Ghosts, goblins, and guillotines!Matt Burne spreads his
Halloween spirit with two haunts ... and they're free!
By SHELBY ROHWEDDER
Weekender Correspondent
 As
you drive through the residential Wood Crest Estates in Clarks Summit you
just might think you're seeing the ghost of Mary Beemer.
According
to resident Matt Burne, Beemer, died on her Abington farm in the early
1800's and to this day quite possibly haunts the surrounding areas.
What you're actually seeing is the animatronic ghost operating on
a complicated system of pulleys, eerily lurking in Burne's home.
As a child in Clarks Summit, Halloween was more than the candy and
the costumes for 33 year-old Burne. Instead of who had the best costume or
mischievously got away with the best trick, Burne fondly remembers the
overwhelming sense of community spirit that surged through the area.
He attributes this spirit to the local Dr. Bush, who transformed
his Abington home into a house of horror every Halloween night. He
provided the entire community with a ghoulish setting in which to show off
costumes and over-indulge in Halloween treats. Burne said, "There was no
question about it. Everyone went there."
 After a trip to Salem, Mass. one year ago, Burne was reminded
of the Halloween pride that marked his youth and decided it was time to
stir up a little bit of haunted fun in the Clarks Summit area once again.
"I wanted to give back to the community what I got as a child," he
said.
With very little time left before the holiday, Burne and his
friends created a small, yet creative haunt consisting of smoke machines
and other simple effects in Burne's home. With little prior notice, they
were pleased with a turnout of approximately 200 people.
This
year, however, Burne said, "I'm a 33 year-old with probably a little too
much time on my hands, so we're going to do it right!"
With the
3,000 flyers in circulation and the eerie electronic ghost already causing
small traffic jams in front of his home, maybe you've already heard.
He describes The Haunt on Sean Drive as a "hardcore haunt, amateur
style." Burne explains that although this may not be up to par with
professional haunted attractions, it's as good as an amateur endeavor is
going to get and it's free.
It appears, however, that this haunt
took on a life of it's own and may possibly have some effects and thrills
that the commercial attractions don't, not to mention free candy for all.
"It's a Halloween event, giving kids a place to hang out for the
entire evenin," Burne said.
Maybe the area's professional haunted
attractions offer longer adventures with impressive special effects, but
chances are they do not have a fully operational guillotine. The Haunt on
Sean Drive does.
With the help of his contractors/friends, Burne
made a complete replica of a medieval guillotine from design documents
they found after researching how such a contraption works. The only
difference between this massive 150-pound guillotine and the original from
the documents is the wooden blade. But after watching it effortlessly
slice through heads of lettuce that really doesn't seem to matter.
After 7:30 p.m., when all of the younger children are heading home, the
Haunt on Sean Drive becomes Terror on Sean Drive where brave bystanders
can witness a beheading every 20 minutes or travel through the House of
Horror.
Burne's downstairs portion of his home will be transformed
into a five to six room walk through haunted house.
Although not
as large as professional attractions, Burne explained that many surprising
thrills are to be experienced, including an effect that involves his
jacuzzi/cauldron and a scuba diver. With the help of a friend in the music
industry who provided the professional sound and lighting techniques
paired with Burne's creative flair with chilling effects, the Haunt/Terror
on Sean Drive will surely be a memorable neighborhood event.
Staffed with 15 volunteers, Burne is expecting a crowd of 500 to
1000, making for a Halloween extravaganza that will have the kids talking
for days and returning year after year. With the laboratory named in his
honor, the Haunt on Sean Drive is enough to make even the infamous Dr.
Bush proud, not to mention spooked.
Starting at 6 p.m. on
Halloween night, 107 Sean Drive, Clarks Summit becomes the Haunt on Sean
Drive and at 7:30 p.m. is transformed into the chilling Terror on Sean
Drive for the brave-hearted. For more information call 586.0548 or log
onto www.seandrive.com.
If you're traveling on Halloween night
take Rt. 6 to S. Abington Rd., turn right onto Edella Rd., make a left at
the Methodist Church and take the first left onto Sean Drive ... or simply
follow the cries of Mary Beemer as she haunts her way through the Abington
area.
A note to our readers:
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