Haunted house back to ‘scare away hunger’

Brave souls are wanted — people who aren’t afraid of the dark or frightened by zombies, werewolves, demons or clowns.

For those who dare, the Cedar Hollow haunted house is now open in Brandon’s west end and is bringing back its Scare Away Hunger food drive for Samaritan House Ministries.

The haunted house on Cedar Bay is operated by a family of five who lead a normal life for 10 months of the year, but every September something happens, said haunted house denizen Carla Mitchell.

“A change comes over us mid-September, and that’s when we start to build,” Mitchell said. “We love Halloween with all the decorating, kids in their costumes and, of course, we love to hear people screaming and having a fun time.”

Mitchell, her husband, Mike, and their three daughters, Emma, Claire and Hannah, convert their front lawn, driveway and garage into chambers of horrors, with an inflatable archway in the form of a skeletal grim reaper.

Now in its third year, the haunted house is bigger and scarier than ever, promised Mitchell.

“There is definitely a lot more going on. We picked up a lot of new items at a recent Halloween monster auction,” she said.

“We usually put up portable garages to extend ours, and this year we added another 20-foot garage, so we’ll have two tunnels of terror and different chambers that people can go through with spiders, zombies and porcelain dolls.”

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday — as well as Halloween itself — Cedar Hollow will have “full scare hours” from 6 to 9 p.m., when all of the animatronics, lights and sounds will be turned on and scare actors will be waiting to startle unsuspecting visitors.

But this Sunday afternoon, four hours will be set aside to provide a “no scare day” from noon to 4 p.m. That time is meant more for little kids and those who have lower tolerances for being scared.

“All the lights will be on and there will be no sound effects, so it’ll have more of a carnival feel. We’ll hand out treat bags for kids and there will be no scare team, so people don’t have to worry if anyone is going to jump out,” Mitchell said.

There is no charge for admission, but patrons of the haunted house are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for Samaritan House’s food bank.

Last year, the Mitchells had more than 1,000 people visit over the seven days and nights leading up to Halloween.

They collected 1,500 items for the food bank, which was more than double the numbers from 2023. They want to collect even more this year.

“I’m a social worker,” Mitchell said, “so I know that there is always a need and that the food bank is a very valued resource for people in Brandon and surrounding areas.

“Plus, our kids are in that age group where it’s nice to introduce them to the concept of helping other people. It’s important to find different ways to be a helper in your community, and this is how we do it,” she said.

The tombstones that dot the family’s front yard have been painted with facts about food insecurity in Westman and suggestions on what items are needed the most, including canned soup, dry pasta, pasta sauce, beans, baby formula, diapers and hygiene products.

The timing of the food drive couldn’t be better, said Heather Symbalisty, Samaritan House’s executive director.

“We predict that this winter is going to be a hard winter for everyone,” Symbalisty said.

From Jan. 1 to the end of September, the food bank provided 14,013 monthly hampers, which was an increase of about 611 hampers when compared to last year.

Symbalisty said they are expecting to hit 18,000 hampers by the end of this year.

“In the same time period, we helped 2,820 children, and that’s a high percentage of individuals we’ve helped in the community,” she said.

The number of weekly kits provided to people who are unhoused or have no means of preparing a meal also rose.

“We provided 1,671 individuals with the kits, and that was an increase of just over 300 people from the year before,” Symbalisty said.

Overall, the need keeps going up, yet donations have been down, she said. There were times when someone would donate a case of soup, and now it’s a can or two.

“We appreciate every little bit that we do get, but this year is probably going to be one we haven’t seen before,” Symbalisty said.

“The food drive that the Mitchells are doing is out of the kindness of their heart — and I cannot tell you how grateful we are just to see it happening in our community, for our community.

“It’s very heartwarming for this family to be doing that for us. It’s so, so appreciated.”

People are welcome to visit the haunted house on Cedar Bay and tour the grounds, even outside of operating hours.

The Mitchells have also set up an area where people can pose for photos before or after they’ve dropped off a non-perishable food item.

“We are already at 300 items, and have already received feedback,” Mitchell said.

“One of the young kids who comes every year said, ‘It’s your best setup yet.’

“We want people to have fun, have a scare and learn more about food insecurity.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social