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About the Castle

This page contains information about the history of Nysom Castle and the plans for further renovations.

About the Architect - A short biography of the creator of Nysom Castle

June 2, 2005

In 2003, Nysom Castle underwent a complete overhaul to its appearance. Every section of the castle was redesigned, and new features were added to make browsing the corridors easier and faster. Today, contests continue to draw the greatest attention to Nysom Castle, whether it's the annual Halloween contest or the castle's signature contest, Song Bites. The creator has also written over 150 articles in his ever-expanding series of Observations, which are archived exclusively at Nysom Castle.

Nysom Castle opened to the public in October 1996. It was then called Elizabethtown Castle, as the creator was attending Elizabethtown College. After graduating from college in May 1997, the castle was moved to a new location and was rechristened Nysom Castle. Since then, the castle has seen many major changes.

The original castle design consisted of various rooms with loads of things for people to see. The castle contained a crypt, a dungeon, a music chamber, a dragon's lair, and a laboratory. There was much to see, but very little to do. In December 1996, a labyrinth was established for visitors to walk through. The labyrinth was expanded in January 1997. A few days after that, a second labyrinth opened - the Grand Labyrinth. Its size challenged many visitors and a Scroll of Survivors was created to honor those who made it out alive.

In July 1997, at its new location, the castle added a Billy Joel wing to the Music Chamber. It included a voting board for visitors to rate and review their favorite Billy Joel albums. A library was the next addition to the castle in August 1997.

But it was October 1997 that marked the first major event at Nysom Castle. A Halloween contest was run, offering contestants a free chance to win a one-pound bag of candy. The results were beyond expectations. Roughly 1500 people visited the castle for a chance to win the candy, but it was Heather Pulk of Clinton, MD who became the first winner at Nysom Castle. Due to the success, the Halloween Contest has become an annual event and continues to draw about 1000 people each year to Nysom Castle.

Then, in April 1998, Song Bites was introduced. Originally a game set up for the Billy Joel wing, Song Bites became a full contest and has become the most popular feature of Nysom Castle. Although there are far fewer contestants for Song Bites than the Halloween Contest, Song Bites has developed a loyal following and has become an established addition to the castle.

Due to the massive amount of attention required to run Song Bites, the castle started to deteriorate and failed to attract many visitors. So, in December 1999, the castle underwent its first major renevation. Some rooms were cleaned up and extraneous rooms, including the Crypt, the Dungeon, and the Dragon's Lair, were permanently shut down. In 2000, a Scavenger Hunt was added, but it has never attained the popularity of the contests, and participation is even less than for the Grand Labyrinth.

In July 2001, the creator wrote an article called Observations. It was well-received and led to further articles. Since then, he has written over 100 articles - one every week - and an archive has been set up in Nysom Castle to hold them all.

Over the past couple of years, the castle has received little attention, aside from contests. The recent overhaul is an attempt to bring back some of the magic to the castle and introduce it to a whole new group of people. Someday, Nysom Castle will hopefully live up to its expectations and provide enjoyment for visitors all around the world. Thank you for visting, and please come again.