The Haunted Sawmill is northern Wisconsin’s premier haunt. The Haunted Sawmill is a fundraiser operated by the Friends of Vincent Foundation, Inc., a non-profit group whose mission is to help youth and youth groups in Merrill and the surrounding communities. Funds raised by the Haunted Sawmill have been used to buy backpacks and school supplies for the Backpack for Kids program; help kids attend summer camps and outdoor adventures; fund college scholarships and help fund school trips and programs. The members of the Friends of Vincent Foundation, Inc., believe very strongly in making the community a better place by giving our children a chance to participate in and attend activities that they might not otherwise be able to afford.
In its 8 years the Haunted Sawmill has had over 50,000 guests and has helped fund local food pantries by gathering together more than 25,000 non-perishable food items.
The Haunted Sawmill is overseen by none other than the infamous Vincent Mudgett a restless spirit who has come back from the dead to seek revenge upon all of those who wronged him in life or who dare to trespass upon his property. Vincent was an employee of the Merrill Sawmill who fell in love with a beautiful young lady named Louise. Unfortunately, the owner of the mill, a rich and proud man named Dorian Morris, coveted Louise for himself. Enraged that Louise loved Vincent and not himself, Dorian sent a gang of thugs to beat up Vincent. Things got out of hand and Louise was killed. The gang thought both Louise and Vincent were dead and their bodies were buried in the Morris cemetery on the Merrill Sawmill property. Dorian paid off everyone to keep them quiet. The following evening, beneath the silver light of a full moon, Vincent who had not been killed, dug his way out of the shallow grave. He carried Louise’ body with him as he staggered across the cemetery littered with the tombstones of those long dead and past the cares of the living. Stricken with grief, young Vincent fell to his knees and screamed into the empty night swearing that he would not rest while a single Morris family member was left standing. Finding a discarded skull mask in the garbage and a rusty old axe, Vincent stormed towards the mill. He killed all of Dorian’s men and then killed Dorian himself. In what became known as “the Massacre at the Merrill Sawmill” the police arrived as local news reporters covered the hot breaking news of a frightening “Skullface Killer” that was on the loose. Vincent was surrounded inside the mill and was shot and killed. The Merrill Sawmill went out of business and was boarded up. It sat vacant for years and fell into disrepair and ruin.
Years later a local scout working on his merit badges decided to make a documentary about the “Massacre at the Merrill Sawmill” and the legend of Vincent Mudgett. His video can still be found on Youtube. The brave young Scout interviewed survivors of that infamous day and then dared to go inside of the building itself. “Some doors should never opened”, the scout had been warned by the kindly old lady who had lived across from the Merrill Mill.
When he went inside the mill he awakened Vincent and the Haunted Sawmill came back to life.
More than a decade later Dorian Morris’ younger brother, Dr. Adrian Morris decided it was time to reclaim his family’s land. He needed a place to open his psychiatric hospital. Renovations took place quickly and the Arcane Asylum for the Criminally Insane was opened where the old mill had once stood. As the pages of the calendar moved by and crept closer on black cat’s feet towards Halloween a young man with amnesia was stopped by the police wandering the streets of Merrill. The young man claimed that he was Vincent Mudgett back from the dead. He fought with police. Several officers were killed or badly injured as they tried to subdue the impossibly strong man. “John Doe”, as he became known, was charged for his crimes. He was found to be not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and was committed to the Arcane Asylum under the care and treatment of Dr. Adrian Morris. Dr. Morris was an evil and sadistic monster and he welcomed the chance to “treat” someone claiming to be Vincent Mudgett - the killer of his beloved older brother. Using shock therapy and all sorts of inhumane tortures, Dr. Morris attempted to get John Doe to admit that he was not “Vincent Mudgett” back from the dead. John Doe refused to give in. Then, with all of the irony that can be found in the tragedy of Vincent’s tale, a beautiful young nurse named Louise came to care for John Doe. She befriended him and told him that she believed in him. Late one evening, Nurse Louise brought John Doe Vincent’s own skull mask and axe that Dr. Morris had kept as trophies. The young lovers began freeing all of the patients in the asylum. The patients who had all been tortured by Dr. Morris and his evil physicians like Dr. Henry Gouge and Dr. Ivan Evansky, went berserk. John Doe and Louise confronted Adrian Morris in his secret office and Vincent Mudgett once again took revenge upon a Morris brother. “The Mutiny at the Arcane Asylum” went down in history as the building went up in flames. When the fires were finally put out Dr. Morris and his evil staff were all dead and John Doe and Louise had slipped off into the night and were never seen again.
The Merrill Sawmill once again fell into ruin.
Years later the youngest Morris brother, Barnabus, decided to return home and reclaim the property. Barnabus had traveled to Europe to seek his own fortune and glory. Joining a circus as a teenager, Barnabus proved to be a shrewd and clever businessman. He quickly bought the travelling circus for himself and renamed it the “Nocturnal Carnival.” The youngest of the Morris brothers played to sold-out shows all across Europe. But he grew homesick. Scoffing at the idea of Vincent Mudgett being a ghost, Barnabus proclaimed that he would set up his circus on the grounds of the old Merrill Mill and make the city his winter home. Excitement grew as the circus wagons rolled into town and the big tops went up. But deep inside the Merrill Sawmill someone else was very disturbed. Another Morris brother had come to disturb Vincent’s eternal slumber. Enlisting his most trusted lieutenant, the vampire queen Phaedra, to infiltrate the Nocturnal Carnival, Vincent plotted and waited for Barnabus to come to him. One-by-one, Phaedra turned Barnabus and the carnival workers into her mindless slaves. Then Phaedra took Barnabus to Vincent deep within the catacombs far below the Sawmill. Ripping Barnabus’ ringmaster coat from his lifeless body, Vincent gave Phaedra the circus and she became the Ringmaster. Vincent opened the doors of the Haunted Sawmill for a whole new crop of victims that year and once again the grounds beneath the Merrill Sawmill were saturated with blood.
All the Morris brothers are dead, but not all of the Morris family members have passed away. There is another. Young Ruby Morris now enters the scene and unlike her brothers she will not underestimate Vincent Mudgett or the eerie power of the Haunted Sawmill. Ruby will embrace the Sawmill. She has joined forces with the evil presence that has always lurked in the ground deep beneath the sawmill. This evil presence has been there from the dawn of time. It is the dark energy that is behind everything paranormal and strange that take place upon those grounds. It is the phantom force that brought Vincent back from near death to take revenge upon Dorian Morris, raised him from the grave to kill Adrian Morris and once again to slay Barnabus Morris. This entity has a name and it is known as Malus. Malus has grown stronger and stronger feeding upon the terror that Vincent Mudgett has unleashed upon the world. With each scream and each drop of blood, Malus has come closer and closer to being able to take mortal form.
It is this entity that Ruby has come to bargain with. In exchange for her soul, Ruby has pledged to be one of Malus’ dark agents and help spread terror across the land. She knows that Vincent and Phaedra and all of the other Haunted Sawmill ghouls like Tommy and Buzz Buzz are just puppets of Malus and without them they would all rot back into the Earth. She will bide her time and play the games she needs to play to come out on top. She has all the time in the world now that Malus has made her one of his own attendants.
Malus is waiting for Halloween time to come because then all the thrill-seekers will come back to the Haunted Sawmill. They will risk life and limb coming onto the property where Vincent Mudgett lurks just for a chance to see Merrill’s most famous ghost. Those foolhardy guests will want to be scared and they will scream and Malus will grow stronger. To bring more victims to him, Malus has gone inside Vincent’s tortured mind and taken all of the nightmares and fantasies that collide in a mental maelstrom within. Using those snapshots of twisted fairy tales and nightmares saturated with screams, Malus has twisted the halls and passage of the Merrill Sawmill into perversions of things that only Vincent can dream about. Malus will raise others from the dead to join his side. Malus has only goal and that is to make you scream. The 9th Annual Haunted Sawmill - “Unveiled Fairy Tales” will be waiting for you this October.
The 9th Annual Haunted Sawmill will be open every Friday and Saturday in October. Full show times are:
Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Thursday, October 24th - 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday, October 25th and Saturday, October 26th - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Halloween, October 31st (Vincent’s birthday) - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
And special Children’s Matinee - Saturday, October 26th - noon to 2 p.m.
Saturday, October 19th is blackout night. Come for the absolute most terrifying night of the year when all the lights go out and you must make your way through the Sawmill in pitch darkness!
Saturday, October 26th is once again WIFC night at the Haunted Sawmill. Come and join the crazy crew from 95.5 as they rock the Haunted Sawmill and join the cast and crew.
Tickets are $10 at the door or $9 with the donation of a non-perishable food item.
Speed passes are $25 and allow you to take the fast lane into the Haunted Sawmill.
Near this year will be Season Passes for $50 which allow you to come back as many times as you want and Premium Passes for $75 which are a combination of the Season Pass and Speed Pass.
Come to the most awesome haunt in northern Wisconsin.
As Vincent says, we will be scaring you soon!!!!