WADESBORO — The iconic work shed from the classic horror movie “Evil Dead II” has been saved, thanks to a West Virginia fan.

Mike Pasquale made the trip to Wadesboro last month from his home in Weirton, West Virginia — just outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania — to save the shed.

Pasquale documented the adventure he called “Operation: Evil Dead Uproot” on his website, EvilDeadWorkshed.com.

The cabin from the movie had completely collapsed, and the shed was also in bad condition, Pasquale said.

THE PROCESS

Pasquale first contacted the property owner, who prefers not to be named, in 2011, hoping for a few pieces of the work shed for his movie collection. He saw a documentary on the cabin and called the Hampton B. Allen Library looking for information on the property owner. A librarian couldn’t help him, but said that she and another librarian had been extras in the 1987 movie.

He then called Wadesboro Mayor Bill Thacker, who said that his son had been involved in working on the set for a high school project. Thacker’s son gave him general information on the property owner and, after further hunting, Pasquale contacted him and was granted an invitation to visit the site. Pasquale wasn’t able to make the trip until this year, when he learned that the property owner had plans to bring in a logging company to cut down trees near the site of the shed.

Pasquale was given permission to take what he could from the property, and set his sights on work shed.

Pasquale and his friend, Scott Himmel, made it to the property on April 1 and 2. Both the shed and cabin were built specifically for the movie, which was filmed in the mid-1980s, and both had suffered heavily from storm damage. The cabin was completely collapsed, while the shed was upright but delicate.

The two rented a 24-foot truck to haul the work shed. Each piece of the building was carefully labeled before it was disassembled. Pasquale detailed the entire list of items he recovered from the site on his website, including everything from window glass and coal rocks to door frames and 55-gallon drums.

Everything from the work shed now rests in the basement of Pasquale’s home, where he began the reconstruction process this week. The shed is 11 feet long, nine feet wide and 13 feet tall at its peak.

“It’s all here, all saved, all set up to be displayed,” Pasquale said. “There is nothing left at the “Evil Dead” cabin site that’s worth looking at.”

While some wood was rotted and unusable, Pasquale said he took the bulk of the building with him.

“Everything that was recognizable on camera is in my basement,” he said.

While in Wadesboro, Pasquale also stopped by the old J.R. Faison gym. In the movie, the exterior shots were filmed at the site where the shed and cabin stood. The interior scenes were filmed in the gym with set pieces. Pasquale hoped to rescue items from the gym, but said it was filled with trash and that there was nothing he could find from the movie.

“I couldn’t find anything,” he said. “It was a disaster.”

Pasquale made a second trip to North Carolina at the end of April when he was contacted by a man in Norwood who had visited the site earlier and had the front door of the cabin, which Pasquale described as “the most sought-after piece.” Pasquale was also able to purchase the other pieces of the shed from him.

FAN REACTION

Pasquale wants to take the work shed from his basement to the movie’s fans. He plans to put the rebuilt cabin on a trailer so it can be taken to conventions. He already has four lined up for this year, and has an interview scheduled with Bruce Campbell, the movie’s star, in August.

“A filmmaker, a big fan, came from Tennessee and set up a studio in my basement and filmed everything,” Pasquale said. “He’s filming a documentary called ‘Evil Dead Uproot.’ He got ahold of agents who are related to actors in the movie.”

The interview with Campbell will be sometime during a festival in Chicago on Aug. 19-21, though the exact date has not yet been set. It will be at either the Wizard World or Bruce Campbell Horror Fest event.

There will be no charge for fans to see the work shed. He plans to make his revenue through selling replicas of chainsaws from the movie, as well as raffle tickets for lucky fans to try for a chainsaw replica.

“I’m not making a profit off of the exhibit, just taking the chainsaws with it,” Pasquale said. “The whole thing about it is that this project is going to bring money. You’ve got to spend money to make money.”

Fans of the movie from as far as Brazil and Denmark have contacted Pasquale since he announced the project on his website.

“Oh my god, it hasn’t stopped,” he said. “It’s all positive. Nothing negative.”

Several have even thanked him.

“People are thrilled that it’s actually saved and that they can see it for the first time ever,” he said.

Some left comments on his website.

“This is so important that Mike has gone to the huge task of preserving what’s left of the decaying site to keep it for future viewing so that new and old fans of ‘Evil Dead’ know it’s destined to last for many more decades,” one wrote. “It was sure to perish without a trace unless Mike intervened with a rescue plan; thanks so much, Mike.”

“Absolutely amazing stuff,” Liam Daniel Robinson wrote. “Thank you so much, Mike, for rescuing the cabin and work shed from destruction. I’m surprised to see how well some of the structure has stayed up after all these years, so groovy.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Pasquale funded the project out of his own money and a donation from a customer from his website. He spent about $100 staying at the Executive Inn in Wadesboro, $50-60 on food, $200 for tools, $120 for a rental car, $472 for the 24-foot moving truck, more than $100 in fuel for the truck and more than $150 in gas for the car for the two trips to North Carolina. He has also put more than $800 into restoring the work shed, purchasing brackets and other pieces to rebuild it.

When he first announced his plan to recover the shed and cart it to conventions around the country, Pasquale said friends and family didn’t criticize him.

“They were not surprised, because they know how big of a fan I am,” he said. “People just laugh and shake their head and say, ‘Geez, you’re obsessed.’”

While Pasquale’s stepdaughter likes the movie, he said she is not allowed to watch it due to her young age. Pasquale’s wife, on the other hand, is not a fan.

“My wife was like, ‘Oh, geez, more stuff around the house,’ but as long as I spend time with her, she was okay with it,” he laughed.

Pasquale works two jobs and operates EvilDeadWorkshed.com, where he sells his replica chainsaws, as a side business. He began a Kickstarter campaign to try to raise funds to purchase a 16-foot enclosed trailer for the work shed so that it can travel to conventions. As of Monday evening, he had raised $315 of his $6,000 goal. Some of the money came from pledges of $20 or more, for which Pasquale promises a piece of coal from the site, or $100 or more, which promises a piece of coal, a piece of cabin flooring, glass shards from the cabin windows and more. A movie chainsaw and clock replica, plus the other rewards, are promised to the person who donates at least $1,000.

“If I don’t get the money, I’ll buy the trailer myself,” he said. “I’m not worried, just trying to get a little bit of help. It will still go forward, no matter what. I’ve got that interview with Bruce Campbell, and I’m not missing that.”

Pasquale said he isn’t sure whether Campbell will look at the work shed, which he plans to bring with him to the convention and interview, but said that the prize is a key item from a movie that helped launch Campbell’s career and get him to where he is today.

A sign left at the site of the cabin and work shed explains that the cabin was removed and gives the name of Pasquale’s website.

A small postscript left for Campbell and director Sam Raimi reads, “P.S. To Bruce and Sam — Don’t be mad.”

To learn more about the work shed restoration or Pasquale’s chainsaw replicas, visit www.EvilDeadWorkshed.com or contact Pasquale at [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Mike Pasquale Mike Pasquale, pictured, sits on the roof of the collapsed cabin from a filming site of “Evil Dead 2.” In the background stood the work shed from the movie. The shed was taken apart and is now in Pasquale’s basement waiting to be reassembled.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Evil-Dead-workshed-fz.jpgPhoto courtesy of Mike Pasquale Mike Pasquale, pictured, sits on the roof of the collapsed cabin from a filming site of “Evil Dead 2.” In the background stood the work shed from the movie. The shed was taken apart and is now in Pasquale’s basement waiting to be reassembled.

Photo courtesy of Mike Pasquale Before taking the work shed down, Mike Pasquale and Scott Himmel labeled each piece so that Pasquale can keep them in order for reassembly.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Evil-Dead-workshed-2-fz.jpgPhoto courtesy of Mike Pasquale Before taking the work shed down, Mike Pasquale and Scott Himmel labeled each piece so that Pasquale can keep them in order for reassembly.

Photo courtesy of Mike Pasquale The work shed was still standing but delicate when Pasquale began taking it apart.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Evil-Dead-workshed-3-fz.jpgPhoto courtesy of Mike Pasquale The work shed was still standing but delicate when Pasquale began taking it apart.

Courtesy photo | A movie poster for “Evil Dead 2”
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_EVIL-DEAD-2-landscape.jpgCourtesy photo | A movie poster for “Evil Dead 2”
Horror fan reconstructs iconic shed from cult classic

By Imari Scarbrough • [email protected]

Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.