Fourth Estate Newspaper

Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Photo by Kari Merchant/Fourth Estate Shawano Manor's Green Bay Fear is one of the areas only haunted attractions based on local legend and uses an actual haunted house.

Darkness sets and the woods get crooked. Screams erupt from the shadows and children cry. Shawano Manor looms in the distance of this twisted forest with glowing lights and frightening faces.
If you haven't been scared yet this Halloween season, be sure to check out the vamped up version of Shawano Manor, now called Green Bay Fear. Located on Bond Street, near the Rock Garden banquet hall, Green Bay Fear is doubled in size and full of new story lines.
Based on a real-life ghost story, Green Bay Fear is a re-creation of the glorious estate and story of lumber tycoon Jaden West.
After his mutilating death in 1894, it was a typical who-done-it story. Later accusations were made against fellow saw mill workers who envied his money, the constable acquired his estate. While in the house, his hair was said to have turned from pitch black to ghost white after the first night. The constable became obsessed about spirits.
The crime, still unsolved, gave the house an illusion of being haunted. A few years back, the state of Wisconsin wanted to demolish the house to restore the wetlands. Working hard with the state to obtain permission to relocate the mansion from Shawano lake to the corner of Taylor and Bond Street, the house was recreated to include the horrors that it was supposed to have many years ago.
Shawano Manor is a non-profit charitable organization, donating primarily to the Beja Shriners. The Beja Shriners are an organization supporting Shriners Hospitals for children.
All of the actors and make-up artists for Green Bay Fear are volunteers, and many of the costumes are donated to the house. The attraction is sponsored by companies including Robinson Metal and Smet Construction. Banners and signs are also donated.
Though most of the money from the haunted house goes to support the Beja Shriners, some of their profit is also donated to Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College's Criminal Justice program and other charities in the Green Bay area. Last year alone, Shawano Manor donated just less than $30,000. David Oshefsky uses money from previous years to buy new costumes, props, and to advertise. Combined with artifacts from the original Shawano Manor, the props are used make the house a realistic re-creation.

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