Aging Public Resource Improved Lately; “Frightworld” Offers Outlandish Laughs, Scares

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Today, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz unveiled a new reuse project that
adds a new dimension to one of Erie County’s oldest facilities, the old and unused Public Health Lab.  A
proposed “Frightworld” attraction for thrilling haunted fun all year long is in the works for the site, as a
recent study of the property found that it already had the necessary ingredients for such an attraction,
including lots of cobwebs, scary-looking hallways and old medical waste. Plans for the new attraction
leave much to the imagination but will be continuously updated as the Project continues. 

“For too long, the old Lab on the ECMC Campus has sat unused. It is a solid old building, though, and an
opportunity like this does not present itself very often,” said Poloncarz. “Working with our partners, we
outlined an achievable plan that capitalizes on the site’s architecture, history, and general creepiness to
locate a world-class spooky attraction here. People pay top dollar to go to haunted houses to be scared
silly; think about how new revenue we will make with a haunted old laboratory with medical waste.”

A number of necessary components for the attraction are already in place at the facility, expediting the
planned Frightworld opening sometime later this year. Among them are abandoned wards and hallways
replete with reminders of the site’s former use, but made spookier by the passage of time and through the
inclusion of costumed characters designed to make visitors feel as if they are part of the show. The site’s
legendary design will be accentuated by strategic lighting and sound effects to give a haunted feel that
follows visitors around the campus and makes their visit extra-spooky. Zombies, werewolves, haunts, and
other-worldly creatures will be found scattered throughout Frightworld, which will employ 2,000 people
on-site as the largest scare attraction in NYS, repositioning  Halloween as a year-round attraction
locally while diversifying Erie County’s employment portfolio. That portfolio will expand further with
“Santa’s Universe”, an Erie County Christmas attraction destined to open in 2016.