Faces in the Crowd: Karl Bailey

Marion resident Karl Bailey has always loved Halloween.
And 7 years ago, he started sharing that love with the community, when he started the Haunted House at the Marion Fairgrounds.
What started out as a small fundraiser to help the Marion Fair – where Karl’s a member of the fair board – has morphed into something much bigger.
The “Nightmares in the Neighborhood” takes up two pavilions, and includes a haunted house and haunted maze. They’ve racked up a large online following through Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok, with folks coming from all over the state to check out the thrills.
Open 7 to 11 pm each Friday and Saturday in October, locals can check it out this Halloween weekend.
But there’s more to Karl than just running a haunted house.
We caught up with him recently where we learned about his life, his family, and his love for Halloween. We learned that Karl Bailey is certainly more than just another face in the crowd.
Marion Press: You’ve been running the haunted house at the fairgrounds for a while, how did that all come about?
Karl: I started it 7 years ago. We had a financial issue with the fair board, and it was going to be a one-time thing to pay a few bills… 7 years later we’re still going strong.
MP: And in the last 7 years, it’s grown a little bit.
Karl: We started out with 4 little rooms on the west side of the river, and now we’re at 2 buildings on the east side. We have over 3,000 followers on Facebook; we’ve got a TikTok and a Twitter… it’s gotten out of control. We had people last weekend who came from Bay City. We’ve had people come from up by Mackinaw. We had people come from Houghton Lake, Roscommon, and Manistee last weekend. It’s 10 dollars a person, 2 buildings all included.
MP: How does it all work? Tell us a little about the setup.
Karl: The very first building you go through is a maze, you decide left or right, and you don’t have to worry about missing anything, because the guys will chase you where they want you to go. They might chase you right out the front door – they’ve done that before! Once they’re tired of you, they’ll let you out the back door. Once you go out the back door, you go to barn 2, which is the haunted house.
I tell everyone, ‘Barn 1 is somewhat scary, it’s run by guys. Barn 2 is run by women, and it’s definitely scary!’
MP: And you have some help running it; who all helps with it?
Karl: Daryl Bode, and Marvin Heuker from Marion, and the rest of them are all my family: My daughters; my 8-year-old granddaughter, and my 7-year-old grandson all work in it. My granddaughter has a 5-star review saying she’s one of the scariest!
MP: Have you always been big into Halloween?
Karl: I’ve always loved Halloween. My family’s always loved Halloween and decorated our yard. I own 40 acres west of Marion, and we always wanted to do a haunted trail, but you can’t ever predict the weather. We’ve done corn mazes, but if it’s raining you don’t have nothing to do. So it’s better to be inside.
MP: Where were you born and raised? What kept you busy growing up?
Karl: Cadillac, Michigan. Went to school there and graduated in ’89. Working on things. I loved tinkering on motors. I had my first car when I was 9, it was a Ford Fairlane. I got it from my cousin, and my grandfather, Lewis Barber, showed me how to tear the engine down and completely rebuild it. I had to work off at a scrapyard, and mowing leaves and stuff for parts. Then my grandpa would take me up and get the parts I needed, explain to me how to put them together.
By the time I was 10, the car was running. And then my mother sold it because I got caught driving it!
MP: How’d you make your way to Marion?
Karl: I married Linda Zeeryp from Marion in August of ’89. We moved to Marion, and I’ve been here since.
MP: So you’ve been here for 33 years. What have you enjoyed the most about living here?
Karl: The people. They’re close knit. Everybody seems to want to help each other. The big town of Cadillac – where I was born and raised, that part of Cadillac didn’t have a lot of money. I got picked on a lot in school for it. But we moved out here and never looked back. We love it here.
MP: Tell us a little bit about what you’ve been up to over the last 33 years.
Karl: I was on the fire department in Tustin for 15 years. I was a firefighter and medical first responder. In 2017, I was at my full-time job – home remodeling – fell off a roof and broke my back from L5 to T12. Broke my neck; broke my left wrist, left elbow, and left shoulder. Spent time in Traverse City, and they didn’t know whether I’d be able to walk again. I just had spinal fusion surgery in Wyoming, Michigan in February of this year. They fused me from my tailbone to T12; I have a metal cage that goes down my spine; cadaver bone marrow, cadaver bone. I’m still in a lot of pain, but I get around.
MP: Tell us about your family.
Karl: I have three daughters, five grandkids; 4 granddaughters, and finally a grandson. They keep me busy. Three of them live with me. They enjoy playing out in our woods. Being in the haunted house. They love fishing, and camping, and my grandson is addicted to tractors – every time he sees a tractor his eyes light up like he’s won the lottery.
MP: And you and your wife clean houses also, tell us a little bit about that.
Karl: My wife started it a few years ago. She works at Evergreen Resort in Cadillac – used to be McGuire’s. She’s 2nd in charge of housekeeping up there. She loves cleaning, so on her weekends and after hours, she decided to start cleaning people’s houses. We clean and work as caretakers for a couple of [properties in the area]. When someone moves out and the house is ready to be sold, we’ll go in and completely detail and clean them. If I see that something is loose – kitchen doors, or cabinets – I’ll tighten them up. Fix any plumbing that might go a little better.
MP: You’ve been in home remodeling for much of your life, where did that come from?
Karl: My mom’s house burnt down in ’78. It didn’t burn completely down, and when it came time to do remodeling, all of us kids – my mom was a single mother – had to pitch in and help out. My grandfather and my mom showed me what to do, and I loved it. And I still do it.
My mom always used to tell me that you had to be either handsome or handy. And I could fix anything!
MP: What’s the best advice that you’ve ever been given?
Karl: Never take no for an answer. If you want something, work for it. If somebody tells you, ‘You can’t do it’ – you can do it. I’ve been told no so many times. From the time I was 12 until I was 40, I was working in a scrap yard. I mentioned getting a CDL, and everybody told me, ‘Oh you wouldn’t be good a driving truck’ – went and did it. Had a couple uncles that were firefighters, wanted to get in with them, they were like, ‘No, that’s not something you want to do.’ – went and did it. I met my wife July of ’89, August 19th of 1989 I put a ring on her finger. Everybody said, ‘It will never last.’ And 33 years later I think I’ve proved them all wrong. My wife’s my best friend.
MP: Who have been your role models?
Karl: My grandfather and my mother. She was a single mom, and she worked for us kids. Anything we wanted, she supplied it. My dad was really never in the picture until about 4 or 5 years ago, and then after about 2 years, he passed away. My mother took us out fishing; taught us how to fish. She taught me a lot of the home remodeling; she knew what she had to do. She taught me a lot. My mom was my best friend. She passed away 10 years ago.