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Nevermore: The Madness of Poe


Mark M.
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I have to say, I was quite disappointed the two times I went through this house. The creep was there but there was very few scares. The opening poe was good both times I went through, the dancing room was good both times, the ravens were good one trip.

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This was one of the best houses of the night. It was a real treat to get to walk though some of Poe's works and to get to see the master himself (Was I the only one who wanted to give the guy a big hug?)

Another thing this house succeeded in doing was making all the Poe's feel like they were the same person...it felt like there really was only one Poe in the house even though he appears in many scenes...so congrats!

Edited by cwoolboy
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Another thing this house succeeded in doing was making all the Poe's feel like they were the same person...it felt like there really was only one Poe in the house even though he appears in many scenes...so congrats!

I agree with this so much. It really felt like I was following Poe throughout the house, like they were all the same actor. That was pretty nice.

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my favorite poe is the madness room poe, i think is the room with the giant books, he is so insane lol, My favorite poe,

well, All the poes were great, the beginning poe did a really great job too, with the bottle, one poe was sitting down in the beginning writing, the actors doing Poe are doing a terrific job

God I LOVE this house! i think i might go in this house more than the others

Edited by black mask
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Thsi house was awsome :))) very cool I had some good scares, the min. I walked into the house I kneew I was going to like it. The rooms were really cool and Poe looked dead on. but it pissed me off the stupid attractions attendent kept telling me to keep moving so i really couldent look around to much. I have to go back to this house for sure.

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This house is beautiful. It is hands down my favorite, as I knew it would be. I am so glad it lived up to my expectations, which is saying A LOT. I absolutely love that the house is about Poe himself as much as the stories. Having read many of his works, and biographies on him, I think they did a wonderful job portraying Poe and his works. I will be going back and re-reading everything immediately!

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Nevermore: Madness of Poe

-I'll come out and say that this is probably my current #1 (though Winter's Night & In-Between are nipping at its heels).

-The facade, while not nearly as expansive as say HAVOC's, is no less brilliant. It's subtle in its effectiveness. Very foreboding. The script projected onto the side of the tent is very cool and adds to the effect as well. The perfect facade for this house, I'd argue.

-I know some people are turned off by the fact that Poe appears in some of the stories... I disagree. The story is very well told. Poe, already distraught, greet us at the beginning of the house. He becomes increasingly more distraught and insane as we progress, succumbing to the horrors of his falling apart life and of course the devil's nectar. By the end, the Madness has consumed him and he's gone completely delirious - and his stories have all blended together to take us into insanity with him. It's poetic and I dig it.

-I'll just say the costumes and sets throughout the entire house are spectacular and prove that the tents can be just as impressive as the soundstages. Mind blown by some of these, seriously.

-Telltale Heart is unfortunately probably the least impressive space. You stay off to the side of it, and it isn't well-lit, so few people get to really appreciate the trippiness of the room. The scare is also very predictable.

-Luckily everything picks up from there. The Raven, I think, made a bold move in having all 3 Ravens be "real" and not statues... I think it works. For first-timers, they're expecting only one to be real, so it allows them to be shocked when all 3 attack. For returning victims, it keeps the Ravens on their toes to use their environment (the silky hanging material) to their advantage to keep geting scares. They were great every time I went through.

-Pit and Pendulum is awesome... the sets are crazy. I didn't expect an actual working pendulum!

-Masque of Red Death is now among my favorite scenes in my time at HHN... the first trip through this scene was terrifying, and return visits don't dissappoint. The movement through the several rooms is a great nod to the story, but it's the masquerade that takes the cake. The Red Death above takes away your focus, allowing the seemingly fake dancers to spring upon you. I seriously can never remember which dancers are real and which aren't (a great haunt design strategy), which keeps this room very fresh. The Red Death also seems to be able to pick up on return visitors watching for the dancers, allowing him to surprise you when you turn away from them. Throughout the weekend I think two dancing podiums were broken and one was missing a dancer altogether... I hope this gets fixed.

-Fall of the House of Usher or Poe's house? I'm not clear on which this is. Poe appears above in the scene (an epic and very impressive moment), but a corpse-like woman emerges twice here. I figured this was the Lady Usher from the story, but now I'm hearing it's Poe's deceased wife which contributes to his madness. Either way, the scene is suitably epic.

-Black Cat... ahhhh love it. Good use of having two booholes directly next to each other... You aren't sure where to look, so either Poe or the Axed Wife could nail you.

-Finale Room... wonderful. That Poe is just brilliant, he was screaming Nevermore at us and gliding around the room. The strobes are great, I love the set design and how bits and pieces from all of his stories attack you (and of course, the Raven at the end, who always gets us!)

Suggestions for Improvement: There really aren't many, this house is incredible already. Fix the stationary dancers in the Masque of Red Death and add the missing one to really complete the scene. If they can manage it, they should add a second actor to the Telltale Heart scene (in the dark corner far away from the guest), or at least light it up a little more so guests can appreciate the mind-f*ck that it is. I'd even recommend making one of the Ravens a mannequin if it meant getting another actor in here, it needs it.

Facade: A

Sets: A

Costumes: A

Atmosphere: A+

Scares: A

Finale: A

Opening Weekend Grade: A

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I have a couple of questions about some of the set pieces in this house. There is at one point, a mummy, a man holding a severed head, and something rotted in a hanging cage. Does anyone know what these pieces are referring to? Also, in the room with the staircase, there is a large portrait of a dark-haired woman, behind which appears a ghostly blonde woman (or at least I think, I've only seen it once or twice). This reminds me of Ligeia, but I'm not sure if that's what it is referring to. I guess this could also be a scene reflecting Poe and the loss of his wife, since there is a ghostly lady in the room as well.

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I have a couple of questions about some of the set pieces in this house. There is at one point, a mummy, a man holding a severed head, and something rotted in a hanging cage. Does anyone know what these pieces are referring to? Also, in the room with the staircase, there is a large portrait of a dark-haired woman, behind which appears a ghostly blonde woman (or at least I think, I've only seen it once or twice). This reminds me of Ligeia, but I'm not sure if that's what it is referring to. I guess this could also be a scene reflecting Poe and the loss of his wife, since there is a ghostly lady in the room as well.

Yes, the portrait gallery holds a painting of Poe's wife Virgina. He says her name and then the painting reveals Virginia's corpse.

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I agree with Fallow, those two scenes need to be fixed ASAP. I like this house but is it near my favorites not close. Those mask from Telltale onward are just silly and not scary. I find myself laughing instead of being scared. I believe the house is suffering from scares or missing scares I should say.

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Apropos of nothing, but by chance are the dancing mannequins in the Masque room the same dancers that were used in Frightanic? What with it being 13 some odd years ago, I'm figuring no, but the dancing just reminded me of the old haunt.

And LOVING the Poe appearance in Cask of Amontillado - he is so happy and industrious just sealing us in the wall like that!

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quick question...I've read every poem or short story involved in nevermore, but which story is being referenced by the scareactor holding the severed head, the one right before the pit and the pendulum scene?

I would guess the Tell-Tale Heart, just because if I remember correctly, that's the scene that comes immediately before...and it's the only Poe story off the top of my head that involves total-body dismemberment. If not that, then...random boo-hole?

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quick question...I've read every poem or short story involved in nevermore, but which story is being referenced by the scareactor holding the severed head, the one right before the pit and the pendulum scene?

It's a Spanish inquisitor holding Poe's severed head. It's basically in the same room as The Pit and The Pendulum. (The room right after the Tell-Tale heart is The Raven hallway.

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It's a Spanish inquisitor holding Poe's severed head. It's basically in the same room as The Pit and The Pendulum. (The room right after the Tell-Tale heart is The Raven hallway.

Ah, I never actually noticed what the actor who popped out of there was wearing, on account of me being face-to-face with a severed Poe head.

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Okay, when I'm not crushing on HR, I think I'm crushing on Edgar. My personal favorite now is Edgar in the Cask Room. My last run through, he was sitting up high on the side with his trowel waving in the air, just as happy as a clam. He may be mad in this room, but he always seems so gleefully mad!!

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Yes, the portrait gallery holds a painting of Poe's wife Virgina. He says her name and then the painting reveals Virginia's corpse.

Thank you! I did notice her portrait in the very first room, but didn't realize that was her also in the staircase room. Duh. And thanks to whoever cleared that up about the Spanish Inquisition guy holding the severed Poe head, I see I wasn't the only one with that question. :)

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Okay, when I'm not crushing on HR, I think I'm crushing on Edgar. My personal favorite now is Edgar in the Cask Room. My last run through, he was sitting up high on the side with his trowel waving in the air, just as happy as a clam. He may be mad in this room, but he always seems so gleefully mad!!

I was intrigued by this room early on, as I had two guesses about which story it was going to relate to.

At first, I was told it was for the Cask, which in the setting, makes sense.

After visiting the house numerous times, and going on the UTH tour which gave a detailed walkthrough of this house, I am convinced that this scene is predominantly in relation to the story, The Black Cat.

Besides being told as much by the tour guide, my reasoning includes the following:

- one eyed black cat in the scene

- the actor that pops out of the boo hole across from Poe has an axe through her skull (the wife from the Black Cat, who was also walled-in)

The only reference I see to the Cask is a small barrel that could be wine (although I didn't read the name on it) but it is also something that could be found in a storage area like the one referenced in the Black Cat.

As much as I would like it to be Cask (since it is such a cool story), I think this scene is heavily referencing the Black Cat.

Edited by madmonk
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Since it has been debated for a while here, I figured I'd give my perspective on my scene, namely the one people at times refer to as either "The Cask of Amontillado" or "The Black Cat." I find that this room works best if you imagine it as a point in which Poe is on the verge of insanity and metaphorically (represented literally) is walling in his insanity, leading to both of the aforementioned stories that deal with sealing something away to blend togerther for him. So in short, both stories are used in the room.

While portraying Poe here, I like to imagine that his actions in the protrait chamber have left him insane, but he retains a forced lucidity with hints of his soon to be full madness (seen in the finale where everything blends together) coming out in short bursts.

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  • Mark M. changed the title to Nevermore: The Madness of Poe
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