The creators of “The Conjuring” franchise, brothers Chad and Carey Hayes, are teaming with Cindy Bond and Doug McKay’s for a series of haunted mansion horror movies.
According to a Deadline exclusive, the proposed franchise will be developed around the real-life LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, which is notably one of the most notorious ‘haunted houses’ in the world. The LaLaurie Mansion attracts thousands of tourists to visit the property despite the fact that it hasn’t allowed the public to step inside the building since 1932.
The history of the infamous house lies within the story of Madame Lalaurie. Lalaurie was a New Orleans socialite and serial killer in the early 1800s. It’s said she tortured and murdered a number of slaves, and once exposed after a house fire, fled from the city having never been arrested.
The building is currently owned by Michael Whalen, a partner, and collaborator with Faster Horse, who is providing access to the Hayes brothers. The two have visited the property and are contemplating penning the first draft of the screenplay inside the house, while production intends to shoot both on and off-site.
“We love writing films in which we get to tell true stories. Incorporating moments that people can look up and discover did, in fact, happen. With the LaLaurie House, we get to do exactly that,” the Hayes brother shared. “There is a wealth of documentation of a very dark and frightening past of true events. Not to mention that after spending some time there, what we personally experienced was truly unnerving.”
The Hayes brothers will develop and produce the “LaLaurie Mansion” films along with Doug McKay, Cindy Bond, and Michael Whalen. Joshua Ryan Dietz and Dylan Bond will stand as executive producers, as a local historian Andrew Ward, will be consulting the project.
”Building a horror franchise starts with the IP, and for us to be able to tap the LaLaurie Mansion, and its twisted history is a major coup for Faster Horse,” Bond said of the new project.
McKay added, “The LaLaurie Mansion is as scary a place as there is in the world, and we won’t hold back in giving audiences the full effect. Chad and Carey will have their hands full, but they are true masters in cinematic retellings of disturbing material.”
