ALTEREGO
HERE KITTY KITTY

BHAA takes a little journey in our Time Dark Passage Time Portal back to the past, where we visit with Geoffrey Graves and his ALTEREGO KITTY ZOMBIE.

GEOFFREY GRAVES & KITTY ZOMBIE
WHEN A CHARACTER BECOMES AN ICON FOR THE INDUSTRY

Every haunted attraction owner knows the moment. You put on the makeup, pull on the costume, step into the scene… and suddenly the character isn’t just something you wear anymore. It starts to become part of who you are.

In the Midwest haunt scene of the late 2000s and early 2010s, one of the most recognizable examples of that was Geoffrey Graves and the character known as Kitty Zombie.

Graves, a Northwest Indiana haunt owner connected to Amhurst Asylum in the Valparaiso area, wasn’t the kind of owner who stayed in the ticket booth or watched from the sidelines. Like many of the best in the business, he built the attraction, ran the attraction, and then stepped right into it. When he did, the audience didn’t see Geoffrey anymore. They saw Kitty Zombie.

And Kitty Zombie was hard to forget

The character didn’t fit the usual categories. He wasn’t just a zombie, not exactly a clown, not really a monster in the traditional sense. The look had a strange, almost sci-fi feel to it, like an old man who had been rebuilt one too many times. Part creepy, part funny, part unsettling, and completely original. It was the kind of character that didn’t just make people jump — it made them stare.

If you went to TransWorld during that time, chances are you saw him. Kitty Zombie became one of those familiar faces walking the show floor, showing up at booths, talking with owners, and reminding everyone that this industry has always been built by people who love the weird side of entertainment. He wasn’t there as a promotion. He was there because that was the world he belonged to.

That’s something the haunt industry has always had that most other businesses don’t — owners who are also performers, designers who are also actors, and builders who can’t resist stepping into the scene they created. When that happens, the character stops being just a role. It becomes an alter ego, just like Geoffrey Graves.

For years, wherever Geoffrey (Kitty) went, his fans made over him as if he were a Rock Star. People say he was quite an endearing individual. According to his friends, he’s lovable, quiet, and very laid back. But his alter ego shows a man with a different face.

Kitty Zombie felt like one of those alter egos. The kind that followed guests from attraction to trade show, from trade show to the parking lot conversations, and from those conversations into the stories people tell years later.

Unfortunately, Amhurst Asylum was eventually forced to close its doors, but the people who were there at the time still remember the character. Not because he was the loudest or the goriest, but because he was different. In an industry full of masks, being different is what makes you stick.

Once in a great while, there is a character in this industry that becomes iconic. In for nearly 2 decades, that character was Kitty Zombie.

And once you’ve seen an alter ego like that, you simply don’t forget it.

Scream Loud. Whisper Gently.
Or Just Envision.
It Doesn't Matter.
But You Do!

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