By Hunter Ingram, Star News Staff

Pineapple-Shaped Lamps is staging cult-themed horror experiences in the Bellamy Mansion and Burgwin-Wright House for Halloween.

WILMINGTON – A different type of horror is taking over two historic Wilmington homes this Halloween.

Local comedy troupe Pineapple-Shaped Lamps is turning their talents from the side-splitting to the spine-tingling for two immersive performative horror experiences at the Bellamy Mansion and the Burgwin-Wright House with “Wilmington Horror Story: Mansions of Madness.”

The idea for a different kind of haunted house quietly started last year, when the two homes approached the popular troupe about starting an annual event. Wesley Brown with the troupe said last year was a trial run to see if the concept could work. For this year’s four-night event, they are going all in.

“We decided early on this should not be your normal haunted mansion,” he said. “We don’t do normal.”

Instead of constant jumping out and scaring participants, the cast of more than 40 across the two houses will create elaborate performances themed to cults that welcome the groups of 10-12 people to participate. Inside each, they will interact with the cast and also be ushered from room to room as the horror stories escalate.

The tours through each house will take 15-20 minutes, he said.
In the Bellamy Mansion, guests will be ushered into a swanky party, given masks and told to quietly mingle and not call attention to themselves. But as the experience goes on, the secret society around them starts to reveal its darker intentions.

In the Burgwin-Wright House, guests will be introduced to a Jim Jones-style cult led by Emmet James, who lords over an all-female sect. But when one of the members starts to cause a stir, the night begins to unravel.

Brown said the troupe wanted to lean into the narratives of each home this year, creating richer stories to steer the night. But in the end, how much fear each experience invokes in the audiences rests with how willing they are to give themselves over to it.

“If you latch on and accept the reality we put you in, that’s when it gets scary,” Brown said.

The event will run four nights -- Oct. 26, 27, 28, 31 -- from 7 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $35 and include admission to both houses. Tickets can be purchased on the day of or in advance at Bellamy, Burgwin-Wright or Black Cat Shoppe.

Wilmington Horror Story won’t be the only one trying to scare up some terror this Halloween. Here are the other haunted attractions in the area:

• Carnevil in the Woods: Phobia Haunted Trial takes the horrors of the carnival (and of course, clowns) to new heights in the wooded area behind the Cardinal Lanes bowling alley at 3907 Shipyard Blvd. Details: 8 p.m., Fridays-Sundays through Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. $15 admission.

• Haunted Basement at the New Hanover County Public Library: Local teens named the Scare Squad have designed this haunted attraction that asks guests to descend into the basement of the main branch of the county library. Details: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 28, 201 Chestnut St., free admission.

Note: The Wilmington Star News published this story online on Tuesday October 17, 2017

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