The
Stittsville Haunt began in 1998 with a few lawn props that included an open
coffin with skeleton, a few headstones, and of course, creepy sounds and
lighting. In 1999 we added
a few more props including the gallows and Boris the talking skull. With these few props the response we
got from kids and their parents was incredible and we thought what if we did
something really big.
So in 2000 we went a bit crazy, so
to speak. We surfed the net
and got lots of ideas for headstones, fog, and other stuff. It was that year we did a total
graveyard on the front lawn including the fence, fog machine (with fog cooler),
and many new headstones. We
also improved the lighting system to provide a better synchronized lightening
affect with the thunder sounds. That
Halloween was great, we got kids visiting from other neighborhoods after their
friends or relatives told them about the Haunt.
In 2001 we wanted to make the house
look more haunted, so we constructed inserts for each window that gave them a
gothic look complete with ragged window dressings. We didn't realize how big a job this
would turn out to be when we started. Each
brick on the insert is an individual piece of Styrofoam hand painted and glued
to a Styrofoam backing. The
weather for Halloween 2001 was less than perfect; wet snow during the day which
turned into rain by the evening. I
was soaked to the skin as I wore my new Grim costume; however, it was fun non
the less.
In 2002 we took it a little easy on ourselves
and decided to make a few props that we knew wouldn't be too much work. We created the two zombies and a
'monument style' headstone which is a replica of a headstone in a graveyard in Kanata. The weather in 2002 was excellent;
cool evening and little wind. The
fog and lighting effects where excellent. We had 220 trick or treaters that
year. When the kids asked
what we would do for next year, we joked and said that we were running out of
room on the lawn so we would have to move to the garage and make a Dungeon or
something. Opps, we set the
expectations.
We started planning the Dungeon back
in July and August of 2003; thinking of how to lay it out and how to construct
it. We did some research on
the web for construction and decoration ideas. Construction started in early
September and continued through to mid October. Basically, the Dungeon takes up half
of a two car garage. The
kids entered the Dungeon through a side door in the garage, walked along the
Dungeon cell and exited at the front of the garage. We had an assortment of static props
bathed in Black Light in the Cell and introduced Bucky the skeleton; a true
medical model. Flashing
light and sounds filled the Dungeon.
We opened the haunt early in 2003;
two weeks before Halloween night. We
ran the lighting and sound from 7pm to 9pm every evening up to Halloween
night. It was the first
year that we promoted our creation and also the first year for a ‘Food Bank’
drive. We received media
coverage from a local television station “The NewRO” as well as a local
newspaper “The Stittsville News”. We
received many visitors the week leading up to Halloween and Halloween night;
over 240 Trick or treaters.
The Haunt’s theme for 2004 was “The
Zombies are Revolting”. The
graveyard returned with a couple of new static Zombies. The Dungeon was a big hit with the
pneumatically activated jump-up Dungeon Master; we got a few good screams with
that one. We had a record
number of visitors during our two weeks. Media coverage was excellent from
The NewRO, The Ottawa Citizen, and The Stittsville News. We credit the promotions from the media
for the huge number of visitors.
In 2005 we were inspired by a visit
to the Haunted Attractions Show in Chicago. I decided to apply my experience with
pneumatics to the Graveyard to give ‘life’ to the ‘undead’. The result was a creepy animated show
where the four zombies that had been static for the past few years suddenly
rose from their resting place amidst howls and chilling screams truly giving
life to our theme for 2005; “The Rise of the Living Dead”. In 2005 we introduced our biggest hit
yet; the haunting yet beautiful ‘Ghost in the Window’. 2005 was a big Haunt with a thousand
or more visitors, record media coverage, and an incredible cash and food
collection for The Ottawa Food Bank.
The theme for 2006 was “I Have
Awoken the Dragon”. What
Dungeon isn’t complete without a Dragon? The big addition was a
pneumatically activated Dragon which rose above the garden gate as visitors
made their way to the Dungeon entrance. The
Dragon roared and breathed smoke. We
also enhanced a few of the existing attractions with better sound and lighting
effects. We had an
excellent turnout despite the generally wet and cool weather; well over a
thousand visitors.
2007’s theme was “Enter the Dragon’s
Lair”. We constructed a
walkthrough structure leading up to the Dragon. Inside the structure you were greeted
by creepy sounds, lighting, fog,
and a host of other scary things. We
also had an antique Hearse complete with coffin in our driveway. The Haunt was the most successful yet
with a record cash and food collection. The
weather was excellent throughout our 12 night opening.
2008 was a disappointment due to the
unfortunate weather. Not only did we get
rain on the key night, but we received 10 cm of snow in the week leading up to
Halloween. Numbers were down during the
nights leading up to Halloween night and we had to close two evenings due to the
weather. Additions for that year
included a new pneumatic Demon which dropped down from the Dungeon ceiling and
a few additional static and mechanical props in the Dungeon Cell. I also enhanced the sound and lighting in the
Graveyard by using a Light-o-Rama light and sound controller.
2009? Well you will have to wait and see. I have plans to expand the Graveyard and
Dungeon as well as expanding into the backyard.
But we will have to see if I can achieve all this in the time I have.
