Steven Downs
MARLBORO COUNTY — Residents on East Tatem Avenue are keeping a wary eye on the new family, the Downs, who moved into the big white house on the corner about two years ago. In recent weeks, terrible screams, flashing lights, and thick banks of fog have rolled out from the home at all hours of the day and night. This is because Steven and his wife Julie are working tirelessly towards bringing their Halloween display, a one of its kind Haunted House that wraps around their own home throughout the month of October, to undead life.
To the unpracticed eye, the Downs’ new home may be reminiscent of the Haddonfield, I.L. residence of fictional character Michael Myers fame, and Steven says tucked within Downs Manor are many hidden easter eggs paying homage to past horror movies and shows.
“We have felt a lot of support since moving here from Georgia and we are very excited about Down’s Haunted Manor this year,” says Steven. He and Julia say they are looking forward to starting off their scares at the McColl Elementary School Fall Festival October 4, before swinging back over to East Tatum Avenue to ensure everything is set and ready for the opening night of Down’s Manor.
The Downs say they plan to run Downs Manor every Saturday through the month of October, opening each night at 7 p.m. and costing only $5 to enter.
“If it gets dark early or we have a lot of people, we may start a little early and we’ll see how interest goes, we could run a Friday night here and there as well,” says Steven.
Gauging by those stopping to take a peek every time the Downs unveil some new section of their haunt to the neighbors, interest is already high.
“Feedback and anticipation so far have been awesome,” says Steven. He adds, “We have some exciting characters to terrify this year. Even though it was a lot more work, my wife, Julie, had this great idea of rearranging our haunt. The whole idea is to be a haunted manor, right? So, we decided instead of individual scenes, we would bring the whole set together as though you really are standing in a haunted manor.”
Steven still says it was a lot of work moving display pieces around, but ultimately agrees his wife was right. “I have to say it really does make more sense and flows better,” he acknowledged.
Something the Downs are proud of is all the candy they and their co-workers have donated to the upcoming Fall Festival.
“We realize that costs are high across the board on grocery items everywhere so we feel it is important to help out where we can to make sure kids have a Halloween scare to remember,” explained Steven. He added, “The nearest haunt is miles away and cost a lot for a ticket. By the time you pay for that and gas, you already have a good chunk of money invested. We want to be affordable and fun for our community to enjoy and talk about the next day.”
As of print, the Downs are looking good on main scare volunteers but say they can always use a hand with characters to terrify the crowd into behaving as well as to hop in should a main actor fall ill. Down’s Manor will operate on October 4, 11, 18, and 25, starting each night at 7 p.m. For more information, Steven Downs can be contacted at (770) 666-2411.