy it for me. Very kind.

A little before noon, we waited in line for the train, then boarded. It was a peaceful 45 minute ride, NOT in a loop, but rather out and back. Dad and I sat on one side of the train, while the rest sat on the other, hearing there'd be a "waterfall" on that side. In the end, the waterfall was a literal joke. Yes, literal. It was a joke. We definitely got the better side, and a lot of them stood up and looked out the windows on our side on the way back.

After the train, we walked up to the nearby mansion and checked that out. There was an anatomically correct deer statue, which was different. Then we walked back to the car, while visiting a few stops and the library on the way. It was nice.

Lehighton: Barn Door & Waldorf Estate of Fear

Our next plan was to take a tour of my aunt and uncle's haunted house that I hadn't seen in years, but have fond memories of (and think about a lot during October each year). I only saw the "new" location once (and it's hardly "new" anymore. I think he says it's been 13 years or something at this place, and it's their 20th anniversary for the whole thing.

Before that, we stopped at Barn Door in Country Junction and ordered food, while we waited for my uncle to stop by. I ordered Jalapenos Poppers; they were good.

My uncle arrived and he ordered a pizza, which took a while, and he talked about the attraction in the meantime, mentioning that they had over 300 attendees the first night, which was the most they ever had in 19 years (first night, that is). He doesn't seem to have ever watched the movies (nor is he interested in horror in general; he just builds stuff), but he says he's surprised how many people visit the place to take pictures, and that if my aunt's around and not busy, she'll offer to give them tours for $50 a person and a lot accept. Wow. They also have around 80 actors, which makes sense, given there are four attractions this year. He also mentioned that plenty of people have peed themselves. Wonderful.

It was a very short drive in the grass to get to the estate, and we got a pretty indepth tour of all four attractions, as well as some other stuff, like the food truck. I love having insider knowledge and learning how things work. They also have a tiny building (a little bigger than shed-sized) that sells merchandise. I didn't know they did so well with merchandise; apparently, they sell $1000-2000 for that a day, unless I misheard and that's all month. That's a ton.

The truck isn't even fully painted, given the back is hidden, so a little bit of it is still white (as opposed to grey) on the other side. He said that the deep fried oreos sold the best, costing so little for a single oreo, yet selling for a few dollars. His funnel cake was also frozen and cheap, and took a mere thirty seconds to make. Very interesting. He also told us about the fabled tree he'd pee on since it was too far to rush to the portable toilets (frankly, they might have a line during work hours anyway, though he didn't mention that as a reason).

We started with the Slaughterhouse, which we could only see portions of, since a lot of doors are apparently locked with magnets when the power's on. It was neat learning Bailey played a role in the Butcher place, "sacrificing" herself to save the customers, who were "part of" the exhibit (being followed by a butcher wanting to slaughter them?).

My favorite was Infection, because it was very atmospheric and kept to a common theme. It was really neat that all the broken down cars and boats and the like were old delinquent vehicles from storage. A great way to recycle. The Corn Field was fine, but probably my least favorite, since it was more of a homage to various scary movies instead of consistent theming like Infection, but for horror fans, that does sound pretty fun to have all these references one can point at. And the house itself was nostalgic, especially since it now has cult movie fame. I think I remember the bar room being used, at least, and I learned a fun fact that room 2C apparently moves around a lot (as in, they change where the "2C" label goes various years, I suppose to fit with whatever they're doing that year).

Seeing all the cameras was great, since that's the behind the scenes stuff I really like. I feel like that was in a movie or two too; I'll have to rewatch them, now that I've seen the house again, after probably over a decade. Apparently, when something goes wrong, a staffer walks in front of a camera and makes a big X with their arms, then the person in security turns on all the lights for that floor (one switch controls all the lights for one floor).

I love seeing the inner workings of things, and have nostalgia for their first haunted house that I worked at (just selling food), and I've been wanting to see this one for years. It's nice we finally got to do it again, and as a full (nuclear) family, to boot. I took lots of pictures, because I'm obsessive with recording stuff, given my memory is so bad now.