Ghost Manor, a beloved Halloween attraction at Magazine and Second streets, has entertained thousands of visitors since its creation in 2012. But in its 13th year, the spooky spectacle’s luck has run out.
David Gentry, the mad scientist behind the musical, lighted, animatronic display, said the curse of road construction on Magazine Street has closed the attraction this season. Nearby demolition, digging and detours promise to snarl the thoroughfare in future weeks, Gentry said, and he can’t go forward with the 2025 display under the uncertain circumstances.
The progress of infrastructure work, as we’ve all learned, is unpredictable, Gentry said, joking that he hopes it will be all done “by next Halloween.”
Local entrepreneur and animating master David Gentry adjusts one of his singing skeletons on display at “Ghost Manor,” located at 2502 Magazine St. (Photo by Frankie Prijatel, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Ghost Manor is a splendid example of do-it-yourself seasonal home decoration run amok. The attraction features 85 custom-carved foam pumpkins, skeins of spider web, projected specters aplenty and a robotic skeleton named Dwight who serves as an otherworldly MC. Creepy lighting, fog and a 15-minute music track bring the exhibit to life … or death, as the case may be.
Gentry, a lawyer and owner of a music instruction business, said that he and his wife Jessica have probably invested $150,000 in the display over the years, including thousands in annual expenses, from security guards to dozens of gallons of fake fog juice. It’s a pure labor of love, totally free to the public.
Sure, Gentry said, he’s disappointed, but things happen. He said that the haunt has survived hurricanes and COVID, and it will survive this too. “I’m trying not to be too upset about it,” he said. In fact, he and his family plan to spend this season visiting other Halloween attractions and otherwise relaxing.
At most, he said, they may put up some small place-holding display in 2025, before resurrecting the full Ghost Manor experience in 2026.
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