There is something lurking in the darkness. You want to pretend it’s not there, but the air is suddenly getting cooler, with a chill undoubtedly settling in. You feel your heart start to race as it closes in on you.
It’s almost fall!
Like it or not, summer must come to an end. And while the beach may still be calling, so is Spooky Season, and Brock Rogers is answering the call.
In 2020, Brock started a small haunted walk at his home on Neptune Road in Milton.
“My family always had a big Halloween party each year, so I did a little haunted house for them,” he says. “It was small and took about a month to build.”
Brock named his front-yard haunted house Old Crow Manor.
With each passing year from 2020 through 2022, he went bigger and bigger, adding more frightening decorations and mixing store-bought pieces with custom-built skeletons, tombstones, coffins and animatronics.
In 2023, he took it to the next level and turned his two-car garage into a full haunted house measuring 20 feet by 20 feet. Word spread quickly.
“That year, we opened to the public as a free home haunt and had 200 people walk through my garage,” he says. “By 2024, we had 800 people and six family members acting in the haunt. In 2025, I moved to my new 30-by-55-foot pole barn, increased the cast to 15 actors and welcomed 2,000 people.”
But this year, Brock is working on a second bone-chilling haunt. He took over a vacant space at 22518 Lewes Georgetown Highway in Georgetown, formerly home to Screams at the Beach at Sports at the Beach.
“It’s been vacant since 2017,” Brock says, adding to the spookiness and eeriness of the space. “We’ve talked about me renting their space for the ultimate Halloween haunt, and this year, they said, ‘Go for it!’”
So he did.
Brock has extended the Old Crow Manor name to the new Georgetown space, which opens Oct. 2 and runs through Nov. 1.
“I’ll still do the free yard display at my house, but this was an opportunity to take Old Crow Manor to the next level,” he says. “People know the name, and that is my reputation. I’m the ‘Old Crow Manor Guy.’”
Tickets are now available for purchase at oldcrowmanor.com and they are selling fast.
Old Crow Manor, both in Brock’s yard and at the new Georgetown space, remains a community-driven attraction run entirely by volunteers.
“We all do it because we love Halloween,” he says. “For the first four years, it was just me and my family. Now we have 30 to 40 volunteers, including scare actors, friends and Halloween lovers.”
Brock explains that the scare actors attend makeup and acting classes.
“They have to learn to preserve their energy and take care of themselves so they don’t get hurt,” he says.
That is important when you’re in the business of scaring people!
While this is the inaugural year at the Georgetown location, Brock is already excited about its future.
“We’d love to get a long-term lease. We’re working on it,” he teases.
So head to Georgetown and support Old Crow Manor. For friends who don’t love being scared, the attraction will host No-Scare Nights and friendly trick-or-treating. It will also offer a Scary Christmas Night after Halloween.
“We’re the only Christmas-themed haunt in Delaware,” he says with a smile.
So while many of us are still chasing sunsets and salty breezes, don’t forget about the ghosts and goblins getting ready to make their debut!
Crush Questions:
Favorite Restaurant?
Nicola Pizza! I love a hometown vibe!
Favorite Beach Activity?
I don’t go to the beach. I’ve been home building my haunt! We’ve been working since March 17 for the October opening.
Currently Crushing On?
Building something strong for our community. I love where I live, and it’s so important to me to do something that brings families together!
