'Haunted' by Childhood Memories

Spooky fun from Halloween's past have inspired the Haunt on Sean Drive...

Every Sunday afternoon, they've watched as a team of workers hammer and nail, measure and saw, paint and glue in his driveway, which wouldn't be unusual if his home was under construction of if Burne's hobby was carpentry.

But his home is finished, and he doesn't spend much time building his own kitchen cabinets. So the folks in this quiet S. Abington Township street wondered what was going on as they watched the group assemble a graveyard on the lawn by spray painting pieces of Styrofoam in the dullest of gray shades.

They've grown more and more interested each week as they peeked through their curtains as Burne and his friends, Steve Sacco, Tony Cerra and Bill Wirth quibbled over the size of the blade for the guillotine they constructed, or as Greg Smith played the not so-enviable role of the criminal ready for beheading (because every good haunted house offers a beheading or two each night - at least) and they've casually slowed down their SUV's when turning the corner just to catch a glimpse of what Stephanie Roverts and Joy Sacco were doing with all that cheesecloth.

Anyone brave enough to ask was told, "It's all part of the Legend of Sean Drive."

Inspired by fond childhood memories of Dr. Bush's house, a place he and all the kids in the Noble road area of Clarks Summit dared to enter after they finished trick-or-treating for the night, Burne, who is now a 30-something, decided to create the same kind of eerily happy memories for the kids in his neighborhood and beyond. He invites everyone to his own haunted house where the admission and the candy are free, and the screams of terror are an added bonus.

Burne and Wirth can't remember all the details of the festivities, but they do remember looking forward to that night for weeks before Halloween. There was lots of candy and creepy sites, and it was the place to be for anyone under 5 feet tall and incognito. "I never even got through his house," Burne said, "it was such a mob scene. It was great and it was such a nice way to cap off the evening."

Wirth agreed. Though memories are fuzzy, he said the Bush house was the place everyone ended up at the end of the night. "I do remember a casket out front and a couple hundred people there," he said. "It just seemed like the place that everyone hung out after they were done trick-or-treating."

With thoughts of Halloweens past on his mind, Burne created a haunted house last year with the help from about five of his friends. It was well attended, as he distributed fright and sugar bliss to about 250 kids. "Last year we were working on a smaller scale," he said. "We've learned a lot since then and this year are going bananas. This year I have 15 people working it."

Researching everything on the internet from the best techniques for creating spooky fog to making an animated ghost, Burne can't wait for one of his favorite holidays to roll around. He's learned that to create the kind of low-lying fog that lingers close to the ground, hovering near shaky ankles of tiny ghouls and goblins, one must chill the fog. "Usually when you have a smoke machine, it's hot. So to make it lay on the ground you have to chill it," he said. As for the cheesecloth mentioned earlier, it make the ghost that's been taunting Sean Drive for the last few weeks as she sways in the upstairs window.

Burne explained the Legend of Sean Drive center around a ghost named Mary Beemer. On his website www.seandrive.com, her story unfolds as follows: "In the early 1800's, there existed a small farming community named Ebbington (eventually called the Abingtons) just outside of Slocum Hollow (eventually called Scranton). A woman named Mary Beemer moved there from New England with her husband and ten children. She was described as being very finicky and curious female. One Halloween night during a terrible storm, Mary mysteriously set out into the woods on horseback. It is believed that she intruded upon the home of an old witch who cursed her to haunt those woods forever. Exactly what happened is still a mystery, but the undisputed fact is that her horse returned without her and she was never seen again. Until now..."

Burne created the legend to creep out the current generation similiar to the way that Dr. Bush did for his generation 20 years ago. He has posted the complete legend and pictures of the Haunt on Sean Drive as well as a link to the biography of the real Mary Beemer on his web page and in the 1,000 flyers he has distributed to kids though out the Abingtons.

Those who dare to go to the haunt will pass the graveyard and see Mary first-hand before they enter. They'll enter a smoke-filled corridor, with flickering lights and candelabras to the left (parents will be pleased to know the candles will be electric for safety reasons), and they just might encounter a vampire in their path.

As they continue down the hall, they will pass a jail cell with an inmate gnawing on the bones of his former cellmate before they stumble upon "Dr. Bush's Laboratory," a mad scientist's wonderland of glowing beakers and magic potions in honor of Burne and Wirth's good friend from the past.

Before the night is over, visitors will meet a witch who will faithfully stir her glowing red cauldron on bone filled brew (which is really a jacuzzi with some minor adjustments made to it) and kids just might get a surprise when they reach for the candy that "Witchy" offers them too. Little ones are welcome to join the festivities from 6 to 7:30 p.m., when Burne said the house will be scary, but not too scary for kids ages 7 and under to enjoy. after 7:30 p.m., older children will have a chance to witness a beheading every 20 minutes until 10 p.m. before they take their tour of terror.

Anyone brave enough can follow these directions to the haunt, which will be held on Halloween night only: Take Route 6-11 to South Abington Road. Turn right onto Edella Road, going past Burchwood Racquet Club. Continue straight up the hill for two miles until you reach the Church of Latter-day Saints. Bear left around the church and take your first left which is Sean drive. At the first intersection you will see Mary, and then you know you've reach the Haunt on Sean Drive.