| "Thanksgiving and Christmas are for the family, Halloween is for the community," said Shawn Harrah, who has been putting on a haunted house display for seven years now in Rocky Grove. Each year he has been creating and expanding the single car garage sized haunted house maze. |  |
"It takes me eight to ten days to put together," he said but he is always thinking about new things. "Everything here, I either created or modified to make it unique."
He took a couple old basketballs and made a giant red spider back in March. The special effects major at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh admits he works months on designing and making the display. You can see in his eyes, when he takes off his Halloween mask, that making these items and display is truly what he loves to do with his art.
He took a couple old basketballs and made a giant red spider back in March. The special effects major at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh admits he works months on designing and making the display. You can see in his eyes, when he takes off his Halloween mask, that making these items and display is truly what he loves to do with his art.
Harrah's life isn't all ghoulish fun and games. He is a 911 operator who has to find ways to help people experiencing their worst of days. Seeing the kids and families having so much fun for the two hours of trick-or-treating makes him happy.
He also has a penchant for comic cons and is known to don a pretty impressive Star Wars Storm Trooper costume and show up at movie theater openings, which also brings joy to many others.
He also has a penchant for comic cons and is known to don a pretty impressive Star Wars Storm Trooper costume and show up at movie theater openings, which also brings joy to many others.
Harrah said he really wants to keep it kid friendly and he doesn't put people inside his mazes to scare anyone. This year he transformed the small garage into three hallway features with some things hanging from the ceiling and strobe lights bouncing of undulating walls.
Perhaps the biggest kicker about this whole haunted house endeavor is that it isn't event at Harrah's house. Each year, he convinces his buddy to use his house located near the Rocky Grove fire hall, which gets hundreds more children visitors than Harrah's Miller-Sibley neighborhood.
Perhaps the biggest kicker about this whole haunted house endeavor is that it isn't event at Harrah's house. Each year, he convinces his buddy to use his house located near the Rocky Grove fire hall, which gets hundreds more children visitors than Harrah's Miller-Sibley neighborhood.
And boy did they come this year. After one hour 300 (299 if you don't count the photographer) went through the maze. By the end of the night, Harrah reported a new personal record of 647.
And if creating the haunted maze wasn't enough, he and his friends and family pass out candy at the end.
And if creating the haunted maze wasn't enough, he and his friends and family pass out candy at the end.
RSS Feed