Ghosts or not, cast set to conjure spooky fun
'Haunted Lakeview' shows will be presented Saturday and Sunday
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Jessica Messina portrays Hannibal the Cannibal during a rehearsal for "Haunted Lakeview" at the historic Buckelew mansion in Jamesburg. Shows will be presented Saturday and Sunday.

For those who dare to enter Lakeview this weekend, there may be more of a scare in store than they bargained for.

The Lakeview Players are hosting their third annual haunted house performances, titled "Haunted Lakeview," at the Buckelew mansion in Jamesburg. The teen cast is assisted by the ghosts that some have reported to reside at Lakeview.

"Everybody who has worked there or come in has had something creepy happen to them," director Don Bernhardt said, adding, "It's nothing dark or evil."

The Lakeview Players are a troupe of 15 to 20 actors, most of whom are high school students from local towns.

Last year, more than 300 people showed up for the one-day run of "Haunted Lakeview," so they decided to offer two days this year.

"The house is supposedly haunted, and supposedly last year the ghosts did get involved," said Historical Association President Ron Becker. "I take what they said with a grain of salt."

Members of the Lakeview Players claim they heard supernatural noises during their performance last year. The mansion has been investigated on three occasions by paranormal research groups, who made recordings of electronic voice phenomena (EVP) and took photographs that showed translucent orbs of light in rooms where they sensed the presence of spirits. The photographs and recordings can be found at www.jamesburg.net/hauntedlakeview. There is also a video recording of one of the orbs flying across a room.

According to the Web site, paranormal investigations are temporarily suspended at the mansion.

Several mediums have also paid visits to the mansion on separate occasions, and all came up with the same information about spirits residing there, according to Bernhardt.

"We've said that the house has a tendency to make skeptics into believers," Bernhardt said.

Sophia Zaks, Bernhardt's wife and producer for the troupe, was a skeptic in the beginning, he said. During a visit to the mansion, a child spirit that the group refers to as Bobby, pulled her hair, Bernhardt said.

"Bobby likes to pull women's hair," he said.

Whether a believer in the supernatural or not, those who come to the haunted house performances should be prepared for a good scare. Last year, some younger children who attended were a little too spooked, so the group has designated the event for children age 12 and up.

This year's theme is a secret, but Bernhardt said it will involve an invented "history" of the house. He said attendees can expect the usual haunted house fare, along with some other surprises.

"We've got some deeper scares, the kind of thing you don't want to look at, but can't look away," Bernhardt said.

In an effort to include the little ones, the group will host a "Halloween Story Hour" for younger children on Halloween night. The event will include activities such as face painting, refreshments, and scary stories told around a fire.

"In this day and age, Halloween isn't always as safe as when we were kids, so this will give parents a safe place to bring their kids to have some nice holiday fun," said Bernhardt.

Money collected by the group at the performances is used to cover costs of the show. They eventually hope to raise enough money to put on a yearly musical, Bernhardt said.

The troupe is an offshoot of the Jamesburg Historical Association, holding all of its performances at the mansion. This helps to generate interest in both the house and the Historical Association as a whole, said Becker.

"If they want to play on the fact that the house might be haunted, fine," he said.

The 23-room Lakeview, once the home of Jamesburg's namesake, James Buckelew and his family, was built between 1685 and 1870.

Performances will run continuously on Saturday and Sunday between 5 and 9 p.m. The last one starts at 8:30.

Admission is $5. The young children's event on Halloween will be from 7 to 8 p.m., and while there is no cost, donations will be accepted.

The mansion is open for tours the second and fourth Sundays of the month from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information on the Lakeview Players or the Jamesburg Historical Association, call (732) 521-2040.