For the fifth time during Halloween season, Yell Manor returned to Yelm to give Halloween fanatics, thrill seekers and trick-or-treaters a scare in its haunted house and escape rooms.
Steve Harshfield, president of Standing Room Only, said the limited-time event allowed over 1,000 participants into the Yell Manor to explore “the swamp” at Gordon’s Garden Center. Standing Room Only, a community-based theater group in Yelm, invited the community to enter the manor from Oct. 26 to Oct. 31 with the help of Yelm High School drama club members.
“We’re trying to give Yelm something to do for Halloween. We’re making use of the drama program at YHS, and we’re continuing the presence of Standing Room Only in Yelm,” Harshfield said. “It’s huge to get the support from YHS. Dale Sharp, one of our board members, is the drama teacher there. He’s gotten us involved with the drama club and some of the kids in the drama classes.”
Harshfield said it was a great feeling to see Yell Manor participants increase in 2023. The haunted house and escape room returned in 2022 for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic, and Harshfield noted attendance took a dip last year.
“Last year was our first year back after COVID. We did OK, but coming out of COVID, I think everyone was still trying to figure out what there was to do. This year, we did much better with the promotions and have the involvement of the high school. We have a much bigger and better space this year, too,” he said. “We started off pretty solid with our participants, but Saturday (Oct. 28) was our biggest night. We did a lot bigger business this year than we did last year, almost four times.”
Harshfield described the escape rooms as being similar to a typical one. He said participants were given 20 minutes to solve puzzles and escape from the room, or else they became “part of the swamp.”
Theater member Rae Simpson, who volunteered to portray one of the witches at the manor, said the “Lotions and Potions” escape room asked participants to find seven ingredients to create an antidote, otherwise they were turned into a toad.
She said clues such as the periodic table were included in the puzzles to make participants think outside of the box.
“We started with the swamp. We thought about what we could do to play off the swamp, and we came up with a voodoo witch doctor, a witch, fortune telling, and it kind of rolled into that, kind of like a New Orleans-theme,” Simpson said. “I’m part of the board. I helped with a lot of the decorations. I’m also one of the witches. I’ve run this room at least 25 times.”
She added that the 2023 Yell Manor was a great experience for her, and everyone she’s talked to who has participated in the event has enjoyed it as well.
For both Simpson and Harshfield, the community support has meant a lot to the Standing Room Only theater as well as the Yell Manor. Harshfield noted attendance took a big step forward in 2023 and anticipates to continue growing in the future.
“I think it’s really big for us, really big for the community,” Harshfield said. “That’s one of the things we’re very excited about, community involvement. Standing Room Only and the drama program, we want to give the Yelm community arts not only haunted houses, but plays, musicals, the radio shows we do every month or every other month. We just want to continue to build the arts and support for the arts in the Nisqually Valley and specifically the Yelm area.”
Harshfield noted that Standing Room Only has been a theater company in Yelm for around 25 years. He said it has taken on different forms and grown over the last six to eight years and that current leadership has increased efforts to become more involved with the community.
Up next for Standing Room Only will be a presentation of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Outpost Church in Yelm. Harshfield said the presentation will include a cast read through, acting and performing the script of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” More information can be found on the organization’s Facebook page, “Standing Room Only Theater Group.”
“Standing Room Only is always looking for actors, volunteers or people who would like to step up and be involved in the arts,” Harshfield said. “If it’s just through money or donations of time, that’s fine. We’re always looking for more and more community support, and we want to be inclusive of everybody.”
Yell Manor is expected to return for 2024’s Halloween season, but Harshfield is unsure of where the location will be. People can check the Facebook page “Yell Manor Haunted House” for updates about next year’s event.
