Doctor Terror Eyes

Eye doctor by day... Dr. TERROREYES By NIGHT!

Most people’s Halloween preparations involve picking up a couple bags of candy at the grocery store for potential trickor-treaters. For local eye doctor Bill Ramsay, though, Halloween prep is a year-long process...

By Kari James

Photos By John Jernigan

Always the creative type, Dr. Bill Ramsay knew he could do better than the store-bought Halloween props and blow-ups he saw on neighboring lawns.

“I started making my own creepy props,” he says. “And in 1974 I made my first haunted house. I’ve always enjoyed Halloween, even as a kid, so it seemed like a fun thing to do. That first house featured black plastic, scary paint scenes, and black lights.”

Dr. Ramsay admits that his skills have evolved drastically since that first haunted house. He says Halloween has done the same.

“Halloween has transformed from what it used to be,” he says. “Movies and video games have become more violent and scary. People become numb to what actually frightens them. When we make creative haunts today, we have to throw new horror factors into them.”

Dr. Ramsay is quick to dismiss the idea of including gore in his Halloween scenes, though. “There’s a difference between scary and disturbing. Sometimes you have to let your guests’ minds make the bigger monster.”

Growing up, Dr. Ramsay recalls fond memories of decorating his childhood home with his family. That’s a tradition he continued with his own two sons, who are now grown, over the years. Halloween parties became his specialty. And they became the talk of the town.

“One year I did an ‘Addams Family’ theme,” Dr. Ramsay says. “I made 16 large props over the course of five months, including a life-size bed of nails.”

After years of hosting Halloween events, and at the urging of event organizers, Dr. Ramsay took his Halloween expertise and know-how to a bigger stage.

Preparations for the 2011 Fear Fest, a commercial haunted attraction once located in Ocala and co-spearheaded by Ramsay, led him to create the ultimate alter ego: Dr. TerrorEyes.

The animated raven perched atop his shoulder grasps a human eyeball!

“I wanted a great costume and I wanted something original,” he says. “Being an optometrist, I thought of Dr. TerrorEyes.”

And the detailed persona Dr. Ramsay has created for his character is the stuff of horror stories. Just ask Dr. Ramsay, who is in the process of putting his story to paper.

“Dr. TerrorEyes is a hospital resident in the eyecare industry,” he says. “He chose the field because his sister is blind, and he wanted to help her see. His sister’s murder changes everything, though, including the doctor’s motivation.”

Dr. TerrorEyes knows that the image of his sister’s killer is burned into her retina and he’s working to develop the technology to capture that image and exact revenge on the perpetrator. But first he must practice the process, knowing he will only have one shot at getting it right.

“Dr. TerrorEyes is the dark side of healthcare,” Dr. Ramsay laughs. “On his belt you’ll find knockout medicine and the tools—like syringes, forceps and a melon baller—required to draw fluid from his victims’ eyes. A leather string attaches to a glass jar where he stores the eyeballs.”

An authentic gas mask, tattered medical coat and animated raven, replete with an extracted human eyeball grasped within its sharp beak (and aptly named Nevermore), complete the look.

“I have a remote control in my hand,” Dr. Ramsay says. “I can make the raven look all around, and people think he’s real all the time. After three or four years of frustration of people not being able to understand me through the authentic gas mask, I built a microphone into the mask and attached a mini speaker to the belt. Just add a scary voice and… voila!”

A built in microphone and speaker attached to his belt allows people to hear him talk.

Dr. Ramsay describes Dr. TerrorEyes as a scientist gone awry, bent on revenge. He’s making it his life’s work to do the necessary experiments to solve his sister’s murder.

Dr. TerrorEyes became Dr. Ramsay’s shtick and he’s stuck with it ever since, showing up to conventions and parties in character. It’s no surprise that he’s been awarded “best” or “scariest” costume nearly a dozen times over the years.

“Ten years ago or so, I started speaking at conventions and other Halloween events,” he says. “Last year I created the Southeast Halloween Enthusiasts Convention and launched it right here in Ocala. Halloween fanatics from all over the United States attended. We had 10,000 square feet of space, including vendors and exhibitors, artists, and prop specialists from places like Universal.”

“Bill Ramsay has always spread his knowledge of designing and fabricating everything from props to environments and everything in between,” says world-renowned sculptor Scott Fensterer (see sidebar). “He lives and breathes Halloween. For him, it’s not just a holiday, it’s a 365-day-a-year lifestyle. He’s a great ambassador for the Halloween season and a good friend.” And he’s a busy guy. Last year included multiple speaking engagements all over the country for Dr. Ramsay, and if you ask him his favorite aspect of those events, he’ll say it’s teaching people.

“I love to show people how to make their own props,” he says. “It’s fun to help the newbies. We call them ‘new home haunters,’ and we go beyond fake spiders, webs, and witches’ hats. People are always shocked at what they’re able to create with a little creativity and instruction.”

Despite making elaborate props, such as an animated replica of Florida’s electric chair, a creature crate monster that features infrared technology and sounds, (which include a variation of part of the “Jurassic Park” soundtrack), and a life-size grim reaper, his favorite prop was perhaps one of the easiest (and smallest) to create.

“It’s only a few inches tall, but I really love how my witches’ potion bottle turned out,” he says. “There’s nothing scary or ominous about it. It’s just detailed and unique. I often take things that are new and make them look old, worn, and scary.”

And speaking of scary, scaring Dr. Ramsay is not an easy task to accomplish.

“I’ll admit I’m hard to scare,” he laughs. “I enjoyed haunted houses and things like that as a kid, but today I just pick them apart and analyze them. I’m just trying to figure out how they made the props and how they work.

“I do recall a haunted house put on by the Junior League in the early 1970s, though,” he adds. “I’ll admit that one was super scary. Corny by today’s comparisons obviously, but it definitely scared me at the time.”

And for Dr. Ramsay, scaring people—and being scared—is part of the fun.

“Halloween lets you be free in a different persona to instill fright in other people in a safe way,” he says. “It’s fun, but safe. You can control the environment.” After such a busy year last year, including a recent move from Ocala to nearby Fruitland Park, Dr. Ramsay has decided to lay low this year.

“We still have boxes that need to be unpacked,” he says. “This year I’m going to just work on the farm with our rescue dogs, horses, and chickens. It’s the first time in 10 years I’m taking Halloween off.”

Of course, he still has his day job. Dr. Ramsay has been seeing eye patients for 33 years and now practices with Mid-Florida Eye in Leesburg.

Dr. Bill Ramsay

Don’t worry, though, plans are already in the works for Dr. Ramsay’s next Halloween convention and party. In the meantime, he may even make a new prop or two to satisfy his creative side. And he promises to have candy on hand for trick-or-treaters.

THE CREATURE RETURNS

Scott Fensterer

To commemorate the 65th anniversary of Universal Studios’ classic 1954 film, “The Creature From the Black Lagoon,” Ocala’s Scott Fensterer Sculpture Studio was tasked with creating a life-size replica of the original monster suit used in the movie. On September 14 Silver Springs State Park will play host to the Gill-A-Bration festival honoring the movie, parts of which were filmed at Silver Springs. The event will benefit Give Kids the World.

Scott Fensterer, a good friend of Dr. Ramsay’s, has spent the last 25 years showcasing his sculpting abilities all around the world, with projects for Universal, Disney, Hollywood movies, and more. A 2015 run on the SyFy channel’s “Face Off” competition catapulted him into the limelight.

“I was on all 14 episodes, so I was very happy with the results,” Scott laughs. “It was an interesting time in my life. I was able to redefine what I wanted to do. I quit my day job and began to focus on my business.

“I was excited to be asked to create the ‘Creature’ costume for the Gill-A-Bration,” Scott adds. “We’ve been working on it around other projects, but by the time it’s all said and done it will have about 200 hours put into it.”

The event will feature a variety of vendors, including sculptors, painters, and collectors, along with panel discussions and meet-and-greets.

“It’s going to be a really cool event,” says Scott. “The evening will culminate with an outdoor screening of ‘The Creature From the Black Lagoon.’”

WANT TO GO? Gill-A-Bration September 14, 10am-8pm Silver Springs State Park www.gktw.org