MURDOCK MANOR

I knew Rad Rux liked putting on a show, but Murdock Manor had me checking the front step before I crossed it. He pieced this Forest house together with mismatched walls, colored windows and a mechanical clown entrance that does its best to discourage company. It looks like somebody kept adding rooms long after a sensible fellow would have stopped.

Inside, the joke gets stranger. Brass speakers seem to watch you from the walls, and the cramped rooms are filled with odd displays and crooked details. I reckon Rux has been collecting the sort of things most people would leave in a ruined fairground, then finding just the right place for each one.

I will give him credit for the workmanship, even if I prefer a quieter welcome. Under all that Halloween dressing is a builder who knows how to hold your attention, much as he does with his music. I thanked the Lord for daylight when I stepped back outside, and made certain I had not left anything behind.