-Courtesy of Aversa PR & Events
Philadelphia’s scariest new haunted attraction is opening its doors for a special one-night only exclusive holiday haunted house. Lincoln Mill Haunted House at 4100 Main Street in Manayunk presents the region’s first Christmastime haunt with A Twisted Christmas, on Saturday, December 16, 2023, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
Christmas has always been the season of joy, even during the darkest of times. While the town was distracted by the holiday festivities, Viktor Kane knew this was the best time to lure his naughty workers down to the mill’s basement. After the basement was decorated for Christmas, the workers were lured into the chamber to see the display. One by one, they were trapped and then programmed into Viktor’s little helpers. Before they realized what was happening, it was already too late. Viktor’s version of Christmas was more twisted than anyone could imagine. Warning: This event features over 35 scare-actors and is intended to be very scary.
“Lincoln Mill Haunted house is an immersive story-telling attraction. We wanted to continue telling the Lincoln Mill story throughout the holiday season,” said Lincoln Mill Haunted House Co-Founder Jared Bilsak. “Most people have heard of or are familiar with the story of Krampus. In German Christmas tradition, Krampus punishes naughty children by whipping them or dragging them to the underworld. Our story’s villain, Viktor Kane, was inspired by the story of Krampus. Our attraction tells the story of when and how the mill owner, Viktor Kane, punished his naughty workers by luring them to and trapping them in the Lincoln Mill basement. Viktor Kane sees himself as a dark Santa Claus and he programs his naughty mill workers into his elves so they can conduct his dirty work for him.”
He added, “We always thought it would be interesting to mesh together our two favorite Holidays, Christmas and Halloween! We also have many elaborate sets, scenes, and props that are sitting and collecting dust throughout the off-season. It only made sense that we utilize our haunted house space, sprinkle it with a Christmas essence, and offer something new and exciting to the community!”
During the debut of A Twisted Christmas, guests will venture to the darkest and lowest levels of Lincoln Mill Haunted House. The interior of the mill has been decorated for Christmas. Christmas lights, tinsel, ornaments, trees, stockings, and anything that you can think of Christmas has been added and overlaid on top of the existing sets. The story contains the same cast of characters but all characters will have a Christmas essence to them.
There will be over 35 scare-actors featured for this event. Most of the mill workers have been turned into Viktor’s evil elves and some of them have been transformed into some special characters that guests will recognize through popular Christmas lore.
A Twisted Christmas follows the largest Halloween season ever for Lincoln Mill Haunted House, as well as successful haunts for Valentine’s and for Halfway to Halloween.
For the storyline, Lincoln Mill co-founders Jared Bilsak and Brian Corcodilos wanted to offer something different than the October Halloween experience, and something different than this year’s other pop-up events.
“Considering our attraction has naturally been designed to be scary, It only made sense that our Christmas experience be a dark twisted one that continues to build upon the Lincoln Mill story,” said Bilsak. “There are also not many scary themed Christmas events out there and we are always looking to offer new and exciting experiences to our guests. Yes, offering a Christmas themed event was always a part of the plan. We began to float the idea of it this past Fall season and there was plenty of excitement around it. So it was the perfect time to move forward.”
He added, “We designed and built the attraction in a way that we are able to reconfigure the layout. We are always changing things up so guests will never have the same experience twice. We are excited for our second annual Valentine’s Day event entitled Viktor’s Valentine this upcoming February as well as some additional events that we are working on.”
In terms of the haunted house itself, the mill has been upgraded to introduce some exciting new scenic effects. The soundtrack, the lighting, and the characters will make our Twisted Christmas event very unique compared to our Fall season. This event has a very joyous vibe to it with a dark twist.
Owners/partners Jared Bilsak and Brian Corcodilos hope that A Twisted Christmas will become an annual holiday tradition – and the two are already working on new experiences for 2024.
For audience, A Twisted Christmas is good (or bad, if you will) for all the dark Santa’s, devious elves, date nights, and outings with family and friends. It is the perfect activity for those that had enough light shows and Christmas bars – and perfect for the grinches in every crowd.
Tickets are $32 a person for general admission and $75 for VIP entrance. Tickets are on sale now at www.lincolnmillhaunt.com.
For those visiting A Twisted Christmas, don’t forget to take in the Manayunk Gets Lit light show on Main Street and the Manayunk Jolly Trolley. For more about the holidays in Manayunk and transportation, visit https://manayunk.com/events/holidays-in-manayunk.html
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