Haunted Theatre Wenatchee

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Wenatchee’s Haunt Tradition

In 2002, little theater group Mission Creek Players was struggling. They were renting a 3-story building on Mission Street and they had remodeled it into a small dinner theater space. To raise funds to pay the rent, actor Cindy Swager suggested a haunted house event. Local radio stations encouraged the endeavor with free advertising, and board member Cynthia Brown agreed to cast and direct the haunt actors while other local haunt lovers were recruited to help. The basement set and prop storage was raided to dress the many rooms of the old building on two floors. Large banners were placed on the main streets which simply said “Haunted House needs bodies - no experience necessary” - and volunteers started pouring in. That first year many lessons were learned, but above all money was raised to keep the rent paid, and a tradition was born.

After two years in their first location, the building on Mission street was sold to be remodeled into new movie theaters for the Liberty theater and Mission Creek Players was homeless. A few months went by and as Summer approached, haunt actors grew restless. One of the haunt actors was a reporter for the Wenatchee World newspaper, and he knew that the big rooms which once housed the giant printing presses in the building where he worked were sitting vacant. A deal was struck with publisher Rufus Woods, and the 2004 haunt was produced at the Wenatchee world building just down the street from the old theater. While building the haunt volunteers noticed the excellent sound qualities and high ceilings of the room, and when the haunt was done, another deal was struck for Mission Creek Players to remodel the space into their own theater space, with Mission Creek covering the cost to remodel the space into a theater with stage, lighting, fire exits and restrooms in exchange for a very generous $1-a-year 5 year lease. From 2004 to 2010 the Haunted Theatre was a community standby at Halloween, with completely new themes, sets, scenes and story lines each year. Cynthia Brown continued to produce and direct, and many actors, crew, security and designers came back year after year. Mission Creek Players also produced three to four full length plays, improv shows, classes, and community events and concerts the rest of the year.

The lease at the Pressroom Theater ended in 2010 with the “Last Dark World” haunt, and then in 2014 Haunted Theatre was “reanimated” at the Wenatchee National Guard armory. Since then, Mission Creek volunteers have searched for a new location to stage the Haunted Theatre, but have not found a suitable or affordable space.

Cynthia Brown and a few of the most dedicated haunters continue to haunt when they can, including the 2018 “Artifact” Halloween event held at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. We still believe in the community and family fun aspect of a haunted house event, working and learning together in the dark to thrill, scare and entertain.

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