
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The site of the former Mad River bar and restaurant in Manayunk is about to get madder.
Mad River closed two years ago. When Brian Corcodilos bought the Main Street building in March 2021, he intended to turn it into an event space, but Hurricane Ida washed away his plans by the summer.
“Ida wiped out all the infrastructure on the first floor and it all had to be replaced,” he said.
But he had another idea: a haunted house.
“There’s never been an event like this where we’re putting on a movie-style production to scare people and to just bring something else to the neighborhood,” he said.
Lincoln Mill Haunted House debuts on Oct. 6. Hurricane Ida actually contributed to the attraction’s backstory. The website shares the house’s “legend”:
The Lincoln Mill opened in 1860 and was one of Manayunk’s numerous textile mills. The mill was recently purchased by a local developer, who began renovations on the interior.
On September 2, 2021, Hurricane Ida struck Philadelphia and flooded the mill to historic water levels. The flood significantly damaged the mill’s interior and revealed a hidden chamber located below the basement level. Countless bodies were found and a dark truth was discovered about the mill’s past.
Local authorities determined that during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Viktor Kane, the mill owner, began tormenting and experimenting on his workers. Countless workers lost their lives and their spirits continue to haunt the mill.
Construction has since been halted and the mill will open to the public for guests to experience its dark past for themselves.




In addition to frights, Corcodilos promises food and beer trucks, too.
“Thursdays and Fridays we’ve locked in Deke’s Bar-B-Que, and every Friday night, Derek from Deke’s is going to be putting on a pig roast. We also have Winnie’s — quick foods that people can grab, wait in line, eat or grab after on their way out of here,” he explained.
The haunted attraction features more than 40 live scare actors as well as frightening sets, props and animatronics.
The temporary venue will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in October and the first weekend of November.
Caitlin Marsilii, events coordinator for the Manayunk Development Corporation, said guests going to a more formal dinner before or after the haunted house are invited to ride the free Trick-or-Trolley, which makes several stops along Main Street.
“Regal movie theater, Goat’s Beard, Winnie’s, Chabaa Thai, Jake’s and Cooper’s, Taqueria Amor, Lucky’s Last Chance, Union Tap House and the Ivy Ridge Station,” she said.
And, visitors’ Lincoln Mill tickets will have a charitable element: $1 from each ticket will be donated to CHOP.
“If I could write a check to CHOP for $30,000 to $45,000, we’ll have hit it out of the park, and that's the goal,” Corcodilos added.
After the Halloween season, Lincoln Mill will continue to operate as a seasonal attraction, hosting spooky pop-up events throughout the year.
For more on Lincoln Mill Haunted House and other events in Manayunk, listen to the KYW Newsradio original podcast What’s Cooking on the Audacy app or in the audio player below: