Rest In Peace Wayne Sealy of Mystery Manor
In 2019 we decided to make a documentary on Omaha’s longest running haunted house, Mystery Manor. We knew we had a great story and within minutes of meeting it’s owner, Wayne Sealy, we knew we had a great storyteller to tell it.
He loved putting on a show for all ages. We would regularly run into people whose first haunted house was the Manor, who were now taking their kids for their first time.
When Mystery Manor opened in 1984 that part of Omaha looked very different than it does today. It was very old and run down, and home to more than a few haunted houses.
Slowly progress caught up with that section of downtown. The other haunted houses closed down or relocated and the old was torn down for the new. However, the Manor has stayed defiantly there. It stayed because Wayne cared more about entertaining people than for how much money he could get for the land.
For nearly 40 years, once you entered the Manor you were greeted by Wayne and his hatchet. He would regale you with the ‘history’ of the Manor. You see, he thought of Mystery Manor as more than just a haunted house. To him, this was a “Haunted Theatre” and you were going to get a show.
One of his favorite stories was how he could convince people that snakes had gotten loose in the Manor. He would have people petrified with nothing but a story and an empty aquarium.
At the time we didn’t know at the time we were documenting one of Wayne’s last seasons working at the Manor. Several generations were scared and enthralled by Wayne Sealy and his Haunted Theatre. Omaha has lost a great storyteller, but his stories will live on.
