This spooky season, the Meddin building, located at 34 Woolfe Street, plays host to its inaugural Holy City Halloween, the first haunted attraction to come to downtown Charleston in 26 years. What could be a creepier set than the 17,000-square-foot warehouse? It was originally built in 1914 as an ice house before it was converted into a brothel, then later transformed into a meat packing plant. It was then abandoned for a decade before its conversion to a theater.
Born and raised in Charleston, event designer and 25-year producer Lawson Roberts has had his eye on the Meddin since he learned The Alley — where he organized the annual Studio 300 Halloween Party for 11 years — was closing. As the time had come for a change, Roberts decided he no longer wanted to plan the standard one-nighter, but rather a seasonal event. Because his vision required a team of top professionals, he reached out to Tripp Storm, art director and 50-plus-year theater vet, Thomas Smith with IES Productions, Jeff Booth, creator of the Barbie Party and Boomer Oyler of the Becket Agency. Roberts said, “Although these highly talented individuals have always competed on various projects, his concept was a unique opportunity to form a collective collaborative.”
Having grown up in the acting world, Roberts’approach for the haunted attraction came from a theatrical perspective laced with comedy in horror and waves of terror during the moments guests let their guard down. “The adult immersive and interactive experience had to be over the top,” he said of the production, explaining that as the storyline evolved, it became weirder and more grotesque. “The plot began with the question, ‘What would happen if tainted meat came through the ports and into the packing plant and killed everyone in Charleston?’” With this foundation to build on, the team created a script for actors such as brothel prostitutes, a disheveled Marie Antoinette, a fortune teller reading tarot cards, a night watchman, zombies, bizarre and terrifying clowns, along with other surprise characters who must remain off the record to avoid spoiling the jump-scare elements for guests.
Behind the scenes, a professional team of women run the show: from admin to makeup artists, to wardrobe mistress Chrissy Eliason. Regarding set design, the attention to detail along the 10-12 minute tour pays homage to the building’s cryptic history, incorporating a freezing ice room for housing cadavers, a machine room original to the building and a butcher room, decorated by the theatrical team from IES and Universal Studios. The authentic meat hooks and vintage meat grinder that still functions was donated to the production by Cordray Meats.
“There’s a family aspect to this as well,” Roberts said, “where the brothel ladies become the three witches from Hocus Pocus. We also have cotton candy, popcorn, aerialists, DJ Stilt Walker, giant Jenga and tic tac toe, as well as face painters. We have gone the extra mile to make sure kids won’t get PTSD from any of the fear factors here.”
Roberts said he expects 40,000 guests to come through Nightmare this first year. To avoid long lines, he advised purchasing the $100 VIP ticket which includes a bump to the front of the queue, along with one hour of open bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres such as pork tenderloin sliders, ham biscuits, charcuterie, grilled veggies and all the Halloween candy one can eat.
Nightmare runs Wednesdays-Sundays through November 2 and are $25 each. For the family experience Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, times are from 5-7 p.m., and the adults only section runs from 7:30 to the bewitching hours. Tickets are available at www.holycityhalloween.com.
By Sarah Rose
