LEWISTON — Andrew Knight, owner of the Inn at the Agora Bed and Breakfast, has put a lot of effort into making his newest room as cozy as he can.

He doesn’t think his guests will sleep like the dead, however. It’s just not an option.

“It doesn’t have any heat and there’s no plumbing,” Knight said. “The last person to use it was the guy who was in there for 102 years.” 

Knight has finished converting the crypt below St. Patrick’s Parish chapel into a horror movie viewing space for guests at his bed and breakfast.

For $290 — $410 in October — guests can reserve the crypt for the night, using it to host a small get-together, play games or watch a movie. Beginning in August, the room will be available for rent nightly between 9 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

And then, Knight expects guests to return to their less creepy accommodations upstairs.

The crypt’s former occupant, Monsignor Thomas Wallace, was moved out when the Catholic diocese decommissioned the church in 2009. His body now rests in Mount Hope Cemetery, leaving his previous final resting place unoccupied.

It now has a custom-made pine coffin, cushioned for comfort and big enough for two, and a 32-inch LCD screen television with a DVD player.

“I imagine it should be quite comfortable to lie there with your significant other and watch ‘Friday the 13th’ or ‘Saw’ or ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,'” Knight said. “We have a collection of 60 or 70 classic horror and scary films for people to watch.”

Knight bought the former church and rectory in 2013 with plans for an event center, the Agora Grand. The event center work is still underway, but he opened a bed and breakfast in the former rectory in November 2014.

The property includes the former chapel, church basement hall and Wallace’s white-tile-lined crypt. Knight imagined the place would be a unique spot for guests.

“There is a huge amount of waiting involved in getting our financing for the Agora Grand, so we worked our butts off to get this room ready,” he said. “We wanted to launch it before Halloween, just to get the word out there and give people something interesting to talk about before October.”

He’s auctioning off the first night in the crypt on eBay through July 3. Knight has set aside the month of July so the winners can claim their reservation. He’s taking regular reservations for nights in August.

The package comes with a number of options. Guests can pay to have dinner served, including “the juiciest, bloodiest steak you’ve ever eaten,” according to the website. He’s also worked a deal with Bangor’s SK Tours, which offers tours of author Stephen King’s neighborhood.

Knight knows he’s playing up the macabre aspects of the crypt and he’s happy to point out that guests will be watching movies in the exact same space where Monsignor Wallace spent 102 years decomposing.

He’s staying respectful, however. Wallace loved the church and paid to keep it open.

“He loved it so much, he wanted to be buried there,” he said. “But right now, it’s just an empty room and I think if someone were going to use it for entertainment value to produce revenue and ultimately create the Agora Grand and save the whole building, I think he’d be quite pleased with that.”

staylor@sunjournal.com