Rants and Chants

WARNING: May contain spoilers. This is a semi-detailed review of the attraction, with photos.

My first time walking through The House of Frankenstein was when I was 10-years-old, back during the summer of 1976. Every time that we would visit Lake George after that, I would ask to go through. I especially loved it when we would end our day there, going through it at night for that extra-creepy factor. Now, thirty-four years later, I still find myself nostalgic for the experience. This weekend, for the first time in a few years, I managed to find the time to go back through it.

The exterior is a vintage 1970s faux New England colonial facade, with fluted pillars and an imposing shingled tower. A large bay window under the tower has a wax figure of the Phantom of the Opera playing a pipe organ and speakers often broadcast the music out onto the sidewalk.

The front window features bobbing skulls that seem like some long dead singing group.

Best of all, Frankenstein’s monster often makes personal appearances out on the sidewalk to lure in visitors.

The lobby has changed dramatically since my youth. What is now the entrance, on the left, was originally the exit, which deposited the guest out into a gift shop. Where most of the gift shop was is now behind a wall and rented out to a T-shirt shop. Sadly, the House of Frankenstein no longer sells any souvenirs. The original entrance is now the exit on the right. So compared to my youth, the museum is now backwards. Originally, getting to see Frankenstein bring his monster to life was the next-to-last display. Now, it is the second display.

After climbing a stairwell decorated to look like a castle, you will wind you way through a maze of hallways, with windows on either side. Behind each window is a room with a macabre wax figure display. When I was a kid, the displays fell into two categories: either scenes of crime and torture, or scenes from classic horror movie monster from the 1930s or the horror renaissance of the 1950s matinees through the Hammer Films of the 60s and 70s. Today, that collection has swapped out some displays to include 80s slasher film characters and the alien from The Predator.

Each display has a little, backlit sign identifying it and providing some additional information or commentary. Some of the exhibits are static, such as the grave robbers. Others involve continuous animation, such as the Pit and the Pendulum. Still others offer an illuminated green button, so that the guest can start the show, as it were. Those offer the guest the opportunity to feel indirectly involved, for example, with bringing Frankenstein’s monster to life or subjecting a criminal to the electric chair.

The first display is the one I remember as the last. When I was a kid, it was an eerie spirit floating outside a typical suburban home door – something you might be afraid you would encounter when you got home. Now, it functions as a spirit that welcomes you to the exhibit.

The second display is the aforementioned Dr. Frankenstein bringing his monster to life. The Grave Robbers now followed this, seemingly unrelated. If you were to go in reverse, however, you would get the narrative that Dr. Frankenstein robbed graves to build his monster. From there, the displays work their way back through the pantheon of fictional monsters and into the realm of ghosts and the undead and then into murder and torture.One display includes a behind-the-scenes look at how the wax figures are made:

Both Dracula turning into a bat and Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde use a variant of the famous Pepper’s Ghost technique with the reflective glass also acting as a theatrical scrim for a second scene when the lighting changes. When I saw it at age 10, I was astonished and spent several minutes contemplating it, trying to figure it out. Even now, when I fully understand the theater technology, I still find it a magical effect.

The Wolfman, however, looks more like Chewbacca, which is surprising considering the museum predates Star Wars.

King Kong is gone. I remember that he was originally holding a Barbie doll, with a GI Joe doll nearby trying to rescue her. Given that Kong himself was only slight larger than the average adult man, he came off as more of a scale model than any of the other, human-sized exhibits. While I am disappointed at the loss of Kong, I guess I can understand it.

After the classic literary and movie monsters comes a section that covers the occult. The Attic Ghost looks like a front-yard decoration that has found its way into the museum. It is internally lit, with a plastic facemask, and hangs on a pivoting arm. If ever a display would benefit from a good implementation of Pepper’s Ghost, the Attic Ghost is it.

The séance room has always had a sound bite taken directly from the Walt Disney Haunted Mansion Soundtrack album, where Madame Leota is reciting an incantation to make spirits appear.

That is not the only reference to that iconic Disney album. There is a scene from a crypt that emulates artwork from the back pages of the album:

For me, the Amazing Room of Rats always had a disturbing real-life connection. An elderly man who lived in my hometown had died at home alone. When the police found him, rats and other vermin had begun scavenging meals from his decomposing body.

The Predator is concealed in a blackened corner alcove that lights up when triggered by a motion detector. Freddie Kruger and Jason Voorhis are depicted merely standing in a room together. They don’t move. I have since learned that, if you wait long enough, there is something that happens, but we apparently didn’t give it enough time. It would be nice if they could find some way to get you to linger there a bit longer – some small bit of action or reading to keep you there for the surprise.

The Hall of Mirrors used to be a zigzag maze of mirrored walls, lit by strobe light. I remember it being genuinely confusing to navigate and having to find my way through it by placing one finger on a wall and dragging it along to feel my way around. Today, it has a black metal railing preventing any real disorientation. Given our litigious society, I suspect that was an insurance decision.

One section illustrates motives for or types of murder:

• The Druids, performing a ritual sacrifice
• Jack the Ripper
• A wife chopping up husband in tub
• A wife serving husband the head of the housemaid with whom he had an affair

I didn’t mention yet that my wife went with me last night. So seeing the two wives committing murder made me acutely phobic of bathtubs, housemaids, and wives. (Just kidding, dear.)
Another stretch of the museum provides examples of just about every method of capital punishment:

• The Guillotine, with real chopping action
• The Garrote
• The Hangman
• The Electric Chair

The electric chair, by the by, is depicted with intense convulsions, screaming, and smoke. I’ve found a video of The Electric Chair.

There is a scene where a witch first faces her trial and then is burned at the stake. In the first half, the witch is a regular store mannequin, not a wax figure. In the second half, the witch is made from wax, which appears to have distorted from heat. Red Christmas tree lights provide the “fire” effect.

The medieval torture section comprises displays in several divided cages. Many of these were part of one large caged room, as shown in a postcard I bought on eBay. I remember it arranged like this, but much darker.

I took a few photos of the current display for comparison, showing some of the same figures in their new arrangement. It now reminds me of an exhibit I saw at an Atlantic City casino called Torture Through the Ages. It is like a smaller, less political version.

As the Web site says, “Parents should use good judgment as to whether the museum is appropriate for young children. No Refunds.” My advice is that I would not take a child under age 10 through it – and even at 10 or above, consider the child’s sensitivity. When in doubt, take the tour yourself. Your family may have to wait during your half-hour journey and you will have to buy a ticket, but at least you won’t be taking your child through without knowing what they – and you – will encounter.

Speaking of the Web site, I am disappointed that the Gallery section is empty – and has been for a few years. However, I was also impressed that I was able to use their Contact form and get an e-mail response within a few hours. It would be nice to see a page about the history of the attraction or about some of the souvenirs that might be available out there in the hands of collectors. With over fifty exhibits in the museum, each inspiring multiple stories, it would also make a natural place to have a blog that covers classic and current horror literature and movies, as well as crime and punishment. It might also be fun to use the security cameras to capture video of visitors being scared and allow them to post those videos either to the site or to their social networking accounts, to share with friends.

The experience now ends with The Black Hole, a nausea inducing illusion where you walk through a star-filled tunnel. While it is cool and probably gives a more dramatic end to the show, I find it to be a bit out-of-context. It feels like it belongs at the end of some space-themed thrill-ride, rather than a house of horrors. In addition, of course, I miss exiting out into the old gift shop. After a half hour in the dark, getting my fears and appetite for classic monsters whetted, I used to love browsing the gift shop and buying a souvenir from my experience.

I love the House of Frankenstein’s kitschy, nostalgic 1970s feel. While I am not fond of the Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhis, or Michael Meyers slasher films, I will grudgingly tolerate them if it keeps my classic monsters alive. I would love to see some time, money, and especially care given to updating the older parts of the exhibit. By now, the technology should enable breathing new life into the older exhibits – or better presenting their original wax museum artistry. I would also love to see House of Frankenstein endure. My hope is that it will last at least long enough for my young sons to reach an age where they can go through it.

• Roadside America review of The House of Frankenstein
• Television ad for both Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House and House of Frankenstein
• Project Absurd’s Video from The House of Frankenstein
• Facebook group for fans of House of Frankenstein, Lake George, NY