A pair of families in an Aurora neighbourhood bring frights and thrills to residents every Halloween, all with the aim of collecting donations for the Aurora Food Pantry.
Paul and Su Diana have been transforming their Carlyle Crescent home into a den of spookiness for a decade, with different themes throughout the years, everything from Stranger Things to haunted circuses. This year’s theme is a haunted hospital.
Su Diana said the annual project has become a family affair, with her husband building the tent structure in the driveway, while she works on ideas and how to re-purpose previous year’s displays, with her daughter designing new haunting creatures.
This year, there will also be some volunteer actors, high school friends of Su’s son, acting as patients in the hospital.
“I love horror movies, it’s my favourite genre,” she said. “Halloween lets you do a lot of creative things.”
Su and Paul start working on the plans in August, with the set-up slowly happening over six or seven weeks.
“The little kids, they come by for weeks with their parents, and they walk around and kind of gauge our process,” she said.
“For us, it’s a lot of fun as a family,” she said. “It’s our thing ... around this neighbourhood, and we definitely invest for things we will re-use, that will hopefully draw more people in to collect more food for the food bank. That’s kind of near and dear to my heart.”
Su said the community, as well as her neighbours, have consistently been supportive of the project.
She’s always looking for new inspiration, sharing ideas with other “haunters,” as Su calls them, on Facebook groups.
Just down the road, another Auroran has set up his own spooky displays. Will Freiwah has been running his own Halloween haunt for five years, and is also collecting donations for the Aurora Food Pantry.
“I like the fact that you meet things you wouldn’t normally meet in real life," he said. "I don’t know about you but how often do you meet a werewolf?”
His own display features a variety of interactive skeletons and spooky creatures that he has collected over the years due to his love for Halloween, which he describes as a "cheerful" holiday.
Both Freiwah and the Dianas are collecting donations for the Aurora Food Pantry, with hundreds of visitors and multiple cars full of donations expected between them.
Paul and Su Diana’s haunted house at 40 Carlyle Cres. is open to the public today, Halloween Eve, and on Oct. 31, Halloween Day.
Will’s Halloween haunt at 91 Sandfield Dr. is also open to the public on Oct. 30 and 31.
