Henry Gouge was a young and upcoming medical student until he made the life altering choice to intern at the Arcane Asylum in Merrill. Young Henry thought that he would provide gentle care for the poor, unfortunate souls that filled the hallways of the former Merrill Sawmill, but Dr. Adrian Morris had other uses in mind for the naive medical student’s skills.
Dr. Morris needed someone to anethestasize the inmates and keep them under as they became the victims of his experiments. Henry naively thought that Dr. Morris was a genius and therefore innocently followed his lead.
It was not long though before the student fell completely under the hypnotic influence of the Arcane Asylum’s director. The duo’s experiments grew more twisted and more insane and Henry Gouge who had always love optometry, began to focus particularly on the inmate’s eyes.
Henry thought that eyes were truly the windows to a person’s soul and that if he could literally see through someone else’s eyes he would begin to reveal all the secrets of the universe.
Dr. Gouge forced patients into a drugged stupor and pried their eyes open as he experimented with more elaborate and paranormal variables: white noise, flashing strobes, infinite mirrors. He even recreated the Ganzfeld experiment strapping halved ping-pong balls to his victims eyes while playing white noise directly into their ears.
While some of the staff protested such torture, Henry grew ever more bold. It was not until the resurrected Vincent and the nurse named Louise went on their rampage that Gouge was finally stopped. Vincent reserved a special torture for Dr. Gouge. He strapped Henry to his own optometrist chair and let the inmates pluck his eyes from his head.
Henry Gouge needs new eyes. He’ll be listening for you.
About the Actor:
How long have you been acting/ what is your acting background?
I have been doing minor things since my early teens. About a year ago I played the part of Sam “six gun” Turner for NTC’s United Way campaign video.
Why do you like acting at the Sawmill?
This will be my first time, so I cannot draw from past experiences there. I’ll have to wait till opening night.
How long have you been acting at the Sawmill?
This will be my first year, although I have been a guest of the Sawmill at least once a year as long as it has been running.
What do you think of Vincent?
Personally, I like the character and think he provides a good point of connection between the Sawmill and the public. In the voice of my character… I do not like his tactics. Case in point, I had nearly completed my experimentation and was nearly ready to publish my findings in JAMA when he decided to turn the inmates loose on me. Now that they have taken my eyes, I need to make use of my skills to obtain new eyes so I can continue my experimentation.
What are your thoughts and feelings on how the Haunted Sawmill helps local Boy Scouts?
I have always thought it was a great idea and a unique way to raise the funds for Scout activities. It also filled a need for a local haunted house.
What is your favorite moment acting at the Sawmill?
I don’t have any yet, but I look forward to having many to choose from soon.
Tell us about yourself, what would you like the fans to know?
I have been a Merrill resident for quite a while and appreciate finally having a Haunted House in the area. I have used my carpentry skills, my attention to detail, and my love for all things scary to help out at the Sawmill and to build my own room – The Optometrist Lab.
Do you like haunted houses?
Yes, I visit them when I can. Not having one in the area for a long time before the Sawmill left me with no place to go to see if I could be scared.
The Haunted Sawmill 