Screams abound at opening of Hidden Hotel

The black walls loom high above the street. Tattered white curtains flutter at the windows. The Hidden Hotel used to be a luxury destination for the rich; now the furniture in its lobby is covered in dust as the evening mist creeps in through holes in the walls.

The Hidden Hotel in Canton

The hotel’s fate was sealed one stormy evening when a doctor staying there was murdered and his young daughter disappeared. No one knows who killed the doctor or what happened to his little girl. Visitors to the area chose to stay at other locations since the hotel is haunted.

Recently, however, guests have been arriving at the hotel, bravely stepping across the threshold and into the lobby lit with electric candles. They listen to the story of the hotel and try to ignore the eerie laughter of a woman who is there one minute and seems to vanish the next. They then follow a staff member as he leads them across the floor, through a doorway, down a dark, dark hall and into the living room where a terrifying surprise awaits them.

The Hidden Hotel, Canton’s very own haunted house at 95 Washington Street at the Village Shoppes, is the brainchild of Bob Ward of Ward Communications. Ward worked with the Wilder Company, the management company of the Village Shoppes, to both increase business and raise money for a good cause.

Ward looked at the office suites next to Sleepy’s and knew that he wanted it to be more than a simple haunted house.

“The space lent itself to a hotel, because it has long halls with rooms off of them,” he said.

Ward spent months overseeing the transformation of the offices into a hotel with artwork on the walls, carefully decorated guest rooms, and an elevator that goes to — well, that’s another surprise.

The Hidden Hotel opened to the public Friday evening, October 5, and judging by the screams from guests as they endured the thrills and creepiness of pitch-black rooms, it is a huge success.

Twelve-year-old Jovan Toro of Canton enjoyed his visit to the hotel and wanted to take a second trip through the property. “It’s fun,” he said. “It’s dark.”

Jovan’s sister, DianeMarie Toro, thought that the elevator was the best part of the hotel. “It’s scary!” she said.

Kyle Toy, 12, and his brother Aiden, 9, went through the hotel with their father. “The sounds scared me,” said Aiden, “and the spiders.” His brother said that everything about his visit was scary.

Dozens of actors, makeup artists, technicians and staff members work to make the Hidden Hotel an experience to remember. “This is fun for all ages,” Ward said, “but it is a scary haunted house experience.”

Ward organized the recent Halfway Cafe 5K, which raised nearly $30,000 for Cops for Kids with Cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the Hidden Hotel will be donated to the same charity.

The Hidden Hotel will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from 6 to 10 p.m. through October 28. Tickets are $18 per person. For the curious or faint of heart, a Lights-On tour will be offered beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 28. Tickets are $5 per person.

Guests who write their name, phone number and email on the back of their ticket will be entered into a drawing on October 31. The prize is $666. Go to www.thehiddenhotel.com for more information.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Oct 10 2012. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.