City, owners reach sale agreement on Hotel of Terror

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The city of Springfield has reached an agreement with the owners of the Hotel of Terror, averting a citywide ballot measure.

City Manager David Cameron made the announcement of the agreement tonight during his report to City Council.

“I’m pleased to announce the city of Springfield has reached an agreement with Sterling and Melissa Mathis to purchase their property at 334 N. Main [Ave.] for $2 million with the contingency to delay possession until Jan. 1 of 2027,” Cameron said, referring to Sterling and Melissa Mathis, the husband-and-wife owners of the Hotel of Terror haunted attraction, which has been located in downtown Springfield since 1978.

Council unanimously voted March 23 to move forward with a referendum submitted by the owners to challenge the city’s earlier declaration of eminent domain to seize the property. The election was scheduled for Aug. 4, but with a sale agreement reached, council will now begin the process of removing the referendum from the ballot.

Cameron expressed appreciation to the Mathises for continuing to work with the city.

“I want to thank the Mathises for staying at the table to continue to work and discuss about ways that we were able to proceed forward,” Cameron said.

He said the delayed possession will give the owners an opportunity to have one last year to operate the attraction for patrons who have memories of the business. Additionally, the agreement will allow them to secure bricks from the property, which Cameron referred to in his remarks as historic.

Reached by text message, Sterling Mathis indicated the agreement followed difficult years for the Hotel of Terror team.

“After years of uncertainty and legal challenges, our family has decided to settle and move forward,” he said. “This has been an emotional and exhausting experience, and the stress has greatly affected our family, especially my wife’s health.”

He said the settlement amount makes it impossible to rebuild the Hotel of Terror, though he said plans are to have the haunted attraction open one last season.

“We are grateful to everyone in the community who has supported us and stood by us through the years,” he said.

Cameron said that the council had adopted a measure approving a referendum or ballot measure, and that will need to be repealed. He outlined a multistep process with a special council meeting set for May 26 to pass a delay of the ballot measure to Aug. 4 to give council time to act on a repeal. Actual repeal legislation with follow, with a first reading set for June 8 and a council vote on the repeal on June 22.