NANAIMO — Back for its sixth year, a local Halloween haunted house continues growing and attract more visitors.
Steve and Penny Jones have again opened the front yard of their Tulsa Ave. home, off Meredith Rd., to Halloween enthusiasts with an extensive, immersive, and interactive display featuring a range of lights, decorations, and animatronics.
Steve told NanaimoNewsNOW during an evening interview in front of their home they began decorating their property and constructing a huge walkthrough feature in mid-August.
“It’s part planning, part making it up as you go. I built the rough footprint of the thing, and then we had to pull things out and think about where are we going to put this? Where are we going to put that? Where things are going to fit?”
The main feature is a walkable haunted house which snakes through the property’s front yard. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
A large monkey animatronic proved to be a troublesome feature for this year’s design, with its size and wingspan forcing Steve to make a late alteration to the structure of the haunted house to accommodate its size.
He estimates the family has put well over 500 hours into creating this year’s display, which draws thousands to their home throughout October.
A major focus for this year’s display was creating some elements on their own.
New this year is a photo bench with a clown, which hides some surprises for those brave enough to sit and stay for a while.
“We bought the bench, bought the parts, put it together,” Penny said. “There’s a box in the haunted house, and the clowns are just popping up and down, Steve built that. We built the tombstone, and when we have it on the weekend, the fog comes out of it, and the eyes are lit up red, so we’ve moved to more building our own stuff.”
More and more elements are being made by the Jones’ for their display, including a wooden bench with a clown, which carries a few surprises. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
Officially opened Oct. 1, both Steve and Penny said they’ve been overwhelmed by the response from the community, many of whom have left notes of support for their work.
Steve noted a representative from D.B.L. Disposal Services showed up unannounced one day, offering a free porta-potty and servicing for the month.
Already strong nightly crowds are expected to grow closer to Halloween.
“Last year on Halloween we had people until almost 1 a.m.,” Penny added. “They were actually lined up around the corner, and we had to have people working the doors and only let a few people in at a time because it doesn’t give the animatronics enough time to reset if everybody’s just continually going in.”
The property is open, with elements turned on from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. nightly, but the Jones’ say they’ll leave it going a bit later on weekends and Halloween night itself.
One of the displays in the haunted house walkthrough. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
They both credit the support of their neighbours toward the success of their decorations, with all offering their support, while a handful offer some things to put in the display or other assistance.
Steve said he’s not sure how they’ll improve on the display next year, but planning for 2027 has already begun.
“It’s like a piece of art or something, eventually, you have to just walk away from it. You can spend forever painting the painting until it’s perfect, but it never will be, so eventually, you just have to say it’s done and just move on to the next painting.”
A large number of people have attended the home since it opened Oct. 1. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
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