Summer SLAYcation at Malice Manor
Date of Visit: 7/13/24
Visited By: Team Lone Wolf
Out of every season in the year, Summer has to be one of the most popular. The days are at their longest and brightest. People are having families and friends over for BBQs and pool parties. Many others choose this time to go on vacation, often hitting the beaches for some fun in the sun. Events are happening all over the place and it seems like there’s always something to do on any given day – or night.
Speaking of which… it appears a certain dark and spooky mansion lurking over the city of Clarksville, Indiana is looking much different this time of year. Pool floats? Tikis? Surfboards?! This place is nowhere near any islands or beaches. Where the heck did all this come from? What is going on?!
It can only mean one thing: the Lord of the Manor, Lord Rancor, has left for his annual vacation – and that means it’s party time for everyone else!

Summer SLAYcation is one of three seasonal events put on by Malice Manor outside of the haunted house season (with the other two being for Valentine’s Day and Christmas). As you may have gathered, the haunt’s icon character- Lord Rancor– dips out for a vacation every summer to bring back more odds and ends from his travels. (Which will inevitably result in more nasties inhabiting the house. When will that man… or demon… or whatever learn?!) Of course, when the head of the household’s away, it’s time for the other residents to play. They’re about to throw one heck of a lunatic luau – and all of us customers are the unwitting party guests!
Ticket prices for these events line up with those offered during the normal season: $25 for General Admission and, if you’re in a hurry, $40 for the speedier Fast Pass. Parking is free; there are some spaces right out front and more parking is a short walk away if those are full.

I want to start by giving some major kudos to Malice’s team – they went all out with the summer decorating this year! The theme straight up smacked you in the face as soon as you walked through the front door: gargoyles wearing leis, giant skellies playing with beach balls, inflatable Tiki men and banners with more Tiki faces, surfboards. Progressing to the mansion’s grounds (a.k.a. the line), we noticed colorful string lights creeping up above, lit-up jellyfish hanging down, and even inflatable tentacles reaching for us before we entered the house! Awesome! And if you needed some entertainment while waiting, there were plenty of beach balls scattered among the fences for groups to toss around. (It looked like a movie was supposed to be playing on the wall – JAWS would have been perfect! Sadly, it didn’t seem to be working during our visit.) Commenting on the outside again for a moment, we also spotted a food vendor serving up some good smelling grub.
In addition to the event upgrades, there were some in the exterior areas of the haunt that seemed like permanent changes for the upcoming season. Tip: there’s a door knocker on the left when you enter the building. The most daring among your group can choose to lift it up for a creepy surprise!

While I personally didn’t notice any obvious layout changes to the house, the summer fun totally kept going once that door creaked open and we were sent inside! Following a great introduction by the opening character, who welcomed us to the party, we explored the various areas of Lord Rancor’s home. Some of these included a parlor, multiple kitchens, a tailor’s room, an electrified room and hallway (watch those walls!), and a neat mirrored piano room. Additional bits of decor were added here and there; they didn’t go quite as heavy as they did on the exterior- remember, they gotta take all that down when it’s over- but we definitely noticed leis strung on props and such. My favorite bit had to be the summer party soundtrack they had going through the whole house. Loved it!

Quite a few guests showed up to the Manor for this gory gathering – and they were as ready to party as we were! There was a heavier emphasis on interaction over jump scares, but we enjoyed a decent mix of both laughs and shrieks as we went through. Right off the bat, a creepy cute possum in the living room popped out and surprised the front half of our group. I got a nice jump… literally… in a little girl’s room when the actor in there suddenly leapt out of nowhere and landed right next to me! (Cue cuss word, haha.) In the tailor’s room, many of us were sized up and informed that our skin would make some lovely clothing. “Have you ever thought about being clothes?” Umm… can’t say we have? The witch, lurking in her underground lair, was a tad less cheerful in comparison. Maybe she missed her party invite… she babbled at us in an indecipherable language and smudged our leading lady’s face with a dark substance. The cook in kitchen #2 had some questions about what sort of “food” we would be – because it’s not a summer BBQ without the meat, right? Speaking of meat, the house’s own butcher shop had a good selection of choice cuts. So I’m not quite sure why the butcher chose to shove his bone in my face… he wasn’t thrilled when I tried to bite it. (A pair of bewbs came up next. Those almost got bit as well, too bad he didn’t give me the chance.)
I also can’t go without mentioning that one member of our party, Alicia, had a birthday recently and we were all there to celebrate our Birthday Boo! Much love to the nice monster who wished her a happy birthday, though her sash inevitably got her in trouble near the end… a creeper emerged from their cave, took hold of her arm and pulled her away into the darkness! Thankfully, she was eventually returned to us.
Pretty much all of the characters matched the theme, with many wearing Hawaiian shirts and leis. Best look: the tall slender actor running around in a grass skirt and coconut bra!
Should you manage to survive the Manor and all of its monsters, the exit leads right into their awesome gift shop. Here, you will find all sorts of apparel, accessories, and more for those interested in bringing home a souvenir from their experience. This is also where you can purchase the souvenir photo that’s taken of your group prior to entering. (See ours right here? It was epic.) Make sure to stop and browse for a little while before you leave.

As much as we would’ve loved to stay- and some of them clearly didn’t want us to leave!- we could tell this luau was starting to get out of hand and it was time to go. With that said, Summer SLAYcation is always a great time! We loved all the decorations they put up for the event and the characters were a lot of fun to interact with. I believe it was our Birthday Boo’s first ever visit to Malice and she seemed to enjoy herself.
Didn’t get an invite to this scary summer party? Unfortunately, Summer SLAYcation was Malice Manor’s final event leading up to September. However, if you want to brave this malicious mansion for yourself, you can check them out when Lord Rancor resumes welcoming guests to his home on September 13.