A St. Batrick's Day celebration of Celtic lore just seems to fit in a place called Castle Blood.
The theatrical haunted house, filled with ghoulish props, is in a nearly 120-year-old structure in Monessen, Pennsylvania. One of the city's founders built the home in 1905. It became a funeral home in the 1930s.
Now, legend says Castle Blood is owned by vampires and home to a variety of odd creatures who behave in odd ways.
"It's creepy and spooky all by itself," owner Ricky Dick said of the large, old home.
Throw in weird characters - some scary, some funny, and some bizarre, along with quests patrons are asked to complete, and you get an hour-long interactive, quirky family event.
"It's a little bit theater. It's a little bit magic show. It's a little bit escape room," Dick said. "It's a little bit cosplay. It's a little bit Renaissance fair. But it is a haunted house, so there are scares."
On March 17-18, 2023, guests will be able to participate in how the kooky bunch celebrates its Scottish roots on what typically is an Irish celebration - Saint Patrick's Day.
Dick, whose character is named Gravely MaCabre, joked that although Castle Blood's residents are Scottish, they're not opposed to giving the Irish a little fanfare.
"We like the Irish and we're happy to drink a green beer, but we don't want to celebrate them too much," Dick joked.
That's why the annual St. Batrick's Day event focuses on an array of Celtic legends, rather than just all things Irish.
This year's St. Batrick's haunt is themed around the Eye of Evil, which, according to Celtic folklore, casts curses through a malevolent stare.
Guests will encounter magic along the way that will control the behavior of the Evil Eye.
Some of the creatures guests will see include banshees, ogres, and gargoyles, Dick said.
Guests will be given challenges to complete as they encounter different characters and move from room to room.
Dick said Castle Blood, open for 31 years, has been providing escape room-like puzzles long before escape rooms became popular within the haunt industry.
"They told me I was crazy," he said. "And now they're everywhere."
The high level of interaction between characters and guests trying to complete their games means the outcome of the haunt could be different every time.
"You never know what the patron is going to say or going to do," Dick said. "None of us know how it's going to go."
And the characters that guests run into throughout the haunt might not be so helpful to their challenges, Dick said.
"Some of the characters like that you're here, and some of the characters aren't so happy," Dick said.
Dick said Castle Blood has a talented and loyal cast who love to act and give guests a good time. Eight or nine of the cast members have been with the haunt for 25 years, he said.
The event is called St. Batrick's as tribute to a long-time cast member, Marty, who passed away. He had a penchant for vampires.
"Vampires were his whole world, Dick said.
General admission tickets to the approximately hour-long haunt are $20. Reserved-time entry tickets are $25 and guarantee entry within 15 minutes of a guest's reserved time.
Castle Blood also offers lights-on matinees for children during regular haunt season for $10, where they may participate in games and trick-or-treat in the castle.
Dick said he tries to keep prices low so that patrons can afford to take their families.
"We're down in the valley in old steel country," he said. "I want families to be able to afford to show up."
