INTERVIEW PART I: A gruesome talk with one of the men behind Blood Manor

Blood Manor has become a Halloween institution in New York City, scaring brave souls for several years at 163 Varick St. in Manhattan’s Hudson Square District. Now, it’s time to look behind the ghosts and macabre. Jim Faro, a co-founder of the haunted attraction, talks about some new additions to the 2012 version of Blood Manor and the joy his staff members get out of their nightly displays of horror.

Questions and answers have been slightly edited.

Blood Manor has become one of the top attractions this time of year. Are you still excited for it each year when it comes out?

More than ever. I always tell people … we have a passion for this. It’s something that started as home haunters for me more than 20 years ago, closer to 30 actually. … What can we do make it better, bigger, new things come out, new technologies we try incorporate. So absolutely we’re very excited and thank God … the buzz seems the be more than ever.

Are there some new things?

Absolutely. We go to great lengths both economically, artistically, work-wise. We probably change, not every year, but lots of years, probably a good 30 percent of Blood Manor every year gets changed. This year we’ve got a significant amount of changes, some totally new rooms, some rooms that are somewhat similar to what they were, a whole new level of décor and a new of what we call working the room. So if you were there in October of ’11, and you come in October ’12, yes, there’s a lot of significant changes. So you’ll be surprised.

When you look at the crowds that line up, who is the target audience?

I think without a doubt, both from an aesthetic point of view or what we do from a business point of view, it’s to nail 18 to 24. These are the demographics. We need im to walk out of Blood Manor after spending $25 or so and say, ‘That was awesome, bro. Wow. Did you see this? Did you see that? You got to go.’ Because once he thinks it’s OK, his girlfriends come, the kids will always come. Mom and Dad will bring them. We can’t have a 22-year-old think, ‘Oh, this is kiddieland. Oh, this is nothing.’ Then we would be in trouble. But so far we’ve been lucky.

For the people who work there, do they get a kick out of scaring people on a nightly basis?

It sounds crazy, but it’s almost like an adrenaline rush. We have probably about 60 percent of the staff returns in any given year to work again. And with the new people, they don’t understand it until it starts happening, of course. But they’re told, ‘Listen, don’t worry. I know you might be a little nervous, this and that. But once that first guy is screaming and the girl is on the floor cowering or something from something you did, you just go with it.’ And it’s so much fun. … You’re never going to get rich working in the cast of Blood Manor, because the business model doesn’t allow for a lot of pay. But you’ll have the time of your life, and it’s like nothing you’ll ever do. And they pretty much agree. They love it. The kids will work. They give it their all, and they give 110 percent, and they have a great time doing it.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Blood Manor will perform through Nov. 3. The schedule changes nightly. Click here for more information.