Chills and thrills return to Huard’s Haunted House in Cassidy, which has been serving screams on the mid-Island for 12 years.
Shandra Huard started haunting as a teenager when her dad let her decorate their house for Halloween; she then went on to help as an actor at the Beban Park haunted house, but she eventually wanted to create a haunt herself.
“We actually started in the trailer park next door, and you know how small trailer lots are? People could not believe what we fit in there, we used every inch of space,” she said.
She and her husband eventually moved over to their home on Timberlands Road which allowed more space for their creative endeavours.
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The haunted house, which was built in just over two months, changes its theme every year, and this year the haunt has a ‘hillbilly farm’ theme, which includes a cabin, corn maze, and dozens of volunteer actors who all have the goal of making unsuspecting victims pee their pants, or a “code yellow.”
“We’ve had a ‘Boo Crew’ come in [and help] with some of the building stuff, some of the decorating stuff. I’ve got a crew anywhere between 25 and 33 haunters a night, helping scare people, making them cry,” said Huard.
This year the team started counting how many participants came through the house and the first two nights attracted almost 500 people. Some waited two hours for a chance to walk through the house.
Entry fee is by donation. Most of the proceeds go to causes like Youth Bowl Canada, the NDSS lacrosse academy, the Ladysmith Secondary School prom committee and food banks; however, some of the money is invested into haunting props and equipment, like the new fog machine the team bought for this year. Last year they donated $7,800 to local charities.
Huard’s Haunted House is located at 1702 Timberlands Rd. and is open on Oct. 19-22 and Oct. 25-31 from 6-10 p.m.
bailey.seymour@nanaimobulletin.com
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