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The following was submitted by the Winchester Unitarian Society:
For the second consecutive year, “Dr. Feverdream’s Halloween Experiment” will take over Winchester Unitarian Society (WUS), where multi-sensory installations, animatronics, immersive sets, hundreds of props, and dozens of actors promise visitors a Haunted House experience like no other.
The event takes place on Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6-9 p.m., at 478 Main St., Winchester.
Who is Dr. Feverdream?
Each October, the normally respectable neuroscientist Dr. Feverdream pauses his regular research to study how fear affects people in and around Winchester. This Halloween, he’s studying the effects of ancient Greek monsters and punishments on the human psyche.
Following on last year’s breakout debut, “Dr. Feverdream’s Halloween Experiment” offers spine-chilling experiences for thrill-seekers as well as friendlier adventures for young children and families.
Pathways to frights and fun
On entering the Haunted House, guests are invited to choose one of three pathways:
• Scary Path of Punishments (ages 10+): Guided by Thaddeus, a tortured soul, guests pass ghoulish Fates, encounter a shrieking Medusa, solve the Sphinx’s riddle, and witness the punishments of Arachne, Tantalus, and Orpheus before escaping into a hallway full of snakes and one last terror.
• Dark Labyrinth of Monsters (ages 12+): Scarier than the Scary Path of Punishments, this pathway turns guests into young Athenians about to be sacrificed in the Minotaur’s labyrinth. With fresh terrors at every turn, they manage to escape, only to encounter the Sphinx, humans turned into pigs on Circe’s island, Prometheus’s torment, and a multi-eyed Argos.
• Rainforest Dream Space Adventure (young children and families): Accompanied by a friendly guide, guests enter Dr. Feverdream’s DayDream Machine and journey up through the layers of the Amazon Rainforest, from a waterfall-fed river on the forest floor to a tree canopy alive with butterflies and birds.
All pathways end in the Haunted Hall, where guests can play games and other activities and purchase snacks and treats.
Proceeds from the Haunted House support the life and work of Winchester Unitarian Society; proceeds from the Haunted Hall concessions go toward the church youth group’s (WUSYG’s) annual service trip.
The church has partnered with Winchester Cooperative Nursery School and the Winchester School of Chinese Culture to make birds, butterflies, and flowers for the Haunted House.
Bringing Dr. Feverdream to life
Dr. Feverdream’s origin story sprang from the creative mind of Milo Ippolito, who, with his mother, Victoria Ippolito — both WUS members — conceived, wrote, and spearheaded last year’s Dr. Feverdream event.
Now in his freshman year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Milo says one of his chief inspirations came from a webcomic set in a nightmarish hospital (aptly titled Awful Hospital): “I feel like there’s a lot of fear, putting your physical or mental health in the trust of people you barely know,” he says, adding, “It only makes sense” that a doctor studying how fear affects the brain would be a neuroscientist.
Winchester High School sophomore and artist Katie Baucom is one of the more than 100 volunteers involved in this year’s Dr. Feverdream production. She also designed a new poster for the event, a project she hadn’t planned on but that later became an imperative for her.
“I noticed previous posters were generated using AI…and I didn’t think that aligned with what the Haunted House is supposed to be,” she says, noting the Haunted House “is such a creative project, brought together by so many hard working people, that putting an AI poster as the face of the event really didn’t do it justice.”
Event and contact details
Free parking is available on the street and in the staff parking lot of McCall Middle School next door.
Tickets are $15 and may be purchased in advance and at the door with cash, credit card, or e-payments. Tickets can be purchased here or at the door.
For more information, call 781-729-0949.
