by Tara Adams
Writer, Haunt Hunters App
SIMPSON, Pa. – Massacre Mansion thrives on something much simpler than high-tech, multi-million dollar scares: pitch-black corners, heavy shadows, old-school setups, and live actors who love to breathe down your neck.
Off a quiet stretch near Carbondale, Pa., this three-attraction fright zone, anchored by a vintage 1960s Funni-Frite funhouse converted into a haunted house, prefers a hands-on approach to terror.
Inside the mazes, the actors don't say much, but they don't really need to. They lurk in the dark, catch guests off guard, and follow people closely to build a steady sense of unease.
As visitors round one of the tight corners in the mansion, a chilling audio recording plays out overhead.
"From the office of the governor, all pleas for clemency are hereby denied," guests hear. A creature strapped into an electric chair is then jolted with simulated volts, plunging the room into sudden darkness right before an effective jump scare hits.
For more than a decade, the haunt has carved out a throwback niche in an industry obsessed with high-tech upgrades. People travel serious distances for it, too.
Owner Josh Rodney noted that one dedicated fan traveled from Wisconsin on opening weekend just to experience the haunted funhouse.
This season, the family-friendly spot features three main attractions: Pumpkins Wrath, a blacklight-reactive maze called Blacklight, and the mansion itself. The haunt's hayride is on hiatus for 2026, but Rodney said the crew plans to expand it and bring it back for 2027.
"We try to make changes every year," he said.
To make the attraction more enjoyable for younger guests before the more intense scares kick in, the team added dozens of massive inflatables to the corn maze, some towering right over the walking paths.
But once dusk settles and the real scares begin, visitors face narrow labyrinth hallways, quick startles, and committed actors who love to stalk guests.
On a recent Friday night, one of the characters, a twisted clown, waited in the corners of Blacklight for unsuspecting guests, timing jump scares as they navigated the dark twists and turns of the maze.
The same clown also followed guests down hallways with arms outstretched and hands scraping the walls as he moved, adding to the sense of unease.
The crown jewel of the whole operation, Massacre Mansion, waits at the very end, and surviving examples are practically museum pieces.
Decades ago, companies like Funni-Frite built portable wooden-and-canvas funhouses, hand-painted artwork, and mechanical gags designed to be hauled on flatbed trailers from town to town.
Because those mid-century structures faced brutal weather, constant teardowns, and eventual demolition as modern corporate theme parks took over, finding an intact, operating 1960s funhouse today is rare. Most of them have been lost forever.
Rodney managed to track down a surviving 1960s Funni-Frite structure online, made the trip to the Pittsburgh area, and hauled it back to northeastern Pennsylvania. After refurbishing it and welding on three extra trailers to stretch out the walk-through, he ran it as a fundraiser in Scranton before moving the whole operation to its current home on an old sawmill site.
Inside that vintage funhouse, visitors find the keyhole doorways, hand-painted walls, and classic gag doors, among other surprises. It is the last thing people see before heading home, and for good reason.
"We save that for last, because that's our favorite, too," Rodney said in a previous interview with Haunt Hunters App. "That's where it started. I would say that's our strong point."
For more information about Massacre Mansion and its schedule, check out its Facebook page here.
A peek inside converted Funni-Frite funhouse, Massacre Mansion
A look at some inflatables in Pumpkins Wrath
