INTERVIEW PART II: Blood Manor ready to terrify for Halloween

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. Click here for Part I.

There’s a lot of competition out there. Is that difficult for you?

We put an enormous, enormous amount of money and an enormous amount of effort and passion into what we do. I mean don’t misunderstand. It’s now a business, and, of course, we need to make money. We pay rent in lower Manhattan year round to use the place 20 days a year. So you know we’re a little crazy, but we’re very passionate. I think a lot of the other places that ‘pop up,’ they’re seeing that, wow, Halloween is big. People like Halloween. We can put something together quick. We’ll build it in a few weeks, run it for a month and take it down, and we’ll make whatever dollars. And I think unfortunately that’s not a formula for success, not only in this business, truthfully, in any business. I’m not worried about anyone else’s pot luck, because there aren’t that many people willing to do what we do. I’m not saying they can’t do it, but willing to do what we do to make it what we make ours.

What are the types of scares that really get to you?

Well, I’ll tell you what, around Blood Manor, I’m kind of known as an easy target. Sometimes … when we’re working during the year, and the lights are all on, so to speak, and I might be going through it to go to a room or whatever, sometimes the cast, some of the kids that come in to help us out, they’re constantly jumping out at me. And I’m always an easy target. …

I’ve always liked watching horror movies and scary things and imagining. I knew it was only actors. But how cool was it to be in that creepy, old mansion or castle with the smoke. So what I try to do, I try to recreate those atmospheres and when you walk into Blood Manor and start the actual tour, I want you to forget that you’re on the second floor of a six-story building on Varick Street. You’re in Blood Manor for the next 20 minutes or so. And that’s what I like. I like the atmosphere when I go to a haunted house. I get scared kind of easy from a pop out … but I really appreciate the, call it the creepiness, or the atmosphere. … We really pay attention to detail in Blood Manor.

When do run-throughs begin?

The year ends, of course, and then come November everybody sleeps for a month, so to speak. … Because it’s a grind to be there for 20 nights until 3 or 4 in the morning, get up and come back. Whatever. Then after that’s over, we start thinking about new ideas in the wintertime, and then come the early spring and March, there’s usually a trade show. Often we attend it with some ideas, and we find new things. During, I would say, April to June, we’re there occasionally, not every day, but a couple of times a week, working on the new things. And then once we get into late July and August, we’re there pretty regularly. We start our casting in July. And then come early September, we have run-throughs, if you will. We have dress rehearsals and things like that.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

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