A Tale of Two Locations

At least I'm no longer the only one who thinks there's something eerie lurking right around the corner.

We've shot at numerous locations over the past three weeks, but the two I want to focus on are the Mansfield Reformatory and the Bissman Building.

The reformatory is possibly one of the most deliciously creepy places I've ever been to. I invite you to visit the website and take the virtual tour at http://www.mrps.org/, but I also have to say that viewing the images pales in comparison to actually being there. It's the kind of place where the norm is to have encounters of a supernatural nature, and you're the odd one out if you walk through it without at least a chill running down your spine. A cell where a former inmate was shanked to death and stuffed under his cot, entire floors of lead paint peeling off the walls and bars, a chapel where the echoes don't stop even after everyone has long ceased saying anything: the reformatory is a horror fan's dream come true.

But that's not all! The Bissman Building, located in downtown Mansfield, has been used to film several scenes, and it too comes equipped with built-in creepiness. Constructed in 1886 and used to supply foodstuff to nearby groceries, Bissman has been frequented twice of late by ghost hunters. The two most prevalent presences, it is claimed, are the spirit of a man who was decapitated by the lift that goes up the center of the building, and the spirit of a little girl who apparently drowned in the basement. And let me assure you, the basement--where a scene was shot last week--really is a very unnerving place.

But the weirdness isn't isolated there. Donna Williams, the script supervisor who also plays the character 'Rebecca' in the movie, rushed into the room that we were doing make-up in the other day looking quite blanched. She said that she was sitting alone in one of the first floor rooms when she felt something move behind her and saw something out of the corner of her eye. I could tell from her tone that she was most certainly not kidding around.

So needless to say, production couldn't have chosen more appropriate locations to film a horror story! And now half the cast and crew are looking over their shoulders from time to time...