Lance Pope spread his time throughout the costuming, horror, were and animal welfare communities. He was a marvelous person, always ready to help the little guy, and it's with great sadness we present this obituary. The delay was required to have it cleared and approved, but it's still timely, as I know many readers have had the pleasure of meeting Lance in one of his incarnations, at furry conventions, on mail lists, or just stopping by Thrillvania.

From Mel White:
"LANCE POPE (1/27/65 - 12/17/2002)

Lance Pope, the multi-talented, energetic Texan who created Verdun Manor, one of the most celebrated commercial haunted houses in America, died December 17,
2002. He was 37 years old. He was an entrepreneur and businessman and a renowned craftsman with a keen eye for detail and a good understanding of how to create a memorable evening of spooky fun.

His fascination with haunted houses began early, when Haunted Cannon Manor became an attraction at the annual State Fair of Texas. Lance persuaded the owner to let him help around the attraction and started out sweeping the floors and cleaning up after the crowds left. He moved from that to acting in the scenes and eventually to creating scenes for the house.

In 1981, at the age of 16, Lance took $1,000 and built his first haunted house. The 400 foot square walk-through house was called Haunted Verdun Manor; the beginnings of what would become one of the most notable haunted houses in America.
...

Dan Savage's controversial fetish-based column has been released this week, revealing his responses to furry comments to his previous article. The majority of respondents disagreed with his appraisal of the fandom as nothing but a fetish haven. Dan backs down on his blanket portrayal of furries, but insists that fetish is less bizarre than non-sexual anthropomorphics interests. Click here to read the article.