Frightinsville Freaky Fundraiser

Drive-through twisted history haunt. Oct 27 & 28th, 2023, 6:30-10:30pm.

Are you ready for a first-of-its-kind immersive-theatre psychological thriller? Buckle up for a safari-style haunted hayride through the supernatural, without ever leaving your vehicle.

Advance vehicle passes are SOLD OUT.

Donations to help support Estate of Mind are still welcome, but these donations will NOT be issued vehicle passes. Limited vehicle passes available at the door, starting at $40 per car. 

Vehicle pass holders:

• Select any perk over $35 and you will be given an option before checkout to add a FRIGHTINSVILLE VEHICLE PASS for just $1.
• Your vehicle pass admits you and everyone in your vehicle at a time slot of your choosing, Oct 27th or 28th.
• Look for an email from frightinsville@gmail.com containing the link to schedule your arrival date & time - this can take up to 1 day to arrive.

At Estate of Mind

www.est8ofmind.com

• An intentional co-living community for artists, and an arts & lifestyle events venue
• Located at the historic Oakhurst Manor in Whitinsville, MA
• A Victorian manor and heritage site on a 25-acre complex, with multiple buildings housing artists in residence
• We recently had to pause renovations needed modernize & winterize the 133-year-old building and are fundraising to help us resume this project

Dark Drive-Through Drama

• Announcing Estate of Mind's inaugural haunted Halloween experience
• Tune your car stereo to a War-of-the-Worlds–style radio broadcast to catch world-building narrative context for the unnerving scenes within.
• Reality unravels into odd dimensions, as your car creeps through the twisted creations of world-class interdisciplinary-artists, with special effects, pyrotechnics, and more.
• A chilling and unforgettable impact is guaranteed—if you live to finish the ride.
• Friday October 27th & Saturday October 28th - rain or shine

• All ages. Rated PG-13.

What We Need

Donations help fund the requisite renovations to:

• house up to 20 more artists inside the historic Oakhurst Manor
• operate as a community events venue year round

Your contributions will also help us:

• buy the tools and materials needed to build the sets, props, and costumes for this terrific and terrifying Halloween experience
• give money back to the artists (although artists and project leads are volunteering their time, we would love to be able to offer a generous honorarium after our basic expenses are covered)

The Impact

Estate of Mind is a group of artists who are transforming and reclaiming a property once known for its homophobia and abuse into an affordable and accessible center for the arts.

We envision a future where we offer:

• year-round rotating galleries and installations, with an indoor-and-outdoor canvas for immersive theatre experiences, starting with this annual, ever-growing Halloween haunt

• an educational arts hub, with free events serving the local community, and workshops designed to help propagate artistic development and inspiration

• a world-class arts residency program, with collaborations & co-creations from visiting artists with global origins

• scholarships offering food & housing for artists from marginalized groups, helping introduce more diversity and accessibility to our community

• a landmark, turnkey venue for queer and bohemian weddings and retreats

• a fabrication, carpentry, and metalworking shop

• outdoor sculpture gallery with permanent installations throughout our 25 acres

• community access to plots in our restored historic gardens

Challenges

We have owned this beautiful, Victorian property since Halloween 2021. In two years we've made a lot of progress, reached a lot of milestones, and learned a lot of lessons. The project has, of course, had some surprises, which have put things behind schedule.

Some of our setbacks have included:

• The writer's strike. A steady portion of the income funding our monthly expenses was from film and television productions. Since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in May 2023, our high-budget rentals have dried up. The strike seems slated to continue through spring 2024, which puts real strain on us entering winter, which is our the most expensive operating season.
   
• Challenges unique to the old property. Although we did our due diligence before purchase, there were still surprises. Such as:
   
  • Pipes. When we began work on the plumbing, behind the walls we found an undulating, Seussian, labyrinth of pipes and fixtures, fused and Frankensteined from eras and standards spanning 133 years. During the sudden deep freeze of November 2022, in-spite of our preparations, some of the pipes burst, setting us back months in repairs.
     
  • Trees. Although many of the trees on the property looked healthy on initial assessment, during heavy winds branches started falling down. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and no damage to the vehicles or structures. Experts taught us how to identify neglected trees, and a team of arborists safely brought down the most danger of the dead trees in Spring 2022. This work saved us and the property from potential ruin, but the unexpected cost set back our interior renovation timelines.
• Tech industry layoffs. Tech companies laid off more than 300,000 employees in the first half of 2023. Digital nomads, who previously accounted for a percentage of our operating costs, have become increasingly sparse. But more critically, our primary funder, who has been covering all monthly budget shortfalls out-of-pocket, was downsized from a tech-industry job this summer, which tied our hands and forced us to lay off our renovations contractors. This has halted almost all renovation progress, as the job search continues

How we will use the funds we raise right now

After the expenses associated with building the Frightinsville experience are covered (estimated budget: $10k),  the remaining funds raised will go toward the costs needed to keep Estate of Mind on target. Although our initial fundraising target is $15k, we could use 10x that. So we're going to focus on using the funds raised to complete upgrades that allow us to open new income streams. Once we begin to break even on minimum monthly expenses, any surplus will be put toward continuing to improve our community offerings.

• Wrapping up the final repairs & upgrades to the 3rd floor plumbing & radiator systems, giving us the capacity to house up to 20 more artists year round in Oakhurst Manor

• Renovating the manor's kitchen(s), so we can be a more attractive venue for hosting weddings, retreats, and large gatherings

• Finishing the renovations to the 2nd floor electrical, bathrooms, and guest rooms so we can open up the limited number of B&B rooms allowed by our zoning

• Completing some of the electrical upgrades and cosmetic repairs on the first floor, making the event venue an even more compelling location for all sorts of events, workshops, film shoots, and more

• Covering the costs of keeping the heat on this winter, so we can operate year round

• Insulating the manor to reduce our future heating costs, and reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand not everyone is in a position to donate money. If you believe in our project, here are some other ways you can help.

• Help us spread the word!
  • ​Tell your friends and share this with your online networks. Especially artists, makers, intentional-community and co-living enthusiasts, and people who love all-things Halloween.
  • Give us ideas about where we should advertise. We're the new kid in town, so we don't know! Email frightsinville@gmail.com if you've got suggestions.
• Volunteer. We are lucky to have a lot of skilled creators donating their time. What unites us is the shared belief in this vision that this project, and this property, can be exceptional. We envision a future where Estate of Mind is self sustaining, and surplus income is used to fund the arts, through scholarships, covering materials costs, and employing artists year-round. We envision a budget to restore the beautiful grounds and gardens, and build a publicly-accessible sculpture garden that helps make Whitinsville more walkable. We imagine growing to be the biggest, most terrifying, and most talked-about annual Halloween psychological thriller theatrical specular in the northeast. Fill out our call for artists & volunteers here: www.frightinsville.com/volunteer
   

Our ask: How will you help us make it happen?