Haunted Mansion Considered Canceling Clowns Due To 'Hysteria'
ABINGTON (CBS) - The owner and creator of Barrett's Haunted Mansion in Abington had a scare herself this season.
"It was getting to be hysteria," said owner Mary Barrett-Costello. With the craze of clown sightings across the country, Barrett-Costello thought the clowns were out. "Right away, 'oh my gosh, we are going to have to take our clowns out of our haunt,'" said Barrett-Costello.
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She and her clowns met this week to decide if the increasing fear was too much to keep them as part of the attraction. With 25 years in business, the clowns are integral to the haunted mansion.
She explained why they are not leaving. "They are just to scare you. The clowns on the outside that are just showing up in people's yards, they are totally terrorizing people. That's a huge difference," said Barrett-Costello.
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Wreckles the clown has haunted the halls for the past four years. "It's putting a bad name on us and we're just trying to come out and have fun with the crowd," said Wreckles.
The entertainers do not clown around when it comes to their job. Hours are spent in the make-up trailer prepping for the night. They stress they are professionals, very different than those clowns throwing on a mask in public.
At the haunted mansion clowns don't wear masks, carry weapons, or grab people. "We scare people because that's our job," said Barrett-Costello.
The attraction does have security. They said the area is very controlled and the workers are very tight-knit, so they would know if there was a clown impersonator among them.