Splitting hairs

No longer home to patients with mental disabilities, Pennhurst Asylum was tranformed in the fall into a haunted house. The Spring City home brought in 39,000 people on weekend between late September and early November, raking in nearly $1 million and employing 125 people. It also backed up traffic and caused chaos, according to oppsing neighbors.

 

The battle over the asylum-turned-attraction will rage on through the new year, the Phoenixville News reports. It was decided Wednesday at a zoning hearing that closing arguments from both sides must be submitted and the township must make a final decision within 30 days of receipt.

At the crux of the argument is the language used in the haunted house zoning. As both sides submit their conclusive arguments, the parties are expected to decide whether the haunted house is a recreation or an amusement — and what both designations allow for in the zoning code.

A decision on the matter may not be announced until March.