Beyond October: Ghostly Manor Thrill Center takes its business plan to thrilling level

Vote for Ghostly Manor Thrill Center for USA Today's 10bestBilly Criscione's dad was always obsessed with Halloween.As a kid, he remembers his dad, Bill, scaring everyone in the neighborhood."It progressed from handing out candy to putting decorations outside and turning the music up really loud," Billy said. "After awhile, my dad would have the kids come in the house to get candy, and we would scare them and they would run down the driveway."Eventually, this Halloween obsession led to a walk-through haunted house at the family's home in Perkins Township. The trick-or-treaters would go through the foyer to the dining room, kitchen and out to the garage."It was in our actual home we lived in," Billy said, laughing.Therefore, it wasn't that surprising when his dad purchased the Skateworld building in 2000 and ripped out a laser tag attraction to make room for Ghostly Manor Thrill Center."When we moved out here as a family, I was working for Pillsbury, and our kids were 5 and 6," Bill said. "Eventually, they wanted to transfer me, but we had fallen in love with the area so I quit my job."Bill started his own oat-importing business, which he eventually sold to Hansen-Mueller, where he still works today. With the money from the sale, he decided to invest in the area and open a haunted house."We loved Halloween," Bill said. "We had always done Halloween parties at our house. We would start decorating in August, and in a weekend, we would entertain 500 to 1,000 people."Bill said he thought Ghostly Manor would complement the area. Back then, when it rained in the summer, Cedar Point guests had nowhere to go.In order to keep a haunted house open year-round, it was designed where one or two actors could work from a central corridor, while also relying on animatronics.In 2006, Bill took over running the Skateworld portion of the Milan Road business, which included an arcade. The idea was brewing to go bigger.Meanwhile, Billy, a 2001 Perkins alum, had graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in economics and had moved to Chicago for a sales job."I left for college and I would help over Christmas break, but I didn't come into the picture until 2010," Billy said.At his dad's request, Billy returned to Sandusky to run the family business."We think alike; we have the same mindset," Billy said. "We might agree or disagree, but we can discuss it and know we have the same interests in mind."Since Billy began as a general manager, he has helped grow the business into a multi-attraction family entertainment center, which has been featured on The Travel Channel's "Best Places I've Ever Been" and Forbes "Top 10 Haunted Attractions.""When I got on board, I took it from the haunted house mindset to a family entertainment mindset," he said. "I saw an appeal for kids of all ages to have fun and have more to do, and we started to target the year-round market."Billy and his father have added a 3D black light mini golf course, an indoor play area, a 4D motion theater, additional birthday party area and inflatable bounce houses. The family fun facility went from 27,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet and then three buildings were added out back for another 12,000 square feet. In total, millions of dollars have been invested."When tourists come in on the weekends for the waterparks or in the summer for Cedar Point and the islands, we have attractions for all ages from little kids to adults," Billy said. "The adults can do the haunted houses, mini golf and motion theater, and kids can do everything they can manage. Sometimes the haunted house is scary for those younger than 10; sometimes the tweens don't make it through."Bill said the company had to adjust because the skating rink was becoming mostly popular for birthday parties but not recreation."We improved the whole building," he said. "We needed to do something for the future. We were growing and doing a lot of marketing to get a lot of people in, but it was crowded."During October, Ghostly Manor, which is open year-round, adds Lake Eerie Fear Fest to its scary lineup for a total of five haunted houses for the Halloween season.Overkill? No way."There is a big market for Halloween," Billy said. "It is like a roller coaster — some parts of the United States do better than others and it goes up and down with attendance."For Billy, the Cleveland population likes its haunted houses, which helps to boost Sandusky's appeal."Halloweekends at Cedar Point brings large, large volumes to the area," he said. "People want to do Halloweekends and our haunted houses."To accommodate the boom, Billy goes from 25 year-round employees to an additional 75 during the Halloween season.Sarah Funni started working at Ghostly Manor Thrill Center in 2009."It is almost like you come in every day and there is something new," she said. "They are always adding new attractions and new video games. It is always growing, nonstop. Don't take a day off – you might miss something."Funni, who works as manager for the Crisciones, said the customers — regulars and tourists — are great."Most of the out-of-towners are so excited that there is something to do indoors if it is raining and they can't go to Cedar Point," she said. "You get to hear different stories, and people you would never think would come from so far away, come to Sandusky."What is nice about Ghostly Manor is that even though the waiting areas are outside, the actual haunted houses are all inside."We get a lot of Cedar Point people on a rainy day in the summer and we get a lot of people from all over during the month of October," Billy said. "They are traveling just to see us, but they are also traveling from hours away for Cedar Point. You get people from New Jersey, Tennessee and Atlanta coming all the way over here and stopping by our place as well."Overall, more than 100,000 patrons come to the entertainment center throughout the year.Sara Mora, known as "Skateworld grandma," has been going to Skateworld for five years. The Fremont resident is impressed by how much the facility offers."I took the grandkids when they were little to teach them how to skate. We went every Friday like clockwork for that long," Mora said. "All the employees were really nice. I got to know them really well. I would take them cookies because they were such nice kids. I got to talking to everyone. There is a closeness with them. I became their grandma."Mora said she is impressed by how much the facility has to offer for all ages. Even though her grandchildren are starting to outgrow the the skating rink, they look forward to the haunted houses every year.Billy said that's the idea of the business — offering an activity for all ages."Dad has always insisted on investing in property to see the growth," Billy said. "We always have ideas."While Bill doesn't participate in the scaring like he used to, his wife, Jayme, greets the guests visiting the haunted houses."I never imagined it would be like this," Bill said. "You plan for what you have at the time. I always had visions of building something bigger, but did I think it would be like this? No. I had no idea."However, it has paid off," he said. "If you have a good product and people have a good time and you work hard at it, you will succeed."WANT TO GO:Ghostly Manor Thrill Center3319 Milan Road419-626-4467info@ghostlymanor.comSeven attractions are open dailyVote for Ghostly Manor Thrill Center for USA Today's 10bestThe Criscione Family at the Ghostly Manor Thrill Center, their family business on U.S. 250 in Perkins Township. From left, William, Billy, Molly, Laura, Jayme, Bill, Bill, Jayme, Laura, Molly, Billy and William.One of the haunted attractions at Ghostly Manor Thrill Center in Perkins Township.A dragon peers its head from the Ghostly Manor Thrill Center on August 18, 2016.