Went to the master bedroom and clicked on the overstuffed chair (it is click-able) , it reloads the page but I never receive the challenger. I though perhaps I missed it but it doesn't appear on my challenger list. I've also tried in two browsers I have both Firefox and IE.

Wasn't sure if this was more of a plot related board topic...but seeing as its also a battle question in a way...

Anyone know why this is?

You have to complete more of the plot before the challenger Scary Chairy will appear and further plot steps to unlock the other challengers... You can go here (Click!) and look under the "PERIL AT THE PATCH PLOT" spoiler tag. The 10/22/14 plot step (the one associated with the challengers) will be the first step visible there.

Hope this helps!

I am up to date at that point though... When at the Manor I get this message,

You give Ian the multitool.

"Mmm hmm, okay- ouch! Stupid piece of- Okay, here we go. If my theory was correct, this should get us into the other doorways. Why don't you take it upstairs and take care of whatever that thumping in the master bedroom is? I'd help you, but I'm terrified and don't want to. "

But upon going upstairs and clicking on the chair does nothing.

I am assuming you have attempted this several times now?

Until you have gotten one win in against the opponent, all it will do is pop up with this message "You've found a Hidden Opponent! Scary Chairy challenges you to a fight in the Battle Coliseum!" and I am pretty sure it will only do it once. You may have missed the message. If you did miss it, Scary Chairy will already be on your opponent list at the Battle Coliseum. You will have to go to the "Challenge an Opponent" page to challenge him. (Click! and find him on the list there.)

If there is a message below the opponents image and stats that says none of your pets can battle, you will need to make the one you are going to battle with fed, healthy, and happy. The easiest way to do that is put your pet in the Lakeview Resort (Click!) and wait until it shows 10/10 on your pet page for both hunger and happiness. (It updates on the hour, as far as I can tell.) Also, if your pet is already fully happy and fully fed but you can not select it for battle, check your Statistics page (Click!) to make sure it isn't already in a battle.

Anyway, once your pet is happy and well-fed, you'll need to make sure you have weapons equipped to your pet (the ones from Shinwa and/or Item Hunt should suffice) and then you should be ready to battle.

IF Scary Chairy is not on the opponent list on the Challenge page, then you have probably been affected by some kind of glitch and should probably let the staff know so they can assist you.