He dreamed of screams: Meet the man behind the modern haunted house; Washington Post, 10/26/16

John Kelly, Washington Post; He dreamed of screams: Meet the man behind the modern haunted house:

" Itsi Atkins always believed that if he built it, they would scream.

And they did, by the thousands, at Blood Manor, the pulse-pounding, scream-inducing haunted house Itsi unveiled in 1971. When it became world famous — when a British tabloid called it “the sickest show in America” — Itsi knew that it had all been worth it — all that blood, all those severed limbs, all those fake guts and fake snakes, all those monsters, murderers and ghouls . . .

And to think it started in the wilds of St. Mary’s County, Md...

Itsi had trademarked the name “Blood Manor,” so when he saw the name being used for a Manhattan attraction — the sort of place lampooned in the “Saturday Night Live” David S. Pumpkins sketch — he sued them. They credited him with the name and concept on their website."