The Legend...
Originally built in 1407 by the Barton family, This historic castle was moved to Invereness, FL in December of 2006 by descendants of the Barton Family. Painstaking effort was taken to transport and preserve all of the antique artifacts in the castle, as well as relocating the family cemetery. It has been partially restored to the resort you see today.
Prior to the relocation, the Castle Keep served as home to Mircea Tepes Dracula. Mircea was the eldest brother of Vlad Tepes Dracula - and had been tortured and buried alive by the boyars of Tirgoviste. He managed to escape the shallow grave, and fled to England, to Castle Keep, where he married young princess Barton.
In the years that followed, the Barton family slowly perished or fled England, leaving the Keep to Mircea and his bride. Stories began to arise that Mircea and his young bride were luring unsuspecting peasants to their deaths in the castle, and Castle Keep earned a reputation of being cursed by the locals. Some believe that Mircea and his bride never left and still inhabit the castle today.
Despite the successful 2007 "Open House" renovations ground to a halt.
Sightings of all types of haunts were reported by visitors, and workers refused to continue. The Bartons closed the doors and sold the Keep to an anonymous investor, Our investigations turned up nothing about this new owner except the initials "MTD". Shortly there-after, an announcement was circulated that the Keep would open once again in late October, 2008. It is spectulated, that "MTD" is Mircea himself, and that he enjoyed the influx of fresh blood so much he is planning on opening the Keep himself.
Oddly,Today, June 13, 2009 the Keep began to vanished from Inverness. Pieces have re-appeared in Crystal River. It seems that Mircea is looking for fresh hunting grounds. Keep checking back for updates to this amazing story!
2008 Event:
Citrus County Auditorium
Scary Dates & Times:
October 24th: 7:00 pm - 12:00 am- 203 victimsOctober 25th: 7:00 pm - 12:00 am- 162 victimsOctober 30th: 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm- 165 victimsOctober 31st: 7:00 pm - 12:00 am- 295 victimsNovember 1st: 7:00 pm - 12:00 am- 150 victims
Non-Scary Dates & Times:
October 25th: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm- 88 victimsOctober 31st: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm- 63 victimsNovember 1st: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Added ENCORE)- 17 victims
One guest said, "Good Job, Better then Universal Studios"
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