A new immersive experience blending Victorian Gothic art, paranormal lore and theatrical effects opens this weekend at FloridaRAMA in St. Petersburg, built by an artist who first started scaring his neighbors as a teenager in his parents' front yard. Relics & Lore: A Radley Experience opens October 3 and runs through November 2 at 2606 Fairfield Ave. S., Building 5, giving visitors a PG-13 world to explore rather than a jump-scare gauntlet to survive.
The experience was created with Florida artist Cody Meacham, according to FloridaRAMA, which describes it as an immersive PG-13 paranormal experience blending local art, Victorian Gothic aesthetics, theatrical effects and unexpected chills. Admission is included with general admission to FloridaRAMA, the same listing notes, meaning visitors won't need a separate ticket to wander through Meacham's latest creation. As reported by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Meacham is a 38-year-old artist with experience at attractions including Halloween Horror Nights.
Per the same Creative Loafing Tampa Bay account, Meacham said he wanted to create a place where people who enjoy creepy environments could relax and explore. The experience lets visitors explore and uncover relics and lore while being spooked, that report adds, and it's rated PG-13 and includes no jump scares, according to the outlet. The attraction occupies more than 1,000 square feet at FloridaRAMA, per the same publication.
From a Teenager's Front Yard to a Formal Attraction
Long before FloridaRAMA, the name Radley belonged to a much smaller operation. The name Radley comes from the haunted house that Meacham started doing when he was 19 in St. Petersburg, he told CanvasRebel Magazine. That early haunt, known as the Radley House, operated at his family's home at 3900 19th St. N., according to a 2014 article in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that put Meacham on the cover.
By 2014, the Radley House had grown into a freestanding structure featuring 10 different scenes built by hand, the same article reported. Meacham told the publication that around 7,000 people had attended the year before, and that season's story, Dr. Radley's Nightmare Machine, centered on a sleep therapist investigating nightmares.
A Pandemic Pivot Into Collectibles
Between the backyard haunt and the FloridaRAMA debut, Meacham built out a different side of the Radley name. He told CanvasRebel that his small business idea came from necessity, in 2020 when the pandemic hit, leading him to launch Radley Relics. That venture produces various sized custom collectibles, including dioramas, shadow boxes, framed objects, characters and props, he said, adding that he manufactures all his products himself.
Meacham also described a stint working in Orlando's theme-park industry, telling CanvasRebel that his time there consisted of working on haunted houses at Halloween Horror Nights and theme park attractions at both the Universal and Disney theme parks. That background in large-scale scare design and prop fabrication now feeds directly into the Victorian Gothic world he's built at FloridaRAMA, a venue that says more than 85 local and international artists have contributed to its continually evolving installations, according to the FloridaRAMA ticketing page.
Relics & Lore is scheduled to run nightly hours through November 2, per FloridaRAMA's ticketing information, giving St. Pete visitors a full month to walk through the atmospheric effects, visual storytelling and paranormal lore Meacham has spent nearly two decades refining — from a single front yard to a dedicated gallery space built for the job.
